Thoughts on G5

[Steve Piranha 29,424]

6 hours ago, Misty Shadow said:

I am a proud G5 fan who is proud to see what I've been reading in this thread. If no one liked the series, a prominent G5 reviewer on YouTube wouldn't have been told off by their own audience not that long ago for their unfair negative bias when they reviewed TYT's first special. 

I hope they kept it civil, as I can picture the comments got heated 

[Rafa Stary 3,026]

Yes I like G5, but as I usually like to make gigantic posts (that nobody reads) I'll try to talk about it without being repetitive, and specially because I think it's important to be writing this now.

First, in a simple way, I Like G5, the characters, the world and stories. I love G4, the characters, the world and stories. I don't love G5, I just like it, it still hasn't made the necessary for me to love it, I love certain things from it, like Zipp & Pipp's interactions, Opaline, the mysteries, etc, but in overall, I just like it, and if it wasn't for G4, I probably wouldn't be watching it.

Going in deep, well, I really liked the Movie and Make Your Mark, for me they were good, Tell Your Tale for me is okay, it manages to be pretty good, but also pretty bad very oftenly.

Tell Your Tale falls in the middle because of the short format, I really don't like that, I like longer episodes, when I had to watch TyT for the first time there were already around 50 episodes released, and for me it was really hard to go through all of them, my brain just couldn't process all of that, extremely fast humor and scenes, character here character there, flip flop boom, and some stories they tried to tell sounded so interesting but the short format completely hindered them or made them feel rushed as hell, don't get me wrong, I do think there are really great episodes that used this format perfectly, "Opaline Alone" being a personal favorite, that episode has a fast scenes montage but for me it was really easy to understand and enjoy it due to how simple the concept of the episode is (what Opaline does when she's alone, fin), I think trying to be simple is the key here, for me the best episodes were the ones they tried to make something simple with a very clear objetive, and these are specially the calm episodes, with no fast or rushed stuff, for me that's where Tell Your Tale truly shines, if all episodes were like this, for me it still wouldn't be better than the Movie and MyM because the longer format is superior, but it would be enough for me to consider it a good series.

Unfortunately, I consider it just okay because of the huge amount of "meh" episodes, I mean, I don't exactly dislike or hate it, but most of these episodes actually made me think "they are writing shit for kids", it's a lot of fast nonsense, I can actually remember that in one of these episodes I said to myself "yeah, I give up on trying to understand this, I'm just jumping from episode to episode", there were moments that truly surprised me due to the amount of chaos and nonsense happening all at once, it's okay to be silly for me, but being dumb is a different story, and for me this has to do with them trying to tell a lot of things in a very limited time, it just doesn't work for me, and sometimes, it just makes the episodes forgetable (or skippable). For me these are the bad side of TyT, I think they need to stop doing dumb, chaotic and rushed stuff, and focus on telling simple stories, specially calm ones, like Pony Life did, that's why for me that series worked.

Also, the 20 minutes special, while I liked it, I don't know, it's weird, I somehow still felt the 5 minutes limit watching it and I just can't explain it, for me it almost felt like that they merged multiple 5 minute episodes into a 20 minutes single story arc, Idk idk idk, I honestly was expecting more of it, I did notice a difference, specially when watched it for the first time, but I just couldn't get the same impact from it as other users did, but I think it was at least a good start for a special, it's just 4 but I think I can expect something good from the other 3.

Now, A New Generation and Tell Your Tale, for me they were the closest that G5 came to being as good as G4. I think all the problems I have with TyT don't exist here, for me MyM and the Movie are equal, equally good, no superiority above the other (except for CGI of course) so I'll treat the two as the same here.

The episode length is appropriate for the stories they try to tell, there aren't fast, chaotic or dumb stuff going on (well, there are the Sparky's moments, but I'll let it pass because that's the purpose of his character), the show is actually mature and very calm, easy to understand, that's why for me it was really easy to watch several episodes of it all at once unlike TyT, the stories, characters arcs and mysteries are fun and interesting, but I think they went too far with the "simplicity" here, in the Movie it doesn't happen because it was a introduction, but Make Your Make I found it a bit monotonous in certain parts, making me feel like "this is very limited" or that "they don't have much to show", it has its problems but for me they are more related to my overall problems with this generation and not with the show itself, and here's the finale.

For me, G5 did its homework, that's why it's good, but that's all, it couldn't go further, it couldn't surprise, be impactful like G4, for me G4 was sensational because it tried to break its own rules and do really incredible things, now G5...I do think they really tried to make something amazing in the Movie and during MyM, I don't think the characters, the stories and specially, the world were as thrilling as G4's, but for me they seemed to be excited with the story they were telling, the mysteries, etc, for me they cared. But I think that after the Opaline Arc ended, everything just went downhill, and for me this is important because I used to have hype for G5, despite its problems and not loving it like G4, I was hyped to see what was going to happen in Chapter 6 (and I was spoiled!), I really like that it is a sequel to G4, I was hopeful that the end of Opaline's arc would lead to new stories, more exploration, new characters, more about the past etc, everything was in line and that arc truly felt like a sequel to the Movie... Then they come out with the Secrets of Starlight special, and man...don't get me wrong, I liked it, but it was a letdown, then Make Your Mark is canceled and Tell Your Tale starts its Second Season as the Main and Only series of G5? 

Now, they keep milking on Maretime Bay, the other locations were forgotten, did nothing interesting with the Dragons and Auroricorns anymore, Allura the new villain barely shows up and hasn't been relevant so far, almost or all the mysteries surrounding the past, Twilight etc are now ignored....like...What the fuck are they doing? I can't see the same excitement from the creative team here as in the Opaline arc, I won't say that they aren't trying anymore, but I have a strong feeling that they got discouraged, where is this generation going? They do plant a few good mysteries from time to time, like Misty's Room or Skyros, but everything is just feeling extremely underdeveloped compared to what was saw in ANG and in the Opaline arc, and specially, it feels secondary, a minor production, Tell your Tale just isn't working as the main and only animated production, I try to be positive about it and I do think it improved when compared to Season 1, but for the Generation in a entirety it's just far from enough, I really don't think TyT alone can save G5, not with these 5 minutes shorts and just four 20 minutes specials also won't do it jusitce, that's why I said that hype was important, I just lost the hype for G5, yes, I really want to know more stuff about the past, the world, the images and mysterious voice in Mysty's room and all the other mysteries, but I'm not hyped for it, I'm just curious, I want to know what will happen, but I couldn't feel the feeling of hype anymore since the Opaline arc ended, waiting for Chapter 6 was truly exciting for me, but now Tell Your Tale? I oftenly forget that it will get a new episode in the next week (and now that is bi-weekly just makes it worse), like, I just can't excite myself for a 5 minutes rushed story.

For me we are in the dark era of G5, as said before, I try to be positive about it, I don't love it but I like it and that's enough because I do care about the characters and what will happen to them, I want to keep caring about it and to see the story it's trying to tell, but a fast paced cheap production with 5 minutes just isn't helping it, if I'm saying that it isn't doing any good for this generation it's because I care about it, thehy should've made what I said in a another topic, give more time for this Season's production, make all episodes be 20 minutes long, but nah.

Going back to what I said in the beginning, It's important that I'm writing this now, because if I was writing this in, like, October 2023, my opinion would be completely different, I would've said something like

"G5 isn't amazing like G4 but it's good, the movie was good and is delivering good and interesting stuff with Make Your Mark, the show feels limited but it can still deliver a lot. Tell Your Tale isn't very good, it's okay but it's just a smaller series aimed at the younger audience who can keep up with the fast paced story telling, it's not meant to be relevant but it's a fun extra. The Movie and Make Your Mark are the true flagship of this generation and it's doing a good work, it managed to be exciting."

See the big difference, for me G5, even with its problems, knew how to stay relevant and create hype, I believed it was in good condition, in good hands, but now? The main and only series is the minor cheap production aimed at children? The potential big stories are now limited to this 5 minutes format? Only four 20 minutes episodes in all of 2024 to 2025? Nothing more? No more movies, nothing????? This generation is seriously hospitalized, Hasbro needs to help it but they just doesn't seem to be interested. 

I want more of G5, but not in Tell Your Tale, not in a spin-offish series.

If this situation doesn't change, I don't give more than a Year for this generation 

[Steve Piranha 29,424]

2 hours ago, Rafa Stary said:

Yes I like G5, but as I usually like to make gigantic posts (that nobody reads) I'll try to talk about it without being repetitive, and specially because I think it's important to be writing this now.

First, in a simple way, I Like G5, the characters, the world and stories. I love G4, the characters, the world and stories. I don't love G5, I just like it, it still hasn't made the necessary for me to love it, I love certain things from it, like Zipp & Pipp's interactions, Opaline, the mysteries, etc, but in overall, I just like it, and if it wasn't for G4, I probably wouldn't be watching it.

Going in deep, well, I really liked the Movie and Make Your Mark, for me they were good, Tell Your Tale for me is okay, it manages to be pretty good, but also pretty bad very oftenly.

Tell Your Tale falls in the middle because of the short format, I really don't like that, I like longer episodes, when I had to watch TyT for the first time there were already around 50 episodes released, and for me it was really hard to go through all of them, my brain just couldn't process all of that, extremely fast humor and scenes, character here character there, flip flop boom, and some stories they tried to tell sounded so interesting but the short format completely hindered them or made them feel rushed as hell, don't get me wrong, I do think there are really great episodes that used this format perfectly, "Opaline Alone" being a personal favorite, that episode has a fast scenes montage but for me it was really easy to understand and enjoy it due to how simple the concept of the episode is (what Opaline does when she's alone, fin), I think trying to be simple is the key here, for me the best episodes were the ones they tried to make something simple with a very clear objetive, and these are specially the calm episodes, with no fast or rushed stuff, for me that's where Tell Your Tale truly shines, if all episodes were like this, for me it still wouldn't be better than the Movie and MyM because the longer format is superior, but it would be enough for me to consider it a good series.

Unfortunately, I consider it just okay because of the huge amount of "meh" episodes, I mean, I don't exactly dislike or hate it, but most of these episodes actually made me think "they are writing shit for kids", it's a lot of fast nonsense, I can actually remember that in one of these episodes I said to myself "yeah, I give up on trying to understand this, I'm just jumping from episode to episode", there were moments that truly surprised me due to the amount of chaos and nonsense happening all at once, it's okay to be silly for me, but being dumb is a different story, and for me this has to do with them trying to tell a lot of things in a very limited time, it just doesn't work for me, and sometimes, it just makes the episodes forgetable (or skippable). For me these are the bad side of TyT, I think they need to stop doing dumb, chaotic and rushed stuff, and focus on telling simple stories, specially calm ones, like Pony Life did, that's why for me that series worked.

Also, the 20 minutes special, while I liked it, I don't know, it's weird, I somehow still felt the 5 minutes limit watching it and I just can't explain it, for me it almost felt like that they merged multiple 5 minute episodes into a 20 minutes single story arc, Idk idk idk, I honestly was expecting more of it, I did notice a difference, specially when watched it for the first time, but I just couldn't get the same impact from it as other users did, but I think it was at least a good start for a special, it's just 4 but I think I can expect something good from the other 3.

Now, A New Generation and Tell Your Tale, for me they were the closest that G5 came to being as good as G4. I think all the problems I have with TyT don't exist here, for me MyM and the Movie are equal, equally good, no superiority above the other (except for CGI of course) so I'll treat the two as the same here.

The episode length is appropriate for the stories they try to tell, there aren't fast, chaotic or dumb stuff going on (well, there are the Sparky's moments, but I'll let it pass because that's the purpose of his character), the show is actually mature and very calm, easy to understand, that's why for me it was really easy to watch several episodes of it all at once unlike TyT, the stories, characters arcs and mysteries are fun and interesting, but I think they went too far with the "simplicity" here, in the Movie it doesn't happen because it was a introduction, but Make Your Make I found it a bit monotonous in certain parts, making me feel like "this is very limited" or that "they don't have much to show", it has its problems but for me they are more related to my overall problems with this generation and not with the show itself, and here's the finale.

For me, G5 did its homework, that's why it's good, but that's all, it couldn't go further, it couldn't surprise, be impactful like G4, for me G4 was sensational because it tried to break its own rules and do really incredible things, now G5...I do think they really tried to make something amazing in the Movie and during MyM, I don't think the characters, the stories and specially, the world were as thrilling as G4's, but for me they seemed to be excited with the story they were telling, the mysteries, etc, for me they cared. But I think that after the Opaline Arc ended, everything just went downhill, and for me this is important because I used to have hype for G5, despite its problems and not loving it like G4, I was hyped to see what was going to happen in Chapter 6 (and I was spoiled!), I really like that it is a sequel to G4, I was hopeful that the end of Opaline's arc would lead to new stories, more exploration, new characters, more about the past etc, everything was in line and that arc truly felt like a sequel to the Movie... Then they come out with the Secrets of Starlight special, and man...don't get me wrong, I liked it, but it was a letdown, then Make Your Mark is canceled and Tell Your Tale starts its Second Season as the Main and Only series of G5? 

Now, they keep milking on Maretime Bay, the other locations were forgotten, did nothing interesting with the Dragons and Auroricorns anymore, Allura the new villain barely shows up and hasn't been relevant so far, almost or all the mysteries surrounding the past, Twilight etc are now ignored....like...What the fuck are they doing? I can't see the same excitement from the creative team here as in the Opaline arc, I won't say that they aren't trying anymore, but I have a strong feeling that they got discouraged, where is this generation going? They do plant a few good mysteries from time to time, like Misty's Room or Skyros, but everything is just feeling extremely underdeveloped compared to what was saw in ANG and in the Opaline arc, and specially, it feels secondary, a minor production, Tell your Tale just isn't working as the main and only animated production, I try to be positive about it and I do think it improved when compared to Season 1, but for the Generation in a entirety it's just far from enough, I really don't think TyT alone can save G5, not with these 5 minutes shorts and just four 20 minutes specials also won't do it jusitce, that's why I said that hype was important, I just lost the hype for G5, yes, I really want to know more stuff about the past, the world, the images and mysterious voice in Mysty's room and all the other mysteries, but I'm not hyped for it, I'm just curious, I want to know what will happen, but I couldn't feel the feeling of hype anymore since the Opaline arc ended, waiting for Chapter 6 was truly exciting for me, but now Tell Your Tale? I oftenly forget that it will get a new episode in the next week (and now that is bi-weekly just makes it worse), like, I just can't excite myself for a 5 minutes rushed story.

For me we are in the dark era of G5, as said before, I try to be positive about it, I don't love it but I like it and that's enough because I do care about the characters and what will happen to them, I want to keep caring about it and to see the story it's trying to tell, but a fast paced cheap production with 5 minutes just isn't helping it, if I'm saying that it isn't doing any good for this generation it's because I care about it, thehy should've made what I said in a another topic, give more time for this Season's production, make all episodes be 20 minutes long, but nah.

Going back to what I said in the beginning, It's important that I'm writing this now, because if I was writing this in, like, October 2023, my opinion would be completely different, I would've said something like

"G5 isn't amazing like G4 but it's good, the movie was good and is delivering good and interesting stuff with Make Your Mark, the show feels limited but it can still deliver a lot. Tell Your Tale isn't very good, it's okay but it's just a smaller series aimed at the younger audience who can keep up with the fast paced story telling, it's not meant to be relevant but it's a fun extra. The Movie and Make Your Mark are the true flagship of this generation and it's doing a good work, it managed to be exciting."

See the big difference, for me G5, even with its problems, knew how to stay relevant and create hype, I believed it was in good condition, in good hands, but now? The main and only series is the minor cheap production aimed at children? The potential big stories are now limited to this 5 minutes format? Only four 20 minutes episodes in all of 2024 to 2025? Nothing more? No more movies, nothing????? This generation is seriously hospitalized, Hasbro needs to help it but they just doesn't seem to be interested. 

I want more of G5, but not in Tell Your Tale, not in a spin-offish series.

If this situation doesn't change, I don't give more than a Year for this generation 

If they could just announce some actual big G5 content things would be exciting. But it sucks having to settle with the small show. Lack of toys further inspires leas confidence in G5’s future 

[WickedGames 240]

6 minutes ago, Steve Piranha said:

If they could just announce some actual big G5 content things would be exciting. But it sucks having to settle with the small show. Lack of toys further inspires leas confidence in G5’s future 

Seem like at least from what I have seen in Equestria Daily most of the new G5 toys are China exclusives

[Ghorse 1]

I haven’t watched so I can’t say.

I think the style of drawing looks weird. Like they stitched a human head to a ponies body(2d).

[Starset Twinkle 503]

I genuinely like some aspects of G5. I like the main characters designs pretty much across the board. I like parts of MYM quite a bit. I like the movie quite a bit. I like a handful of TYT episodes. I like some of the music. I like Misty's character growth a lot! I like the colorfulness. I like the cute ponies (lol). I like the locations (particularly Zephyr Heights, Maretime Bay & Bridlewood).

I can't say I like G5 without reservation as you asked, but there are many things I do like.

[Zennec Fox 42]

i wanna like G5, but it has one glaring issue preventing me from fully going "yeah, i like this": the fact that it seems to be on the fence about whether or not it's a sequel to FiM.  just go all the way, you've made your bed, lie in it.

FiM's worldbuilding is what most appeals to me about it, and we haven't gotten anything of the sort in G5 aside from the Discord arc in the comics and whatever Skyros is gonna be.  in fact, sometimes G5 even contradicts G4 (biggest example is MYM stating that Misty couldn't use magic because she didn't have her cutie mark yet, despite Pumpkin Cake being able to use levitation in FiM).  and, uh...where's the Crystal Empire?  and all the other kingdoms, for that matter?  they explained that the dragons have been hibernating, but what about the other races?

honestly, it seems like they only made it a continuation of G4 so they could bring in that sweet, sweet brony money.

[Rafa Stary 3,026]

18 minutes ago, zenpai said:

i wanna like G5, but it has one glaring issue preventing me from fully going "yeah, i like this": the fact that it seems to be on the fence about whether or not it's a sequel to FiM.  just go all the way, you've made your bed, lie in it.

It's exactly one of the problems I have with the Post-Opaline stuff, I'm okay with them trying to tell a more original story, the problem is that the switch was just not natural, they just made everything G4 related be ignored and forgotten, even the characters forgot about the past and how interesed they were about it, specially Zipp, feels almost like a retcon.

23 minutes ago, zenpai said:

FiM's worldbuilding is what most appeals to me about it, and we haven't gotten anything of the sort in G5 aside from the Discord arc in the comics and whatever Skyros is gonna be.  in fact, sometimes G5 even contradicts G4 (biggest example is MYM stating that Misty couldn't use magic because she didn't have her cutie mark yet, despite Pumpkin Cake being able to use levitation in FiM).  and, uh...where's the Crystal Empire?  and all the other kingdoms, for that matter?  they explained that the dragons have been hibernating, but what about the other races?

honestly, it seems like they only made it a continuation of G4 so they could bring in that sweet, sweet brony money.

It's the contract with Discovery Family, DF still owns partial content of G4, like characters, locations, etc, Hasbro can't use them of they want to use them, they'll need to pay DF, so animated G5 is limited on what it can use from G4, but the comics not, the contract is just restricted to the animated content only, that's why the comics could show a lot more stuff from G4 like Discord and the old locations. Supposedly

[Zennec Fox 42]

2 hours ago, Rafa Stary said:

even the characters forgot about the past and how interesed they were about it, specially Zipp, feels almost like a retcon.

yes thank you for remembering how interested Zipp was in FiM Equestria!!  i noticed that change immediately, it always bothered me that they just changed her into a detective.

2 hours ago, Rafa Stary said:

It's the contract with Discovery Family, DF still owns partial content of G4, like characters, locations, etc, Hasbro can't use them of they want to use them, they'll need to pay DF, so animated G5 is limited on what it can use from G4, but the comics not, the contract is just restricted to the animated content only, that's why the comics could show a lot more stuff from G4 like Discord and the old locations. Supposedly

that makes sense, but begs the question of why even bother being a G4 continuation when they don't even have the right to parts of G4...aside from, again, brony money.  even though bronies were interested in G5 even before it was revealed to be a continuation...

[WickedGames 240]

On 2024-05-22 at 1:21 AM, Zennec Fox said:

i wanna like G5, but it has one glaring issue preventing me from fully going "yeah, i like this": the fact that it seems to be on the fence about whether or not it's a sequel to FiM.  just go all the way, you've made your bed, lie in it.

FiM's worldbuilding is what most appeals to me about it, and we haven't gotten anything of the sort in G5 aside from the Discord arc in the comics and whatever Skyros is gonna be.  in fact, sometimes G5 even contradicts G4 (biggest example is MYM stating that Misty couldn't use magic because she didn't have her cutie mark yet, despite Pumpkin Cake being able to use levitation in FiM).  and, uh...where's the Crystal Empire?  and all the other kingdoms, for that matter?  they explained that the dragons have been hibernating, but what about the other races?

honestly, it seems like they only made it a continuation of G4 so they could bring in that sweet, sweet brony money.

Starlight Ridge could very well be a stand in for the Crystal Empire 

[Rafa Stary 3,026]

22 minutes ago, WickedGames said:

Starlight Ridge could very well be a stand in for the Crystal Empire 

But there isn't anything that works as a evidence for this, there is? So far apparently the Auroricorns have nothing to do with the Crystal Pones and there's no hint about Starlight Ridge being a lost part of the Crystal Empire but covered in snow, we don't even know if it's snow from the Frozen North.

Not saying that they aren't related to the Crystal Empire and Crystal Pones, after all there's also no evidence to this, but I'm more inclined to believe that the Auroricorns and Starlight Ridge were just a original idea for G5, from everything we got so far after the Opaline arc, for me only the weather machine and the Seaponies could be remnants of G4.

[WickedGames 240]

11 minutes ago, Rafa Stary said:

But there isn't anything that works as a evidence for this, there is? So far apparently the Auroricorns have nothing to do with the Crystal Pones and there's no hint about Starlight Ridge being a lost part of the Crystal Empire but covered in snow, we don't even know if it's snow from the Frozen North.

Not saying that they aren't related to the Crystal Empire and Crystal Pones, after all there's also no evidence to this, but I'm more inclined to believe that the Auroricorns and Starlight Ridge were just a original idea for G5, from everything we got so far after the Opaline arc, for me only the weather machine and the Seaponies could be remnants of G4.

Again they have to keep it vague 

[Zennec Fox 42]

8 hours ago, WickedGames said:

Starlight Ridge could very well be a stand in for the Crystal Empire 

that works only from a Doylist (meta) perspective.  the problem for me is the lack of a Watsonian (in-universe) explanation.  unless the comics have already explained what happened to the Crystal Empire, or that Starlight Ridge is what's left of it, which is entirely possible, as i'm not caught up on the comics.

[WickedGames 240]

17 hours ago, Zennec Fox said:

that works only from a Doylist (meta) perspective.  the problem for me is the lack of a Watsonian (in-universe) explanation.  unless the comics have already explained what happened to the Crystal Empire, or that Starlight Ridge is what's left of it, which is entirely possible, as i'm not caught up on the comics.

From what I saw they didn’t and that is understandable because unfortunately the Crystal Empire was made to sell toy playsets lol 

[lilsmileychai 1]

I never got into mlp when I was little ( as far as I remember we didn't have much tv) I love the new mane 6 and Sparky. The songs are amazing, and g5 helped me in a bad time. And excite for more, I do wished the epsioses could be a bit longer. And the designs showing each pony slightly different bodies. Like in rl I"m short like pipp. My fav is Sunny, second is izzy.

[WickedGames 240]

Hoping that the next TYT episode is a Father’s Day one with Misty and Alphabittle

 

(Whoops wrong thread!)

Edited May 31 by WickedGames

[Steve Piranha 29,424]

On 2024-05-29 at 5:07 AM, lilsmileychai said:

I never got into mlp when I was little ( as far as I remember we didn't have much tv) I love the new mane 6 and Sparky. The songs are amazing, and g5 helped me in a bad time. 

Read countless times of us folks having G4 horses being a joy during bad times, but this is the first time I know G5 did the same. Anyway, welcome to the club 

[Lyraharpstringsfan 3]

Not the biggest fan but I still respect people who still like it?

[Steve Piranha 29,424]

I like it, and I keep following it mainly, and I’m aware this is an unpopular opinion, because it’s a sequel to best pony generation 

[Misty Shadow 7,869]

Insanely overhated gem, people need to take their nostalgia goggles off already. 

[Rafa Stary 3,026]

I prefer to share my thoughts on each invidual production first

The Movie really wasn't what I expected for a sequel to G4 or for a new generation, I expected more, but I totally embraced it the way it is, the characters, the world, the stories, the concepts, I really like them all, and I really praise how it tries to be a sequel and a not a reboot, I genuinely liked that.

Same thing with Make Your Mark, despite all the flaws, I think it was in overall equal to the movie. I definitely don't think the stories are awesome as the ones from G4, but I think they were interesting and exciting enough to make me enjoy the series. And actually, there is one thing I enjoyed in MyM more than in G4, the villain, I really love how they decided to make a villain who lasts for a lot of episodes, having a full arc, and not just 2 episodes, not only I think that was better, as Opaline herself is my favorite villain in the franchise, she's definitely not the best, but she is my favorite, I think she was so much fun to watch, the whole show did keep me entertained.

So, even though I'm not very passionate about the two, nor I think they're awesome like G4, I definitely like A New Generation and Make Your Mark, for me they were fun, interesting and specially, bold, they tried to take risks, a lot of people don't like the decisions made for both, but I really appreciated it, I do understand some of the criticism, but I think people were way too unfair with these two (specially MyM), I saw effort, I saw a interesting story and character arcs being told, and the whole artistic & visual part was good too, I liked the character designs and the 3D models & animation, yeah, MyM is a big downgrade compared to the movie, but I still think it looks really good and expressive. So the two 3D productions of G5 definitely deserve a place in my "worth rewatching" box 

But now...the elephant in the room, Tell Your Tale.....eeeeh....it's complicated, honestly, I don't think it's exactly bad, but I don't think it's good either, yes, there are good episodes, I love rewatching "Opaline Alone", but in overall? I just think it exists, it's there, it's a cheap show more aimed at little kids who like fast short silly stories with barely any depth at all. Everything that makes me like The Movie and Make Your Make is just done in reverse in TyT for me. For me the visuals, even though I got very used to the the art style after watching more than 70 episodes, are just not good, they're mid at best, and the animation is just not impressive at all, it's rough, bland and not fluid, it shows how cheap it is, but that's just the visuals, now the story...

If I think ANG and MyM story-wise were interesting, exciting and bond, then I think TyT is just the opposite of all the three, again, I do think there were episodes with really good stories, but for me in overall, most of them were just bland and forgettable, with no rewatch value at all. The stories told just aren't exciting or interesting, they are super predictable, a lot of nothing happens in them, the characters mostly just have no goal, there's no conflict, there's no story being told at all, and sometimes when they try to tell a interesting story, it's just not good because the short format doesn't help. I know this show is mostly meant to be a slice of life series, but honestly? Even slice of life stories, with no big lore or anything, can be fun and exciting to watch, they can be bold, I just don't see this here, the episodes are just weak, there's nothing impressive in them at all, yeah, the two latest episodes were good, but I think being good just doesn't mean that it's any interesting or exciting to watch, what is this series trying to do? This series replaced Make Your Mark, it's the only animated production we have for this generation now, it continues the story and it's necessary for me to watch if I want to know what's going to happen next. But every episode they release just makes me ask myself "why do I keep watching this show if I'm just not impressed, excited, nor entertained by watching it?" There's just no reason for me to keep watching this, and it just bothers me that I'm forced to watch this and bear this short format if I want to know what's going to happen.

I think I came to the point that if this show was canceled, I really wouldn't mind it, but there are people who likes it and feel happy watching it, so I hope this doesn't happen, just because I'm unhappy with it it doesn't mean other people aren't, so it'll be good if it continues to keep these people entertained.

So in the end, I think G5, even being very inferior to G4, had a great run from 2021 to 2023, the Movie and Make Your Mark were good, there was a lot of effort and risk put into them, they were creative and made me care about the characters, these traits are the minimum for me to consider a series important. Traits that I just don't see in TyT at all, and now unfortunately it's the only animated production that is stil running for this generation, making 2024 (and probably 2025 too) just a disappointing year for it in my opinion.

I'm unfortunately almost done and I've already made my decision, I'll wait for the next week's episode, if it doesn't excite or entertain me, then Season 2 Episode 15 is going to be the final episode for me, there's no need to keep watching something that is just not interesting for me at all, being well-written and having cute moments is just not enough to justify the need to keep watching this. I know TyT or G5 fans in overall are going to hate me for this, but I just don't want to continue watching something that doesn't make me happy 

15 episodes for me are a good run, so it's the final chance I'm giving to it, the very last sparks of the firewood of my hope.

[Misty Shadow 7,869]

With TYT's improvement in quality with Season 2, I have to say that I like both G5 shows better than the movie now, not just Make Your Mark. I've also been more impressed with the comics than I expected and with some really cool stuff coming soon (like a G4/G5 crossover )...I think the movie's now my least favorite piece of G5 content (not counting stuff like games and the podcast).

[Iforgotmybrain 5,676]

I think I’ve shared my overall opinion before, and it hasn’t changed too much. Loved the movie, really liked MYM, TYT is hit or miss.

The movie is the best MLP movie imo. Not that there was a ton of competition, you had the 86 movie, A Minty Christmas, the EQG movies, and then the 2017 movie (I think). And while I love the 2017 movie for giving us hippogriffs and Princess Skystar (and inadvertently, Posada in EAW), I do think ANG is just a better movie.

Make Your Mark. The first chapter…. Is rough, like really rough. But, that is just one episode. The rest of the chapters are all good even if there can be some “eh” episodes. The show was genuinely improving with each chapter too, imo, which makes it even more devastating that it’s seemingly done for good. I’ve said before that I enjoyed MYM about as much as I enjoyed the later seasons of FiM, and yeah, that still stands true. I know if you don’t like the later FiM seasons that might not be a great compliment but for me at least, even those later seasons are like 8/10s.

Tell Your Tale. Season 1 was… okay. A lot of the episodes very much felt like anime filler to me. Not bad, but not really anything I’d go back and rewatch or look back fondly on. I actually have a list of my favorite season 1 TYT episodes which only totals 14 episodes. Most are Izzy or Misty episodes, I’ll admit I do have a bias towards them lol.

Season 2, though, has been a lot better. The episodes, even the slice of life ones, feel more substantial and memorable. Maybe that’s because it’s the only show we have so it isn’t getting overshadowed by its longer, higher quality 3D counterpart. Which, on that note, despite season 2 being better, I just don’t think it’s enough to carry this generation with its biweekly releases. It’s simply not enough content. The episodes either need to be weekly, longer, or we need another 3D show. If they were to make the episodes longer, I think they could absolutely get away with like 11 minute episodes biweekly or something. If you want a good example just look at Smiling Friends, another 2D animated show, and how much it does with its 11 minutes.

I’ve also played both the games. A Maretime Bay Adventure was really, really short. Thankfully I got it for super cheap, but still. It’s hardly a game. A Zephyr Heights Mystery was a big improvement. Way longer, more interesting, hope we end up with a 3rd game set in Bridlewood.

I haven’t read the comics, though I probably should.

Anyway, my overall feelings on G5 are: I really like it, I love the characters, I just wish we were getting more content currently. The biweekly 5 minute shorts aren’t enough for me. That’s my biggest complaint by far, which is why I’m always bringing it up 

[Luciferase 16]

I think it's alright tbh! It started pretty strong with the movie with a solid premise for the world, though I think it did kinda fizzle out a little when the series came around. Both series really did make an effort and I can at the very least appreciate that, though you can also tell they had to make some cutbacks which ended up hurting the overall staying power of G5, which is a shame cause boy if G5 had the potential to be something real great if it was just given a better chance from the higher-ups. IMO I think it would've been better to just have one dedicated series, that way the already limited resources it was given wouldn't be spread even thinner. Also, I do kinda think the connections to G4 were a bit of a mistake in the long run. Still do wish they just let G5 stand on its own two hooves cause adding G4 to it just made things messier and made expectations way too high 

Tl;dr I think G5 is pretty solid! Has the potential to be real great, just needs to let go of G4 and to have a better environment to properly flourish, cause it otherwise has such a strong world and characters as is!

[Rafa Stary 3,026]

1 hour ago, Luciferase said:

I think it's alright tbh! It started pretty strong with the movie with a solid premise for the world, though I think it did kinda fizzle out a little when the series came around. Both series really did make an effort and I can at the very least appreciate that, though you can also tell they had to make some cutbacks which ended up hurting the overall staying power of G5, which is a shame cause boy if G5 had the potential to be something real great if it was just given a better chance from the higher-ups. IMO I think it would've been better to just have one dedicated series, that way the already limited resources it was given wouldn't be spread even thinner. Also, I do kinda think the connections to G4 were a bit of a mistake in the long run. Still do wish they just let G5 stand on its own two hooves cause adding G4 to it just made things messier and made expectations way too high 

For me G5 was already great, and I liked the connections with G4, specially because they actually tried to tell new stories with them and not just deliver fanservice and nostalgia bait, despite its flaws, I saw effort put into it, and honestly, I bet that even without them, fans would still complain a lot about G5, there would be less complaints because their expectations would be lower? Yes, but fans are still fans, they'll always complain about something, there would still be G4 x G5 comparisons even if it wasn't a sequel, so I really don't see it being much different if it wasn't a sequel.

1 hour ago, Luciferase said:

Tl;dr I think G5 is pretty solid! Has the potential to be real great, just needs to let go of G4 and to have a better environment to properly flourish, cause it otherwise has such a strong world and characters as is!

But It already did let go of G4, Secrets of Starlight and the Season 2 of Tell Your Tale have no more connections with G4 except from a very few easter eggs that have no value for the story, all the stories they told so far post Opaline's arc are completely original (almost feeling like that they are pretending the connections with G4 were never made in my opinion), I personally really disliked Season 2 of TyT and I don't want to watch it anymore, but if you really want G5 to avoid G4, then it might be perfect for you ☆