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

[Guest]

I like them both, Sunny has always been the brightest spot of EG for me whilst I've loved seeing Starlight alongside Twilight and Spike, and her newfound friendship with Trixie. I wish Starlight's turnaround had a little more focus like Sunny did, that way it would have been a more compelling moment in the series, instead of feeling like an afterthought. Having said that, I enjoy both characters as I like characters with a dark past

[Thrond 3,263]

There's a time where things need to be moved on, besides the finale just showed that it's possible that it's her show now, also Friendship is Magic is the name of the show, which means it doesn't have to relate to the Mane 6.

 

They can say Twilight is still the main character all they like but until the first episode airs, it's just words right now.

While the biggest arcs of the mane six are largely concluded right now, I think there's still a lot of stories to be told with them, especially with Twilight, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash, who all recently had significant changes to their status quo. I honestly don't think it's all that likely that Starlight will take over from the mane six - who are all the main characters, not just Twilight - particularly given that, for all we know, she's still very much in need of guidance. 

 

 

That probably won't happen if she continues forcefully exerting power over others and damaging her goodwill. 

I suspect she won't, as I think the finale was supposed to establish her as finally being past her bad habits, given how her main character arc regarded her coming to trust her own judgement. 

[cider float 2,537]

Maybe Sunset but not as a wide margin. Aside from Sunset's constant whining about how others felt about her prior to her megalomaniac state, she is a better hero than a villain. On the opposite side, Starlight was a better villain than a hero even if her backstory sucked hardcore.

[Deae Rising Shine~ 55,241]

I like both of them. enough said^^

[Aurora Glimmer 494]

I think Sunset is the better hero and has the better backstory, but Starlight was the better villain by far, despite her laughably bad backstory. I like both, but I wish they'd been combined into one character with Sunset's backstory and Starlight's villainy.

Edited November 25, 2016 by Silvestra Spooner

[Chuckles4lyfe 441]

I absolutely love both characters, though I will admit that Starlight just barely edges out Sunset. I loved her as a villain in Season 5. Cunning, manipulative, and was not an all powerful deity like previous villains (i.e. Nightmare Moon, Discord, Chrysalis, Sombra, and Tirek).

 

Her path to reformation was also much more interesting to me. Starlight is still learning and making mistakes, unlike Sunset who is the shining beacon of friendship by the time we reach Friendship Games. Sunset has already completed her character arc, so there is not much room left for her to grow in my opinion. Starlight on the other hand, has more potential to continue to learn and grow and better herself in the world of Equestria. Just my $0.02 

[M'gann M'orzz 745]

Starlight by a massive margin now, Sunset has the better backstory though we actually know little of it's detailed.... and that's about it, she was the weaker villain by a huge margin and as a hero she was great in Rainbow Rocks.... and then pretty much immidiately fell into the pits of boredom afterward, only somewhat in FG where at least she still had some insecurties but then in LoE she's just god she's as boring as S4 Twilight, not to mention Hero Sunset has like no connective tissue to villain Sunset at all. I feel the only reason she's more popular than Starlight is that she's more "likable" due to be being less flawed as a hero...( that and being introduced first) but that's ultimately to me the biggest issue with her even in RR where she was pretty cool she still BARELY felt like a reformed villain. Starlight (and frankly Discrod too) never had that issue, yes her realizing how terrible she'd become was fast but her actual REFORMATION, being a better person has been really gradual, and her mistakes on the way take a toll on her confidence. It's a lot more built up and well done than Sunset just automatically being a great person by the start of RR. 

 

Sunset had a ton of potential at the end of RR despite her total characterization change... but the next 2 movies kinda gradually just made her boring, right now I can barely tell you what her personality even IS beyond "generic mentor for Sci-twi" Like what does Sunset care about? What's she into? Starlight is still a really distinct character with plenty going on, my only real issue with her is that she really needs episodes with the rest of the Mane 6. Starlight's had some flaws but her potential is still there and IMO her post reformation episodes have been really solid (aside from Crystalling.. expect HER parts of that episiode were great, it was the Flurry Heart parts that dragged it down, the stuff with her and Sunburst was really nice, relatable and heartwarming) 

Edited December 16, 2016 by M'gann M'orzz

[Thrond 3,263]

Starlight by a massive margin now, Sunset has the better backstory though we actually know little of it's detailed.... and that's about it, she was the weaker villain by a huge margin and as a hero she was great in Rainbow Rocks.... and then pretty much immidiately fell into the pits of boredom afterward, only somewhat in FG where at least she still had some insecurties but then in LoE she's just god she's as boring as S4 Twilight, not to mention Hero Sunset has like no connective tissue to villain Sunset at all. I feel the only reason she's more popular than Starlight is that she's more "likable" due to be being less flawed as a hero...( that and being introduced first) but that's ultimately to me the biggest issue with her even in RR where she was pretty cool she still BARELY felt like a reformed villain. Starlight (and frankly Discrod too) never had that issue, yes her realizing how terrible she'd become was fast but her actual REFORMATION, being a better person has been really gradual, and her mistakes on the way take a toll on her confidence. It's a lot more built up and well done than Sunset just automatically being a great person by the start of RR. 

 

Sunset had a ton of potential at the end of RR despite her total characterization change... but the next 2 movies kinda gradually just made her boring, right now I can barely tell you what her personality even IS beyond "generic mentor for Sci-twi" Like what does Sunset care about? What's she into? Starlight is still a really distinct character with plenty going on, my only real issue with her is that she really needs episodes with the rest of the Mane 6. Starlight's had some flaws but her potential is still there and IMO her post reformation episodes have been really solid (aside from Crystalling.. expect HER parts of that episiode were great, it was the Flurry Heart parts that dragged it down, the stuff with her and Sunburst was really nice, relatable and heartwarming) 

Sunset is awful in Legend of Everfree but I kinda felt that Friendship Games had some interesting ideas about her, even if every single one of them felt half-formed. That scene where she chewed out SciTwi still seems to me like it was trying to set her up as having mild anger issues, which would also create continuity with her past, and her disinterest in the titular Games seems to me like a remnant of the deleted scenes, where she seems to have a desire for excitement. If only it had maybe another half-hour, it might have actually developed some of those ideas into something actually satisfying. Too bad we got Legend of Everfree instead. 

 

Starlight's current direction is a lot better, but I do hope they keep her struggle to be "good" going in season 7, because without that I worry she'd just become Twilight 2.0. We have an idea of her interests, but they're just... not very distinctive. Admittedly the whole friendship/magic lesson thing gives her more direction than Sunset (though that's not hard), but I kinda feel that just having Starlight interested in "magic" would leave her as not very distinctive. 'Course, season 7 hasn't given me much reason to believe that she'll go down that route, but it's not like this show has resisted the urge in the past...

 

Also: 

 

Discrod

You mean like spinning plates? 

[FirePuppy 734]

Both for me.

 

Sunset Shimmer has always been the main heroine in most recent Equestria Girls movies, and is practically my favorite character aside from Pinkie.

 

I certainly don't mind Starlight Glimmer, either. She's now a student of Twilight, and maybe it'll still be that way through Season 7, when for that season, I want to see her have more screen time/dialogue than Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and/or Rarity, but not Pinkie.

[Prospekt 11,018]

It's not that I don't like Sunset, but Starlight is one of my favorites outside of the Mane 6. I suppose I find Starlight more relatable, too.

[Lambdadelta 1,462]

In pre-Legend of Everfree, i cant choose any of them as my best reformed villain, they are all awesome in their own ways, but after LOE and S6 finale, i can make my decision, Starlight, that is the character i want to see the most in S7, that is the character i want the most quality episode as much as possible, and i will be more crticism in S7.

[Weetile 19]

I like Sunset Shimmer more, as she has a longer and more detailed backstory, how she used to be Princess Celestia's student but then started to not care about her studies and leave Equestria and go to Canterlot High, rather than Starlight not getting a cutie mark before her friend.

[Splashee 28,563]

Both of them are great! But I do like the underdog better than the instant over powered

[Wormsy 21]

Sunset for sure. On aesthetics, I like Sunsets design a little more. Her color scheme really pops and while I like Starlights mane, her pale purple-pinkish coat doesn't do much for me, especially with her other colors. In terms of character, we all agree that Sunset had a terrible introduction, but I think she has the best redemption arc in the show. She really worked to earn her friends trust and be the best p...hum...pony-human she could be. She's proactive and really puts in the effort. Starlights characterization, even after her redemption, is a lot more inconsistent and sloppy. I struggle to get a good grasp of who she is beyond being a bit of a nutter for most of the time she's on screen. The mad-scientist aspect of her character is a lot of fun for sure, but it's hard to feel bad for her and want her to improve when she keeps falling into the same habits over and over and over. Fluttershy is different because she knows why her problems are a problem and works her hardest to improve, and her actions affect her more than anybody else. But Starlight frequently inconveniences others and struggles to understand how or why it hurts them. Fun character moments, not very well written as a whole imo.

[Rushing cash 836]

I like them both, but starlight more. SG was the much better villain and I would still say she is the better supporting character of the two(albeit she is a bit mad, especially in season 6 but I guess that is one of the reasons I love her).

[Lambdadelta 1,462]

12 hours ago, Rushing cash said:

I like them both, but starlight more. SG was the much better villain and I would still say she is the better supporting character of the two(albeit she is a bit mad, especially in season 6 but I guess that is one of the reasons I love her).

I like the characters with a bit of madness in them. 

[Treeglow Flicker 13,619]

Both of them in equal measures.

[Thrond 3,263]

My opinion has shifted several times with these two since I first posted here; they've both gone through periods where I really liked them and where I really did not. At the end, I would say that I like them both a lot at their best, but find them both very inconsistent.

Starlight will probably never be one of my favourite characters, because she just doesn't feel distinctive; the only personality traits of hers I find entirely unique are her rudeness and her occasional disregard for others, the latter of which usually makes her unlikable. And those traits aren't always there. When she's more grounded, I feel it doesn't fit the show's tone, which leaves her feeling kinda bland to me. I liked her a fair bit in season 8, where she usually wasn't stealing the spotlight and was often a little rude in a way that was endearing and at times even productive. But then she was relegated to the sidelines in season 9 and was just Diet Twilight again in her few focus episodes, which was likeable enough but hardly something I was invested in. 

Depending on the episode, Sunset is either much better than Starlight or much worse. At her best, she's an appealing, well fleshed-out character nearly on par with the mane six. At her worst, she seems more like a bland avatar for the other characters to bounce off of. Whenever she develops a new interest or character trait, it tends to feel completely arbitrary because her base characterization is so inconsistent. I have a strong idea of who Sunset Shimmer should be, but not necessarily of who she is. A lot of shorts and specials strung throughout the Equestria Girls series made good use of her and establish what a properly developed version of Sunset might look like, but there were still too many where she barely seemed to have a personality at all. 

So I like both I guess but they both frustrate me. 

[Goat-kun 2,527]

But what about the fourth option?

[Astralshy 26,453]

I think Starlight is much better handled by the show than Sunset. But it's also not perfect, Starlight has much more screen time than Sunset and I don't dislike Sunset. So I like them both with a preference to Starlight.

[Clawdeen 12,190]

Out of the two of them I like Sunset Shimmer more 

[JMTV99 1,352]

I don't know. I wasn't a fan of either of them, but at least with Sunset, she's tolerable. Starlight was aggressively mixed for me since she had a lot of great potential, but the execution was poor in my opinion.

[baba_booey 4,302]

I do like Starlight Glimmer a bit more personally - always felt a bit more relatable to me, although I like Sunset Shimmer too.

I play both sides so I always come out on top.

[bigbertha 414]

I definitely prefer Sunset. She may have turned into a completely different character off screen, but at least she turned into a tolerable character who wasn't forgiven way too quickly. She even started to become enjoyable over time.  

Starlight is one of the worst things added to this show. Every Little Thing She Does is enough to ruin her character for the rest of the show's run and make me never want to see her again.

[Tom Gallagher 33,581]

Rarity and Twilight of course! 

Edit: Looks like I posted this in the wrong topic. Jeez, I'm stupid. 

Edited June 19, 2021 by TomDaBombMLP