Who do you like: Starlight, Sunset, or both?

[NeonCobalt 256]

So ever since Starlight Glimmer's redemption, there have been quite a few comparisons between her and Sunset Shimmer from EQG. This has led to discussion as to which one people perfer. So my question is: Do you like Starlight, Sunset, or do you like both? And why?

 

Personally, I perfer Starlight, but I like them both.

Edited November 5, 2016 by NeonCobalt

[Zachary 5,517]

Ugh, so Though, I like em all so I'm gonna say that I'm like both Starlight Glimmer and Sunset Shimmer!

Edited November 5, 2016 by Zachary

[Mothra 543]

I do prefer Sunset, though I don't really know why. I mean usually I prefer the pony versions of characters and am not really into EQG as much, but I think she's a great character and would love to see her in the mlp episodes (not that I expect it to happen) but overall I like them both, just Sunset that little bit more

Edited November 5, 2016 by Magistrate Mothra

[BastementSparkle 20,312]

I like both, but personally I'm a bigger Starlight fan. In terms of redemption I think Starlight was honestly handled better, she reformed of her own choice after being talked down rather than after being blasted by magical rainbow's, her redeemed character still shows shades of who she used to be as a villain, still manipulative and abusive of her magic at times, showing she still struggles with herself, and I just think she's been a more interesting character overall. Plus, villain Starlight was way better than villain Sunset.

 

 I still do like Sunset though, she was great in Rainbow Rocks and Friendship Games especially, and she's proven herself to be a worthy member of the Humane 7. Despite the constant comparisons between the two I find they have more than enough differences to set them apart. They can both exist and be great, you don't need to put one down to raise the other up.

[Ninjaed 526]

Hmm tough question. It'd be like asking me "who do you like in the Mane 6?"... I'd have to say "everypony" even though I personally like one more than the others. I can't just put the others down, they're all so adorable

 

DON'T MAKE ME CHOOSE!!!!! :( :(

 

I'll say both even though I prefer Starlight, but both are different characters. There may have been comparisons but there are so many differences as well. And I do like Sunset as well, even though she went from "conquer Equestria" to "omg what have I done" in the blink of an eye. If you can swallow that though, the rest of her arc is more than quite enjoyable indeed. I still prefer Starlight, but both are quite cute in their own way so I just can NOT choose here.

[Cleverclover 1,525]

How about neither? 

 

Seriously, I'm not a fan of either one. If I had to choose one, I'd choose Starlight, but that's largely due to what a great villain she was.

 

Sunset, on the other hand, was probably the absolute worst villain in the entire series (both FiM and EG). Barely anything she did made even an inkling of sense. 

[Concerned Bystander 2,901]

You missed out one option.  I'm not a big fan of either, but I suppose I dislike Sunset slightly less on the grounds that even though they are both basically the same character she was the first one.  I think they pretty much introduced Starlight so that they could have Sunset in FiM without her having to leave the EQG universe.

Seriously, I'm not a fan of either one. If I had to choose one, I'd choose Starlight, but that's largely due to what a great villain she was.

 

Sunset, on the other hand, was probably the absolute worst villain in the entire series (both FiM and EG). Barely anything she did made even an inkling of sense. 

 

That is true, despite her weak backstory Starlight was a great villain, especially so in 'The Cutie Map'.

[Applejacket 185]

I hate them both. Especially Sunnass Dumbface.

[cmarston1 5,951]

Sunset Shimmer's reformation and how it was handled in Rainbow Rocks was actually able to surprise me, unlike what we got with Starlight being like the 8th or 9th villain to be reformed at this point.

Plus Sunset has a much more interesting backstory and actually had to face legitimate consequences to her actions.

I prefer her character much more than Starlight.

[Sidral Mundet 1,666]

I have to post this:

 

 

 

But now for my real answer:

 

Sunset. Sunsetsunsetsunsetsunsetsunset. Sunset Shimmer all the way. It's not even a question. Sunset is driven, emphatic and an independent person. She's more or less the Vegeta of the show, or more accurately the Princess Luna of EQG. Her backstory and reformation are a basic retelling of Princess Luna's.  And she makes a far better mentor and friend than Twilight Sparkle does.  Also Super Saiyan Bacon. Starlight comes across as unempathic and a bit mopey and I just do not care for her in the slightest. So yeah Sunset Shimmer without a doubt. 

Edited November 5, 2016 by Sidral Mundet

[FlareGun45 2,221]

Unlike Sunset, Starlight is closer friends with Spike, so Starlight it is! Also I can relate more to Starlight.

 

But I do like Sunset too! She's prettier than Starlight. So I'll say both!

Edited November 5, 2016 by MegaSean45

[Megas 27,064]

Most of my problems with Starlight hasn't been issues with Sunset

 

- Got a whole movie dedicated to trying to redeem her, instead of the last 3 minutes of an episode

- Actually has to deal with the consequences of her actions in the past and has to earn everyone's trust, instead of everything being handed to her on a silver platter

- She's not ridiculously OP, even in LOE, she's only given the ability to read people's minds and nothing more

- Actually feels like she's become  friends with the mane 6

- Has actually shown to try to improve, and is given time to improve, and trying not to channel her old self, and if she does, it's obviously not a good thing and is taken seriously(unlike Starlight's "Whelp I brainwashed you all! Sorry!")

- Actually has a decent backstory

 

She also has a shitty redemption(like Starlight), and was a shitty villain, one of the worst in the series(which Starlight has the obvious edge over), but otherwise, they've taken that and was able mold into a really solid protagonist, whereas they've taken one of their best villains with Starlight and set her miles back into a character with significant problems that could've been easily avoidable, on top of being given several slaps to the wrist and given many things and chances despite not earning any of them

Edited November 5, 2016 by Megas

[Ninjaed 526]

- Actually feels like she's become  friends with the mane 6

- Has actually shown to try to improve, and is given time to improve, and trying not to channel her old self, and if she does, it's obviously not a good thing and is taken seriously(unlike Starlight's "Whelp I brainwashed you all! Sorry!")

 

Just precising, Starlight isn't friends with the Mane 6 yet, hence the friendship lessons and the eggshells walking. And for your link, all I see is Sunset getting angry because her friends have been repeatedly put in danger then RD empathetically pat Sunset, who realises she may have gone too far and facepalms. That's it. "Taken seriously"? No, that's clearly biased here.

 

That's all, you can go back to liking and disliking whoever you want

[Ganondorf8 11,118]

I prefer Sunset without a doubt despite how ineffective she was as a villain and that her reformation happened really quickly. She had to atone for her actions by being treated coldly by her peers in addition to fixing the damage that she caused after the Fall Formal. and despite finding kindred spirits with her new friends, they weren't fully ready to forgive her until she was able to show them their own faults when it came to friendship.

 

Since the Battle of the Bands, Sunset became insecure when it came to understanding the magic she had brought over from Equestria, and even doubted her own ability to solve the problem. Yet she was able to overcome the odds and is in a much better place now than she was before. Sunset still possesses a temper that can cause her to relapse back to her old ways, but at least she recognizes that she can't let it be a weakness.

[Fhaolan 4,468]

Honestly, characterization-wise I preferred Starlight as a straight-up villain and prefer Sunset as a reformed bad-girl. I'm not particularly happy with the reformed version of Starlight, and I wasn't impressed with Sunset when she was the 'villain'.

 

Design-wise, I prefer Sunset's more strident colors. For some reason Sunset's color scheme doesn't work for me.

[Oleks 1,983]

That’s an easy one. Starlight, of course. She already had so many good episodes. And was a much better villain, IMO. Also, I like her lack of social skills and the fact that she still isn’t fully reformed.
 

Sunset, on the other hand… her story hasn’t grown on me. It’s the no-hooves factor, I guess.

[They call me Loyalty 1,941]

I like starlight glimmer, she takes "evil" with levity.

[ManaMinori 4,143]

Who's Starlight?

Sunset Shimmer is amazing. Nopony can compare

She was first student of Sunbutt before Twilight, and didn't need elements to destroy her enemies.

[EmeraldStar04 250]

Sunset. She's more likable.

[Applejacket 185]

I have a problem with ponies who sin and then just swagger in like nothing happend and steal the show or join the cast. Makes me feel jealous XD

[Baykush 328]

In my opinion Starlight has a more interesting backstory and a better characterization, she was also better as a villain, so I prefer her. However, I like Sunset a lot as well, and I don't like how some fans of both characters are constantly attacking each other, specially since despite having some elements in common, in essence both characters are different (backstory, personality, purpose, etc). Judging them by their own merits and failures both are great, judging them based on how other was handled would probably make me dislike or be disappointed with both. 

 

I'd actually like to see both meet, that'd make for an interesting encounter 

[Ninjaed 526]

In my opinion Starlight has a more interesting backstory and a better characterization, she was also better as a villain, so I prefer her. However, I like Sunset a lot as well, and I don't like how some fans of both characters are constantly attacking each other, specially since despite having some elements in common, in essence both characters are different (backstory, personality, purpose, etc). Judging them by their own merits and failures both are great, judging them based on how other was handled would probably make me dislike or be disappointed with both. 

 

I'd actually like to see both meet, that'd make for an interesting encounter 

 

Worry not, not all the fans of both attack each other. There can be respect.   And there are some who have actually acknowledged that they may share some elements but are otherwise different characters and comparing them all the time is doing them a disservice.

 

I'd also like to see how a meeting of those 2 ponies/girls would happen. EQG or Equestria for starters?

[Baykush 328]

Worry not, not all the fans of both attack each other. There can be respect.   And there are some who have actually acknowledged that they may share some elements but are otherwise different characters and comparing them all the time is doing them a disservice.

 

Yeah, that's why I said some fans, not all   It's just a debate that I see a lot all the time 

 

I'd also like to see how a meeting of those 2 ponies/girls would happen. EQG or Equestria for starters? 

 

I'd like in EqG, I've become more fond of the idea that the EqG world might be cannon because of the quality of the last movies (even if LoE is my least favorite one), but I'd still prefer it if they left it ambiguous. Still, as long as it happens I'm ok if it's in Equestria  Sunset can always come back through the portal in EqG, but that scenario would be more likely to play out in an episode.

Edited November 6, 2016 by Baykush

[Thrond 3,257]

I have mixed feelings on this issue, but taken as a whole I still think I prefer Sunset, even if just for her characterisation in Rainbow Rocks and Friendship Games. Seeing her deal with becoming "part" of the school's social community, trying to become better despite the school remembering who she used to be, is great, and in "Friendship Games" we even got the slightest hint of her being more fleshed out. Too bad Legend of Everfree didn't flesh that out at all, and instead took away the insecurity which made her interesting in the first place. Her sheer blandness there is the kind of thing which makes me legitimately worried about the series' direction, and I can't pretend it doesn't hurt the character for me. If she continues like that, she might bore me enough to give Starlight the edge. What are her interests? What are her insecurities? What are her flaws? These are the things we need to know for a character to be interesting, and somehow we've grown to know less of them in Legend of Everfree. 

 

Starlight is a much more complex character, and while I admire this, it has caused issues for her redemption arc. I like that she's not turned around 100% like Sunset is too often made out to be, and I like that she has to work hard to actually understand the most basic lessons about friendship that even Twilight knew at the start of the series. The thing is, a lot of this feels like the show overreaching, and "Every Little Thing She Does" bothers me because Starlight quite blatantly doesn't realise she's done anything wrong until Twilight spells it out for her. I legitimately do believe she's learned better by the finale, given how little she trusts her own judgement, but at the same time it seems like the show is afraid to address its own implications head-on, and it's as if there's steps missing in between the two episodes. Still, her insecurities are very sympathetic, and she's really likeable in both of the two-parters. She's got the insecurities and the flaws, and the earlier issue of her being solely defined by her flaws and insecurities has been mitigated somewhat in the finale, but she needs unique interests in order to leave Twilight's shadow. 

 

 

because hell no

I'd also like to point out that I really don't think that Sunset or Starlight are particularly similar characters at this point. We'll need to see how Starlight evolves as she becomes more confident, but post-reformation Sunset pretty quickly developed a relatively strong ethical code, whereas it's not entirely clear if Starlight has even managed to kick all of her previous bad habits. Additionally, despite some similarities in their insecurities, those concerns about being rejected or not living up to expectations are pretty universal among characters in this show, and the two of them approach those issues in wildly different ways. Sunset is proactive, actively striving to be a better person and working to help people whenever possible. Starlight, meanwhile, is (or was until recently) crippled with self-doubt, constantly expressing guilt and anxiety but rarely taking proactive steps to rise above them. By "To Where and Back Again," she seems completely distrustful of her own judgement - and, as we had seen just before, she might not be wrong to. The similarities arise from the two of them being reformed Twilight foils more than anything, as they've taken two wildly different paths towards acceptance. 

[Ninjaed 526]

Nice analysis.

 

I pretty much agree with everything you've said. Hat off to you.

 

If there's one thing I'd like to say though, the topic is about "who you like", not "who you prefer". I prefer Starlight yet I voted "both" because I also like Sunset and can't just dismiss her. So if you're struggling to decide which of the two you should vote for, just pick the "both" option.

 

 

PS: I share your concern for Sunset. Last film was enjoyable and all, but I found Sunset was lacking. Unlike Twilight who's having trouble being a good mentor, Sunset just picked that role up instantly and didn't show any kind of self-doubt s to whether she's entitled to do so given her past actions and so on, no over-confidence either because of how she's saved the day twice now - which would link with her past proud self.