ShadowPhoenix

It would be nice if the CMC interacted with somepony other than their sisters, like in Season One. Apple Bloom in particular had a nice dynamic with Twilight and Pinkie and it was such a good idea (at the time) for Fluttershy to babysit the CMC. I've always found the combination of Rarity and Rainbow Dash to be more entertaining than Rarity and Applejack because than it isn't just predicated on polar opposites. The time has always been opportune to let Twilight and Applejack star together, preferably an emotionally-driven story because they have always been the leaders of the group and the most level-headed. I liked the brief interaction that Starlight had with Fluttershy in The Cutie Map so more of that please. Pinkie is always welcome in a combo but she needs more interactions with Fluttershy and Twilight given that she and Rarity have more or less caught up after Seasons 6 and 7. The Spike and Starlight combo is a literal goldmine and needs to continually appear.

I opted for Twilight. She was absolutely amazing in Celestial Advice, A Flurry Of Emotions, Fame and Misfortune and especially A Health Of Information and Once Upon A Zeppelin. Sure, she felt a little weird about the friendship retreat in All Bottled Up and a little stalker-ish in A Royal Problem but she takes the cake because despite Starlight's consistent performance throughout various standout and secondary roles in the likes of the aforementioned A Royal Problem and Shadow Play, she was a little bogged down by the actual quality of All Bottled Up and To Change A Changeling and as incredibly sweet as Uncommon Bond was, it felt reminiscent of The New Adventures of Winnie The Pooh for some reason so she's on par with Fluttershy this season for me.

If it helps, they're even cuter when paired together.

Ok, the dice has been rolled for the amazing Season 7 and is seems that this time the screentime deficit goes to Fluttershy and Applejack, so more of them please. I hope Twilight and Fluttershy share the spotlight again, something about their dynamic just clicks (A Health Of Information). But other than that, this season was very well balanced. I do hope they consider letting Applejack, Rainbow, Rarity, Fluttershy or Pinkie solve the two-parter for a change instead of Twilight and Starlight continually spitting out the solutions. Do that if they want to continue the trend of evolving the show as they have done.

Sorry to revive a dead post but after browsing these pages related to Rarity's magic. With recent information: It turns out that in Issue #49 of the comics, when they are on the run from the Accord-infected ponies, she teleports herself and Starlight a short distance. Rarity restores the gardens of Mistmane's home, a place overrun by weeds for god knows how long in about 10 seconds. Apparently, she has fired magical laser beams against Tantabus-induced creations, Changelings and even the foundations of a giant water tower with Twilight to put out a fire. So apart from being able to repair stuff, magically levitate a store full of dressmaking supplies with perfect precision, summon a fainting couch from home to the middle of a field in Lesson Zero in seconds, yes I think magically underrepresented. I'd wish they do more with her in combat because magically-wise, she's proven capable and yet never seems to use it and the last time she went full physical was A Canterlot Wedding. Oh yeah, stop citing that bit about unicorns only able "to use a bit of magic related to their special talent" from Boast Busters, that is clearly outdated and it was in the formative episodes of the show, a polarizing one at that. She definitely has the potential and ability to learn and execute more complex magic so she should. Along with Rainbow Dash, she's my favourite so it would be nice development and have nothing to do with fashion for a change. Fashion is one of her core tenets but it should not overshadow what she could potentially bring to the table. I mean the only action-related thing she contributed during the movie was tying up some Storm Creatures with a ribbon and she shared that with Capper. I guess Fluttershy suffers from the same problem in that regard. An episode about her embracing the fact that she's a reasonably powerful unicorn and picking up new skills would be interesting part of a future episode.

8.5/10 It's a very packed film for 99 minutes so the constraints of lack of development for the new characters (Storm King) is largely self-imposed. Fluttershy is severely under-utilized and Rarity contributes deceptively little. The narrative is really good but possesses a few of the same weaknesses as the show. All the VAs, even the guest celebrity voices, give everything they've got, especially Twilight and Pinkie who give standout performances. The scope, dialogue and atmosphere are all polished but the pacing is very quick. The songs and animation itself are stunning and as I discovered upon rewatching the film, it is laden with surprising emotional poignancy throughout. For some reason or another, it feels like something was being held back because with some fixes to the run time, this film could reach a 9/10 so I can hope for an extended edition. Bottom line: It's a whole lot of fun with wit, charm, effort and depth with a seamless transition from the show and deserves to succeed far more than most of the animated fare this year that is unmissable for a fan but for a casual movie-goer, this film should place at 7.5-8.0/10.

Finally, I was able to see it. I loved it, the animation and songs were stunning, the voice acting, atmosphere and emotion were sublime and the fast-paced nature kept this movie from ever being boring. Though some of the story beats fell to the same weakness of the show, particularly Celestia, Luna and Cadance being subdued without putting up a fight, everyone had good dialogue, especially Pinkie Pie. The criticism levied against Applejack and especially Fluttershy being criminally marginalized is warranted as is the off-screen climax where Twilight somehow manages to out-manouver the Storm King (wtf?) in the tornado but notwithstanding his limited screen time, at least the Storm King possessed adequate menace and Grubber was not nearly as annoying as I thought he would be. If ever there existed a film that needs a director's cut, it's this one. As the prequel comics and the concept art book have illustrated, so much more could have been done to flesh out Capper, Celaeno and her crew and especially the Storm King but given the runtime they opted for, their backstories were cohesive and tinged with just the right modicum of mystery that may just invite you to uncover more. It was a great shame that they shelved the travelling montage as the concept art is breathtaking and only serves to show general audiences the grand scope and sheer splendour of Equestria. Also, I was surprised with the lack of action for Fluttershy and Rarity, those two have faced and beaten much worse than some stupid Storm Creatures so contrary to popular belief, ironically this film could have used longer action scenes and more violence, if A Canterlot Wedding and Twilight's Kingdom are anything to go by. Overall, My Little Pony: The Movie had its cake and ate it. I've given this film due consideration both as a fan and an outsider and its only real flaws are its runtime and the fact that it felt it was holding back majorly but it is a testament to everyone involved in the production that ultimately, despite these, this film was a bundle of fun, beautifully encapsulated the spirit of this franchise and easily stands among the top tier of animated films this year for an easy 8-8.5/10. Disregard Rotten Tomatoes' 46% and 39%, avoid IGN and Hollywood Reporter at all costs and the inundation of shitposters and trolls that have percolated seemingly everywhere. It's legitimate.

Twilight and Applejack episode Starlight and Spike episode Celestia and Luna's past as a spiritual sequel to The Perfect Pear Check up on Star Swirl and at least one of the pillars A musical episode (Rainbow Dash or Rarity this time) Coloratura Applejack solo episode without her family or Sweet Apple Acres Diamond Tiara Marble Pie and Limestone Pie Earth Pony/Pegasus main villain (probably won't happen this season) Celesta/Luna saving the day Anypony except Twilight/Starlight/Spike saving the day More comic tie-ins Maintain this season's quality Badlands/Fillydelphia

1. Rainbow Dash (absolutely every time she sings, but especially Time To Be Awesome) 2. Fluttershy (Music In The Treetops, So Many Wonders, Silent Night) 3. Pinkie Pie (Pinkie's Pride, One Small Thing, Smile Song) 4. Applejack (The Seeds Of The Past, Days Gone By) 5. Twilight Sparkle (Winter Wrap Up, The Failure Song, I've Got To Find A Way, Love Is In Bloom) (tie) 5. Rarity (Rules Of Rarity, Becoming Popular, Generosity) (tie) They all have absolutely incredible singing voices. Rarity has the operatic quality, Twilight and Applejack both have clear head voices and unadulterated emotion, Pinkie Pie has versatility, Fluttershy has the mellifluous tones and the killer range but Rainbow Dash has all the above in addition to raw power.

I'm saving Part 2 for tomorrow, but from what I've seen, this is the best first half of any of the finales, quite the accomplishment, considering how good Twilight's Kingdom, The Cutie Re-Mark and the first half of To Where And Back Again was. It was so refreshing to see the rest of the Mane 6 being used properly in the resolution.

7 tops, even if I haven't seen the finale yet. Stylistically, the show has improved itself over the course of seven seasons with major tonal shifts at the commencements of Seasons 2, 3 and 5. Each of these saw the show steadily improve in terms of pacing, snappy dialogue, humour, variety, narrative and maturity in themes, which greatly aids in the show's longevity. Till this day, I maintain that if Season 3 had been 26 episodes long, it would have matched the great Season 4 in terms of quality, with only the episode of Spike At Your Service seeming off to me. It launched the first of three fantastic CMC dream episodes with Luna and tried something innovative with Just For Sidekicks/Games Ponies Play. Season 5 surpassed all seasons that came before it with a huge influx of noteworthy premises, a huge animation bump and a cavalcade of continuity which was seen through by Season 6, although the latter has the advantage in fixing Spike, slightly better map episodes (especially, Top Bolt and Viva Las Pegasus) even if The Cutie Re-Mark outshines To Where And Back Again. Season 7 is truly something else. It has by far the best usage of side and background characters to tell a cohesive story. It had recurring motifs and elements across multiple episodes with the most effective usage of foreshadowing. There are few things indeed to criticise this season and it only goes to show that this is one of the few shows, let alone animated series, that can not only sustain its quality but outdo itself over the years. I predict that Season 8 will be around the same quality, if not slightly better.

I want to see a Pegasus or Earth Pony villain for a change, with one of other Mane 6 sans Twilight Sparkle primarily being instrumental in their defeat.

Fuck no, Cartoon Network can't even treat its own Adventure Time and Steven Universe right and overran the finale of Regular Show with a marathon of Teen Titans Go, and this is coming from someone who has never even seen nor liked any of the aforementioned. The show would be swamped by mediocrity and screwed over eventually.

Spike, when utilized as a supporting character, his acerbic, earnest and upbeat personality bounces off everypony else.

Rotten Tomatoes pegs the film at 55% with a rotten rating, Metacritic is too harsh in general and there is a disproportionate number of 1/10 ratings from iMDb, the latter scarily being the most credible out of the three. At least the audience reviews for RT is still 88% but from the response I've seen the film yield so far, I am disgusted that RT dished out a higher critical rating for Despicable Me 3 and Minions. The film hasn't aired in my country yet but I feel that the critics are setting too much stock by the stigma surrounding the MLP franchise and find it's presentation/narrative and comedy style/tone alien which is why so many them find it so off-putting. Their preconceptions are not enabling them to appreciate the film's merits on its own, with the worst offenders such as IGN, Slate and surprisingly Roger Ebert, reek with the juxtaposition against The Emoji Movie or that sinking feeling that they left the theater early. I wish the box office was better too. $15 million currently...

That's great to hear. I'm sticking to the official release dates and after viewing the fantastic Once Upon A Zeppelin this morning and hearing your comments about the final four, I'm certain that this cements Season 7 as the best one yet.

Yeah, this movie won't air where I live until November, which at least allows me to view the rest of Season 7 first. I've heard the tremendous soundtrack whilst avoiding spoilers with a 10 foot pole. The Rotten Tomatoes score of 57% is nothing short of insulting, given the feedback from the audience, I do not even need to watch the film to know that it does not deserve to be deemed 'rotten'. I expected the score to break 70% at the very least. At least the audience rating of currently 90% proves that the critics have not aligned their expectations to the premise, style, let alone demographic of the movie and are letting the stigma that still hangs around this franchise dictate their reviews. IMDB's score of 7.2 is reasonable if a little on the low side and I'm not even going to consider Metacritic's 41 because Metacritic is absolutely brutal to all media. Given that I'm someone who usually sets a lot by the Tomatometer, I'm disappointed with the 'professional' critics. Roger Ebert's review is murky and depressing, IGN's is nonsensical and that one guy who compared this to The Emoji Movie should be fired. This film deserves dignity at the least, and now more than ever, I am inspired to pay top dollar for the best available/premium seats if they are available when the time comes.

Not just the US, but the entire world can easily be written, adapted and superimposed into the nigh-utopia of Equestria. The varied delegates who showed up for the Equestria Games, the village of Somnambula, the Daring Do Adventures, the Legends of Magic, the Yaks, and Coriander Cumin and Saffron Masala prove that somehow, the show has managed to incorporate the best of Planet Earth into a continent.

Holy fuck, this was clever. Everything, absolutely everything, fit lock-and-key. A very subtle response to a hackneyed switcheroo plot and the secondary and primary characters were utilized absolutely expertly all with their moments to shine and fantastic emotional and moral resolution. This is a prime example of storytelling rich in detail and depth with a simple premise. Rarity's responses throughout were somehow dramatic and measured at the same time, showing how far she's developed. The Mane Six came up with some truly ingenious ideas and support along the way, including the metaphor about being squeezed by a lemon and the subtle call back to Steven Magnet. The episode defied expectations when Zecora came in at the close of the second act to dismiss the magical solution of another potion, forcing the story in another direction while the photo shoot plotline remained in the background. There were a lot of gems throughout, including Bon Bon buying flowers, Rarity and Pinkie being unaffected by the creepy eyes in the Everfree, Zecora's regaling of mane disasters, Rarity's expressive movements while she was shrouded in the black cloak, the daring move to have a time-jump of a few months and the general usage of the background characters Storywise, this is undoubtedly the winner of the season. As a whole, It Isn't The Mane Thing About You is up there with Fame and Misfortune and The Perfect Pair as contenders for the best this season. Episodes like these only serve to prove that Season 7 is distinctly different from prior seasons and is successfully getting even bolder and better. This show keeps getting better and better.

Pear Butter: "Are you making me choose?" Apple Bloom: "Then you came here because you're sorry and that you wanted to get to know us, too?" Grand Pear: "I'm... so sorry. I-I-I was just so angry, and... well, I-I never..." These lines, the song, and the tree got me. I haven't shed tears since Tanks For The Memories and Crusaders Of The Lost Mark.