I wholly agree with the criticisms mentioned before, and want to add one of my own, one which I had back since the Red trailer:
I find that the show already fluked it from the very beginning, all because of presentation. At the first frames of Red I thought this was going to be hand-drawn in a unique artstyle that simulates 3D (kinda like the Bad Apple PV, and color-wise like the shadow levels from Donkey Kong Country Returns). But then we get a good look at Ruby and the jobber werewolves, revealing that it is, unfortunately, all in CGI. Rough CGI at that.
Okay, not a problem, right? I mean, fan projects can do amazing things with 3D models. Just look at Touhou Dog Fight and similar videos. This is going to be very stunning for a fan project-
...What do you mean this isn't a fan project?
......What do you mean this is going to be an 'internet anime'?
.........What do you mean actual money has been put into this?!
I'm sorry, but that just won't do.
If RWBY is going to be an actual show, with tons of cash invested in it, the quality shouldn't be 'fan-project' tier with rigged models and animation. It should be 'professional television' tier, with fluid CGI animation and presentation. It doesn't need to be a Pixar motion picture, but a funded, team-produced animated series should at least be better looking than CGI animations made by lone individuals for fun. A show needs to have some air of professionalism to be taken seriously, but recent trailers have shown that such professionalism is very lacking in this production. There is no reason why a show produced for the internet shouldn't be as good as something you'd find on television, especially since for a lot of people internet is substituting television completely. Just what happened with this project?
It is very disappointing RWBY is taking this course. Animated series produced for Youtube have shown that they can be much better than this. Bravest Warriors is a very good example. If RWBY wanted to become something truly great, it should have been one of two things:
a) A fully hand-drawn animated series with quality and presentation befitting of the funds and people put into it (and if it has to be CGI, at the very least make the models and animation properly detailed, refined and smooth).
or
b) A Sengoku-Basara-style video game.
Back when I first discovered RWBY, I had hoped the project would have been able to mature into something more presentable, but each successive trailer only shows more and more faults. With the first episode coming this July, I have little faith left in RWBY. Odds are the only part worth watching will be the fights. I will still follow it, for said fights and to see what direction the story takes, but I'm not getting my hopes up high.