The Recherche
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Blog Comments posted by The Recherche
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1 hour ago, Sparklefan1234 said:I like Tempest Shadow but the humor is not good at all because (almost) every joke feels like product placement.
And many of the other jokes were dated memes or references. Hearing Rarity say "I simply, cannot, EVEN!," or the mole creature saying "Heeeere's Verko!" was insipid back when the film debuted, but even moreso now. Shrek was indeed a great movie, but the influence it had on animated movies to come has been dubious. Even in attempting to be charitable to the movie, the best thing I can say about it is that it is an extended Season finale with spruced up visuals, but even that belies just how bloated the movie feels.
53 minutes ago, Megas said:The sad part is that the MLP Movie wound up getting was better than the one Sony pitched in the Sony leaks a while back.
I don't dislike the movie, I saw it when it was in theaters when it came out and I enjoyed it, but sometimes I feel I should have watched Thor Ragnarok instead. It's one of those movies that really feel like it shouldn't have been in theaters, it was like a glorified season premiere/finale
Now that you mention it, I would say that basically every one of the Friendship is Magic films felt like made-for-TV movies. The first Equestria Girls especially, with the short length, and how vapid the premise and plot were, but every other movie afterward still never felt like a 'cinematic' experience. The 2017 movie at least felt the most like one, but that's just because it aped a lot of animated feature tropes. The visuals didn't hurt either; in spite of how drab they are, I do at least appreciate that it was a 2D animated movie, which are a dying breed these days.
I am unfamiliar with the leaks you are referring to though; I only knew that Scorpan was supposed to appear in the movie somehow. I will have to look into that.
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1 hour ago, Tacodidra said:
What can I say... I meant to post some comments (mostly based on my thoughts from a few years ago) and it ended up becoming an essay of its own.
Maybe if I ever write a review of the show myself, I can use these ramblings as the basis for that. 
Awesome work – I was looking forward to this, but I never expected anything this detailed and inspiring!
I am glad that you enjoyed it.
It was quite the undertaking, but it was well worth it, I would say. And I am pleased that you had this much to add!
As for everything you added in your own little essay...
SpoilerIn spite of the ribbing I gave Season One, I do still think it is enjoyable; it tends to just compare unfavorably to most of the others seasons, with only Six, Eight, and Nine being exceptions. The main thing that carries it is the charm, I would say. Even among the rest of the series, Season One feels especially unique. On the subject of Show Stoppers though, something that caught me off-guard the further I got into the series was how much I enjoyed the CMC episodes. Not all of them were great, but their story overall proved to be among the best in the series.
I do think that I hate Mare Do Well less than most, but this is another one of those episodes that hindsight was not kind to. Rainbow Dash always did have something of a callous streak to her, but Mare Do Well exacerbates it badly, and worse, makes her friends play mindgames with her to teach her a lesson. It's not the worst episode ever I don't think, but it is uncharacteristically mean-spirited by the standards of the show up to that point. Ponyville Confidential is somewhat similar, in that it is more cynical than the average FiM episode. I believe the reason it works for me there is that the Crusaders were shown to be a little conflicted initially, but still kept spreading gossip against their better judgement, culminating in Ponyville not wanting anything to do with them. I actually did hear about the E/I rating of Season One, regardless. It does explain some of Season One's worse moments, even if not excuses them.
I do think that Season Three's poor reputation is earned, in spite of my affection for it. Wonderbolts Academy specifically is easily my favorite Rainbow Dash episode, only tied with Parental Glideance, but it doesn't make up for the fact that a good chunk of the season is overall middling. Even though Season Three's best episodes were really good, stuff like One Bad Apple and Spike at Your Service just shouldn't have existed.
Somepony to Watch Over Me is an odd one. I don't hate it actually; its main issue is that it is a cringe comedy that more or less doesn't land for me. The rest of it is honestly fine, and the Chimera was indeed cool. Twilight's Kingdom is very cool as well, albeit another episode hurt by hindsight thanks to Discord. To be honest though, my favorite part of the princesses singing You'll Play Your Part; it's among my absolute favorite songs in the entire show's run. My affection for Leap of Faith is most likely due to the mentioned parallels with Wonderbolts Academy; it is obviously not quite as good, but it is nice to see the Mane Six be committed to their elements, even when it stands to make them lose something. It is just inherently a good conflict, I would say.
Me disliking Slice of Life is indeed among my hotter takes. I don't loathe it at all, but I tend to dislike "meta-humor" a lot these days, mostly because of how much I see it overused and/or misused. If nothing else, Slice of Life has very good pacing; it's a random events plot more or less, but it is never boring. I actually saw Brotherhooves Social and Crusaders of the Lost Mark in one sitting, and it was an amazing time. They both made me unreasonably happy, especially back-to-back.
With episodes like those, I don't blame people for getting choke up by Friendship is Magic in general.
No Second Prances is pretty almost decent I would say, but what pushes into not-very-good territory for me is Twilight's behavior. Not necessarily because she is wrong to be skeptical of Trixie, but more because her untrusting behavior turns out to be correct more or less; Trixie was indeed using Starlight to get at Twilight initially. Season Six in general surprised me with how many truly great episodes it had, actually. The thing that seriously hurt it was those handful of truly loathsome episodes. Cart Before the Ponies specifically might be may least favorite episode of the show, down there with Newbie Dash and Fame and Misfortune. Starlight Glimmer... is honestly a whole other can of worms though.
One I will likely cover by itself at a later date.
Season Seven overall was a great surprise, really, especially after Season Six fumbled so hard. I actually don't even hate the fact that Fame and Misfortune is a sort of fandom parody episode either; not per se at least. My primary issue is that I do not like it when fandom discourse gets this close into the show; not only is it immersion breaking, it forces one to think about all of the controversies that surround the fanbase. if anything, Fame and Misfortune is perfectly right to be miffed that people complained about Twilicorn or Fluttershy's character repetition. But professional works should just not do this, I would say. Sonichu does this kind of thing, and almost any writer should be above that. Despite all of that, Flawless does have a good beat to it, even if the lyrics are silly.
I actually believe I can join you in saying that the Student Six were an overall decent addition to the series. I would have liked them a lot better had the Pillars not just been introduced, and if the Friendship School idea was a bit better conceived overall. I think the idea of Twilight spreading friendship to the other sentient races of Equestria is a winning one, it just required a bit more diligence, I would say. I actually thought Cozy Glow was fun as well; at worst, she is a fun change of pace from the epic, kingdom-conquering, mighty villains of the previous seasons. She is also the only one who used the memefaces well, since it is actually appropriate for her character, being a two-faced schemer. Season Eight was indeed rough around the edges, but I think I like it a little bit more than the average MLP fan.
The Equestria Girls specials overall were actually a very pleasant surprise for me. I would even say that they are better than the movies overall; none reach the highs of Rainbow Rocks, but Forgotten Friendship comes very close, and the specials overall are just a bit more consistent in terms of quality. They didn't get a proper ending, sadly, but they proved that Equestria Girls was not some sort of fluke that should have been forgotten. What I am saying is... your Sunset Shimmer avatar is an excellent choice.
I don't believe you missed much of anything in Rainbow Roadtrip, actually. I think that it just appealed to my tastes particularly well, Spike absence aside. The whole special is appealingly simple, but it can also be seen as rather mundane and unexciting. it is entirely character interaction focused, with no villain in sight, which lead to a very relaxed, wholesome atmosphere that I enjoyed quite a lot. There is not a whole lot TO it I would say, but its central theme, aesthetics, and overall charm make me like it quite a lot.
My big takeaway from The Beginning of the End was just how fake it all felt, really. Sombra's character being completely unlike his past portrayals, Grogar being all-talk and no action, all of the references to past episodes, the melodramatic tone, the Princesses FINALLY showing up to help in a major crisis... and they spend their time blowing up weeds, not defending their capitol. The whole thing just feels farcical, even before the Discord reveal. In spite of all that though, The Last Problem was indeed a lovely ending, warts and all.
One thing I will say is that, I am actually not all THAT fond of most of My Little Pony's villains. Discord, Tirek, and Starlight Glimmer are the only ones I would say that I truly like. Others like Cozy Glow and the Shadow Pony have their place as well, but they never truly had much of a screen presence, I don't think. Even so, I really don't think their importance can be understated. Discord alone is among the most popular characters in this show, and there is a reason the Twilight VS Tirek showdown was as popular as it was. The arc villains provide just enough of an edge to make the show not only fun, but even exciting at times.
You are very much welcome, regardless!
Ouch, my fingers are tired now.
Jokes aside...
2 hours ago, Tacodidra said:And as an end note, I definitely recommend checking out all the shorts! You'll get my favorite MLP song of all, some great moments with the humans (and sometimes ponies)...
And then there are the clip shows that at least have a few minutes of new content. A little more of that pony magic to enjoy. 
I will likely get to those one day soon enough. I believe I may be Pony-d out for the time being though; too much of a good thing, and all that. I will take you up on your offer soon, regardless!
1 hour ago, Megas said:Kinda shocked to see this one rate a bit low. This is usually one of the first episodes I can recommend to anyone interested in the show, and it's a story I think a lot of fans can relate too lol
This is indeed one of those episodes that I was conflicted on, when it comes to ratings. The only reason it slipped to not-that-good territory for me was that I simply didn't enjoy the Daring Do portion of it, even if she was still a fictional entity at this point. It is a bit too on-the-nose with the Indiana Jones references. This isn't the point of the episode though, and to say otherwise would be a bad faith assertion on my part, but it does nevertheless make the episode a little bit more of a drag. it is otherwise fine though, I would say; if I was doing decimals, it would probably be a 2.5.
1 hour ago, Megas said:This episode on it's own is pretty mid. Like it's fine, but it tends to rate fairly well in comparison to the rest of the season. I genuinely wonder if it would be regarded differently if RD and AJ didn't have such bad seasons
Yeah, the overall fairly basic plot and moral of the episode felt fairly regressive as far as the show is concerned. Applejack and especially Rainbow Dash's dismal track records probably make Buckball Season a bit better than it might actually be. Even so, I found it at least marginally enjoyable overall.
1 hour ago, Megas said:Besides the fact I prefer it(and Rainbow Roadtrip) to be my personal finale for the show, Just the fact that it actually got me to like Zephyr Breeze alone is enough to get it on my good side
Agreed; Dashing Through the Mall likely was the best of the shorts for me for not only that reason, but also the hilarious title, and the very cute ending. Saving Pinkie's Pie could also qualify too, if only for how amusingly absurd it is to see a Saving Private Ryan homage in My Little Pony, of all things. Both are miles ahead of Cider Louse Fools for obvious reasons, as I am sure you would agree.
I don't blame you for cutting Season Nine out of your headcanon though. I thought it was a net positive myself, thanks to stuff like Sparkle's Seven and especially The Last Problem, but there truly were some rubbish episodes as the show was reaching its conclusion. 246 Greaaat and Trivial Pursuit especially were utterly loathsome. Even putting those aside, Season Nine was overall quite lame for a final season, when all is said and done.
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6 minutes ago, Sparklefan1234 said:
(Friendship University) True. However, my two favorite ponies finally getting a map episode together makes it special!
I likely would have been more willing to forgive this episode, had it strictly stuck to one of its central ideas. Rarity/Twilight episodes are quite a rarity (pun intended) in of themselves, so seeing them interact did help this episode a good bit. It is just bogged down by Flim and Flam's gimmick having long run its course, and the fact that Starswirl is deceptively unimportant. His only real role is endorsing Flim and Flam, telling off Twilight, then apologizing to her after the fact. Flim and Flam weren't doing anything THAT wrong anyhow. They were indeed plagiarizing Twilight's work, but that isn't really brought up. They get more ire for using their funds to renovate their casino. Which... is entirely their business? The framing in general is rather poor. There is the scene where they extort one of their students for one of the Friendship lessons, but it feels a bit more random than anything because of this.
With hindsight, the fact that Starswirl never got an episode of his own, and the fact that he got trashed by Tirek in Ending of the End just makes Friendship University sting even more.
20 minutes ago, Sparklefan1234 said:MY LEAST FAVORITE EPISODE IN ALL OF FRIENDSHIP IS MAGIC! I'm SO SAD that this is Rarity's last main character episode. Uncomfortable.
It really is astonishing that Spike's crush on Rarity is what her final focus episode is centered around. I do appreciate that they resolved that part of the story more explicitly, but Spike and Rarity already seemed like more sincere friends as the series progressed anyhow. In any case, Rarity's entrepreneurship is what made her very interesting starting from Season Four, so the fact that this does not come into play at all is disappointing.
This is to say nothing of the memefaces either, which were utterly loathsome here as well.
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3 hours ago, Phosphor said:
It's good to see ya on here again, Recherche!
A lot has happened in the last year or so. Last year was very dark for my family to say the least but I don't wish to dwell on that. This year has been much better: I got my house built on my land and now I'm pretty much settled in. Also, finally decided it was time to ditch this weight. I've lost over 60lbs since May and am feeling great physically.
Hope to see ya around more often. Don't be a stranger.
Hello again, Phosphor! I see you appreciated Rarity's woefully inaccurate historic portrayal as well.
But more importantly, I am very glad to hear about your health improvements, especially considering how easy it is to just loaf around indulge yourself now. It's not always fun, but getting healthier make a world of difference for.... everything, truly. Congratulations on your home as well!
And no need to worry; I don't plan on breathing down anyone's neck, but I will certainly drop by here or there. Look forward to it, as I know you will be no-doubt amazed by my mere presence alone.
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9 hours ago, Cash_In said:
A bit older and less fat. Other than that, same as always.
How about you? It's definitely been a while.
Getting older is always rubbish, but it is good to hear your health has been improving! Especially in the two years which have more or less incentivized being a lazy bum.
I have been well enough myself, though. This year has been markedly less remarkable than the past two, but I will take it at this point. I would do anything to not have to endure that nonsense again.
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1 hour ago, Rikifive said:
Oh! Hello again!
A long while it has been indeed. Glad to hear things have got better for you.
As for me, if you inquire, no significant changes. There always are some ups and downs, but generally everything is okay.
That's always good. I do see that MLPF has gotten quite a few more bells and whistles in the time I have been gone. How many of them are you responsible for, I wonder? It does feel quite a bit more slick here, either way.
1 hour ago, Cash_In said:Hey, good to see you again!!
Another familiar face!
It's wonderful to see you again to, Cash. How have you been, if I may ask?
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1 hour ago, Tacodidra said:
Welcome back, my friend!
It's great to see you here again – the most fabulous surprise in a while!
I've been fine myself. Times haven't always been the most eventful, but thankfully they haven't been the worst either.
I'm glad to hear you're feeling better than you did earlier, it's always sad to see a friend feeling down. *hugs*
Even if you don't visit regularly, I hope you make occasional visits to the forums.
I'm not really as active as I was in 2018 or 2019, either... but no matter what happens, I have no plans to leave any time soon – I've had and still have too much fun here to do that. 
Don't worry; I won't be omnipresent, but I plan to show up once in a while. I would hate to spoil the most Fabulous surprise MLP has had in approximately 2 years, after all.
I am pleased to hear you're doing well, though, especially nowadays, where that has gotten much more difficult. Things do seem to be looking up for most everyone nowadays, which is definitely a welcome change from how dismal 2019/20 have been. Perhaps 2022 will be even better?
1 hour ago, Pearly Marshmallow said:I hadn't had a chance to meet you before since I've been here for not so long.
Nice to meet you now! My name's Pearly.
3 hours ago, Midnight Danny said:I don't know if l did met you.
Nice to meet ya anyway! 
And hello to some new faces! Glad to see that new folks are still joining us after so long. I do look forward to seeing you lads in the near future!
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1 minute ago, Starforce said:
@The Recherche
I understand how you felt, while I am not one who enjoys information being withheld I can understand why you would. I am glad that things have changed for the better. For me personally it definitely has changed for the better. I am out of high school a few months now and I feel so much happier with the various personal choices I made. I don't regret returning to these forums a year ago and I definitely made a mistake in leaving for as long as I did. I also definitely feel as if I've developed a lot more in the past year, I don't believe a lot of the things I once did back then when we talked.I am definitely glad to hear it. 2019 and 2020 did not seem to be anyone's year at all, it seems. At least we managed to find our way back here, though. I believe I made a good choice in stepping away for a bit, but it certainly doesn't hurt for us to be back either.
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17 minutes ago, Twilight Luna said:
It's great to see you on here again. You have been missed. A lot has happened to me as well since you departed. Some good....some bad. But I'm sure that we can catch up. I hope that you've been staying fabulous.
I can certainly believe that, considering how eventful the past two or so years have been. A new administration, a pandemic, and just the mere passing of time has probably done a lot to whittle our sanity to a fine dust.
I do appreciate your kind words, either way. I am looking forward to hearing more from you very soon!
17 minutes ago, Starforce said:It is amazing to see you again, it really is. You were one of my best friends, it absolutely sucked when you just left in the manner you did. I always knew you would return.
It was indeed abrupt, I admit. I do apologize for anyone who wanted a bit more of an explanation out of me. To provide one, I will keep it private and say that I was not in a great place a while back, in any particular way, really. My relationship with MLPF soured a bit thanks to this. Things have changed for the better in spite of it all though, so I feel much more comfortable saying hello to everyone, now that I have a clear conscience. I will say that I do intend to keep MLPF more at arm's length this time though, just in case.
I do look forward to speaking to you all again.
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Just now, PoisonClaw said:Thank you!
Yes, I have far too many plans for future projects in mind, such as the Legendary Shield, Spear, Sword, and Bow, Pac Man, more Pokemon, Luna's cutie Mark to go with Celestia's, the Nintendo handheld line (Gameboy, Colour, Advanced, DS and Switch), and more MegaMan symbols, to name a few.
Well, aren't you ambitious?
I wish you good fortune with them, and do look forward to seeing the finished result!
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Excellent work, my friend!
May I ask if you have any plans for any future perler projects?
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Excellent work, Cloud!
You must be quite a virtuoso to be acknowledged by a convention, no matter how small.
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Happy One Year Anniversary, Dusk!
It is my utmost pleasure to have been at your side for the majority of your current run. No matter what may come next, I wish you good fortune in your future endeavors!
I believe a special one year anniversary coffee is in order, no?
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Congratulations on your endeavors so far.
Though I have not been in any committed relationship myself, try not to rush it; even if it were possible to make the process more hasty, the result could be much worse. Either way, welcome back to MLPF! Rarity fans are always welcome aboard. Though the Forums have overall slowed down quite a bit since the previous time you logged in, there is still quite a bit to enjoy.
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Yeah, the mustache is pretty sick... but the T-shirt is better.
Let me tell you something, though... if you enjoyed the time you spent here, then you would probably despise the West (more specifically, Wyoming)! My sister lives there, so we inevitably have to visit her... and believe me; I have never seen such a treeless, flat plain in my entire life.
It's still very beautiful... but in a very different way.
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2 hours ago, Tacodidra said:
I agree that one shouldn't compare it too much to G4. However, comparisons are inevitable to some extent...
Especially if Hasbro is going to have the same Mane 6 for G5. I know they have reused character names before, sometimes for very different characters. However, they have never had the core cast consist of the exact same group of ponies as in the previous generation. For example, one of the G3 ponies (Starsong) hasn't appeared in FIM at all!
So the more elements they are going to reuse from G4, the more attention people are going to pay to the things that are changed.
For this reason, I'd prefer to see an entirely new cast of ponies rather than a "sort of but not quite Mane 6".
Yup, I agree with that as well.
SpoilerWhile I certainly like the Mane 6 quite a lot... I would rather have a new cast, than a recreation of the old one. Not only would this lead to further comparisons with Generation 4... but I don't know what can truly be done with them anymore, revised or not. Their characters will have gone trough all of the arcs that they can by the end of Generation 4, so reusing them would be kinda redundant without any serious overhauls.
Also, while I really enjoy the Mane 6 (as previously stated)... I would rather move on from them , than relive them through the rest of the franchise's run. Don't get me wrong; this doesn't mean that I never want to see them again, but I would rather see a new group of protagonists get their time to shine than repeat the Mane 6 forever. They've had a good run, and I think it would be best to get a new generation of protagonists that we can grow attached to. Of course, the Mane 6s marketability puts this in proposition in serious jeopardy... but hey, a man can dream, can't he?
Rarity, you're amazing... but don't hog the spotlight.
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2 hours ago, Dark Qiviut said:
I disagree. "Fad" translates to something that was really popular before withering away. "Beanie baby" is the perfect example of a fad: once very popular, but now barely talked about anymore and without value. Bronydom isn't anywhere nearly as big as it once was, but bronydom also stubbornly won't going away. Not to mention that fandoms don't technically die. Even decades following cancellation, their fandoms don't dissipate; the Browncoats, for example.
That's true; fandoms who gain a good foothold (like us) will always have remnants scattered about. While it's true that it's impossible to outright kill a fanbase, some can be weakened to a point where they can't sustain certain things that they once could (dedicated lines of merchandise, conventions, comic-con panels, etc.). When I called bronies a fad, I probably should have phrased that better; I didn't mean to say that bronies are a fad that will soon die, I meant that bronies were a fad that has since passed. We're all bronies... but bronies are just what they are nowadays, not sensations.
2 hours ago, Dark Qiviut said:Secondly, I'm not a big fan of the "rose-tinted glasses" idiom, because it implicates nostalgia or missing of the old as inherently a bad thing in favor of the new. Nostalgia is a neutral concept that can be very good or very bad, depending on how you channel it.
Yup, I agree. I probably could have phrased that part better, admittedly; it could have come across as a way of saying "accept the new things over the old, because the new things are all we have." While I can see where you got that idea, I was saying something more along the lines of, "don't set your expectations based on nostalgia, or disappointment is inevitable." Nostalgia is definitely a good thing, and it's always nice to experience it... but we should all accept that nostalgia is an impossible standard to meet, due to the fact that our brains intentionally warp past experiences in positive direction, no matter how positive they truly were.
Basically, I'm saying that we should hold Generation 5 to the standards that we would hold anything else. This isn't to say the we should never compare the generations; they share the same name, after all... but they also are different series, and should be judged as such. I'm just trying to keep folks in the mindset of "I want Generation 5 to be good," and not, "I want Generation 5 to be like Generation 4." If folks do the latter, then they're never going to be happy with the result, regardless of how good Generation 5 is.
3 hours ago, Dark Qiviut said:Aside from those two things that really bugged me, you makes some good points. As for G5, I don't know what will happen or how good it'll be.
I wasn't a fan of the concept art. Most of the designs were way too complicated, uncanny, or too crowded with too much detail. They got some good ideas, but I'm pessimistic here. Same with AJ's personality reboot, which so far feels like a big step backwards, but we'll see.
Of course, come later in time, we'll know more details as they officially come out, and I'll likely give it a chance if I'm interested. Who knows. Maybe it'll fix some of FIM's bigger follies. Not to mention, FIM didn't get off to a hot start, either: Took until Winter Wrap Up before it really began to roll.
WINTER WRAP UP WINTER WRAP UP, LET'S FINISH OUR HOLIDAY CHEERSpoilerI agree almost completely. The main issue I have with the concept art is how... stiff they look. One of the main draws of the Generation 4 designs (aside from simplicity... cough cough) is how animated they are. Basically, their designs are flexible enough to allow for things like this, without looking too strange:
Now imagine the Pinkie Pie from the concept art doing something like that. If you can't... then that proves our point.
I would be lying if I said I didn't like the Rarity redesign in the slightest (I might be a bit biased
)... but I've seen better redesigns come out of the fandom before, such as this one (sans the tail).
But yes, though. Personally, I'm eagerly awaiting Generation 5 details... though I'm remaining cautiously optimistic. While I trust that Generation 5 won't suck... I'm reserving most of my judgements until further details are released. Hell, like you said; we might have to wait a little bit before Generation 5 gets good (once it gets going), or maybe it will be the best thing since sliced bread. The only option we have for now is to wait... though I would be lying if I said I wasn't even the slightest bit excited~.
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2 hours ago, Key Sharkz said:
Show is actually approaching it's 8th anniversary actually.
Either way, I intend to give G5 a fair chance without comparing it to G4 and I encourage others to do the same. Approach this as a new beginning, not as a stubborn child refusing to take off the nostalgia goggles and look at something new.
I think you've made an excellent assessment of the situation and approached the subject realistically and not overly optimistic or overly pessimistic. A fine essay and a damn good perspective.
Yeah, I have every intention of checking out Generation 5 once it airs as well.
I'll admit; it's going to be hard not to compare it to Generation 4, due to how strongly we associate Gen 4's elements with MLP... but as they say, even the most beautiful flower will wilt. With that in mind, I'll do everything I can to view them as separate entities; Generation 4 will have way too much of an edge otherwise.
Oh, and thank you for the kind words, by the way~!
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Five Years in the Making
in The Bulletin of Recherche
A blog by The Recherche in General
Posted
Ah, very cool! Thank you for the links. It seems I was thinking of something else.
It's amazing how incompetent Sony is in regards to animated films, really; the Spiderverse franchise seems to be their only real saving grace. I suppose it makes sense that they wouldn't want very strict continuity in a movie aimed at young girls, but I really doubt a creative writing team wouldn't be able to get around that somehow. It is something I really disliked about the later seasons, Season 8 and 9 especially. They are FULL of references to past episodes, which just came across as them trying to weasel out of actually watching the series proper. Friendship is Magic did not need to appeal to people who don't know what an Alicorn is, or who don't think that the Mane Six don't have a personality, sans Rarity. It especially did not need to contrive a reason for its characters to end up in the real world either, especially after Equestria Girls.
You are welcome; it is the least I could do after posting this typhoon of words.
I truthfully don't have a preference on the style of song in MLP; I enjoy things like You'll Play Your Part, Celestia's Ballad, Blank Flanks Forever, Rules of Rarity, We'll Make our Mark, and Luna's Future all the same. I do think that the overall quality of the songs dipped a bit, but it never got to truly bad levels, outside of To Change a Changeling. I do agree about Equestria Girls though; the special's soundtrack is deceptively great, especially when compared to Seasons 8 and 9. They don't have anything quite like The Other Side, All Good, Let it Rain, or We've Come So Far. The last one especially is among my absolute favorite Generation 4 songs as a whole; it encapsulates Sunset's character development perfectly.
One final thing I will say is that I was taken aback at how much I enjoyed the CMC's arc in general. I can't say that I enjoyed their final episode, but most everything else they were in was surprisingly great, especially the leadup to them getting their Cutie Marks. Faust had an idea to make a CMC spinoff, but I am truthfully glad that never happened; I doubt Crusaders of the Lost Mark would have been as great if they were forced into their own show. Even after that though, they still managed to be very entertaining, and taught surprisingly poignant morals much of the time as well.
I think an inferior show would have used the CMC as a reason to just not try at all, but Friendship is Magic really went the extra mile with them.