- Released: 10 October 2012
- Developed by: Lauren Faust
- Amount of seasons: 9
- Seasons watched: 1 & 2
- Rating: 4/5
Synopsis
In the magical world of Equestria, a unicorn named Twilight Sparkle and her friends learn all kinds of lessons regarding friendship.
My Thoughts
With the generation 5 movie coming out any day now, I figured I'd go back and re-watch all of Friendship is Magic again, and review it in smaller sections consisting of 2-3 seasons each. I obviously won't be able to get out all of this before the end of the year, but I'll be going at my own pace. It's been years since I've seen some of these episodes, heck, some I've only seen once when they came out.
I also recall not liking the latter half of the series quite as much as the first. I may end up changing my mind on this as I re-watch these seasons, but based on my initial reception I liked the less lore-heavy and more simplistic friendship lessons episodes more. In the later seasons the series really leaned more towards brony fan-service, which didn't work for me personally. I didn't need the pillars of Equestria, I didn't need to travel to all these different locations, I didn't need the school of friendship. To me the series was at it's strongest in the first few seasons, probably up until season 4. I remember my affinity for the show slowly dying down as season 5 progressed.
But we're not here to look at season 5 or onwards today. Today we'll be nostalgic and go back to the first two seasons. And, yes, they do actually hold nostalgic value for me. I got into the show when I was in my early-to-mid teens and started to watch just as the season 2 premiere came out. I didn't even watch the episodes that were out in order back then, I just kinda watched whatever peaked my interest.
Season 1 starts us off simply with a pilot episode that introduces the realm of Equestria, the pony races, the magic and our main characters. It's a simple episode that starts us off and I definitely wouldn't count it amongst the series' best, but I do think it's a decent pilot. I know a lot of bronies later seemed to look down on it, but I can personally still enjoy it. Honestly, my main gripe with the first two-parter is that everything is just so surface level. We hardly know anything about our main cast so far other than the character archetypes they fall into, with the exception of Twilight I guess. Obviously we needed to start out somewhere, but all of the characters felt a bit too basic in the pilot. Also, there's that random inconsistency where the CMC already know one another despite not meeting each other until halfway into the season.
Post-pilot, the season 1 takes on a simple episodic format. There is a recurring plot thread of the Grand Galloping Gala, but it's only mentioned in a couple of episodes and it's not really a "plot", just more of an event that's being built up. The episodes after the two-parter in season 1 generally do well for me.
They aren't all perfect, but there's also some real gems in here such as Dragonshy, Suited For Success, Sonic Rainboom and Griffon the Brush-Off. Weaker episodes to me would have to be most with the CMC, A Bird in the Hoof, Bridle Gossip and Applebuck season. I get that it usually comes down to personal preference depending on what characters you like better, but some also definitely have better writing than others.
What stands out to me, writing-wise, is that in season 1, many of the lessons feel a bit more juvenile. They're really the more basic friendship lessons one could learn. This is not a complaint, though. Heck, it's the real purpose the show set out with (other than to make money from merch): to teach friendship lessons to kids. The friendship lessons do get a bit more mature and complicated as seasons go on, but I honestly like the simplicity here. We're just getting introduced to the characters, so it feels like a fresh start getting to know them before things become more complicated later on.
Animation-wise, the first season is good, but it definitely has more awkward animation than later seasons. Especially some expressions don't look as refined as they do later down the line. Still, the animation is overall good! Just not as great in comparison to later stuff.
Season 2 starts off with yet another two-parter, and this time one that is actually really memorable. Mainly due to its main villain: Discord, spirit of chaos. He alone has such a presence that instantly elevates it over the pilot episodes, which had a rather bland villain in Nightmare Moon. Discord doesn't seek vengeance or to destroy the world; he simply loves fucking with people and that's basically his entire master plan.
After that awesome start to the second season, we get more episode-by-episode stories, and I honestly think the ones in season 2 might be some of my favorites across the entire show. Sisterhooves Social, Hurricane Fluttershy, Sweet and Elite and of course the opening and closing two-parters are definitely up there with my favorite episodes. It does of course have it's weak ones, with my least favorite probably being Baby Cakes or The Cutie Pox, but overall is really strong.
The animation and writing were also really starting to just get better at this point. First of all, the necessity of Twilight being in every single episode is dropped in this season, which allows for more characters to tell their stories without her constantly budding in. It definitely feels less restrictive, which is a good thing.
That said, I do have one complaint: the lack of a buildup towards A Canterlot Wedding. The two-parter itself is fucking awesome and one of my favorites, don't get me wrong, but there is absolutely no buildup to Twilight having a brother or there being a random third princess. Season 1 didn't have a lot of buildup dedicated to The Best Night Ever, but it did do the basics to make sure that we knew the Grand Galloping Gala was coming up. With Canterlot Wedding, we get none of that. We're just supposed to accept that Twilight has a brother now, and also that there's another princess we've never heard of before. It's just huge bomb to drop onto your audience like that. So, yeah, the episodes themselves are awesome, but the lackluster buildup was something that could've been improved upon.
Still, I absolutely look back with joy at these first two seasons. I've probably seen the most season 2 episodes in all the time I've been watching My Little Pony (not just Friendship is Magic, but any incarnation), and probably with good reason. It's not just nostalgic, it's around the point where I think the show really started to get good.
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