Brony reviewer's scathing FiW review.

[Mand'alor Dash 2,224]

Decided to post this as its own thread. Decided it had more discussion value than an average YT video, and that I am asking for everypony's opinions on it, as opposed to simply sharing it.

Usually, I'm the type who's very accepting of others' opinions. However, I found his points as to why he hated the series to be utterly asinine, and his attitude came off as overtly hostile and mean-spirited towards Jenny and Griffin, as opposed to merely critical.

But that's just my two cents. I'd love to hear everyone else's.

[Hawk Moth 390]

I agree with him on some parts, but he misses the things that truly make FiW horrible in my opinion. He hit the nail on the head when it comes to the forced humor, but he didn't mention the fact that the creators were super smug about it, that deal where "If I intentionally try to be horrible and cheesy, I'm forgiven for not being original or not taking the time to write real jokes" that's so common in the "Scary Movie" series. It's a sub-genre I like to refer to as "Arrogant Humor". Another thing this guy got spot on was how unlikable the characters are. They're downright miserable, nasty, and flat out mean. The sarcastic, cutesy voice acting completely the miserable picture. The characters are so mean and awful, that I watching FiW actually made me feel sad. Don't even get me started on all the Spike-hating. In all honesty, I cannot imagine the FiW creators as being nice people. The kind of humor that gets penned down and blasphemously dubbed into FiM should not come from nice people. And in their supreme arrogance, they dare to try and make their plot lines with more depth than the actual show. They dare to write songs that are better than Ingram's. They dare to deny the fact that FiW is even an abridged series. If there's one thing I loath and despise, it's arrogant people and their sarcastic, mean-spirited humor. Words cannot properly describe how much I hate FiW. Yes, this guy's review was hostile, but in my opinion he's just answering with hostility the existing hostility in FiW.

Edited April 12, 2013 by TheIronHugo

[Planty 1,052]

 

 

They're downright miserable, nasty, and flat out mean. The sarcastic, cutesy voice acting completely the miserable picture. The characters are so mean and awful, that I watching FiW actually made me feel sad.

 

To be honest I totally agree with this! This could also be the reason why Raincloud spam went on for so long after the episode he was in.

 

I have to admit I have given up watching FIW after that episode, I just don't really find it funny and I would much rather watch the actual show then FIW .

[Hawk Moth 390]

To be honest I totally agree with this! This could also be the reason why Raincloud spam went on for so long after the episode he was in.

 

I have to admit I have given up watching FIW after that episode, I just don't really find it funny and I would much rather watch the actual show then FIW .

 

FiW is just so mean-spirited; it feels like a perversion of FiM. Don't get me wrong, I like some mean-spirited humor. Arrested Development and Archer are some of the funniest things I've ever seen, but the delivery isn't smug and cutesy. I wish I could describe it better, but all I can say is that the voice acting in FiW seems so bitchy; it's both annoying and saddening to see such horrible things come from the Mane 6's mouths, and they don't let up on the nastiness. It's a cannonade of snarky insults.

Edited April 12, 2013 by TheIronHugo

[Planty 1,052]

@, I really hate the way they portray Rainbow in FIW.

 

In fact, i really like the .MOV series a lot more then FIW, and i think it might be because they know what there going for far more then FIW.

 

FIW almost feels like they took the worst things about each character then exacerbated them making them annoying and hard to watch, but the .MOV's still somehow make the characters more likeable despite them being portrayed with behavior that is worse then in FIW (gotta love spike in the .MOV's).

[Hawk Moth 390]

We're in agreement then. As nuts and gory as .MOV is, it's still original. HDD animated that thing like a beast, and even aft all the horror and gore, still gave it a happy ending.

 

FiW is an example of a fallacy of imitation. A good example would be an a filmmaker trying to shoot a boring dinner scene, and he succeeds so greatly, that he actually creates a boring dinner that's too boring to watch. FiW tries to poke fun at the conventions of cheesy sitcom humor but succeds only in making a cheesy product at best and a smug pile of filth at worst, as if they are telling the audience how clever they are, constantly patting themselves on the back with every repetition. The other problem is the characters. The creators drum over and over the same, negative traits until the joke gets ahead of itself, and for example, Rainbow Dash becomes a tiresome mirror image of the kind of character that was initially meant to be parodied - the cheesy, sitcom/cartoon catchphrase spewer. FiW's jokes eat themselves from the inside out, and I even wonder if the creators actually like MLP, given how scathing of a parody it is. The characters are parodied in a way that makes me think the creators, in reality, despise them. I don't understand how fans of the show could be so acerbically hostile with the characters' personalities.

[GrooveBroove 680]

Gonna have to say I disagree with this guy as a whole. FiW is something I like and while I can understand its shortcomings a lot of what is presented here seems a bit overboard.

[FoxyCryptid 4,328]

I'm going to have to come to a partial agreement with him(because I do like the music). If it weren't for the Sweetie Bot and the music, I'd say it has nothing good going for it. 

 

Also, I think the abridged wedding episode was a major Jumping the Shark moment. I could at least get some laughs out of the other episodes, but that one was just uncomfortable. 

[Radiance64 7,052]

Wow, he really didn't like it.

Well, if it doesn't appeal to his own sense of humor that's fine, but some of us do find repetition/antihumor and the like funny, so there's no reason to call it not funny as a whole. And it doesn't start on the first episode because it's meant to be for people who are fans of the series, and they have outright said they didn't want to start on the first episode I believe. I suppose he just didn't get what he wanted out of the series, but that certainly doesn't make it awful. :/

[Blackcat 205]

Well.....I am afraid I must respectfully disagree. I cannot exactly explain why I like FIW but I certainly do. Perhaps my sense of humor just suits it.

 

I actually watched an episode of the mentally advanced series before I watched friendship is witchcraft, and I initially did not like the mentally advanced series at all.  However, due to my enjoyment of FIW I went back, and made myself watch more of the mentally advanced series, which I am glad I did because now the mentally advanced series and rainbow dash presents are some of my favorite fan works in this entire fandom.

 

Thinking on it....I don't think I consider FIW to actually be an abridged series. Perhaps this is why I like it. When I think of abridged, I think of something like yugioh abridged, where the plot is exactly the same as the source material, yet the delivery and setups are 'abridged' to be prompt and funny. 

 

I see FIW as it's own sort of...creation. It's like an abridged series but....it just doesn't quite fall in line as one in my mind.

[Ano170 162]

I wouldn't call FiW my favourite abridged series (I'm not really sure I even have one, although if it counts Rainbow Dash Presents would probably win, I like it more than Mentally Abridged itself). I keep up with the episodes, but I only find it sort of good, aside from the great songs and impressive voice acting, and I agree with some of this guy's points (I don't find most of it that funny, but there are some pretty good moments including Sweetie Bot, and I actually enjoyed both Fluttershy's rant about her father and Foaly Matripony). I'd say the songs are probably the best part, and I love Gypsy Bard and It'll Be Okay! 

 

But I digress. The point is, having an opinion is good, and a successful review will always be honest, which can lead to being a bit harsh at times, but this guy's video was fueled with enough hate to make FiW's version of the mane six look like care bears. I mean, okay if he doesn't like it, but this made me mildly annoyed and I'm not even a fan of FiW. Nostalgia Critic with a hangover would have given a kinder consensus.

 

As for the Raincloud part, I think it was meant to be a reference to the censorship of Derpy. Not saying that doesn't make it a little petty (I actually think the creators were right to take out the name "Derpy", although they probably could've kept her voice and eyes the same) but I'm surprised he didn't get the joke, and I thought it was kind of funny (I even admit to indulging in some mock Raincloud mourning in the comments). I think there's giving a review, and then there's just hating on something, and this guy is leaning dangerously close to the second category (in this video at least, to be fair I haven't seen anything else by him nor have I watched the follow-up video).

 

And for Pete's sake, OF COURSE they switched Dash and AJ's elements on purpose. Did it get old quick? I thought so at least, but come on, is it really something to get so worked up about?

Edited April 12, 2013 by ano170

[Mand'alor Dash 2,224]

But I digress. The point is, having an opinion is good, and a successful review will always be honest, which can lead to being a bit harsh at times, but this guy's video was fueled with enough hate to make FiW's version of the mane six look like care bears. I mean, okay if he doesn't like it, but this made me mildly annoyed and I'm not even a fan of FiW. Nostalgia Critic with a hangover would have given a kinder consensus.

Sometimes, it even felt like he was drifting disturbingly close to personal attacks on the creators. Especially when he played the interview clip, compared them to the G3.5 writers, and went on a tyrade about that tiny self-deprecating Sweetie Bot line. It's almost as if he made this review to settle a vendetta, and not to simply critique the show.

[Ano170 162]

Sometimes, it even felt like he was drifting disturbingly close to personal attacks on the creators. Especially when he played the interview clip, compared them to the G3.5 writers, and went on a tyrade about that tiny self-deprecating Sweetie Bot line. It's almost as if he made this review to settle a vendetta, and not to simply critique the show.

Hmmm, maybe you're on to something...

 

Or am I just missing a point? Did he use to work on the show or something? Is he FiMFlamFilosophy in disguise?! (Not that FiMFlam would do something like that).

[Mand'alor Dash 2,224]

Hmmm, maybe you're on to something...

 

Or am I just missing a point? Did he use to work on the show or something? Is he FiMFlamFilosophy in disguise?! (Not that FiMFlam would do something like that).

No, he has no special relation to the show, to my knowledge. He's just an angry internet person, like the rest of us.

 

Side note, FimFlam and Sherclop really just need to settle their differences already. Their rivalry is silly and petty, and they should be collaborating instead of just throwing cheap shots at each other.

[Ano170 162]

No, he has no special relation to the show, to my knowledge. He's just an angry internet person, like the rest of us.

 

Side note, FimFlam and Sherclop really just need to settle their differences already. Their rivalry is silly and petty, and they should be collaborating instead of just throwing cheap shots at each other.

I agree they should end the rivalry, but they do things rather differently, maybe a collaboration would just lead to a clashing of style?

 

If it worked it'd be pretty darn cool though!

[Pariah164 83]

I disagree with the video; his reasons for hating it seem petty at best. I love FiW, but perhaps that is just because it suits my sense of humor.

 

We all have opinions; we like the things we like and we hate the things we hate. Liking or hating FiW does not make you a good/bad pony.

[~Starlight~ 764]

I love FiW I love it because its humour, its does not have swear words or really rude content but the humour is quite unique and funny! Also there catchy tunes (definitely this one is the best!) 

 

[Hawk Moth 390]

Again, I think that FiW already has so much hostility oozing out of it, this reviewer is simply meeting it. Also Rainbow Dash Presents isn't abriged. It's original. The Rainbow Factory episode was the first to show real animation, but even in earlier episodes he still did his own art, and as of My Little Dashie - his own songs. Then again, he already did music as well if you count Auburn Lady and the other songs on his website.

[Mand'alor Dash 2,224]

Again, I think that FiW already has so much hostility oozing out of it, this reviewer is simply meeting it. Also Rainbow Dash Presents isn't abriged. It's original. The Rainbow Factory episode was the first to show real animation, but even in earlier episodes he still did his own art, and as of My Little Dashie - his own songs. Then again, he already did music as well if you count Auburn Lady and the other songs on his website.

FiW is just a joke. A warped, twisted vision of the show that is played for laughs. You take things way too seriously if you actually think it's being "hostile" towards anything.

 

And at any rate, how are personal attacks toward the show's creators ever justified?

[Hawk Moth 390]

FiW is just a joke. A warped, twisted vision of the show that is played for laughs. You take things way too seriously if you actually think it's being "hostile" towards anything.

 

And at any rate, how are personal attacks toward the show's creators ever justified?

 

Well it's too mean-spirited for me to find funny, and if it's not hostile, then why is the humor delivered in such a hostile manner? Why is it so sarcastic? Why are the Mane 6's flaws overblown and made into caricatures in a way most people would use for insulting satire meant to mock their enemies? Why is Spike such a blatant target?

 

And personal attacks are justified because they threw the first insults by making FiW. It's an insulting show that seems more along the lines of something an anti-brony troll would make rather than a fan work. They threw the first punch, and they can suffer the repercussions.

[Pariah164 83]

Well it's too mean-spirited for me to find funny, and if it's not hostile, then why is the humor delivered in such a hostile manner? Why is it so sarcastic? Why are the Mane 6's flaws overblown and made into caricatures in a way most people would use for insulting satire meant to mock their enemies? Why is Spike such a blatant target?

 

And personal attacks are justified because they threw the first insults by making FiW. It's an insulting show that seems more along the lines of something an anti-brony troll would make rather than a fan work. They threw the first punch, and they can suffer the repercussions.

... Seriously?

 

Am I trippin', son?

 

It's just for fun. It is MEANT to exaggerate the bad aspects of the Mane 6. In some alternate universe, the Mane 6 might actually BE like that.

 

In summation, you're taking something on the internet far too seriously. Go outside or something.

Edited April 13, 2013 by pariah164

[Mand'alor Dash 2,224]

Well it's too mean-spirited for me to find funny, and if it's not hostile, then why is the humor delivered in such a hostile manner? Why is it so sarcastic? Why are the Mane 6's flaws overblown and made into caricatures in a way most people would use for insulting satire meant to mock their enemies? Why is Spike such a blatant target?

 

It's okay if you don't find it funny, but understand that literally everything in the show is meant purely as a joke. The answer to every last one of your questions is simply "that's the joke."

 

Maybe you found it mean-spirited. I didn't. And the characters are certainly less screwed up than mainstream comedies like Seinfeld, and certainly less than something like South Park (both of which are fucking hilarious, by the way).

 

If you happen to consider yourself a fan of either of those shows (or The Simpsons, Family Guy, etc), then on Earth how is FiW crossing your lines of good taste where those didn't?

 

And personal attacks are justified because they threw the first insults by making FiW. It's an insulting show that seems more along the lines of something an anti-brony troll would make rather than a fan work. They threw the first punch, and they can suffer the repercussions.

That might be one of the most horrible things I have ever read.

 

At no point does FiW ever insult the fandom, or anyone in it. Not even jokingly, or sarcastically. The humor is meant to poke light-hearted fun at the show, as well as typical tropes of other comedies. You don't have to like the jokes, but don't try to pretend they're made with some kind of sinister intent when they clearly aren't.

 

And even without considering intent, I would never, NEVER subject anyone to blatent personal attacks just because I didn't like their work. It's the single slimiest line a critic could ever cross, and a complete betrayal of everything a review should stand for.

[TanktheTortoise 262]

Personally I don't get why the reviewer here was being so rude.  First of all there were no legitimate arguments in his critique.  He didn't get the jokes.  For example the whole raincloud thing and the element switch WERE THE FREAKING JOKE.  Okay you don't get it and it doesn't match your sense of humor, but the fact you have a 3 minute long disclaimer that you hate it subjectively should tell you something.  Namely, that you don't need to review it.  Critiques are meant to be objective.  Subjectively reviewing something removes all weight from your review.  Frankly the fact that he was so rude about it makes me wonder what got him so pissed before reviewing.

 

I will be the first to admit that FiW does have flaws.  The Eye candy thing in the first ep was annoying and they realized that and did not include it in subsequent eps.  The incest and murder things in the wedding were disturbing, but at the same time part of the charm.  While some of the jokes fall flat, the same can be said about any fan or real work.

 

Also the series was not really meant as an abridged version of the show but rather a warped take on it.  Abridged series keep more or less everything the same but poke fun at the show.  FiW changes things around and uses the show as a backdrop.  That is why it works.  It is meant as a dark humor take on the show we all love.  Yes there are jokes that go on too long or that don't work, but there are more that do.  Just because it does not appeal to your own humor doesn't give you the right to berate it and treat it like the spawn of satan himself.  I have never watched this guy's reviews, but I never will now.  His reviews are neither objective nor enjoyable thus I will not be listening to him.

[TailsIsNotAlone 3,694]

OK, time for a Tails play-by-play on this video review...with some critiquing of my own!

 

I wonder. Is this one of those guys who thinks he has a good voice and knows how to rant, but really, really doesn't? *hits play* Surprisingly, no. He's good at this, though a little nasally. So whatever he says, I will automatically respect him more than many other 'Tubers who have tried to pull off this sort of thing.

 

So what is he saying? Well, I hate to admit it, but he's saying a whole lot of stuff I agree with. Many of the jokes in FIW aren't funny, anti-humor does suck (esp. when applied to ponies), the episodes are too long, and the characters' new "personalities" are totally unlikeable.

 

Then he reads my mind even more and praises the one thing I LIKE about FIW: Sweetie Bot! Sweetie Bot is brilliant! "You heard me: the ROBOT is more likeable and three-dimensional than the Mane 6." If the Bot was the only good thing FIW produced, it was still worth it.

 

He finally says something I disagree with at the end. I mean, wasn't it obvious from the get-go that the creators were only having fun? Did he really expect there to be some epic storyline connecting all these? Here's what I told him on his comment page:

 

"I'm surprised you expected there to? be a story arc to this, though. Minus any subjective ideas about what an abridged series should be, I think FIW is a parody first and foremost. Anyone who's sat (read: suffered) through an episode of Family Guy knows that referential humor doesn't have to further the plot."

 

FiW is just so mean-spirited; it feels like a perversion of FiM. Don't get me wrong, I like some mean-spirited humor. Arrested Development and Archer are some of the funniest things I've ever seen, but the delivery isn't smug and cutesy. I wish I could describe it better, but all I can say is that the voice acting in FiW seems so bitchy; it's both annoying and saddening to see such horrible things come from the Mane 6's mouths, and they don't let up on the nastiness. It's a cannonade of snarky insults.

Have to agree with you as far as this goes. Maybe I'm just oversensitive or something, but this stuff--not to mention the .MOVs--turns MLP into the opposite of what it's supposed to be, and I just don't like it.

Edited April 13, 2013 by TailsIsNotAlone

[Hawk Moth 390]

Perhaps I give .MOV a pass because it has such a Ren and Stimpy feel, but it honestly doesn't seem as mean as FiW. Yes, it's violent and horribly irreverent, but it doesn't bother me that much - all except for Twilight. I can't stand Rina-Chan.

... Seriously?

 

Am I trippin', son?

 

It's just for fun. It is MEANT to exaggerate the bad aspects of the Mane 6. In some alternate universe, the Mane 6 might actually BE like that.

 

In summation, you're taking something on the internet far too seriously. Go outside or something.

 

Well, I went out to a bar with my friends tonight and listened to some live music. Coming back, my opinion still holds. Thanks for the insult though. I appreciate it.

It's okay if you don't find it funny, but understand that literally everything in the show is meant purely as a joke. The answer to every last one of your questions is simply "that's the joke."

 

Maybe you found it mean-spirited. I didn't. And the characters are certainly less screwed up than mainstream comedies like Seinfeld, and certainly less than something like South Park (both of which are fucking hilarious, by the way).

 

If you happen to consider yourself a fan of either of those shows (or The Simpsons, Family Guy, etc), then on Earth how is FiW crossing your lines of good taste where those didn't?

 

That might be one of the most horrible things I have ever read.

 

At no point does FiW ever insult the fandom, or anyone in it. Not even jokingly, or sarcastically. The humor is meant to poke light-hearted fun at the show, as well as typical tropes of other comedies. You don't have to like the jokes, but don't try to pretend they're made with some kind of sinister intent when they clearly aren't.

 

And even without considering intent, I would never, NEVER subject anyone to blatent personal attacks just because I didn't like their work. It's the single slimiest line a critic could ever cross, and a complete betrayal of everything a review should stand for.

 

Oh no! Did I insult you? You'd better not be serious. I've explained it so many times already. The voices, the jokes, everything - it's all mean and nasty. It's one gigantic FU. Simpsons and South Park do parody correctly; FiW does not. FiW is all about making fun of the characters while trying to force the audience to see how clever they are. It's a smug mess. And yes, FiW doesn't insult the fandom; it insults the show enough though, and when I first watched it, I really could not tell that they weren't trolls, out to tear apart the show.