Thoughts on MLP season 6, part 1

The Crystalling
It was alright. How do I feel about the baby being an alicorn? Neutral. Personally, I don't mind overpowered characters, unless they're poorly written. I liked that she was the unwitting villain here.

It was odd to see Celestia and Luna defeated by bad weather. I know it wan't just the weather, but really. I'd expect more from creatures, who can move the Sun and Moon.

I liked Sunburst. Though it seemed a bit stupid that Starlight didn't guess what was going on. I like it when characters catch on to things as quickly as the average viewer. They just come across as dim otherwise.

"Now, kiss," thought most of the fandom.

The Gift of the Maud Pie
The story was very primitive. Personally, I hate the "Gift of the Magi" trope. Saw it coming from miles away, even though I haven't noticed it's in the title.

But such episodes are all about the journey rather than the destination. And the journey was quite fun, so it's a good filler.

What? It's an excellent place for Rarity's boutique.

On Your Marks
Not a fan. The CMC got their marks in an earlier episode and sang a song that said they knew exactly what to do with their lives. The start of this episode felt like a major step back from that. Apple Bloom especially. She knew the little colt needed help from CMC, wanted help even, but she just totally ignored him.

The episode had a handful of good jokes, but I found it weak overall.

I still wish they went with the name Snowflake for this guy.

Gauntlet of Fire
Beyond predictable, but watchable.

Hug every dragon you meet, but don't tell them why.
That was my favourite part.

No Second Prances
I thought it was good. Twilight was crazy, Starlight - relatable, Trixie was... well... Trixie. And Celestia clearly had the time of her life at that dinner party.

Also, I liked how Starlight spoke of stage magic as something separate from regular magic.. So I guess it's an art form and Trixie is better at it than Twilight.

Go home, Twilight, you're... erm... Just go home.

Newbie Dash
Not a fan. I get the idea of team spirit and pushing yourself to your limits, especially after you've proven yourself. But... taking crap from others for tradition's sake... Really?

But I did like that Dash is apparently cured of her random inability to retain information. I liked her being a nerdy fangirl, geeking out over every inch of the compound. I thought that was spot-on.

Also, the impressions were a weird move.  Not buying it.

A Hearth's Warming Tail
It's a very good Christmas Special. Very cozy, the music's just right and the costumes are pretty neat.

The coolest part by far.

The Saddle Row Review
I liked it. The format is definitely interesting. It was nice to hear the ponies as they were individually interviewed. Wasn't flawless - I guess trying to make a lesson out of it is the reason. But it's still enjoyable.

That diner looks like a nice place.

Applejack's "Day" Off
Not a fan. I can understand that inefficient ways of doing things can become a habit, but AJ was full-on stupid back there. Also, Rarity's way of mending fences seems wasteful.

That colt look fabulous enough to be a Sailor Moon villain.

Flutter Brutter
It's a good episode. Meeting pony families is always interesting and Fluttershy's brother sure is something.

Oh, the agony...

Spice Up Your Life
I liked it. So many cool visuals in one episode - neat new characters and cool new restaurant. And also Pinkie's table manners - I like how she headbutts plates.

Can't help but wonder if Pinkie knows about the possible
future consequences of eating really spicy food...

Cow & Chicken: a review

Cow & Chicken has to be one of the weirdest shows to ever come out of Cartoon Network Studios. David Feiss is responsible for this masterpiece. He's worked on Ren & Stimpy, which shouldn't surprise anyone.

If you're not familiar with the show, you just need to see the intro to get the idea.




The theme song tells you everything you need to know  - "Mama had a chicken, mama had a cow. Dad was proud. He didn't care how". Cow & Chicken is openly committed to being ridiculous.

Essentially, it's a family comedy with a twist. You've got a family with two children, who go to school, play, do arts and crafts, spend time with friends. Their parents do everything to make sure the kids are fed, healthy and brought up well. Now, what is the twist? The children are an 11-year-old chicken called Chicken and a 7-year-old cow called Cow. The parents are human, but you only see their legs, which is addressed later in the series. Also, there's a big fat Red Guy with no pants, who effectively stalks these kids, finding various ways to scam them. Adults in the series seem incredibly stupid, or unaware of them immediate surroundings, & let kids get into danger.

It's somewhat similar to the Addams Family - we have a family with some very well established, but really odd customs and values. Except the entire world is messed up, not just their particular household. And the traditions aren't dark as such, they're just really weird. For example, as a special treat, Cow and Chicken get pork butts and taters for dinner. Now what does that mean? Well... their parents load a mini catapult with, quite literally, cooked pig butts and potatoes and the kids catch those in their mouths.

Appetizing, is it not?

If you like strange shows, this one is really fun.

Series name: " Cow & Chicken "
Foxy's rating: 
Expectations: I saw the show before I knew what to expect from it. It's more clever than it appears.
Writing: "Dumb show" made by clever people, who are being passive-aggressive to the censorship department. But all the weirdness is piled on top of a very familiar structure - a cute family comedy.
Animation: Very lively, purposely messy & inconsistent (especially noticeable with characters' teeth, which constantly change shape). Special care is taken to highlight all things gross, but those bits aren't painful to look at since the style is far from realistic. A lot of attention is also given to characters' butts.
Action:  Exaggerated, kind of slapstick
Drama: Utterly ridiculous.
Humour: On the surface we've got jokes about butts, weenies, manure and the occasionally cross-dressing Red Guy. Underneath that you'll occasionally find clever dialogue
Worth watching: I like it, so I'd say yes. If you want to watch it, prepare to give it a proper chance.


Curious fact:
Cow, Chicken and the Red Guy were all voiced by the same person - Charlie Adler.


The best episode:
I like all of them, so it's hard to say.
"The Girl's Bathroom" Is a good season 1 episode, if you want to get familiar with the show.
Also, "Cow's Dream Catcher" is pretty cool, if you like stories about nightmares.


I Am Weasel
The first episodes of "I Am Weasel" were part of the "Cow & Chicken" show, but, since it became its own series later, I will eventually review it as its own series.

This show is not for everyone. But it's really fun if you can appreciate it.

My alternative to caffeine

I've never been a fan of coffee or energy drinks, and I've stopped drinking black tea some time ago, but every now and then I feel like drinking something uplifting.

I've heard of some people drinking ginseng to feel more awake, while others say that adding a shot of wheatgrass to their smoothie works wonders.

Here's what works pretty well for me: the lemongrass and ginger tea from Pukka Herbs. 

I'm a fan of Pukka teas in general, and this is one of my tops favourites. 

I don't know if this tea would help you wake up, but, if your tastes are anything like mine, you'll at least enjoy the flavour. It has a certain zing, but not a terribly strong one. This tea is flavoursome and slightly sweet. Like all Pukka teas, it's organic. It tastes pretty good cold as well.

Thoughts on MLP season 5, part 2

Canterlot Boutique
I think this episode kind of tells artists "forget marketing, just keep working the way you like". Well, it works if you've got time and don't need money. Otherwise, I'd say you need to suffer a bit until people are aware of you, and then you can do what you want. The boutique will survive in the world of plot convenience, but I doubt the rules of Rarity would help a new creative business take off in actual life.

Let's not forget - ponies flooded the shop for the closing down sale.

Rarity Investigates!
At last, a film noir episode. It's about time! The mystery wasn't too difficult to solve, but that didn't matter - the jokes were good.

Solving crimes has never looked so fabulous.

Made in Manehattan
Well... if you're into all things Broadway and love Coco Pommel, it's the best episode ever. Otherwise, it's a decent enough filler.

"W-what? You haven't watched it?"

Brotherhooves Social
Well, that was definitely unexpected. Cousin Orchard Blossom sure is something. I thought this episode was funny and sweet.

Enchanting, is she not?

Crusaders of the Lost Mark
This probably is the best thing one could have done with the crusaders - give them their marks, but keep their story going. As for Diamond Tiara, that was an awful lot of character development shoved into one episode.

Mrs Rich really needs a hobby.

The One Where Pinkie Pie Knows
I guess Princess Skyla merch was out there for a reason after all. I thought Pinkie was very well-written and really enjoyed the bit with Shining freaking out over a burnt comic book.

That unicorn needs more screen time.

Hearthbreakers
I liked it. Meeting Pinkie's family was fun. I really enjoyed learning their customs.

Festive!

Scare Master
Angel is one evil bunny. That maze he thought of was downright freaky. Somewhat disappointed by Fluttershy's decision not to bother with Nightmare Night. To me, that came across as a forced friendship lesson. But there will be people, who really needed to hear it, so I'm not gonna argue. A good episode overall.

Surely, the scariest scene of the episode.

What About Discord?
Once again, to me this came across as "I know we no longer have friendship letters, but let's teach the viewers something". I didn't like it much - made me feel like I was lectured. But the jokes were alright.

You won't get it, you just had to be there!

The Hooffields and McColts
It was a matter of time before we had a Hillbilly feud episode. It's an alright filler.

I think that's the most character diversity we've ever seen on MLP.

The Mane Attraction
I had mixed feelings on this one. I guess the idea was - Rara was a very talented filly, pure of heart, then she had to change to become famous - her stage persona was arrogant and her talent was hidden by all the glitz and glam, choreography and vocal effects. Then she came back to who she was - just a pony, pure of heart and very talented. 

Charity event or not, I bet this sudden change left some fans confused.

Weeeelll..... I'm sorry to be "that person", but young Rara's song was gleeful and patriotic enough to be a communist anthem. I'm not a fan. I also thought that despite how basic and shallow her lyrics were as the Countess, the heartfelt piano number was forgettable in comparison. I mean, there's only one Countess in Equestria, but I bet there are scores of ponies doing sentimental piano numbers. 

She is the countess. No question about it.

I found it disappointing that Rara couldn't just re-create her gimmick with Rarity's help, perhaps putting a twist on it. She said "the show must go on", but did it really?

Seriously, who, apart from AJ, is gonna get the triangle thing?
Perhaps she wants to be Rara's next pushy manager.

I guess I'm disappointed because the Countess looked like a glam rock star. I feel a certain loss from seeing her convert to "normal". I'd like to see the opposite happen for a change. If I had my way, she'd lose the glitz and glam, the giant apples on the stage along with half of the effects and would play some good old gothic rock.

One can have an arrogant stage persona, but be their own lovely self with the fans.
Just sayin'...

The Cutie Re-Mark
Best episode ever! The ending's cheesy and predictable, but who cares! So many post apocalyptic futures to draw inspiration from! Awesome! Josh Haber is quickly moving up in my list of favourite writers.

"Too great a price to pay for equality? ...Let me think about it"

Thoughts on MLP season 5, part 1

The Cutie Map
A pretty cool opening story. Though it probably should have been a three-parter. It's a bit rushed.
Starlight Glimmer created a neat little dystopia. I don't think it's communist or directly related to 1984, as I've heard many bronies claim. Perhaps it was inspired by 1984, or perhaps a writer just wondered "what happens if ponies lose their cutie marks?"

Communists make sure everyone's equally poor and busy with either work or various community projects, while believing they live in the best country in the world. They love having talented people on board - great athletes, scientists, artists - as long as whatever they create fits the ideology. All their achievements are attributed to the communist regime, of course. So no, Starlight Glimmer is not a communist.

As for 1984, that could have been the inspiration, but that's about it. I have actually read it and I think the difference in scale is too great to claim any real resemblance - Oceania from 1984 is a massive world power that takes up a third of the planet and has an infinitely complex and utterly insane government system. The Equalist village is a village with one Starlight Glimmer at work. Also, in 1984 not much was said about limiting people's talents - the state played rather subtle mind games with them. The party members were technically free to do what they wanted, but at the same time knew they'd be chased down by the thought police for walking the wrong streets or talking to the wrong people.

Though is probably as close to the Ministry of Love as the show can get away with.

Castle Sweet Castle
Definitely a filler, but it was sweet that the old library wasn't forgotten. I quite liked the root chandelier. I was actually afraid the castle would get a permanent and tacky makeover, but everything worked out just fine. There was a couple of good jokes, Twilight's alternative hairstyle made many people happy. I had just one problem with this episode - one of the spa ponies spoke without the accent.

Compare it to a rotting corpse if you wish, but you have to admit, it really ties the room together.

Bloom & Gloom
I like both Luna and the CMC, so I really enjoyed this one. Excellent humour, fun new creatures - the Twittermites. I wish Babs had a different cutie mark though - the scissors look kind of odd.

I don't know where the derpy dolphin came from, but I approve.

Tanks for the Memories
It was just a matter of time before we had a "dealing with death" episode. The only thing is, Tank will wake up... Either way, wasn't too psyched about the story, but the jokes were fun.

Is it strange that I mostly feel sorry for the damaged factory and its workers?

Appleoosa's Most Wanted
I liked the detective story vibe here. Trouble Shoes himself was interesting - it isn't often that you see a pony resembling a realistic horse. But the moral of the story was kind of... unrealistic? "You know how your life is nothing but torture, suffering and embarrassment? Well, that's okay. This is your special talent! People love laughing at you! Doesn't that make you happy?" Yeah... that somehow doesn't work for me.

Can't you tell? He's really loving his life right now.

Make New Friends but Keep Discord
It's a fun little episode. How they got away with using Tree Hugger I'll never know. Jealous Discord is pretty funny. This is worth watching just for Smoze the slime monster attending a high society party.

As you can see, the Grand Galloping Gala is an exclusive formal event.

The Lost Treasure of Griffonstone
Episodes about new lands are always exciting. Didn't expect Griffonstone to be a dump. Was kind of hoping the treasure would be returned and the city would magically transform into something inspiring. But oh well. It was a metaphor. And if not, we'll never know. Either way, the visuals that came with the legend were cool. New monsters are always a welcome addition. The monster's skeleton looked cool. Seeing Gilda again was nice, though I wasn't convinced by how completely she reformed by the very end.

At least Pinkie enjoyed her stay.

Slice of Life
Awesome. The only problem I have with it is that I'm tempted to show it to non-brony friends and I have no idea where to begin explaining all these fanon things. Also, I'd really love to see children reacting to this one. I wonder if they liked it or just found it confusing.

I also liked the way they portrayed a certain grey pegasus.

Princess Spike
An alright filler. The jokes were pretty funny.

Sure, leave Spike in charge. What could go wrong?

Party Pooped
I enjoy seeing new creatures from different lands and the yaks were no exception. I like that they were absolutely crazy. And I enjoyed seeing Pinkie's secret party planning room.

"Remind me again why we're trying to befriend these guys..."

Amending Fences
I really liked that Moondancer's party, which Twilight missed in the very first episode of the series, was brought up again. It's an fun episode. But I'm not sure how I feel about Moondancer being a re-coloured Twilight.

Now there's a though - what if Moondancer was Twilight's science project. Either cloning or mirror magic.

Do Princesses Dream of Magic Sheep?
Perfect! Action-packed and well-paced. This episode felt like a two-parter, though didn't feel rushed. If you haven't seen it, just go watch it.

I don't know about you, but I love surreal dream scenes like this one.

Thoughts on Equestria Girls: Rainbow Rocks

The short spoiler-free review:
Go watch it, it's fun.
A very definite improvement from the last movie. Feels like the evil marketologists have more or less left the show staff alone, allowing for some actual storytelling and character development to occur.

The drama's pretty believable. I loved that they haven't forgotten what happened in the first movie. The girls' unique personalities really shine through here, even through body language.
The animation is much smoother. There are some surprisingly fun nods to the main series. The antagonists actually have a neat backstory and the music isn't half as annoying as it could have been!

So, go check it out.

It's not as scary as this image suggests, I promise.

Additional spoilerific thoughts:
I wasn't expecting much, but this movie won me over from the very start.

* Let's face it, the Equestria Girls world is painfully dull compared to actual Equestria. I love when characters point it out.
Naturally, I was absolutely delighted to find out that it's used as a place of banishment. Presumably, more "serious" than Tartarus. So from that we can draw a very amusing conclusion - Canterlot High, and the bizarre little world it's in, is considered worse than hell.
I think there's a beautiful amount of honesty in this.

* Sunset Shimmer is great. She really stole the show. I had a nagging suspicion until the very end that they'll just use her as a plot device - the villains will corrupt her and the mane6 will show off their virtues by turning her back with yet another rainbow blast. But no. She maintained her integrity throughout and made Twilight and the gang realize they were being selfish jerks to a degree.
As it was said on Bronyville, Sunset's sudden change of character at the end of the last movie went like a "lame wrestling face-turn". Well, I'm happy to consider it redeemed.

* Other things I liked:
- New monsters. That's always cool.
- The girls have more personality. They're not the smartphone-dependant idiots from the first movie.
- Maud Pie. That was excellent.
- The "local" Twilight. I think she looked exactly the way she should have.

Were there any faults I could pick?
Sure, but I don't even want to go into it. It's a movie commissioned by Hasbro's evil toy sales department. It exists so MLP could rival Monster High somehow.

All that considered, the studio did a truly amazing job. They didn't break anything in the MLP universe. You can see that they care, both for the show and the fans, including us "non-target audience". And that's all that matters in the end.

Littlest Pet Shop - an initial review

I prefer reviewing full series after they're done, but I've just seen the 9 episodes of "Littlest Pet Shop" that are out so far and decided to share my thoughts.


A note for the impatient: so far the series is not without flaws, but shows potential. I found myself putting up with it more than enjoying it. Rating thus far -

So... let's take it from the top!


Series name - "Littlest Pet Shop"
It's a 2012 animated TV series created by Hasbro to go with the pre-existing toy line sharing the same name. The first episode premiered on November 10th and new episodes are shown on a weekly basis on Hasbro's own channel - The Hub. It's produced by DHX Media's animation studio in Vancouver, just like My Little Pony: FiM and Pound Puppies. (More info on the wiki page).

The style and animation
And the screenie above tells you plenty. Unlike with My Little Pony, the animators couldn't just re-draw the characters to suit their needs. Hasbro wanted to promote a toy line without ruining it peculiar charm:

Gotta hand it to the creative team - with just a few very subtle tweaks they've really toned down the "creepy" and made the extremely top-heavy animals a bit more believably-mobile.

So we know what it looks like. How does it animate?
First off, let me point out that the voice acting is wonderful.
Now then, the animals are actually a treat to watch! Surprisingly fun and natural movement. The humans, on the other hand, move in a very stiff and lifeless manner, like shadow puppets and show nearly expressionless faces. No doubt, the visual storytelling suffers so much because it's a girls' show and everyone "has to look pretty".

The Story and Target Audience
Nothing too elaborate here. Blythe's the protagonist and she works at the pet shop. She's an aspiring fashion artist/dress-maker and makes outfits for the pets. I'd guess she's in her early teens. After landing on her head from a considerable height in the very first episode she's gained the talent of communicating with animals. The episodes tend to focus separately on Blythe's social life and what the silly technicolor animals are up to in her absence. Sounds scary so far.

While our protagonist isn't a girly fashion-obsessed bimbo as such, but more of a creative, geeky semi-outcast and is at very least bearable, there's no denying it's a girly show that doesn't have a great deal to offer to anyone who isn't a girl aged between, I'd say, 10 to 14. 

The advertising campaign for it was geared towards fans of My Little Pony, as we can see in this promo, which shows Blythe as a whacky chick, who's cool enough to hang with Dashe. I'm sure it got some attention from bronies, but will they stay? At this point, I very much doubt it. These pets got nothing on ponies.

While the LPS does have a few things going it's way, it's slow-paced, the pop culture references are there, but very few. There's a whole lot of girliness to put up with. The animals are meant to be fun and, I assume, entertaining for younger kids, while being cute enough for older girls. I mostly found them eating away at my patience. You can tell that most of the characters are still "flat" and need plenty of work done on their personalities. The stories are very predictable. I found myself mostly waiting for obvious bits to be over, rather than anticipating a plot twist. 

Also, has anyone else noticed this paradox? Shows geared towards older kids/young teens tend to be extremely primitive compared to the ones meant for younger children and their parents. LPS illustrates this vividly I'm afraid.

The Final Verdict:
Littlest Pet Shop is a so-so cartoon that might develop into something worth watching, considering the talented staff involved who are just getting started. Right now though, if you're not a somewhat girly girl aged around 10-14, you might find it boring.

Foxy's rating at the time:

The good: The voice acting is beautiful.
There's some top-notch clever comedy buried under the layer of "dull".
Minka the spider monkey is actually really fun, expressive and surprisingly well-balanced as a character, who's also animated exceptionally well. While being pink and hyper, she's neither girly nor annoying. She really livens up the pet shop.
The show has token goths amongst its background characters, at least one of which has a hilariously unfitting job at an ice cream shop. (It amused me. I'm calling it a plus).
While not a masterpiece, this isn't nearly as dumb as "Bratz" and the like. 

The bad: The humans are far beyond the proverbial "zombie line".
There isn't enough going on in the episodes.
Zoe's face is begging for a punch.
Hasbro's idea-recycling ways are quite apparent. Plenty is taken from My Little Pony.

The odd: Pepper the skunk starts to smell when she's emotional. The scent serves as a mood indicator. She stinks if she's unhappy, she smells like perfume when she's cheery and leaves dark magenta mist instead of the foul green one in such cases.
Apparently, green geckos have hair.
The style bears a faint but unmistakable resemblance to "Happy Tree Friends".
Blythe has a different outfit in every episode and seems to be the only character to do so.

I think I've bored Minka

Zoe's finest moment

Could it be?

Who's who, Brony-style.
Just for fun, to all you bronies.
Blythe is Twilight Sparkle with Rarity's dressmaking talents and Fluttershy's ability to talk to critters.
Minka the spider monkey is Pinkie Pie. Even her colour scheme is mostly preserved. Her party-throwing talent is swapped for one in modern art. The fourth wall breaking abilities remain intact.
Zoe the dog is annoying. She's also got Rarity's personality, minus the talent and all redeeming qualities. In addition to that, she's stolen Twilight Sparkle's colour scheme.
Penny Ling the panda is Fluttershy. Talent changed from "the stare" to rhythmic gymnastics.
The rest of the characters seem suspiciously underdeveloped. Isn't that an interesting coincidence! (Okay, I'm kidding. At least I hope I'm not onto anything here).