Of all of Rooster Teeth's animated projects, few have met with as much international acclaim as RWBY. The series centers on Team RWBY, a group of four girls, Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee, Blake Belladonna and Yang Xiao Long, as they train to defend society from the Grim, who harnesses incredible power from an all-powerful substance known as Dust. The CGI web series draws heavy influence from action anime and video games, such as Naruto, Bleach and Final Fantasy.

Therefore, it might've seemed inevitable that the series would be adapted into multiple manga spin-offs. For newcomers, all these manga might appear overwhelming, since some are straight adaptations and others are side-stories. But now, CBR has put together this guide to break down the differences between the RWBY manga.

Shirow Miwa's RWBY

The first manga adaptation of RWBY was illustrated and written by Shirow Miwa. It ran in the monthly seinen (a manga genre geared toward older teens and aduts) magazine named Ultra Jump between November 2015 and February 2017.

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Simply titled RWBY, the first nine chapters of the manga were actually side-stories inspired by the first four trailers for RWBY, introducing each of the four members of Team RWBY in turn. After that, the manga deviates into an original story that takes place between Volumes 1 and 2. This series lasted a total of fifteen chapters.

RWBY: The Official Manga Anthology

RWBY: The Official Manga Anthology is a four-volume manga anthology that features several side-stories taking place throughout the universe of RWBY. It allowed several manga artists the chance to explore the world of RWBY, putting their own spin on certain plot points and characters. It is not an adaptation of the animated series at all.

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The manga volumes were released between May and October of 2017. Each volume is titled after each character song for the members of Team RWBY, along with a letter written to the creator of the series, Monty Oum, from his brother, Neath. Monty, by this point, had passed away due to an allergic reaction, which adds an element of poignancy to these volumes. The artists involved include fans of the series, Japanese creators and RWBY character designers and staff.

RWBY: The Official Manga

RWBY Manga

RWBY: The Official Manga started in November 2018 and remains ongoing to this day. It is serialized in Shonen Jump, released simultaneously in the west in English. Written and illustrated by Bunta Kinami, it remains the only manga to directly adapt episodes of the anime into the manga format.

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The story is currently adapting episodes of RWBY Volume 1. As of this writing, it consists of nine chapters. The story adapts the core moments and scenes of the original series into the manga format, offering fans the best manga experience of RWBY in regards to bringing the series to the page.

There is also a DC-produced RWBY comic in the works, but that has yet to be released.

Where to Start?

The official manga is ongoing, which gives newcomers a chance to jump onto the series and follow it as it goes on. If you as a fan are completely unfamiliar with the world of RWBY, it might be necessary to start with this faithful adaptation of the series.

However, if you're more experienced with the series and you are familiar enough with the world and characters, one of the other spin-offs might offer a more satisfying experience. Would you the reader prefer to see snapshots of the characters you love in the anthology? Or perhaps would you want to see a more cohesive side story, as featured in Mirow's manga adaptation? Either way, the manga are intended to be watched in conjunction with the original animated series, and there's really no wrong way to explore the manga universe of RWBY.

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