Starlight Glimmer or Sunset Shimmer?

[ManaMinori 4,145]

Who would you rather have seen in FiM? Frankly, I'd much rather Sunset. Damn straight I'm bias. But with Starlight Glimmer...ugh...yeah, I know she needs to learn friendship now, but how many purple characters in the mane cast do we need? Twilight, Spike, and now Starlight....how many purple haired characters do we need in the name cast? Twilight, Rarity, and now Starlight. At least Sunset's palette would be a change other than all purple all the time. That's just one reason for Sunset Shimmer. There are several more, but what's your opinion, you guys?

[Phanact 333]

Who would you rather have seen in FiM? Frankly, I'd much rather Sunset. Damn straight I'm bias. But with Starlight Glimmer...ugh...yeah, I know she needs to learn friendship now, but how many purple characters in the mane cast do we need? Twilight, Spike, and now Starlight....how many purple haired characters do we need in the name cast? Twilight, Rarity, and now Starlight. At least Sunset's palette would be a change other than all purple all the time. That's just one reason for Sunset Shimmer. There are several more, but what's your opinion, you guys?

 

I agree. Sunset just looks cooler in my mind, so I'd rather have her. I still haven't gotten over how mean Starlight Glimmer was

[On-Locoweed 108]

I like Starlight's color scheme and voice better than I like Sunset Shimmer. Starlight was the better villain, she was more bad-ass and arguably more cunning than Sunset. Not to mention Starlight is actually canon...

[Unlikeable Pony 2,698]

Sunset has a good origin story and a good color scheme.

Starlight has a bad "LOLWTF" backstory and a HORRIBLE color scheme (Like, seriously, are they even planning on selling toys of her?).
 This isn't even a contest

 

 

 

On the flip side, Sunset's (Ex) love interest is literal shit tier while starlight's Love interest is actually enjoyable and somepony that I want to see more of.

[ManaMinori 4,145]

I like Starlight's color scheme and voice better than I like Sunset Shimmer. Starlight was the better villain, she was more bad-ass and arguably more cunning than Sunset. Not to mention Starlight is actually canon...

well...ugh...I'll give it to you that SG was the better villain, but SS is cuter, doesn't have an overused color scheme for the mane cast, and can actually contribute to the series as a better protege for Twilight.

[Aurora Glimmer 494]

Sunset Shimmer all the way!

[Dark Qiviut 22,383]

Starlight Glimmer, period. A more compelling villain, a more compelling protagonist, a more compelling character. Unlike Sunset-in-name-only, Starlight ain't brainwashed by a DEM.

Edited April 14, 2016 by Dark Qiviut

[On-Locoweed 108]

well...ugh...I'll give it to you that SG was the better villain, but SS is cuter, doesn't have an overused color scheme for the mane cast, and can actually contribute to the series as a better protege for Twilight.

What qualifies as overuse in color? Her shade of purple is rather distinct from that of Twilight or Spike. Plus, I would argue that she's supposed to resemble Twilight a little bit so people can make the association that Twilight and Starlight have or will have a close relationship.

 

I won't argue who is cutest pony, cuz that's really a matter of opinion, but I guess I think Starlight is more appealing because I'm not about yellows or reds in pony colors like how Sunset looks. Starlight's mane-do, with those bangs and that bouffant in the back, appeals to me more than the reckless bully aesthetic Sunset pulls off. I just like Starlight because she looks more professional. She wouldn't try any of that high school crap Sunset does. No, Starlight Glimmer would kill you with kindness, manipulate you with a smile on her face. If she was a student at Canterlot High, she'd probably be one of those preppy students with good connections, and not a lone wolf rebel like Sunset. That's all conjecture of course, since Canterlot High does not exist, and hey, neither does Sunset Shimmer, so the choice is obvious.

[ManaMinori 4,145]

What qualifies as overuse in color? Her shade of purple is rather distinct from that of Twilight or Spike. Plus, I would argue that she's supposed to resemble Twilight a little bit so people can make the association that Twilight and Starlight have or will have a close relationship.

I won't argue who is cutest pony, cuz that's really a matter of opinion, but I guess I think Starlight is more appealing because I'm not about yellows or reds in pony colors like how Sunset looks. Starlight's mane-do, with those bangs and that bouffant in the back, appeals to me more than the reckless bully aesthetic Sunset pulls off. I just like Starlight because she looks more professional. She wouldn't try any of that high school crap Sunset does. No, Starlight Glimmer would kill you with kindness, manipulate you with a smile on her face. If she was a student at Canterlot High, she'd probably be one of those preppy students with good connections, and not a lone wolf rebel like Sunset. That's all conjecture of course, since Canterlot High does not exist, and hey, neither does Sunset Shimmer, so the choice is obvious.

how does Sunset not exist, if she was pony before she was a human? She existed in ponyquestria for most her life. She only spent 3 or 4 years, maybe, in the human world.

 

SG shouldn't resemble Twilight. She should have a color scheme that sets her apart, not purple on purple like her mentor. Twi looks vastly different from her mentor. Why does SG need to look the same as hers? Shades be damned. It's all purple on purple on purple on purple and there's too much purple for the purple because purple.

 

Sunset's manestyle makes her look mature, so I don't know what you're talking about, there.

[Concerned Bystander 2,902]

I would agree entirely that Sunset Glimmer has a better design, but she doesn't actually exist in the FiM universe so we have Starlight Shimmer instead.  Of course not including the design they're basically the same character anyway since their respective reformations.

[Buck Testa 5,505]

The Starlight of season 6 basically IS Sunset from what I've seen. They've kinda erased her entire character and replaced her with a Sunset persona from what i've seen. I'd of rather her kept her snark and sass, it made her a fun character. 

[On-Locoweed 108]

how does Sunset not exist, if she was pony before she was a human? She existed in ponyquestria for most her life. She only spent 3 or 4 years, maybe, in the human world.

SG shouldn't resemble Twilight. She should have a color scheme that sets her apart, not purple on purple like her mentor. Twi looks vastly different from her mentor. Why does SG need to look the same as hers? Shades be damned. It's all purple on purple on purple on purple and there's too much purple for the purple because purple.

Sunset's manestyle makes her look mature, so I don't know what you're talking about, there.

Of all the things I like to talk about, I can't believe I'm talking about this...

 

I'm in the camp that considers EQG an alternate universe. So, Sunset Shimmer doesn't really do anything for me because I view the action and events in EQG as having no consequence in the FiM timeline at all. Sunset Shimmer is cool and all, but I like to stick to the show. However, please don't let my view impede your judgment of which pony is better, because at the end of the day I'll still think Starlight is "better" just as you will think Sunset is "better."

 

Secondly, I'm sure the resemblance between Twi and Starlight is very intentional. Remember Moondancer? Remember how oddly familiar she looked? Her design is Twilight's plus some eyebrows and a pair of glasses. This parallel serves a purpose: audiences need to see that Twilight is capable of literally looking herself/her past self in a mirror (which is Moondancer) and then being able to apply what she learned about friendship to a bad situation in order to make everything happy. This was executed flawlessly, and we can assume so much of this lesson that's unsaid because they look similar. Cartoons are parables; they teach lessons and a lot of the details serve a purpose.

 

So what I'm getting at is that, like it or not, Starlight's color/magical ability/bangs/name/whatever is exactly the way nature intended. Starlight resembles Twilight because the expectation is that Twilight will once again be a good nerd and apply what she has learned to a practical situation. That they are similar will only help things. When you look at the two of them together, you're not supposed to see redundancy, but rather a symbolic connection. It's like purple + purple = a greater chance for empathy. It's quite poetic I think.

 

(Side note on student/mentor physical similarity: Celestia and Twilight differ in appearance because there is a different fantasy archetype at work there, but the same archetype doesn't have to apply to every place where it could potentially happen.)

Edited April 14, 2016 by On-Locoweed

[Vulcan 3,254]

 Sunset shimmer, Her turn to the good side was similar to that of Zuko, memorable and sweet.  Sunlight glimmer on the other hand was not great, It just felt so forced to me.  Like the higher ups at Hasbro straight up ordered the writers to make a Sunset clone for profit. 

[EquestriaGuy 1,074]

Shim > Glim

 

Nothing would make me happier than to see my Sunny Bunny visit Equestria.

 

[snowflame 189]

Starlight's color scheme bothers me so much, she should have been light green to give a new color to the group and not have almost the same hair highlight thing going as Twilight.

 

Otherwise I think it is a bit too soon to say about Starlight's character compared to Sunset even if she was featured a lot in the premiere. Both characters have their strenghts and weaknesses as far as character details go such as backstory and how good villains they were. I would say they are about equal (heh) in those respects, it is their characters that would decide things so I want to see more of Starlight for that reason.

[Unlikeable Pony 2,698]

Just going to chime in, this should probably have been a poll really

[Stasis 39]

Shimmer no contest. At least her development made sense.

[VengefulStrudel 1,486]

I much prefer Sunset over Starlight, though I don't mind if she doesn't appear in FiM. Starlight became her equivalent in FiM anyway.

 

But if she does come to Equestria, I'd love to see these two interact. I imagine it would be an "Wow! I can't believe I met someone who also has gone through the stuff I did!", maybe they could even become BFFs.

[KatonRyu 1,033]

Well, Sunset is one of my favorite characters because of RR. However, I'm beginning to like Starlight a lot as well. I think it'd be interesting if those two met each other since they have certain things in common (like they also do with Twilight). For now, Sunset remains my preferred character of the two, but it's very possible I'll see Starlight as her equal pretty soon. The one thing bugging me about Starlight is her incredible talent. See, in my headcanon Sunset was destined to become Celestia's successor but her destiny changed because Celestia unknowingly interfered with it by showing Sunset the mirror. For me, that explains Sunset's natural talent at magic. Starlight, though, was as far as I know never a student of Celestia's though she was still able to fight equally with Twilight.

 

Ultimately, though, I don't think Sunset will ever show up in the series proper because they try to keep EQG separate from the series. Maybe she'll have a cameo in the 2017 movie, who knows.

[Shimmer Sparkle 4,101]

Who would you rather have seen in FiM? Frankly, I'd much rather Sunset. Damn straight I'm bias. But with Starlight Glimmer...ugh...yeah, I know she needs to learn friendship now, but how many purple characters in the mane cast do we need? Twilight, Spike, and now Starlight....how many purple haired characters do we need in the name cast? Twilight, Rarity, and now Starlight. At least Sunset's palette would be a change other than all purple all the time. That's just one reason for Sunset Shimmer. There are several more, but what's your opinion, you guys?

I never liked Starlight. I hate her even more now that she has taken Sunny's place as Twilight's student. In terms of color, Sunset's color scheme appeals to me more by a landslide. It's like nothing seen on the Mane 6.

[Mesme Rize 15,683]

I am a Starlight Glimmer guy. I am a big fan of her awkwardness, i like her design more and she has more going for her.

 

Besides, it's very unfair to judge them both, just because Starlight didn't had more opportunities to show herself.

 

[PiratePony 8,475]

I have a few pet peeves regarding Starlight Glimmer. And I'm a more dedicated watcher than the show, but my wife nailed the issues I have on the head.

 

"Starlight Glimmer. She's acting a lot like Sunset Shimmer now."

 

"I don't like her name. It's like they smashed together Twilight Sparkle and Sunset Shimmer's names together and came up with Starlight Glimmer." 

 

At this point though, unfortunately....bringing in Sunset into FIM would be redundant, except for a cameo or two - not as a full on character. I wouldn't mind a two parter where she explores what's changed in Equestria, asks the all mighty sunbringer for forgiveness, and even discusses with Starlight Glimmer their parallel adventures, where Sunset confesses to how bad she was almost bringing teenage zombies to conquer Equestria, and then Starlight Glimmer goes "oh yeah, I created a time-travel timeline that destroyed all life in Equestria." Oh.....

 

Honestly, that sounded better typing it out than I thought it would....go Starlight Glimmer & Sunset Shimmer team up!

Edited April 14, 2016 by PiratePony

[That Guy with the CMB 5,873]

Sorry, Sunset, but Starlight is the bomb. c:

 

I used to hate Starlight, as you can see in some of my pre-season 6 posts.  But I got hooked on her in the episode! It feels weird to forgive the character immediately after all the horrors she wrought upon everypony else, but...yeah.

 

 

I don't know what happened. It's like what I did with MLP itself. I thought it was dumb at first, watched it, then eventually got addicted. (Even though I initially still hated it until like, the next day, from what I remember.) Anyhow, Sunset Shimmer never really struck me much, I guess...I still think she's awesome, but not Starlight awesome.

[cmarston1 5,959]

Definitely Sunset Shimmer. Starlight's character motivation for becoming a villain was really really bad. Also her blink and you miss it "reformation"(which was more of being stupidly easily forgiven) kind of burnt me out on FIM villains. It doesn't help that starlight is now a ripoff of Sunset Shimmer. But less interesting. Even if the premier made me somewhat like her new personality.

[Ashen Pathfinder 16,161]

Why not both?

 

Honestly while I do prefer Sunset overall, I like what they did with her in "The Crystalling" and I look forward to see what else they will do with her. Yeah her redemption arc wasn't as memorable, but at the same time Starlight will have an interesting ladder to climb in regards to her over reformation. In time I may love both equally. <3