everyone else is doing it · 8:08pm Feb 2nd, 2013

I'm gonna post a blog now! You're probably not gonna like it.

I'm not late to the Alicorn!Twilight party, but I've been a little too occupied with my body rioting against me for depriving it of its usual supply of carbohydrates to fully address the issue. I'll allow my good ol' buddy Mr. Horse to sum up my feelings about the situation:

Me neither, Mr. Horse.

I'm not going to go off on a 'EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE IS DOOMED' rampage and burn everything to the ground, because I realize that My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, is not only not about me, but it's not the very essence of my life. It is one of my favorite cartoons, by one of my favorite big names in animation, but I recognize that the show is neither tailored to cater to my needs as an adult fan nor will it be the end of the world if Twilight is suddenly Princess Twilight. From a fan's perspective, however, I am disappointed that that is the direction the show is taking, but intrigued as to whether it can be pulled off correctly. I guess my main problem is not Twilight becoming an alicorn, or suddenly having epic powers to learn how to control: those things can be entertaining and interesting. She has to learn how to fly without becoming a cobblestone waffle. She has to learn not to blow a hole in the library when opening the fridge. I don't mind that. Twilight as a princess is not the concept that bothers me. What bothers me is the shift in show dynamic.

I had this same problem with two different anime series, one of which is my all-time favorite and the other which I've actually finished fanfiction for despite kind of hating:

Yeah, if it wasn't obvious already given my moniker and avatar, I'm a *girly* girl. That is neither here nor there, though.

Sailor Moon was one of the first anime/manga combinations I encountered as a child, and to this day I still go back and watch the series in its entirety occasionally. I've reread the manga two or three times, but I prefer the anime. Don't get me wrong: the manga is beautifully drawn, and I like the storyline; it's more intricate in an imperial manner than the anime. And that's kind of the problem. The manga focuses more on Usagi, her role as a princess, her relationship with her prince, and the like. The other Sailor Senshi spend a good deal of time talking about how devoted they are to protecting their princess and how willing they are to give up their lives, which is all well and good, except they don't get nearly as much screen time and character development as they do in the anime. Which, granted, is a side effect of 200 episodes/3 movies as opposed to 18 graphic novels, but I much prefer the anime in which less emphasis is placed on HEY USAGI IS A PRINCESS LOOK and more on 'Usagi is a kind person despite her flaws, and that is why her friends are willing to die for her'.

See what I'm getting at?

Tokyo Mew Mew...oy. It was the first series I was brave enough to try writing fanfiction for, having only read the manga in high school. It's essentially Sailor Moon and Magic Knight Rayearth Meet Captain Planet, which is better than it sounds. It is absolute bullshit in terms of the scientific basis it continually eludes to, but it's cute and there are nekomimi/inumimi/insert animal here + mimi girls with transformation sequences and it's all mahou shoujo and Hi, I'm Papi, did I mention I like sparkles?

The manga for TMM is hella annoying. I generally have issues with series that are faux-harems, with male (or female) characters fawning all over the main character like they're the greatest thing since sliced bread, and TMM runs that horse straight into the ground. Ichigo's crush starts out the series in love with her. The main antagonist for a third of the series? He's in love with her. The dude that imbues them with their ability to turn into fetish material? HE WANTS TO FATHER HER KITTENS. And for the manga version of Ichigo, I can't understand why. She comes off as whiny, self-centered, and literally does nothing but go on and on about her love interest. The anime is much more balanced, with enough focus off of Ichigo and more focus on the rest of the cast to make it enjoyable to watch. That's my problem with the 'princess/chosen one' trope; it takes a situation in which you have a group of characters that all deserve nearly the same amount of screen time, and make the secondary cast background characters that exist to support the main character. It's a personal pet peeve of mine, the focus on one as SO MUCH MORE important than the others due to title.

How does that relate to Princess Twilight?

Thus far, the word 'Princess' is on par with deity in the MLP-universe. Even Cadence, who doesn't garner the same amount of bowing that Celestia does, is such an esteemed figure due to that title that 5 out of the six main characters completely lose their heads over being in her wedding. Princess Twilight is going to throw a wrench in the dynamic of the show in a way that I'm not sure I will like. Because from Season One to Season Two, and even most of Season Three Friendship is Magic has spent just as much time focusing on each of the girls as it has Twilight. Despite Twilight being the catalyst and Element of Magic, the show has never felt like she's the specific focus, and just as much care has been devoted to the character development (for the most part) of characters that are not Twilight. I feel like this change would consist of the show essentially becoming the Sailor Moon manga, with the majority of Ponyville tripping over Princess Twilight and her friends bowing every five seconds because despite the fact that she is still Twilight she's now a princess.

That said...it could be an interesting change. It definitely gives the writers, should they choose to accept it, some depth to embrace. What happens when one of her friends gets resentful? What if Fluttershy is afraid to talk to her? What does this mean for Spike? Should she go on living in Ponyville? The concept of taking one character and suddenly thrusting them into a position of prestige doesn't mean that the other characters are going to get left out in the cold; that new dynamic affects everyone in turn. But embracing that depth requires effort that I haven't seen much of in Season Three. One clear example is the handling of Rarity. Seasons One and Two were great, Rarity-wise: we saw a character that, despite fussy tendencies and having a fainting couch for the purpose of fainting, doesn't mind getting her hooves dirty for someone she cares about, or wasting materials and precious time tending to the needs of her friends, or telling a dragon to fuck itself over lusting after an item given to her by someone she holds dear. Season Three...oy. Oy bloody vey.

That's what worries me about this. I don't see them handling this new situation in a manner that isn't HEY TWILIGHT'S A PRINCESS PRINCESS MAGIC EVERYWHERE PRINCESS PRINCESS HEY THE SHOW IS ABOUT A PRINCESS BECAUSE EVERY MOTHERFUCKING THING IS ABOUT PRINCESSES.

As for me?

I'll see how this works out. And if I see it going in that direction, I can think of lots of fanfiction ideas that embrace the depth the writers of the show are choosing to ignore.

I could always be wrong though.

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