Rainbow Dash: What's to Like? · 7:50pm Mar 16th, 2015
This blog post is a bit different from my usual fare: I'm not yammering on about my work or delaying my next story. I'm here to discuss Rainbow Dash, my favourite pony.
I was going around the interweb (as one does) and encountered an opinion that annoyed me: namely that Rainbow Dash, like many other egotistical characters (Naruto, for example) was very unlikeable. I was initially stung, and this is mostly because there was basis for the argument: due to her boastful nature, she might very well be considered unlikeable, or even an antagonist of the series.
So, why do I like her so much? And I really do: there is so much I appreciate in her character. But I do also hate characters like Naruto, Blackstar from Soul Eater (especially around the beginning of the season), and many others. It isn't her ambition that sets her apart, or her attitude. So, what is it?
I think the answer is tied in with why I got hooked to the show. I began watching the show a year ago, and initially, I didn't see much to appreciate in it, certainly not in the first few episodes. People talked about it being funny, and adventurous, and the amazing voice acting... but I found the adventure to be lacklustre, the comedy obnoxious, and whilst the acting was nice, Fluttershy, Pinkie, and Applejack all had voices that made me want to throw them under a train.
And I didn't like a lot of the mane cast either. It was not love at first sight, let me tell you... and near the bottom of the pile, just above Pinkie and Rarity, was Rainbow Dash.
I continued watching regardless, unsure what I was doing with my life, but eventually encountered episode 16: sonic Rainboom. And that turned everything around: Rainbow Dash became my favourite (and has been ever since) and I ended up enjoying the show.
I think this is because her character became remarkably multidimensional, and one that struck a chord with me. This is not because Rainbow was taken down a peg, allowing us to see a softer and more vulnerable side: she began to doubt herself before her contest, not after.
This is what I think separates her from a lot of other egotistical characters that overestimate their skills: a lot of the time, Rainbow seems painfully aware of her own limitations. She does her best to ignore them, and that's a lot more engaging for me than Naruto not understanding he's not able to take on whatever foe he's up against (at least, not until the powerup) or Blackstar. They feel sad because they've failed, not fear of failure.
There's more than just that, though, and a great deal more depth to Rainbow Dash than just her ego. In fact, it's probably counterintuitive to start with that, since the show gives her a defining characteristic I should, by rights, begin with: her loyalty.
Now, I dislike defining a character with their element, but it should also be addressed, too. And this brings me to a pretty bold statement: that Rainbow's conflicts are some of the most engaging and difficult of all the mane cast.
This is NOT to say that the other characters don't have conflict, or that their conflict is minor. This may also be bias since I'm in a remarkably similar situation.
Rainbow is more often than not given a choice between her career as a Wonderbolt and her friends. Now, at first glance, that sounds like a superficial conflict, since friendship triumphs over all, right?
Well, no. Unlike for a lot of characters, Rainbow is quite literally deciding between her future and her friends. It would be like asking someone to decide between their degree, their future wellfare, and friends, friends who may be inconsistent as time goes on. People don't always keep in touch after leaving highschool, and it's a very real possibility that if Rainbow keeps on choosing her friends over being a Wonderbolt, she may end up with neither a career, or friends.
I can't be the only one who finds that conflict attractive, and not just because I'm at university, and I'm having the importance of my future impressed upon me at every turn. I could have stayed at home with my friends, but that wouldn't have been what was best for me.
And why should Rainbow be forced to choose her friends over her own future? In fact, there are a lot of factors that influence what she does. Wanting to be a hero, for example... a lot of people were angry at the Mare Do Well episode because she was boastful and arrogant, but she was always adamant on getting attention by helping others. Even when she snapped and went after Mare Do Well, it was because she didn't trust her, and viewed her as a threat, and at least in her own mind, justified it by thinking that she was a menace to the town. Wrong though she might have been, she needed that justification.
So, maybe I'm just seeing the best in her, but that's what I see. Personal opinion or no, I think there's a great more deal depth to Rainbow than similar character, just like every character on the show (yes, even Pinkie), with conflicts and wants that I can personally identify with, and who's stakes are among the highest on the show. If Pinkie slips up, she'll lose her friends. If Rainbow slips up, she loses her future.
Maybe I'm talking out of my arse (which happens at least twice a week) but I hoped you enjoyed my opinions. There's a lot more to be said about her, as there is a lot to say about every character, but this post is TL;DR as it is, and I need to wrap up eventually.
Have a good one.
Didn't know there was a fabric pony in there
2882946 Hilarious. You have me in stitches.
I hated that episode, too, but not for that reason. I actually dislike Rainbow Dash more than any of the Mane 6, but in "Mare Do Well", the idea of crafting a fake superhero, lying to Dash and humiliating her just to deflate her big head was the cruelest, most vicious, dishonest, poorly-conceived plan I had ever seen. In a show about friendship, trust and solidarity, this was a blatant spit in the face of those principles, and I'm shocked that Dash didn't sever ties with them right then and there.
Just to be clear, let me repeat: Dash is my LEAST FAVORITE of the Mane 6. But when it comes to the Mare Do Well incident (and, minimally, the Wonderbolt test episode), I'm on her side. I can offer only that in her defense.
Wow. Just wow. It'll be fun to see your opinion when you come around and review my latest story for The Olympus Library.