Which generation do you think is better: G4 or G5?

[Landi 600]

It is still early for G5, but I figure that there is at least enough so far for me to give it a starting assessment. My answer to the question is easily going to be G4. While I don't like the last two seasons of FiM, the first seven seasons are good enough to still make the series and generation a fun watch with an interesting world and well developed characters. G5 on the other hand seems very riddled with mediocrity. It's not bad, but it doesn't do much to make it seem good or interesting either.

Now for some comparisons between the two. The characters of G4 are much more interesting and well written and they work much better as a group than G5's main cast. While the animation for G5 is varied between its different media, overall I still like G4's better. The music for G4 was fun and heartfelt whereas the music for G5 feels like a lifeless mesh of generic pop music. When it comes to the world they take place in, G4's was much more vast and interesting than G5's, which so far is just composed of three known inhabited cities. In addition, G5 has replaced much of the fantasy aspects that made G4's world epic with unoriginal modern technology such as cell phones and social media that often detracts from the story rather than enhance it. Add to all of that how G5 is spilt up between multiple series rather than focusing on one and the lazy worldbuilding at times, and G5 is easily beaten by its predecessor.

This sound fairly negative when it comes to G5, but that is how I feel about it right now. I do see potential in the generation, but so far it has mainly just felt mediocre. Later on when G5 has more content to judge it by, I will probably update my overall thoughts on it. 

[Misty Shadow 7,846]

On 2022-06-22 at 4:21 PM, Sparklefan1234 said:

It's WAY too early to tell, but I feel like Gen 4 was given an unfair advantage in this "poll" because Gen 5 pretty much just started while

Gen 4 has nearly a decade worth of  of history behind it. 

Very well said, this is still not even close to a fair contest at the moment. Of course people are going to favor what they've known for years as opposed to something they've barely known for less than a year. 

[Ring Team 123]

Since this thread has 3 pages and it's been active by a couple of users, I'll tackle the question with a comic I've made before Make your Mark aired, which was a couple of months ago.

 

Is G4 better than G5?

Trick question. It's neither better nor worse than G5 at the moment. It's a silly thing to say when G5 has few months in comparison to the content that G4 has received in ten and a half years. The only thing this statement does is to alienate people and to create unreal expectations in G5. I don't want fanboys to suck all the fun out of this generation.

Give Sunny and her friends one or two years of adventures, conflicts, contextual situations, secondary characters, villains, dangerous places, character arcs and themes that enhance the experience. Then we can make a fair comparison.

[Evil Pink One 13,506]

Saying it's neither good or bad is the easy way out... Just pick one.

I think the way G5 is going, where the story telling is numbingly boring.... I'm going with G4.

But the Gen 5 comics? Is really really good. 

 

[Evil Pink One 13,506]

On 2022-06-30 at 9:07 PM, Ring Team said:

Since this thread has 3 pages and it's been active by a couple of users, I'll tackle the question with a comic I've made before Make your Mark aired, which was a couple of months ago.

 

Is G4 better than G5?

Trick question. It's neither better nor worse than G5 at the moment. It's a silly thing to say when G5 has few months in comparison to the content that G4 has received in ten and a half years. The only thing this statement does is to alienate people and to create unreal expectations in G5. I don't want fanboys to suck all the fun out of this generation.

Give Sunny and her friends one or two years of adventures, conflicts, contextual situations, secondary characters, villains, dangerous places, character arcs and themes that enhance the experience. Then we can make a fair comparison.

Well you see gen 5 NEEDS to be better than gen 5 or else it won't last 2 seasons. Look at gen 3. 

This MAY also be the reason why gen 4 got famous.

So maybe gen 5 might be the sacrifice, for gen 6.

Who knows.... But one things for sure... Gen 5 is really numbingly boring. 

[Misty Shadow 7,846]

29 minutes ago, Kujamih said:

Well you see gen 5 NEEDS to be better than gen 5 or else it won't last 2 seasons. Look at gen 3. 

This MAY also be the reason why gen 4 got famous.

So maybe gen 5 might be the sacrifice, for gen 6.

Who knows.... But one things for sure... Gen 5 is really numbingly boring. 

It already has seventy episodes ordered for its Youtube series, episodes that are getting hundreds of thousands and millions of views. For a YT channel with four million subscribers, that's pretty good engagement. Yes, for sure, it's boring to you. But it's also, for sure, entertaining its target audience and people like myself. G5's also brought in Hasbro a lot of money. 

https://deadline.com/2021/10/my-little-pony-netflix-hasbro-eone-transformers-1234862557/

Why do they need to fix something that isn't failing them? 

[nataalya 42]

I don't know, this is crazy for me. Today I watched roadtrip special from G4. I felt a big sentiment so I watched first MyM's episode again too. And oh gosh... It's not like "it's too early to judge that" or "lets a give a chance and wait for". Something is really wrong. The difference is huge. I don't know why. It's not about new characters, times or lines. Maybe it's because of Netflix? TyT is pretty well. But TyT is just a TyT. And someone would have to have the ultra talent to screw up it. You don't need a year or two to judge it. It's like watching Mr. Bean and thinking that maybe he'll get smart someday.

I try to be cool and don't hate anything. I respect the others' opinion and I don't want to offend anyone. But facing it. The dialogues are simple and predictable. Implemented so without an idea that it's a pity for me to left a comment on it. For example. Zipp suddenly asking Sunny about her magic or running into Hitch's office. It's ridiculous. It was just that this scene (and other) completely did not match at all what was happening on the screen before. It was like... someone and somehow had to put these scenes to create any problem. They had no idea how to start it. And they started terribly weak. I have the impression that someone is doing it all by force. Something is missing. I don't know what it is, maybe commitment? Let's leave the technical aspects like dubbing or animation. They are just okay...

And Zipp, do they only have an idea for it? Izzy is also cool different from the rest.  Sunny is so candy that donuts start crying. Omg... Maybe someone will say that I am exaggerating. But then try to do the same what I did. Watch the movie / special from 2017 and watch the current special. One by one. Everyone will clearly see it. 3D ate up the entire budget of being 3D, and it wasn't enough for writers. Lol

In the old generation, I also only liked two of the six. It wasn't that I didn't like the rest. They didn't interest me that much, but they were very important. Every character was unique and do something own the best. Here they just are. They only have different professions. The differences are small. Someone uses the phone, someone sells cocktails and that's it.

Storyline is weird too. In the previous generation, there were still arguments between the races. Imagine it. RD arguing with Rarity about Fashion... then black clouds and a storm appear at the time the earth collapses, creating a black hole into truly abyss. (Okay, I know, the problems are a bit more serious here, just kidding)But come on... Here the disputes immediately cause cataclysm and destabilization of the crystals. One active pony who doesn't really like magic destroys all the rest of the three cities. (we can say that the rest is not like that, they are only suggested by her, not for real hating magic) And this topic about envies pegasi and unicorns... I'm not buying it. Before that, everyone knew their role and felt important to themselves. They felt important to others too. Luckily, someone remembers something from G4. And noticed that the earth ponies were taking care of the land. I like the idea of giving them magic. Although I would prefer everyone to do something special for themselves, and not everyone just to create flowers.

After all, there's nothing and no one who can do anything anyway, so we can only watch it unfold.

Don't be silly. The show has already shown a little what it is. Unfortunately, September will be the month when everyone who talks here about too big expectations of people (who have already assessed the new generation) will see on their own examples that the only expectations that still exist here are only theirs... in addition, a bit naive. It's sad.. I was very excited at first. After the movie, I was a bit disappointed, when I compared MyM with the old style then I know that it is a ship going to the rocks. Maybe it will be good for the kids. But they will forget about it quickly. Lots of people here watched Mane6 when they were very young and stayed with the show until the very end.

I bet it will get 2-3 seasons. Because better than Pony Life maybe 4. Someone wrote about the G6. It doesn't have to be. Even if the G5 won't last long. Maybe something will happen.

@CloudMistDragon - in my country, MLP G5 videos are viewed between 20,000 and 70,000 when FiM do 300.000-500.000. Take a look at the Letupita's videos for example about Midnight Sparkle (217.000.000) or official what my cutiemark is telling me (+170.000.000) or Open up your eyes (around 50.000.000) one video from the previous generation does as much as all of the current.  I wish the new generation would get it too but it only had a good start so far (around 10.000.000). And I doubt it. I sincerely doubt it.  Of course, all this does not matter.

Natalya - writer, philosopher and philanthropist (Just sorry for long message)

 

Edited July 3, 2022 by nataalya

[Rosy Moonlight 369]

I believe that G5 will never be what G4 was in its early years.

But we can hope that G5 and future generations will be decent, like the latter seasons of G4.

Edited July 3, 2022 by Rosy Moonlight

[Misty Shadow 7,846]

1 hour ago, nataalya said:

@CloudMistDragon - in my country, MLP G5 videos are viewed between 20,000 and 70,000 when FiM do 300.000-500.000. Take a look at the Letupita's videos for example about Midnight Sparkle (217.000.000) or official what my cutiemark is telling me (+170.000.000) or Open up your eyes (around 50.000.000) one video from the previous generation does as much as all of the current.  I wish the new generation would get it too but it only had a good start so far (around 10.000.000). And I doubt it. I sincerely doubt it.  Of course, all this does not matter.

Natalya - writer, philosopher and philanthropist (Just sorry for long message)

 

As far as I know, the discrepancy is not based on the country, a Youtube video's views are calculated from its total views from all countries. What I was referring to were the stats on the official Hasbro Youtube account, not unofficial reupload accounts with pirated material. Uploads of G4 clips on the official account that have been released since the premiere of G5 very generally do not receive vastly superior views to G5 content, it's most common for them to receive about the same views, sometimes worse. Pirated G5 material is also more susceptible to being taken down since it's newer. It's also because it's newer that it has not had the time to amass the views G4 content from years ago has had the chance to get. But yes, it still does not matter, what matters is that G5 is not failing, like I said. 

[nataalya 42]

 Yes Dragon. But I meant national MLP channels. (like MLP Russia, Italiano [...]) They are not  pirated, don't you think?  Letupita doesn't seem to be pirated too. It has around 5mln subs.

Lets notice that  current MLP starts with a very wide audience achieved by the previous generation. And don't treat it like it doesn't any matter. Because it does a lot... This can be very good starter blocks or... a very heavy ball and chain on the pool. So for me, a declining viewership trend is a sign that something has gone wrong. But okay, it doesn't have to be for everyone right? So... I watched it myself. I checked it myself. And I have to say that there are many reasons about which I wrote above. Still it's just my feelings.

I recommend you to do it, watch a G4 special or a movie and watch the first episode of G5 in two hours. You will feel the difference. And it's huge. This is a general change. It's not about places, models, graphics... anything else. This is all about the director's pen lol. Let's not blame the fact that the G5 is just beginning. This does not mean that it has to be written so poor. I thought I was very strict about new Mane, but reading the comments on many videos, I realized that I was not the only one who noticed some bad things. And I don't want a repeat G4 ofc. I want something consistent and not written on someone knee.

You have something carefully created and something done chaotic. MyM special is like that. < I have no other words to summarize what I wrote in the previous message. The movie had an idea for itself. It was sticky I mean... good planned, interesting dialogues but boring. It could be boring because it was the start. Understandable. MyM is a mini repeat. We have to wait for the show next 2 months. Maybe the G5 will work better in the 20-minute format? I hope so. I want to feel something fresh and new here. Finally I really like about G5 it isn't as pink as G4 was. 

3 hours ago, CloudMistDragon said:

 But yes, it still does not matter, what matters is that G5 is not failing, like I said. 

Many people might like it. All right. But if it does not fail we will find out in a next months. Looking at how they wrote their first special and that it is a micro rerun of the movie, what are the story points (maybe more it's a dots? lmao), what it all was, that's the characters after one years still are like water in toilet (I don't mean Zipp and Izzy, they are much different. And they give the impression of being the main characters, apart from being just in the center of the screen. Sunny was original in the movie. At TyT and MyM, she is a sponge so far)... Oh I don't see it. I'm afraid this story won't be longer than 2 or 3 seasons.  If this is a success for you then okay. I wish it was at least half as good as FiM was. If it keeps the course, it will definitely not be. Unless these three seasons will be a success in your opinion which you are talking about. Finally, Hasbro won't plan anything more than 2 or 3 seasons I think.  Unless it will be really good. But it doesn't look like it will for now.

Edited July 3, 2022 by nataalya

[Misty Shadow 7,846]

4 hours ago, nataalya said:

 Yes Dragon. But I meant national MLP channels. (like MLP Russia, Italiano [...]) They are not  pirated, don't you think?  Letupita doesn't seem to be pirated too. It has around 5mln subs.

Lets notice that  current MLP starts with a very wide audience achieved by the previous generation. And don't treat it like it doesn't any matter. Because it does a lot... This can be very good starter blocks or... a very heavy ball and chain on the pool. So for me, a declining viewership trend is a sign that something has gone wrong. But okay, it doesn't have to be for everyone right? So... I watched it myself. I checked it myself. And I have to say that there are many reasons about which I wrote above. Still it's just my feelings.

I recommend you to do it, watch a G4 special or a movie and watch the first episode of G5 in two hours. You will feel the difference. And it's huge. This is a general change. It's not about places, models, graphics... anything else. This is all about the director's pen lol. Let's not blame the fact that the G5 is just beginning. This does not mean that it has to be written so poor. I thought I was very strict about new Mane, but reading the comments on many videos, I realized that I was not the only one who noticed some bad things. And I don't want a repeat G4 ofc. I want something consistent and not written on someone knee.

You have something carefully created and something done chaotic. MyM special is like that. < I have no other words to summarize what I wrote in the previous message. The movie had an idea for itself. It was sticky I mean... good planned, interesting dialogues but boring. It could be boring because it was the start. Understandable. MyM is a mini repeat. We have to wait for the show next 2 months. Maybe the G5 will work better in the 20-minute format? I hope so. I want to feel something fresh and new here. Finally I really like about G5 it isn't as pink as G4 was. 

Many people might like it. All right. But if it does not fail we will find out in a next months. Looking at how they wrote their first special and that it is a micro rerun of the movie, what are the story points (maybe more it's a dots? lmao), what it all was, that's the characters after one years still are like water in toilet (I don't mean Zipp and Izzy, they are much different. And they give the impression of being the main characters, apart from being just in the center of the screen. Sunny was original in the movie. At TyT and MyM, she is a sponge so far)... Oh I don't see it. I'm afraid this story won't be longer than 2 or 3 seasons.  If this is a success for you then okay. I wish it was at least half as good as FiM was. If it keeps the course, it will definitely not be. Unless these three seasons will be a success in your opinion which you are talking about. Finally, Hasbro won't plan anything more than 2 or 3 seasons I think.  Unless it will be really good. But it doesn't look like it will for now.

I did find the official national Russian MLP channel and the official national Italian MLP channel. The Russian official channel does not even have Tell Your Tale episodes on it and the Italian channel's G4 clips uploaded after Tell Your Tale's premiere on its channel do not have superior viewership.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCiSFFCdy0Yq8dygZTl_tN3Q

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtdCP2Pq-mB8AAPPjsU-Uew/featured

Watch a G4 special or a movie? I have seen all of Friendship is Magic, every movie and special. There is definitely mid-tier MLP stuff that's on par with the Make Your Mark opener. The big sentiment you felt from Rainbow Roadtrip, that's not felt by me, that has always been my all-time least favorite MLP special. Appeals to me even less than The Crystalling, which I re-assessed and found worse than I remembered. I even watched The Crystal Empire five times and have never found it to be anything too above average. However, this is straying from the original point. These are our opinions. There are no facts right now that show that G5 has been a commercial failure. 

[Papasalt 2]

G5 is atrocious, I strongly dislike the designs, animation and style of the show. Not to mention it doesn't have Luna or Fluttershy (so it's immediately worse). It just doesn't have the same magic the G4 had. G5 has lost its escapist touch with the introduction of technology, and I fear it will begin involving more "humanly" topics, such as politics. I watched G4 to get away from reality, G5 just doesn't do that. It's characters also don't seem very interesting, at all, and the plot of the movie isn't at all appealing to me.

[Megas 27,569]

I honestly don't think it'll ever be as good as G4 at it's best, but I do think it could be up there compared to most of it

[Evil Pink One 13,506]

On 2022-07-03 at 7:06 AM, CloudMistDragon said:

It already has seventy episodes ordered for its Youtube series, episodes that are getting hundreds of thousands and millions of views. For a YT channel with four million subscribers, that's pretty good engagement. Yes, for sure, it's boring to you. But it's also, for sure, entertaining its target audience and people like myself. G5's also brought in Hasbro a lot of money. 

https://deadline.com/2021/10/my-little-pony-netflix-hasbro-eone-transformers-1234862557/

Why do they need to fix something that isn't failing them? 

We shall see my friend

[nataalya 42]

I hope you are more right about what you write than me@CloudMistDragon September will be an interesting month

 

[Twilight Luna 31,345]

It’s way too early to tell at this pony. G5 only has a movie, a special, and some shorts under its belt while G4 has 9 seasons, a movie, and a couple specials to flesh out the world and the characters. Hopefully G5 will continue to flesh out this new world and explain what happened between G4 and G5.

[flutterly 1]

as much as I love both, g4 mlp will always be my favorite. it’s been with me since my childhood and I can’t really say the same abt g5. 

[AlbaTross 1,586]

I think I should weigh in again, as it's clear this conversation is heating up.  Yeah...I've made my opinions clear, but it's also clear that I've at least tolerated G5 content up until this point, so I suppose it's not a total loss.  

Regardless, as much as I'm getting sick of the argument, I won't compare what little we have of G5 to nine seasons of a show that ran for a decade.  However, I won't judge it in a vacuum either.  If G5 was released in a world that didn't have G4 then it would definitely have been a step up over what came before, but that just isn't the world we live in.  Of course people are going to compare the new show to the one they've enjoyed for the past decade.  I think a fair compromise is to compare what we have of G5 to Season 1 of FiM, as well as how it was when I was first introduced to it.  

Well, Friendship is Magic Part 1 and 2 established its world in less than two minutes, took no time at all to properly introduce all six of the Mane Six, and managed to include them all in the adventure to confront the villain of the story, and it set up the premise for season 1 of the show, so it was clear what show I would be signing up for.  I wasn't necessarily hooked to the extent that I couldn't just stop there, but I was intrigued enough to keep watching, and found that season 1 has good lessons and develops the characters to the extent that they only become more interesting.  

Between ANG, the MYM pilot special, and I think 17 episodes of TYT, I can confidently say I still have no idea what kind of show MYM is going to be.  I can make guesses, such as it potentially being a Paw Patrol type show where stuff happens and the Mane Five need to use their abilities to save the day, but we won't know until it hits.  I hope the extended series doesn't keep trying to teach the lesson that "magic isn't so bad, and prejudice is wrong", all the while forgetting to address that magic is often why such situations arise, and characters have been given plenty of reason to distrust the other races (such as a Unicorn literally attacking her to steal one of her hoop earrings).  Heck, I hope TYT doesn't keep trying to hammer that lesson in either as that's already getting old.  

The world of G5 is bland and uninteresting.  I suppose G5 already had its work cut out for it going from a fantasy world full of magic, with interesting creatures and plenty of other intrigue and mystery to...a world that isn't all that different from our own.  However, I think it could still be interesting in its own right if we were allowed to see more of it, and it turned out to be full of interesting scenery, and maybe unique cultures with equally unique building architecture, but as it stands we aren't even allowed to see very much of Bridlewood, let alone what lies beyond the three Pony cities.  

Much like the world, I think the characters have potential, but they need to be paired up with decent writing...which we have unfortunately not been given enough of as of yet.  I don't think ANG is all that special, but I also think it's still the pinnacle of G5 writing...which isn't a good sign IMHO as that means as of yet that it's all downhill from there.  To be fair, I think part of the problem has to do with MYM likely being delayed and TYT trying to hold down the fort in the meantime, even though it's clearly not designed to be anything more than a lighthearted tie-in.  Some of the writers of recent episodes especially, appear to have done their best to work with what they have, but they haven't been given a lot to work with.  A series of five minute episodes with characters who have little development so far isn't a very solid foundation.  Regardless, although I don't think the writing team for G5 is all incompetent, I think G5 as a franchise is being handled poorly, and IMHO that doesn't bode well for it long-term.  

I will also say, I prefer Ingram's music to what we currently have.  It just seems like there's more heart behind it, and I think that's even true when just comparing the current stuff to his work for Season 1 of FiM, even though I don't think it's his strongest.

My impression of G5 so far is that it's a series for people who appreciate MLP on a surface level.  As long as there are multicoloured ponies living their lives, and the occasional song, some fans seem to be satisfied, in which case, fair enough.  I suppose I've just been spoiled by a decade of greater depth.  I'll continue giving G5 a chance for now, but I think I'm going to quit if the first few episodes of MYM don't turn things around.  

On 2022-07-02 at 4:06 PM, CloudMistDragon said:

It has seventy episodes ordered for its Youtube series, episodes that are getting hundreds of thousands and millions of views. For a YT channel with four subscribers, that's pretty good engagement. Yes, for sure, it's boring to you. But it's also, for sure, entertaining its target and people like myself. G5's also brought in Hasbro a lot of . 

https://deadline.com/2021/10/my-little-pony-netflix-hasbro-eone-transformers-1234862557/

Why do they need to fix something that isn't failing them? 

Fair enough.  That is the mindset that the companies behind much of today's media seem to operate on.  It doesn't matter if said thing is a shell of what it formerly was, as any feedback to that effect is invalid.  It makes money even with the most minimal of effort, so why should they try more than they need to?  This is far from just a MLP problem as a wide variety of IPs have certainly gone down the same path.  Heck, many such IPs are actually more successful now than ever.  I suppose quality is subjective.  Modern art sells too.  Some may find it vapid and shallow, but I suppose it does look nice on someone's wall, and may even go well with their decor.  

Regardless, the 2020s already seem to be off to such a start as to indicate that this is not the decade for people who take their favourite IPs seriously and appreciate them on a more fundamental level than "here's a character you like doing things that are kind of entertaining".  Chalk it up to rose coloured glasses if you would like.  Some may say "ok Boomer", to which I respond with "ok kid", which is to say, I think there is an opposite to rose coloured glasses.  I have no idea what colour to attribute to it, but there is certainly a bias in favour of what's new and current, and from where I'm standing, the glasses one with that mindset wears aren't any clearer.  I suppose what we objectively have is a mutual straw-man type situation where the arguments of either side are ignored in favour of "well, you're just not seeing things clearly", but the point still stands.

Heck, recent years also seem to be the era of the hands behind IPs deciding which parts of their IPs to keep investing in, and which parts to leave behind or shift focus away from.  Some people will still like what they continue to produce, but those who appreciate elements that have been thrown out or not focused on anymore will be on the fringe of the corresponding fandom.  Such a scenario leads to friction in fandoms, and potentially a schism that divides it into two camps.  I like to think the MLP fandom is better than most in that regard as no one seems to be taking things too personally as of yet or seeing people with the opposite opinion as enemies.  The camp who still likes what's current always has the advantage because they can play the "well, it still sells so you're wrong" card.  

In any case, you're probably right that Hasbro, and any other company for that matter, has no reason to try and fix what sells.  There's no reason why they should shoot for the stars when there is an audience who will be sufficiently impressed if they just shoot over a fence.  

[TransPirate 121]

Y'all still on G5? Generation 6 ftw!