TAnon-a-Miss Remastered

• Equestria Girls
• Mystery
• Sad
• Thriller

The comic retold once more...

• Violence
• Profanity
• Alt. Universe
• CMCs
• Sunset Shimmer
• Dazzlings
• Principal Celestia
• Vice-Principal Luna

The Blue EM2 · 42k words  ·  109  48 · 5.2k views

I read: Completed at 42,176 words, 12 chapters
I rate: 7/10
I recommend: Read if you like Sunset or the CMC

The writer:

Now that we’ve got that out of our system, let’s proceed. Eat your heart out Baudrillard. This one’s actually good. This story is a rewrite of The Blue EM2’s original take on Anon-a-Miss and, if the rating’s anything to go by (which it is) then he has improved dramatically since the last review.

Same plot as usual, in that the titular Anon-a-Miss causes havoc and humiliates people and it's up to Sunset and co to figure out who they are and stop them before even more dirty laundry is aired and Sunset’s reputation is destroyed forever. However, the writer here focuses quite heavily on the damage Anon-a-Miss causes, which adds a helpful dimension and explanation of the rage directed at Sunset and, later, the CMC.

This time around, the CMC aren’t the villains though. And the mystery to discover the real Anon-a-Miss is well-written and highly entertaining. It kept me guessing the whole way through and the numerous twists and red herrings came as effective surprises. Chekov’s Gun is executed well and everything feels a lot more coherent and thematically consistent as opposed to the previous story.

However, the characters are a mixed bag. Although Sunset, Cheerilee, and Rarity all stand out as entertaining and enjoyable characters and fairly nuanced ones at that, the rest are hit and miss. The CMC are alright but the rest of the Main 7, as well as the Dazzlings put in underwhelming shows, For the sirens, it's specifically a matter of underutilization. They appear early on but don’t really do that much in the story - in fact, they were arbitrary that I wondered whether they could just be written out entirely and their subplot could be ignored and if the effort The Blue EM2 spent on them could be better allocated to foreshadowing the main antagonist and developing his motives and character.

The matter for the Main 7 is a more complicated one. Although the split camps caused by Anon-a-Miss (between those who trust Sunset and those who don’t) is a nice idea, what follows it is quite disappointing. The CMC’s punishment for all this is radically out of proportion, being alarmingly abusive on multiple accounts. It is understandable and explained well enough in the story but reading it honestly put a bad taste in my mouth and I think a lot of it could be rewritten or skipped entirely as it culminates in scenarios that are hard to take seriously given the otherwise optimistic setting and the way the characters’ families are so happily forgiven and reconciled.

Otherwise, the narration itself is effective and the brief histories given to the locales the characters visit really make this version of Canterlot City seem like a real, breathing, location rather than a collection of technicolor backgrounds and proper nouns. The narration also helps tremendously whenever trains are brought up (that being a few times per chapter) and, while they certainly didn’t endear me to the railroad, they certainly did help explain important concepts and lore for the story. Some, however, did overstay their welcome and dragged the story on a little giving very little actually important information.

Overall though, this a very good piece and I one I definitely enjoyed reading. 

Plot: 4/5. Great mystery but the finale and the villain’s motives don’t make a satisfying conclusion to the journey.
Characters: 3/5. Sunset and Cheerilee being heroic is enjoyable; overplayed abuse is definitely not.
Style: 3/5. Paragraphs can get annoying long and the trains are not for everyone.
Execution: 4/5. Significant improvement overall.
Overall Rating: 14/20 = 7/10

To The Blue EM2: Good work here. I liked this and wouldn’t mind you taking on other important arcs in the EqG franchise and retelling them in your own style. You’ve clearly improved since the original fic and I’d say to keep it up. However, I would advise that you go over the CMC’s punishment again. A lot of it really did feel out of place and, although it didn’t really bother me, I would advise some kind of content warning on the fic’s page for parental abuse because it can definitely bother a lot of people

For something like this:
Hell & High Water is another well-executed take on Anon-a-Miss that I recommend.
Dainn's Anon-a-Miss is a classic of the site.

As always, if you enjoyed this review, check out some more of my writing here.

7000606
Got me in one!

7000616
What do you mean?

7000618
I like trains.

About the punishment bit; the somewhat jarring contrast between the ending and the middle is something I'm aware of. When the original version of the chapter went up, a lot of people reacted negatively to it and I, to be honest, panicked. I went through and rewrote much of the story from then on to tone it down, as well as adding the Equestrian Magic bit to explain the OOC behaviour.