Top Five Strongest Writers of FiM · 7:16pm Nov 18th, 2016
I figured it would be better to end these top ten/top five lists on a positive rather than a negative note. So, here it is, my list of the top five strongest writers of the show so far. Like all my lists, this one is by no means official, so feel free to disagree. Chances are you will, considering who some of my picks will be (which if you've seen my list ranking all the writers, you'll probably already know who's going to make the cut).
5. M. A. Larson (Episodes written: Swarm of The Century, Sonic Rainboom, The Cutie Mark Chronicles, The Return of Harmony Parts 1 and 2, Luna Eclipsed, Secret Of My Excess, The Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000, It's About Time, Ponyville Confidential, Magic Duel, Magical Mystery Cure, The Cutie Map Parts 1 And 2 (Collab with Scott Sonneborn, Story written by Meghan McCarthy), Slice of Life, Amending Fences, Rarity Investigates (Collab on story with Meghan McCarthy and Joanna Lewis and Kristine Songco))
Hoo boy, already starting off with a pick that is guranteed to bring drama. M. A. Larson is a fan favorite writer for many, and even now I'm sure he makes the top three or even ranks number one among many fans. However, not all of Larson's works have met with great success. He started off really bad with "Swarm of The Century", and many of his Season 2 works were bad or just medicore. Thankfully, he managed to redeem himself a little in Season 3, and Season 5 was probably his most consistent in terms of quality. Larson is a good writer, but other writers simply outrank him.
4. Joanna Lewis and Kristine Songco (Episodes written: Castle, Sweet Castle, Rarity Investigates (Collab on story with Meghan McCarthy and M. A. Larson), The Hooffelds and McColts, Gauntlet of Fire, Top Bolt (collabed with Meghan McCarthy for story), Movies written: Equestria Girls: Legend of Everfree)
Lewis and Songco started off even worse than M. A. Larson, but they bounced back quickly after getting some pointers from Meghan and Larson, and Season 6 truly showed that they seem to be on their way to becoming an impressive writing duo. They did outstanding with "Gauntlet of Fire" and pretty well with "Legend of Everfree", but "Top Bolt" does give me cause for concern though perhaps that was more Meghan's fault than their own. I'm sorry, but Sky Stinger just didn't strike me as the kind of guy who deserved to have his happy ending, and I don't want to repeat myself on why.
3. Jennifer Skelly (Episodes written: Buckball Season)
Putting a new writer on this list who's only written one episode? Okay, so maybe that's a bit unfair, but Jennifer just did really well with "Buckball Season". Sure, it wasn't outstanding by any means but it was a good little episode, especially for Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, and Snails. Hopefully if she comes back for Season 7 she'll do just as good or even better, and won't go the way of Corey Powell (a writer who started off strong and so full of promise, only to fall from grace hard in the span of a season).
2. Amy Keating Rogers (Episodes written: Ticket Master (Collab with Lauren Faust), Applebuck Season, Bridle Gossip, Fall Weather Friends, A Dog and Pony Show, Best Night Ever, The Cutie Pox, The Last Roundup, A Friend in Deed, MMMystery On The Friendship Express, Pinkie Pride (Collab with Jayson Thiesen), Filli Vanilli, Testing, Testing, 1, 2, 3, The Lost Treasure of Griffonstone, Canterlot Boutique, Crusaders of The Lost Mark, The Mane Attraction)
Season 5 was a great send off for Amy, who admittedly was kind of a mixed bag prior to that point. She'd written some really strong episodes like "A Dong and Pony Show" and "Pinkie Pride", but also some really bad episodes like "The Cutie Pox" and "Filli Vanilli". When she succeeded, she really succeeded, but when she dropped the ball she really dropped the ball. Perhaps her greatest contributions might have been giving birth to the egghead jokes for Twilight, drama queen Rarity, Derpy's first major speaking role (which sadly would backfire), Cheese Sandwich, Gilda's redemption, Rara, and of course Diamond Tiara reforming and the CMC getting their cutie marks. Probably the longest lasting writer on the show so far, and one we're definitely sad to lose to Disney (hope they're treating you well, Amy).
1. Josh Haber (Episodes written: Castle Mane-ia, Simple Ways, Leap Of Faith, Bloom and Gloom, The Cutie Re-Mark Parts 1 and 2, The Crystalling Parts 1 and 2, Gift of The Maud Pie (collabed with Michael P. and Will Fox for story, episode written by Michael P. and Will Fox), On Your Marks (collabed with Dave Polsky for story, episode written by Dave Polsky), Stranger Than Fanfiction (collabed with Michael Vogel), The Fault in Our Cutie Marks (collabed with Meghan McCarthy for story, episode written by Ed Valentine), To Where And Back Again Parts 1 and 2 (collabed with Michael Vogel) Movies written: Equestria Girls: Friendship Games)
Haber is still a very controversial writer for some, but I think he truly started to shine here and in a big way. As Meghan's handpicked successor, he had a lot to live up and a lot to answer for. For the most part he was pretty good at keeping the show going strong, and while he was maybe a little too eager to push through his vision at times (such as the huge amount of collabs and throwing Rarity into all but two episodes of the first half of Season 6), he had some of his strongest episodes here and I think he really justified earning the top spot on this list. He started off good, but I don't think it was until this season that he ever stopped being the target of scorn from the fandom.
And there you have it. While these top ten/top five lists may have wrapped up, there's still one blog post left for me to make. Come back tomorrow when I review Friends Forever #1 and see how it started off a series that has now admittedly started to eclipse the main comic series in popularity and quality.
What about doing a weakest top Anon-a-Miss one
For me, it goes:
1. Josh Haber
2. Mike Vogel
3. David Rapp
4. Meghan McCarthy
5. M.A. Larson
4307701 What do you mean?
4307729 Top five poorly written and plotted Anon-a-Miss stories.
4307752 Just referring to the Equestria Girls Holiday Special?
4307843 yes you could do that followed by a top five that don't follow the comic and a top five that show what might have happened afterwards or even a top five of the ones that go in their own direction while trying to stay as close to the comic as possible
If that helps that is?
4307870 Haven't really read a lot of those fics and I don't really do top ten or top five lists for fanfics.
4308153 Ah, Okay, didn't know that. Thanks for replying any ways.
I respect your opinion about the writers, but Josh Haber is still not the best writer in my mind. He has improved this season was better than last season's, but he is no MA Larson.