Your Thoughts on Sunset Shimmer

[bigbertha 414]

I didn't like Sunset until "Forgotten Friendship" because before then, she was really boring. In EQG1, she was a generic bully, and in the other movies, she felt perfect. Whenever she got mad in "Rainbow Rocks" and "Friendship Games", the movies made sure we still sympathized with her.

In "Forgotten Friendship", her personality became a lot stronger bringing back her anger and ego from the first movie.

[Thrond 3,263]

Wow, crazy how much can change in nine months; my answer to this question has radically changed since my original post. Almost none of my complaints apply anymore, and now I genuinely feel she's a great character on par with the mane six. 

On 10/22/2017 at 9:48 PM, AlexanderThrond said:

She has a fairly light personality without any major flaws,

Fast forward to "Rollercoaster of Friendship," and the anger issues which previous movies hinted at have been codified as something much more tangible, to the extent that they feel equal to the established flaws of the mane six. "Forgotten Friendship" helped, but seeing her get mad at the ring toss was the first time this series played it up for comedy, which frankly is what I feel is necessary to make characters in this show work. 

On 10/22/2017 at 9:48 PM, AlexanderThrond said:

we don't have any idea of her hobbies or ambitions,

The ambitions are still a problem, but that's really only because her past is so turbulent and her future is so uncertain. I also feel like Equestria Girls is slowly starting to hint at what could be next for the mane six + Sunset once they leave high school, though I don't expect it to go too much further in that direction. Plus, more than one short has suggested Sunset has an interest in drawing and painting, which combined with her known love of science definitely gives her a fair share of hobbies. 

On 10/22/2017 at 9:48 PM, AlexanderThrond said:

and the most interesting things about her - her attempts to be a better person, and her links to Equestria - have basically been abandoned by the series by this point.

The former has been replaced by the flaws and interests discussed above, alongside the aforementioned "mixture of kindness and coolness," and arguably for the better. The latter could use more attention, but we did get a bit of it from "Forgotten Friendship," so there's hope. 

So yeah, I'm back to being an unapologetic fan of this character. Funny how that works. 

[COH 6]

I love Sunset Shimmer. She's my favourite Equestria Girls-character and one of my favourite MLP-characters in general.

Edited July 22, 2018 by COH

[Twilight Luna 31,355]

I like her character. She doesn't from villain to liked right away. Through the rest of the movies, she works through her issues like a  real person would.Yes, the way she was portrayed in the first movie was your generic bully with no motivation except to be a bully. By the end the end of the firs movie, she's knocked all the way down to ground zero with no real friends. The second movie is where she really shines as a former bad person looking for redemption and trying to show everyone that she has changed but no one believes her. Her song "My Past is Not Today" is really effective in showing her inner turmoil.

[CypherHoof 26,483]

4 minutes ago, Twilight Luna said:

I like her character. She doesn't from villain to liked right away. Through the rest of the movies, she works through her issues like a  real person would.

I often get the feeling that we weren't supposed to take her too seriously as a villain - which in the long span of movies would make sense, but given the first movie might well have been the last, somewhat less so.  But she WAS a mediocre villain - GlimGlam was much more believable and sinister, while Sunset was just a spoilt brat with a sense of entitlement (so more like Diamond Tiara, really)

 

4 minutes ago, Twilight Luna said:

Yes, the way she was portrayed in the first movie was your generic bully with no motivation except to be a bully. By the end the end of the firs movie, she's knocked all the way down to ground zero with no real friends. The second movie is where she really shines as a former bad person looking for redemption and trying to show everyone that she has changed but no one believes her. Her song "My Past is Not Today" is really effective in showing her inner turmoil.

Indeed. There are some interesting touches too - like her offering (and being rebuffed) to help the CMC with their poster, when she is secretly "flanksey"

But yeah; it is made apparent that she is being universally shunned by the pupils of Canterlot High, and even Twi is hesitant to trust her, even for a hand up from the ground at first.  It is the rest of the rainbooms that are lifting her up, which makes it all the more devestating in forgotten friendshp when she loses their support.  Her actions in the final battle of the bands though clearly balance the scales, and while she is still nervous about her position during the friendship games, she is clearly no longer being rejected by the rest of the school. It is really in the fourth movie though, once SciTwi has been added to the group, that she comes full circle and is the defacto leader of the rainbooms, even if deferring to the (somewhat absent) leadership of Pony Twi.  Her eventual reconciliation with Celestia was a thing of beauty too

[Twilight Luna 31,355]

Just now, CypherHoof the Reblanked said:

I often get the feeling that we weren't supposed to take her too seriously as a villain - which in the long span of movies would make sense, but given the first movie might well have been the last, somewhat less so.  But she WAS a mediocre villain - GlimGlam was much more believable and sinister, while Sunset was just a spoilt brat with a sense of entitlement (so more like Diamond Tiara, really) 

She was your generic twirl your mustache villain. I didn't know any bullies that went to that much trouble just to become prom queen. All the students knew what she was doing but Celestia and Luna were useless as usual.  I would like to know how she was able to repair the school with her bare hands. I doubt her job paid her enough to make that happen. Regardless, I think she's all well rounded character with inner demons who is still going through redemption and character development.

[Zetta 148]

At first I tought that as a villain she wasn't that bad, just hidding her weakness. When she changed, it was awesome for me and I would forgive her even if it means to be ignored and hated by all the school 'cause everyone deserves a second chance. That's only my opinion

[BornAgainBrony 2,397]

In Equestria, Rainbow Dash all the way. In E.G. it's a very close tossup between her and Sunset and think Sunset would have a good shot at winning out. Take that for what you will. Maybe it's just that she seems to fit closer to the angsty confusion that teen-hood actually felt like to me, which makes her seem more genuine compared to the Mane E.G. 6? Dunno. It's much easier to accept radically unique personalities in Equestria, vs those in what seems like it was meant to be a parallel to our own Earth.

Edited August 23, 2018 by bornAgainEquestrian

[LucasB 196]

Sunny buns best human, she's really caring for her friends and she just has this confident, easygoing, friendly and understanding personality that I love 

She's a lot like pony Twilight, they're both smart and forgiving and are great leaders.

[Mellow Mane 5,931]

I really like her, especially since Rainbow Rocks. Her personality has really developed in a very good way

[Sunlight Glisten 368]

I view her as the main character of rainbow rocks, friendship games, everfree, and forgotten friendship. I mean I love them all bit she stands a head above the rest.