Why do people call Princess Luna sympathetic?

[Hive King 1,998]

Well, if my memory serves correctly, wasn't she holding the Element of Kindness in Princess Twilight Sparkle? (Season 4 premiere)

 

Not to mention how much of a desire she had to connect with her subjects in Luna Eclipsed, I can see fans calling her sympathetic.

No, Celestia held it. Luna held laughter, loyalty, and honesty, ironically

[Fractured 2,683]

No, Celestia held it. Luna held laughter, loyalty, and honesty, ironically

Kinda seems to be a running theme: RD has ditched her friends more times than I care to mention right now.

[Hive King 1,998]

Kinda seems to be a running theme: RD has ditched her friends more times than I care to mention right now.

Probably. Also the fact that Luna isn't exactly being very funny when she's threatening world domination

[Fractured 2,683]

Probably. Also the fact that Luna isn't exactly being very funny when she's threatening world domination

She is very honest, though(lol), and she does seem to love pranks and things of that nature, both in the show and the comics. It's different from Pinkie's sense of humor, though; Pinkie's humor puts the joke on herself for the most part, and avoids hurting feelings. Luna's is more...brutal. It's possible the elements just manifest themselves differently; maybe hers represents self loyalty?

[Hive King 1,998]

She is very honest, though(lol), and she does seem to love pranks and things of that nature, both in the show and the comics. It's different from Pinkie's sense of humor, though; Pinkie's humor puts the joke on herself for the most part, and avoids hurting feelings. Luna's is more...brutal. It's possible the elements just manifest themselves differently; maybe hers represents self loyalty?

Self loyalty wouldn't fit with friendship though. Can you imagine that?

"Hold your own wants above the wants of your friends"

 

And I now imagine Luna as a 4Chan troll. 

 

"Lolz, there can be only 1 princess!"

[Fractured 2,683]

Self loyalty wouldn't fit with friendship though. Can you imagine that?

"Hold your own wants above the wants of your friends"

 

And I now imagine Luna as a 4Chan troll. 

 

"Lolz, there can be only 1 princess!"

Well, being true to yourself isn't really a negative thing...as long as you have the ability to tell right from wrong. Rainbow Dash from Trade Ya, for example, would be a negative example of this. She managed to turn it around in the end, though.

[crazitaco 596]

Just because she regretted it doesn't mean she is sympathetic. Its the same problem I had with Azula, she spended the entirety of Book 2 being a massive bitch to everyone including her brother. And in book 3 she has a break down for a stupid reason and they expect me to feel sorry for her

The huge difference is that Luna redeems herself, while Azula actually became worse.

Luna redeemed herself by doing "jail time" for 1000 years, apologizing to everyone for what she did, and becoming a protaganistic character again (helping her sister protect their kingdom from threats). She even helps the ponies of her kingdom on her own time by acting as a guardian, or wisdom for them through their dreams. She was originally a neutral character, became bad, realized the error of her ways, and then makes up for it in the end. She is a lot more like Zuko than Azula.

 

Zuko is a direct contrast to Azula. They start out in very similar situations, with one of their parents favoring one child over the other, leaving the other child feeling rejected. Their personalities and paths soon diverge, and they eventually end up on opposite ends of the morality spectrum. Zuko realizes what he's become and changes his ways.  Azula realizes that she's a monster, and decides that even though this realization emotionally hurts her, she'd rather fully embrace her dark side. This is why she remained a despicable character for you and a lot of people.

 

I don't think she was expected to be sympathized with, but rather to be viewed as an example of what Zuko could've become had he chosen to go down the same path.

Personally, I actually really liked Azula, just because she was so well written She's the perfect villain: dangerous, sociopathic, driven, obsessed, and with one major flaw which leads to one of the greatest villainous downfalls I've ever seen on TV. She's so perfectly evil, yet still manages to feel like a believable character.

Edited July 23, 2014 by crazitaco