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isaiahkoch
Reviews
My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic: The Last Problem (2019)
Oh my God, give it a rest with the hate!
I'm seeing all these reviews saying "This was horrible, what an awful way to end the series, what were the writers thinking?" Might I ask, in what way was this horrible? Ok yeah, I mean, I'll admit, the time skip was as unexpected for me as it was for anyone else. But in what way does that make it bad? Becoming the new ruler of Equestria, Twilight had to take on some sort of responsibility. The fact that she so happens to have a student of her own (like how she was once Celestia's student) may seem like a cheap cop-out to some, but I see it as more of a passing the torch kind of thing.
Admittedly, this episode isn't completely free of any faults. Though we see things like Gallus being the new captain of the royal guard, Yona assisting Rarity who now has the most successful fashion business in all of Equestrian, etc. It admittedly would have been nice to have it shown/explained how they got to those points. I can also see Twilight fretting about being the new ruler of Equestria and fearful that she might not see her friends again as being reminiscent of old Twilight, who used to fret about a lot of friendship issues. But even someone with as much as experience and growth as she had gotten can make the mistake of overly worrying about something, especially if it's a responsibility as big as being a ruler. The fact that she finally figured out that she can still visit them more or less solved her concern. I wasn't crazy about how old the mane six looked/had gotten either, but it's not a horrible issue.
The song was amazing too, and Luster Dawn has great potential as a character. She may seem like an early season Twilight, but that's kind of the point, and certainly doesn't make her a cheap copy. As for comments like "this is My Little Pony, not my little diversity or My Little Pony AND OTHER CREATURES", what's wrong with having other races? Even as early as season 1 and 2, we saw creatures like griffons and dragons and changelings, etc. So, what's wrong with exploring them further than just having a couple of appearances? Granted, characters like the young six deserved more development overall, but they're still far better than many give them credit for. Likewise, I could argue that this isn't called "My Little Pony ONLY AND NO OTHER CREATURES ALLOWED".
Overall, not perfect, but mostly great, and certainly not the dumpster fire many claimed it was.
Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (2022)
Amazing on every level, pun intended!
Wonderful movie on all levels, pun intended! Don't even listen to the 7/10 on IMDB, rigged by downvote spammers, nor the critics! It was simply excellent!
As with the first Sonic movie, Sonic is portrayed as a kid, living with a human family, still trying to find himself, and trying to be a hero. While this may be different than the Sonic we know in the games, who's a teenager that takes care of himself and already is a hero, this still works surprisingly well. The concept of him having to leave his home planet and be taken in by a human family may sound weird, but it works well. It's obvious how much they care for him and vice versa and want only what's best for him in spite of him wanting to become a hero.
I also loved the introduction of Tails. While Tails mainly came to warn Sonic about the danger of Knuckles wanting the Master Emerald, you could tell his and Sonic's bond was growing throughout the adventure, even if Tails was initially reluctant to come with Sonic for the adventure. We all know they're best friends in the games, but the way it was built up felt great. Working together, trusting one another, sharing their backstories on their home planet after the dance contest, including Tails' story of being bullied for being different, with Sonic calling him "pal", and their friendship continuing to grow even after that.
I also loved the lore with the seven emeralds growing to form the Master Emerald and how true it was to the games, including with Eggman wanting to steal it, Knuckles' tough guy attitude of reluctantly working with someone as long as he gets what he wants in exchange, etc. Tails being good with gadgets and inventions was also true to his character in the games. The trio also finally forming a team to take down Eggman and the fight against him also felt true to the games. Not to mention, it was also emotional when Sonic and Knuckles finally got to exchange backstories shortly before the team-up, and how both their backstories were tragic in similar ways, but how Sonic finding a caring family helped him, and he told Knuckles that there was hope for him too in the same regard.
If there's any tiny nitpicks I might have, it's that I would have liked to know a bit more about the mother owl, and Sonic's life on his original home planet. Perhaps a bias, but I also would have liked to have seen Tails bond more with the humans, just as Sonic did in the first movie and this one. I semi-agree that the Hawaii plot wasn't entirely necessary, but I didn't feel like it was a complete waste of time, nor do I feel like it took up as much time as some people claimed. Each time they transitioned to it, it was maybe a couple or a few minutes long at most, and then right back to the adventure aspect of it with Sonic and crew. Admittedly, it tied into the main adventure part of it later on, but that wasn't a complete waste of time, nor did it take away from the adventure for very long. There were also a couple of fart jokes, but they were very minimal (maybe two at the most).
Just like the "AUDIENCE SAYS" on Rotten Tomatoes, this is like a video game come to life! Filled with adventure and great character interactions! The people rating this 1 star saying it's a waste and nothing like the games are just biasedly mad that this dares to be slightly different than the games in some ways (such as Sonic's story and him being a kid rather than a teenager). But don't let that convince you that it's not mostly true to the games or awesome in terms of overall, because it absolutely is! Will definitely be watching this a second time!
My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic: Dragon Dropped (2019)
Not perfect, but not deserving of the hate either
So, I've seen many fans say this is an episode that serves Rarity right for taking advantage of Spike for so long, portrays her as an overly creepy stalker, etc., but I can't bring myself to agree with any of that.
The episode opens with Spike not only barely paying any attention to her at the beginning, but also not responding to her invitation. Though it's understandable and even acceptable that Spike had a new friend that he wanted to meet, he didn't actually tell her until she asked. How would you feel if you invited someone to do something with you, and instead of telling you they're busy, they don't say anything at all? Although I do understand that Spike might have been too preoccupied to tell her or respond to the invitation, but still.
Though I don't entirely disagree there were some characterization problems. Rather than doing a dramatic apology before even asking what happened, and guilt tripping him to spend time with her in the middle of the night via looking disappointed, even if said disappointment was legit...well, let's just say both those things could have been handled differently. Maybe she could have asked what happened BEFORE doing a dramatic apology, and even if she legit felt bad in the middle of the night about Spike not being able to spend time with her the following day, reschedule or find a day that does work.
Though I admittedly liked the resolve of Rarity learning that it's ok for Spike to have another friend and even going as far as to try to fix the mess she made of his and Gabby's friendship.
Although I can understand some of the heat this episode gets, that doesn't mean I agree with it entirely. I think we've all been guilty of overreacting, making assumptions without proof, going to certain extremes, etc. At some point or another in misc. Situations.
I'm afraid I also can't agree with the claim that she takes advantage of him all the time. He chooses to help her, and there are select moments when she stands up for him and/or shows appreciation, even if said moments are arguably select.
Overall, despite Rarity going to some unnecessary extremes, she wasn't the "creepy obsessive stalker" as many haters claim. Also, Jim Miller has even tweeted that Spike is likely between 16-22 in pony years, but we'll save that debate in regards to the ship itself as a separate topic.
Certainly not without its faults, but also not the horrible train wreck some try to claim it is either.