Season 1-3 or 4-7?

[Lucartini 104]

Seasons 1-3 because I'm still getting caught up.

[TailsIsNotAlone 3,694]

Even though I didn't like much of Season 3 besides 'Sleepless in Ponyville', and it has that still-painful finale, I really enjoyed Seasons 1 and 2.  1 was all about introducing Lauren Faust's vision of a TV show for little girls that anybody could enjoy. Season 2 was about developing that vision in ways that (mostly) made sense while staying true to the show's roots. Seasons 4-7 have some great individual episodes but overall the show doesn't have the same feel. So I'll go for 1-3.

[Firedog 320]

1. Season 1

2. Season 4

3. Season 2

4. Season 3

5. Season 7

6. Season 5

7. Season 6

[Peter16373 103]

Well for me I'm gonna have to go with 4-7

1. Season 7

2. Season 5

3. Season 4

4. Season 6

5. Season 2

6. Season 3

7. Season 1

The majority of the episodes in the later seasons are in my top only 3 from the previous seasons are in it.

[KH7672 1,604]

I started watching the show during Season 4 so getting to experience the later seasons as they came out left a lot more of impact on me.  Still I can't say I like 1-3 any less, I guess binging and watching constant reruns when I first started (in between that S4-S5 hiatus) has given my fill of earlier seasons.

[Thrond 3,257]

7 hours ago, Celli said:

I am sorry but looking back, season 1 was not a good season and if you ask me, people who say it's the best can't take the nostalgia goggles off. Season 2 isn't much better. 

We're really gonna have to agree to disagree on this, because I find your opinion about as baffling as you clearly find mine. Nostalgia likely impacts my opinion of the first few seasons, but even looking beyond that I'm pretty sure that I don't like later seasons as much, especially 5 and 7. 

[Celli 4,332]

38 minutes ago, AlexanderThrond said:

We're really gonna have to agree to disagree on this, because I find your opinion about as baffling as you clearly find mine. Nostalgia likely impacts my opinion of the first few seasons, but even looking beyond that I'm pretty sure that I don't like later seasons as much, especially 5 and 7. 

I don't think it's a bad season, but in my opinion, it was the first and it shows, it's probably the only season I don't like going through on a marathon. Too many episodes like Show Stoppers and not enough like Party of One, or Cutie Mark Chronicles.

Also Twilight was shoehorned into almost every episode and that also hurt it as well.

[Philweasel 139]

I have to admit, season 1 doesn't seem all that popular, and looking back the episodes don't seem all that impressive anymore.

I still maintain that it had one of the best finales though, even without the circumstances of the time.
(Everyone thought it was going to be huge, and there was endless speculation. Trixie would come back! Luna would come back! It would be a big adventure episode! And then... it was a dull party with dull ponies, and the lesson was, temper your expectations, and be happy with what you have)

[Lambdadelta 1,462]

2>5>6>4>1>7>3

Season 2 still hold the best ranking. I think it still the most consistent season. It had both amazing premiere and finale, less gimmicks like S4, more entertaining episodes (after rewatching, i consider Mare Do Well a decent episode), better humors, the mane 6 are treated equally this season.

Season 5 is my second best because of some god-tier episodes like Amending Fence, Crusader of the Lost Mark, Slice of Life, Cutie Map and Bloom and Gloom. This season is more experimental, more dark, more intriguing than other season of the show. Some bad/mediocre are there but they are not abysmal like  S4's. Definitely the most hyped season of the entire series.

Season 6 is amazing, it can take the 3rd rank and kick Season 4 down. This season has many great episodes with high entertainment value, unlike S5, which try to take it too seriously, delivered some high entertainment episodes like Saddle Row Review, delivered some mature morals without being too soppy, balance between teaching morals and being entertaining. In addition, this season had a few episodes that relate to me so much that i want to kill myself because its just too real. Not many character development but many great developed characters teach other characters to show how our main character has grown over 5 seasons. I type too much about season 6 and it not all i want to talk about, it means something.

Season 4 is a big improvement after season rot (Season 3). It has many amazing episodes that make characters reach their next stage of development (Rarity Takes Manehattan, Flight to Finish, Pinkie Pride, Testing, For Whom, Twilight Kingdom) and a few episode that killed characters (notable Rainbow Fall and Somepony). A good chunks of funny episodes, even they are just gimmicks but still fun nonetheless. Talk about episode that kill characters, I want to mention Filli Vanilli and Three A Crowd, two good episode overall but they did the same thing that really hurt Pinkie Pie reputation, whenever someone really want to like Pinkie, these episode hold them back because these episode flanderize her to the extreme. She is obnoxious in Rock Solid but i can understand why she is doing this, like near the end Maud Pie episode, she want Maud with her, then what about Filli Vanilli, why did she do it? Overall, season 4 still a good season, no doubt, if not for few episodes that i mentioned above, it could be the second best.

 

Jesus, this thread is about which era is better (1-3 vs 4-7) not ranking seasons. Damn i typed too much... oh well...

Season 1 is good season with many enjoyable episodes and some classic one, but somehow i cant bring myself rewatch them beside some classics. I am not nostalgic S1 fan and not a Faustian so...

Season 7 is not finished yet but based from 13 episode alone, it is a mixed bag between great episode and a few abymal one. Even the greatest episodes of this season still cant beat other season bests, but its alright, i still appreciate the character development, better humors, some good writting choices. Starlight is better in this season, she is getting better and better, but i hope the show dont reply too much on her to sell an episode because one good character is not enough to help the show, no matter how good they are. 

Season 3 is OK and too short. Not bad but nothing to talk about.

Based from the ranking (yeah, you guys can skips the wall of texts ;)) i choose 4-7 era. 1-3 has many great eps but 4-7 outnumbered them with even more great episodes and will keep going forward. I realize later seasons lose some charms that early seasons have, they are less funny, they take themself too seriously and the characters sometime fell flat in comparison but they have many big improvements over early seasons, they treat Spike better, Fluttershy is more than a shy type of character gimmick, more amazing side characters, Rarity is more well-rounded more than just screaming about fashion (like EQG Rarity), CMC is better and less annoying, heck, even Celestia got some character treatment and so on. I wont trade these things to comeback to the old days. Its time for me to put off my nostalgia goggles. 

Random: Damn Season 7, you need to step up your game, you are the worst season in 4-7 era...

 

[Patty Thundersnow 4,129]

Season 1: The season establishing the major characters and various story arcs. I did enjoy season 1 a lot, lots of fun songs and moments. However, the animation was a bit sketchy at times, but, other than that... pretty good. 6/10
Season 2: Great season, had many memorable moments, including Discord's introduction, twilight's meltdown, and changelings. 7/10
Season 3: It's this season that killed the seasons 1-3 for me. VERY rushed, a couple of good moments, but the overall vibe was way too rushed to season end. (3.3/10)

Season 4: This was the first season that I got to watch as it came out. The season had a good arc to it, and a whole bunch of funny moments as well (Castle Mania anyone?). I'd say this was much better than season 3 in every way. Plus,the epic season finale fight with Tirek made it my favorite up to that point. 7.7/10
Season 5: It was a good season, the season arc was cutie mark magic. I did enjoy a vast majority of the stories here, with the introduction of a couple of new characters, and the return of Gilda. Not the best, but it did have the CMC getting their cutie marks (finally!) and the BEST song in the history of the series (The magic Inside). 7.2/10
Season 6: Well... it was interesting to say the least. We saw a bunch of new characters in this one, but it also had a lot of moments with Starlight kinda not doing what she should do. That kind of weakened the season for me. 6.6/10
Season 7: Thus far, it's been a pretty average season. A few really good episodes, with a few... not so good, and a few that were just average. I won't spoil season 7 for anyone who hasn't seen it yet, but the first half of the season has a very emotional episode that everyone should watch. 7/10 (thus far)

[Hierok 11,829]

16 hours ago, Celli said:

4-7, by far. Season 6 was bleh, sure, but honestly, 4,5, and 7 so far make up for it. Season 1 is my least favorite, season 2 second least favorite, and 3, while a decent season, loses points for being shorter. I am sorry but looking back, season 1 was not a good season and if you ask me, people who say it's the best can't take the nostalgia goggles off. Season 2 isn't much better. 

Some people prefer season 1 and 2 because they have a lot more comedy and have the most character devolpment and for no other reason. Season 5 was forced in my opinion and season 6 was just meh.  No hard feelings tho. 

Edited July 18, 2017 by Hierok

[Celli 4,332]

2 hours ago, Hierok said:

Some people prefer season 1 and 2 because they have a lot more comedy and have the most character devolpment and for no other reason. Season 5 was forced in my opinion and season 6 was just meh.  No hard feelings tho. 

Season 5 was amazing. I don't see how it was forced? I mean with episodes like Amending Fences and Crusaders of the Last Mark, and it's one of the most well received. For good reason, and idk, I feel people who say otherwise are just being contrarians.

[cmarston1 5,951]

My favorite seasons would be 4, 5, and 7 however I don't really care much for season 6, so I can't really pick 4-7, but on the other hand I only really care much for seasons 2 and 3 out of the first 3 seasons, so I can't really go with 1-3 as an answer either.

[Silver Note 735]

4-7 are my favorite out of the two. Since I got into the fandom a little later, these seasons were when my interest started really picking up. Also, I feel that the character development in these later episodes was astounding. Also, as of present, season four is my favorite season. 

[Drunkfrank 1,125]

36 minutes ago, cmarston1 said:

My favorite seasons would be 4, 5, and 7 however I don't really care much for season 6, so I can't really pick 4-7, but on the other hand I only really care much for seasons 2 and 3 out of the first 3 seasons, so I can't really go with 1-3 as an answer either.

Well it's just what you prefer out of the older/newer "version" of the show, I didn't love season 6 either but I still voted for 4-7 because 4,5, and 7 are my favorite seasons

55 minutes ago, Celli said:

Season 5 was amazing. I don't see how it was forced? I mean with episodes like Amending Fences and Crusaders of the Last Mark, and it's one of the most well received. For good reason, and idk, I feel people who say otherwise are just being contrarians.

Season 5 was the season that had me saying "new favorite episode" the most...

The premiere was creepy and interesting, darker than what I expected from the show. Castle Sweet Castle was a great followup to Twilights Kingdom in terms of the lirbrary, with a fantastically fun song to boot. Tanks For the Memories had the first amazing Rainbow Dash solo, and was just very touching, this one held my favorite for a bit. Lost Treasure of Griffonstone felt like the type of adventure episodes I want more from the series and really hope we see more of that type. Amending Fences is a lot of peoples favorite episodes, I did love it, but it never hit that top mark for me, however, it was still incredible.  Do Princesses Dream was an amazing Luna episode with a 2 part like story in 1 part that somehow as paced very well and had a great flow, best Luna episode imo. Rarity Investigates is Johanna Lewis and Kristen Songcos first real debut, my god they are just amazing and they made a hilarious and unique episode to show it. Crusaders of the lost mark is special, it has two major point in it DT redemption and CMC marks, but somehow is still paced well despite being a musical, still in my top 5 of the series. The Mane Attraction was a good sendoff to AKR, heartwarming, funny, with one of the best songs of the show. The finale was my favorite two parter, a great trip down memory lane with the villain, I got to see my favorite villain Sombra again, and I actually really like Starlight not being totally evil, just misunderstood.

Maybe I would have liked season 6 more if it didn't start with such a weak opener. Season 7 wasn't even a two parter and I still consider the first two episodes miles better.

[Celli 4,332]

@ryanmahaffe Exactly, not to mention,  it tied a lot of stories up, as well.

[Deae Rising Shine~ 52,422]

I liked all 7 seasons, so can't really pick between one of the two answers. I enjoyed them all :3

[Thrond 3,257]

4 hours ago, Celli said:

Season 5 was amazing. I don't see how it was forced? I mean with episodes like Amending Fences and Crusaders of the Last Mark, and it's one of the most well received. For good reason, and idk, I feel people who say otherwise are just being contrarians.

I kinda started feeling like an outsider as far as episode opinions go starting with season 5, because I enjoyed S6 infinitely more than S5 or what's aired of S7. I just felt that season 5 kept neglecting the main cast in favour of new characters or old minor characters, and most of those characters weren't very sympathetic to me, including Moondancer. Sometimes, even the mane six felt unsympathetic, as in "Tanks for the Memories," "Amending Fences," and "The Mane Attraction." I always felt like I was missing parts where there should be more detail, and because season 5 focuses more on emotion than humour, that made most of the season really dreary and joyless for me. And then half of the humorous episodes were junk like "Princess Spike" and "Scare Master," which doesn't leave me with much. I think I properly enjoy less than half of the season. 

That said, it's not season 5 but season 7 which feels forced to me. 

[Celli 4,332]

2 minutes ago, AlexanderThrond said:

I kinda started feeling like an outsider as far as episode opinions go starting with season 5, because I enjoyed S6 infinitely more than S5 or what's aired of S7. I just felt that season 5 kept neglecting the main cast in favour of new characters or old minor characters, and most of those characters weren't very sympathetic to me, including Moondancer. Sometimes, even the mane six felt unsympathetic, as in "Tanks for the Memories," "Amending Fences," and "The Mane Attraction." I always felt like I was missing parts where there should be more detail, and because season 5 focuses more on emotion than humour, that made most of the season really dreary and joyless for me. And then half of the humorous episodes were junk like "Princess Spike" and "Scare Master," which doesn't leave me with much. I think I properly enjoy less than half of the season. 

That said, it's not season 5 but season 7 which feels forced to me. 

Well, you don't have to like it, but I personally found the higher focus on emotion to be a nice change of pace, also I disagree, I think it had plenty of good humor.

Again, these are all just our own personal opinions, yes? And there are no wrong opinions, despite what some people might tell you.

[Astralshy 23,565]

I like all seasons of MLP and I don't prefer any of it but I always felt the strongest seasons are 4,5 and 7. The characters have been really well established as this point and the show starts to do it'S best stuff :>

So my answer is really clear here: season 4 - 7. On a side not seasons 8 and 9 are not as good as seasons 1 - 3 

My complete list: 7,5,4,2,3,1,9,6,8

 

Edited October 10, 2021 by Astral Soul

[JMTV99 1,348]

Even though I don't watch the show anymore, I'll go with the Season 1-3 by a longshot.

[bigbertha 410]

1-3, but 4-7 are fine. 8-9 are when the show falls apart

[Landi 597]

I'm going to have to go with season's 1-3 on this one. Not only are the first two season my favorite seasons of the show, the overall feel of these earlier seasons felt fresh and fun. They consistently showcased what FiM was, and did a great job at starting off the series. Add that to the amazing character development and the charming lessons and stories, and the season 1-3 era is the best era of the show.

Season's 4-7 weren't bad either. There are some fun, well written moments in those seasons as well, and even my least favorite of the batch, season 6, isn't necessarily bad, just lacking some of the same quality. I think what brings these a bit lower for me is a combination of the changing staff along with the change in character dynamic. After Twilight became an alicorn, she became much less relatable, and her dynamic with the rest of the mane cast felt less genuine. That combined with the changing staff caused these seasons to be a bit lower in quality for me. But again, I still think these seasons are pretty good for the most part, just not as good as the earlier ones.

Seasons 8 and 9 on the other hand, were a major drop in quality, and they definitely rank below all of 1-7 for me.

[Lone Traveler 87]

On 2021-10-07 at 7:08 PM, Lone Traveler said:

My basic opinion on the show is that I love the first 4 seasons, but once twilight got her castle the show really declined. Season 5 was good, but not as much as the first 4 seasons, and it got worse as it went on. Seasons 6-9 were all just okay. I probably only liked about 40% or so of the episodes, the show as a whole lost the charm, direction, and good writing the first 4 seasons had. The biggest issue was that the character arcs were basically all complete by season 5 and they couldn't find interesting things to do with the characters. The interactions between the main characters had become stale and was no longer as interesting or charming. The show tried to do new things with Starlight and the Friendship school, but I don't think it was handled well for a number of reasons. There were still enough good episodes in these seasons to make it worth the watch (as much as a slog as it was), and I do give the show credit for staying consistently okay in the seasons and never getting outright bad unlike other long running shows. However, I still wish it would have ended at season 5 or so that it could have been a great show all the way through. Overall, I would rank the seasons:

1: Season 4: Episodes were consistently great with very few duds, the season's arc was very well handled and made for great character growth, and the premiere and finale were amazing. The episodes constantly did creative and interesting things and they paid off nearly time. it had the charm and humor present in the previous 3 seasons, but with more consistently great quality, better animation, and a great tone. It also had the best variety of songs of any of the seasons. Outside of the premiere and finale, standout episodes include Pinkie Pride, Bats, Three's A Crowd, and Flight to the Finish. Amazing Season.

2: Season 3: I don't understand why people don't like this season. I always hear that it was " rushed"  but Magical Mystery Cure and Keep Calm and Flutter On are the only episodes here that actually feel rushed to me (though I love both those episodes despite their flaws), the rest of the season was filled with mostly great episodes that had the same great quality and style as the great episodes in Season 2. I prefer it over Season 2 because there was only 1 episode here I actively disliked (One Bad Apple) compared to Season 2 having about 6, and the episodes were more consistently great here. Sleepless in Ponyville and and Too Many Pinkie Pies are two of the all time best episodes, and episodes such as The Crystal Empire, Magic Duel, and Wonderbolts Academy are amazing too. Amazing Season.

3: Season 2: Was filled with many amazing episodes (Hurricane Fluttershy is my favorite of the entire show and Canterlot Wedding isn't far behind) and did a great job expanding on the characters and mostly improved the writing quality, animation, and humor from Season 1. However, it is held back from being as good as the following two seasons because while seasons 1, 3, and 4 had only a few bad episodes for me (3 in S1, 1 in S3, 3 in S4), this season had about 6 I disliked (including Dragon Quest, my least favorite of the first 5 seasons). Still, the numerous amazing episodes more than make up for that. Great Season

4: Season 1: Although it is more consistent in quality than Season 2, the best episodes here are nowhere near as good as the best of the following 3 seasons, so I'm still comfortable with ranking it below it. That being said, the episodes were consistently very good, especially in the 2nd half of the season. It also has a distinct charm that was slowly lost as the show went on (which was completely gone by Season 6) and did a great job introducing the world and characters. Great Season

5: Season 5: This is where the show started to go downhill. After Twilight's character arc was basically completed in Twlight's Kingdom, and the others did not have much room to grow after the key arc, the show lost its sense of purpose. There were still plenty of amazing episodes (Amending Fences, Slice of Life, Scare Master, Rarity Investigates, Make New Friends But Keep Discord) but also a good amount that were just okay. (Made in Manehatten, Castle Sweet Castle, Bloom and Gloom) There were no actual arcs here outside of the premiere and finale (I don't count the other map episodes since they are standalone). The episodes Do Princess Dream of Magic Sheep and The Cutie Re-Mark had amazing concepts but were very rushed and disappointing with serious story issues. Episode quality is still overall good, and the show still has some of its old charm, but the golden age of MLP was clearly ending at this point. I would consider this season the transition point between the great first 4 seasons and the mediocre to okay seasons 6-9. Good Season.

6: Season 7: It suffered from having a lot of just okay episodes that told decent stories but were lacking the humor and charm needed for me to really enjoy them, and there was no interesting arcs. That being said, there were only a few outright bad episodes, the episodes that were good were really good (Health of Information and Shadow Play especially) and there were some very creative and new concepts here. Okay Season

7: Season 9: Had a streak of really great episodes during the first 3rd of the season (Beginning of the End, Sparkle's Seven, Frenemies, Common Ground) but the rest of the season is just okay. The Young Six were given almost no development (even less than in Season 8), so the season spent a lot of time with bland stories with characters who had already completed their arcs years ago. The Ending of the End's Discord twist was beyond awful and character damaging for Discord. So much more could have been done with having all the creatures unite in the battle, and Grogar could have been a really cool villain if he was real. That being said, The Last Problem was a great although flawed finale. Okay Season

8: Season 8: Filled with many uninteresting episodes that lacked humor and charm, with a lot of character problems. Barely any episodes are given to developing the new characters, instead there are just uninteresting stories with the Mane Six and CMC, whom have no room to grow as characters. That being said, there are still plenty of good episodes here, especially the ones that actually develop the Young Six. The fact that this season tries more new things from Season 6 (despite not giving it anywhere near enough development as it needed) narrowly puts it above Season 6 for me. Best Gift Ever, Hearth's Warming Club, and Sounds of Slience are all amazing episodes. Mediocre Season

9: Season 6: Had the exact same issues as season 8 when it came to having uninteresting and unfunny stories with the main cast whom already had full development. Applejack's Day Off, Pony Point of View, and The Carts Before the Ponies are probably the 3 most boring episodes of the entire show and feel like episodes of a generic toddlers show. Starlight's development is not handled well at all since she has barely any positive interactions with any of the mane 6 outside of Twilight. The premiere is a boring rehash of The Crystal Empire that lacks everything that made it great. That being said, I still do not consider this season to be bad. There are some amazing episodes here such as Gauntlet of Fire, Stranger Than Fan-fiction, The Saddle Row Review, and To Where and Back Again, that still make it worth watching overall.

*Forgot to label Season 6 as a Mediocre Season, my apologies.

Although Season 4 is my favorite season, Seasons 1-3 are the next 3 best for me while Season 5 is just good but not great, Season 6 is mediocre, and Season 7 is just okay. So overall I have to say Seasons 1-3.

Edited October 19, 2021 by Lone Traveler

[Dark Qiviut 22,173]

On 2017-07-17 at 3:25 PM, Dark Qiviut said:

Both.

So far, my order of seasons from best to worst is as follows:

1. Season 5
2. Season 2
3. Season 7 (so far)
4. Season 1
5. Season 4
6. Season 3
7. Season 6

Every season has its good, average, and bad episodes. Some more than others. Every season has done at least one thing really well. Seasons one and two are good, but seasons five and (so far) seven are, too. Seven has done a really decent job at making all of the episodes watchable at the very least; even the worst of the season (Hard, Honest Apple, A Royal Problem) are nowhere close to the show's worst. Yet, even when the season hasn't been as well as it should've, it wasn't been bad. At worst, 3 and 6 are below-average (and, no, MMC isn't bad).

And this post needs an update, since I updated my rankings later on. Picked Seasons 4-7.

Season 6 has some of the worst episodes of the show, and Season 4 is more middle of the road. But in the middle of Season 4 is three of the show’s best episodes (Testing Testing, Pinkie Pride, and Flight to the Finish) and Toils. Season 5 has some of the best episodes of the entire series. Season 7 includes even more gigantic highs, wrote Starlight extremely well, has The Perfect Pear, and concluded with the best two-parter of the entire show (Shadow Play). In addition, Season 7 began a streak of consistency in good writing that was missing throughout the show’s running at the time, a formula they improved upon in Seasons 8 and 9.

Edited October 12, 2021 by Dark Qiviut