Thrond

I (mostly) like him fine as a writer, but his work as the story editor leaves a lot to be desired

He's a crappy replacement for McCarthy.

I feel like I'm in the minority in this, but I think the story direction in season 6 is a hell of a lot better than in season 5. I mean, it still leaves a lot to be desired, but I'm not sure what can really be done with this show's restrictions.

@Number62 No I'm not too worried about the lifespan thing anymore, Twilight being an alicorn is weird but honestly pretty cool. It just never seemed in those first two seasons like Twilight had any interest in being a princess; I honestly believe she became Celestia's student solely to learn about magic. 

I think Twilight being a Princess was poorly executed, TBH.

I know she was a “Princess of Friendship

but she never *really* felt like a Princess to me.

@AlexanderThrondI was against Twilight being an alicorn because I felt that there were too many by that point, and I didn't want the show to keep adding more just because it could. Then I figured that Twilight being an alicorn could open up opportunities for the show to talk about them, but too bad that's not what we got.

As for Twilight wanting to be a princess, you're right in that she hardly aspired to be a princess. Maybe she could eventually find a reason to be one, or maybe she'll realize that's she didn't know that's what she wanted. I feel like they could make it work if they're smart. Overall, I do also agree that the show didn't give much of a reason for her to be a princess. And I doubt there was anything Twilight could actually learn from Celestia.

I think more subtle approaches are possible, but the crew on the show just aren't capable enough.

I mean, Twilight and Discord could do something random, and either one of them could learn something from the experience without an intention to learn or teach in the first place. The first thing that comes to mind with that kind of premise is a vacation episode or something similar like if Discord wanted to hang out with Twilight. I don't know if Twilight would ever go out of her way to do something with Discord, but I could be wrong.

@Number62 Admittedly I don't know why anyone would go out of their way to do something with Discord. Sometimes I don't even understand why Fluttershy tolerates him. 

Still... I kinda wish he got a chance to annoy the rest of the mane six. 

Aren't we all though?

no

Damn forse hucker. 

@Lambdadelta This season is massively exceeding all of my expectations. I am thrilled with it so far. 

@AlexanderThrond So what's your best episode in S9 so far? Mine is 200th episode, that ep is amazing.

@Lambdadelta I really liked the one about Twilight returning a library book.

Rushmore I reacted less to, but perhaps a second watch would improve it in my eyes. I do like that movie, mind. 

It was back when his unique style was more toned down but it still had that unique blend of drama, comedy and just a general quirky atmosphere. I think it’s his most balanced film from a tone perspective honestly. 

That’s probably fair, but to me that makes it slightly less distinctive.

Aw, come on. This is mane 6 adventure that people keep rambling about, an exciting, fun, cute adventure, isnt that you want, FUN?! You finally can take a break from 'Starlight show' to have a true adventure that mane 6 come together since S5 premiere, now you just being cynical about the movie isnt even aired yet. The trailer is fine, that cat still weird to me but its fine, nothing suggest it will be bad story or anything...

@Lambdadelta I'm just not feeling these trailers so far. Maybe the movie will surprise me with some decent jokes, but to me adventure stories aren't inherently fun, and so far nothing has set my expectations very high. I worry it'll be a bunch of unsubstantial, derivative noise, because that's what Lionsgate is trying to sell me. 

Also: I might not like Starlight, but mane six-centric stories haven't been that much better in recent years. I've never been one of the people begging for a mane six adventure; I like a few adventure episodes, but I tend to prefer the show's slice-of-life stuff. 

@AlexanderThrond As long as the characters stay true to themself and be entertaining, adventure or not, it's still enjoyable rides. Some celebrities are distracting but its a movie to attract worldwide audiences, to expand the franchise (profit) so it's not that bad, IT WOULD BE REALLY BAD IF THE MOVIE FAILED, and i dont want mlp suffers from financial failure.

Anyway, if you love the show, go watch the movie and enjoy it (if it not suck, but you have to believe). I dont know whether this movie can come to my country or not... 

@LambdadeltaI agree, I miss the really good 2D Disney animations such as The Lion King (yes I loved Toy Story as well, but I don't find the aesthetic as appealing.) It's part of what drew me to MLP in the first place (that and excellent fan art.)

@AlexanderThrond They're different certainly. Maybe a bit 'softer' around the edges? (I don't really do 'arty talk.') 
How long is it going to be? I assumed ~90 minutes, although I haven't been actively paying attention so I don't know. I don't think the length matters that much as long as they can move beyond the 20 minute mark; if EqG shows that they can tell a story that matches the time available then there is hope. And I think, or maybe I hope, that they have enough skill to suitably subvert directives from on-high and make a film that does justice to FiM.  

@Once In A Blue Moon I'm gonna hold off on criticizing too much until I actually see the damn thing, but there's something off about it which I just don't like. 

IMDb lists it at just under 100 minutes, which is almost double the length of the Equestria Girls films. To be fair, though, I rarely felt those movies needed to be shorter. 

Not gonna lie, there is stuff which makes me wonder about the degree of executive meddling, including that comedic villain sidekick and the introduction of bipedal characters. 

That Stitch-like character could be the downfall of that movie  He could be a really annoying character like any villain sidekick.

I think what he really came to understand was that ponies were instrumental in forming his values, and even if he found were nicer dragons than the frat bros he came across, it would not render his sense of belonging with his pony friends any less "right." A little silly to have him learn that through contrast with frat bros, though.

Oh come on, how can these episodes can be worst than Mare Do Well? Spike didnt do anything wrong and Fluttershy just snapped after being a doormat for long time. For me, the episode can be tied and worst than Mare Do Well is Mmmmystery Express.

At least neither of those feature several pointless scenes of a single character embarrassing themself.

There's plenty to like, it has some great episodes, but I don't feel they do enough to bring it up, especially since some of the show's lowest points come from S6 alone

@Kiryu-Chan 

I know a lot of people don't like "No Second Prances" but that episode made me a Trixie fan.

@Kiryu-Chan I guess I should have phrased this differently - it's more like a trend in my own opinion. I recognize that me liking seasons 6 and 8 and not liking seasons 5 and 7 is not the majority opinion. 

And I think that's the problem. Aside from "Bloom and Gloom" and "Crusaders of the Lost Mark," which both deal with the issues of children, my favourite episodes of the season are the more lighthearted ones. Season 5 took itself so seriously so often that every little issue was more pronounced, and every risk it refused to take couldn't hide under humour or charm. It was always so full of itself, and yet there were only a handful of small moments which broke the mold, and many stories were still overly simplistic and somewhat dumb in spite of that. Season 5 bores me, at least when it's not annoying the crap out of me, and I almost never felt it was justified how seriously it took itself. This show is not willing to do what it needs to be "adult," and when it loses the childish appeal, there's no reason not to watch a genuinely adult show instead. It might even be halfway entertaining. Season 6 is an improvement in almost every way because it gets back to what made this show appealing in the first place. 

Not necessary agree with you about the last statement but i can agree the tone shift of S5 can alienate you . Hum... Maybe you and me had different expectations for this show, so our opinions are so vastly different  

Ok let put this discussion for another day, let see WHAT MADE OF SEASON 7, to me, I want it to be much more improved compare to S6, because the good chunk of episodes didnt reach 80% of my satisfaction, too "kid-friendly" and predictable  

Hope S7 will have more "Oscar bait" episodes...  

Please... anything but that. Anything. I'd rather have much more casual slice-of-life, much more sitcom-y episodes like "The Saddle Row Review," and much more of Rarity and Rainbow Dash's careers. I want them to screw around with the format more, and I want the balance of humorous to serious episodes to stay heavily in favour of humour. I liked the direction season 6 was going in, so with a bit more polish and more specific directions for all the main characters, I can imagine season 7 being especially satisfying. Just... anything other than the show taking itself so seriously again. 

This season? “Sounds of Silence.” Last season, “Rock Solid Friendship” was the one which really bugged me.

My complaint in “Sounds of Silence” was that it didn’t fit the rest of the tone; with “What Lies Beneath” was that it basically forced character development to happen; with “Molt Down” was that it made Rarity and Zecora damsels in distress. 

Only real peril in SoS was that the two ponies would be forced into the stream - given at that point we already knew the process was reversable, that isn't much of a peril (but gave Autumn Blaze a chance to be the heroine anyhow)

I don't mind a bit of excitement to help the plot along, provided an 11 year old wouldn't be genuinely upset by it. In that, I think WLB went too far, and could give young children nightmares (while by contrast, the other dangers characters have faced are sufficiently unrelatable that viewers are going to just be waiting to see how they get out of it, rather than actually scared)

you might see it differently of course.

I just didn’t feel that sudden spike in intensity was necessary there, and it also annoyed me that the Kirin would just force them in against their will. It was just very jarring to me. 

Alright, that's good to hear. I'll see when it comes to YouTube. 

the CYOA Wake Up has a pretty funny moment when Pinkie gets Sunset to experience a sugar rush

@Kiryu-Chan I kinda felt like that was an extension of Pinkie being funny, though. Coulda been anyone else doing that with her. 

@Them's Seeing Ponies 

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Pinkie doesn't function the way the rest of the six do, and I think the writing staff struggles with this nowadays; they want to prove to the peripheral fandom that they're pumping out an emotional and 'mature' series, but they can't use Pinkie in the same way, nor can they replicate the brisk, comedic Craig McCracken-esque style that fit Pinkie so well in the earlier seasons. 

It's the fault of Pinkie character design in the first place that hinder her future character development, or... the incompetent of the writers? Every original cast in early seasons is some cartoon archtype characters you can find in TV Trope, Fluttershy is the shy one, Spike is the butt-monkey, Rarity is fashionista etc then eventually, they changed to something more than what stereotype define them but still keep their charms. What did they do to Pinkie? They made her the best character in Pinkie Pride then make her stupid in Filly Vanilli (the episode right next to Pinkie Pride), and they were written by the same writer, that shows how they handle Pinkie. Maud used to be a joke character just to add dry humor to the show, and look what she is now, a rock specialist, befriend with Starlight, she loves her sister but can get tired of her shit sometime, got a boyfriend and smile more than often, that's the progression, what are their excuses? She isn't even the main character!

In the movie, Pinkie can work in comedic and dramatic moments just as fine as everyone else, I dare to say she is one of the best part of the movie (and I even dare to say she should be main character of the movie instead of Twilight Sparkle). If they cant make her funnier, then make her deeper. If you want a character grow, put them into a tree and throw a bunch of rock at them, keep doing that and it will works. Throw a reality checks to a happy-go-lucky character can strengthen their character, but I think the writer afraid of throwing any rock, remember Yakity-Sax? Status Quo is so unbreakable in season 9.

In short, I blame the writers.

@Lambdadelta I was trying to point out that it was more the incompetence of the writing staff than Pinkie's original design. I think there's more potential for Pinkie than the staff seem to realize; it's just that I think they're using the wrong approach instead of expanding her character while staying true to her Faust-era traits (which was a fun-loving optimist as seen in episodes as late as Pinkie Pride and Lost Treasure of Griffonstone as opposed to a flat hyperactive figure, which episodes like Yakity-Sax seem to interpret her as). While it depends on opinions of how the later seasons have handled the cast, I feel the writers have basically sunk into a rut with Pinkie, as if they're unsure on how to move her forward without a concrete 'goal' to achieve (the same applies with AJ - notice how they spontaneously introduced a goal for Fluttershy after seven seasons largely to create this sense of progression). Not to say she hasn't budged an inch since the pilot - Party of One and Pinkie Pride are both excellent examples of Pinkie development as both challenge her philosophy (the kind of conflict that Pinkie needs most to develop, as she lacks any long-term ambition to head towards) or, as you said 'throw stones' at her current flaws, whilst allowing her to maintain her essence of optimism and conveying a fun story simultaneously. However, the departure of writers such as Meghan and AKR seemed to have damaged Pinkie significantly as well, as the later writing team began to interpret her more as a generic 'wacky' character with huge emotional canyons (think her reactions to 'losing' Maud or taking criticism in Yakity-Sax), which stalled her progress even further than the McCarthy seasons (which I still like, but Pinkie's character in her non-focus episodes feels more awkward than the earlier seasons to me). 

I also understand your points about season 9. I suspect the writers want to give each cast member a kind of send-off, but the actual material they've released suggests that they're running dry of ideas for the six and resultantly resort more to ticking the boxes (Cheese Sandwich returns? Check!) than crafting a satisfying story or taking risks. It's a problem I've had with some of Haber's work in the past, but it seems more conspicuous here than usual thanks to naturally heightened expectations. 

@Them's Seeing Ponies

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By comparison, the show in S4 and beyond began to shift its priorities away from comedic slice-of-life capers into an attempt at a more full-blooded and moralistic fantasy series, which, while it works at least adequately for the rest of the six, simply didn't work all that well for Pinkie, as the show's focus now lay onto 'big', dramatic character moments and emotional scenes as opposed to comedy.

I never really felt that Pinkie stopped being funny, to be fair; I even liked the moments that annoyed other people. 

But yeah, she’s been subject to (in my opinion) the most baffling instances of the show contradicting itself, like “Yakity Sax.” I thought the show was still doing right by her as late as season 6, but these three latest seasons have just had nothing for her. This show makes writing for these characters seem like a Herculean task, even though they’re rich enough that the episodes should write themselves.

Personally I don’t think this approach works well for the rest of the mane six; it’s okay for Rarity and Rainbow Dash, because those two work best when they have something specific to worry about, but without the abundance of comedic digressions from the early seasons, they all feel simplified. The best moments in this show are still when we learn something new about the characters in a tossed-off gag, and that’s less frequent now. 

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they want to prove to the peripheral fandom that they're pumping out an emotional and 'mature' series, but they can't use Pinkie in the same way, nor can they replicate the brisk, comedic Craig McCracken-esque style that fit Pinkie so well in the earlier seasons. 

...sometimes I think this show needs to lower its pretensions sometimes and focus on the aspects of itself that work the best inherently.

I’ve felt this for several years now, and I truly believe that many silly episodes from earlier in the show are more mature than the serious stuff that came later. It honestly surprises me that this take isn’t more common, but I guess people who share my opinion don’t stubbornly cling to the show years after its peak.

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It's a problem I've had with some of Haber's work in the past, but it seems more conspicuous here than usual thanks to naturally heightened expectations. 

I find it ironic that Haber is such a weak story editor, because I think his writing is often very good. I think he “gets” the characters, but it sometimes seems like he doesn’t really care if anyone else does.

@Lambdadelta

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In the movie, Pinkie can work in comedic and dramatic moments just as fine as everyone else, I dare to say she is one of the best part of the movie (and I even dare to say she should be main character of the movie instead of Twilight Sparkle).

The movie might actually be my least favourite Pinkie Pie appearance ever. She was just noisy in that. 

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but I think the writer afraid of throwing any rock, remember Yakity-Sax? Status Quo is so unbreakable in season 9.

In short, I blame the writers.

I think the show has trended towards making the characters more boring since season 4; often, the only new angle they can come up with is some kind of job change. 

I wish this season had more of the friendship school. That was such a breath of fresh air.

Negative connotation?

I'm just saying that "everycreature" feels awkward to say compared to "everyone" when we already have "everyone" as a word to include anycreatureone of any [insert difference here], which includes species in their world.

They even said "everyone" at one point in School Daze -- making it even-more glaring.

@meme "creature" is often used as an insult in our world. Make of that what you will. 

Depends on the model I guess. The flight models in flightgear are reputedly very accurate indeed, except for some of the "joke" models like the flying saucer (well, they MIGHT be accurate I guess )

Yeah, I dunno, I just enjoy the image of Rainbow playing sports games and trendy shooters on one hand, and then this complex flight sim on the other. Then again I dunno if human Rainbow is all that interested in flying. 

Had a look though the hangars, and sadly, no wonderbolts model set

War, death, danger, mayhem, destruction etc all of them are definately scary in real life and i dont want them happen to me, and everyone else of course... butttttttttt~ we can enjoy them in fantasy world, that why wars related video games were born, right, we love exciting stuffs, and Guardian of Harmony toyline are desighed to attract boys because our characters are armed like military with spears and armors and i think they are best pony merchandise  and i will buy it if i have money  Warlike toys are made for boys because boys like military stuff right!?

Any war related content in the show will definately attract male audiences, and is it not a good thing? I know a lot of people loves Sombra future the most in Cutie Remark because it features wars and military.

Bronies definately love the show for what it is but i know their inner masculinity want something more from it 

Maybe this isn't what you're saying but I definitely don't feel the show should have more macho stuff in it. It certainly brings intensity, but in cases like "The Cutie Re-Mark" I also find it rather boring. Plus, I just don't think it'd be right for this little girls' show to incorporate elements of a stereotypical boys' cartoon, and I definitely don't want it to pander to a male audience with violent content. This is a children's cartoon for girls! 

I just feel like making the Wonderbolts a military unit makes Rainbow's dreams about more than just flying, and I feel like that's an unnecessary complication which the show will probably never dig into. 

Too late, they already did that with Twilight Kingdom, it changed the Bronies fandom, set the new "standard" for this little girl shows. I dont think it is the best finale ever but a lot of people do, the Dragon ball Z fight scene is like a "fuck u" to anyone who say this show is for girls only, when my parents asked why i dont watch anything more "manly", i showed that scene to them ;). Take that, anti-brony!!!

About Rainbow Dash, i dont know what coming next for RD because she is already a Wonderbolts and she can flight along with her idols already, her story arc is officially ended right? What next? She will replace Spit Fire and... oh my god... she will become a lousy sergeant and then become a extreme nationalist lol. I predicted RD will become a legend like Firefly, she will be an  famous officer in military. 

Welcome to Call of Duty: Wonder Warfare...

@Kiryu-Chan 

I think Gen 5 is starting things with a clean slate.

I don't expect it to be a retread, because then ending Friendship is Magic would feel totally pointless. 

If the story is good then why not?  

@Lambdadelta I mean that’s true, but there’s so much other great television I could be catching up on.

@AlexanderThrond Personally I think it's fine in forum post as long as the abbreviation is explained/glossed the first time it is used, though I can understand why you wouldn't like it. Personally, it just really doesn't bother me as long as the person explains it the first time they use it in their post plus which tv show it belongs to, though that's just personal preference. Also, I'd kind of expect it the opposite way around because forum and social media posts are a lot more casual than article and blog posts were you'd expect it to flow well and I suppose to be more "professional" to an extent. An abbreviation would work less well in those scenarios in my opinion compared to a forum or blog post.

I sometimes jump into a forum thread without reading the earliest replies, which would deprive me of some context. I think in journalism and academia you're supposed to use shortened titles, for instance: "Crusaders of the Lost Mark" --> "Lost Mark" rather than "CotLM," which is just confusing. But you can usually expect someone to have read all the preceding sentences in those cases. 

@AlexanderThrond Ah, good point.

You mean visuals?! Not impressive as i thought it would be but still pleasant to see. Its too... colorful  made it more 'childish' than ever...

I hope this movie can be released in my country so i can buy a ticket ;3

I dislike the visuals, but the trailer is also too loud and frantic. Not really what draws me to this show. 

Pretty forgettable trailer, obviously looked like they wanted to promote this movie like a Hollywood blockbuster action film, but this is not Transformers. I don't like the visuals either..

@AlexanderThrond You make a very good point there. 

This reminds me of a critique that goes something like, "There isn't much wrong with it, but there isn't much right about it, either."

It's also too easy to focus only on the flaws of something. I mean, I do that all the time with MLP.

@Number62 Yeah, it works both ways. Being relatively problem-free doesn’t make something interesting, just as having issues doesn’t invalidate what something does well. 

I used to enjoy the funny faces, TBH.

Now it feels like the animators are in a competition to be the "meme of the week/season". 

I've heard about this one for a while now. Sounds like Twily was hideously out of character which automatically makes me hate it.

@Kyoshi It's not weird or anything, it's just her being overly obsessive without the empathy that usually grounds it.

I'm particularly interested in this after how great all the parent-focused episodes of season 7 were. 

Definitely. I was very glad to see all of them were pretty good, it'd be a big shame for the main six's parents to be introduced in bad and unenjoyable episodes, so I'm glad all of them were pretty good.

One of season 7's redeeming qualities for me, though I've mostly liked what the show's done with the mane six's families since season 5 or so. 

How i figure it is, Moondancer only really had one friend, that being Twilight. She attempted to come out of her shell, so to speak, and have a party. She hoped Twilight would attend. So she got angry/upset that Twilight didn't attend. Now, i don't remember why Twilight skipped the party, i forgot that episode for the most part. But what I said above could be why people liked the episode

I never got a good feeling for why Moondancer considered Twilight a closer friend than any of the other ponies who existed around her. 

Well, They were both in the same class, and both were in a group together. Also, both of them were/are pretty smart. So theres that idea

Using magic for her problems is like an instinct for Starlight, you cant get rid of it anytime soon, Starlight is fun when she use her magic like Pinkie do 4th wall, the difference right now is whether her intention is good or just personal gain, they are different.

Part of the issue is that I don't find her misuse of magic funny. I find it a slight bit disturbing. 

It look like we have to agree to disagree about this part, because our definitions of entertainment  are different