Viz Media has made a significant announcement during its panel at Anime Expo, revealing that it has acquired the popular RWBY series following the closure of Rooster Teeth. The company now holds the rights for future distribution, production, licensing, and consumer products related to the series.
The RWBY franchise has already seen manga adaptations by Viz Media, including works by Shirow Miwa and Bunta Kinami. Miwa’s adaptation was serialized in Shueisha’s Ultra Jump magazine from November 2015 to February 2017, with Viz Media subsequently publishing the English edition in Weekly Shonen Jump magazine starting in October 2017. Kinami’s ‘RWBY: The Official Manga’ was launched on Shonen Jump+ in December 2018 and concluded in June 2020. Additionally, Viz Media released the RWBY manga anthology series.
The original RWBY web animated series, created by Monty Oum, centers around four girls training to hunt supernatural ‘Creatures of Grimm.’ Rooster Teeth, the production company behind the series, had released nine volumes and 117 episodes, with the ninth volume airing from February 2023 to March 30.
Shaft’s ‘RWBY: Ice Queendom’ television anime, part of the RWBY franchise, premiered in Japan in July 2022. The series was streamed on Crunchyroll with an English dub available.
Ramifications of Rooster Teeth’s closure were felt in March when general manager Jordan Levin announced the shutdown after 21 years of operation. The decision was attributed to challenges in digital media due to shifts in consumer behavior and monetization strategies. Despite the closure, Warner Bros. Discovery, Rooster Teeth’s parent company, is exploring options for its intellectual properties like RWBY and gen:LOCK.
