waywardfoals-deactivated2014112 asked: Out of Curiosity, what did you think of Bulk Biceps's character in the episode? For me, I really liked him in this episode.
I still have yet to watch the episode a 2nd time. So I’m not sure, I don’t think he distracted from the episode though. So that’s a good thing.
I did learn that he was voice acted in the episode by the same guy who voiced Nappa in the infamous “OVER 9000” scene from Dragonball Z today though. Thought that was a neat little tidbit.
Hm, Maybe I have to rewatch it to be sure. But I’m not too sure if I enjoyed this one like most of Season 4.
Okay first off, were the Cloudsdale team portrayed as jerks? Since that was the thing that I said would make or break the episode?
Well I think the answer is yes and no. Soarin’ was the absolute nicest of the three, Spitfire was kinda in the middle. She wasn’t too bad but she did try to persuade Rainbow Dash instead of showing concern for Soarin’. It seemed kinda like Fleetfoot was the jerk on the team, as not only does she probably try harder then Spitfire did to convince Rainbow to join the Cloudsdale team, she also tells Soarin’ who’s already a Wonderbolt to do better before he’s even injured (Though I suppose Fleetfoot was fine enough that she wasn’t too angry when Rainbow decided to join the Ponyville team anyway). What makes or break the episode for me ended up being a mixed bag, meaning I can’t exactly process how I feel about the episode after just one watch.
The ending was predictable, but pretty much if you know this show as soon as that synopsis was announced we knew what the ending was going to be. But hey we got another key to the box, we also got our first substantial appearance from Derpy in the longest time. And at least there was some sense put into this, as they answer why Fluttershy and Bulk Biceps were up for the Relay and not the other Ponyville Pegasi as the others were trying out for different events.
On the other hand it kinda bothered me that Rainbow’s idea for trying to get out was faking an injury which didn’t exactly fool the doctor in Read It and Weep when she tried a similar stunt yet she managed to do a similar bad acting job to fool both her friends and the Cloudsdale team (I think however this one strike against the people who think Rainbow Dash and Applejack’s Elements of Harmony should have been switched).
And it could be argued that the predictability of the episode was made easier as I was concerned about even if it wasn’t to the level that all of the Cloudsdale team are jerks. As it seemed to me that Rainbow finally decided Ponyville was her team because of how she found out the team didn’t check on Soarin and instead immediately made a push for Rainbow Dash. When the episode could of been a little more meaningful in showing that Ponyville is Rainbow Dash’s home now, and that’s what she wants to represent, plus a line that says Rainbow Dash would be looking forward more to competing with the Wonderbolts to see how she stacks up would not have hurt. But maybe that’s asking too specific for an ending. But it’d be a tad more meaningful and be less predictable then “The Cloudsdale team did something bad! I’m staying with my hometown’s team by default!”
Right now I’m thinking this episode and Castle-Mania are my least favorites of the Season. They have good moments in both, but the predictability works against these episodes more then usual. But I’m still feeling good about Season 4 in case you were worried about that. Rainbow Falls wasn’t my favorite but I still found enough to enjoy it over some of the more weaker episodes from the previous seasons. Plus I hope the matchup of Rainbow Vs. Spitfire in the Equestria Games is satisfying enough to make this episode all worth it. Next week we’re getting sick Discord. It’s much harder to predict an episode when Discord’s involved. I’m in particular waiting for that one, since in case you didn’t see the synopsis yet. It’s kinda like a role reversal of the Genie Sickness arc I had on this very blog where Genie Twilight was sick and she had to get Discord to help. I expect a lot of fun in the upcoming episode ^^
Oh gosh, this episode was so fun to watch!
Some that may have expected to see something like Pinkie’s family in this episode might be disappointed. Plus the fact that just like with Scootaloo’s disability in Flight to the FInish the episode makes it go out of it’s way to reach a neutral position by making sure everything that would make a 100% confirmation that Pinkie is indeed related to the Apple family is smudged. The point is, the end of the episode basically had the Apples adopt Pinkie whether Pinkie was really related or not. So even if Pinkie isn’t really an apple, the Apple family basically accepted her into their family anyway. So I think for those who like the idea of Pinkie being an official part of the Apple family have something to hold on to (Now if only this episode took place before Apple Family Reunion, she would of made the episode at least a little more interesting. Heck her one part in that episode, where she covered Applejack in luster dust was one of the few entertaining moments)
The interaction between the characters were really funny. Big Mac’s angry “AY-YUP” was a top one for me. The song is still as awesome as it was in the Season 4 Comic-Con previews (It’s interesting that my favorite songs so far in this season both have Applejack play a major part, Applejack doesn’t normally get the good song treatment other then in episodes where all the Main 6 sing (Winter Wrap-Up, Best Night Ever, and Magical Mystery Cure). Apples to the Core is a much better Apple family related song then Raise the Barn was in Apple Family Reunion. I’m so sorry I even keep mentioning that episode. But this episode even if you forget all what Pinkie brought to it, had great Applejack and Apple Family moments then Apple Family Reunion and Spike at your Service combined. And probably the most fun I’ve enjoyed in an Applejack related episode since The Last Round-Up (Which interesting enough also had a fair amount of funny Pinkie moments).
I noticed we had a little bit of dark humor in this episode similar to Fluttershy thinking Angel got crushed by debris in Castle-Mania. A fish and a duck that gets an important item for the Apple Family road trip is immediately taken away by an eagle presumably to be eaten. And to a lesser extent, the dust cat in the Crazy Cat Pony’s house. (Though I suppose the duck is seen later flying at the waterfall, but we certainly don’t see the fish again). I also noticed we got a picture of at least two creatures the Family saw in that cave at the end. Will we see another of those monsters show up again later in the season? If not, oh well we have something the fandom can use their imagination on until they’re used.
This was really just a good hearted episode. And I think perhaps my favorite one outside of the opener so far. This was even done by a new writer. Once again a good showing from new people being brought in. Merriwether Williams so far is the only writer post-Season 1who had a debut episode that didn’t turn out well. That’s about 9 enjoyable episodes. Will we see 10 in a row for Season 4? We’ll have to find out next saturday! (I am a little worried about the next one though called Rainbow Falls, please don’t make most of the cloudsdale team jerks, it will just make the obvious ending of Rainbow joining with the Ponyville team too obvious, not to mention technically a repeat of Wonderbolt Academy and to a lesser extent Griffon the Brush-Off…)
grantgfan asked: i wish thats twilight sparkle meet onpu segawa
Er… who?
(So sorry, I’m not very fluent in Anime knowledge. Most of my Anime knowledge is restricted to Dragonball Z or whatever Animes were on Toonami more then a decade ago. I’m of course assuming Onpu Segawa is an Anime character ^^’)
This is probably going to be less a thoughts on Rarity Keeps Manehatten and more of how glad I am that Season 4 has shaped the way it has. I can proudly say that with the first 8 episodes. Season 4 has had the best start of any Season of the show thus far. There is not a single otherwise lackluster episode in the 8 we have so far. You can argue how much Daring Don’t and Power Ponies has had mixed responses at times but it’s nowhere near the consensus.
When Season 1’s own Pilot has looked cheesier and cheesier with each new two-parter, Boast Busters showing a little too much antagonism from characters that are supposed to be who we cheer for, and the predictable and at times dull Look Before You Sleep.
Season 2 had an awesome start in it’s first 5 episodes, but then you had Cutie Pox that was more filler then we ever needed and added to some of the frustration a lot of people have with the Cutie Mark Crusaders, and of course Mysterious Mare-Do-Well which was and still is considered one of the worst of the series yet.
Season 3 had an at least decent start with the first three but One Bad Apple seemed to turn away some as it played the Bully episode cliches a little straight, and Apple Family Reunion having barely of anything worth the entertainment value (Other then maybe joking about Raise this Barn being “Racist Barn”).
But Season 4 have managed to remain consistent and memorable through episodes. My optimism for the season couldn’t be much higher. We may be in the midst of the best Season yet. Even if there isn’t any huge hits yet like the Opener was yet, it’s avoided having an episode that ultimately just didn’t have it. You could almost say there was an Episode 8 curse in the show considering the aforementioned Look Before You Sleep, Mare-Do-Well, and Apple Family Reunion. But Rarity takes Manehatten broke that for sure.
The best part is there’s still plenty to look forward to! Rarity takes Manehatten may have also been the first episode with a key to the box. Many speculate that the Rainbow thread that Rarity got in the episode is one of the keys. If that’s the case, then my fears are alleviated that they could just rush the keys for the last episodes of the Season. That’s one to go, and 5 to spread around 18 episodes ^^ And of course there’s the Weird Al episode, and quite possibly the Equestria Games as well, and don’t forget more Discord as well (Including a song!). Oh gosh, there’s just so much going for this season. That it’d have to purposely fall really far to get anywhere near not being able to compete with Season 2 for the best Season yet. It gives me great relief in seeing the season succeed in the way it has so far.
I apologize that I’m talking more about the Season in General then the episode. It’s just that it’s easier to recap what I thought of the episode when I’ve at least seen the episode twice. And I haven’t been able to catch a 2nd watch of the episode (Blame the bad winter weather in Michigan blocking internet signal). As the first watch isn’t enough to really nail down what I think a lot of the time.
I think that’s it for today. I hope if you’re reading this you also enjoyed the Genie Twi update. The dress made for it was made completely from scratch, no references used so I hope that came out good enough. If there’s a formal or royal event that needs clothing in the future I’ll likely have Twi wear it again since that’s one of the purposes that Rarity made it for her for.
Anyway, seeya next time for Pinkie family shenanigans ^^
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A bit of confusion on the writer didn’t we? First we know Merriwether Williams wrote it, then the title card shows Meghan McCarthy’s name, but then Meghan herself says that was an error and Williams did write it. But it doesn’t matter in this case I think, if it was a Meghan episode I’d believe it as it matches quite well with her quality episodes. But this being Merriwether “Mare-Do-Well, at your Service” Williams this is is her best episode since Wonderbolt Academy and quite possibly the 2nd best episode of the season yet.
I have to admit the first few minutes had me worried as it seemed like all the episode was going to be from that point was Applejack and Fluttershy arguing a common real political issue where at first everypony but Fluttershy is on Applejack’s side until the very end (Especially when all the others started circling around Fluttershy during the song). But thankfully it turned into something more by the start of the 2nd half. Apparently when Magic goes awry regarding vampire creatures, even a pony can gain the vampirism of the creature.
I actually thought at first it was going to be a nod to Swarm of the Century that was going to majorly effect the plot. In that episode, Twilight also casted a spell to make creatures stop eating all the food, only it started eating things. When Twilight casted the spell on the bats. I thought they were going to possibly bite Ponies or other creatures or something, turned them into vampires themselves. Heck when I noticed it looked like Fluttershy was showing the signs of being a Vampire Pony I thought that’s what happened until the grid that Twilight showed it was actually some magic redirection. Which I must say was rather more clever then simply having it the result of a bite.
I suspect that we’ll see plenty of fanart of Vampire Fluttershy in the near future. I’m kinda wondering if showing the fang at the end of an episode is teasing something in the future. But again, just like the Pony of Shadows thing at the end of Castle-Mania and quite possibly the book disappearing at the end of Power Ponies. We won’t know for sure until it actually happens. What I liked about this episode though was good use of continuity. They use the Stare again, it’s Applebucking day which I presume Applebuck Season took place around the same type of day, Rainbow Dash still has her obsession with Cider that we saw in Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000, and while it didn’t go exactly the same. Twilight’s spell reminded me very much of Swarm of the Century as I mentioned before. (By the way until further notice, Fluttershy will at least have the fang still in Genie Twilight whether or not the show ever does have it come into play again)
I’m just overall glad the episode didn’t drag along with the whole issue about treating animals the right way throughout the whole episode. It just got a lot more interesting when we got to Vampire Fluttershy and saving her. I didn’t want the episode discussion just be political debate. I’m sure no matter what there will be some of it, but I hope at least that it’s Vampire Fluttershy that people remember about the episode more then political debate. We don’t need another “Feeling Pinkie Keen teaches people to accept religion” sort of controversy again.
Anyway next week should be an exciting time for Rarity fans. As we finally get our first Rarity episode since early Season 2. Though it also happened to be Episode 8 of the season… I don’t know about you guys but here always seems to be a bit of a curse on episode 8 in this show for each season. Look Before You Sleep may not be that bad but to me it just was really dull and I felt Twilight was a bit flanderized in it. Mysterious Mare-Do-Well I don’t even have to explain. And Apple Family Reunion brought an end to a streak of great Season 3 episodes (Magic Duel -> Sleepless in Ponyville -> Wonderbolt Academy) and was just overall dull, perhaps even more so then Look Before You Sleep. Can we have one good Episode 8 to the consensus? Please? I suppose then again there’s never been a bad Rarity focused episode. But either way something’s gotta give. I just hope Rarity’s quality episode trend is able to break the Episode 8 curse.
Plenty of stuff to enjoy and wear on occasion ^^ I hope the Winter Classic experience turns out well, in addition to having the Wings winning the game while there.
Gotta say it, Flutterhulk is best Power Pony xD
Anyway another good episode for Season 4. This was probably the best Spike episode since Secret of my Excess. It completely trumps the disaster that was Spike at your Service, and has more going it for the decent but not too amazing Just for Sidekicks. The episode kinda sorta covers the issue of Spike being essentially useless to the Mane 6. When there have been times where he’s proven useful (Ex: Lesson Zero & Crystal Empire). So for any Spike fans, this should be much appreciated.
The origin of the Mane-Iac is just like a commonly known origin of the Joker. The story of the villain falling into a vat of chemicals was exactly that in the 1989 Batman film. Which is pretty cool I’d say.
Regarding the powers given to the Mane 6 though. Let me give my thoughts on each one.
Twilight Sparkle (Masked Matterhorn) - I feel Twilight was actually NERFED more then powered up. She could already shoot lasers before (Canterlot Wedding & Princess Twilight Sparkle for examples) and had more abilities then she had in the comic book. Even though she had a freeze ray as well and possibly quite a bit of different types. She showed she could essentially time freeze ponies around her back in Castle-Mania. This is one of the few examples I’d say where a character is actually weaker then they potentially were when turned into a superhero.
Applejack (Mistress Mare-volous) - The Wonder Woman inspiration works really well here. They didn’t exactly go full Lasso of Honesty here as much as that would fit even more. But regardless the only better choice might of been the most common ability known of Superman. Giving Applejack super strength.
Rainbow Dash (Zap) - I can’t be the only one that think she probably should of got the Super speed right? She’s one of the fastest ponies shown in the show, Maybe it was a little too redundant? But then why did they give Twilight just a Magic laser then? Ah well, Storm powers are decent enough… even if once again that’s rather redundant given she’s a Pegasus. I also think her Sonic Rainboom counts as a stronger Superpower then anything she does in this episode.
Rarity (Radiance) - I found it rather interesting they chose to give Rarity the Green Lantern powers. And they had really good uses for it in the episode. Even if it’s like she was the only one (Besides maybe Pinkie) that was actually buffed by the super powers.
Fluttershy (Saddle Rager) - This was probably the most entertaining part of the episode. Fluttershy was given the Hulk. But she’s one that’s not that easy to anger (Until you threaten one of her friends and/or animals). I can say I was laughing pretty hard as soon as she was smashing up Mane-iac’s machine. Really the only time Fluttershy being angry has not been funny as all heck was in Putting Your Hoof Down. Because she basically said “Fuck You” to both Rarity and Pinkie Pie.
Pinkie Pie (Fili-Second) - She worked well with it anyway, but I still think the super speed should of gone to Rainbow. But the Cupcakes thing at the end was kinda funny.
However the superpowers weren’t really the focus as it was on Spike. And I hope I can credit for the most part Meghan for him being awesomely portrayed here. As Meghan wasn’t the only writer of this episode. (There was also Charlotte Fullerton of Suited for Success fame… and Putting Your Hoof Down infamy, and a new writer named Betsy McGowen) but she usually writes the best Spike out of any of the writers. (I gave Equestria Girls a 5 out of 10, but Spike’s performance despite being a dog is one of the reasons it wasn’t lower.)
On a side note, looks like the Mane 6 are renovating the castle. I figured they’d be doing something with it. I wonder if the Castle will have any role in the Season finale. Maybe even possibly the place eventually being Twilight’s new home? Those who are distressed about Twilight moving shouldn’t be so alarmed. The castle is in close proximity to Ponyville and it even has a larger library. You have to wonder what the Treebrary in Ponyville was before Twilight moved there. I seriously doubt that place is going to forever be Twilight’s home, especially now in her current status as a Princess.
All in all, while the whole powers thing was weird. A lot of the logical fallacies that fall within the Comic book parts, can be excused that this is based on the old comics where the villains were just crazy, had nonsensical plots and to some extent the heroes as well. Example being how Applejack was able to use her lasso on a tornado. I have a feeling if she tried that in Equestria, that wouldn’t have worked. But in a comic book world where it defies physics that even Equestria usually manages to keep in, it works. This is probably one thing that might make or break an episode. If you’re not familiar with or can’t appreciate the charm about parodying the old comics to the point they’re using those fallacies to their advantage then you probably won’t like or care for the episode. It’s just really supposed to be a fun watch just like how those old comics were just silly fun reads. And I think it succeeded in that department, for those that watch it in a more analytical way it might not be as fun. But if you’re looking for entertainment, I think it provides. Especially near the end regarding Fluttershy.
Anyway, that’s all I have now. Season 4’s remaining pretty consistently good IMO. Even if Daring Don’t seem to be the only mixed opinion one, that’s only because it has a bit of an odd concept not a lot of people expected. I think if you can suspend your disbelief on that one. That one was still a pretty decent episode. I am a bit worried about the next episode though, considering it’s Merriwether Williams here and it’s concept seems to be based on a real-life political issue and if either Applejack or Fluttershy are portrayed as if they’re in the wrong. There will be controversy. But whatever happens. I think we still got a very good start for the first 5-6 episodes of Season 4.
vanitas101 asked: How do you think Miiverse will react when the complete roster is revealed?
depends on whether or not goku’s in it
Don’t forget Shadow :P