G5 characters you prefer over their G4 "counterparts"

[Misty Shadow 8,261]

Let's make this production of positive G5 threads a trend. This is an idea I've actually had for a good while.

Which G5 characters do you actually like better than G4 characters who are similar to them? I'm sure the most popular choices would definitely be characters like Zipp and Misty. A lot of fans like myself really enjoy how Zipp's cockiness is not overblown like Rainbow Dash's and how Misty is more relatable and naturally developed than a character like Starlight Glimmer or Tempest Shadow.

Less popular choices, I'm pretty sure would easily be characters like Sunny and Sparky, but I know someone who actually does like Sunny better than Twilight and there's a prominent G5 reviewer who actually does like Sparky better than Spike, even I couldn't believe that at first.

But everyone has different tastes and opinions that evolve over time, I never thought I'd end up liking Pipp better than Rarity, but here I am. Pipp's drama queen moments just click with me much more as someone who could not care less about fashion but is well-acquainted with the nature of social media.

I'm open to liking Sunny better than Twilight too depending on the development she gets, and as much as I love Fluttershy...the same goes for Hitch. 

Edited May 18, 2023 by CloudMistDragon
Improved the post's formatting

[Evil Pink One 13,556]

I was gonna say Izzy.... Boy that character didn't age well..ugh..

Pipp over rarity as well.

[Tacodidra 61,894]

This is difficult... As much as I like the Mane 5, I can't really say I prefer any of them to their Mane 6 counterparts, maybe in part due to my familiarity with G4.

Misty is my favorite G5 pony, but I'm not sure who I'd consider her G4 counterpart. I don't really think the Starlight resemblance is that big, at least yet – maybe I'll reconsider if (probably when) she gets reformed. But if we do compare them (or Misty and Sunset), they're definitely closer in my ranking than the others. The Tempest comparison makes more sense, as both are working for a greater villain who has promised them something (fixing Tempest's horn, a cutie mark for Misty). Maybe with a little Grubber thrown in, only in that both are somewhat comedic sidekick villains. I do prefer Misty to Tempest and definitely prefer her to Grubber (yeah, I know that was a random comparison).

[Lightwing 12,980]

Hey there @CloudMistDragon!

I just wanted to tell you that I improved the formatting of your post. The post itself didn't have anything wrong, but I just gave it a better formatting to make it look cleaner and more tidy. Apologies for the inconvenience!

[Evil Pink One 13,556]

38 minutes ago, Props Valroa said:

Izzy over Pinkie for sure, how could I forget? Izzy isn't as eccentric or annoying as Pinkie is, but she maintains the hyperactive energetic personality - but doesn't go overboard. 

Yeah... I liked izzy too... When it was still on the movie.... I think the change of VA  killed it for me... And the acting.

[Misty Shadow 8,261]

I also concur with the popular opinion of preferring Izzy over Pinkie Pie. I feel like there's more variety to what they do with Izzy, how not everything has to involve her talking constantly and engaging in over-the-top cartoon schtick. I have also very recently been drawn more to Onyx than Maud Pie, I even changed my Discord avatar to her. Maud's only interested in rocks, but Onyx has an interest in both poetry and music. I find that more relatable. 

[Sparklefan1234 183,940]

26 minutes ago, CloudMistDragon said:

I also concur with the popular opinion of preferring Izzy over Pinkie Pie. I feel like there's more variety to what they do with Izzy, how not everything has to involve her talking constantly and engaging in over-the-top cartoon schtick. I have also very recently been drawn more to Onyx than Maud Pie, I even changed my Discord avatar to her. Maud's only interested in rocks, but Onyx has an interest in both poetry and music. I find that more relatable. 

 

2 hours ago, Props Valroa said:

Izzy over Pinkie for sure, how could I forget? Izzy isn't as eccentric or annoying as Pinkie is, but she maintains the hyperactive energetic personality - but doesn't go overboard. 

 

I definitely prefer Izzy Moonbow over Pinkie Pie because I feel like Pinkie is "too much/intense" a lot of the time

and while Izzy can be over the top sometimes I feel like she has a much less "HEY! HOW ARE YOU?" personality 99% of the time. 

 

3 hours ago, Props Valroa said:

I think it's possible I may love Pipp more over Rarity. I just never was interested in Rarity that much, for the most part. 

 

Rarity and Pipp are my two pony Besties! I couldn't possibly like one more than the other. 

 

Edited May 12, 2023 by Sparklefan1234

[Sparklefan1234 183,940]

I also like Zipp Storm A LOT more than Rainbow Dash because Zipp isn't full of herself. 

[Luna the Great of all the Russias 3,217]

I prefer Izzy over Pinkie: she reminds me how Pinkie was in season 1 -- afterwards Pinkie's character strikes me as having become increasingly caricaturized. If we were comparing Izzy with specifically season 1 Pinkie, I am not as sure.

If I were to disregard the nostalgia factor, I think I would agree with the preference of Zipp over Rainbow Dash. Zipp is royalty and heir to the throne, whereas Rainbow Dash is a mere plebeian. Also, as others have pointed out, Zipp does not tend to be... self-congratulating. True, Rainbow Dash is part of the Wonderbolt which is part of Equestria's military, but my preference lies with royalty.

I disagree with the preference for Pipp over Rarity. While Pipp is royalty, she is more a mere celebrity. Rarity's profession in fashion, especially as an entrepreneur, and her connection to the Equestrian elite is more interesting to me than Pipp being essentially a Youtuber who would likely associate with other Youtubers.

[Never Returning 28,616]

Zipp feels a lot more layered and relatable than Rainbow Dash, and Izzy is definitely a lot less overbearing than Pinkie Pie.

[AlbaTross 1,586]

I can't say I like any of the Mane Five over the vastly superior Mane Six, with Zipp being the only one I think even compares to her Mane Six counterpart, and even then, I think I still prefer Dashy, though not by as large a margin as with the other Mane Five vs their Mane Six counterparts.  I do, however like Hitch more than Sandbar, the character he clearly takes design cues from, mostly because Sandbar is kind of a generic nothing character, kind of like the Sunny of his group.  I did appreciate Izzy in the movie as being different enough from Pinkie while hitting a lot of the right notes to be a decent homage to the character, but then the show happened and she basically became all of Pinkie's worst traits cranked up to 11, minus Pinkie's good traits.  Then again, Izzy hasn't been super annoying lately, knock on wood, so maybe her worst episodes are behind her.  

TBH, what would go a long way towards me being able to appreciate the Mane Five more would be more character development, as well as simply allowing the characters to have more chemistry with one another.  Sure, FiM went through some growing pains in the first season with awkward interactions between some of the characters, but that eventually morphed into genuinely believable friendships.  As it stands, the chemistry between the two Royal Pegasus Sisters is ok, and there are sometimes good Sunny/Hitch moments, but for the most part there really hasn't been much effort to really build up the relationships between the various characters, and I think that's just as important as developing the characters themselves.

Anyways, in the interest of going back on topic and staying on the positive train, I will say that some of the background ponies are more developed than their G4 counterparts.  I've never minded that background ponies are rarely developed as they mostly serve the purpose of populating whatever town they're in, but giving a few background ponies a short arc does help make them a bit more memorable.  Posey in particular is certainly more memorable than a pony like Roseluck.  She's also an infinitely better person (pony?) than Roseluck, who I'll never forgive for what she did to Rarity.  

[nataalya 42]

Someone up, very wise said that many things still need time and development

Dash > Zipp
I preferred Dash over Zipp. In general, I think that they are very different characters... sure, a lot of people say that Dash is too full of herself and very cocky... but someone who liked her more (or at least gave her more chances) certainly also noticed moments when she stopped being like that... for example for Scootaloo, for the Daring Do... She also knew when to stop, and she also knew when she could afford to continue being rude and tease. I think there were more confident characters than Rainbow in offensive way. Spitfire, Lighting Dust - at least in the episode she appeared in. You can easily see how different "confident" can be. It seems to me that even if they cross the line, they still wouldn't care. Rainbow isn't like that. Though you might think so because of her recklessness but she always admitted to the problems her behavior caused.  It doesn't change the fact that Zipp is my favorite G5 character. I like how she was following her dreams in movie, being herself, believing in herself. She's cool. Really cool. More than cool.

Izzy > Pinkie
A lot of G4 episodes made Pinkie looks like a fool. And just a fool. I know she had her moments, we had a chance to see her as a good friend, version without her "smile energy" etc... but Izzy doesn't have to stop being herself to show her other sides.

Hitch > Fluttershy
I just like Hitch. Fluttershy was indifferent to me. She's important because it sometimes gave others a chance for certain behavior. I really liked her and Rainbow for the episode about the hurricane. Great duo. It was fun to see two different characters trying to help each other. Fluttershy always reminded me of a typical anime character. Don't ask...

Twilight > Sunny
Maybe some things just happened too fast for me. I like Sunny, but all those seasons in which Twilight worked to become the best student, facing hundreds of problems, missions and characters... from a student to a princess and a representative of the value of friendship... let's just say she was in right position. I get annoyed with Sunny who has good advice for everyone, somewhere in all this she loses the modesty for which I liked her in the movie. I'm mainly saying this through the lens of TyT. This has to be said. TyT doesn't have much time to specifically dwell on problems. The form of the episode and the transcript must be simplified to fit in these few minutes.

Pipp > Rarity
Pipp, putting aside being an influencer for a moment, seems to be an intelligent character. She's a bit dramatic, but usually for better reasons than a lost hairpin or a soiled hoof tip. Rarity was indifferent to me in G4, I didn't pay attention to her... I didn't even have to get annoyed at her for her stupid actions because the rest of the manes did it well enough.

Misty > Applejack
Applejack doesn't seem to have a match... so she has to stay alone here... kind, supportive, modest and hard working... It's impossible not to like her.  But the second pony this time from G5 that doesn't have a good matchup with G4 is Misty. So I'm giving them extra here. And I like Misty much more. I find her quiet actions funny and how she gets away with them. Her explanations, caughts are just awesome. Misty is by the way one of the best characters in G5 to be honest... for me

I discover this kindness a bit in Misty. Works hard for Opaline's recognition. She is always helpful to her. It's hard to say whether it's because of her character or more because of fear or the desire to get a mark.
 

Edited May 20, 2023 by nataalya

[Misty Shadow 8,261]

Queen Haven being better than Princess Cadance to me is another one I just remembered. Cadance lacked so much presence and personality while the fact that Haven is also a mother is incorporated much better into her character. 

[Solar Power 358]

On 2023-05-12 at 6:33 PM, Kujamih said:

Yeah... I liked izzy too... When it was still on the movie.... I think the change of VA  killed it for me... And the acting.

Kimiko Glenn was good as Izzy but I actually prefer Ana Sani's performance.

[Evil Pink One 13,556]

28 minutes ago, Solar Power said:

Kimiko Glenn was good as Izzy but I actually prefer Ana Sani's performance.

Performance!?... I might've agreed if you liked her voice but performance?..... How can one see someones performance properly when the script is bad? 

Maybe i wouldve like her too if it weren't for the script she has... 

Actually now that i think about it you might have a point....

But none the less id still prefer the movie.

Edited May 21, 2023 by Kujamih

[Solar Power 358]

16 hours ago, Kujamih said:

Performance!?... I might've agreed if you liked her voice but performance?..... How can one see someones performance properly when the script is bad? 

Maybe i wouldve like her too if it weren't for the script she has... 

Actually now that i think about it you might have a point....

But none the less id still prefer the movie.

You don't see a vocal performance. You hear it. And Sani's performance as Izzy is fantastic - full of life and displaying a great vocal dexterity. Sani obviously has a lot of fun voicing Izzy and that enthusiasm comes across in her performance.

Kimiko Glenn was great too, but I feel that Ana Sani's voice fits the character better.

Edited May 21, 2023 by Solar Power

[Evil Pink One 13,556]

5 hours ago, Solar Power said:

You don't see a vocal performance. You hear it. And Sani's performance as Izzy is fantastic - full of life and displaying a great vocal dexterity. Sani obviously has a lot of fun voicing Izzy and that enthusiasm comes across in her performance.

Kimiko Glenn was great too, but I feel that Ana Sani's voice fits the character better.

Well...... Sani is copying kimiko glenn's Izzy's voice so.... I still prefer the original... Kimiko's.

I just prefer the original. Nice try though for sani

So to me it doesnt fit

[StarHeart333 1,775]

Pip is better than Rarity but barely as she's still very egotistical and self absorbed BUT the difference is she is not as using as Rarity is so I will agree by a thin margin she is better.

Dash and zip are about equal to me as both are actually pretty cool characters.

Fluttershy and Applejack are vastly better than Hitch without question as both are much cooler and hardcore than he is and Yes before you ask , I am saying Fluttershy is closer to being the alpha male than Hitch ever will be 

As far as Izzy vs Pinkie Pie yeah I gotta say Izzy is better as she is more than a one hit wonder and comes up with more than one idea type.

 

Finally in terms of Twilight vs Sunny have to go with Twilight being the better of the two as Sunny is a bit of Mary Sue character.where as with Twilight you at least saw her having issues and flaws that let her be mortal lol 

 

 

 

 

 

[The Nth Doctor 664]

G5 Movie characterization > G5 Series characterization

Zipp > Dash

Unicorn!Twilight > Sunny > Alicorn!Twilight

Pipp =/= Rarity

Movie/Comic!Izzy > Pinkie Pie > TYT/MYM!Izzy

Sheriff!Hitch > Fluttershy > Dad!Hitch

Well-written Applejack > all > Badly-written Applejack

Well-written Spike > Sparky > Spike the other 90% of his screentime

[Sparklefan1234 183,940]

On 2023-07-16 at 10:49 PM, The Nth Doctor said:

Sheriff!Hitch > Fluttershy > Dad!Hitch

I agree with this 100%! It feels like sheriff Hitch and dad Hitch are two totally different characters. Dad Hitch is too cartoony and over the top, IMO.

[Misty Shadow 8,261]

4 hours ago, Sparklefan1234 said:

I agree with this 100%! It feels like sheriff Hitch and dad Hitch are two totally different characters. Dad Hitch is too cartoony and over the top, IMO.

In Missing the Mark, we see how "Dad Hitch" has grown as a character, not freaking out over Sparky being missing and then saving him while also helping his friends in Opaline's castle. "Dad Hitch" is not just some flanderized cartoon persona, that side of Hitch made crucial development for him possible. 

[Sparklefan1234 183,940]

On 2023-07-16 at 10:49 PM, The Nth Doctor said:

Pipp =/= Rarity

 

I love that Pipp is a "modern" version of Rarity. They even share purple manes! 

[River wisp 97]

Pipp and maybe Zipp, I never enjoyed RD all that much (I still love her tho)

[Steve Piranha 29,497]

Which G4 counterparts? Mane 6, or Young 6 ?

[Misty Shadow 8,261]

No one can convince me now that Sparky isn't better than Flurry Heart. Not only did he do something that actually had a major impact on the story of Make Your Mark, unlike Flurry in Friendship is Magic, Tell Your Tale recently added more to his character too. Flurry only caused problems for the sake of comedy and crying for attention while Sparky, despite causing problems too, recently inadvertently caused one because of his relatable desire to have a sibling. Sparky's relationships and interactions with the other characters are many times more interesting too because he has bonds with them that actually develop. 

Flurry and Twilight's bond was hardly developed and built to nothing. Sparky, by contrast, has an actual story in his bonds with Misty and Hitch. He doesn't trust Misty at all initially, starts warming up to her once he sees the first signs of a change of heart in her despite still maintaining suspicion, and trusts her completely after seeing the evil in her overtaken by good. Sparky also causes Hitch to grow more mature and responsible, chooses to be with Hitch over his own kind, and even directly acknowledges Hitch as his father.  

Sparky is just Flurry Heart but with no destiny? That could've never been more wrong.