Thursday, 25 April 2019

Text Review Roundup: "Sparkle's Seven"

Time for another look at how the text-based reviewers saw the most recent episode of Friendship is Magic. In this case, of course, anticipation was high as it was episode 200. As we won't reach E250 before the show runs out of road, this will be the last major numeric milestone the show will reach. Not that that means very much, so let's move on.

This one got a generally very positive reception. The one big exception, The Railfan Brony, was a lone voice among this bunch. (I did see a few other dissenting voices in EqD comments, but they were very much in the minority.) Despite TRB's dislike, "Sparkle's Seven" was overall the most favourably reviewed episode since "What Lies Beneath".

I ended up being down at the lower end of the scale in terms of how much I liked it, despite the fact that I enjoyed it a lot! I said that it only missed a full five-star rating by a small amount, but my few gripes nevertheless made me pickier than a number of reviewers.

Cuddlepug – very positive (graded A-; "surprises and delights in unexpected ways [...] if you're a fan of [...] the friends going on adventures and working together, this is a grand example")

Dark Qiviut – extremely positive (rated A+). NB: no actual review that I could find this time; the grade is from an all-time all-series ranking.

DrakeyC – very positive ("Fantastic episode, perfect way to celebrate 200 episodes and the incredible voice actresses who made it possible.")

JDPrime22 – very positive (rated 10/10; "Oh, boy, did this episode deliver! [...] the ending to the episode is what truly makes it shine.")

Lightening McQueen – very positive ("It was really great! [...] Applejack's fantasy of her alter ego Apple Chord was sweet")

Louder Yay – very positive (rated 4/5; "I was delighted by how [the Spike plotline] was resolved [...] I'm not sure [Pinkie's fantasy] entirely worked [but] pacing of the episode seemed very good [...] excellent dialogue [...] a very solid, very entertaining story and a fitting E200.")

Mike Cartoon Pony – very positive ("easily one of the best post-Season-5 episodes and one of the few that can really stand up with that earlier era of Pony")

MLEEP Reviews – extremely positive (rated 10/10; "an emotional yet funny celebration of everything that has made 'Friendship Is Magic' the cultural phenomenon that it is today")

Present Perfect – very positive ("for an episode that written by committee, this was a lot of fun. Immensely entertaining, with no jokes that fell flat or brought out the cringe.")

The Railfan Brony – extremely negative (rated Terrible; "a boring, slow-paced slog [...] possibly the most stupid way to celebrate 199 200 episodes!")

TheDragonWarlock – wildly positive (rated 10/10; "I can't stress this enough; I love this episode. It's well written, has great character development, good comedy, and it has Spike at his absolute best yet.")
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8 comments:

  1. Anonymous25 April 2019 at 09:16

    That Railfanbrony is really starting getting to my nerves. It's already the third great Mane 6 episode in a row He unfairly bash with no good reasons. And people Claim I'm crazy when I say that bronies Turned Their back on the Mane 6....

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    1. Logan25 April 2019 at 13:48

      They give reasons in the full review. I don't agree with said reasons myself, but TRB is perfectly entitled to hold them.

      Delete
    2. Zack Wanzer25 April 2019 at 22:41

      @Anonymous No, you're not crazy about people turning their back on the Mane 6.

      After nine seasons, where else can you take the Mane Six? Twilight will soon be taking over for Celestia and Luna for the finale, Rainbow Dash is now part of the Wonderbolts, Rarity is expanding her business, Fluttershy has become bolder, and whilst Applejack has stayed in much the same place she has from the start, she still cares deeply for her friends and family. As for Pinkie? Well, I'm not sure what her arc was as she's just... there.

      Basically, there's only so far you can take the main characters before they end up becoming flanderized to be the point they become annoying. Season eight made it kind of obvious, especially with Pinkie Pie. Or was there something else I wasn't seeing?

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    3. Anonymous4 May 2019 at 15:05

      This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

      Delete
  2. Justin Riley25 April 2019 at 20:56

    Mike Cartoon Pony and TRB are both starting to get on my nerves. The former especially has rose-tinted glasses.

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    Replies
    1. Mike Cartoon Karma25 April 2019 at 21:27

      Oh.
      I'm sorry you feel that way. The last thing I want it for someone to walk away from analysis I've written with a bad taste in their mouth.

      If I may, what leads you to feeling my reviews get on your nerves a bit? And more specifically, I'm a little confused by the rose-tinted glasses thing. That would indicate I see everything in a positive, unrealistic light, but my recent reviews of Uprooted and Spring Breakdown would put that to rest.
      Is it a particular way I phrase sentences or construct my reviews, perhaps?

      Whatever it is, I'd honestly like to know. Maybe it's an flaw in my style of analysis, and whether it's that or something else, it could be worth noting as something to bear in mind for the future. Anything I can do to try and reduce the sparse number of cases where my content rubs people the wrong way even more.

      Delete
    2. Justin Riley26 April 2019 at 01:21

      You strike me as a bit too negative and pessimistic.

      Delete
    3. Logan26 April 2019 at 17:28

      @Justin Riley Rose-tinted pessimism? New combo on me!

      @Mike Cartoon Pony Just a guess, but those who really enjoy "New Pony" (S6 onwards) may see your comparison of it to S1-S5 as being rather unflattering. All I can do is speak for myself, and I find your reviews especially interesting as being the perspective of a relative newcomer to this fandom, albeit one very familiar with animation more broadly.

      Delete