MLP Rule 34 Update: November 2014 / Rainbow Rocks Review · 2:21am Nov 11th, 2014
[Disclaimer: While this blog post discusses Rule 34 statistics, it doesn't contain explicit imagery, embedded links to pornographic material or excessive coarse language.]
It's the tenth of the month, so you know what that means. That's right! It's time for another in-depth analysis of clop! 
My previous Rule 34 blog posts are available at the following links.
August 2012 / At the rate things are going...
September 2012 / Famous Bronies
October 2012 / Digimon
November 2012 / Equestrian elections
December 2012 / Top 11 Hottest Animated Women
January 2013 / General porn statistics
February 2013 / Touhou review
March 2013 / Season three wrap up
April 2013 / Idolm@ster
May 2013 / OC woes
June 2013 / Ribald Rivalries
July 2013 / A major announcement
August 2013 / Rule 34 Origins
September 2013 / Equestria Girls Review
October 2013 / Three years of MLP:FIM
November 2013 / Season Three Episode Retrospective
December 2013 / Twilight Sparkle's Rival
January 2014 / Passing the Bechdel Test
February 2014 / CP Atone
March 2014 / Loli and Stitch
April 2014 / The Binding of Wonder Woman
May 2014 / Cybersix Showdown
June 2014 / Sailor Moon and he Celestial Sorority
July 2014 / Misunderstood Monsters
August 2014 / Monogamous Malaise
September 2014 / All You Need is Love
October 2014 / Hub Homage Part 1
October 2014 / Hub Homage Part 2
October 2014 / Hub Homage Part 3
Without further ado, here's the latest data from Rule34.paheal.net!
As of November 10, 2014, here's the state of Rule 34:
Pokemon still holds the lead with 86,670 images. 1,728 new explicit images were added during October, giving Pokemon a 2% increase in porn from last month.
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is in second place with 61,398 images. 1,218 new explicit images were added during October, giving My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic a 2% increase in porn from last month.
Touhou is in third place with 52,294 images. 642 new explicit images were added during October, giving Touhou a 1.2% increase in porn from last month.
DC Comics is in fourth place with 25,125 images. 143 new explicit images were added during October, giving DC Comics a 0.5% increase in porn from last month.
Street Fighter is in fifth place with 19,482 images. 140 new explicit images were added during October, giving Street Fighter a 0.7% increase in porn from last month.
Naruto is in sixth place with 19,216 images. 283 new explicit images were added during October, giving Naruto a 1.4% increase in porn from last month.
Marvel Comics is in seventh place with 18,254 images. 124 new explicit images were added during October, giving Marvel Comics a 0.6% increase in porn from last month.
Sonic Team is in eighth place with 18,125 images. 301 new explicit images were added during October, giving Sonic Team a 1.6% increase in porn from last month.
Digimon is in ninth place with 13,705 images. 280 new explicit images were added during October, giving Digimon a 2% increase in porn from last month.
Super Mario Bros is in tenth place with 12,753 images. 290 new explicit images were added during October, giving Super Mario Bros a 2.3% increase in porn from last month.
For the third consecutive month, Pokemon dominated in terms of porn production by generating roughly 500 more images than My Little Pony. These two rivals seem to be in a holding pattern in terms of generating Rule 34.
Naruto came back strong after its poor performance last month and is currently less than 300 images away from surpassing Street Fighter.
Meanwhile, less than 130 images is all that separates Sonic Team from surpassing Marvel! There may be some changes to the rankings in the near future!
Now that we've gone over the monthly update for the top ten porn producers, it's time to analyze the latest data regarding Rule 34 images for the mane six.
As of November 10, 2014, here's the state of Rule 34 for the mane six, according to Rule34.paheal.net:
Twilight Sparkle
has 8,983 images. 152 explicit images were added during October, giving her a 1.7% increase from last month.
Rainbow Dash
has 7,578 images. 116 explicit images were added during October, giving her a 1.5% increase from last month.
Fluttershy
has 7,186 images. 134 explicit images were added during October, giving her a 1.9% increase from last month.
Pinkie Pie
has 6,524 images. 126 explicit images were added during October, giving her a 1.9% increase from last month.
Rarity
has 5,989 images. 148 explicit images were added during October, giving her a 2.5% increase from last month.
Applejack
has 5,882 images. 155 explicit images were added during October, giving her a 2.7% increase from last month.
For the first time ever, Rainbow Dash garnered the least amount of new monthly Rule 34. Her popularity seems to be on the decline while Rarity and Applejack are both enjoying an increase in monthly explicit images. Some days it just doesn't pay to get out of bed.
Special thanks to Infinion, who made these amazing graphs of the data I collected.
To start off with, here's the master chart of the top ten Rule 34 producers.
This chart represents four years' worth of Rule 34 data. In order to more closely examine the numbers, Infinion has broken the data into more manageable semi-annual charts.
Oct. 2010 - Mar. 2011.
Apr. - Sept. 2011.
Oct. 2011 - Mar. 2012.
Apr. - Sept. 2012.
Oct. 2012 - Mar. 2013.
Apr. - Sept. 2013.
Oct. 2013 - Mar. 2014.
Apr. - Sept. 2014
Which brings us to November 2014.
Here's a bar chart illustrating the monthly increase for the top 10 porn producers. (Total number; monthly increase)
To get an idea of how far My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic has come since its premiere, here's a chart highlighting the monthly numerical and percentage increase of MLP porn.
For those who desire a more consolidated look at the raw data, here's the numbers for the top ten porn producers, as well as their monthly increase.
Now let's take a look at the Rule 34 stats for the mane six. Here's their master chart.
In order to discover what these numbers mean, we'll need to delve deeper. In order to do that, we'll break down the data into semi-annual chunks.
Oct. 2010 - Mar. 2011.
Apr. - Sept. 2011.
Oct. 2011 - Mar. 2012.
Apr. - Sept. 2012.
Oct. 2012 - Mar. 2013.
Apr. - Sept. 2013.
Oct. 2013 - Mar. 2014.
Apr. - Sept. 2014.
Which brings us to November 2014.
Here's a bar chart illustrating the monthly increase for the mane six. (Total number; monthly increase)
For those who desire a more consolidated look at the raw data, here's the numbers for the mane six, as well as their monthly increase
And, just for fun, here's Pinkie Pie being Pinkie Pie on the bar charts.
Mane six bar chart joke #1
Mane six bar chart joke #2
Mane six bar chart joke #3
Before I discuss the topic for this month, let's follow up with the results of the 2014 Toy Hall of Fame vote. The latest toys inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame are Rubik's Cube, Little Green Army Men... and Bubbles.
My Little Pony was robbed!
Here's an excerpt from the official press release: "They are relatively inexpensive, easy to come by, and have been delighting young and old alike for generations. Magical, iridescent bubbles; monotone, miniature little green army men; and the colorful, puzzling Rubik’s Cube became the latest inductees to The Strong’s National Toy Hall of Fame. The honorees were selected from a field of 12 finalists that also included: American Girl dolls, Fisher-Price Little People, Hess Toy Trucks, My Little Pony, Operation Skill Game, paper airplanes, pots and pans, Slip‘N Slide, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles."
To date, the following 56 toys have made it into the National Toy Hall of Fame: alphabet blocks, Atari 2600 Game System, baby doll, ball, Barbie, bicycle, Big Wheel, blanket, bubbles, Candy Land, cardboard box, checkers, chess, Crayola Crayons, dollhouse, dominoes, Duncan Yo-Yo, Easy-Bake Oven, Erector Set, Etch A Sketch, Frisbee, The Game of Life, G. I. Joe, Hot Wheels, hula hoop, jack-in-the-box, jacks, jigsaw puzzle, jump rope, kite, LEGO, Lincoln Logs, Lionel Trains, little green army men, marbles, Monopoly, Mr. Potato Head, Nintendo Game Boy, Play-Doh, playing cards, Radio Flyer Wagon, Raggedy Ann and Andy, rocking horse, roller skates, rubber duck, Rubik’s Cube, Scrabble, Silly Putty, skateboard, Slinky, Star Wars action figures, stick, teddy bear, Tinkertoy, Tonka Trucks, and View-Master.
The National Toy Hall of Fame had a poll which thousands of people used to vote for the toy they would like to see inducted. More than 60 percent of the total vote was split between Rubik's Cube and My Little Pony. 
While the poll helps to determine public sentiment, it holds little sway regarding what toys are inducted.
Quoting again from the press release: "Anyone can nominate a toy for annual induction into the National Toy Hall of Fame. An internal museum advisory committee comprised of curators and historians reviews the submitted nominations and determines which toys meet the criteria for selection. A national selection committee then reviews the list of toy finalists. Each national selection committee member votes for his or her top toy picks for induction. The votes are then tallied, with the toys receiving the most votes making the cut for induction into the National Toy Hall of Fame. For more information about the hall, visit toyhalloffame.org."
After being nominated for five consecutive years, it's nice that Rubik's Cube was finally chosen. 
It's been entertaining and confounding millions of people for generations.
There's even an official My Little Pony Rubik's Cube.
So Little Green Army Men made it into the Toy Hall of Fame before My Little Pony? A defining characteristics of the Little Green Army Men is how cheap they are to produce. They're sold by the bucket, for crying out loud!
There are benefits to being such a cheap toy. It allowed kids to play with their army men without having to worry about losing or breaking them. The army men were practically disposable, yet offered hours of fun for one dollar.
Since we're on the subject, does anyone remember that Army Man video game which introduced the female character Vikki Grimm?
And does anyone remember when she got her own spinoff game called Portal Runner? But I digress...
I bring all this up because the Toy Hall of Fame missed an opportunity to acknowledge My Little Pony, a toy which has recently done more to reshape the cultural landscape than any other. Name another toy within the last two years which has had two documentaries made about its fandom.
Name another toy which can boast the same level of recent media coverage as My Little Pony and the Brony phenomenon.
The Toy Hall of Fame is about honoring toys which have inspired creativity. Name another toy which has inspired greater levels of creativity from its fans.
My point is that My Little Pony deserves to be inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame. Some will argue that the toys are an afterthought. The Brony fandom wouldn't exist without the television series. It's a fair point, but Friendship is Magic wouldn't exist without the original toys. Lauren Faust played with My Little Pony when she was a child. The scenarios she created with those toys became the basis for Friendship is Magic. Her story is a perfect example of what can happen via exploration through play. Lauren Faust's experience with My Little Pony laid the groundwork for Friendship is Magic and the Brony fandom. Hundreds of thousands of like-minded individuals have been brought together from all over the world based on their mutual love for My Little Pony. If that doesn't deserve a special place in the National Toy Hall of Fame, I don't know what does.
I mean, seriously? Bubbles get inducted into the Toy Hall of Fame?
Quoting from the Toy Hall of Fame: "Soap bubbles seem simple, but they illustrate the mathematical problem of minimal surface, assuming the shape with the least possible surface area to contain a given volume. A bubble is a closed soap film; due to the difference in outside and inside pressure, a bubble’s surface has a constant mean curvature. Bubbles demonstrate concepts such as flexibility, color formation, reflective or mirrored surfaces, concave and convex surfaces, transparency, various shapes, elastic properties, and comparative sizing, all of which make them useful in problem-solving applications...
...It is difficult to think of a plaything more ubiquitous than bubbles. They float with a magical iridescent gleam, and then they disappear in an instant. Inexpensive, safe, and clean—what more can we ask of any toy?"
Bubbles may be iconic, but where's the personality?
"I'm fun in the tub. Just give me a rub." -Mr. Bubble
That doesn't count! Mr. Bubble was the mascot for a line of bath soap. I'm talking about an iconic character who can represent non-bath bubbles. A character who's known for being closely associated with bubbles... wait a minute...
Of course! Derpy Hooves is the perfect mascot for bubbles!
Congratulations, Derpy! Your cutie mark made it into the National Toy Hall of Fame!
Now let's go ahead and get to the review of Equestria Girls 2: Rainbow Rocks.
Warning! This review will contain spoilers for Equestria Girls and Rainbow Rocks!
When I reviewed the first Equestria Girls movie, I said that it felt like "a contractual obligation," rather than a story that "the writers wanted to tell." I wasn't a fan of the script. There were some baffling elements, like Snips and Snails cutting and pasting pictures of Twilight Sparkle to frame her for vandalism. First of all, computers exist in this universe. Why not just use Photoshop? Second, the conflict is resolved mere moments after its introduced. It's like the sole reason it was included was for Flash Sentry to save Twilight.
Regarding the film as a whole, I thought the animation was good and the songs were excellent. Needless to say, I had higher expectations for Rainbow Rocks than I did for its predecessor.
The story opens with three former sirens who have been banished from Equestria and trapped in the Equestria Girls universe. One can't help but wonder if the human world is viewed as a purgatory for ponies. The girls are named Adagio Dazzle, Aria Blaze, and Sonata Dusk. Adagio is their leader.
The opening credits recap the first Equestria Girls movie, which is helpful for anyone who needs to get caught up to speed.
Sunset Shimmer is a much more interesting character now. The IDW comics included her origin story in Equestria. 
In the first movie, she was a cliche villain with a lame plan to rule the world with an army of brainwashed teenagers. Adagio, Aria and Sonata have a much more sinister scheme.
In Rainbow Rocks, the newly reformed Sunset Shimmer is hated by the students at Canterlot High. The only ones who have forgiven her are the humanized versions of Twilight Sparkle's friends. One of the nice things about Rainbow Rocks is its use of continuity. Sunset Shimmer's quest for redemption in this movie is more thoroughly fleshed out than her heel-turn apology at the end of Equestria Girls. One joke that gets hammered into the ground is people reminding Sunset Shimmer of how horrible she used to be. While the running gag grows tiresome as the film progresses, it's nice to see Sunset Shimmer remain positive in the face of consistent rejection and living with the mistakes of her past.
The first Equestria Girls movie bridged the gap between season three and season four of Friendship is Magic. It gave us one of the first looks at Twilight Sparkle since she became an alicorn. Rainbow Rocks bridges the gap between seasons four and five by showing off Twilight Sparkle's new crystal castle treehouse.
In the world of the Equestria Girls, the human equivalents of Applejack, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie have formed a band called the Rainbooms.Whenever they play music together, they sprout pony ears and long ponytails.
Rainbow Dash is a bit of a bossy boots in this movie. Her characterization seems to be based off of the first and second seasons of Friendship is Magic. That may have been intentional or mere coincidence. In any case, it fits the story, since the Equestria Girls haven't been continuous friends for as long as their pony counterparts. It makes sense that Rainbow Dash would be cocky. It's fun to see her contending with Applejack again like it was season one of Friendship is Magic.
Flash Sentry's still in this movie. He doesn't contribute much.
Adagio Dazzle and Aria Blaze have a quasi Megatron and Starscream relationship. Adagio is clearly the leader, while Aria is the churlish second-in-command. Also, why does Adagio sound so old? I guess that makes sense if they're thousands of years old, but in the bodies of teenagers.
One of the better songs in the film is Battle of the Bands. It's not necessarily an "evil" song. It has a whole "greed is good / Reaganomics" vibe to it. What's so wrong with a little competition?
Principal Celestia and Vice Principal Luna are hypnotized early on in the movie. I take issue with the excessive use of mind control in this film. When someone loses their agency, they essentially lose their soul. They're no longer a character, but a mere puppet to be manipulated by the one controlling them. When Flash Sentry or Photo Finish do horrible things to Twilight Sparkle's friends, it isn't Flash or Photo's fault because they're under the siren's spell. I had the same issue when Hawkeye was hypnotized into working for the villain for most of The Avengers. 
Actions have consequences. Removing agency means that a character isn't responsible for the things they do. I kept getting upset whenever any of the other students at the school acted mean or cutthroat towards each other, but then I remembered that it wasn't really them. They were being manipulated.
One example of this concept done right was the Little Mermaid television series. The Evil Manta, voiced by Tim Curry, uses manipulation and flattering words to turn all the sea creatures against each other. 
He doesn't hypnotize them. It's their choice. In the end, Ariel convinces all the creatures of the sea to be friends again. The episode was used to illustrate how destructive racism and discrimination can be.
Music can have a powerful effect on people. I understand that the villains of Rainbow Rocks are sirens, but there's a thin line between a person succumbing to a hypnotic melody and being stripped of their agency. Sometimes a song is so catchy that people can be manipulated while still retaining their ability to choose.
What I would've liked to have seen was the sirens using their words, not their magic, to control people. It's much more intimidating when a villain convinces someone to be evil as opposed to forcing someone to act evil without their consent. Characters have the capacity for good and evil tendencies. Complex characters explore both sides of their morality. I realize that there are some narrative benefits to mind control. If a person has no agency, they can't be reasoned with. The only way to return things to normal is to defeat the mastermind who's manipulating everyone. It gives the hero a simple goal. Mind control also offers a new twist to a hostage situation. The hero doesn't want to hurt the people who are hypnotized, even if the villain is controlling their actions. Restriction breeds creativity.
Twilight Sparkle's friends and the reformed Sunset Shimmer are the only ones who are unaffected by the siren's spell. They're convinced the residual magic from the events of the last movie is protecting them. 
Sunset's journal is one of the coolest additions in this movie. It was her method for communicating with Princess Celestia. Not all of Celestia's students can send messages via dragon flame. It makes sense that she would devise other methods for communicating with her students. This also adds further depth to Sunset Shimmer's character. She kept her journal, even though she had formerly severed ties with Princess Celestia. Twilight builds a machine which uses the book's magic to create a portal between the two worlds. She is aware of the sirens and how Starswirl the Bearded exiled them to the Equestria Girls universe. Twilight offers to help them defeat the Dazzlings with a counter spell.
Another thing regarding the sirens. Between the Windigos and the Changelings, I'm getting sick and tired of enemies who feed off of emotions. This feels a little played out.
There's a nice parallel between Twilight Sparkle and Sunset Shimmer throughout the movie. Sunset is having to deal with people's negative perception of her based on her history. Twilight is having to deal with her new responsibilities as the Princess of Friendship and living up to everyone's expectations. One is trying to change their public image while the other is trying to live up to their public image.
I have to give serious credit to the animators on this film. Twilight is still used to her pony body. She uses her mouth to hold things. She keeps her fingers curled to more closely resemble hooves. She holds herself differently than the other girls. (I assume Sunset Shimmer has been here long enough to get used to her human body.)
Why would the writers have a sleepover at Pinkie Pie's house with a fridge full of whipped cream? The clopfics practically write themselves!
As much as I love fan service, Maud Pie's cameo felt a bit forced. She didn't seem to retain the cool factor from her initial appearance. In Rainbow Rocks, she's just socially awkward and messy.
With all the flack Sunset Shimmer has been getting all movie, why aren't Snips and Snails equally ostracized? They were helping her in the first movie!
They even turned into demons, for crying out loud!
Why don't they face the same level of shunning as Sunset?
Are they trying to argue that Sunset Shimmer was manipulating them? This is why I have a problem with mind control. All someone has to do is claim "the devil made me do it" as a cheap tactic to avoid responsibility for their actions. Snips and Snails were Sunset's willing accomplices in the first movie. They should be treated with the same level of contempt as her.
I'd be remiss if I failed to acknowledge this sweet moment of Lyra and Bon Bon shipping.
Derpy playing a musical saw was a good example of fan service. It was short, sweet and seemed perfectly in-character for her.
When Trixie makes her exit, she leaves behind several hairpins, which is an homage to Witch Hazel.
The ending to this film was awesome! One of my issues with the first Equestria Girls movie was some of the conflicts being resolved too quickly. In the sequel, none of the conflicts are resolved until the climax.
For a music about a "battle of the bands" there wasn't a lot of musical variety. The songs in the first Equestria Girls movie were more diverse. In Rainbow Rocks, most of the musical numbers are indistinguishable from one another.
I was not expecting this ending! Receiving letters from Sunset Shimmer makes Twilight Sparkle's establishment as someone senior from her peers a bit more credible, especially as it establishes a relationship between Sunset Shimmer and Twilight Sparkle that neatly mirrors the relationship which Twilight Sparkle has with Princess Celestia. Twilight Sparkle taking on the responsibilities of a princess is like watching a child mature into adulthood. The only difference is that Twilight Sparkle is a pony with more pornographic pictures of her on the Internet than any other character.
My only problem is that I wish that this scene was part of Friendship is Magic, as opposed to Equestria Girls. Twilight Sparkle receiving letters from someone is such an iconic way of symbolizing her ascension into her role as Princess of Friendship that it really should've been saved for the series finale.
The end credits include "Developed for Television by Lauren Faust." Somehow I don't think an Equestria Girls sequel is what Lauren Faust envisioned when she was working on Friendship is Magic.
If Marvel movies have taught us anything, it's to wait for a post credits scene. After the credits for Rainbow Rocks end, we get to see a glimpse of the Equestria Girls version of Twilight Sparkle.
I should mention how my experience may have differed from those who watched Rainbow Rocks in a theater or on Discovery Family. I bought the DVD and watched it on my computer. After the battle of the bands was announced, the next scene went straight to the semifinals.
"Well, that's odd," I thought, "This movie has some series pacing issues. They stage the whole movie around a battle of the bands, then they don't even show any of the competitions which took place before the semifinals."
After the semifinals took place, the next scene was the first round of the battle of the bands. As it turns out, the Rainbow Rocks DVDs have an error.
Quoting from Shout! Factory: "There was an error in the first run of My Little Pony Equestria Girls Rainbow Rocks that affected the playback... The error affects all DVD product initially shipped and on store shelves beginning 10/28/14 in the U.S. and Canada. The error causes chapters 5 and 6 to play in reverse when the DVD is played from the main menu ‘Play’ listing."
Releasing a DVD with the chapters playing out of order is a pretty glaring oversight. I'm not sure who's in charge of quality control at Shout! Factory, but they really goofed up on this one.
I will say this, though. Watching Rainbow Rocks on DVD for the first time did provide an interesting, if not confusing, initial viewing. If anyone else purchased the Rainbow Rocks DVD with the error, please visit www.rocksdvd.com. Shout! Factory will be shipping replacement DVDs directly to customers, and replacement product to stores, as soon as possible.
Thanks again for reading another Rule 34 update! Please feel free to discuss this month's topics in the comments. I'll be back on December 10th with another Rule 34 update.
I actually had fun and laughed watching Rainbow Rocks. I went in with low expectations and was pleasantly surprised. I also took a 12 year old I tutor (She fell in love with MLP after I started reading the comics with her), and she loved it, so it sat well with at least one member of the target audience.
I have some definite issues with some of the things you said about the movie, but in particular I'd like to address what you said about the music - that it was all very similar. That's a huge disservice to the music and to Daniel Ingram.
Each band has a very distinct sound to it. The Rainbooms are very pop-rockish, with a focus on cheery and uplifting sounds. The Dazzlings were practically the opposite, with low, driving tunes that get into your head. And so on. They put serious effort into trying to portray each instrument properly, too.
Part of the reason I love this movie is because the music is so good. The Dazzlings in particular just blew me away. "Awesome As I Want To Be" also deserves special mention - it screams Rainbow Dash all over the place and is different from the rest of the Rainbooms music in that it's almost straight-up rock and designed to put the entire band behind her as she shows off - basically, it's Dash's "screw everyone else" song with her ego gone wild.
Also, I don't think this movie would have worked without hypnosis. With the exception of Shimmer, the whole school is practically inseparable at this point. In a 2-hour movie, there's no way they could have broken up all of that friendship and good will without it. What it does do, however, is paint the Sirens as a bigger threat, showing that, even in a weak state, they can turn all of CHS into a battleground. Would it have been more subtle and nuanced without hypnosis? Sure - but it would have required a lot more time (say, a miniseries or even an actual series).
2587646
And here I was concerned about being criticized for praising the film too much!
Don't get me wrong! I liked the music in Rainbow Rocks. I just didn't find any songs I liked as much from the first movie. (This is in spite of Rainbow Rocks having an additional 10 minutes worth of songs.)
I didn't mention it in my review, but I didn't enjoy Fluttershy's story arc of wanting to write songs for the band. It was handled better in High School Musical. Ignoring Fluttershy's desire to contribute more to the band makes Dash look more like a jerk. Honestly, Applejack should've been the one to write the songs. Fluttershy's "freaky knowledge of sewing" could've paired her up with Rarity to make costumes for them. Applejack is in your face. If she had been the one to suggest new music, she would've been more confrontational which would've forced Rainbow Dash to increase her stubbornness in order to maintain the status quo. Since Fluttershy is so timid, her requests for change went unheard by her friends. This was great for keeping in-character, but it did little to raise the stakes.
As for the hypnosis, I concede that it has several benefits from a storytelling perspective; some of which I addressed in the blog. One issue with having everyone hypnotized is that it turns the whole battle of the bands into a farce. The competition didn't matter because Celestia and Luna weren't going to let the Dazzlers lose. The only tension was if Twilight could master the counter spell in time.
Could this story have been written without hypnosis? I think so. The school already hates Sunset Shimmer. Why not build on that? The students could continue to bully and pick on her for what she did. Twilight's friends are told that they'll be picked on too if they don't shun Sunset Shimmer. (Try saying Shunning Sunset Shimmer five times fast.)
While Rainbow Rocks had a good lesson about forgiveness as it pertains to Sunset Shimmer, it could've also been educational on how to deal with bullies.
My whole rant on hypnosis also hearkens back to another pet peeve of mine and that's when a plot device transforms someone good or evil against their nature. While I mostly enjoyed the Reflections arc in the IDW comics, I had a problem with characters only being "evil" because they have an evil essence which can be absorbed by another character.
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Sometimes people can be jerks. Sometimes people can be downright evil. I'm always bothered when a person is able to mean and viscous with no repercussions because they were hypnotized.
Now, possession is a little different. If another person's voice is coming out of someone's body, then that person is a hostage in their own mind. I'm fine with demonic possession as a means of controlling someone in a story. As long as the puppet master is physically controlling what the person says and does, that's fine. You can at least attempt to reason with an evil spirit, although it's not recommended.
I'm all about communication. Anything which opens up avenues for communication is okay by me. Hypnotizing someone into a mindless slave closes doors to communication, which reduces options for the hero. I'm fine if an opponent can't be reasoned with, but I want the option on the table at least.
Sorry for the long-winded response. I guess I still had more to say on the subject. Thanks for the feedback!
2587728 Thanks for responding. I actually have more to say, too, but it'll have to wait until morning - things just blew up here at work.
I went into Rainbow Rocks with low expectations. I've always said that the first EqG could have been a heck of a lot worse, but I've never really shied away from picking on the numerous plot holes and nonsensical happenings in that movie. And Brad.
Imagine my surprise when Rainbow Rocks turned out to a clear and marked improvement! My main area of praise is that the writing was one heck of a lot tighter this time around. The villains' plans made sense, characterization was much improved, especially for Sunset, and there were no insultingly obvious plot holes. I'm okay with the sirens being the latest in a line of emotion eaters, because it continues FiM's theme of emotions being directly tied to magic.
Also, Vinyl saving everyone in the eleventh hour was EXCELLENTLY foreshadowed. She was almost constantly in the background throughout the entire movie, and even Vinyl's short that came out before the movie established that she always has a set of headphones and earbuds on hand. Seriously, that was superb work.
The only real regret I still have is that Sunset got robbed of her true villain potential. I like reformed Sunny, and she's an extreme improvement from her cliched self from the first movie, but I'll always wonder what might have been. I really like the fact that she had a way to contact Celestia. It actually solves a problem in my idea for a villainous Sunset fic. I should actually try to write that at some point...
Even if ponies themselves were snubbed in the Hall of Fame, at least they got in by proxy.
Still, while army men have decades on My Little Pony and bubbles have centuries, choosing one 80's icon over another? That stings a little.
I quite liked Rainbow Rocks, from the signs of continuity to the competent villains to Derpy and the Quantum Mechanics. (No one understands Quantum Mechanics.) I didn't have much issue with the mind control; I thought it acted as a good way to show the building power of the sirens... though the override on the principals did rather disrupt that. Still, they were quite skilled at using verbal manipulation in concert with the magical.
And yeah, that ending was fantastic. A few elements came out of nowhere, but still, awesome.
Thank you as always for your analysis.
2587728 Okay, now that I'm home and settled in and can think (and type on something other than an ittybitty phone screen! :D )... I can respond! Whee.
Anyway, I can agree with you on Fluttershy. It feels like they chose her for songwriting because they couldn't think of another role for her in the overall band internal conflict, which is sort of a waste. I'm not sure Applejack would have been the better choice... But I admit that's largely because I really don't care for any the Applejack specific songs in the show. (Frankly, I think Raise this Barn and Apples to the Core are bleh at best.) Possibly Pinkie? I thought her role in the band conflict was also a touch weak.
I liked all the Dazzling's songs much better than I liked any of the songs from Equestria Girls. In fact, I'll be honest - the only song I really liked from the first movie was "Equestria Girls" (aka the cafeteria song) - the rest are just... meh. I'm very opinionated about the music in general, though. I will agree that several of the Rainboom's songs are very much alike (Shake Your Tail and Better Than Ever, in particular, have that sin) but every other song is very distinct and interesting. Under Our Spell is amazing as a midpoint song with the Dazzlings practically gloating while driving everyone onwards. Welcome to the Show makes for an awesome finale - they're not just gloating, they're triumphant and it shows, and the back-and-forth works very well, with first half of the song being the Dazzling's major part and the last half being the Rainbooms, and it shifts back and forth very nicely. Awesome as I Want To Be and Tricks Up My Sleeve, while very different songs, are amazing for the same reason - they're in-your-face about how perfect the singer is and how much they rule, and are both ridiculous and yet fit the personalities they belong to exactly.
While the "shun Shimmer or we shun you" idea might work, it's worth noting that these five are also held somewhat in high regard, if nothing else than because they're friends with Twilight - who's acknowledged as the savior of the school. Although I admit this is an area I'm frequently frustrated with in the show (and here with the movie as well) - the girls are collectively heroes, either for helping deal with Sunset Shimmer or, in Equestria, for numerous acts of heroism... and yet they're very rarely acknowledged for it and effectively never by the average person/pony. I admit this aggravation causes me to project a bit, but... Eh. I personally do like the hypnosis angle - Sirens (and similar creatures) in mythology have always literally charmed their victims, and it fits with that very well.
I think it's worth noting that while the Dazzlings/Sirens were actually evil, they didn't make anyone else evil. They brought out their jerk-ass sides, absolutely - angry, bitter, cynical, aggressive - but that didn't make anyone else in the contest evil. The sabotage bit was a little overboard, I admit, but outside of that, everything else was just just people's less pleasant side showing. Well. Except Trixie. But Trixie already had egomaniac tendencies (see Magic Duel, assuming we're drawing parallels between pony and EqG versions) and had definitely had extra attention paid to her via the Dazzlings... but even at that, what she did wasn't even necessarily evil. She didn't actually try to hurt the Rainbooms - she ranted and stormed and peacocked a lot, but aside from dropping them into the trap, she didn't really do anything... and that part can definitely be attributed to her extreme frustration at the obvious rigging of the contest, and her being passed over for the finals. Again, not so much outright evil as her negative side being brought forth.
All of this fits very well with what they described their powers as doing early on - drawing out everyone's negativity. Not their evil. Nor did it make them mindless, by the way - that was Sunset Shimmer's trick. I would have liked to see the girls maybe get through to Flash at some point, break through the hypnosis a little bit on the basis of, oh, something. Friendship. Shipping. Whatever. It would have been a nice touch to see that it wasn't completely perfect (barring magical counterspells).
Perhaps also worth noting that we don't get to see any consequences for what any of them did because the movie ends effectively right after the Finals, with the only other scenes being Rainbooms only. But we didn't see what the consequences were for Sunset Shimmer after the end of the previous movie, either (a flaw these movies definitely have - they end too quick after the climax, so there's practically no denouement at all. It's frustrating.
Anyway. I, uh, got a little long-winded. I'm sorry.
MythrilMoth has a fun story launching off of that scene: (Mis)taken Identity