Snake, you are so Random: Let's Watch My Little Pony

[Solid Snake]

FRIENDSHIP IS MAGIC

...In Pink Font.

So here's the deal guys. Solid Snake has no classes tomorrow, eight bottles of beer, half a bottle of Crown Royal whiskey, access to My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, and a site to post reviews of episodes and events as I get progressively more and more hammered.

You know what this means.

IT IS PONY TIME

...If you'd like to watch it with me, we'll be using Gamepad Dojo and this here lovely thread to discuss episodes as we dive headfirst into the abyss of awesome cartoons made for girls less than half my age.

...Or, at least I will.
I will probably be doing this alone, actually. My life is so awesome

If you don't want to join in the fun because fun is the opposite of something you are capable of doing tonight, then you can ignore this thread and go on your merry way.

...But if you are awesome, you will join Solid Snake. Or at least read his comments. And mock him for having no life whatsoever.

[Kim]

Because Snake didn't post a link when he mentioned it, if you're interested in joining discussion in the chat, the forums are here (http://www.gamepad-dojo.com/forum/index.php?action=forum). Sign up for an account and you can hop in the chat (denoted by the Trollian symbol) where I guess he'll be discussing MLP. I'm also guessing he'll link the ep there. I have no clue I just found out about this.

[Shin Amakiir]

I watched the first episode at the urging of a friend of mine. Personally, it looks just like a Slice of Life anime with ponies. I'm not sure how it made me feel.

[Solid Snake]

Why did someone choose "Butts" as the corresponding picture, this is far too awesome for butts. Also the "post icons" thing beneath the text box says "You may choose an icon for your message from the following list," not "You must choose an icon for your message. Grrrr.

Anyway yeah it's totally going to be an awesome party and everyone's invited, unless you're a total kooky dude and want to draw pictures instead like a certain someone who shall remain unnamed.

[synkr0nized]

Butts is the default, I think. Well, it's an imposed default by some, I suppose, though not the actual default.


Also I am not nearly drunk enough for this. To the liquor.

[rpgdemon]

Try not to get alcohol poisoning. Seriously. :P

I dunno the quality of the show, but I can only imagine.

[Fenris]

Why did someone choose "Butts" as the corresponding picture, this is far too awesome for butts. Also the "post icons" thing beneath the text box says "You may choose an icon for your message from the following list," not "You must choose an icon for your message. Grrrr.

Thread Tags: In order to keep topics on a certain subject or imply categories, you must include a thread tag when you make a new thread. They can be found just below the post box on the New Thread page. While tags are helpful, they are not a requirement when posting, only when making threads.
.

[Kim]

Try not to get alcohol poisoning. Seriously. :P

I dunno the quality of the show, but I can only imagine.

It is the best show... On American television.

[Solid Snake]

Anyway I have just watched the first part of the first episode of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic and Pinkie Pie is the greatest, yo.

Fluttershy is adorable and Rainbow Dash is totally this series' resident Kanaya, if you get what I'm sayin'.
Twilight Sparkle may grow on me, but for now she's kind of boring, though I guess playing the straight-and-narrow main character role kind of delegates her to that position.

...The other ponies have not made sizable impressions just yet.

Best moment so far: Pinkie Pie hostin' the party, she's awesome yo, I need to find someone with her kind of crazy hypnotic energy.

If you haven't joined the party yet there is still room on the Partymobile

[synkr0nized]

Rainbow Dash and Nightmare Moon are clearly the best, but Twilight is a great main character [or so it seems she is the focus so far].

[Karrrrrrrrrrrresche]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6zHZj8Xp-Ik
This has been my only contact with Ponies.
I approve.

[Pip Boy]

I think we need to mix this up a bit. Instead of just you commenting in the forums every now and then, could you get a recording to your reactions to the show as you're watching it, and post it with the show on youtube?

[MuMu]

We were going to have a stream and hear all of Snake's reactions first hand but he backed off at the last minute.

It was pretty magical anyway, I'm up for other ponies nights.

[Solid Snake]

I think we need to mix this up a bit. Instead of just you commenting in the forums every now and then, could you get a recording to your reactions to the show as you're watching it, and post it with the show on youtube?

...That would require far too much effort. Just join the Gamepad Dojo chat!

...Also Part 2 of the first Episode is...cheesy. It has solid moments of characterization and, as usual, stellar PINKIE PIE IS RANDOM random asides, but it's also filled with some moments of painful dialogue about "friendship" and "magic" that's clearly intended for the target demographic.

...However, Pinkie Pie sang a song about monsters. That alone redeems the episode. "I'm sssooo excited!"
Also Rainbow Dash nearly got seduced into the arms of the enemy.
And, Twilight's becoming less boring, even if she's darting a bit close to Mary Sue territory.

If you haven't joined the party yet WHAT ARE YOU DOING

Finally I'm down two beers, starting on the third.

[PCD]

Ohshi how did I miss this

I basically have made it my goal to watch this show with as many people as possible and revel in their reactions of confusion and usually joy

[Solid Snake]

Ohshi how did I miss this

I basically have made it my goal to watch this show with as many people as possible and revel in their reactions of confusion and usually joy

Yeah, we watched up to "The Ticket Master" before calling it a night.
It was fun. We'll do it again, I'm sure.

And Pinkie Pie is still the greatest

"Oh the Grand Galloping Gala is the best place for me, for Pinkie..."

[Lost in Time]

Reading this forced me to watch the episodes this morning by myself and live tweet it on my twitter. I'll be doing it again in not to long.

[Donomni]

Everypony should be watching this.

EVERYPONY

[Flarecobra]

http://sadpanda.us/images/383224-J4US510.jpg

Anyway, from what I've seen (One episode), the animation style just WORKS for it.

[Geminex]

Huh. I can... kinda see why people like this. I watched the first episode a while ago, and it was okay. The second was more... nyaaaah. Too friendship-y. But once the elements of harmony were out of the way and the slice-of-life stuff started, it got better. Ticket Master's pretty good. Aaaand now they just had a huge chase scene to a sountrack remarkably similar to the benny hill scene, and I think I juuuust might watch a few more episodes.

[Solid Snake]

Huh. I can... kinda see why people like this. I watched the first episode a while ago, and it was okay. The second was more... nyaaaah. Too friendship-y. But once the elements of harmony were out of the way and the slice-of-life stuff started, it got better. Ticket Master's pretty good. Aaaand now they just had a huge chase scene to a sountrack remarkably similar to the benny hill scene, and I think I juuuust might watch a few more episodes.

Don't start the next episode just yet. We'll all be watching it together pretty soon.

[Solid Snake]

Spoilers for Episode 19:

I don't think I've laughed as hard at a television show in recent memory as I laughed during the course of Spike's fantasy.
...That was a freakin' phenomenal episode.

<3 <3 My Little Pony <3 <3

[rpgdemon]

Where are these episodes? I am curious now.

[Jagos]

Grown men should not be watching this...

And yet it's like Clerks 2...

I'm grossed out but strangely, I can't look away.

[Flarecobra]

So we jumped from what, 3 to 19?

[Seil]

Boy, if you're thinkin' that's pink, then I got somethin' to show ya'.

[PCD]

I was just debating with a friend the other day about romance in kids' shows--namely that I'm tired of seeing it and would much rather it not get in my My Little Pony. He pointed out Spike's crush on Rarity, to which I replied, "Yeah but that was episode 1, it probably got forgotten like everything else from the pilot."

This episode made me so glad I was wrong.

[Flarecobra]

Seil, you both are pink. However your's shows up as more salmon-color, while Solid's is more neon pink. To me at last.

[Solid Snake]

So we jumped from what, 3 to 19?

No one was interested in watching episodes with me, so over Spring Break, I...
...Watched all the episodes. >.>
<.<
>.>
<.<
>.>
<.<
>.>
<.<

::cries over lack of life::

[Solid Snake]

This episode made me so glad I was wrong.

Serious Episode 19 Dissection, Because I Like Walls of Text About Shit I Like:

Nine times out of ten, particularly on shows explicitly marketed to young kids of one gender or the other, the comic relief character of the opposite gender of the main cast with the huge crush would be treated like dirt and exploited for cheap laughs. Like, "Ooh, boys, aren't they weird? Watch this loser make a fool of himself." (And certainly, a similar phenomenon is often present in "boy's shows," where the girls are just one-dimensional eye candy who perpetually need to be saved from imminent doom.)

...I think I actually really appreciated that it didn't quite happen with Spike. Sure, Rarity benefited from Spike's desire to get his hands dirty for her sake, but she also offered him compensation for his work, and it never reached a point where I thought the "token boy" was being woefully mistreated. Heck, Applejack even seemed mildly supportive (or at least harmlessly bemused) during a cute moment with him, and even Twilight let Spike indulge in his fantasy moment.

I personally would be strongly against any romantic connection between Spike and Rarity -- in part because MLP is a show for kids and serious relationships don't have much a place here, and in part because I've always interpreted Spike as considerably younger than the girls, so his crush would be something akin to an elementary school boy puppy-dog pining for his older sister's friend.

But it's nice that the ponies haven't delved into cheap slapstick shticks, and it's nice that at least one male character on the show is a more fleshed out, three-dimensional character. Spike's dream sequence was delightfully insipid, (and yes, selfish) but it also shows a willingness for the show to gradually expand its horizons beyond the established main characters, and I think that's a brilliant move.

I also thought there was just about a perfect balance in the "moral" or "message" of the show, although some on Youtube seemed to disagree with that. Personally, I thought Rarity bested the dogs in a way that simultaneously affirmed her independence and stayed true to her imperfect characterization, warts and all.
It felt like a perfect blend that the show didn't cater to Spike's inadvertently chauvinistic damsel-in-distress fantasy, and that Rarity was more than capable of saving herself; but it also was pretty great that Spike actually did have a few moments of likable heroism in his earlier efforts to help her escape harm. And later on, the other ponies did most the work, anyway. No one came off as stereotypically incompetent or one-dimensional. I appreciated that.

Yeah I mean, I've read a few arguments that Rarity "defeating" the dogs with tactics of "whining, complaining, and crying" could be seen as reinforcing sexist stereotypes and I do understand that. What little exposure of comments I've read have suggested to me that it's one of the more controversial episodes on its own merits. I still liked it as a whole, although I'm curious as to how folks like NonCon and Mirai will view it.

[Donomni]

Honestly, I thought this episode was great. Spike, obviously, but if this episode leads to more Rarity as a sly chessmaster, I'd be all for it.

[Azisien]

So I'm four episodes in right now and it's pretty good. Going to keep watching it for sure. Oh yeah, My Little Pony is the only TV I watch. Woo.

[PCD]

Returned, Because I Like It Too

What has driven me insane for so long is the needless inclusion of romance in kid's shows that I never felt added much beyond "look, boys and girls like each other, it creates drama." Namely, as an asexual individual, I've been frustrated by the lack of presence of platonic friendship between girls and boys that aren't already in a relationship.

Spike's crush on Rarity isn't fully ideal in this, but it has yet to become obnoxiously prominent in any regard. There are full episodes where he doesn't favor Rarity over his other friends at all (which some could see as inconsistent writing, but I choose to take it as not being excessively hammered with BOYS LIKE GIRLS or that crushes have to take priority over all friends), and like you said, Spike isn't being treated as the hopeless buffoon over it, either. His dream sequence was something we've all seen before, but very silly and never taking itself seriously. It's being treated as something the girls find acceptable, if perhaps unlikely for anything to come of it, since I certainly can't see Rarity much reciprocating.

Personally, I love Rarity's character. I can see how people would take issue with her girly behavior, not wanting to ruin her pedihoof despite being in danger, or simply annoying her captors being portrayed as using her wits. It certainly isn't a realistic portrayal of a kidnapping, but I found the sequence of her refusing to compromise herself and chewing out her captors for it to be really entertaining. The other girls had their own imagination of Rarity being helpless due to her loathing of dirt and work, but Rarity herself never let her panic get the best of her.

Basically, I love it when there's a character who's very very feminine in a show, but not shown as either weak or pure bitch for it. She really won me over in the Suited for Success episode, which showed off that being prissy doesn't mean you don't look out for your friends. She embodies Generosity for a reason, and though she might sometimes mess up for it, like in Sonic Rainboom, her heart is in the right place, and that's what makes a friend. She's prissy, but not in the way of so many bitchy female antagonists you see on television. I know people will take issue with her character, but honestly all the girls are flawed in one way or another, and it's the combination of their flaws and strengths that make them each great characters.

[synkr0nized]

Oh no I missed you watching more?

[Kim]

Chiptune version of Art of the Dress (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AfhUJbDQ1JA)


FFFFFYESSSS

[Flarecobra]

If you were going to introduice someone to this, what episode would you say would be best used?

[Kim]

Most people seem to say the pilot, but I honestly think the pilot is the worst episode, though it still has plenty of ace parts. The Griffon episode is a good one, I think, as is the dragon one with Fluttershy.

[Solid Snake]

If you were going to introduice someone to this, what episode would you say would be best used?

Disagree on the Griffon episode -- despite including a great deal of awesome Pinkie Pie moments, it doesn't really highlight the group dynamics sufficiently to make it the best episode to show a newcomer, in my opinion.

Personally, I'd strongly recommend the episode (and no, I don't remember the name) where Fluttershy confronts the dragon. You know the one. It's perfect because it has the major characters interacting together through the course of their adventure up the mountain, it includes some moments that reveal the personality traits of the respective characters, has great Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy moments, Rainbow Dash kicks a dragon, and...yeah.

...It's my favorite episode in the series, really.

EDIT: Apparently I missed NonCon pointing out that episode after mentioning the Gilda one.

EDIT 2: HOW DID I FORGET MY PINKIE PIE FONT

[Donomni]

It's called Dragonshy(SO CREATIVE), and yeah, it's an excellent episode to introduce people to in regards to everypony.

[PCD]

Winter Wrap-Up is also a good one, since it's got all the girls in there, it gives a pretty good feeling for how things work in the world of Equestria. It's still secondary to Dragonshy, though, since that one has more badass moments, and an actual sense of potential danger. Winter Wrap-Up has the advantage of a stupidly catchy song, though.