Thrond

My Favourite Mane 6 Pony: Twilight Sparkle How did you find MLP Forums?: I was looking for a place to search for people to share a room with at cons. I didn't actually need it at the time, but it's good to know about. How you became a fan of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic: I had heard about it for a while and eventually decided to click on a clip out of curiosity. I was immediately hooked and watched through the end of season 2 to the present. Hello! Having been a fan of MLP since 2012, I've established myself as an episode reviewer. You can find my episode reviews at my offsite blog, although new reviews will be reposted on my blog here as well. One of my favourite things about being a fan is discussing episodes with other fans, especially on places like this where people sometimes offer detailed critiques and analyses. I also write fanfiction, primarily of the shipping variety. My current story is focused on SunLight, aka the greatest of ships, and involves Sunset Shimmer taking a summer vacation in Ponyville. You can find me on FiMFiction here. However, my biggest endeavour is my Twitter account, where I talk frequently about ponies as well as whatever other topics interest me. Aside from ponies, my main hobby is movies, which I also review at an offsite blog. I also have at least a passing interest in such things as television, video games, music, and board games, alongside other things. See you around!

I got to Ocarina fairly late, but it wouldn't even crack my top 5 for the series, which for me consists of The Minish Cap, Skyward Sword, Twilight Princess, A Link to the Past, and Tbe Wind Waker. Ocarina is great in its own right, but it was way overhyped for me.

After this week's episode, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic will go on hiatus. When the show went on mid-season hiatus last year, I published my thoughts on the season so far. For season 5, these thoughts were mixed, but I largely felt frustrated and disappointed by the season, which continued right to the season finale. Thankfully, season 6 is a marked improvement, and while it's still far from perfect, it's the first time since at least early season 4 that I have been happy with this show's direction. For all of its experimentation, season 5 consistently hesitated to take risks, and any changes to the status quo were things that wouldn't take effect until the next season. It frequently hobbled its ideas for a variety of reasons, most commonly either time constraints or an unwillingness to push into full-on drama. Season 6, meanwhile, has done a much better job of moving past the status quo, not only absorbing the major changes of season 5 but also fully exploring its ideas and frequently straying from the show's formulas. The season premiere neglected even having an overwhelming threat until the very end of its first half, and the vast majority of subsequent episodes have taken on fresh new structures. At first, this was largely in service of a renewed focus on character development. The season premiere was a slice-of-life episode that attempted to develop Starlight Glimmer and other side characters, while subsequent episodes like "The Gift of the Maud Pie," "On Your Marks," "No Second Prances," "Newbie Dash,' and "Flutter Brutter" all serve to either develop a main character or showcase their development. Compared to season 5, new character introductions are relatively infrequent, and in only two out of eleven episodes have they taken the focus away from the main characters. There's still a handful of lightweight episodes, but the more weighty episodes always emphasize characterization and character development. The last time this has been the case was season 3. Meanwhile, episodes with less focus on character development like "A Hearth's Warming Tale" and "The Saddle Row Review" still explore alternate structures to the show's usual formulas, and in addition, they play on changes to the status quo. If season 5 can be praised for one thing, it's finally introducing several genuinely meaningful changes to the status quo. While Starlight Glimmer hasn't appeared as often as expected, her presence still changes Twilight's role in the show, for better and for worse. Meanwhile, Rarity and Rainbow Dash have both achieved their dreams and reached celebrity status, and the Cutie Mark Crusaders are exploring post-cutie mark life. This changing status quo is often a basis for episode plots, and even just having it in the background makes the show feel more alive than it has in a long time. Even those characters who have remained complacent are being explored in clearer detail. Pinkie's connection to her family is explored further, Applejack gets a fairly comprehensive character showcase, and Fluttershy is finally showing off her character development. Yes, season 6 even made Fluttershy interesting again. On top of this, season 6 continues season 5's trend of showcasing underused character team-ups, most significantly the pairing of Rarity and Pinkie Pie which has occurred twice now. The recent re-introduction of the cutie map may actually be something of a mixed blessing in this regard, and if it's the only way that the writers can use fresh new pairings, then I might be willing to accept it. Still, it's disappointing that such a lazy plot device is still necessary, and even more so that the writers are completely unwilling to explore it in more detail. If it was given a little bit of backstory, it might seem less like a crutch. Especially exciting after the wildly uneven season 5 is that the worst season 6 has been so far is somewhat dull and uninteresting. Only two of these eleven episodes haven't been at least enjoyable, and even they have had their strengths. Unfortunately, the season still lacks a strong sense of direction, even in spite of more focus on continuing plotlines. While Starlight Glimmer, the CMC, and Rainbow Dash all have clear room to move forward, the show hasn't honed in on these subplots, and there's no guarantee they'll even go anywhere interesting. The season's biggest attempt at complexity in "No Second Prances" ultimately struggled under its own weight, and staunchly refused to take its more compelling ideas anywhere interesting, and the earlier episode "On Your Marks" similarly struggled to hold itself together and take its ideas somewhere worthwhile. Neither episode is irredeemable, and the season hasn't gone anywhere as complex since, but having hoped for a bit more complexity going in, seeing the show struggle so much with it is disappointing. This lack of focus is probably inherent to shows like this, and as much as I'd like to see more plot continuity, it's doubtful that My Little Pony will ever try this out, especially given that the network wants to be able to air episodes in any order. Unfortunately, this isn't the only flaw from season 5 that has carried over. While the trend of introducing new characters at the existing characters' expense has slowed significantly, it is still present, and the show still sometimes still makes the mistake of thinking that worldbuilding can compensate for a lightweight main plot. There are far fewer problematic elements than there were in season 5, but the show still occasionally stumbles in ways that lead to unfortunate implications. I've actually perceived these far less often than some other people, but neglecting the idea of hazing in "Newbie Dash" and casting white voice actors for Indian-inspired characters in "Spice Up Your Life" are problematic in ways that are hard to deny. And yet, this is still the most satisfying the show has been in years. In season 6, My Little Pony feels rejuvenated, thanks in no small part to an altered status quo, a greater focus on main character development, and a greater willingness to take risks. The alleged "exploring Equestria" theme feels misguided, but this far into season 6, the show has mostly kept its priorities straight, and the result is a legitimately enjoyable season with only a couple of subpar episodes. After sticking with the show even through its most tedious and frustrating seasons, it's exciting that, finally, the show is pulling itself together and daring to be satisfying again. This isn't my ideal MLP season, but it's a huge return to form, and that's good enough for me.

The map is back. I thought it was over. Season 5's pitiful excuse for a running storyline, the cutie map is nothing more than a poor excuse to get specific pairs of ponies in certain locations. The show has never questioned it, never explained it, and never explored it in any detail, and worse, it brings with it a deeply predictable formula which rarely provides any development for the main characters or delves into its settings beyond mere regional flavours. I hated it, and the fact that it has been brought back for another season of its horrors fills me with nothing short of dread. And yet, even though the map is a plague on this show, each of its episodes is better than the last. "Spice Up Your Life," while even more formulaic than season 5's map episodes, is also much more charming than any of them, and lovely in its own right. When Twilight and Starlight resurrect the briefly-dormant Cutie Map, Rarity and Pinkie Pie are summoned to the nearby city of Canterlot to solve an unknown friendship problem. While there, Pinkie discovers that she doesn't care for the subtle flavours of Canterlot's high-rated restaurants, and leads Rarity by scent to a struggling Indian food place, managed by chef Saffron Masala and her father, Coriander Cumin. Coriander is frustrated with the restaurant's lack of business, which Rarity accredits to the restaurant's lack of a rating, which itself is derived from food critic Zesty Gourmand's very specific preferences. Rarity and Pinkie immediately offer to prepare the restaurant to be reviewed. Pinkie, joined by Saffron, attempts to court guests, while Rarity, knowing Zesty's preferences, works with Coriander to ensure that the restaurant looks exactly like other high-rated restaurants. Pinkie and Saffron aren't so pleased with this, selling the restaurant based on its unique identity, which Saffron is very passionate about. From there, the episode proceeds very predictably. The showcase goes poorly, Zesty declines to rate the restaurant, and not long afterwards, Rarity and Pinkie realize they were approaching the problem incorrectly, and decide to use Rarity's fame as a platform to promote the restaurant. With the episode following the formula of these map episodes to the letter, it needs to provide subtle nuances in order to stand out. Unfortunately, although the Rarity/Pinkie dynamic is still surprisingly amicable and entertaining, the episode has very little depth, arguably being the least distinctive of these map episodes. At least season 5's map episodes, for better and for worse, strained for complexity. Thankfully, this is in part made up for by just how charming Saffron and Coriander are. Unlike new season 5 characters like Sassy Saddles and Limestone Pie, they don't have a whole lot of hidden depth, but their family conflict and briefly described backstory is reasonably interesting, and their personalities are very likable. In addition, the representation of characters based on minority backgrounds is a great touch of diversity in this show*. As much as I want My Little Pony to stop piling on new characters, these are yet more solid additions. Zesty Gourmand, meanwhile, is a clear hate sink, possessing no redeeming traits and existing in the story solely as a despicable antagonist. She's not particularly memorable, but she serves the job well enough. Unfortunately, as a reviewer, I am a little uncomfortable with what this episode's implicit anti-critic stance. The primary issue is that Zesty presumes to tell others what they can and can't like, and while I'm no fan of pretentious, arrogant critics, the fact remains that critics can save you from a poor experience, and there are plenty of legitimately terrible restaurants out there. I have to wonder if Zesty's opinions are actually popular, and who she actually works for. Does she work for a newspaper? Does that newspaper get frequent complaints? Or is it some sort of regional taste thing? This doesn't really matter, but it's unclear. At the same time, though, "A Hearth's Warming Tale" writer Michael Vogel imbues the episode with charm, crafting a strong cultural atmosphere in the restaurant and keeping the interactions between the lead characters endearing. As a result, the episode is consistently enjoyable, even without a whole lot distinguishing it. A lot of this really is down to Saffron and Coriander, who are likeable enough that it's easy to be invested in their plight. The unique Indian-inspired ambiance also helps keep the episode from feeling too stale, as does the still-fresh duo of Rarity and Pinkie Pie. Moreover, aside from the whole critic issue, this is the cleanest map episode to date. It's less ambitious, but it's also free from any real major issues, and although its predictability makes it less entertaining, it's still a very consistent, likeable story. What I find especially interesting is how Rarity's fame becomes important at the end of the episode. Right now, of the mane six, Twilight is a princess and both Rarity and Rainbow Dash are celebrities. While Pinkie Pie, Applejack and Fluttershy don't share the same level of fame, they're still national heroes, even if they're so rarely recognized as such. This acknowledgement of Rarity's celebrity giving her a stronger voice is very interesting, and having her use it to promote struggling businesses is a good showcase of her generosity. Meanwhile, Pinkie continues to have her accomplishments ignored, but I suppose that comes with having smaller goals. After all, at least some of the main characters have to have more modest ambitions. The episode also boasts a song called "It's Gonna Work," and as if the showrunners somehow heard my complaints about the previous episode's song, because this song has a very distinctive flavour which utterly embarrasses "Can I Do It On My Own" from "Flutter Brutter." Much like the restaurant, it has an Indian style to it, and while the instrumental is a little overblown, the tune is very fun and catchy. I might just be happy to hear a song in this show that doesn't sound like a remix of earlier songs, but much like the season premiere, that freshness just makes the song all the more exciting. "Spice Up Your Life" doubles down on the formulas of the map episodes, but it does so in a way that is consistently enjoyable, due in no large part to a couple of great new characters and a few small touches that make the episode stand out just a little from the pack. For the most part, the episode coasts on the charm of its lead pair and its new characters, but these prove to be more than enough, thanks in no small part to the delightful writing of Michael Vogel. Add in a distinctive song, and you have yet another solid episode of season 6. I've said it before and I'll say it again: It feels so great to be satisfied with this show again. *Since writing this review, I've discovered that Saffron and Coriander are voiced by white actors. That is highly disappointing. Is there some reason why they couldn't hire South Asian voice talent? The episode doesn't seem to be culturally insensitive, but this casting does cast a bit of a shadow over the episode, especially for a forgettably charming episode like this. If you're not even going to cast actual Indian people, is the Indian cultural motif a little exploitative? I don't know, but this casting choice is highly questionable. Additional thoughts from the thread: Source: S06:E12 - Spice Up Your Life