AlbaTross

I guess I prefer this one to the last Izzy episode, though it really seems to be retreading some of the same ground as a typical Pinkie episode in FiM. Heck, I'm finding more and more that Izzy is kind of becoming a character who's just going through the motions of being a Unicorn Pinkie. She has quickly gone from being my favourite mane character in the film to being more in the middle. If anything, she's somewhat of an embodiment of one of my main criticisms of G5 as a whole, so I suppose she's fitting for this series.

For me, it definitely seems to be going through the motions, but it's still missing a spark. I don't know if I can expect that spark to show up in this second attempt at a pilot, but at least the story this time seems to have actual stakes, I think, so there's that.

We'd have two shows that could stand on their own, without unnecessarily ruining one another. Too bad corporate meddling put a stop to such a crazy idea.

Yeah, I'm hoping that ends up being the case. In all likelihood I'll still end up regarding it as my second favourite MLP series, so there's that. I noped out of Pony Life after two episodes, and that 3D Pinkie and Rainbow Dash spinoff with no dialogue after maybe four episodes. I'm still following G5, so...I guess it's doing something...satisfactory.

I couldn't have said it better. We traded a gen full of imagination with interesting characters, locations, concepts, races, creatures and just general magic for a series full of memes and references to modern culture, and is sure to become dated before too long. Heck, is anyone even talking about any of it currently besides the Brony community? Maybe one day I'll understand why ANG is regarded as "amazing" in spite of it being average at best (and I'm being generous here), but I'm interested in the phenomenon all the same. My current theory is it's just current and trending, and people are swept up in some kind of hype, but I'll have to conduct more research. As for TYT, I maintain that it's fine, if inoffensive, though it can be pretty cringe at times. It's not my definition of amazing either, though I can go easier on it because I don't think it's trying to be. I'll still be dropping it before too long if MYM doesn't satisfy me though, as there's little reason to keep going with a series of shorts about underdeveloped characters on the promise of them becoming more interesting if that promise never comes to pass. I'll give it some time though, as there's clearly still a part of me that wants to like G5.

Hot take here, but they are my favourite characters in that film. At the very least, I find them more entertaining than the ponies. Hmmm...maybe it's high time I rewatch that movie. It's possible it would make a better point of comparison to ANG than anything from FiM for me (since there's no contest as far as I'm concerned). I'd probably at least end up liking the mane cast of ANG more, but I'd also probably take the witches of the G1 movie over that whiny manchild of a villain in ANG. I seem to recall that movie's plot has actual stakes too. I haven't actually read these comics as of yet, so I'm not entirely sure why you're bringing those characters up, but suffice to say, I haven't forgotten them.

In the long term, I won't avoid leaks, but I won't be seeking them out either. In the short term, I'm interested in whatever tidbits I can get, because I'm awaiting details that will make everything thus far worthwhile. I'm holding out hope that MYM can turn things around and make G5 something I'm excited for; it just seems like a bit of a fool's hope at this point.

I suppose making a show that's better than it has any right to be would do that. It's too bad G5 has yet to capture that magic. TV in general is in an odd transition period. Cable TV is becoming less popular in favour of streaming services. It kind of makes sense that Hasbro would want in on that. The problem is, the whole streaming thing is all still quite nascent, and it's also clear that Hasbro themselves aren't entirely experts on how best to produce a series made for such a service. I wouldn't say Netflix is the devil here either. I mean, of course they're going to take what they can get, so it makes sense that they would secure the streaming rights for a series like G5. It's a bit like snapping up Baltic Avenue IMHO, but it's better than having no properties. Hasbro has been working with them previously too, as they have had the streaming rights to FiM. At the time, Netflix was in a much better position, and it's still technically a household name, so I don't blame Hasbro for backing the wrong pony. Still, even a much more straightforward series would have run into some challenges given the circumstances.

My issue with G5 isn't how quickly it came out, although there are signs that the release schedule has been mixed up, somewhat. I definitely get the sense that TYT was supposed to come out sometime after MYM started. Nah, my issues are twofold: that it desecrates what FiM built up towards, and...that it just isn't all that good IMHO. Maybe it will turn out to be better once MYM starts, but I'm not holding my breath on that. Regardless, my thoughts would be the same whether it came out now or a decade from now.

A fitting tie-in for the property it's based on...I think I'll pass.

Yeah...as a fairly large fan of Rarity, it intrigues me that I have yet to develop the same fondness for Pipp, and...cringe that could be weaponized isn't the way to change my mind. I still think she and Zipp are my favourite characters in TYT, but that's not because I think they're particularly deep or anything. They just happen to be the characters TYT has focused the most on so far. In fact, I felt the opposite about them in the film. At least Pipp previously got a better episode...though MYM can't come soon enough, as that's going to be G5's chance to actually develop all of this cast into characters worth our time.

I'll also be surprised if that clip of Pipp saying "*squee* Ponies!" doesn't become a fandom meme.

I think the term "baby" was used to distinguish him from a mature dragon. Given that he still had a child voice throughout the series and seemed to have some child-like personality traits, he probably wasn't all that old. However, given that he went through two separate examples of what is presumably dragon puberty, one in the second season, one in the penultimate, I would probably consider him to be a pre-teen for the bulk of the series, maybe 13 tops later on, excluding the post-time skip scene at the end of the last episode.

For me this episode is the culmination of how I feel about G5 as a whole, so...I think it does its job. It's as if Hasbro took FiM, removed the bulk of what made it interesting, and replaced it with content that speaks to people of the current decade on a surface level. At least the movie is good at tricking the mind into thinking you're experiencing something with more depth...not that TYT was really trying to be that. Still, this episode is poor even by TYT standards. First off, we don't really need another Pipp episode IMHO. She's had the bulk of the spotlight so far, so it's somepony else's turn. Watch the next episode star Zipp, who is also overused...or maybe it's more accurate to say that the Pegasus sisters have received adequate screen time, and the others have been neglected. When does Sunny get a turn? Secondly, we previously got a much better Pipp episode, where she legit messed up and needed encouragement to complete a task. More than anything though, this episode calls extra attention to the fact that the awesome fantasy elements of FiM couldn't be further away, and we're stuck with a series about characters living a modern life, with modern things, that relies way too heavily on memes to try and sell it, I guess for those who think "man, I wish I lived in a world with cell phones and social media trends". Granted, given the reaction thus far to all things G5, it's clear that it's working on a good chunk of the fandom. So, I guess it's great for those who enjoy things like memes and references to modern culture. I have expressed that I'm ok with TYT not being all that deep to an extent...but this episode takes it too far IMHO. On the other hand, maybe it's the best episode ever, because it drops the act entirely and doesn't even try to hide how...sanitized this whole generation is.

In all fairness, I don't actually think TYT was ever meant to be any kind of main attraction. It's on the same par as the EQG shorts IMHO. The difference is, we had years of FiM, and even had years of feature length EQG films by the time those shorts started to hit (other than the tie-ins for Rainbow Rocks and Friendship Games). We could turn our brains off and watch shorts that aren't all that deep because we loved the characters. I think we can get there with the G5 characters but the film fell way short on developing them, and we still don't have the main series. TYT probably wasn't meant to be anything more than a tie-in to the actual show, and was probably meant to come out later, or perhaps MYM was meant to come out sooner. I get the sense TYT is just being aired now because Hasbro is behind on their intended release for MYM but really wants to give us something to keep G5 relevant. So...yeah, we're going to notice more when these shorts aren't all that special because none of these characters are iconic enough yet to carry them. Maybe that will change when MYM turns them into more dynamic characters (fingers crossed), but for now, they're just kind of ok, and at least for me, ok is not sufficient to cover for really lackluster content. With that said, TYT may still end up being my favourite thing to come out of G5 depending on how cringe future attempts to tie into FiM are...as TYT has none of that, and I think it's all the better for it, if for no other reason than that it renders TYT harmless.

As someone who's clearly not nearly as on board with this new series as most people seem to be (though is really trying to give it as much of a chance as possible), I think it's important to note that what someone else thinks about something should not affect how you feel about that thing. I've clearly explained why I don't like G5 as much as G4, but never once have I said that I don't think anyone should like it. If you like G5, then I'm happy for you. I believe this fandom has plenty of room for G4 Bronies, G5 Bronies, G4/5 Bronies (I'm sure there are plenty of fans of both), and Bronies who are into neither (it's possible there are some who are exclusively into even older gens, and that's cool too). I also think this fandom is at least 20% cooler when it comes to differences of opinion than some other fandoms. I cannot stress this enough, but don't take someone not liking G5 as a personal attack, and do not interpret that as toxicity. True toxicity is if someone were to mistreat you for liking G5, or if I were to be pushed out of the fandom for not liking it as much. If either should come to pass, that is completely uncalled for, because we are all people here and have the right to be treated as such. With that in mind, I don't expect I'll stop being critical of G5 anytime soon. However, if I were to list something I'm most looking forward to ("excited about" may be too extreme a term), I guess I just want there to be plot. I'm still not sure what the premise for this series is supposed to be, beyond ponies just living their lives after having overcome prejudice. I'm also both anticipating and dreading the point in time when there's finally payoff to the whole tie-in to FiM.

The thing is, the G1 characters were only given spiritual successors in G4, so that's why it worked. Characters like the ones you mentioned, and I'll even add Somnambula, aren't the same characters. Even if an argument could be made for a connection to G1, it's not a blatant in your face one. If you want to see a connection there, then great. I for one am content with G1 and G4 being separate, and see no reason to have to view it otherwise. G4's connection to G5 can't be interpreted in any other way. I don't mind subtle references at all, but ANG's references are anything but subtle. I did love seeing and hearing the Mane Six one last time, but we already got a sendoff at the end of FiM. None of it serves ANG in any way. Reminding me of that other series that I could be watching instead, over and over to the point of whacking me over the head with it may come with some sweet nostalgia, but at best none of it has any direct relevance to the story at hand, and in many ways distracts me from it, and at worst, it's a constant reminder that I could be watching something better, and it certainly does nothing to help me appreciate ANG as its own thing, which is what I really want from ANG: for it to be its own thing. If I want to watch FiM I can do that. If Hasbro wanted to start over, they should have started completely over, but of course they couldn't resist making it DLC to FiM when it really didn't need to be. I also really, really hate the implications this all has for FiM. My point with the Disney comparisons is that I think they did a better job at delivering on different aspects of MLP's film, to the point where it's kind of difficult to view it as anything but an inferior product, and it's certainly not my movie of 2021. Sure, there have been great Disney and Pixar films in the past, and that didn't stop me from appreciating whatever FiM was doing at the time, including when the 2017 movie landed, but FiM wasn't trying to be Disney either, so there wasn't really a need to make that comparison. People cite the Disney/Pixar experience as being one of the merits of ANG and I get the sense that's what Hasbro actually was going for. I certainly think it comes close enough in terms of production values...but I think it falls way short in execution. It's kind of like a Pixar film from a production standpoint, and in some respects it lulls even me into feeling at times like I'm getting that experience. It just misses the mark IMHO where it actually counts, bearing in mind that Pixar and original Disney films (not remakes) are almost consistently great, and I would be all for MLP trying to mimic that if the movie ended up truly capturing the essence of what makes those films work. The bottom line is, G5 works just fine if you don't analyze it. I made the mistake of thinking about it on a deeper level, but it's clearly not meant to be viewed from anything but a surface perspective. I'm supposed to think "yay, references" instead of contemplating the pros and cons of said references and what they do for the film and FiM, and I'm supposed to look at the admittedly decent 3D animation and just let that make me feel like I'm getting a Disney-esque film with MLP characters, or close enough. My reaction to tropes like dead parents is supposed to be "heh, that's so like a Disney film", and I should appreciate the songs as ear worms without really analyzing their quality or how they compare to what we got with FiM and EQG songs. In short, don't peek behind the curtain and ANG is fine. You're clearly holding on tight to that curtain to prevent me from opening it for you, in which case you're best off terminating this conversation and continuing to view ANG as a pleasant film. I'm not here to stop you. I'm simply saying it's too late for me to see things that way anymore. Yes, I do sincerely hope MYM fixes everything. It really shouldn't be in a position to have to do that IMHO if ANG did its job as a pilot, but here we are.

I've made multiple posts on the matter, so bear with me as I think it's finally time for me to collect all my thoughts on G5 thus far in one place, so TL:DR, seek out one of my other posts as I fully expect this to be a long one. I for one wouldn't care either way if it weren't for one thing: G5's forced tie-in to G4. If taken as canon, it desecrates Twilight's legacy, along with much of what FiM built up and worked towards. I am anticipating the point in time when one of the writers finally acknowledges the elephant in the room and salvages this plot point by turning it into something that isn't in bad fanfic territory, along with having some kind of payoff for G5. Yeah...FiM isn't the only series that suffers from this baffling decision by Hasbro; by virtue of being hooked up to G4 for some kind of unholy life support, G5 can never fully stand on its own. Not only is that development forcing comparisons to FiM even more than would have likely been inevitable, but we literally cannot talk about the lore of G5 without talking about FiM to an extent by virtue of G5's lore actually being G4's lore. On top of the above problems...nothing about the movie's plot needed that connection to FiM. The same story with the same setting, premise, characters and even story beats could have been told without the callbacks to FiM, so the connection has yet to have any payoff whatsoever. Heck, it's even more irrelevant in TYT, so it really comes down to whether MYM will actually end up using its connection to FiM in a meaningful way, and even then, we should brace ourselves for plotholes galore. I think the movie is...fine, at least on the surface. It has decent production values, and it goes through the motions of being a Disney/Pixar-esque adventure. I really don't think it's all that great from a story standpoint though, as it's essentially just the Hearth's Warming story all over again, minus the stakes (and the tie-in to Christmas). I don't think it works as well as a pilot as Friendship is Magic Parts 1 and 2, as even though it has twice as much time, it does even less to build up its world, and the framework of the story doesn't allow for sufficient development of the characters, nor does it give every member of the Mane Five their chance to shine/contribute to Sunny's mission. My theory is that it spent too much of the runtime trying to be a movie, including Disney cliches such as dead parents. Speaking of the film as a movie, while it feels kind of like we got the Disney/Pixar experience, Pixar came along once, and Disney proper came along twice in the same year to show us how it's really done. One could argue that ANG has the distinction of being a smaller scale story, but then Luca came along and provided a small-scale story about overcoming prejudice between two groups, and fostering friendships between said groups that neither side would really like, and I for one think it hit its mark a lot more. Encanto came along as a musical in a small-scale story that also deals with cracks between people (in this case a family) and the importance of understanding and unity, all while exploring the psychology of the characters it opts to focus on in a manner that makes them a lot more dynamic and interesting IMHO. Also, We Don't Talk About Bruno practically replaced any ear worms from ANG for me, and I think the waifus are better (SNS). Raya and the Last Dragon is probably the most imperfect of the three, but it's essentially the Hearth's Warming story spread out over a movie length that actually has stakes...and its own take on Windigoes for that matter. In this case I'll attribute it to convergent storytelling rather than it being an intentional knockoff. Also, Raya was actually put in a position of having to overcome her own prejudice, which is something that should have been the case for Sunny's arc. It's another story where different groups, in this case five, need to put aside their differences, and if they didn't, they would have been finished. The movie even explains what went wrong and why, and though it didn't use all of its main cast to perfect effect, they all had a decent amount of time to shine. I really got a feel for the world of the film over the course of the runtime, which it had to build up from scratch. Raya is in many respects the film I wish ANG was. I also think TYT is fine. I would say it's definitely better than Pony Life at least, and it's in the same vein as the EQG shorts. The problem is, I haven't been given enough time to really care about the characters, so...it feels to me like a series that should have come after we at least got some of MYM. I even get that sense story-wise, as I guess at least four of the Mane Five decided off-screen to live together? I don't recall that being established in the movie though, so I feel like I missed a story beat. All the same, it does develop the Pegasus sisters in a way that the movie doesn't, so props where they're due. It also avoids the sin of bringing up the connection to FiM, so I can at least somewhat turn my attention away from that while watching these shorts. They're not terrible for what they are; I just think they're meant to tie into MYM, so the merits for G5 are going to rest on that when we finally get it. At the very least though, my beef with G5 doesn't really have to do with TYT, and it may end up being my favourite of these new series as a result. As for MYM, and TYT...and ANG...I can't help but feel like the whole thing is being mismanaged. It would help if there was one name to identify the current MLP by other than G5 as running multiple series and calling them something different isn't doing it any favours, as far as I'm concerned. Neither series following the film has very good animation either IMHO, though I can live with both art styles and think there are much bigger hills to die on. I do think it's an extension of how many corners have been cut with the new generation in general though, even down to the 2D series also featuring half-cutie marks, clearly debunking that as a quirk of 3D animation so we can skip right to budget cuts as an explanation. Much of the problem with the managing of the various series could probably be attributed to the shift in recent years from shows being things viewed on TV networks to things behind subscription paywalls, with opportunity for YouTube as a means to reach a wider audience. It just feels as though MLP isn't making the transition well, as everyone involved, from Hasbro to even Netflix is clearly still trying to figure out the proper way to present such a series in this day and age. Such an issue likely has to do with streaming services still being more nascent than we probably realize, and if G5 came out a few years later, maybe we would have gotten a more coherent product, but here we are. So...yeah, I for one will be surprised if this new series has anywhere near the longevity of FiM, and for good reason (I'm in the camp that vastly prefers FiM). I would have no issue with it had it not been tied into FiM, but as it stands...that's a problem. In all likelihood I'll stick around in the fandom, but I may or may not keep up with current MLP stuff much longer if MYM doesn't help turn things around.

Oh, goodness I almost forgot about Pony Life, mostly because I didn't watch it after seeing two episodes and noping out of it. There was also a series of shorts in a 3D art style starring Pinkie and Rainbow Dash along with somepony else from the Mane Six, where they didn't speak, only grunted, and just kind of did things archetypal to whatever character was the focus. Even though I've always felt I could watch the Mane Six for hours just living their lives, that series put me to sleep, so I dropped it after about four episodes. I've seen six episodes of TYT and will likely keep up with them...for now. So...yeah, I guess it gets a point for being better than those other made-for-YouTube shorts.

True. That's clearly one area in which Hitch is going to take a backseat though, as anytime there's a moment depicting home life he will be absent due to being at his place, or at work. Oh well, I guess it is a huge step having a stallion in the Mane Five regardless, and it might take time for that dynamic to be fully explored, so for now, it's possible the mares will have a slight bit more of the spotlight in spite of all five making up the Mane Cast. Yeah...that would go a long way towards making the world of G5 seem more lively. I highly doubt it will ever reach the awesomeness of pre-apocalypse Equestria, but maybe seeing more of the other locations, especially Bridlewood which was kind of neglected in the film, would help.

I suppose I should give a more thorough analysis of TYT from my perspective. I will say, the Pegasus sisters have really been given their time to shine here, whereas they got the short end of the stick in the film, and they have quickly gone from being my least favourite Mane Five characters in the movie, to my favourite characters in these shorts, go figure. I like that while they clearly have different interests and lifestyles, but due to being sisters who have grown up together, they seem to understand one another in a way that nopony else can, and are able to use that to encourage one another. On a side note, I also like that this series acknowledges that Pegasi would have difficulty figuring out flight now that such an ability has just returned to them, which could have easily been swept under the rug, like what will probably end up happening with Unicorns now having magic. As I really dislike G5's connection to FiM, I'm thankful TYT is unlikely to acknowledge any such connection. As a result, if the upcoming Netflix series doesn't work for me, I might end up preferring this spinoff. I can still get some enjoyment out of it as a turn-off-my-brain type series, so it has that going for it, even if I don't think it's all that special. I also fully expect that as the series progresses, other Mane Five ponies will be given more adequate time in the spotlight. These shorts are sure to continuously change up which character is the focus. It just happens that currently, the Pegasus sisters are the ones who have had the most spotlight...even more so than Sunny, come to think of it. From a production standpoint, the low budget animation doesn't bother me so much. Of course, the ponies still sport Cutie Marks on only one of their flanks, which I guess debunks the theory that it's a symptom of full cutie marks looking off in 3D animation. It's just lazy, plain and simple. Well...that and an attempt to make various toys look less lazy. I definitely prefer FiM's 2D art style, but it's not as though I find these shorts to be eyesores. This series looks adequate enough for me. It does its job.

Agreed. I really don't get G5 from a story perspective, and it's not looking like it's faring much better from a marketing perspective. FiM was just FiM to start with. It ran a two-part pilot that continued forward as a series of 22 episodes, which is how TV shows usually start. G5 has a movie that acts as its pilot, a differently named series of YouTube shorts, and will soon finally be getting a proper Netflix series...with yet another title. Moreover, I still don't feel as though the characters have quite been developed enough yet to the point where I can just mindlessly binge a bunch of shorts starring them and have as good a time as I did with FiM and EQG. A series of shorts feels like something that should have come later, not before, as if dessert is being served as an appetizer, so maybe that's why it feels flat to me, and it certainly doesn't make the current generation of the franchise easier to follow. True. FiM had a TV network behind it. Maybe G5 is just the victim of coming out in a time when streaming culture is taking over. YouTube is a platform used to drum up interest in all manner of things, so why not? I would even go as far as to say that it's currently more relevant as a platform than Netflix is. Sure, Netflix is still a popular subscription streaming service, but it went from being relatively uncontested to having a lot of competition, and Disney + has all manner of things from Marvel and Star Wars, to even having both The Simpsons and Family Guy! Prime Video is also becoming quite the competitor, snapping up much of what Disney doesn't. Stranger Things 4 can't come soon enough for Netflix, and I really don't think MLP G5 is the kind of series that will push Netflix subscriptions. So...I kind of get turning to YouTube to reach out to a wider audience, i.e. kids on tablets. Yeah, come to think of it TYT is that kind of series. No wonder it doesn't come across as being all that deep. Still, it might also be G5's chance to drum up interest in a series that's otherwise locked behind a Netflix subscription.

Hot take here, but I think Hitch has especially gotten the shaft in this new show. Hitch was the logical, down-to-Earth, voice of reason in the film, and so far he hasn't been that in this new series. There was one time when he was given the opportunity to give advice, where he felt more like a supporting character than a Mane Five pony, and it was prefaced with an unnecessary gag of him tying himself up with the cord of the phone at his desk. Between that, and the first episode, where I think he was portrayed as an airhead along with Izzy, Zipp and Pipp in order to give Sunny the opportunity to be the logical one...and I think he's been done dirty. This latest episode gives Hitch some much needed time in the spotlight, but...I don't actually think it developed him in any meaningful way. Not only is he a bit of an airhead again for not ensuring all the Unicorn traps are taken down, and again for not remembering to the end how to disable one, along with getting trapped himself in another one...but the bulk of the episode just amounts to him thinking he is doing a bad job as a tour guide, only to be told "no, you're actually a good tour guide". I suppose it's an extension of Zipp and Pipp trying a thing, failing, being discouraged before somepony else encourages them, leading them to more or less succeed. Hitch's thing just feels less important, I guess, not that the stakes are very high in any of the cases. Heck, it's not even established that Hitch failed, so much as he just thought he did. More importantly though, none of it seems to be of any real consequence to Hitch as a character. I get that TYT is the more lighthearted series that isn't trying too hard in the character development department, but yeah, I think Hitch has especially gotten the shaft here, maybe along with Sunny too, and Izzy to an extent. I will say, where the Pegasus sisters got the short end of the stick in the movie, they seem to be getting the most of the spotlight in so far in this series. I know it's an ongoing series, and the other ponies might get more focus later on, but...yeah, I don't actually think Hitch has been used to good effect as of yet even after seeing this latest episode.

I'm not all that bothered by the quality of the animation TBH. It doesn't need to look as good as the film, as long as it does its job of looking kind of like it. Besides, given how...simplistic...the animation for Tell Your Tale is, I'll take it. Nah, there are other hills to die on, and plenty of other ways in which this series likely won't live up to the legacy of FiM. You know what? I'm looking forward to it so I can say I've given it a proper chance, and then I'll more than likely make a thread to the effect of "help me like this", name pending.

Well, Tell Your Tale certainly feels like a budget series. The ponies even still have their half-cutie marks, which debunks the theory that it was a symptom of going with 3D animation in the film. The animation style also just feels...basic.