Random Ramblings L

IN WHICH I REFLECT ON THINGS
Because, unlike the Super Bowl, I'm not going to change from Roman numerals to Modern ones just because an "L" looks weird. But that's neither here nor there. I promised myself that my fiftieth blog post would be a rumination about Pony and my thoughts on characters and this part of the fandom. Maybe one would find it more worthwhile to read me rambling about anime or posting that I've finally finished a story (that'll be RR51 unless I find something else worth ranting about beforehand, which I doubt). Follow me, if you will.

So it's now been five years since I first discovered G4 Pony …via Krobo's Youtube Poop "Friendship Is Magnets" (weird way to get into it, I know, but hey). I fell in love with the show instantly and have followed it ever since. I don't regret that decision a bit… except that perhaps doing so has left me with less money to spend on anime and manga. However, Pony just so happened to coincide with a lot of ongoing series I was buying coming to an end. I never really bought that much Pony compared to a lot of other fans. Aside from the IDW comics, I haven't bought any new Pony anything in close to a year. I've always considered myself a casual fan. I refuse the term "Brony"; I've always hated it, even moreso now thanks to the connotations its gained over the last half-decade. I've never gone to a Pony convention, and I never will. Too expensive. As a veteran of the anime con circuit, the idea of paying out the nose for autographs (and yes I know it's S.O.P. for comic & sci-fi cons) after already paying a lot to attend the con in the first place irritates me.

I'm honestly burned out on cons in general. I'm currently into my fourth decade on this planet, and it's increasingly difficult for me to have much enthusiasm for anything. Dumb kids everywhere. I'll tell you I was an idiot as a teenager; everyone is. However, I generally had the good sense to hold back on the wankery, mostly because I hate(d?) talking to people. I've always been much better with the written word. Well, that's what I think. My √-1 readers may think differently.

Anyway, Pony. So, when I first started watching Pony, Twilight was my favourite character (my how times change) because I could identify with her being a shut-in who cared more about learning than social interaction. However, upon seeing "Suited For Success" and "A Dog & Pony Show", my favourite pony quickly became Rarity. Were it not for Sunset Shimmer becoming my character muse following Rainbow Rocks, Rarity would still be tops for me. As it is, she's a close second. Twilight is actually now my least favourite of the core cast, which is the real reason I decided to write this blog post to begin with.

You might have noticed, nonexistent readers of this post who've also read the stories I've posted on this site, that I rarely if ever make Twilight a sympathetic character. That's intentional on my part. As the show has gone on, Twilight has changed in ways that make me like her less. No, it's not the Alicornication, though I was strongly against that too (that's why every story I write except one has Twi as a Unicorn); that was merely a symptom, not the cause. The cause was the writers making her too powerful. I outlined my reasoning nearly three years ago on the anti-Twilicorn thread at DB, and I stand by it. Essentially, Twi is too perfect – after MMC she was at high risk of becoming a Canon Sue, though that's been largely averted thanks to the show's writers realizing what they'd done.

Anyway, most of the flaws Twi had (neurosis being the exception) have been ironed away or downplayed in favour of her being increasingly preachy – S4 was the worst about this. Worse yet, I came to realize that she NEVER got in trouble for anything she did, even when other characters clearly would if they were in her situation. The episode that really laid this out for me was "A Canterlot Wedding" which, unlike that smug asshole Antony C, I generally like – who doesn't think Chrysalis is awesome? Twilight acts like a complete dick throughout the first half. Of course she's right, but she sucks at explaining why. Everyone was absolutely justified in kicking her to the curb, yet the show wants us to sympathize with her. But I can't, because she can't articulate or defend her position. Throughout Seasons 3 and 4, she only got worse. Really, though, Twilight's biggest flaw – a massive one that the show goes out of its way to ignore – is that she's got a huge complex when it comes to Celestia. Seriously, Celestia could tell Twilight to kill everyone in Ponyville (Celly wouldn't, of course, but let's pretend) and Twilight would do it without a second thought. Blind loyalty is never a good thing.

My general dislike of Tara Strong might also have something to do with it. Hey, at least I admit my biases up-front. Upon discovering the show, I couldn't have cared less that she was in it (yes I know a lot of people tuned it at first because of her presence). I was more excited for the participation of Tabitha St.Germain and Cathy Weseluck, who I was already familiar with thanks to anime.

Even if I don't like Twilight, she's far from the worst character in the show. Spike has been disappointing lately, which is a shame because I want to like the little guy; pity none of the current writers know how to make him not suck. I think they would write him out if they could, which they can't because Spike is a legacy character dating back 30+ years; he's more ingrained in the Pony franchise than the ponies themselves. My least favourite recurring character though is probably… shit I don't know. I was gonna say Braeburn, but that's not really true, since I don't really hate any character in the show. I'm more than happy to point out when the writers make Twilight decent. She improved significantly in Season Five, and I do hope that S6 allows me to start to legit like her again. She'll never dethrone Rarity as Best Mane6, but surely she can once again be a better character than Rainbow Douche (whom I've never liked).

Okay, that was even more rambly than usual. I'm going to hang it up here. I'm tired. Peace out.

PS - Worst Episode Ever (that I've seen thus far) is "Rainbow Falls". It's the only episode of this show I've truly hated as I watched it for the first time. There's at least a few others I dislike, but RF is special in its badness as far as I'm concerned.