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About this blog

These blogs carry various editorials, articles, and essays.

Entries in this blog

"Twilight's Kingdom" First Impressions

What I liked: The battle. Seriously, the best part of the finale and quite convincing. Establishing continuity from It's About Time without being rammed over the head. In some capacity, addressing the elephant in the room: Twilight's lack of role as princess throughout this season. And the fact she has a title and new home gives her some purpose. Maybe come season five, the writers won't ignore it. (Come the season review, I won't give DHX a pass.) Referencing the keys and using them (plu
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"Equestria Games" Review/Analysis

So here we are. After over a year of in-canon hype, Equestria Games finally airs. It's a self-contained episode written by Dave Polsky (who previously wrote Daring Don't, Rarity Takes Manehattan, Twilight Time, and For Whom the Sweetie Belle Toils), who wrote one Equestria Games-centered episode once prior in Games Ponies Play. The ponified version of the Olympics offers a ton of creativity and interaction among different cultures, traditions, and characters. With plenty to experience and build,
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Because some people need to be reminded. <__<

I wrote this last year and beat the dead horse in my status, topics, and EQD's comment boards. But because far too many people continue to make this mistake, it's time to reiterate.   As far as the animation and IDW comics are concerned, My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic's market audience/target market is all ages. They're all-ages, gender-neutral, and family-friendly pieces of entertainment. Its base demographic is five-year-old kids regardless of gender, but its overall market includes old
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"Thomas the Quarry Engine" (Series 18, Episode 1) Review/Analysis

Author's Note: Just like my Friendship Is Magic episode reviews, I'll begin writing them for Thomas & Friends, starting with the season debut, Thomas the Quarry Engine. This one and four other episodes are released for the U.S. DVD, Trouble on the Tracks, on April 8, 2014.   Review bumped April 9 to feature the episode and cleanup.   As a longtime Thomas fan who stuck with the original seven series and eventually lost plenty of interest because of the really bad storytelling during
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"Sleepless in Ponyville" Review/Analysis (Revised)

Author's Note: This is a revised review for Sleepless in Ponyville. You can find the original here.   Have you ever told campfire stories? What campfire stories scared you the most? At some point in your life, did you ever get a nightmare so crippling, it affected your every move? Scootaloo knows that feeling, and Sleepless in Ponyville explores this. As Corey Powell's debut episode, she explores Scootaloo's perspective in twenty minutes full great characterization, a lot of humor, a well-don
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"Somepony to Watch Over Me" Review/Analysis

At the time, four new writers were introduced to Friendship Is Magic: Josh Haber, Ed Valentine, Betsy McGowen, and Natasha Levinger. For better or worse, they perform effectively enough to be mainstays in the franchise. (How many episodes McGowen will write, including one on her own, I don’t know.) Come Somepony to Watch Over Me, Scott Sonneborn — a writer with an extensive résumé, from Beevis and Butt-Head to Angela Anaconda to Celebrity Deathmatch to amateur porn — makes his FIM debut. Appleja
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This…will take some getting used to.

As a long-time Thomas & Friends fan, there are a barrage of great characters, some of whom haven't been explored so much.   It looks like one classic character will get some screentime: Toby's coach, Henrietta.   So what will take some getting used to? Click the spoiler.         And have a look at a Series 18 clip, the episode being "Not So Slow Coaches." http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V7b4OFJxi34
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"Twilight Time" Review/Analysis

Dave Polsky may be known for the controversial flare that’s been infamous in so many FIM episodes: Feeling Pinkie Keen’s poor use of language that resulted in the faith vs. science debacle, the Natives/White Settlers setting in Over a Barrel used as a gimmick for the moral, Too Many Pinkie Pies’s graphic ending, and Daring Don’t contradicting the purpose of Daring Do being a Dash recolor among other contrivances. But his strengths are usually his visual comedy and the timing. But when he writes
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Top 3 favorite/least favorite FIM episodes right now (Seasons 1-3 only)

Like my Micro-Series and Season 4 (first half) ranking blogs, this is my list of my three most loved and most hated episodes for each of FIM's first three seasons. I'm not ranking it from an objective quality perspective, but more how they impact me personally.   Time to begin!   (In case you're wondering, Equestria Girls is NOT on this list because it's not episodic. I would if I wanted to, but that'd be cheating.)     Top 3 Season 1 Episodes! Party of One: Prior to Magic Duel an
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From: Show us your voice!

http://vocaroo.com/i/s0QrOJqER5m7   Say hello to MY voice!   (I recommend lowing your speaker/earphone volume, I'm afraid. My voice can be a bit too "boom-y." ^^   ———   http://vocaroo.com/i/s1h12L0sYA7b Anyone want to hear my voice again, but with a slight, fake British accent? (Acting as if I was narrating Trouble for Thomas/Thomas and the Trucks.)   ———     Source: Show us your voice!
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DQ's MLP Micro-Series Ranking

Unlike just about every review I wrote, these are micro reviews, and they're going to be listed from most favorite to least favorite in a subjective perspective. This isn't a long, journalistic sandwich where I'm critiquing it from an objective perspective.   ———   1. Cutie Mark Crusaders (tie)   Pluses: The manga-style artwork fits in the franchise with a great contrast of light and dark. Plus, with the comic centering fillies, it has a very juvenile, upbeat feeling that would've looked
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"Simple Ways" First Impressions

As funny as the previews were, not all of it was that impressive.   Pluses: Great music, especially the romantic score. Finely done animation, for the most part. However, I still find Trenderhoof's snappy walking a little awkward, but that's just me. AJ's sarcastic accent is hilarious, and so is Rarity's southern voice (at first). Beside the "have-Spike-haul/push-a-heavy-object" scene, he was treated with respect and wasn't stuck as the flat comic reliever all the time. At the supportin
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"Rainbow Falls" Review/Analysis

Following two grand episodes in Rarity Takes Manehattan and Pinkie Apple Pie, Corey Powell was challenged to write the official script for Rainbow Falls. This is the second time Rainbow Dash is the central character this season (Flight to the Finish doesn't count, for she was secondary). Along with Fluttershy and Snowflake (Bulk Biceps officially), Rainbow Dash's trials to qualify for the Equestria Games with her team hits a grinding halt via a very lazy mess. Strengths: Derpy returns
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What is a fandom?

Lately, one thing I've been reading, including on here, is how they're fans of a product, but "not in the fandom."   Let me explain what a fandom is.   To quote the basic definition of "fandom": That's it. By being a fan of something, you are in the fandom by default.   You're a fan of a sports team? You're in the fandom of the team you follow and league operating under it.   You're a fan of anime/manga and the creative process of it in general (a.k.a., an otaku)? You're in the otaku/a
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One thing I really love about Pinkie Apple Pie

Besides Apples to the Core, if there's one thing I can't praise enough, it's the way Pinkie was characterized. She's crazy and zany, but some differences: Her humor and zaniness have a purpose. They're not random to fill in time. Her zaniness actually keeps her more grounded into the story. Compared to many other episodes this season, she's more toned down. There's genuine joy in her character. She's not always being happy and wild. Pinkie's a very complex character with a wide range of e
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"Rarity Takes Manehattan" Review/Analysis

After a string of episodes that weren't really objectively terrible, yet not objectively amazing, either, Rarity steps into the spotlight in Rarity Takes Manehattan. While it was referenced in Cutie Mark Chronicles, One Bad Apple, and Apple Family Reunion, it was shown only in TCMC. This marks its first appearance since then, and the scenery is spotlit more. In the first Rarity-centric episode since Sweet & Elite (and first Rarity-centric appearances in the official media since the Rarity mi
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MLP:FIM Season 4 Review (So Far)

Did you ever have to wait so long for something you waited for to be released? That's what most of the fandom did during the long hiatus between Seasons 3 and 4. Then, when released, people flocked to the TV screens and online streams to watch some new pony. I did the same and waited to see how McCarthy and crew handled their episodes. While there was plenty of good, plenty of bad pushed Season 4 two steps back, making this an incredibly average season so far.   Pluses: Very strong animation,
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"Just for Sidekicks" Review/Analysis (Revised)

Corey Powell (the newest writer at the time) started off splendidly in the factually fantastic Sleepless in Ponyville, developing Scootaloo’s character as well as Scootaloo’s relationship with Rainbow Dash, and it was her turn again in Just for Sidekicks. The idea of Spike petsitting the Mane Six’s pets was great and better with the the Cutie Mark Crusaders' randomness. Unfortunately, JfS contains one of the biggest flaws in the series: the incapability to characterize Spike consistently as a ma
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"Keep Calm and Flutter On" Review/Analysis (Revised)

As season three dwindled down, John de Lancie returned to voice Discord in Keep Calm and Flutter On. Fluttershy is the central character and pony responsible for “reforming” Discord from a chaotic, dastardly villain into a chaotically neutral character/mild antagonist. Conceptualized by Teddy Antonio and written by Dave Polsky, the path to Discord’s “redemption” made sense in some way, and there were plenty of clues leading towards it, all the meanwhile being contained via a very cramped pace.
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MLP:FIM fanfic adaptation of Thomas & Friends/The Railway Series: Book 0 Summary

Sometime ago, I posted a blog about developing a writing an FIM fanfic adaptation of Thomas & Friends/The Railway Series, which you can read here. While it hasn't changed, my plan is to reboot it and incorporate elements of The Railway Series and TV adaptation in the show. Like The Railway Series, there would be collections of stories, mostly up to four, within a Book. In the beginning of each book would be a letter from the author to the reader, similar to what Rev. W. Awdry and Christopher
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"Daring Don't" Review/Analysis (Revised)

Foreword: This is a rewrite of my old review. To see the old review, click to this blog (locked from commentating).   After a three-episode stretch that focused on the continuity to the letter, Episode 4 took a break in the form of "Daring Don't." Written by Dave Polsky, Dash anticipates the new Daring Do book to be released, only to be delayed. This leads Dash and her friends on a cluttered, unrealistic, and contrived journey.   Strengths and various likes: The nerdy moment Twilight and Da
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