Before Rainbow Rocks.

Heh.

3754883 she was actually good in both movies.
Cool villain in the first. Good hero in second.

3754883 I thought she was alright at first, but now I like her alot, eh.

Same here. Too many posers these days, am I right?

3754883

You know, one day it's going to be cool to like Flash Sentry, and when that day comes my smug conceit will know no bounds!

3754883 Eyup.

3754883
Me too. Feels good now, doesn't it? Feels like being vindicated.

I wasn't a huge fan of her in the first movie. She did her job as the villain and that was that.

I was skeptical about her presence during the previews, as her inclusion seemed like it might have been a bit cheap.

But the fact that her redemption arc spanned the whole movie and was an important aspect of her character made me a big fan.

3754883
So did I. I have never made any secret of the fact that I hate EqG. But I also always add that there were a few things that actually were quite good about it. And Sunset Shimmer was one of those things. (The others, if anyone cares, were Spike, Rainbow Dash, and Daniel Ingram.)

i like her as my fav characters in both movies

3754883
Sunset Shimmer was a pretty poorly developed character in the first movie. That says a lot about your taste in characters

3754966
Agreed

3755377
Poorly developed, but very well designed.

3754914
I agree. Though she makes a far better hero in my opinion.

3754966

3754883 Well, she did have potential in terms of backstory, and as a foil to Twilight. She just wasn't that strong of a villan because let's be honest, the mean girl is the most sterotypical villan you could possibly imagine.

3755634 hate to say it, but pigs have already flew.

3755643
Smithers: "Do you think it's cool to like Flash Sentry now sir?"
Mr. Burns: "Nnnno, I'd still prefer not."

3755708 I'm talking about something that went around a few years ago.

3755740
Twilicorn?

3755807 no. Swine Flu.
That's what I meant about Pigs Fly.

Now that Rainbow Rocks came out, she's characterized a lot like Riku from Kingdom Hearts.

3755828

Does that mean she'll turn into Nightmare Moon between movies for very vague reasons and spend most of her time helping Twilight from the shadows before miraculously recovering?

Also, will there be a ton homoerotic subtext between the two of them?

3755821
Oh. LOL!

"SWINE FLU!" *Whacks with a stick*

3755861 no. By Riku, I meant that Sunset felt sorry for what she did, and she was now trying to make it up to everyone. Similar to how Riku tried to apologise to Sora by aiding in the defeat of Organization XIII

3755872

Yes, I know. It was a joke.

3754883 I thought she was awful (poorly written and conceived) in the first film. Her grand scheme was dead on arrival and hinged on Deus ex Machina and things that she would not have logically known about while stuck in the human world and restricted from any access to Equestria and any of its information within (knowledge of the Crystal Empire, Twilight's arrival, the Elements and her bearers (and I refuse to believe for a second that Twilight, for being a bearer of an Element as long as she has been with as much access to information in a magical world as she has, would know less about the Elements than someone who's never been a bearer and had access to just as, if not, less information than she), and to top it all off, she was just a one-dimensional bitch bully whose petty actions against others only worked so well because everyone around her was miraculously dumber than she was (the human Mane 6 I know would have confronted each other about being duped LONG before Twilight had to tell them to, and I've met lobotomized people who are smarter than Luna was in the first movie).

In the Rainbow Rocks, I didn't hate her, but she didn't contribute anything to the film minus its last ten minutes. Not only that, but every time she complained about not being liked by the rest of the school, it's never brought up that she essentially terrorized everyone for three-and-a-half years along with her actions at the end of the first movie as if that was never an issue with anyone. I also would have been much more receptive to the nicer Sunset had they written and set up her reformation better in the first movie.

If you come out of this response asking yourself (and me), "Why are you even in this group," it's because the fandom has written far better stories about her than the MLP creative team ever has, and I can find those in spades here.

Edit: "I leikd hur." = 1+

*long, detailed explanation of negative (the key word apparently, because no dissent, no matter how reasonable or intelligent it may sound, is clearly allowed in this fandom) opinion* = -2

R.I.P. Standards for Quality

3754914
^This.

Though I liked her in the second movie better. She was a bit generic in her first movie.

3754883 Plebeians. I liked her before she was even announced for EQG 1.

Sunset of Time was the first story to feature her as a main character. Before she had a character tag.

Get on my level.

Okay, I've done my share of boasting for the year.

3756283 Dude, I was making a joke. Not writing a ten-thousand word essay on why she's next incarnation of Christ. No need to get so serious. Have an ice cream and chill.
By the way, likeability and quality are not mutually required.

3756893 I'm referring to the other people who offer little to say as to why she's a good character and get plenty of upvotes, and yet when I present my dissenting case and actually list some examples to support myself, all I get are downvotes with absolutely no counter argument attached, which is essentially the equivalent to saying, "fuk u ashol ur dum," to me as a rebuttal.

Also, referring to that last statement, you say this as if I don't know this. After watching movies like Side Effects and Gone Girl, I left those movies hating the villains, but they were so complex, well-written, and well-developed that I developed an odd fascination and respect for them by film's end. Sunset is merely a bland high-school bully playing the villain of an MLP movie, which would be like watching Sharpay Evans from High School Musical playing the villain of a James Bond movie.

3756915 That's understandable. Reading your original comment, I'd say the downvotes were more due to the negative tone that comes off. Starting with "I thought she was awful" and things like that sets the tone for the whole thing, regardless whether or not your opinion is well-reasoned (which I'd say it is).
Regardless, I'd say the whole "everyone is entitled to their own opinion" thing, but you already covered it.

3756934 I'm happy about that you can see through that. I don't hate her enough to completely abstain from writing her into my stories or reading a story featuring her like some people I know on this site would, but I wish the films would cover her as well as I've seen many stories on this site have done.

3756773
Right there with you buddy.

I didn't really like her much in the first movie (she wasn't developed much, seemed stereotypical, and her plan had flaws). Now, though? I LOVE her. In fact, if we include her among the Mane Cast group, she's my favorite besides Twilight.

3761855
Yeah...Why couldn't we've been introduced to her with Rainbow Rocks first? Or at least given her this much development back in Equestria Girls?
Yeah, totally agree with you.
For me, she'd probably be tied with Fluttershy (followed by Twilight).

3754883

I liked her before Rainbow Rocks, she was slightly different from the other villians. I now really like her though, almost as much as my most liked character

3763959
Me too.
I think it's her design.
The minute she walks in a room/scene, you can't lay eyes off her.

3763984

Yeah and also when she sings!

3763988
Yeah, but she didn't sing in EG though.
I guess you already know her VA is also Twi's singing voice too, right?

3765958

Yeah I know but still

3754883 what, now you don't, just because she's not being a bitch anymore?

3773261 No, still like her. More, in fact.

3773469 okay, it;s just, the way you worded it made it sound like you didn't. my apologies

3773485 No worries!

3756283
The one thing I typically say to ppl who say "Why you like SS? She's superficial and terribly developed in EqG1." is you have no imagination as a writer.
I don't like her because Hasbro made a good story with her. That's for posers who like Elsa. I liked her because I saw expansion potential a mile high, and it started even before EqG1. I knew it as soon as I read the blurb on the back of her pony box, and then I liked EqG1 because what I saw didn't contradict my sharp scouting senses.

3756773
Ha. True Scotsmen unite!

3763870
3763984
I wouldn't have been her fan if RR came first. Her AB-ness and complimenting design combined was the first draw.
And I did watch the terrible Under The Dome as long as I did purely for Rachelle Lefevre... so probably massive bias on my part.

3779394
Yeah, that's so true. Just wish she wasn't portrayed (or at least everyone didn't see her) as a generic high school bully-girl.
Under The Dome?

3779394

The one thing I typically say to ppl who say "Why you like SS? She's superficial and terribly developed in EqG1." is you have no imagination as a writer.

Lolwat

This makes zero sense. What you're saying is equivalent to saying every lottery pick in the NBA draft is an automatic superstar. I mean, they all have the potential to be a superstar, so by your logic, they must be. Right?

Except it doesn't work that way. The vast majority of lottery picks never become superstars, let alone long-time players in the league.

See, here's the thing: In the first movie, Sunset Shimmer was a poorly developed character with very little actually going for her. The one silver lining was that the ending have her potential to become an interesting character. So criticizing people for having no imagination simply because they understand character development absolutely boggles my mind. What you've done is infected canon with your own personal fanon and then criticize everyone for not following your fanon. It's absolutely ridiculous.

Luckily for Sunset, though, Rainbow Rocks took advantage of that potential and capitalized on the character. They gave her proper development and actually made her interesting. The potential she once had actually became something tangible.

Going back to the NBA example, Lebron James had all sorts of endorsement deals before he ever played an NBA game. That's absolutely ridiculous. He hadn't yet proved himself. And sure, like Sunset Shimmer did in Rainbow Rocks, he proved himself to be worthy of the hype, and he lived up to his potential. But you know who was also a #1 draft pick? Kwame Brown. Never heard of him? That's because he never lived up to his potential.

When it comes to character analysis, potential is good for absolutely nothing, and the real world often demonstrates why. So please, stop insulting everyone for properly understanding character analysis and character development. It'd be much appreciated.

I don't like her because Hasbro made a good story with her. That's for posers who like Elsa.

I don't follow. Are people posers for appreciating good storytelling? Because if that's what you're saying, well, wow. I'm not sure if you can manage something more ridiculous than that.

3779581
You completely miss the point. But then I often abbreviate my thought process because I try not to write walls of text. Such as your basketball example wall.

I'll say again: I don't care if Hasbro didn't make a good story with her. I don't care if they never did. Even if EqG never got a movie past #1, I wouldn't care. I know she has the potential to become an interesting character, even if it's just in non-official creative efforts. And I'm proven right. I was also proven right with Rainbow Rocks, but that's actually incidental.

You might say "Well by that logic, every shallow character under the sun has potential, as long as you can point to someone out there making one good fan story/comic about him or her while staying in character." To which I'd reply, "Correct."

3779613
I didn't miss the point. You insulted people because they can properly and correctly analyze the character. That doesn't at all sit right with me.

Not liking a character because they're shallow is a pretty standard response, and I'm not sure why you felt the need to get so uppity just because you liked a shallow character.

But then I often abbreviate my thought process because I try not to write walls of text.

So you'd rather insult a whole bunch of people just because they made a correct interpretation? Huh. Okay.

I don't like her because Hasbro made a good story with her. That's for posers who like Elsa.

I still don't follow that second sentence.

even if it's just in non-official creative efforts

See, there's the issue. You're kicking people because they don't have the same headcanon as you, and that's just not right.

3779630
No, this is not about Sunset Shimmer. This is about a conflict in ideology regarding canon vs non-canon creative works. You're placing greater importance on official (i.e. copyrighted) offerings, which is why your reasoning is "If the character sucks in her official appearance, then she sucks full stop."

I am of the extremist camp that Creative Copyright is a great evil and a blight upon the literary tradition of humanity. We would never have half the myths and cycles of the world to read, if ancient authors/bards didn't freely share their stories with each other. True artists create because they'd burst if they didn't, not so they can hoard all their "unique ideas" (ha) so that no one else can build upon them even long after they're dead.

I make the above a distinct reason in my responses because we're in a fanfic forum. My point extrapolates to, "Wow if we only write fanfics about characters widely held to be deep and complex, then why even bother? Just read the 50 official books the character already has." IMO, the mindset that "a lot of obscure characters have potential if you just look" is important in a fanfic context.

Edit: I don't see how it's any different for background ponies whose only characterizations are fanon-based. In fact I'm not sure why I had to explain the above in FIMfiction, with the tradition of cardboard bg ponies becoming fan favorites from fanon creativity.