Why I Think Starlight Glimmer Is A Better Character Then Sunset Shimmer

[LeafFerret 3,382]

Starlight seems to be the pony who seems to be a good candidate to replace Twilight as the central character, some who say otherwise are either just hate her without stating any evidence or fans who won't let go of the past of what the Mane 6 did in the first five seasons.

 

Sunset just seems to be a 7th element of the EG series and doesn't seem to have a bigger role than any of the Mane 6.

 

I appreciate what the Mane 6 did in the past but if we keep bringing that up then the show will be compared to those long running shows that have little to no changes every season. It's like bringing up those trophies that you won 6 years ago that doesn't have much relevance now. Having Starlight in the show just give the show a fresher look and better story and have the writers think outside the box rather than seeing practically the same stuff every season and not expecting much, not only that, but we'll also keep the name of the show since the show is about Friendship is Magic. Also, Starlight has more development in 2 seasons than the Mane 6 in 6.

Edited January 16, 2017 by GlimGlam04

[Lambdadelta 1,462]

 

 

When she mind controlled everyone, and when she was a villain in the first place.

None of these can compare to Discord crimes in S2 and S4, even after reformed he still an asshole to Twilight, and only give a buck about Fluttershy. Dont forget about trying to throw Treehugger to puppet dimension.

 

About Cutie Remark. Everything is clear as day in that episode, but what people keep ignoring it is Starlight didnt aware of the consequence of her action, and she is the only villain who stop her action after realizing it was terribly wrong. She didnt even BEG FOR MERCY, she ready to be recieve any punishment, it's Twilight decide to "rehabilitate" her. 

 

About Mind Control stuffs. I know this action is wrong, but you should know Starlight is Twilight with zero social skills, that pony replied too much magic to solve her problems in her entire life, it take time to let it go, and she learned her lesson, right!? The reason i think Twilight is easy on her because Twilight actually understand Starlight's behavior, and she is... the princess of Friendship. 

 

 

 

I will say Sunset Shimmer's reformation was literally less than Starlight's, in the last part of EG. 

Sunset has best redemption arc but worst reformation. After reading Fall of Sunset Shimmer, i dont believe she can just turn around that fast. 

 

Right now, Sunset character is getting boring to me, there is nothing i want to know more about her, her flaws has been keep minimizing to nearly perfection, what she does, what she says are always lovely, only in FG, we can see a glimpse of her character flaws.

 

Starlight has more room to develop and more stories to tell, unlike Sunset, she lived in the universe with a bunch of well-developed characters in the past 6 seasons, it hard to be the best character in FIM universe with a pool of more competent players, Starlight definately face more challenges than Sunset Shimmer

[bluseymoe 258]

I find them both boring and cliche'd. But at least Sunset has the decency to not be canon.

 

To me, Starlight is nothing more than a glorified Poochie.

Edited January 16, 2017 by bluseymoe

[Tilgoreth 1,915]

I find them both boring and cliche'd. But at least Sunset has the decency to not be canon.

To me, Starlight is nothing more than a glorified Poochie.

Eqg is canon. Twilight was in the t three movies. Eqg four referenced Twilight. Also if anything Trixie is a glorified dog! WhY? Because I said so! Okay I'm done. Don't want he mods to bane me. But your claim makes no sense.

Starlight seems to be the pony who seems to be a good candidate to replace Twilight as the central character, some who say otherwise are either just hate her without stating any evidence or fans who won't let go of the past of what the Mane 6 did in the first five seasons.

 

Sunset just seems to be a 7th element of the EG series and doesn't seem to have a bigger role than any of the Mane 6.

 

I appreciate what the Mane 6 did in the past but if we keep bringing that up then the show will be compared to those long running shows that have little to no changes every season. It's like bringing up those trophies that you won 6 years ago that doesn't have much relevance now. Having Starlight in the show just give the show a fresher look and better story and have the writers think outside the box rather than seeing practically the same stuff every season and not expecting much, not only that, but we'll also keep the name of the show since the show is about Friendship is Magic. Also, Starlight has more development in 2 seasons than the Mane 6 in 6.

I thought that at first. But now I doubt it. Starlight will remain in about the same capacity in season seven. I could be wrong. Maybe she'll become a very big player within the universe. But I also feel like she might take a step back. From what I've seen the show staff say about season seven it feels like it will focus more on the mane six. So the other characters might take a back seat. Or at least Starlight won't play as big of a role.

[LeafFerret 3,382]

Eqg is canon. Twilight was in the t three movies. Eqg four referenced Twilight. Also if anything Trixie is a glorified dog! WhY? Because I said so! Okay I'm done. Don't want he mods to bane me. But your claim makes no sense.

I thought that at first. But now I doubt it. Starlight will remain in about the same capacity in season seven. I could be wrong. Maybe she'll become a very big player within the universe. But I also feel like she might take a step back. From what I've seen the show staff say about season seven it feels like it will focus more on the mane six. So the other characters might take a back seat. Or at least Starlight won't play as big of a role.

From what I seen, Starlight has a fanbase herself, so getting rid of her isn't as easy as one thinks, plus they released a new logo and new logo usually means a big change, also there seems to be little to no information about S7 itself, we had the same case in previous season but we kind of expected what was going to happen in those seasons and considering what I saw in the comic preview, it's highly unlikely she will be given a step back.

[Tilgoreth 1,915]

From what I seen, Starlight has a fanbase herself, so getting rid of her isn't as easy as one thinks, plus they released a new logo and new logo usually means a big change, also there seems to be little to no information about S7 itself, we had the same case in previous season but we kind of expected what was going to happen in those seasons and considering what I saw in the comic preview, it's highly unlikely she will be given a step back.

Hey is their a topic thread on this site for Starlight fan club? Also what comic preview are you talking about? And could you link it to me?

[LeafFerret 3,382]

Hey is their a topic thread on this site for Starlight fan club? Also what comic preview are you talking about? And could you link it to me?

Don't think I'm allowed to post it here, but it's a preview from Comic issue number 50, I looked it up on EQ Daily.

 

You mean this?  https://mlpforums.com/topic/123046-starlight-glimmer-fan-club/

[Tilgoreth 1,915]

Don't think I'm allowed to post it here, but it's a preview from Comic issue number 50, I looked it up on EQ Daily.

 

You mean this?  https://mlpforums.com/topic/123046-starlight-glimmer-fan-club/

Oh okay thank you. That is what I meant.

[Lambdadelta 1,462]

From what I seen, Starlight has a fanbase herself, so getting rid of her isn't as easy as one thinks, plus they released a new logo and new logo usually means a big change, also there seems to be little to no information about S7 itself, we had the same case in previous season but we kind of expected what was going to happen in those seasons and considering what I saw in the comic preview, it's highly unlikely she will be given a step back.

The comic featured a lot of characters who didnt get a chance to shine in the show (Celestia, Bab Seed, Iron Will, Sombra, even Starwirl himself), so is Starlight in the comic a good sign!? Comics usually do something the show didnt, and it is just B-canon. Seeing Starlight made me worry even more...

[LeafFerret 3,382]

The comic featured a lot of characters who didnt get a chance to shine in the show (Celestia, Bab Seed, Iron Will, Sombra, even Starwirl himself), so is Starlight in the comic a good sign!? Comics usually do something the show didnt, and it is just B-canon. Seeing Starlight made me worry even more...

I doubt it, from what I can remember, Starlight's lessons with Twilight have not been completed yet even though she did save them in the finale, I think she still has a lot to go before she can do things without Twilight's assistance.

[Cleverclover 1,525]

Eh, Sunset and Starlight both have plenty of problems and I don't think either of them are good characters.  

 

Sunset's problem is that she continues to conveniently pass on her past actions (and by that I mean, the part of her that legitimately wanted to take over Equestria and enslave others) to some "old" persona of herself so that her newer persona doesn't have to deal with it. Does it really work like that? I know that she received a direct hit from the rainbow harmony laser thing, but I do not think that it rid her of every last trace of evil in her body. But it's definitely more convenient for her sake to play the victim card and act as though something or someone was simply making her be evil, and that she's always been a pure and innocent little snowflake at heart. And like others have said, she's losing her flaws pretty quickly and becoming borderline perfect. Friendship Games came out of nowhere to imply that she has intelligence that is nearly on Twilight's level, even though the Sunset Shimmer of the first Equestria Girls was clearly not a bright person (given how she thought an army of mind-controlled teenagers would stand any chance against Celestia), and I can't forget the "By the way, I have awesome guitar skills....because reasons!" thing that Rainbow Rocks shoved out of its ass at the last minute.  

 

Starlight's problem is that she keeps receiving things that she does not deserve and has not earned. One of these things being Twilight and the mane five's trust. While it took over two and a half seasons after Discord's reformation for the mane six to finally trust him and accept him as a friend, Starlight gets instant forgiveness and completely undue trust pretty much out of the gate. On top of that, for whatever reason, the writers expect us to look past her complete lack of regard for the rights of others and love her to death. It's why she violated the mane five's rights and freedoms on completely unimaginable level, and then just a few episodes later, we were expected to root for her in the season finale. At least when Sunset began gaining some goodwill, she never fell back on it. But Starlight can apparently continue to display what an awful friend and all around awful person she is, and still get rewarded in the end. 

 

Between the two, however, I think I have the potential to like Starlight more, but that's going to depend on whether she makes a legitimate effort to move past her sociopathic tendencies and be an actual friend to the mane five. Also, I would sincerely like for her to tone her magic usage way down, both in the way she exerts it over others, and in the way she jumps straight to a spell as a solution to everything. 

Edited January 17, 2017 by Cleverclover

[NeonCobalt 256]

I definitely agree.

 

Also, I've never understood the idea that Sunset had the better redemption. While I'll give Rainbow Rocks credit for "rescuing" this, her initial redemption scene was terrible. It comes across like a parody of an MLP redemption. One second she's literally a demon, then she's blasted with a rainbow, then suddenly she does a complete 180.

 

I'm not going to stand here and pretend that Starlight's redemption scene was the pinnacle of television writing, because it isn't. But at the very least, they showed her being taken aback by what she had done (even though she was trying to hide it), they gave her a motivation (whether you thought it was a believable one is irrelevant), showed Twilight having sympathy for her, then had Twilight gradually talk her out of destroying the scroll and accepting her friendship. All of this takes about 1/3 of the 2nd part of the finale, which is certainly more screentime than Sunset's redemption was given in EQG1.

[Bats 16]

 

Between the two, however, I think I have the potential to like Starlight more, but that's going to depend on whether she makes a legitimate effort to move past her sociopathic tendencies and be an actual friend to the mane five. Also, I would sincerely like for her to tone her magic usage way down, both in the way she exerts it over others, and in the way she jumps straight to a spell as a solution to everything. 

thats something i see a lot in this fandom... ppl that dislike sociopathic tendencies as personality traits, or care about the character being friends with others.

 

with anime fans i see the exact opposite - characters with sociopathic tendencies are fascinating, and many of the top characters are anti-social and have very small group of friends/one person they care about/none at all.

[Lazy Crazy 3]

I disagree. I didn't like Starlight's reformation at all. Sunset Shimmer had a reason to be evil, a really simple one - she wanted power. While she was Celestia's student she grew impatient and power-hungry, but she couldn't have what she wanted in Equestria. In human world she could do what she couldn't do under Celestia's mentorship - gain power and authority by manipulating people whenever she wants. Even though she was a really bad villian, it's because she was just a selfish immature child. Her reason to be good was her transformation into a demon. It was clearly shown that it scared her and was painful, she was crying while transforming. And then she was defeated - it didn't seem like a pleasant experience ether. The crown could've possibly shown her the feelings she had already forgotten - fear and pain, feeling that everything went out of control. Twilight's preachy tone wouldn't reform anyone - feelings reformed Sunset. Starlight didn't seem to care about the world destruction, it was all Twilight's speech. And i think they could've shown more from Starlight's past - Sunburst thing might have as well been just the beginning of what Starlight went through because of cutie marks. Plus after Starlight apologised mane 6 everybody seemed to befriend and trust her, while Sunset had to earn that trust in Rainbow Rocks.

[J.J 918]

When people try to come down on my girl Starlight, but always coddle Sunset(whom I love equally as much, if not quite possibly more) They need to be reminded that Sunset was in no position to flee and devise an alternative plan, she was already known as a backstabber and her true intentions were revealed before everyone she knew and that knew her. Starlight had utter conviction in her work, with manipulation, Sunset was kind of just manipulative and cunning... Rainbow Rocks is beyond inspiring to me, but I love that Starlight is not afraid to allow her sensitivity to be shown... she is constantly nit picking at how Twilight holds double standards, or like with the season 7 finale when everyone shut her out, she knew exactly what needed to be done... it's "heroes" like Starswirl, that push aside the contributions of their  friends, though lacking the magical potential, and same untapped abilities... and hold pride above all else... the elements of harmony almost completely contradict that way of thinking, and believe it or not just as Sunset was revealed to posses harmony upholding magic, Starlight does as well, it just wasnt as defined, sometimes you need someone who has made real mistakes to have the hindsight for your foresight, and to help the teacher learn the lesson that they have initially taught them, almost exactly the same thing that Sunset did for the Mane six at the end of Rainbow Rocks....

[Lunar Glow 674]

I would say that both lack strong personalities and character, but Sunset Shimmer ranks a little higher in my books for me. 

Of course, I simply don't like Starlight Glimmer, so I might be a little biased.

[Senko 459]

On 1/16/2017 at 6:13 AM, Tilgoreth said:

On 1/16/2017 at 6:07 AM, MegaSean45 said:

I agree! I also like Starlight better! I mean mainly because she's more independent than Sunset. While Sunset is becoming a seventh Element of Harmony, Starlight is getting her own group of friends, so there are so many different possibilites with her! She might as well be a protagonist in MLP Gen 5! Or maybe gen 4.5.

I doubt they'll give Starlight a spin off show. Also its possible that Starlight could become a seventh element of harmony as well. We know one exists from Legend Of Everfree. So Starlight could be the pony equivalent.

And I would dearly love to know what element it is, why the colours on those 7 are different and who put those geodes there in the first place.

[Thrond 3,257]

It's interesting to see this post revived, because my reaction to it right now is very different from what my reaction would have been when it was first posted, which is in turn very different from what it would have been around the end of season 7. The post concerns their time as villains, in which case Starlight is obviously the more interesting character - even if we ignore the strange parts of Sunset's plan, she wasn't not a particularly original or nuanced antagonist. Post-reformation, there was a good while where I'd say I easily liked Sunset more, as all of my favourite Starlight episodes made her essentially like Sunset but more confused, but at the same time I always acknowledged Starlight as a more complex character. That didn't mean much last year, when I mostly found both of them bland, but I've liked both a lot more lately, and it's hard for me to choose between them. Do I pick the nicer, more charismatic Sunset, who fits all the criteria which make me love the mane six? Or do I pick the weirder, more morally gray Starlight, whose sketchiness is both a blessing and a curse? I win either way, so why even make the choice? Maybe I won't.

[COH 6]

I don't know...I still couldn't care less about Starlight Glimmer but I love Sunset Shimmer.

In the end it's just a matter of taste. I easily fell in love with Sunset while I simply can't get into Starlight's character. It always feels to me as if someone tries to shove her character down my throat and I really don't like that. I don't care how "grey" or complex a character is if I don't find the character charismatic.

Edited July 22, 2018 by COH

[RulesofRarity 489]

20 hours ago, COH said:

I don't know...I still couldn't care less about Starlight Glimmer but I love Sunset Shimmer.

In the end it's just a matter of taste. I easily fell in love with Sunset while I simply can't get into Starlight's character. It always feels to me as if someone tries to shove her character down my throat and I really don't like that. I don't care how "grey" or complex a character is if I don't find the character charismatic.

I agree 100%. I get the feeling of Starlight being shoved down my throat as well, she appeared in so many episodes last season that it almost felt overwhelming at times. Both the premiere episodes and the finale focused heavily on her, A Royal Problem ended up being all about her and she was the one who offered the "resolution" in Fame and Misfortune just to list a few examples.

[COH 6]

1 hour ago, RulesofRarity said:

I agree 100%. I get the feeling of Starlight being shoved down my throat as well, she appeared in so many episodes last season that it almost felt overwhelming at times. Both the premiere episodes and the finale focused heavily on her, A Royal Problem ended up being all about her and she was the one who offered the "resolution" in Fame and Misfortune just to list a few examples.

Yes, overwhelming. Whatever she says or does...I just can't feel much sympathy for her. Her Backstory was just too weak and Starlight being even more powerful(or talented) than Alicorn Twilight is just too much nonsense in my opinion. Even when she had her guest appearance on Equestria Girls(Mirror Magic) she was the one who saved the day in the end. And she'll probably be the one who'll defeat Queen Chrysalis in the end too. It's just too much...

I watched a "Rainbow Rocks" reaction video and the "Reactor" criticized the writing and Sunset Shimmer because "they tried too hard" to make us feel sympathy for Sunset Shimmer and to forgive her. This guy is apparently a Starlight Glimmer fanboy. The whole thing doesn't make any sense. How can you criticize something like that if it's about Sunset Shimmer but don't care if it's about Starlight Glimmer? The whole Sunset Shimmer vs Starlight Glimmer debate is full of Hypocrisy in my opinion.

On both sides.

Edited July 23, 2018 by COH

[gingerninja666 487]

35 minutes ago, COH said:

Yes, overwhelming. Whatever she says or does...I just can't feel much sympathy for her. Her Backstory was just too weak and Starlight being even more powerful(or talented) than Alicorn Twilight is just too much nonsense in my opinion. Even when she had her guest appearance on Equestria Girls(Mirror Magic) she was the one who saved the day in the end. And she'll probably be the one who'll defeat Queen Chrysalis in the end too. It's just too much...

I watched a "Rainbow Rocks" reaction video and the "Reactor" criticized the writing and Sunset Shimmer because "they tried too hard" to make us feel sympathy for Sunset Shimmer. This guy is apparently a Starlight Glimmer fanboy. The whole thing doesn't make any sense. How can you criticize something like that if it's about Sunset Shimmer but don't care if it's about Starlight Glimmer? The whole Sunset Shimmer vs Starlight Glimmer debate is full of Hypocrisy in my opinion.

On both sides.

The talent thing never really mattered to me because the show will never really use it like that. Starlight was useless to fix Rarity's mane issue in It Isn't The MAne Thing about You. She couldn't stop the MAulworth or a single changeling guard at all in To Change a Changeling. Just like Twilight, Star's powers will be as effective as the need arises, and this show isn't really about fighting. Then again, I don't think the show DID portray her as stronger than Twilight.

 

About the only time I've thought Star's focus was too much was in Mirror Magic. Every other time I've liked the context leading up to Starlight helping. People point at Royal Problem and say that it's all about Starlight when Idon't really see it. Starlight kinda loses any agency in the plot after swapping their marks and all the focus is on Celestia and Luna. Even at the end she's just a damsel in need of rescuing.

 

Also I'm a Starlight fan and I actually do think her backstory as it's shown is quite weak. I just kinda moved past it after a while, just like Sunset fans moved past her being a really weak villain.

Edited July 23, 2018 by gingerninja666

[Senko 459]

Personally I think Twilight's a lot stronger than she realizes its just that she tends to hold back because she's a nice pony and during the only straight up fight between her and Starlight Starlight was going all out whereas Twilight was hobbled by the fact an all out fight still lost her the battle because it distracted Rainbow Dash. At the end of that battle both of them were winded and needed a break but compare how much magic they used first.

Starlight

Levitated Herself with telekinesis? Many occasions.

Cast time travel spell x 1.

Froze someone using telekinesis? x 1

Froze Twilight in crystal with a surprise attack x 1

Energy blasts x 5

Shield x 1

Twilght

Multiple uses of telekinesis to catch spike or hold objects.

Cast time travel spell x 2

Broke free of her crystal prison x 1

Energy blasts x 4.

Rapid fire of multiple smaller energy blasts x 2

Teleports x 4

Shield x 2

So by the time we see her tiring against Starlight in their straight up battle she's already cast the time travel spell twice to Starlight's once, used her telekinesis probably a similar amount as Starlight, fired off nearly as many large energy blasts plus two rapid fires of smaller ones, teleported 4 times, shielded herself and Spike directly against energy attacks twice whereas Starlight tends to dodge and expended energy to break free of her crystal prison. Even if you just limit to energy use in that sole fight which considering she has trouble facing the timber wolves later doesn't seem like the right thing to do she's expending a lot more energy than Starlight shielding directly or teleporting out of the way rather than moving aside and twice she fires off a rapid stream of multiple energy blasts. Yet at the end they're both feeling the strain and she still teleports to talk to Dash within seconds even though she would have had to use a lot more energy than Starlight in the fight.

[Guest]

I could write a novel on why I feel Sunset is a superior character, but I'll try and condense it:

Starlight's reason for being evil is given and it's a very "meh" reason. Her friend ditched her, big whoop. Sunset however you are mistaken we are never given the full explanation and because of that we can fill in our own explanations which could make more sense. Not being told much doesn't make the reasoning bad, it means we have the ability to fill in the holes ourselves. Once you give a definitive explanation, that's it.

Starlight's backstory has a definitive explanation and it kind of sucks. Sunset's is left more open so we can sort of "fix" her a bit because we can make our own conclusions. That alone creates stronger character foundation for her.

[gingerninja666 487]

29 minutes ago, Key Sharkz said:

I could write a novel on why I feel Sunset is a superior character, but I'll try and condense it:

Starlight's reason for being evil is given and it's a very "meh" reason. Her friend ditched her, big whoop. Sunset however you are mistaken we are never given the full explanation and because of that we can fill in our own explanations which could make more sense. Not being told much doesn't make the reasoning bad, it means we have the ability to fill in the holes ourselves. Once you give a definitive explanation, that's it.

Starlight's backstory has a definitive explanation and it kind of sucks. Sunset's is left more open so we can sort of "fix" her a bit because we can make our own conclusions. That alone creates stronger character foundation for her.

Sunset was also given a definitive explanation.

"Sunset Shimmer. A former student of mine. She began her studies with me not long before Twilight. But when she did not get what she wanted as quickly as she liked, she turned cruel and dishonest."

I think both characters have wiggle room for fan interpretations to make them work beter. We didn't see every step Starlight took on her path to evil, just the inciting incident. All she mentioned was that in the aftermath of the Sunburst thing she never made another friend out of fear, she never mentioned the point where she actually chose to create her town.