- —Tagline
Blake VS Mikasa is the 144th episode of Death Battle, featuring Blake Belladonna from the RWBY series and Mikasa Ackerman from the Attack on Titan series in a battle between agile antisocial monster huntresses. Mikasa was voiced by Francesca Calo.
Interlude
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Wiz & Boomstick by Brandon Yates  
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Wiz: Blake Belladonna, the feline Huntress from RWBY.
Boomstick: And Mikasa Ackerman, the giant-killing scout from Attack on Titan.
Wiz: These two reluctant heroes are fighting for a better world.
Boomstick: What'll happen when they go toe to toe to see who's the swingiest and the cuttiest?
We cut to Wiz and Boomstick.
Boomstick: He's Wiz and I'm Boomstick.
Wiz: And it's our job to analyze their weapons, armor, and skills to find out who would win... a Death Battle.
Blake Belladonna
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Dark Insurrection by Alexis Smith & Joe Henson 
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Wiz: "Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable."
Boomstick: I wonder if JFK was thinkin' about anime cat girls when he said that.
Wiz: Despite the world of Remnant being the home to a plethora of magical beings, the Faunus were subject to discrimination from humanity.
Boomstick: That's so dumb. How could humans be racist against Faunus? Aside from looking slightly different, they're basically exactly the same— Oh. I get it.
Wiz: For most of her youth, Blake Belladonna worked with the Faunus activist organization, the White Fang. But when her parents expressed concern at its growing violent tactics, she ran away to join them fully.
Boomstick: Yeah, ginger Kylo Ren's influence was makin' it all cat girl supremacist-y.
Wiz: Believing the Faunus deserve to rule the world instead of humans, Adam Taurus turned the White Fang into a terrorist organization, with the young, impressionable Blake in tow. Now, Blake got to put her superhuman Faunus abilities to the test as a guerrilla fighter.
Boomstick: She's not a gorilla, Wiz. She's clearly a cat, ya dingus.
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Take Your Chances by Jake Shillingford & Nicholas William Evans
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Wiz: That's not what I-
Boomstick: As a clearly cat Faunus, Blake's got superhuman strength, speed, and endurance. She can see in the dark, and even pick up on sounds regular humans can't hear.
Wiz: Blake has also unlocked her Aura, the manifestation of one's soul, similar to the Eastern concept of Chi. Blake can use her Aura to passively withstand intense damage. Though, if it's overtaxed, she will be as defenseless as any ordinary human.
Boomstick: Her Aura survived this huge flying monster called a Nevermore crashing into her. Twice!
Wiz: Measuring the size of the Nevermore compared to the stone structure it shattered, we can gauge it had to have fragmented over 2,000 cubic meters of rock.
Boomstick: That means Blake's Aura ate over four tons of TNT without even breaking.
Wiz: I guess you can say she no-"soul-d" it?
The music slows to the point of cutting out.
Wiz: ... Eh, eh?
The music picks up as Boomstick speaks again.
Boomstick: Don't try that again, or I'm gonna have to cut you with a sword as sharp as Gambol Shroud! It's everything you could ever want in a sick anime combo weapon! Part katana, part kusarigama, and it wouldn't be RWBY if it wasn't part gun. Hell, its sheath is a sword, too! That's just showin' off, and I like it.
Wiz: The 96 meter long elastic ribbon attached to the katana's hilt lets Blake use Gambol Shroud as a grappling hook for maneuverability and creative attacks. An invaluable asset for the White Fang and her new boyfriend.
Boomstick: Well, until he threatened to blow up a bunch of innocent people. Now, instead of a bad boy, he's just a boy... that is bad.
Wiz: Horrified, Blake turned her back on Adam and the White Fang, and for the second time in her life, she ran away.
We cut to Wiz and Boomstick.
Boomstick: It's like runnin' away is her superpower.
Wiz: In a sense, it is. Blake's Aura allows her to manifest a unique ability, or Semblance, called Shadow. Born from her desire to escape, Blake can create a brief intangible clone for deception, evasion, or even to propel herself through the air.
Boomstick: She can even combine them with different kinds of Dust, which is basically magic gunpowder.
He picks up red crystalline fire Dust.
Boomstick: Fire Dust clones will explode on impact.
He throws it, it explodes, and he then picks up ice Dust.
Boomstick: While ice will freeze ya solid.
He throws that away too.
Boomstick: Though, once she runs out of Aura, that's it for her Semblance, too. Uh, Wiz?
We see Wiz's corpse, half burned and half frozen.
Boomstick: Buddy? Man, I... I killed him. And it wasn't even on purpose!
Just then, two more identical Wizzes come in and carry the deceased Wiz, surprising Boomstick as a third one steps in.
Wiz: Don't worry, just some biological cloning. It's a hobby. Don't ask if I'm the original, I genuinely don't know anymore.
We cut back to the analysis.
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When You Love Someone (Instrumental Version) by Oliver James Court, Alex Charles Veale & Nicholas Paul Wilton
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Wiz: Alone again, Blake lacked purpose, and a place to call home, until she reached Beacon Academy. There, she learned to be a Huntress, a soldier of peace sworn to protect the land from monsters and any that would do it harm.
Boomstick: And she wouldn't do it alone. Blake would join up with fellow Huntresses in training Weiss Schnee, Yang Xiao Long, and Ruby Rose to make Team RWBY, with a W.
Wiz: She didn't just find teammates, but friends as well.
Boomstick: Ugh, feelings, gross! Don't worry, the power of friendship didn't get in the way of her kickin' some ass! In fact, it made her even better at it! She's defeated the gangster Roman Torchwick, the kaiju-sized Sea Feilong, and the assassins Mercury and Emerald, and they could dodge natural lightning!
Wiz: Comparing the distance they traveled relative to the lightning bolt, we can determine they were moving over 26,000 meters per second, nearly 80 times the speed of sound.
Boomstick: She even managed to stand up to Adam and all his "Mom just doesn't understand" energy, with the help of a new, way less toxic partner. So long, you abusive a-hole!
Wiz: No easy feat considering Adam was strong enough to pulverize this massive Spider Droid with his Moonslice, a feat worth over four tons of TNT.
Boomstick: Not too bad for a bootleg Vergil. And Gambol Shroud could take hits like that over and over before breaking.
Wiz: Despite her troubled past, Blake would never stop fighting for a better, more peaceful, more equitable world. She was done running; with her friends at her side, she would face the future head on.
Blake: I'll end this!
She performs her Black Death Astral Heat on Ragna the Bloodedge.
Blake: So long.
Mikasa Ackerman
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Tarendella by Cyril Giroux, Campbell E Browning, Pablo Love & David Bossan 
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Boomstick: Welcome to scenic Shiganshina! Enjoy the rustic medieval architecture, hearty populace, and—
We see the Colossal Titan at Shiganshina's Wall.
Boomstick: Oho! Oh yeah, ooh, yup, that can't be good.
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Fight for Honour (Alt. End) by Stephane Rault
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Wiz: Cowering behind enormous Walls, the last remnants of humanity were driven to near extinction by the arrival of the monstrous Titans.
Boomstick: Despite that, little Mikasa Ackerman lived a happy, normal life, until her parents were brutally murdered in front of her. But never fear, she UNO reversed the shit out of those assholes with the help of Eren Yeager, another pint-sized psychopath in training.
Wiz: Adopted by Eren's parents, Mikasa and Eren somehow lived a happy, normal life...
We see the Colossal Titan breaking the wall.
Wiz: ...until all their friends and family were brutally murdered by Titans. I'm sensing a pattern here.
Boomstick: With barely anyone in her life lasting longer than a 25-minute episode, Mikasa became Eren's guardian angel.
Wiz: Certainly a valuable asset to Eren, who devoted his life to exterminating the Titan threat.
Boomstick: Together, they joined the military and got their hands on some sweet Titan-slaying gear: the Vertical Maneuvering Equipment, or "VVVMMMEEE".
Wiz: Also known as Omni-Directional Movement, or ODM, Gear in the anime, it allows Mikasa to fight the towering Titans at their own level.
Boomstick: ODM Gear comes with two 20-to-30-foot-long iron wire spears she can separately aim and shoot that'll hook into any surface. They'll allow her to swing around like a steampunk Spider-Man.
Wiz: She can zoom through the air and change directions on a dime with a special fan on her back that fires pressurized gas.
Boomstick: Farting. That's called farting, Wiz.
We cut to Wiz and Boomstick, where the latter is seen making fart sounds by blowing his tongue, his face turning purple as he struggles to keep it up. Wiz noticeably is affected as he looks disoriented while blood pours out his ears before collapsing. DUMMI floats in and extends a robot arm, grabbing the dead Wiz and dragging him off.
DUMMI: I'll get another clone.
We cut back to the analysis.
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The Fall of the Titan by Gabriel Saban, Morgan Sansous & Sham-Tristan Makdessi 
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Wiz: Mikasa's ODM Gear can propel her at speeds up to 366 kilometers per hour. That's almost a third the speed of sound.
Boomstick: Assuming she can reach top speeds in a second, that's over 10 g's of force; 10 times Earth's gravity!
Wiz: For reference, astronauts withstand about three g's of force during liftoff, and fighter pilots can withstand up to nine g's for a second or two during aerial combat. Even just six g's for a sustained period of time can be fatal for a human being, but Mikasa can survive almost twice that much and fight giant monsters at the same time.
Boomstick: That insane speed makes her especially deadly when she whips out her special Titan slashing swords made of ultrahard steel, and that's exactly the term I'd use to describe myself after watching what they can do to a Titan.
Wiz: Despite their name, they're rather fragile, at least relative to the super tough Titan skin they have to repeatedly cut, so Mikasa carries a set of 12 that she can easily dispose of and replace mid-combat.
Boomstick: Yeah, that kinda became a problem when some super intelligent Titans started sporting crazy tough armor. That's when Mikasa breaks out the big guns, the Thunder Spears!
Wiz: Essentially proto-bazookas, the Thunder Spears are thrown like javelins. They're sharp enough to pierce even the Armored Titan's impenetrable hide, and once their fuse is severed, they'll explode, devastating anything within range.
Boomstick: Shattering the Armored Titan's armor is no joke. It was tough enough to tank punching a hole through Wall Maria.
Wiz: By measuring the size of the gate in comparison to, uh, let's go with this guy, we can determine the Armored Titan violently fragmented over a thousand cubic meters of rock.
Boomstick: That'd take over 18 tons of TNT, enough to level a city block, and the Thunder Spears Shrek'd it! No surprises here, if you're too close to one of its blasts, it's game over.
Wiz: Despite the awesome power at her fingertips, Mikasa only really joined the military to watch over and protect Eren.
Boomstick: Like a loving mother hen... of death! And that became way harder once Eren learned he could also turn into one of those super intelligent Titans!
Wiz: Now humanity's greatest weapon against the Titan menace, Eren was at the center of all major anti-Titan operations, which meant Mikasa was there too, ruthlessly dispatching anyone that might harm him.
Boomstick: Get over yourself, Eren. So what if your childhood home was destroyed by a Titan? You're livin' rent free in this girl's head. And it could be worse, you could be Armin. Man, it's like she's programmed to protect him.
Wiz: You're not off base. Mikasa's last name isn't inconsequential. Ages ago, the Ackermans were bio-engineered to be subservient, super soldier royal guards to the mighty Eldian emperor.
Boomstick: Welp, wherever all that shit came from, Mikasa's got the Ackerman blood coursing through her veins. The same blood that gives her a fraction of a Titan's power without transforming. Holy crap!
Wiz: It's that power that allowed Captain Levi, another Ackerman, to dodge point blank bullets. That's over Mach 2, and Mikasa can easily keep up with him.
Boomstick: It also lets her subconsciously tap into the combined experience and battle instincts of Ackerman's past. She's like the Avatar of Titan murder!
Wiz: Unfortunately, this blood bond with Eren means that even when he goes too far, she's obligated to protect him, kinda like a robot.
Boomstick: I don't buy it, Wiz. She doesn't love him because of her DNA, she loves him because he's the only one who stood up for her when she couldn't stand up for herself! When she looks at him and the rest of her friends, she sees a hope for a brighter tomorrow!
Wiz: Wow, Boomstick, that was... that was touching.
Boomstick: And she has fart powers!
Wiz: Well, it was nice while it lasted.
Mikasa: I'm not listening to another word of this!
Mikasa draws her sword.
Mikasa: No point.
Prelude
Wiz: Alright, the combatants are set. We've run the data through all possibilities.
Boomstick: But first, if you've got a love life as intense as Blake and Mikasa's, you might wanna check out BlueChew.
Wiz and Boomstick read out an advertisement for BlueChew.
Boomstick: But right now, IT'S TIME FOR A DEATH BATTLEEE!!!
Wiz: Alright, the combatants are set. We've run the data through all possibilities.
Boomstick: IT'S TIME FOR A DEATH BATTLEEE!!!(The transcript below is exclusive to the YouTube version of the episode.)
Wiz: Alright, the combatants are set. We've run the data through all possibilities.
Boomstick: But first, if you've got a love life as intense as Blake and Mikasa's, you might wanna check out BlueChew.
Wiz and Boomstick read out an advertisement for BlueChew.
Boomstick: But right now, IT'S TIME FOR A DEATH BATTLEEE!!!
(The transcript below is exclusive to the Rooster Teeth version of the episode.)
Wiz: Alright, the combatants are set. We've run the data through all possibilities.
Boomstick: IT'S TIME FOR A DEATH BATTLEEE!!!Death Battle
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In Shiganshina, Blake Belladonna is seen reading "Ninjas of Love" on top of a wooden structure. Her ears pick up Mikasa Ackerman arriving to tell her something.
Mikasa: Hey! Civilians were supposed to evacuate this area hours ago. Get the hell out of here, they're coming!
Blake ignores the warning and continues reading her book. In response, Mikasa aims her ODM Gear's hooks past Blake, knocking the novel out of her hand and pinning it to one of the supports behind her.
Mikasa: You deaf? I said get the hell—
When Mikasa attempts to pull back her hook, she feels tension in the line. She looks up to see Blake also holding it. Blake then yanks the line to pull Mikasa forward, but she uses the fan in her device to blast her to the right before Blake could grab her. Mikasa lands on a nearby roof and looks up to see Gambol Shroud in its sickle form hook onto the chimney.
Blake: Leave me alone!
Blake launches herself forward for a high speed kick, but Mikasa is able to deflect her back with her swords. Blake lands back on the structure and reels back her weapon only to see two lines from the ODM Gear lodge into the beam behind her. Mikasa leaps off the building and zips forward, prompting Blake to prepare her weapons and clash blades. As their blades clash, Mikasa notices Blake's cat ears twitching.
Mikasa: Are those two sets of ears? She must have four times the hearing.
Blake proceeds to shove Mikasa away, leading her to circle around and try to strike at Blake from behind, only for it to be a clone. Blake shifts Gambol Shroud into its gun form and begins shooting at Mikasa, who proceeds to parry the bullets before getting in close.
The two proceed to trade blows some more, though whenever it seems like Mikasa landed a hit, it turned out to be one of Blake's clones. After being shoved back, Mikasa charges again and ends up hitting an ice clone as Blake swings away. The act of taking out the ice clone broke Mikasa's blades, so she replaces them and proceeds to pursue Blake.
Blake notices an iron cable zooming past her head from the left, only to pick up Mikasa coming in from behind and slashing at her, but it turns out to be yet another clone. The real Blake then comes in from behind and slams into Mikasa feet first, driving her through a building before swinging away again. Mikasa grapples to a wall and waits there for a moment, pondering her next move.
Mikasa: She likes popping those clones and attacking me from behind.
Mikasa then replaces her blades again, before swinging and attacking Blake yet again. Once again it is a clone, but this time, Mikasa expected this, pivots in midair and turns around to intercept Blake's attempted back attack. The two clash blades again before Blake kicks Mikasa away, though she returns with the spinning blades maneuver before kicking Blake into the building below. Blake recovers and starts swinging off again as Mikasa replaces her blades yet again and resumes her pursuit.
Mikasa and Blake continue to trade blows and clash blades while swinging through the city. As the two round the corner, Mikasa slows down and throws her blades. While Blake dodges the first one, the second one strikes true, knocking Blake towards Mikasa, who grabs her and starts punching her in the face. This does not last long though as Blake leaves a fire clone in her wake which blasts Mikasa away.
Blake attempts to start swinging around again, but Mikasa intercepts this, knocking Gambol Shroud's hook away with her own, causing Blake to tumble. As she ponders her next move, Mikasa spies three Thunder Spears laying in a corner. She proceeds to grab them and returns to the fight.
As Blake gets to her feet, Mikasa returns and launches her first Thunder Spear. Blake manages to step out of the way of the actual projectile, but then Mikasa pulls the fuse, leaving Blake to grimace for a split second as she realizes what is about to happen: the Thunder Spear explodes. Mikasa proceeds to replace her blades yet again, as Blake is seen stalking behind her. However, Mikasa is ready for Blake's attempt at striking from behind.
Mikasa: Got you this time.
As she says this, she launches a second Thunder Spear. Blake catches the projectile, but Mikasa detonates it in her face, sending her flying and breaking her Aura. Mikasa follows up with a charging slash that slices off Blake's left arm. Mikasa then charges towards Blake in an attempt to deliver a coup de grâce, but Blake recovers and fires a single shot infused with Ice Dust that hits Mikasa's leg, causing her to spin out and accidentally launch her third and final Thunder Spear.
Blake capitalizes on this, using the hook and chain of Gambol Shroud to redirect the Thunder Spear right back towards Mikasa. She manages to steady herself, but it is too late; the Thunder Spear strikes her dead on in the chest. Blake then pulls Gambol Shroud's hook to trigger the fuse. Mikasa is only able to scream in pain and horror as the explosive energy rays out of her mouth and eyes in her final moments before the Thunder Spear explodes, obliterating her and launching Blake into a nearby wall.
Blake gets to her feet as the last thing remaining of her opponent, a torn part of Mikasa's scarf, slowly falls to the ground. As this happens, a giant, looming shadow can be seen hovering over Blake; the Titans Mikasa had warned about had arrived. A confident grin breaks out on Blake's face.
Blake: Incoming!
As she says this, Blake readies Gambol Shroud and charges towards the oncoming Titan.
Results
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We cut to Wiz and Boomstick.
Boomstick: I told her to not get too close to that Thunder Spear. Too bad she can't hear omniscient narration from beyond the fourth wall~!!
Wiz: Despite Mikasa's overwhelming and frankly terrifying tenacity, Blake's varied arsenal and powers gave her a clear edge.
Boomstick: The ODM Gear allowed Mikasa to keep up with Gambol Shroud's agility, but in terms of offense, Mikasa was kind of a one-trick pony.
We cut to the post-analysis.
Boomstick: And that's especially compared to the Swiss-anime knife that is Gambol Shroud, which could stretch 10-16 times longer than either of Mikasa's cables.
Wiz: Blake's variety of Shadows she could spam at will kept Mikasa guessing, and her Aura allowed her to survive any attacks that could land.
Boomstick: To be fair, the Thunder Spears were a different story, and were powerful enough to shatter Blake's Aura. The Aura could survive around four tons of TNT, while the spear's explosion could dish out over 18.
Wiz: But Blake's far greater speed made her nearly impossible to consistently hit. While Mikasa could keep up with characters that can dodge bullets, Blake could keep up with characters that can dodge lightning. In this case, nearly 40 times faster than Mikasa.
Boomstick: And those Thunder Spears are meant for big slow Titans, not human opponents, so it's unlikely she'd ever get a solid hit in with one.
Wiz: In that same sense, Mikasa's Ackerman heritage couldn't save her either.
Boomstick: It may give her generations-worth combat experience Avatar-style, but almost all of it was against Titans, not a Faunus huntress like Blake, who has powers the Ackerman family has never seen before.
Wiz: Coupled with her ODM Gear's limited fuel supply and breakable swords, Mikasa just couldn't end the fight before her own options ran out.
We cut back to Wiz and Boomstick.
Wiz: Mikasa had guts, but Blake's speed, versatility, and sick anime combo-weapon gave her the edge.
Boomstick: It may have been a Gambol, but Blake had the "Spear-it" to win without a Shadow of a doubt.
We cut to the "Winner" card.
Wiz: The winner is Blake Belladonna.
Original Track
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Composition
The track for this fight is "Thunder Shroud" by Brandon Yates ft. LadyIgiko & Tiggs. It is an intense orchestral rock track with vocals, implementing musical styles heard within both RWBY and Attack on Titan. The piano melody in the track is highly reminiscent of and based on the Attack on Titan opening "My War". LadyIgiko portrays Blake and Tiggs portrays Mikasa.
Title
The title references the weapons both combatants use (Mikasa's Thunder Spears and Blake's Gambol Shroud).
Cover Arts
The original cover art done by Luis Cruz depicts one of the Walls from the Attack on Titan series covered in flames that has Blake's Gambol Shroud and a flag of the Survey Corps lodged into it. Several large silhouettes of Titans can be seen approaching the Wall, reminiscent of the Rumbling. An animated version of the cover art with the camera zooming out from the Titans to the wall can be viewed here.
The cover art of the remastered version done by LaughingXenn (which was created for the track's remaster following Rooster Teeth's shutdown) depicts a horde battle between multiple Grimm and Titans in the Shiganshina District, which has been ravaged and set ablaze by the fight. The Titan closest to the camera is seen grabbing onto the surrounding Wall, which has Blake's Gambol Shroud and one of Mikasa's ultrahard steel blades embedded into it and stabbing Misaka's scarf. The title and artist credits can also be seen on top of the Wall.
Lyrics
[CHORUS 1: LadyIgiko & Tiggs] |
Trivia
Production
- The core connections between Blake and Mikasa are that they are both dual-wielding, acrobatic heroines and members of a team of monster hunters (Team RWBY and the Survey Corps, respectively) who wield specialized weapons that feature blades and long cables for agile movement (Gambol Shroud and the ODM Gear, respectively). Both were trained to fight against the monsters that threatened their worlds who used to be humans (Grimm and Titans, respectively) and were initially antisocial individuals, but grew to be more sociable and friendly over time, and are extremely protective of those they are close to. In addition:
- Both had a love interest with a similar past (Adam Taurus and Eren Yeager, respectively) who became much more extreme in their actions over time, forcing them to abandon and fight against them and their cults (the White Fang and the Yeagerists, respectively).
- Both have scars from incidents caused by said love interests (Blake has a scar on her hip from getting stabbed by Adam during the Battle of Beacon, while Mikasa has a scar on her face from Eren punching her in his Titan form).
- Both were born to races with unique natural abilities who were persecuted by the rest of civilization (Faunus and Eldians, respectively) and lived with them on island nations isolated from the rest of the world (Menagerie and Paradis Island, respectively).
- Both were also born to upper-class families (Blake is the daughter of Ghira Belladonna who's the chief of Menagerie and a former High Leader while Mikasa is a direct descendant of a shogun clan).
- Both have a close but complicated relationship with a male member of their race (Sun Wukong and Levi Ackerman, respectively).
- Both were also featured in chibi-style spin-offs of their home series (RWBY Chibi for Blake and Attack on Titan: Junior High and Chibi Theater: Fly, Cadets, Fly! for Mikasa).
- Coincidentally, Blake's voice actress in the Japanese dub of RWBY, Yū Shimamura, voices Annie Leonhart in Attack on Titan, a character who is known for being Mikasa's rival.
- In the Season 8 reveal trailer at the end of Hulk VS Broly, a clip of Annie (with only the cape of her uniform visible) was shown in order to tease Mikasa's appearance in the season. However, it's unknown whether this was a deliberate hint toward both Mikasa and Blake due to this connection between them or if the clip was simply mistakenly used to tease Mikasa due to her and Annie having the same uniforms.
- Both had a love interest with a similar past (Adam Taurus and Eren Yeager, respectively) who became much more extreme in their actions over time, forcing them to abandon and fight against them and their cults (the White Fang and the Yeagerists, respectively).
- Although Blake's official voice actress, Arryn Zech, is credited as having voiced Blake in this episode, only recycled voice clips of her were used in the fight.
- According to former researcher MaxOfFewTrades, this episode was originally planned for both Seasons 5 and 6. It got replaced by Optimus Prime VS Gundam in the former because the crew wanted to use Optimus Prime before Episode 100 and by Weiss VS Mitsuru in the latter because the crew thought RWBY Volume 6 would center around Weiss Schnee.[1]
- This fight makes a cameo appearance in Harley Quinn VS Jinx, as the scene of Blake swinging and Mikasa attempting to strike her from behind can be seen in the background during Harley Quinn and Jinx's teleportations while the two fight over Jinx's hand-held console in the rollercoaster cart they're in.
- For a brief period of time, the episode's thumbnail changed to one that used uncredited fan art of Mikasa by jezreelian10 on DeviantArt. It has since been changed back to the original thumbnail.
- This makes it the 19th episode where at least one of its thumbnails uses fan art, after Zitz VS Leonardo, Kratos VS Spawn, Bomberman VS Dig Dug, Vegeta VS Shadow, Chun-Li VS Mai Shiranui, Ivy VS Orchid, Fulgore VS Sektor, Godzilla VS Gamera, Deadpool VS Pinkie Pie, Metal Sonic VS Zero, Lucario VS Renamon, Raven VS Twilight Sparkle, Leon Kennedy VS Frank West, Nightwing VS Daredevil, All Might VS Might Guy, Black Canary VS Sindel, Beerus VS Sailor Galaxia, and Zuko VS Shoto Todoroki, and with the next four being Steven Universe VS Star Butterfly, Sauron VS Lich King, Frieza VS Megatron, and Rick Sanchez VS The Doctor.
- This was previously the final episode animated by Torrian Crawford, with him leaving Rooster Teeth for other projects afterward, though he had suggested on Twitter that he'd be open to coming back if the opportunity allowed for it.[2] He is slated to come back and animate an upcoming fight for Death Battle '25, having been the $425,000 stretch goal on the Save Death Battle Kickstarter.
- Up until Galactus VS Unicron, this is also seemingly the final episode to be animated by any members of the internal 3D team within Rooster Teeth, as all future fights would be animated by the Blender team formed for Link VS Cloud (2021) and/or DevilArtemis, starting with Saitama VS Popeye.
Easter Eggs
- Yang being listed among Blake's likes and her being referred to as a "less toxic partner" compared to Adam are references to the Bumbleby ship within the RWBY fandom, with the two officially dating almost two years after this episode dropped.
- Mikasa attacking Blake by rapidly spinning with both of her blades and being depicted as a circular, blue blur is a reference to a similar scene with Levi in Attack on Titan.
- The silhouette shot of Mikasa slicing off Blake's arm is a direct reference to when Adam Taurus does the same action to Yang in the RWBY episode "Heroes and Monsters".
Errors
- During Blake's introduction in the interlude, her surname is erroneously spelled "Belladona".
- In their clash on the structure Blake was reading on at the beginning of the fight, Blake and Mikasa's positions are swapped up twice. This is most noticeable when Blake jumps over Mikasa while shooting at her. The second time it happens is when Blake kicks Mikasa away in the direction of the roof the latter was on earlier, but Mikasa is then seen sliding on the wooden structure they were just fighting on.
- When Mikasa says "She likes popping those clones and attacking me from behind," her lip sync does not match.
- When Mikasa uses her spinning blade maneuver attack against Blake (14:08 in the YouTube upload), one can see the animation's frame counter on the bottom right of the screen.
- During the scene where Mikasa slices off Blake's arm, the latter's model disappears for one frame before re-appearing for the rest of the scene.
Other
- This is the second Web-Series VS Anime-themed episode, after Mob VS Tatsumaki, with the next one being Ruby Rose VS Maka Albarn.
- This is the second time the Web Series character wins, after Mob VS Tatsumaki.
- This is the fourth Hitotsubashi VS Kodansha-themed episode, after Zoro VS Erza, Natsu VS Ace, and Beerus VS Sailor Galaxia.
- This is the third time a Hitotsubashi character wins, after Zoro VS Erza and Beerus VS Sailor Galaxia.
- This is the 16th Females-themed episode, after Rogue VS Wonder Woman, Felicia VS Taokaka, Chun-Li VS Mai Shiranui, Zelda VS Peach, Ivy VS Orchid, Yang VS Tifa, Cammy VS Sonya, Amy Rose VS Ramona Flowers, Android 18 VS Captain Marvel, Raven VS Twilight Sparkle, Black Widow VS Widowmaker, Weiss VS Mitsuru, Black Canary VS Sindel, She-Ra VS Wonder Woman, and Batgirl VS Spider-Gwen, with the next five being Korra VS Storm, Harley Quinn VS Jinx, Scarlet Witch VS Zatanna, Phoenix VS Raven, and Ruby Rose VS Maka Albarn.
- This is the third episode whose track includes female singers, after Meta VS Carolina and Gray VS Esdeath, and with the next five being Harley Quinn VS Jinx, Skyrim VS Dark Souls, Gojo VS Makima, Scooby-Doo VS Courage the Cowardly Dog, and Galactus VS Unicron.
- This is the first episode to feature Tiggs in the track, with the next one being Galactus VS Unicron.
- Prior to the episode's announcement, Brandon Yates made a track for this matchup called "Titanic Shadows" as part of his "What If?" commission tracks.
- This makes it the first episode that received its own commission track before its release, with the next 15 being Goku Black VS Reverse-Flash, Jason Voorhees VS Michael Myers, Guts VS Dimitri, Bill Cipher VS Discord, Frieza VS Megatron, Gojo VS Makima, Galactus VS Unicron, Joker VS Giorno, Bowser VS Eggman, Kratos VS Asura, Master Chief VS Doom Slayer, Simon the Digger VS Kyle Rayner, Spider-Man VS Deku, Ruby Rose VS Maka Albarn, and Ash VS Yugi.
- This is the first one to be done by Brandon Yates, with the next 14 being Goku Black VS Reverse-Flash, Jason Voorhees VS Michael Myers, Guts VS Dimitri, Bill Cipher VS Discord, Frieza VS Megatron, Galactus VS Unicron, Joker VS Giorno, Bowser VS Eggman, Kratos VS Asura, Master Chief VS Doom Slayer, Simon the Digger VS Kyle Rayner, Spider-Man VS Deku, Ruby Rose VS Maka Albarn, and Ash VS Yugi.
- This makes it the first episode that received its own commission track before its release, with the next 15 being Goku Black VS Reverse-Flash, Jason Voorhees VS Michael Myers, Guts VS Dimitri, Bill Cipher VS Discord, Frieza VS Megatron, Gojo VS Makima, Galactus VS Unicron, Joker VS Giorno, Bowser VS Eggman, Kratos VS Asura, Master Chief VS Doom Slayer, Simon the Digger VS Kyle Rayner, Spider-Man VS Deku, Ruby Rose VS Maka Albarn, and Ash VS Yugi.
- This is the fifth episode where a combatant attempts to escape a battle, after Eggman VS Wily, Lara Croft VS Nathan Drake, Black Widow VS Widowmaker, and Sabrewulf VS Jon Talbain, and with the next four being Martian Manhunter VS Silver Surfer, Rick Sanchez VS The Doctor, Bowser VS Eggman and Shigaraki VS Mahito.
- This is the first episode in which the winner goes to fight an outside force after the battle (as Blake goes on to fight against a Titan), with the next one being Guts VS Dimitri.
- This episode reached #4 on YouTube's Trending page.
- This is the seventh episode in which only one combatant received a voice actor, after Mario VS Sonic (2011), Luke Skywalker VS Harry Potter, Eggman VS Wily, Hulk VS Doomsday, Lucario VS Renamon, and Crash VS Spyro, and with the next three being Link VS Cloud (2021), Boba Fett VS Predator, and Skyrim VS Dark Souls.