My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic

[Mr. Big]

Has anyone read the IDW comic book yet? It's on Comixology for what its worth.

I love it, personally. A little dark (it's a Pony remake of "Invasion of the Body Snatchers") but it's great. The artwork is fantastic and there are a LOT of jokes; maybe too much. That said, this comic is clearly made for existing fans of the show, because you won't understand the story unless you watch the show on a regular basis.

I think the artwork in the comic is better than the show's animation style. The facial expressions are just superb, especially Pinkie.

I don't think anyone predicted that the sales would be so high. Most comic book stores are already sold out, some BEFORE the release date due to pre-orders. It's actually in THIRD printing right now.

Thankfully I pre-ordered three months ago, although they didn't get around shipping it until today. I already read the comic on Comixology but I'm planning on re-reading it when my print copy arrives.

[Nel_Annette]

I might wait for a graphic novel that showcases all the alternate covers down the road. Saves money and the rampant alt cover whoring irks the collector in me. Still, I like what I'm hearing about it.

[Mr. Big]

The variant covers don't bother me much. I'd just pick the ones I like best. And to put it in perspective, Godzilla #1 from IDW had ONE HUNDRED variants (it was the same drawing of Godzilla smashing a comic book store, with the logo of the store being different, but still).

The nearest comic book store is an hour away. On a whim, I called and the lady who answered (who talks just like Applejack, seriously) told me "They're all gone. They came in this week and they're all gone."

[Mr. Big]

Today's episode is something that everyone asked for: The Great and Powerful Trixie has returned.

I actually loved this one so much that I rewatched it afterwards, which is something I rarely do these days, whether FiM or Gravity Falls or whatever. Lots of details, with a ton of reference to previous episodes (in addition to "Boast Busters", we have references to "Swarm of the Century", "Winter Wrap-Up", and "The Cutie Mark Chronicles"). Also, I love that Pinkie had no mouth for most of the episode.

And Rule 63 Applejack was SORTA canon (actually Big Macintosh painted orange)

[Nel_Annette]

They packaged my Season 1 DVD with the Iron Maiden albums I ordered. That was an interesting package opening. 

But I have it, and I'm happy.

[Avaitor]

Somehow, I have yet to see Eddie be drawn as a pony. You'd think that would have happened by now.

[Nel_Annette]

Somehow, I have yet to see Eddie be drawn as a pony. You'd think that would have happened by now.

I'd only accept it in the IM style, and not the flash style MLP uses. 

[Mr. Big]

Okay, Scootaloo's focus episode was sweet. And I like that, even after all that, we still don't know anything about her family

Okay, so how about a discussion? I don't know if anyone noticed, but out of six Season 3 episodes that have aired so far only one has a letter to Celestia (Too Many Pinkie Pies). Every other episode have the moral explained through dialogues between characters. We'll probably have more letters as the season continues, but I find this interesting, nontheless. In addition, several Season 2 episodes have no letter as well.

So my question to you is, do you think this trend will grow as the show goes on? I don't think they'll get rid of the letters entirely, but I can see this becoming the show's "They Killed Kenny" moment, in that it will now only occur once or twice a season.

[Silverstar]

I think after 2 seasons the writers realized that they don't need a letter to Celestia in each episode in order to deliver the show's Aesops. Since it's been established as a staple of the show, they likely won't eliminate the friendship letters entirely, but they definitely don't need to do it every week anymore.

I know a lot of viewers are having a fangasm over Luna's appearance in "Sleepless in Ponyville". Apparently since Luna's the princess of the night, she can enter peoples' dreams, which is both kind of cool and a little creepy at the same time.

[Nel_Annette]

I marathoned every season 3 episode late last night, having not watched any of it. So far, my initial impressions would be:

The Crystal Empire - Part 1 sucked. Part 2 was... okay. I don't know, the whole thing felt like it took too long to get to the point, the songs were kind of bland, Sombra makes for an awful villain (really he was just more of an impending wall of doom than an actual character), the whole premise was just kind of... weird to me. So this place and it's people just get displaced for 1000 years and they're needed to... spread love and happiness? Weren't we already getting that?

At the very least, there were some interesting things we learned, such as Celestia and Luna preparing Twilight for something bigger. And, as was the case with any "bad" episodes of the show, the animation is still good (noticeably better this season, in fact), and the dialogue between the characters is still fun.

Too Many Pinkie Pies - Wow. First Pinkie Pie episode I think I've actually really liked since Part Of One.The whole thing was just fun to watch. Though I do think they should have realized that the real Pinkie Pie was the sad one. That would have been a better realization for the rest of the main characters rather than watching paint dry. And the way Twilight was making the clones swell up and explode was probably as gruesome as this show is going to get. XD

One Bad Seed - And once more, a character focus I usually hate ends up being one I love. This was one of the best CMC episodes they've done, an the characters really are improving as time goes on. I quite enjoyed how they handled the whole bullying thing (heck, most of it took place in their cute little song), and the entire parade segment of the episode was fun to watch. I like that the kids were able to sort out the lesson themselves without Applejack interfering. Also, the initiation of Babs actually made me laugh out loud, which is rare for this show. Specifically, the part where Scootaloo is going nuts on the drumming and Sweetie Belle is trying read through the list of titles Scootaloo wrote.

Magic Duel - This should have been the two-parter this season. Had a lot of great ideas, but was really badly paced. Seriously, the whole episode felt extremely rushed, and the actual duels felt rather lame. Those weren't duels, they were pissing contests. So, lowest point of the season for me. Not a bad episode, just really disappointing. Though there was one pretty random line that I loved: "The Great and Powerful Trixie doesn't trust wheels!"

Sleepless In Ponyville - Best episode of the season. Wouldn't you know it, Scootaloo's first focus episode is pretty fantastic. The animation was great, the humor was great, and the use of Luna was actually a pretty welcome surprise. They didn't even overuse her! I was impressed. And everything about that ending was pretty adorable. Though you still have to wonder if Scootaloo actually has a family so far.

So far, this season is pretty great. The episodes I didn't like aren't terrible, I just kind of think they're bland and rushed. They still had some great animation and dialogue moments. The episodes that are good? They're some of the best in the series, and if season 3 keeps up at this level of quality it could easily be the best one of the bunch.

[Daikun]

Somewhere, thousands of Bronies throw a hissy fit in unison.

[Mr. Big]

Bronies are literally the best, so says TV Guide.

EDIT: And I just noticed that there are only two cartoons on the list. The other is "Family Guy".

[Mr. Big]

Huh, so the next episode, "Wonderbolts Academy", got leaked, and by the Hub no less.

I saw it. This is probably the best characterization Rainbow Dash has ever gotten. On the other hand, nothing much happens although Lightning Flash is an interesting character.

The downside is Pinkie Pie. She was really, really annoying in this episode.

[Nel_Annette]

I haven't seen it, but from what I'm hearing, Spitfire doesn't even acknowledge that she knows RD? That true? Because if so, what the butt?

[Dr. Insomniac]

That's not Spitfire. That's her original character, Clitfire. Different voice and everything.