Erika’s Enthusiast Expo: X-Ray and Vav Review

   While the most notable animation to come from Rooster Teeth is definitely “RWBY,” there are a handful of other series that I’ve come to enjoy from them too. One example would be “X-Ray and Vav,” a series that sprung out of a joke between current Achievement Hunter member Gavin Free and former employee Ray Narvaez Jr.

   I’m almost certain I started watching it as soon as it started back in November 2014. From then, I managed to stay caught up through its entire run all the way into the second season. However, my memory is the worst and I actually couldn’t remember if I finished it all or only thought I had. Turns out my first assumption was right, so this ended up a four years later total rewatch of the entire series.

   The series centers around the titular characters of X-Ray and Vav, two adults that are trying to stop crime in their city despite being extremely bad at their jobs. The first case seen is them making an attempt to steal back a snatched purse, only for a stranger to hit the robber with their car before the victim comes by with a laser.

   The woman with the laser is Hilda, an inventor at a place called Monarch Labs that decides to help these hopeless fools achieve their heroic dreams.

   From there, the story expands to introduce a familiar face to Achievement Hunter fans: the Mad King, played by Ryan Haywood. While he serves as only a minor antagonist in the first season, he becomes the main one in the second. Joining him in the second season is Mogar, voiced by Michael Jones.

   While I personally got plenty of enjoyment from watching it, I can’t recommend it to everyone. The humor is kind of offensive in certain regards and parts of the show ends up in the black comedy territory more often than not. If that’s not someone’s preference for humor, than it’ll be much harder to get into it.

   There’s also the fact it comes from an inside joke to an extent– without knowing much about Achievement Hunter itself and the references (specifically towards the Mad King and the cow in season two), it can possibly put a damper on how much someone likes the show.

   I can’t call this Rooster Teeth’s finest production, definitely not. “RWBY” exists with plenty more content and a proper full-length story, though that doesn’t diminish the carefree fun that “X-Ray and Vav” provides.

   Between heart-wrenching seasons of “RWBY” where you’re not sure if your favorite will get out unscathed after the absolute terror the current showrunners are spearing the fans with, I think it would be fun to check through Rooster Teeth’s other content and binge this off-the-wall comedy of a superhero cartoon.

   To add, they’re not super long either: all the episodes combined have an average run-time of nine minutes and there are only 14 episodes to watch.

   Besides, the theme song is super catchy: who doesn’t enjoy a theme song that gets stuck in their head?

Erika Brandenburg
Staff Writer