Sunset Shimmer's Character- how does it compare to Starlight Glimmer's?

[Elliethepegasus 52]

I'm currently watching the 3 new Equestria Girls shorts- Dance Magic, Movie Magic, and Mirror Magic. I'd heard about these shorts and have been eagerly awaiting the opportunity to watch them myself! Mirror Magic in particular was the one I anticipated the most- Because it brought two very similar characters together. Seeing Sunset Shimmer back in equestria is something I've wanted to happen for a long time. But when I heard that Starlight Glimmer was being given an opportunity to visit the human world, I was even more excited. And now as the credits roll for Mirror Magic, I can say that it was a great blend of the canon and an awesome opportunity for Starlight's character to grow.

All throughout season 6, Twilight guided Starlight through friendship lessons, and- to be honest, I always thought Starlight would make a much better antagonist. And as I actively watch season 7- I still see very antagonistic tendencies. It takes a while for Starlight to learn her lessons. It takes a few mistakes for her to understand. 

But- without spoiling Mirror Magic, I honestly think my opinion has changed of Starlight. She has her own place in equestria, and being in the human world for a short time has helped her realize how much she'd actually learned, and the impact it's had on her. Especially when she sees situations mirrored to her own 'tragic flaw'. 

Any Equestria Girls fan will enjoy these three shorts- they're 21 minutes long each, and they help to flesh out the characters and the universe within this human alternate universe. 

So I'm interested- What are your guys' opinions on Sunset Shimmer and Starlight Glimmer? Do you prefer one over the other? Are they too similar? Let me know! Lets start a discussion!! 

[Abstract 832]

I've never been a big EG fan - Rainbow Rocks was as good as it got IMO - but this is the first I'm hearing of these shorts, I suppose I'll have to go scout them out.

They're honestly very similar characters if you ask me - obviously with some key differences, but overall their personalities give me the same kind of vibe - kind of lost and confused, basically good at heart but with slightly questionable morals.

[Elliethepegasus 52]

1 minute ago, Abstract said:

I've never been a big EG fan - Rainbow Rocks was as good as it got IMO - but this is the first I'm hearing of these shorts, I suppose I'll have to go scout them out.

They're honestly very similar characters if you ask me - obviously with some key differences, but overall their personalities give me the same kind of vibe - kind of lost and confused, basically good at heart but with slightly questionable morals.

Up until this point, I always thought that Sunset made a much better 'reformed' villain- as in the first EG movie, her motives weren't very strong, and she was- quote unquote- Redeemed- very quickly. Rainbow Rocks was the true shine of her character IMO, and I agree that it's the best of the EG movies without a doubt. 

Starlight, however, I thought would make a much better antagonist. Granted- revenge is a very cliche villain motive, but she made it work. Coupled with the fact that her magic power rival that of Twilight's nearly equally makes for a very VERY interesting dynamic. I've always preferred Sunset as a character over Starlight, but seeing them interact together sort of made me realize how different they are, despite their similar backgrounds. 

[Ganondorf8 11,273]

When Starlight first appeared, she was considered another clone of Twilight, but when she was reformed and given a backstory that explained why she became the way she did, she effectively became a clone of Sunset. Once Starlight established herself as being independent from the other two in season six, she became her own person whilst retaining a couple of qualities from her predecessors.

Sunset had a terrible reformation--as did Starlight--yet hers happened extremely quickly given the context of Equestria Girls having only four movies and three specials, but the one thing that separates them is that Sunset actually endured a punishment that lasted throughout Rainbow Rocks. Starlight was never punished and that rubbed people the wrong way. Starlight was the much better antagonist hands down as her plan was carefully planned out and involved tremendous risks while Sunset came off as being more petty.

[StormBlaze 992]

I love Sunset over Starlight in the EQG world. She's so laid back about most things and just take sit all in her strude and rarely panicks like Twilight does. 

Starlight seems more easily excitable and headstrong, which can get her in trouble. At least Sunset takes her time to think of the different outcomes to making a choice on their next move. She also is not afraid to ask for help. Starlight strikes me as the type to just try and fix things herself and it gets out of control. I think we've seen it before, but it just shows their totally 2 different personalities and not clones. 

 

[cmarston1 5,959]

Sunset actually had a backstory that wasn't trash and had an entire movie to face consequences for her actions and have to work to earn the forgiveness of her peers instead of magically being forgiven in less than 5 minutes.

[Elliethepegasus 52]

10 hours ago, Ganondorf8 said:

Sunset had a terrible reformation--as did Starlight--yet hers happened extremely quickly given the context of Equestria Girls having only four movies and three specials, but the one thing that separates them is that Sunset actually endured a punishment that lasted throughout Rainbow Rocks. Starlight was never punished and that rubbed people the wrong way. Starlight was the much better antagonist hands down as her plan was carefully planned out and involved tremendous risks while Sunset came off as being more petty.

That's what made Sunset really stand out for me. When the first movie ended I was sorely disappointed in how quickly she apologized and was forgiven. However it was great to see her struggling with the rest of the student body- and even the mane 6 at some points- to prove that she's changed. I agree that Starlight makes a much MUCH better antagonist than Sunset ever did. And I'd honestly like to see Starlight revert back to those antagonistic ways at some point- perhaps for a season 7 finale.  

7 minutes ago, cmarston1 said:

Sunset actually had a backstory that wasn't trash and had an entire movie to face consequences for her actions and have to work to earn the forgiveness of her peers instead of magically being forgiven in less than 5 minutes.

Starlight's reformation bothered me to no end- it was quick and painless. The one redeeming factor of Starlight's strange reformation was how she struggled with herself, and doubting everyone's forgiveness because she realized what she did was really messed up.

[BastementSparkle 20,323]

53 minutes ago, Elliethepegasus said:

Starlight's reformation bothered me to no end- it was quick and painless. The one redeeming factor of Starlight's strange reformation was how she struggled with herself, and doubting everyone's forgiveness because she realized what she did was really messed up.

It's funny you say that, as that's actually the main reason I prefer Starlight's reformation overall. Starlight's struggled with herself, even into season 7. She's had doubts, fallen back into old habits, distrusted herself...Meanwhile, Sunset feels so..."Perfect" in comparison. She struggled with being forgiven by others sure, but it never felt like she struggled with being a good person now. Starlight feels like someone bad trying to be good now, Sunset doesn't.

Not that I don't like Sunset, I like them both. But I think Starlight was easily the better done reformation.

[Elliethepegasus 52]

9 minutes ago, RareBase said:

It's funny you say that, as that's actually the main reason I prefer Starlight's reformation overall. Starlight's struggled with herself, even into season 7. She's had doubts, fallen back into old habits, distrusted herself...Meanwhile, Sunset feels so..."Perfect" in comparison. She struggled with being forgiven by others sure, but it never felt like she struggled with being a good person now. Starlight feels like someone bad trying to be good now, Sunset doesn't.

Not that I don't like Sunset, I like them both. But I think Starlight was easily the better done reformation.

Now that you mention it...Neither of them made a perfect reformation. I guess if you smush the two of them together you'd get a pretty great reformed villain. They definately had an interesting dynamic together in Mirror Magic, and it helped define them both as individuals.

[BastementSparkle 20,323]

15 minutes ago, Elliethepegasus said:

Now that you mention it...Neither of them made a perfect reformation. I guess if you smush the two of them together you'd get a pretty great reformed villain. They definately had an interesting dynamic together in Mirror Magic, and it helped define them both as individuals.

Yeah. I like them both overall, but I think both their reformations could have been better with a few fixes and changes. For Starlight, I have two big problems. Apologizing to her town and them forgiving her should not have been part of the Season 5 end montage, it should have been an episode all on it's own. The other issue is her backstory...sort of. The thing is, her backstory isn't actually bad in my opinion, it's just the execution. People look at it and comment on how petty and insignificant it is, but that's the whole point. The season 5 finale is all about the "Butterfly effect", how small, seemingly trivial things can completely alter the course of history. Every time Twilight returned to the past, the small little changes affected the future in drastically different ways.

 Starlight's life is the same. She didn't "Go evil" just because her best friend left and that's it, that was just the event that set the ball rolling in motion. A seemingly small event to an outsider that affected everything that came after. I feel like if they had gone through a bit more of her history, showing the way this event affected her life...such as Starlight isolating herself from others and studying magic out of her fear of losing another friend, perhaps her beginning to adopt her philosophy on Cutie Marks and others rather than talking to her about it, just treating her like she was crazy, driving her further into madness...These kind of things would have made her backstory feel better, and would have more likely gotten the point across.

For Sunset, I think we could have done with seeing her keep a few more shades of her pre-reformation self. We have her losing her temper at Sci-Twi and her showing guilt over the magic loose in the human world but that's about it. If she had a few more instances of screwing up or falling back on old bad habits, I think it would have made villain Sunset and reformed Sunset feel a bit more like they are the same character.

Edited June 12, 2017 by RareBase

[Brightbart 268]

I haven't seen any of the specials but after watching Saturday's episode I'd say that Starlight is the best character the show has now. I was really disappointed with her reformation since I thought she was FiM's best villain but I really like what the writers have done with her since. She might not be a villain anymore but her personality hasn't changed much and has a lot of depth, unlike Sunset who did a complete 180 from clearly villainous to trying to be everyone's friend in 5 minutes. Starlight at least still uses magic to gain an advantage, is instinctual, isn't afraid to make friends with ponies the mane 6 don't like, and makes mistakes. Sunset didn't even need friendship lessons afterwards. Starlight is also one of the only ones that recognizes how ridiculous some of the mane 6 can be, such as with Twilight's and Pinkie's spazzing. Really the only thing giving her mundanity is her guilt which has been keeping her in check. 

It could be me but in comparison I find Sunset to be much more one dimensional. 

[Steve Piranha 29,415]

I think one of the main differences between Sunny and Starlight is that the former has adapted better over her new life. Starlight however, is still a bit insecure, has more difficulties making new friends, and she hasn't get over the fact that she was evil. I think it's because Sunny KNEW she was evil partly, and she used to be like that because.... she was a power hungry and entitled. Starlight started her darkness from a trauma in fillyhood (despite being lame and blown out of proportion, she thought in her messed mind she was doing good, but she became obsessed with revenge once her previous life was foiled

[Ganondorf8 11,273]

7 hours ago, Elliethepegasus said:

That's what made Sunset really stand out for me. When the first movie ended I was sorely disappointed in how quickly she apologized and was forgiven. However it was great to see her struggling with the rest of the student body- and even the mane 6 at some points- to prove that she's changed. I agree that Starlight makes a much MUCH better antagonist than Sunset ever did. And I'd honestly like to see Starlight revert back to those antagonistic ways at some point- perhaps for a season 7 finale.  

I didn't like Sunset as a villain myself though I always believed that she was destined for something more, and then Rainbow Rocks happened and she has been going strong ever since gaining a massive following in response. Her struggles in Rainbow Rocks were personal for me as I've been through similar experiences so that it made it easy for me to relate to her.

[Frostgage 7,975]

I LOVED these three shorts - they premiere in English soon <3

Sunset's probably my 2nd or 3rd favorite character although I really like Starlight as well. It was cool seeing them interact considering their mutual antagonistic pasts. When comparing the two, it's important to keep in mind that Sunset has had the advantage of time - Sunny's reformation came a fair bit before Starlight's. However something I believe is equally important is the way each learned about friendship; specifically, Sunset began interacting with her new friends every day (mirroring Twilight at the beginning of the series) while Starlight seemed to avoid actual interaction with other ponies. As was said, Starlight's antagonistic qualities shine through fairly frequently and she's struggled with friendship more than Sunset did despite the parallels between the characters.

[Elliethepegasus 52]

4 hours ago, Frostgage said:

I LOVED these three shorts - they premiere in English soon <3

They're already in English! I watched them just the other day! You can find them on EQDaily!~

[Frostgage 7,975]

1 hour ago, Elliethepegasus said:

They're already in English! I watched them just the other day! You can find them on EQDaily!~

I'm so out of the loop xD Thank fam

[Steve Piranha 29,415]

2 hours ago, Elliethepegasus said:

They're already in English! I watched them just the other day! You can find them on EQDaily!~

I'm not in a hurry to watch them (already watched the polish dub). For one, I wanna watch them legit, so I'll wait for the Netflix releases 

[Elliethepegasus 52]

2 hours ago, Steve Piranha said:

I'm not in a hurry to watch them (already watched the polish dub). For one, I wanna watch them legit, so I'll wait for the Netflix releases 

I don't have Netflix, heh heh. I'll take what I can get. 

[takai 1,060]

I definitely prefer Sunset over Starlight. I could argue all day that Sunset is one of the best characters Gen 4 has to offer. She's a very believable and inspiring character compared to Starlight. You see her struggle in Rainbow Rocks, which is the movie that solidified herself as a terrific character. Unlike Starlight who I still think is a Mary Sue, Sunset makes mistakes and is just in general so much more likable. Starlight is always negative and panicky.

I liked Starlight in Mirror Magic, I also really really dig her EQG design. It's really sexy.

[Elliethepegasus 52]

14 minutes ago, takai said:

I definitely prefer Sunset over Starlight. I could argue all day that Sunset is one of the best characters Gen 4 has to offer. She's a very believable and inspiring character compared to Starlight. You see her struggle in Rainbow Rocks, which is the movie that solidified herself as a terrific character. Unlike Starlight who I still think is a Mary Sue, Sunset makes mistakes and is just in general so much more likable. Starlight is always negative and panicky.

I liked Starlight in Mirror Magic, I also really really dig her EQG design. It's really sexy.

I could write a freakin' paper about Sunset's character- Like wow Sunset is honestly amazing. 

Starlight took some time for me to warm up to her. But now on season 7, I've come to like her and her quirks.

[RulesofRarity 489]

Personally, I prefer Sunset. Her reformation was handled much better than Starlight's. People at the school didn't immediately forgive Sunset like the town forgave Starlight.

[cuteycindyhoney 13,306]

Sunset made the adjustment to friendship much easier and quicker than Starlight. Starlight is still struggling, while Sunset has fully embraced having close friends.

[CypherHoof 26,482]

4 hours ago, cuteycindyhoney said:

Sunset made the adjustment to friendship much easier and quicker than Starlight. Starlight is still struggling, while Sunset has fully embraced having close friends.

We don't really have enough backstory on Sunset, but I suspect that Celestia learned from her mistakes with Sunset which is why she intervened and forced Twilight to Ponyville and onto the path of friendship; Sunset doesn't seem to have had a traumatic past, just walked the same path Twilight and Moondancer walked down.  You also have to wonder about Celestia herself at that point - she had literally a thousand years of having to be the perfect PR pony in public, with the guilt and regret of having to banish her own baby sister to the moon gnawing at her, and watching everypony she cares about grow old and die around her.

But back to Sunset - her speech to Midnight Sparkle is telling, and again, spoke to someone on that path - Sunset didn't actually WANT power and conquest, she was lonely, and thought she could fix that with stolen power; in losing then, she actually won, in that she got not what she was asking for but what she actually desired. My past is not today captures this perfectly, including her rejection by the other students after her defeat and the open-hearted acceptance and inclusion by the Wondercolts.  Sunset did not make her own redemption (although she did have to work at it) - she was lifted and guided by the other girls, with RR being her final test - with the Wondercolts in a losing battle against the more powerful and experienced Sirens, she literally took point in the fight, standing side by side with Twilight as an equal, and added her power to theirs.

Now for Starlight....

Starlight had a very different start. She had a close friendship with Sunburst, which Sunburst neglected - gaining his cutie mark before she did, he surged ahead to Celestia's school and left Starlight behind, hurt and alone, which left her emotionally scarred and bitter. Deflection then led her to blame cutie marks themselves for her problems - after all, it was getting his cutie mark that opened the divide between her and Sunburst - and when THAT unravelled on her, she added a second layer - it was all Twilight's fault for breaking the little artificial world she had built for herself to hide in, and when an opportunity for revenge arose, she took it. 

21 hours ago, RulesofRarity said:

Personally, I prefer Sunset. Her reformation was handled much better than Starlight's. People at the school didn't immediately forgive Sunset like the town forgave Starlight.

I think that is actually part of Starlight's problem.  She finally came to her senses when she was shown she was destroying the whole of Equestria in her attempts to get revenge, and her desire to atone for her past actions seems genuine - she is a little bundle of guilt, shame, fear and hurt when she finally confronts Sunburst and despite the events in the Changeling kingdom, that doesn't seem to have changed much. The siren episode gave Sunset an opportunity to redeem herself in the eyes of the students she had wronged but to be fair, she wasn't much of an antagonist; other than being a pushy, self centered teen girl before the whole crown incident (which isn't THAT rare in highschool) there is really only that incident for them to resent, and while turning them into mind-controlled zombies is a lot to forgive, what Starlight did to that village is simply orders of magnitude worse - not quite unforgivable, but certainly spending a few years helping the village with her abilities would make their forgiveness seem more genuine and maybe help her feel better about herself.

 

Edited June 18, 2017 by CypherHoof
fixed typo

[Lambdadelta 1,462]

Now Sunset and Starlight are in the same screen, tell me, do they look like clones to you?  They have familar ex-villain status, but they definately are different characters with different struggle. I think both of them are amazing on their own, so it's just orange and apple, just pick one, or just take 2 of them like me, i like them for different reason (i like Starlight more but Sunset is definately in my top 5).

Three movie shorts are really good, their stories are simple but the characters completely made these enjoyable to watch, Mirror is the best, it freshed out Sunset and Starlight character more. I have to mention about humors, they really good, there are many best funny lines there and here is my best moment. 

DAT FUCKING FACE LOOK LIKE A FACE OF DEMON SPAWN WẠNT TO SUCK MY SOUL!!! BEST AND ONE OF VERY A FEW TRULY FUNNY STARLIGHT MOMENT!???? Writers  writers WRITERS , WHO SAY THIS CHARACTER CANT BE FUNNY? YOUR POOR SENSE OF HUMOR IS THE PROBLEM! 

Edited June 19, 2017 by Lambdadelta

[AriaBlazeEG 2]

All I can say to this is that Starlight and Sunset are both students of Twilight and also Celestia, they both are great friends.