My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

[dpful]

What up, bronies!!! I'm not reading 30 fucking pages of this! just posting to say I have twin 5 year old girls and I know who Derpy hooves is.
And I love shmups.

[The Coop]

So they actually used a little CGI in today's episode (I won't say for what, to avoid spoilers for those who haven't watched it yet). It had the art style down, but it kind of stood out like a sore thumb with the rest of the Flash-based animation.

[KennyMan666]

Weakest episode of the season imo. Wasn't a major fan of last week's either.

But ah well, I guess you can expect two mediocre episodes in a row after a streak of three great episodes in a row.

[Rosse]

I started collecting MLP about the same time as video games (2002 or so), and I never imagined my two fandoms would... merge in such an odd and not entirely pleasant way. I keep telling myself it's a strange but passing fad among some of you geeky guys.

I watched the first double ep of FiM and didn't like it. That's about all the interaction I've had with this newest gen. I bought one pony but the shitty quality has kept me from the rest of the line. *cough* The fanbase isn't helping either *cough*

[drunkninja24]

I started collecting MLP about the same time as video games (2002 or so), and I never imagined my two fandoms would... merge in such an odd and not entirely pleasant way. I keep telling myself it's a strange but passing fad among some of you geeky guys.

I watched the first double ep of FiM and didn't like it. That's about all the interaction I've had with this newest gen. I bought one pony but the shitty quality has kept me from the rest of the line. *cough* The fanbase isn't helping either *cough*

The first two eps aren't exactly a great indication of the rest of the series. I liked them myself, but the rest of the show has a much different tone. Might want to check out a few other Season 1 eps (I'd recommend Dragonshy, Bridle Gossip, Sonic Rainboom, or Party of One) and also the Season 2 premiere episodes (as well as the finale episodes). The general toy line I agree is pretty crappy, the blind bag figures and the vinyl collectible are quite nice though.

As for the fanbase...I don't mind it honestly, people really are intent on whoring out the worst examples and plastering them everywhere. I've met and interacted with a good number of people, and attended Bronycon last summer, and found very little that was grating to me.

[The Coop]

I watched the first double ep of FiM and didn't like it. That's about all the interaction I've had with this newest gen. I bought one pony but the shitty quality has kept me from the rest of the line. *cough* The fanbase isn't helping either *cough*

The first two episodes were basically solely for establishing the characters. If you want to get a feel for how the show is after that, episodes like "Applebuck Season," "Bridal Gossip," "Luna Eclipsed," "The Return of Harmony 1+2" and "A Canterlot Wedding 1+2" will do the job just fine. Plus, there are some infectious and/or well done tunes that have helped pushed the show along as well ("This Day Aria," "Winter Wrap Up," and "May the Best Pet Win," to name a few... but beware of "Babs Seed" and its earworm nature ).

As for the fanbase, don't let the extreme examples turn you away from the show. There are lots of assholes and weirdos who play shmups almost religiously, but you don't let them keep you from enjoying the genre, right?

[Edmond Dantes]

but beware of "Babs Seed" and its earworm nature ).

For that matter, beware of Babs Seed period

That episode was so bad it almost made me quit watching.

Fortunately, the later episodes (particularly "Sleepless in Ponyville") came along and redeemed the show quite handsomely. I even liked Babs' return appearance.

That being said, there is a very small contingent of people who believe the show went downhill after season one. I am among this crowd.

[Stormwatch]

I hated that episode... until I heard that it was in fact a very accurate depiction of the behavior of some bullying victims. Then my head a sploded.

Still hate Babs' voice, though.

[Edmond Dantes]

I hated that episode... until I heard that it was in fact a very accurate depiction of the behavior of some bullying victims. Then my head a sploded.

Still hate Babs' voice, though.

... Don't believe everything you hear.

Speaking as a bullying victim, the episode outright offended me. Like, imagine if you were a survivor of the Titanic and then someone said that the ship never wrecked and nobody ever died, that's what "One Bad Apple" felt like to me.

My main problems were:

1. It offers the pat, feel good solution of "just tell an adult." I tried this. It doesn't work.
2. It pulls the "the bully is a victim" angle. I'll admit this is true in some real-life cases, but there is such a thing as born psychopaths.
3. Because of the above, it feels like the ep actually favors the bully. It's basically saying "yeah, its sad that you're bullied and all, but think about how they feel! What gives you the right to judge others?"

And

4. I'm watching a show about magic pastel ponies. I don't want it to be realistic or deal with hard-hitting real-life issues. I want escapism. Imagine you're a kid come home from school and you see this episode. If I were ten years old, I'd never watch it ever again. Seriously why do cartoon makers think they have to always be relevant? Why can't we just have escapism?

Anyway, just my two bits.

[Skykid]

Seriously why do cartoon makers think they have to always be relevant? Why can't we just have escapism?

Because it's a cynical world where people like to wallow in their suffering. Upbeat positive escapism used to look like this:

[Stormwatch]

Fuck yeah Jayce!

[The Coop]

I hated that episode... until I heard that it was in fact a very accurate depiction of the behavior of some bullying victims. Then my head a sploded.

Still hate Babs' voice, though.

... Don't believe everything you hear.

Speaking as a bullying victim, the episode outright offended me. Like, imagine if you were a survivor of the Titanic and then someone said that the ship never wrecked and nobody ever died, that's what "One Bad Apple" felt like to me.

My main problems were:

1. It offers the pat, feel good solution of "just tell an adult." I tried this. It doesn't work.
2. It pulls the "the bully is a victim" angle. I'll admit this is true in some real-life cases, but there is such a thing as born psychopaths.
3. Because of the above, it feels like the ep actually favors the bully. It's basically saying "yeah, its sad that you're bullied and all, but think about how they feel! What gives you the right to judge others?"

And

4. I'm watching a show about magic pastel ponies. I don't want it to be realistic or deal with hard-hitting real-life issues. I want escapism. Imagine you're a kid come home from school and you see this episode. If I were ten years old, I'd never watch it ever again. Seriously why do cartoon makers think they have to always be relevant? Why can't we just have escapism?

Anyway, just my two bits.

The episode in question dealt with one aspect of bullying; becoming a bully so you won't get bullied. It happened with Babs, and the CMC. It's also a 21 minute show for kids, which means that can only go so deep into the subject matter. My saying that's not a cop out however, and here's why... if you want the "they're just a douche nozzle" angle, watch "Griffon the Brush-Off." Gilda starts out a douche, and ends a douche. No lesson learned, and no reforming. So really, MLP:FiM basically already covered that angle when it comes to why someone would be a bully. No sense retreading the same ground, you know?



As for the show going downhill since season 1, as Edmond Dantes mentioned, I felt seasons 1 and 2 were pretty much on par with each other. I can count about 18 episodes in the first season that I enjoy watching again, without question. In season 2, it's 19. So for me, the show's given the same amount of enjoyment for the first two seasons. There are also a few episodes in each season that I watch once in a while, with one or two in each season that I just can't stand ("Over a Barrel" and "The Mysterious Mare-Do-Well" are the worst episodes for their respective seasons IMHO). So for me, the show's stayed pretty consistent with the good/bad ratio.

[Sly Cherry Chunks]

Worst villain ever.

[Stormwatch]

The thing about Gilda is that, to some extent, she is a victim too. She just wanted to spend some time with a friend she hadn't seen in ages, but Pinkie kept butting in and just ruined her day. Yes, she's a bitch, but Pinkie was also a pest in that episode. Pinkie can drive anypony crazy.

So, I'd love to watch a "redemption episode" for Gilda. Not a shit one like Trixie, "I'm even worse than before, oops, I'm suddenly completely forgiven". Buck that. I have two ideas for that, actually:

1 - She and the ponies would be forced to face some danger together, and in doing so they'd learn to respect each other.

2 - The mane six go to some public event (say, a Wonderbolts show) and find Gilda is working in the backstage; they suspect she's up to something, so they take turns in spying on her. But as they do that, they cause a ton of trouble that she has to fix. In the end, they ruined the day for themselves and for Gilda, who really was not up to anything. As they're about to leave, Gilda (who hasn't realized who caused the mess) stops them, and flat out apologizes for her behavior the other day. "I've been thinking about it a lot, Dash. And it's stupid to lose my best friend over a bad day's tantrum. No hard feelings?"

[Specineff]

The episode in question dealt with one aspect of bullying; becoming a bully so you won't get bullied.

I wanted to share a personal experience of mine in Junior High in that regard: A certain douche was giving me crap every possible moment, even in class, and ignoring him wouldn't work. I had to resort to physical harm to get him to stop, and stop he did. Not that I am proud of it, and I didn't do it again to anyone, but at the moment I couldn't think or find another solution. I had no way of proving he was being a shithead, so telling the teachers wouldn't have done anything. Thank God for phones with cameras now, though.

[Edmond Dantes]

Because it's a cynical world where people like to wallow in their suffering. Upbeat positive escapism used to look like this:

Sad that I never got to see that. My eighties consisted of He-Man, She-Ra, Ghostbusters (both the real and the fake ones) and Thundercats, with a dab of TMNT at the end.

The episode in question dealt with one aspect of bullying; becoming a bully so you won't get bullied. It happened with Babs, and the CMC. It's also a 21 minute show for kids, which means that can only go so deep into the subject matter.

That's true, but it makes me question why they made an episode about it in the first place if they knew they couldn't handle it well.

As for the show going downhill since season 1, as Edmond Dantes mentioned, I felt seasons 1 and 2 were pretty much on par with each other. I can count about 18 episodes in the first season that I enjoy watching again, without question. In season 2, it's 19. So for me, the show's given the same amount of enjoyment for the first two seasons. There are also a few episodes in each season that I watch once in a while, with one or two in each season that I just can't stand ("Over a Barrel" and "The Mysterious Mare-Do-Well" are the worst episodes for their respective seasons IMHO). So for me, the show's stayed pretty consistent with the good/bad ratio.

I never really understood all the hate for "Over a Barrel." I like it.

Mostly, it's just that with Season One, I feel episodes range from "great" to just "meh." But Season Two introduced the first truly awful "Oh God Why Am I Watching This" episodes (namely: "A Friend in Deed", "Dragon Quest," "Mare Do Well", and I'm in the minority here but "The Return of Harmony" both parts), while having only four episodes that were super-special-awesome ("Lesson Zero," "Luna Eclipsed," and both parts of the Wedding).

Season three has middled so far. Only one truly bad episode, but none really feel like stand-outs, although I liked The Crystal Empire.

[The Coop]

The episode in question dealt with one aspect of bullying; becoming a bully so you won't get bullied. It happened with Babs, and the CMC. It's also a 21 minute show for kids, which means that can only go so deep into the subject matter.

That's true, but it makes me question why they made an episode about it in the first place if they knew they couldn't handle it well.

Who said they felt like that couldn't handle it well? When I said "deep," I was talking about how much of the bullying aspect they could cover, not how well they could cover it, or how far they could go psychologically. They can't talk about kids who kill themselves over being bullied, beat the hell out of other people because they want to feel tough, etc. It's a kid's show, and that's just way too dark to even touch. So they focused on part of it that still has truth to it, even if it doesn't touch on the greatest proportional area of the concept of what makes a bully. Plus, focusing it gave them the chance to build up the characters situation more, than if they'd had a bunch of bullies with different motives, and then had to incorporate that into the same 21 minute show.

Sometimes you have to pick and choose what to use. Audience plays a hand in that, as does the medium, and the format (its not a documentary after all). And while yes, I agree that "I was picked on, so now I'm gonna pick on others so I don't get picked on" is likely the smallest portion of those who make up the bully crowd, the show makers went with the kid-friendliest one that would work in a world of pastel-colored ponies. It's not the best episode in the show's history, but I thought they did a decent job overall.

[Specineff]

Comments on today's episode, everyone?

It was quiet enough at work today that I could watch it in between orders. It was good, but not as good as Bad Apple or Sleepless in Ponyville.

Yet, the simplicity of the story's climax is what made it work so well. I liked others better, but I can't say I disliked this one, though something felt missing. Maybe a montage with Shy and The God of Lies trying to bond, or something like that.

[Stormwatch]

It felt very rushed. And didn't really make much sense. "Here's the most dangerous monster in the world. Tame him. Now I'm outta here!" It's no wonder people call her Trollestia! It'd be better if there was some other reason for him to break free again.

Besides, I like Discord better as a complete monster, as some fanfics made him: Kefka, not Q.

[KennyMan666]

Yeah, the plot really seemed like it would have needed two episodes to really support the conclusion. It wasn't a BAD episode, but it could have been executed much better.

(so now both Trixie and Discord have been given redemption. Should we perhaps expect a return of Gilda soon?)

[Sly Cherry Chunks]

My prediction: every badguy is redeemed except Diamond Tiara.

[Stormwatch]

so now both Trixie and Discord have been given redemption.

Trixie hasn't been redeemed, she's just been excused and dismissed.

[drunkninja24]

I enjoyed the episode, I do agree it could've benefited from being a 2 parter though, just to make Discord's change not so sudden (though tbh there were a few points beforehand that hinted towards it happening).

Honestly, I was more happy with the fact that Fluttershy got a decent ep with her that didn't revolve around her overcoming some adversity.

[njiska]

So does anyone else have a copy of the Bronies Documentary to watch? I grabbed my copy yesterday, but I'm purposefully holding off until I can watch it with the girlfriend.

Jan (ask-thecrusaders) shared this awesome animation he made for the film. http://youtu.be/OV-OF9wZWDs

[Skykid]

So does anyone else have a copy of the Bronies Documentary to watch? I grabbed my copy yesterday, but I'm purposefully holding off until I can watch it with the girlfriend.

There's a Brony documentary?! Tell me where to get this, now.

That's an order.

[Skykid]

I can see you're online, so speed it up.

[njiska]

So does anyone else have a copy of the Bronies Documentary to watch? I grabbed my copy yesterday, but I'm purposefully holding off until I can watch it with the girlfriend.

There's a Brony documentary?! Tell me where to get this, now.

That's an order.

It's available from http://www.scrnland.com/shows/3/ for $12.99 USD. This is an actual proper documentary and a professional production. This was a Kickstarter funded project.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bronies:_T ... ittle_Pony

Here's an animation that was done for it, voiced by John De Lancie and animated by a pony fan.
http://youtu.be/OV-OF9wZWDs

Produced by:
John de Lancie (executive)
Tara Strong (executive)
Lauren Faust (executive)
Michael Brockhoff

I can see you're online, so speed it up.

Would have been faster, but this post made me submit twice.

[Skykid]

God damn. Genuinely thinking about shelling out for this.

I should go to bed.

[drunkninja24]

FYI I have a brief cameo in the documentary, 35:30 walking in front of the Nightmare Moon cosplayer. my path to fame is at hand

[Skykid]

FYI I have a brief cameo in the documentary, 35:30 walking in front of the Nightmare Moon cosplayer. my path to fame is at hand

Okay I'm paying.