If you haven't noticed from the text below, the reviews are getting a revamp! For the best, of course. I will only now be doing episodes which I either think are amazing which were not well-received, or episodes I didn't like that everyone else seemed to. Which means that even though I loved Magic Duel, and would love to talk about it, I won’t due to majority of the fanon liking it. Judging by what I'm reviewing now, you can probably tell this won't only be consistent to episodes.

Luckily, I've already been attacked for my opinion on this! So obviously we’re in for a treat with controversial opinions! Yay!

Animation

As I suspected, the animation in this is superb. The effects are nice, and it’s almost up to show quality.

Almost.

Well, you weren't expecting it to be up there, right? Like I said, still superb. Even the simple difference in between dimensions are appreciated and the simplistic thought animations are always lovely. In fact; one of my favorite points of the show in the season two finale.

Plot

For as good as the animation is, and that obviously being a large plus for the whole thing and most of the point for it being made, the plot is... Well... Not good.

First of all, in the beginning we see Rainbow being a jerk. Stealing what Twilight has been working on for almost her entire life.

Rainbow Dash is not this much of a jerk.

I mean, come on! Rainbow may be competitive. She may be a jerk sometimes. Heck. She may be the meanest pony we see on a regular basis as a protagonist. But, as established in season 3 (See Sleepless in Ponyville) she also cares about her friends. She is also the element of loyalty. So why is she acting like this (Spoilers: It’s bad writing.).

Next, there’s the pacing. At about the 20 minute mark, Rainbow suddenly goes into another dimension! The Powerpuff Girl dimension...!

Uh... Hi?

I understand this is a fan made thing. But: This was worked up more then any episode from the actual show, per obvious reasons. So, if you are giving it a break because of that, you aren’t critiquing it well.

On topic: How does that even work?! Is it cute? Yes. Is it funny? Meh. Does it make sense? Lolno. It isn’t explained, at all. You can give any reason, but unless it’s clearly stated, your reason is invalid. While I nice premise, it’s executed so poorly, and so late that there’s no point. Especially since more then half the episode is just Rainbow flying around Ponyville. Cos why not?

Oh, and it’s resolved far too quickly. Rainbow really doesn’t have to deal with it.

Not to mention, if Twilight could have just remade the potion, why was it such a big deal Rainbow used it?

Also; a heads up for any fanfic writers or someone who wants to make something like this, centering around a single character does alienate your potential fans. Highly.

Humour

Eh. It appears I’m the only one here that didn’t laugh. Once. Like I said before; some bits are decently funny. Emphasis on the decency. Maybe it’s due to me not having watched PPG or not having watched ANY shows from Cartoon Network (We don’t get the channel standard where I live), but that’s no excuse. You should never just rely on references for humour.

For example; remember when Loki came down in his weather balloon? (Obscure reference FTW!)

If you know what I’m talking about, that’s funny. If you don’t, you’re confused. Highly. And just because everyone is laughing around you, doesn’t mean you find the thing they’re laughing at funny as well.

Conclusion

Firebolt! You’re not allowed to have a negative opinion on a fan made pony episode! How dare you?!

Well, I am being harsh on it, as everyone else is being far too nice to it.

Still; it’s not the best thing ever, or what it was worked up to be.

Watch it, as you’re missing out if you don’t. It really is a nice work even if just for the visuals. If you hate bad plot, however, then you won’t be having a fun time, as Double Rainboom does not follow a simple plot diagram.

Not good, not bad, Double Rainboom get’s a 5/10, being nice to it due to being fan made.