My Little Pony's Justice 2 - Official MLP Thread v2

[DabigRG]

Finally got around to seeing The Big Mac Question and I actually quite enjoyed it.

Not too much to say that the episode doesn't already take it's time with--Big Mac(and as it turns out Sweetie Belle) decide to propose to each other and enlist the help of Spike & Discord(and Mrs. Cake & the Crusaders) to pull it off. Things obviously go pearshaped("Haha, I made a joke.") and the characters waste little opportunity pointing out him convoluted and at times dumb they're behaving. Things even surprisingly looped at the end to tie in not only Discord's apples, but the ponies involved in the Apple-Pear flashback(which explains the Lily Orchard thumbnail I saw pop up a few days ago).

If I can only take issue with one thing, its that I was kinda hoping the rest of the Equal Four could've been involved hadn't the episode played out the way it did. They do show up at the wedding at least, though Starlight(and I guess Feather Bangs) surprisingly doesn't. Would've been great to bring things back around like the Crusaders . Funnily enough, the Crusaders are involved because they wanna make up for their screwups with the relationship and actually end up causing the least issues in this episode despite still blaming themselves.

Also, who did Granny Smith describe as "all horny-like"?

On 9/28/2019 at 4:36 PM, AdventChild said:

This week’s MLP outing is Growing Up is Hard To Do, which is oddly enough the CMC’s final episode. The Last Crusade sounded like a fitting end for the CMC and this would’ve been switched. Goes to show how oddly managed this season has been.

A rather meh episode all things considered.

Probably the only thing to like was how cute Bloofy was and that was it.

The plot and message felt lazily forced and predictable esp. with the much of the writing and dialogue. Hay, it even says it smack dab in the episode’s title for goodness sake! Also, didn’t we get the whole grownups aren’t right all the time with Cart Before the Ponies? And the fact I had to reference that episode is troubling enough. The song was weak, the grownup designs were uninteresting and barely changed, and the B plot with the two kids and the pet felt shoehorned into to further emphasis how unsubtle the message is. Again, this doesn’t feel much like last episode for the CMC as much as The Last Crusade was. Probably would’ve been better if it were the CMC graduating from Cheerilee’s school or something. Lastly, I’ve read fanfics over half a decade ago that have age progression/grownup tf stories that were better handled than this.

A So-So episode.

 

On 9/28/2019 at 10:29 PM, Strickerx5 said:

I'm waiting on the US premier. I already have a good idea of what happens but I'm trying to ride this out and give the show the conclusion date the team behind it wanted. The least I could do at this point.

 

This week's episode is the last main CMC episode and honestly, while I wouldn't say its the worst way they could've ended with these characters, it was pretty leveled all around.

I think my biggest drawback with this episode is really how disjointed it all felt. There was a lot of jumping around from location to location just to simply get to Applalossa. They sort of lost focus on the CMCs at multiple points. A lot of the time they seemed to have been written as one character and it was rare for any of their specific traits to shine through. And, yes, I do think I'm taking more points off for this than I normally would due to it being their last episode but I don't really see that as unfair at this point.

Though, the rest of the episode was pretty solid all things considered. The premises and moral were great additions to show as even some adults could benefit from it lol. Plus, while they certainly didn't help the actual story along, the varied environments themselves were pretty interesting throughout the entire episode which I can appreciate.

Also, that monkey thing was both cute af and completely terrifying in its Looney Tunes antics.

So yeah, an overall average episode with a good morale on its shoulders. The other CMC episode this season probably would've been a better way to end with the characters but I wouldn't call this episode bad for that.

.Apparently, that's another episode that was slated for an earlier season, but didn't make the cut--in this case, Season 5.

[DabigRG]

Just got through watching the [] Season Finale Two-Parter, The Ending of the End. It was good, if a bit messy.

Let's try to go in chronological order this time if we can, shall we?:

Spoiler

 

• Grogar was actually Discord setting up one last trial for Twilight to overcome for her coronation. I'm of two minds on this--On one hand, it seems fitting to have the Spirit of Disharmony mastermind the final threat that the Elements of Harmony's bearers must defeat. On the other hand, it's clearly a waste of both the Ancient Evil himself and Doc Harris, who never gets to really let loose now. Egh, it's fine for consistency, but I would've preferred we'd gotten that Master Plan.
• Cozy Glow, Lord Tirek, and Queen Chrysalis using the tome they stole to have Grogar's Bell give them his energy and steal the energy of their enemies(1). This allow them to transform into higher(2)  forms so they can assault Equestria to defeat their enemies(3) and perpetuate the fear they planted at the Sun Festival. 
  1. Which begs the question of why exactly does it do this given Grogar's reputation.
  2. Though Tirek doesn't transform into either final state from his debut, lacking both his mohawk and titanic size. I also don't really get what happened with Chrysalis.
  3. Chrysalis naturally makes a beeline for Starlight while Tirek ends up taking on the Pillars(nice touch with Rockhoof, who I forgot) at what seemed to be the Borders of Equestria. And Cozy Glow becomes an Alicorn and personally storms Canterlot Castle to take on the Mane Six, Spike, and The Two Sisters.
     • I'm a tad surprised Chrysalis didn't attack the school in order to draw Starlight out, but it was smart thinking on the latter's part to teleport with her to the Tundra. 
     • Nice touch with Rockhoof, whose origins I forgot.
     • On an unrelated note, my previous observation that she among other characters felt derived from Starlight came back to mind. I suppose I should finally get around to talking about my various thoughts regarding the latter at some point now. 
• Twilight discovering what Discord did saps her confidence and causes her to recuse herself at the Crystal Empire once the villains take over the castle. This kinda felt a bit odd, but I suppose it worked well enough with what was going on with her expanded Kingdom. 
• I kinda felt the villains were aimless despite clearly having a number of different plans going forward. They basically just faff about gaining more power or opportunity with the developments and hold off on doing much of anything due to canceling each other out. I'd say that they didn't consider killing the Mane Five, the Pillars, and the others, but I just recalled that that's actually the first thing Cozy wanted to do  but Chrysalis pointed out that it's more satisfying to draw out their pain.
• The villains imprison everyone else in a cavern made from the remains of Chrysalis's throne. However, I'm a bit confused as to a) why she was concerned about being too close and b) how Starlight was able to do what she did despite the pieces still being around. Interesting to note that Discord mentions Tirek actually having a complex regarding his father King Vorak as the incitement of his gluttony. Wasn't that the guy from the Villains comic series?
• Were the ponies driving much of the distrust shown before? While the Wendigos coming back was a unexpectedly brilliant consequence, I thought it was a missed opportunity to not have the ones that were manipulated before be present.
• Was Rarity's Dad a Unicorn? I didn't see him among them at Neighsay's and that made me wonder how the splitups affected couples like him.
• Question about the reinforcements at the end: Thorax said something about the Changelings not being able to keep the villains busy for very long--what was that about?
• Nice cameos from Tempest, Queen Novo, and Princess Skystar(who fit into the artstyle surprisingly well) amongst others like Challencer Neighsay, Moondancer, and the Star-bust Parents, though others like Capper, Grubber, Sunset, Sunburst, and Gilda were absent. In fact, where were the Crusaders?
• Didn't see the Princesses and Discord turning the villains into stone. Like, holy shit. Also, was I the only one who expected Cozy Glow to detransform into something else?
• I thought Starlight was gonna turn into an Alicorn for a second. It didn't happen, but idk why that popped into my head.
• Ended up saving this for last since it's kinda encompassing, but I noticed there was this weird take on humor throughout the twoparter. Ignoring things like Cozy & Pinkie not being able to handle Discord's magic(waitaminute...), there were these vaguely odd one-liners and references throughout the episode. While it's true that Cozy, Chrysalis, and now even Tirek aren't the most venerable of threats, it was kinda awkward with the End of the World feel.  

 

 

[DabigRG]

On 10/13/2019 at 1:39 AM, AdventChild said:

And thus our equine journey ends with The Ending of the End and The Last Lesson today.

Oh, so all three did air. I'm gonna hold off on watching the Series Finale for now. 

On 10/13/2019 at 1:39 AM, AdventChild said:

Even though Discord had some moments, the whole Grogar reveal feels like a writing cop out in a sense and that the villain trio got powerful of that from Discord’s poor friendship making ideas.

 

On 10/13/2019 at 1:39 AM, AdventChild said:

The Pillars were there but Stygian seemed absent and were easily defeated. The action was average.

Yeeeah, Stygian really didn't add much of anything to the show. Not to be that guy, but the tweaks I suggested probably would've been better even if it's the same sorta result.

 

On 10/14/2019 at 6:46 AM, MetalSkulkBane said:

 

"Ending of the End"
Ok, was Grogar/Discord thing always a plan? It's so random and nonsensical. Admittedly they they did nothing to build up Grogar through whole season. Also, are we going to completely ignore that Tirek already has power to suck powers from other and in fact already had Discord power?

Evil Trinity were cute working off each other, even if they didn't felt like proper 'final boss'.

Yeah, seriously.
 

Quote

Windigos were a nice touch and ultimately I feel like "racism" plot was handled fine enough. I actually really liked Young Six and rest of the students bringing everyone together. It's good to see that this last seasons gimmick pays off.

Yeah, those were genuinely nice.

[AdventChild]

A bit over a week late, but here it is.

Now putting what I’ve said about the finale. S9 felt…off in a way. A mixed bag of story continuity and slice of life episodes, which resulted in the build up to the finale kinda lacking. Not to mention it felt like during production of S9 when S8 was airing that they gotten news that S9 was going to be the last and they had to rearrange/rewrite at the last minute. Like that S9 was going to be build up for a tenth season.

Might as well discus my thoughts on the series overall. Ever since the beginning, I saw the show on a Grade B level than A/+ level since there were other cartoons during the time that I thought had better quality over this during the early 2010s, Adventure Time, Regular Show, Steven Universe, Gravity Falls, and some others. Overtime, that grade decreased, middling in C/D territory, which I’ll get into a bit later.

Though I kept watching due out of obligation since I’ve watched it since it debuts back at the beginning of the decade. Kinda like with the Bleach anime with few things here and there that I liked but Bleach didn't annoy me as much (those little princess arcs were crap though). The fandom works were still interesting and entertaining as well, even surpassing the quality of the show.

That said, I had plenty of gripes with much of the progression the series, mainly much of the changes and events that I didn’t like or had little to no interest in and had to bear it. And the list for that is long from Twilicorn to the gaudy crystal castle to reformed Discord to ugly changeling redesigns to the school gimmick. Of course, whenever an episode focused on that topic, I begin to feel numb while watching since it didn’t pertain to my interests in the show and rarely did change my mind as time progresses. And their execution had a lot to be desired. Hay, even the school gimmick was the focus for one season only to be pushed to the side in the next.

In fact, the best way to describe the series would be wasted potential as there have been a ton of characters and concepts that could have been explored or developed even further such as Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon post reformation, the ponies of Our Town from S5 (Other than Sugar Belle), Zecora and zebras in general, The Pillars, etc. Again, so many missed opportunities such as adventures with The Pillars with Daring Do and Wonderbolt missions with RD and other members.

I can chalk this up for many reasons including executive meddling, the multiple shifting on again/off again writers which contribute to some of the inconsistencies and plot holes, character derailments, and seasonal rot. Not to mention the whole improvisation of the story since Faust left the show who only laid down the foundation.

Not saying that the series has been all around awful or terrible, but that it had a lot of promise in the beginning but been fumbling the ball with its writing/story, direction and characters throughout and a lot of missed opportunities were to be had with its shuffling of writers esp. in later seasons. At worst, its just average/meh and at its best, it’s merely okay. Doesn’t help that plenty of fanworks are higher quality as well. So it’s middle of the road for me.

We could’ve gotten spinoffs/miniseries that catered to an older audience/fans or that have less restrictions than the main show, but unfortunately Equestria Girls took that spot for the longest time. And unfortunately, stuff like Best Gift Ever were few and far between.

Will I still stick around for G5? Well, I’ll probably keep an eye on it, but with some of the leaks and decisions that makes it look like a rehash of FiM by using the same manes/cast makes me cautious. Not to mention AJs character direction feels forced. (Though I’m still waiting for my MLP anime, Hasbro!)

/end2cents.

[DabigRG]

7 hours ago, lulzers said:

Which characters originating from G4 do you think could become staples of the franchise?

Personally, I can see the Princesses, Discord, Trixie, Starlight Glimmer and whatever family members and relatives of the Mane Six introduced in FiM (such as Big Macintosh and Shining Armor) appearing in future incarnations of MLP.

While I guess I wouldn't mind it if I stuck around, I don't know about that. Personally, the fact that this G5 is focusing on the same five characters seems counterproductive. 

[Strickerx5]

3 hours ago, DabigRG said:

While I guess I wouldn't mind it if I stuck around, I don't know about that. Personally, the fact that this G5 is focusing on the same five characters seems counterproductive. 

Feel the same way honestly. At this point I'd really just rather have a whole new world and set of characters. Don't get me wrong, I'll never say that I don't want more Luna but at the same time, I'm sort of happy where they ended things. I don't need a continuation or soft reboot as, at this point, it'd really just feel like Hasbro trying to artificially chase the same dragon that led to G4.

Imo, the only way to come close to this again would be to make people care about a new cast of lively characters. Not remixed old ones.

[AdventChild]

Looks like the TTG virus is spreading and ponies are it’s new victim. 

https://ew.com/tv/2019/11/13/my-little-pony-pony-life-first-look-lizzo/

Yeah apparently Hasbro has some new FiM content to tide us over until G5 with a new animated series based on an upcoming toy line which look awfully awkward/bad.

Thanks Hasbro, I hate it already.

[DabigRG]

On 10/25/2019 at 9:29 AM, Strickerx5 said:

 

Imo, the only way to come close to this again would be to make people care about a new cast of lively characters. Not remixed old ones.

Agreed.

Which is kinda funny, cause the Mane Six are primarily old ponies from G1 or so with certain compromises.

3 hours ago, AdventChild said:

Looks like the TTG virus is spreading and ponies are it’s new victim. 

https://ew.com/tv/2019/11/13/my-little-pony-pony-life-first-look-lizzo/

Yeah apparently Hasbro has some new FiM content to tide us over until G5 with a new animated series based on an upcoming toy line which look awfully awkward/bad.

Thanks Hasbro, I hate it already.

What the actual hell?

[Strickerx5]

Quote

 

Hm... well it looks like we're getting more pony content sooner than I was honestly anticipating. I guess a gen 4.5 was always a possibility... just not one I ever really gave much thought.

I don't know, I'll certainly give it a fair shake but like others around the web have stated... this is giving off some major TTG vibes. I don't actually dislike the base designs at the moment, though I am concerned in what direction they'll go in animating them fully. A couple of the mini animations used in the video didn't leave the best impression on that front.

I'm all for a G4 show that focuses more on shenanigans (as that really is where FiM shinned most often) but comedy is a very tricky thing. Are they going to stick true to FiM's humor but simply turn it up to 10 or are they going full on TTG, complete with its meta and "hip" humor? Gotta say, not really a fan of that later possibility.

I'm not going to take much stalk in the announcement video either though as, if I learned anything from Hasbro, they're marketing is often off point as to what the actual content will end up being. These videos are made to get the target audience in and nothing more.

So... color me casually optimistic. It certainly has the potential to be decent but, at the same time, there's a real potential of it not being so hot. We don't even know the team behind it (as I'm pretty sure the FiM crew have stated that they won't have any involvement in the future of the franchise) so things really are up in the air atm. The only thing I do know is that, with the VAs returning, at least that part will be decent.

[MetalSkulkBane]

*One look at Gummy*

This show is dead to me. I'll reserve my real opinion till we see a trailer

[DabigRG]

You know, ya'll say Teen Titans Go, but I'm getting Unikitty or Rainbow Kitty vibes.

[DabigRG]

Oh hey, how have y'all been? Happy New Year and Decade too. 

I honestly forgot about this thread despite occasionally seeing clips pop up on my Home page and watching certain scenes again. Might actually pop by to comment on some thoughts, ideas, and impressions I might have of interest or personal relevance. 

That of course includes questions about things I may not have gotten or suggestions about character/plot details that I thought would've been interesting. I know Starlight in particular was one that begs for that and I've had quite a few ruminations about her myself. 

Still haven't watched much of Equestria Girls after the episode with Mark Beaks(that's something else I haven't watched in forever) and a few shorts/music videos. I've been seeing thumbnails of like hippie Zephyr, the Dazzlings, and Sunset/Fluttershy in a weird outfit floating around, so I no doubt got stuff to catch up on. Wasn't there supposed to be an actual show as well? 

On 11/13/2019 at 10:17 PM, Strickerx5 said:

 

Hm... well it looks like we're getting more pony content sooner than I was honestly anticipating. I guess a gen 4.5 was always a possibility... just not one I ever really gave much thought.

I don't know, I'll certainly give it a fair shake but like others around the web have stated... this is giving off some major TTG vibes. I don't actually dislike the base designs at the moment, though I am concerned in what direction they'll go in animating them fully. A couple of the mini animations used in the video didn't leave the best impression on that front.

I'm all for a G4 show that focuses more on shenanigans (as that really is where FiM shinned most often) but comedy is a very tricky thing. Are they going to stick true to FiM's humor but simply turn it up to 10 or are they going full on TTG, complete with its meta and "hip" humor? Gotta say, not really a fan of that later possibility.

I'm not going to take much stalk in the announcement video either though as, if I learned anything from Hasbro, they're marketing is often off point as to what the actual content will end up being. These videos are made to get the target audience in and nothing more.

So... color me casually optimistic. It certainly has the potential to be decent but, at the same time, there's a real potential of it not being so hot. We don't even know the team behind it (as I'm pretty sure the FiM crew have stated that they won't have any involvement in the future of the franchise) so things really are up in the air atm. The only thing I do know is that, with the VAs returning, at least that part will be decent.

Also wanted to say, that Mane Six Go! trailer got taken down a while back. Probably because it wasn't a good idea to have a song with [however mild] curse words, strung out Pinkie Pie, and whatever Rarity had on her head be involved. 

[SBR2]

It's happening! 

https://mobile.twitter.com/IanFlynnBKC/status/1225451390249635841

Honestly I'm kinda surprised it's taken this long for a Transformers crossover to happen. 

[Candescence]

https://mobile.twitter.com/IanFlynnBKC/status/1225495576462139398

Ian says he is totally down with crossing over MLP with Sonic. OH BOY.

[DabigRG]

28 minutes ago, Candescence said:

https://mobile.twitter.com/IanFlynnBKC/status/1225495576462139398

Ian says he is totally down with crossing over MLP with Sonic. OH BOY.

Yeah, he mentioned that on the Bumblekast a number of episodes ago.

[Jovahexeon Jax Joranvexeon]

On 2/6/2020 at 6:52 PM, Candescence said:

https://mobile.twitter.com/IanFlynnBKC/status/1225495576462139398

Ian says he is totally down with crossing over MLP with Sonic. OH BOY.

I fail to see the problem with that.

[AdventChild]

So some interesting news of late as Tara Strong, Twilight's VA, said during a stream that Twilight Sparkle isn't going to appear in G5. Though (if going by the leaks from while back) there could be a chance that Twilight Sparkle is returning but with a different VA like how Pinkie is voiced by a different VA in the Hello Pinkie Pie 3D shorts. But she did say that there could be more EQG material in the works and 'other projects' might include Pony Life as well. Maybe more that Hasbro might try to squeeze out from G4 as possible before G5 (or maybe even after if G5 is a bust and unsuccessful).

https://www.equestriadaily.com/2020/04/tara-strong-notes-that-twilight-sparkle.html

 

[AdventChild]

So we get an official trailer for Pony Life.

And yeah for me, it really feels like TTG with a coat of pony paint, kinda off putting in a way.

[Dr. Mechano]

44 minutes ago, AdventChild said:

So we get an official trailer for Pony Life.

Yeah. Not into this so far.

I may give the first episode a shot just to see if it's better than the marketing makes it look, but my expectations are pretty low.

[AdventChild]

So character promos of the Mane 6 (sans AJ of course) had been released today.

https://www.equestriadaily.com/2020/06/pony-life-character-promos-appear-on.html

Yeah, still no change from my initial thoughts on the trailer, still giving off TTG vibes. Though looks like Equestria has more modern tech with TV, internet, iPhones, etc., having it feel a bit of a disconnect from the original series. But I'm more worried that this will have an overabundance of meme/internet cultural references and jokes. And Fluttershy's 'Selfie' moment isn't helping matters.

[Dr. Mechano]

2 hours ago, AdventChild said:

Though looks like Equestria has more modern tech with TV, internet, iPhones, etc., having it feel a bit of a disconnect from the original series. But I'm more worried that this will have an overabundance of meme/internet cultural references and jokes. And Fluttershy's 'Selfie' moment isn't helping matters.

MLP proper had fairly modern tech too, like TVs and video games:

There were even telephones, albeit we only saw landlines:

I guess I don't find it too unbelievable that a society that could invent TVs, video games, and rotary telephones could innovate further and develop something like the internet or modern smartphones. Equestria already wasn't that far off in the end.

Don't get me wrong, I'm still really skeptical of Pony Life, but I don't mind the modern tech. It's not terribly different from the Equestria of the mainline series in that regard.

[DabigRG]

On 6/17/2020 at 9:04 PM, AdventChild said:

So we get an official trailer for Pony Life.

And yeah for me, it really feels like TTG with a coat of pony paint, kinda off putting in a way.

The video must've been taken down.

[Strickerx5]

2 hours ago, DabigRG said:

The video must've been taken down.

I guess they put a new one up at some point.

 

Eh, I'm still iffy on this. Again, G4 (particularly in its later half) usually shined with just keeping things comedic/ slice of life so the overall direction here is something I can get behind. That being said, nothing here is really grabbing me.

I'll just wait for some episodes to drop. I think we should get something this Saturday? (idk, haven't been paying attention)

Also, they have some more clips for the mane six on the channel along with the theme song. Though AJ seems to be missing a video which I find hilarious.

[MetalSkulkBane]

So, is punishment for bronies for stealing the previous show?

Still, I will respect it If first episode establishes this as Pinkie overdosing on sugar and hallucinating.

[AdventChild]

So Lauren Faust gives her reaction to a sampling of a Pony Life script and confirms that there is facetime/Zoom in Equestria now.

Thinking about it and as much I don't support it, it does make Equestria Girls feel very moot and pointless doesn't it? I mean, other than the school gimmick (which FiM copied with S8), the EQG world had the modern tech as an advantage over the FiM world. Despite having it for a long time, now that's gone because of Pony Life, what makes EQG unique anymore other than teen humans?