I watched episodes 7 and 8, and they were just... there. Sorry folks, but I just have little motivation to write reviews of them any more, and perhaps not even to watch them for a while. I'll keep an eye in case something does a "How Applejack Got Her Hat Back", but when I watch two Fluttershy episodes and give a giggle once (the cloud joke), something is wrong. Maybe with me, but the fact is Pony Life is not clicking.
Now, I want to make it clear that I don't hate this series. You'll have seen in my mini-reviews up to this point that I found some good things about it. But I'm increasingly solidly of the opinion that it's about on a par with the Equestria Girls shorts in terms of actual "I must watch this!" grabbing power, and that's really not enough. In fact, I haven't even watched all of those yet. So Pony Life is going on my back burner.
However, it's not all bad! Something I have a great deal of affection for is Friendship is Magic, and I will be making an effort to step up my rewatches so that there isn't a fortnight between each review! I mean, I'd quite like to get to the end of S9 this decade... "Sounds of 2013" could also do with a bit of a frequency boost, so I'll see what I can do there. And hey, maybe Pony Life will grab me in future.
You too, huh? I think coming at this series with anything approaching an analytical mind is an exercise in futility. :/
ReplyDeleteI should be fine, then. :D
DeleteBefore you wrap up completely, one thing that keeps tickling the back of my mind:
DeleteI remember in a previous blog, you mentioned the "noice" thing, which Rainbow Dash is continuing to do as more episodes come out. You'd speculated it was supposed to sound British; at the time, I couldn't come up with a rebuttal, but I realized later how it sounds to me.
Specifically, I recognize it as a thing out of the 90's, maybe the late 80's (they're basically the same). That leads me to believe it's more Californian surfer slang than a poor attempt to mimic the speech of the Isles. Because, yeah, it'd be a really poor attempt at that.
Huh. To my own surprise, I'm kind of bummed the current show's no longer clicking for you. I haven't bothered with the show myself - I don't care for or about it - but it was at least indirectly nice to see some people enjoying themselves. But if it doesn't click, it doesn't click. As the saying goes, "Que sera, sera."
ReplyDeleteMeanwhile, I'd be quite delighted to see more of your seasons catchup posts more often. Even when we disagree, it's nice for a bit of reflection and a chat. If nothing else, the atmosphere on this blog is much nicer than... elsewhere right now, and I could do with a friendly pony corner of the Internet.
Plus, it means we'll get to "Hurricane Fluttershy" faster! (Grins and nods enthusiastically).
It is a shame. I was rather hoping for, if not another FiM, then at least a bit of silly, throwaway pony fun. Maybe it'll get better. Maybe I'll feel better about it. I don't know. I'll keep an eye, as I said.
DeleteI will admit that one reason I keep this blog going has always been to have somewhere that isn't... elsewhere. That was the case even when... elsewhere was peaceful and calm, and right now I just can't cope with it in more than small doses. I shall try to remain, as you kindly put it, a friendly pony corner. (That wouldn't be a bad name for a toy line, Hasbro!)
Plus, it means we'll get to "Hurricane Fluttershy" faster! (Grins and nods enthusiastically).
This is the best argument yet!
This is the Worst! Possible! Thing!
ReplyDeleteNo, really! I quickly discovered that Pony Life wasn't for me, but it could have clicked with a reviewer I like, and then I could appreciate it at second hand. Or (and I plead guilty to rather preferring this option) it could have been so frikkin' awful that I would have been entertained buy the witty and acerbic take-downs.
But just "blah?"
Worst! Possible! Thing!
Yes, if we'd been talking "Non-Compete Clause" standard, I would at least have had a bit more fun in laying into it. Ah well. I'll get to the original "Non-Compete Clause" eventually, so there's something to look forward to. I think.
DeleteI've yet to watch a single minute of it, but I'll probably check it out soon enough - nopony has put me off as such, but equally my enthusiasm hasn't been sufficiently fired either. Like iisaw, I usually find bad more entertaining than mediocre, but I think on balance in this particular case, I'm glad if it's not actively *bad* as such.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I read this twice before the Oolon Colluphid joke registered, so there's that.
Oh my gosh, you're right! That H2G2 reference flew clean over my head until this comment. Ha!
DeleteWho is this Loganberry person, anyway? :D
I didn't like these episodes either, but I did rather like the next set. Oddly enough, episodes 9 and 10 were broken down into 4 unrelated stories, whereas 7 and 8 were loosely a single narrative. Normally, it'd be harder for the shorter format to tell a good story, but of course there are shows that do it well, like Adventure Time. I think if you do watch episodes 9-10, you'll think they're a significant notch up in quality. Not quite as good as AJ's hat, but there was a nice story to them, and the jokes were much more reliably funny. Pinkie in particular was used well. My main ripe is that the CMCs were used very generically despite shelling out for the actual VAs. And they basically recycled Cart Before the Horses.
ReplyDeleteAnd it's another one of those cases of, if you're a little kid who comes into this show without having watched FiM, who the heck are these three ponies that everyone else knows? I'm a grown-ass adult and I didn't even know who Apple Bloom was when she appeared in Bridal Gossip!
DeletePlus, like... What are the CMCs if they aren't crusading? How do cutie marks work in this (admittedly aesthetic) artist hellscape? What's even the purpose of including them in the show?
Could say the same thing about Discord, actually. Pony Life needs lore. >:B
@Pascoite: I'll almost certainly watch episodes 9 and 10 in due course. I'm just going to do it when I have nothing better to do, rather than making time for it. Mind you, recycling an episode I dislike even though I love (real life) motorsport isn't a plus.
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