Rarity Takes Manehattan review... what? I couldn't think of anything catchy for the title. · 4:42pm Jan 4th, 2014
Trying to find a header image for this blog post has made me realised that I lack many Rarity based comics or pictures. This is odd considering how amusing she is, surely I'd have more comedy comics of her. Maybe more will be produced after this episode. Anyway, as per request I have something to link you to. My friend and fellow fanfiction author Rated Pony Star has made a comic, alongside James Corck I believe (whose reviews I post here in each blog post). It's about Commander Hurricane and Private Pantsy so perhaps my mostly FlutterDash fan readership will enjoy it. Here is the link!
Fanfiction Progress
If there be proof that I need to reorganise myself then it must be how long it is taking me to write the 4th chapter of The Shy Knight and the Rainbow Princess. It’s not a hard chapter, it is coming out very well in terms of quality and I know exactly what I want to write… it’s just not happening. I’m being distracted by all the little things, time seems to be passing quicker and I seem to always be sleepy. I can barely keep my eyes open as I write this.
I’m buckling down this weekend and as far as I know I’ve got no work coming up. Provided Ugugg is available next week/weekend then I should be able to provide it you then, if not the one after. I am terribly sorry for how long things are taking and yet I have no excuses for it. This should be the perfect time to write this chapter and yet it’s progress is nothing compared to my stress filled, constantly busy lifestyle that was my writing period during Magnetism. Seriously, I do sincerely apologise and hope the quality and intrigue of this 4th chapter will make it up to you once it arrives.
Other Episode Reviews for Bats!
James Corck
Thejboy88
NintendoGal55
Zyr1987
Episode Review of Rarity Takes Manehattan
Likewise with Power Ponies, though I was seeing little to fault within the episode I was not enjoying it as much as I thought I should. Something about it felt a little lacklustre, I may have been a tad tired while watching but I should be more gripped by the episode. Then comes the 3rd act, which while not the most exciting, certainly helped this episode along.
Let’s begin as always with the positives. Early on we get one of the funniest moments of the series, Rainbow Dash commenting on musicals and why anypony would suddenly burst out into song; Rarity bursts out into song. Some of the lyrics went a bit fast however the main lyric of ‘Generosity’ is catchy and the moments that take place during the song show the best of Rarity’s generous spirit.
In general the showcasing of Rarity’s generosity is great in this episode… as is its downward spiral. The point of the episode is that Rarity has gone to Manehattan, accompanied by her friends, to take part in a fashion show. When at the contest however another contestant, Suri Polomare, steals her line of work. To top it all off, part of the reason Suri was able to copy Rarity’s work so easily was because Rarity gave Suri some of her fabric to use. It puts an understandable dent in Rarity’s ideal of generosity, and in her attempts to make a new line of clothing in time for the contest, takes it out on her friends.
I don’t plan on spoiling all within the episode so I won’t fully flesh out the details but it is the 3rd act when this episode pulls off some brilliant matters. A 2nd song occurs, a wonderfully presented lesson is taught with no need to be reminded on it later on and there is a neat twist, even if part of it could be seen from early on. Furthermore, many of Rarity’s generous actions do pay off, even if one does cause her the trouble that is the plot of this episode.
On that note, let’s discuss season 4’s first villain. Oh gosh that makes me so happy. Suri Polomare is much like Trixie was to Twilight back in Boast Busters, same field but serves as a counter-point to the character. In Suri’s case, she opposes Rarity’s generosity as a pony who believes that you have to be in it for yourself. Her design is a tad generic but her nefariousness is well shown in the last 3rd with a nifty moment and she apparently even has backstory with Rarity. Rarity couldn’t remember it at the time but they both lived in Ponyville and were in the same knitting club until Suri moved to Manehattan. I’m not sure we will see more of her but I do like my villain stories and how the heroes interact with them.
The negative moments are kind of one and the same for me. For the most part the episode never astounded me. It had its good moments but failed to grasp my interest quite a few times, a few too many dull moments within the course of the episode. Furthermore, aside from Rainbow Dash’s musical joke and a brilliant moment where Applejack is true to her element, humour was rather weak.
This is particularly surprising when considering the writer, Dave Polsky, and the protagonist of this episode, Rarity. Dave Polsky is brilliant at comedy and Rarity is the funniest character (sorry Pinkie, you’re 2nd for that factor); this should have been the recipe for laughing gas. It’s not too detrimental but as this is not an action episode, nor a particularly emotional episode (one moment in the 3rd act aside) it doesn’t excite often.
The lack of strong comedy aside though and this episode was wonderful. It had its strengths but they didn’t flourish until the 3rd act to which I applaud. I was considering Rarity Takes Manehattan to be closer in grade to Power Ponies but with that 3rd act I think it at least deserves a score closer to that of Bats!. I thus give Rarity Takes Manehattan an 8 out of 10, I consider it a Fantastic episode.
Here's a question, what do you think you would've felt if this episode actually went through with the "Rarity has to stay in Maehatten" story line and we might not have had the chance to see her again. Do you think the fans would riot?
I've been way too distracted with FTL: Faster Than Light to actually pay attention to the episode, but from what I did pay attention to, the talking about ponies randomly bursting into song and then bursting into song themselves was easily the episode's strongest point.
I'll rewatch later.
1681815 Well, it would have been interesting. Honestly, it all depends on how they'd follow it up.
For example, if they did that but then had Rarity reappear in an episode or two, her mentioning it that she had finished and it was just over and done with like that, I'd be disappointed. If however they had her out of a few episodes, at least about 5-6 of them and then had her return to the cast, I think that would have been pretty good. You could have an episode focused on Sweetie Belle missing Rarity or just drop the mention of how Rarity is gone for a while every now and again. Then when Rarity returns you could even have an episode where Rarity adapts to having been gone for a while or tells a tale of an experience within Manehatten she had.
One thing they could have done, if the episode were to still have Coco do her good act towards the end, is to have Rarity ask Coco to help run her boutique while she is away. There could be some interesting things done with that concept, both with Coco's development as a character and how the others feel about her temporarily taking Rarity's place as it were. All in all it would have depended on what they did with such an idea and I'm all open to mini-arcs going on, even ones which prevent certain characters from appearing for a while. Honestly, with the events of Wonderbolts Academy, I actually expected a similar thing to happen with Rainbow Dash.
Thanks for the very interesting and discussion filled question, Alchemystudent.
1682559 I have no idea what FTL is but yes, the funniest moment was Rainbow Dash's comment on ponies bursting into song. This episode's humour, for the most part, can be a tad weak but it makes up for it with emotional force. Rarity's character both shines and dulls, a wonderful exploration of it and her key aspect. It is also nice we get a villain again, though the fandom (at least Derpibooru) has seem to be more obsessed with the assistant character, Coco, and shipping her with Rarity. Thanks for commenting, Zyr.