Make Your Mark: Chapter 1 - Overall Discussion

[Twilight Luna 30,940]

The reduced animation quality will take some getting used to, especially the white lines around their mouths. It was good to see Zipp getting some more characterization. I hope that the writers get more creative with the plots because this was very generic and boring. I didn't watch TYT but I do not like the look of Sunny's new lighthouse. I know the old one got wrecked but they could have rebuilt it. Not to mention it had a lot of character with all of her dad's stuff from ancient Equestria. It feels like Twilights new castle all over again.  

Spoiler

I am not a fan of the villain's design. Again, the whiting around the mouths looks horrible. 

 

Edited May 27, 2022 by Twilight Luna

[Misty Shadow 7,084]

I CAN ZIPP IT 

Lines like that are enough for me to give the humor in this special a 10/10. 

Speaking seriously, it was good, and I really don't get what the big problem is with the animation. Writing-wise, I did see that they were trying to cram a lot of exposition into this one pilot and there were a fair few things people wouldn't understand if they hadn't watched Tell Your Tale. Some are being overly dramatic, however. MLP: FiM had episodes and specials with shaky exposition that people called boring too. Personally, I enjoy A New Generation and the Tell Your Tale show more, but I really like what this special set up. 

Spoiler

A sense of danger with the ponies falling into the void, questions for our protagonists to find the answers to, and even a new villain.

 

Edited May 27, 2022 by CloudMistDragon
Classic "to/too" mistake.

[Rosy Moonlight 367]

Well, if some colors aren't going to translate well in Make Your Mark, why not deliberately make the mysterious villainous pony look like an badly-colored Evil OC?

[Will Guide 21,325]

On 2022-05-26 at 10:55 PM, Twilight Luna said:

The reduced animation quality will take some getting used to,

I don't really see that much difference. 

Anyone who wants to call me out on it by asking am I blind, don't bother

 

I think it's going to be both awesome and cute that Hitch will be the one to 

Spoiler

raise Sparky the Dragon.

Usually in most media I've seen, it's the female that raises and takes care of the baby, but here's adorkable and hot Hitch to do the job

 

[bwrosas 252]

Spoiler

Who Is This New Alicorn Villainess for G5 

Towards the end of the special, a new Alicorn villainess was reveled, but the one question a lot of fans had, is who could this be? Is it somepony new? Is it a corrupted Flurry Heart?, or returning alicorned Cozy Heart?, or a corrupted Twilight? Who could she be?  Fans will have 4 months to speculate.  I know I contunine to do so.

 

[Music Chart Fan 818]

Overall, while there are a couple of aspects of this special which I liked, I was largely underwhelmed. I couldn't help noticing several animation errors and quality issues which I found distracting throughout the special. It feels as though nothing much happens in the first 2/3 or so of the special, with several scenes dragging, but then most of the action occurs in a few minutes right near the end. I also think that the plot line with Zipp's observing something wrong with the crystals, but the rest of the Mane Five dismissing and disbelieving her, is clunky and contrived. However, I did like the thread of Zipp's not quite feeling as though she fits in, partly isolating herself because of her potential royal responsibilities in Zephyr Heights, but ultimately getting to stay in Maretime Bay with her friends. As part of that, I also appreciated that Sunny makes some effort to try to help Zipp fit in. I also liked Zipp and Hitch getting some good interactions, especially Zipp's discovery of Hitch's egg.

-----

First, I'll get out of the way that I was distracted by several animation errors and quality issues that I noticed. Lots of scenes and sequences throughout the special appear not to have enough frames of animation, making them look stuttery. In several instances, the lighting of the characters is not consistent with the lighting of the scene, making the characters look as though they're in front of a green screen. I noticed several cases where characters' lip movements did not appear to align or mesh with the voice lines the characters were saying. At least a couple of times, voice lines that should have been continuous were noticeably spliced together from different takes. I also noticed things like the water in the ocean having ripples/waves that don't actually move, or the sparkling effect of magic levitation looking odd. Ponies eating things also look awkward to me; the food seemingly just disappears during the biting animation, with the ponies' mouths and cheeks not looking to contain food or really looking any different afterward.

Also, this was present in the first G5 movie, but ponies' blatant magnetic hooves continue to bug me - such as the spinning and holding of Pipp's lucky microphone, Izzy's holding the spoon when spreading pizza sauce, and Hitch's writing with a pencil at the Sheriff's station. The thing is that, for example, we see Sunny stirring dough or tart filling or whatever by holding the beater in her mouth, and when Sunny falls into the void, she grabs the lantern with her mouth. So the characters are capable of doing things like that, but they just don't most of the time. However, there's no indication that this will change going forward, so I know I'd better just get used to it.

-----

One plot thread from the special that I thought was clunky is Zipp's noticing that something's going wrong with the crystals, but the rest of the Mane Five's not believing her. First, it's weird to me the extent to which Zipp is secretive about her observations. After the two pegasi fall near the lighthouse, Zipp doesn't tell Sunny, Izzy, and Pipp about it, but runs down to the Sheriff's office, where she then proceeds not to tell Hitch either. I guess she decided she needs more evidence to build a better case first? But then, after the magic glitches at the beach, Zipp again doesn't tell Sunny, Izzy, and Pipp about it, or even ask whether they noticed their magic going out. Following that, if it's true that Zipp believes she needs more evidence or a stronger case, then it's frustrating that Zipp spends five hours sitting and watching the rainbow beam while recording audio logs on her phone, and when something important actually happens, she doesn't record a video or take pictures with her phone.

And that leads to further denial and dismissal when Zipp fails to get the rest of the Mane Five to see the vine effects, and tries to tell them that she thinks there's something wrong with the crystals. Sunny immediately and flatly denies it before Zipp even has a chance to explain. Izzy and Pipp are dismissive. Hitch, when confronted with the incident of the umbrella dropping in the sand castle, totally evades and runs away. And Sunny sticks around a little longer, but again flatly declares that "Magic is not glitching".

Why are the rest of the Mane Five acting like this, dismissing and downplaying Zipp's concerns and seemingly refusing to entertain the possibility that magic is glitching? I don't see any particularly good reason for them not to hear Zipp out and take her seriously. Does their being preoccupied with festival planning or whatnot really mean that they can't take a few minutes to give Zipp some consideration? Sunny says at the end that she "was so focused on hoping that magic was okay" that she "lost sight of everything else". That statement doesn't seem to me like it describes Sunny's previous behavior. The only time that Sunny seems to show any concern about losing magic is briefly after the song at Mane Melody.

Finally, all of this ends up not even affecting the main plot when Zipp is able to directly demonstrate the rainbow beam and magic glitching a few minutes later in the special anyway.

-----

However, one thread from this special that I liked is Zipp's not feeling sure that she fits in at Maretime Bay, despite her preferring living in Maretime Bay to dealing with royal responsibilities in Zephyr Heights. To some extent, Zipp seems to have a different personality and different interests than the rest of the Mane Five. I can relate to, for example, Zipp's lack of enthusiasm about making decorations or baking with Sunny and Izzy and Pipp, or Zipp's not being into Pipp's song at Mane Melody. And with the weight of having to learn to be the future queen of Zephyr Heights, she also may be distancing herself a bit from the rest of the Mane Five, not wanting to get too attached to them or to Maretime Bay if she's going to have to go back to Zephyr Heights and take on royal responsibilities sooner or later.

And I appreciate that Sunny, at least, makes some effort to try to make Zipp feel included and as though she belongs at Maretime Bay. Sunny is the only one who checks on Zipp when she takes the call from her mom. On the balcony, Sunny tries to tell Zipp that "of course" she fits in at Maretime Bay. Sunny tries to think of something to prepare for the festival with which Zipp would want to help. Sunny listens to Zipp at least a little and apologizes when Zipp tries to say that there's something wrong with the crystals (though Sunny ends up dismissing Zipp's concerns), whereas the others seem to take no interest and leave as soon as possible. When Zipp says that karaoke is the worst, Sunny defends Zipp, saying that she doesn't have to enjoy all the same things that the rest of them do. And Sunny apologizes to Zipp at the end and says that she should have listened.

By the end of the special, though, I'm glad that Zipp has worked out that she'll stay in Maretime Bay for a while, and seems to have a stronger purpose with the whole detective thing. Hopefully she'll feel more included with the group in the future as well.

-----

Next, I have a couple more larger observations.

At least some of Posey's and other earth ponies' problems with the magical pegasi and unicorns may be more a result of growing pains from a lot of new ponies moving to Maretime Bay in a short time, or possibly cultural differences independent of magic. Posey was almost hit by someone who wasn't paying attention to where he/she was going, but that's not really a problem with unicorn magic, per se. Or, for example, Izzy just levitates oranges out of a pony's grocery bag and throws them up in the air, spearing one on her horn while the other three mysteriously vanish. Those belonged to the pony who was carrying them, and Izzy should be told not to just take other people's stuff without permission, but again, that's not necessarily a problem with unicorn magic itself. However, there are legitimate concerns if pegasi are randomly falling out of the sky over populated areas, if unicorns are levitating things that could hurt ponies when dropped, etc. So Sunny's blunt assertion that magic "may be unpredictable, but it's not dangerous" seems obviously overly simplistic and wrong.

And did all these concerns, resentments, etc. go away when earth ponies discovered their own forms of magic? Or will we be seeing more jealousy, resentment, concern, etc. about magical abilities in the future?

Also, I don't know whether these magic glitches are going to happen again in later episodes, but there are a few mechanics of them that I'm not sure I understand. Does magic glitch whenever some minimum threshold of ponies feels bad, doesn't treat others with kindness, etc.? If so, what is that threshold? Do magic glitches only affect ponies in the immediate vicinity of the ponies that are feeling bad, arguing, etc., or does magic glitch everywhere in the world at the same time? It would seem pretty difficult to stop all ponies from feeling bad and not treating each other with kindness, so are magic glitches just a permanent risk now?

-----

Finally, here are the rest of my miscellaneous observations, in order as they appeared in the episode:

In the opening sequence, can the guards not see, hear, or feel Zipp hovering right above them?

Pipp's phone screen (and phone itself) looks exactly the same before and after Pipp announces that they're live. The red dot, which I would think would signify being live, doesn't change.

Also, this is depicted as a live broadcast, occurring in real time, but if that's true, then how are the graphics, sound effects, backgrounds, transitions, etc. being added? There are at least a couple of cases where it doesn't seem possible that Pipp & co. are adding those in real time.

The pizza that Izzy levitates into the air doesn't have cheese on it when it's on the counter, but when she drops it on her head, suddenly it does have cheese on it.

I thought at first that Zipp's phone with a dual-size foldout screen is unrealistic, but I guess foldable phones with a larger screen do exist, and are being developed so as not to have a seam or split down the middle.

Hitch's "landline" phone in the Sheriff's office only has keys for 1-9, with no 0, *, or #. So in this world, are only the digits 1-9 used for phone numbers?

If Hitch is meant to be doing serious law enforcement, then shouldn't kids be told not to waste police time and resources calling in a dispute over whether a sand castle was sabotaged? Hitch didn't seem to want to deal with it, so why not tell them that this is not the job of the police?

When Posey's hooves stuck to the sidewalk, is she sure that she didn't just step in a particularly sticky spot or something?

Why does Zipp say to Hitch that she saw what happened at the beach "the other day"? Isn't that scene taking place later in the same day? Was there a whole day (or more) transition that I missed?

So, what, Pipp communicates that she has an emergency by texting solely emojis? (Yeah, I know, the show doesn't want to use actual text because it's translated and shown in many different languages.)

I'm frankly surprised that Sunny instantly recognized the lantern gift that Izzy gave her as being the lantern that her dad made for her. To me, it doesn't even look recognizable as the same thing. I would have thought that it's just an entirely new lantern.

Posey complains that pegasi have an unfair advantage in the sand castle building contest, but was it not known ahead of time that pegasi (and presumably unicorns) could participate? If so, I'm not sure what complaining about that after the fact accomplishes. Perhaps, if earth ponies think the contest is unfair because of the participation of pegasi and unicorns, they could choose not to compete, or to hold their own earth pony only competition, or something.

Maybe, if there's lightning actively occurring above and around the ponies (plus high winds, etc.), they should get indoors or take shelter?

How can Posey sing the new Maretime Bay song (and the harmony part, no less) with Pipp if it's a newly written song? Does Posey somehow know the newly written song already?

Hitch asks why he has the magical power to understand every animal except the baby dragon, but couldn't the answer be that a baby doesn't speak (or think) in fully formed language yet?

[Rosy Moonlight 367]

13 minutes ago, Music Chart Fan said:

Hitch asks why he has the magical power to understand every animal except the baby dragon, but couldn't the answer be that a baby doesn't speak (or think) in fully formed language yet?

This had been bothering me for a while too.

Sparky's a newborn! How does Hitch you expect him to know how to communicate yet?

[CastletonSnob 3,025]

How do you feel about the voice acting in MyM?

[Rosy Moonlight 367]

13 minutes ago, CastletonSnob said:

How do you feel about the voice acting in G5?

For me, not that great, with Izzy's being the worst.

Edited May 27, 2022 by Rosy Moonlight

[Ashen Pathfinder 16,151]

14 hours ago, CastletonSnob said:

How do you feel about the voice acting in MyM?

Sounded great to me; tho I'm not sure if that's because I just don't notice any downgrade or if I am too forgiving. Doesn't change my opinion tho.

[Splashee 28,537]

14 hours ago, CastletonSnob said:

How do you feel about the voice acting in MyM?

I am biased since the start of the movie. I knew the VAs from their previous work, and having them swapped out like this just makes things worse. Hitch and Izzy are totally different sounding to me, and it will take a while to get used to their new voices.

20 hours ago, bwrosas said:

  Reveal hidden contents

Who Is This New Alicorn Villainess for G5 

Towards the end of the special, a new Alicorn villainess was reveled, but the one question a lot of fans had, is who could this be? Is it somepony new? Is it a corrupted Flurry Heart?, or returning alicorned Cozy Heart?, or a corrupted Twilight? Who could she be?  Fans will have 4 months to speculate.  I know I contunine to do so.

 

Spoiler

I really believe they are going for "new" here. They only used the name Equestria for promotion. I don't see any link between FIM and this.

With Posey from G1 being a recurring character, I think they are not trying to use any FIM stuff at all. I haven't seen a single Derpy reference, and they used like a billion references to Derpy in Equestria Girls which definitely tried to be linked to FIM even without ponies.

 

Absolutely no mention of Twilight or any FIM lore like Windigos. G5 is closer to Filly Funtasia than FIM

 

[Evil Pink One 12,974]

Please look at the villainess's HORN.... It is asian....

[Ganondorf8 11,118]

Watching it earlier this morning, I have to say that this special wasn't bad. I did feel that the stakes were pretty low in comparison to the G5 movie and the usual MLP trope checkboxes were checked off to ensure that they met their quota. The animation felt stilted at times which is to be expected given the lower budget but I can let it slide. With what they had to work with, the animation has true potential waiting to be unleashed and I hope they get that chance in due course.

I'm actually happy that Earth ponies were given some kind of magic to work with as it was something in G4 that was lacking. I'm certain the lack of magic for G4 Earth ponies was intended from the very beginning so as to strike a balance between the three main pony tribes, yet giving them magic now felt like an evolution of sorts or maybe giving them a new sense of self. Their magic being associated with the very earth itself was smart and it seems different Earth ponies can use their magic in different ways.

Glad that Pipp got to do something this time around since she was given the least amount of screen time in the G5 movie. Wasn't expecting Zipp to take the reins and be the main focus but it shows that the central protagonist doesn't need to be at the center of every single issue that comes up. Sunny saving the day was expected because her being the central protagonist means that she needs to figure things out when no one else is allowed to. Do I think Zipp should've saved the day? Maybe but then I think she was okay with Sunny doing that.

And we have a villain... Who shall remain anonymous until the show proper.

[Landi 597]

After watching the Make your Mark Pilot, my opinion is that it is okay. Right off the bat I'll briefly mention the downgrade in the animation and voice acting. While I don't want to story on this point long due to already giving my thoughts on it, it was definitely apparent that the animation was stilted and the voice acting (especially for Izzy) sounded slightly off. Onto the story itself, I didn't think it was bad, but is did very very basic and predictable. The pacing was decent for what it is (though it did feel rushed in certain parts). All that being said, I think the special does have and interesting premise, and that it shows what Maritime Bay is like after magic is back (TYT does this too technically, but that show is hard to take seriously). Plus, some of the members of the mane cast received some more character development, which is appreciated. 

Here are some of my more specific thoughts this:

Spoiler

First off, I like that this answered my question as to how the sisters were able to live in Maretime Bay despite being a part of the royal family of Zypher Heights. It seems like Zipp will stay in Maretime Bay as a detective for a while until it is time for her to take over as ruler of Zypher Heights. It's good to see that the writers are taking the time to give each of the characters a job, with Izzy kind of being the exception so far. Speaking of Izzy, her character has taken a major hit for both TYT and MYM so far. She went from a fun loveable character who had her own personality to a wanna-be pinkie pie with an annoying voice. Speaking of annoying, I still find Pipp obnoxious, but at least she getting a little character development here and there. However, she still needs some more development before she stops seeming like a one-dimension character. It seems strange that Posy is the one presented as an antagonist for most of this considering how different her character was in G1. However, I am glad to see that Earth Ponies have their magic now, and that is is a bit more apparent than it was in G4. Now I am really hoping that pegasi will have their weather magic back like they did in the previous generation. Lastly, while her design is really bad, I wonder who the villainous alicorn is, and how she will come into play during the rest of the MYM series.

In my opinion, this was a decent addition to G5 that has a mixture of positives and negatives. 

[Pentium100 2,056]

I just watched it. So far I like it. The voices are different, but I can live with it. One thing was weird to me - Sunny has a large house now, but they all don't even have separate rooms - I guess somebody (the animation department) is fond of large open spaces.

[FlareGun45 2,221]

Two theories:

1. That villain in the end is Twilight gone bad who became this way after she lost her friends.

2. Spike sent the dragon egg as a key to help the ponies bring Twilight back. He musta went off on his own and seeing how him leaving caused consequences, he is trying to fix things without being directly involved.

[Steve Piranha 28,778]

12 hours ago, Splashee said:

 

  Hide contents

I really believe they are going for "new" here. They only used the name Equestria for promotion. I don't see any link between FIM and this.

 

 

Spoiler

Remember it all began with Sunny’s father researching about the old Equestria, so there’s definitely going to be a bigger connection, even if it’s just for backstory.

about the villain, I can think she’s either a successor to Canterlot or Crystal Empire. Who she is? Maybe an apprentice gone wrong, or a descendant gone wrong

 

[Venomous 18,813]

14 hours ago, CastletonSnob said:

How do you feel about the voice acting in MyM?

This thread is strictly discussing MyM. Your post has been edited to suit that.

If you want to talk about the voice acting in G5 overall (movie, TyT, and/or MyM), make a thread.

[Goat-kun 2,498]

I have questions.

 

Was Fluttershy thus an earth pony? The lore is that talking to animals is more of a cutie mark thing. Also, why give earth ponies such nature powers when unicorns are aesthetically closest to nature in G5? Buck Friendship Principles. Sprout already made a field tiller. Just give them alchemy.

 

What's up with badly colored Nightmare Sprout drag queen? See, this is what too much tragic past does to your body. Remember kids, just say no.

 

Do we really need another baby dragon orphan?

[DivineMist1000 71,102]

MYM was such a great intro to the new show! I like how everything wasn’t magically fixed after the movie and that there was still a lot of work to do before things got better for sure. All of the New 5 all had some awesome moments, but I feel like it focused more on Zipp and her figuring out what was happening to the magic, but that one moment at the end with Sunny was absolutely heartwarming too.

Spoiler

And also that shadowy alicorn at the end too… Oh boy.

All in all, this is another great addition to the G5 lineup and I cannot wait for the new show to start too!!

[Venomous 18,813]

On 2022-05-26 at 10:31 PM, -Buttercup- said:

I do not have Netflix. Where can I watch this? 

This is a Netflix exclusive. Unfortunately, there is no other legitimate source to watch it on.

You will have to resort to looking up pirated uploads on the internet 

[Orchid_Fiore 199]

3 hours ago, Goat-kun said:

Do we really need another baby dragon orphan?

It's like a "tradition" in the MLP franchise... I only hope the day when the dragon will be a female!

[Megas 27,063]

Was pretty mid. Nothing mindblowing, nothing that really stands out, but nothing really awful either. Just okay. 5/10. If I'm being generous, 7/10 as a big fan of Zipp, she really shines here

[Toastypk 920]

I enjoyed it. I love that Zipp got a lot of focus. She's already one of my big favorites of the Mane 5; I already liked her genuine personality, and now I see her worrysome side, just like I am. I really do love her. Plus it's interesting how she has to balance her life with considering her royal future.

Animation downgrade was to be expected, at least.

Though it seems some people on youtube are salty about this. Well I think this special is really setting the stage for the episodes to come.

Spoiler

And I want to know who you-know-who is. Theories are floating abound out there! (Though her design is a bit horrendous, maybe it's just the dark lighting. Actually it's almost like she's in front of a blacklight.) Though a fanart drawing of her makes her look better, if you're curious:

 

[Fluttershutter 2,118]

On 2022-05-27 at 8:53 AM, Splashee said:

  Hide contents

I really believe they are going for "new" here. They only used the name Equestria for promotion. I don't see any link between FIM and this.

With Posey from G1 being a recurring character, I think they are not trying to use any FIM stuff at all. I haven't seen a single Derpy reference, and they used like a billion references to Derpy in Equestria Girls which definitely tried to be linked to FIM even without ponies.

 

Absolutely no mention of Twilight or any FIM lore like Windigos. G5 is closer to Filly Funtasia than FIM

 

That's my fear as well. Most likely they won't be clear about if there is or isn't any connection.