Things G5 does better than G4

[CastletonSnob 3,074]

Let's have a POSITIVE G5 thread for once.

What, if anything, does G5 do BETTER than G4? I say a couple of things:

 Better male characters. Let's face it: Male characters in G4 weren't well-written, at least at the start. They were either villains, one-dimensional bullies, or archetypical "dumb boy" characters. G5, OTOH, has some good male characters. You have Hitch, who is a male MAIN character, which G4 never had (Spike doesn't really count). He's portrayed as kind and mostly competent at his job as sheriff, if a bit of a himbo. You also had Argyle, who is a strong contender for Best Parent in the Entire MLP Franchise.

Hitch and Sparky's relationship compared to Twilight and Spike's. G4 couldn't seem to make up its mind what Twilight and Spike's relationship was. It would alternate between brother and sister, mother and son, and boss and employee. It wasn't until the FINAL SEASON that the show seemed to finally decide on brother and sister. In contrast, G5 solidly defines Hitch and Sparky's relationship from the start as parent and child.

[Misty Shadow 7,866]

G5 is actually focused on a central plot, is better at giving its background characters development and time in the spotlight, and is actually giving one of the villains a lot of build-up before having her reformed. 

[Sparklefan1234 170,563]

3 hours ago, CastletonSnob said:

What, if anything, does G5 do BETTER than G4? I say a couple of things:

 

I love Rarity to bits but I think that Pipp does a better job with the "overly-posh diva" thing because it feels more like a persona for Pipp than

a full-blown personality. 

Edited May 12, 2023 by Sparklefan1234

[Fluttershutter 2,454]

Earth pony magic magic

[StarHeart333 1,764]

Not mentioning friends or friendship 20,000 times every minute.

 

I like G4 VASTLY better than G5 but if you drank a shot every time friend or friendship is mentioned in G4  series starting from episode 1 you'd be dead before Twilight became a princess,

I mean even G5's opening movie roasted them so hard on that.

[Sparklefan1234 170,563]

I like that Tell Your Tale shows us that there are more than five characters with stories in Maretime Bay compared to just the Mane 6 and CMC's in FiM.

[azbat 305]

English as a written language in G5 allows for more jokes and puns than the scribbles of G4.

[TheAnimationFanatic 3,594]

I like how Hitch cares for Sparky like a parent from the getgo, whereas G4 didn't really do that until around S4.

G4 struggled with its male characters in the first few seasons. G5 at least, hasn't had that issue.

[Steve Piranha 29,424]

7 hours ago, Star heart 777 said:

Not mentioning friends or friendship 20,000 times every minute.

Now that I think about it, the Mane character interactions feel more natural. I see the soon to be new Mane 6 as guys I can hang around, and the original Mane 6 (7 if we go towards pastel humans) as my out of reach idols .

I understand this is a mainly a little girls franchise, but the treatment of dudes has been better from the get go, when they were getting the short end of the stick constantly at the start of G4. It’s also a plus it wasn’t done for the sake of “dwepechentenchum” 

[Tacodidra 61,155]

More pony shorts – while I loved EqG too, I would have liked to see them make more short content with ponies in G4 (the Best Gift Ever shorts were great). While I prefer longer content, it's always nice to get more MLP (and it's more welcome than ever with how short the MYM seasons are).

While the music in G5 hasn't impressed me the way the G4 songs did, I like how they sometimes experiment with previously underrepresented genres. ANG gave us a rock song (something a lot of people wanted to hear more in the G4 days), and the most positive surprise for me was the jazzy tune used in "All That Jazz".

[Rising Dusk 27,674]

Earth Pony magic.

Pipp Petals.

Misty Brightdawn.

Male mane character included.

TYT has made for some nice filler while waiting on the main series.

[Sparklefan1234 170,563]

I prefer Izzy Moonbow to Pinkie Pie. I feel like Pinkie Pie can be too intense sometimes. 

[Ganondorf8 11,303]

I had a feeling you were going to make a thread like this one day given what I've seen from you regarding G5 both here and on Equestria Daily. This isn't a bad thing mind you as your thread has shown that people do have things to say about G5.

I do like how Earth ponies are capable of using magic. Sure, they were already special in their own way, but this gives them an additional layer that was otherwise previously unknown. Yes, I also do like how G5 is a sequel to G4 even if the main lore points haven't been revealed to us yet.

[Misty Shadow 7,866]

Love how three people now have said earth pony magic. That was a legit gripe an infamously biased G5 reviewer had with the Make Your Mark pilot, saying that giving earth ponies magic was a "missed opportunity" for a moral about appreciating others' talents. ...Yeah, I think some people who review this show don't have any idea how worldbuilding works. 

It is more understandable how some don't like the world being smaller...but I actually like that better. I say quality over quantity, and far too much of G4's world was underdeveloped. I like how G5 sticks to working on what it has. 

[AlbaTross 1,586]

Eh...I wouldn't personally say there's a whole ton that G5 does better than the vastly superior G4, and I can't say I agree with a lot of the sentiments expressed so far in this discussion, but I have actually started to appreciate G5 as an ok, small-in-scope time waster, especially with the 5 minute shorts.  I have a much easier time appreciating it in a vacuum than I do when comparing it to G4, which is all the more reason why I hate that the producers have tried to link the two series. 

With that said, if I had to pick one thing to give the edge to G5 over G4, it would have to be its simplicity.  Yeah, I actually kind of like this series best when it isn't trying to be anything grand.  That's not to say I can't appreciate the simpler moments in FiM.  Heck, far from it, as I could probably talk for hours about really mundane, slice-of-life stuff from that series.  However, TYT not having to be a series of 22 minute episodes means that some of these shorts can literally be about barely anything, and get away with it without overstaying their welcome.  There can be mundane elements to a FiM episode, but it still has to have some kind of plot to stay interesting.  The EQG shorts can sometimes be about almost nothing too, but the less anthropomorphic nature of ponies aids a bit in the element of escapism.

There are other things that I think are interesting about G5 (TYT or MYM), though not necessarily better than G4, so much as different.  However, very few if any such elements are ever explored enough to really live up to any kind of potential or to simply be meaningful.  For example, there are some animals with Unicorn and Pegasus features.  That's something I find kind of interesting, but it's never explored to any meaningful extent, so it's just kind of a background element.  Still, such elements show there are some creative ideas in G5, even if they really ought to be explored more and/or utilized to an extent that would make them meaningful.  

[Megas 27,624]

While obviously not perfect(G5 spends too much time at Maretime Bay) I feel G5 treats all 3 races equally and making them all feel special, vs G4 which spends 90% of the time being a Unicorn wankfest and then going "oh yeah, here are the other two", especially with Earth ponies

[The Recherche 29,968]

The frequently mentioned Earth Pony magic is indeed a welcome change. That aside, if I can give G5 credit for anything, I think the dialogue overall is a step up. Not only for the fact that the Friendship themes aren't named at every possibly opportunity, but the Mane 5 in general tend to get a little bit more one-on-one time with each other. Some of the best FiM episodes were ones focusing on a dynamic between two characters, and G5 is much the same, in that regard.

[GreenPile101 7]

It's smaller setting gives it potential to build up their world slowly throughout the show. Kind of like G4 but with potentially with better build up

[Sparklefan1234 170,563]

I think the Crystal Brighthouse is a more unique "base" than the Castle of Friendship if that counts. 

[Dark Qiviut 22,396]

1 hour ago, Sparklefan1234 said:

I think the Crystal Brighthouse is a more unique "base" than the Castle of Friendship if that counts. 

I agree. As acquainted as I became of Twilight's castle, it still stuck out quite a bit in comparison to the rest of Ponyville.

The Crystal Brighthouse is homier.

Edited May 15, 2023 by Dark Qiviut

[Fluttershutter 2,454]

It did Easter better. G4 never did anything Eastery.

[Sparklefan1234 170,563]

18 minutes ago, Fluttershutter said:

It did Easter better. G4 never did anything Eastery.

 

Also, Mother's Day and Thanksgiving. Gen 5 covers a wider range of holidays compared to Gen 4's Valentines, Halloween and Christmas. 

Edited May 15, 2023 by Sparklefan1234

[HeebieJeebies 23]

Probably not a very popular take amongst ponybros, but I prefer the slice-of-life format of G5 so far. I like that most episodes are about small, interpersonal conflicts meant to teach a moral. Its very akin to seasons 1 and 2 of G4 and a lotta episodes from G1's toons. It's cozy, its not up its own butt with DUH LORE, it's just a fun, silly horse program. Not always satisfactory for the "grown up" part of my mind that actually cares about worldbuilding and character depth, but man does it hit with the grey matter that makes me go HEE HEE HOO HOO when a rainbow horsie pulls a snafu.

When I want G4 I watch G4, but it really doesn't give me everything I want from the franchise. Especially with the lame concepts they brought in during the last seasons like the school of friendship and the student six lololol.

[Will Guide 21,360]

Boy am I missing a lot

[OptimisticNeighsayer 478]

I definitely agree that the friendships in G5 feel more organic than in G4. Let’s face it, in G4 the Mane Six were pretty much brought together, whichever way you look at it, by either Celestia herself or a nebulous, overriding “fate.” G5’s friends are clearly together on their own free will. (Ironically, that makes it better suited for the friendship angle G4 had, versus the activist “make a difference” angle of G5.)

The main characters are also more difficult to classify into well-worn archetypes (particularly Zipp), so there’s more thought there. 

That extends to the character designs as well a bit. While it doesn’t personally bother me, I know several people who were turned off by G4’s mains all having the same basic body type; the variety in G5 gives another outlet for character expression and creativity. 

On 2023-05-11 at 11:55 PM, Sparklefan1234 said:

 

I love Rarity to bits but I think that Pipp does a better job with the "overly-posh diva" thing because it feels more like a persona for Pipp than

a full-blown personality. 

Personally I think it’s hard to tell whether Pipp’s diva character is a persona or a personality. She’s supposed to be a social media influencer, which requires a real blurring between acting and genuine belief. 

 

On 2023-05-15 at 10:40 AM, Fluttershutter said:

It did Easter better. G4 never did anything Eastery.

I disagree. While “Uprooted” has no obvious Easter motifs, its original airdate near the Easter holiday and its themes of resurrection and collective remembrance give it very strong Easter vibes that strike at the meaning of the holiday more than some painted eggs would. Also Winter Wrap-Up itself is kind of a springtime rebirth celebration. 
 

On 2023-05-13 at 9:41 AM, Megas said:

While obviously not perfect(G5 spends too much time at Maretime Bay) I feel G5 treats all 3 races equally and making them all feel special, vs G4 which spends 90% of the time being a Unicorn wankfest and then going "oh yeah, here are the other two", especially with Earth ponies

I never got that vibe at all frankly in G4? The series spent most time in Ponyville, a uniquely diverse place in Equestria, and barely ever aggrandized unicorn qualities as such. 

Edited May 18, 2023 by OptimisticNeighsayer