Welcome to another edition of Alicorn Reviews and we have another season premiere on our hands once again. However, I want to go back to where it all started from Season 1. It's just that S8's premiere reminded me so much of how we got introduced to MLP. Many people who went into this would not expect Hasbro to do a great job considering MLP was never known for its quality. It's obvious that FIM broke expectations beyond anything Hasbro had in mind and would become an instant sensation. The series follows Twilight Sparkle, Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Rainbow Dash as the main characters. There are additional characters that act as support characters like Spike and Celestria but these are the only ones that's present often in these episodes. The episode acts as an introduction into the world of Equestria as it starts off with Twilight reading off an ancient tale about the Mare in the Moon. We get introduced to Celestria the princess of the kingdom and her sister who became Nightmare Moon called Luna. The art style for the tome in this scene actually captures Equestria's lore in many ways. It diffidently sets up the back story without needing to write a full scene. Unlike today where the theme has truly expanded, the earlier seasons always had that simple charm to them. Moving on to the Mane Six, it's no wonder they became fan favorites immediately as I found each one relatable. My personal favorite (aside Sunset) was Twilight as she always has been the one I looked forward to the most. I relate to her because of how much of a dork and nerd she comes off. That's another thing which is missing currently from Twilight, and it's her sarcasm. Now that this is a thought, I'm starting to miss when she used to state sarcastic comments or simply mocked someone under her breath. Another trait that stood out was her as a leader to the Mane Six. You can obviously see why Celestria was pushing for Twilight as she possessed leadership skills and could assess the situation when needed. Of course, we have the others who also have defined personalities we've as the Brony community have grown to love. From Applejack's hardworking and honest attitude to Fluttershy's... well shyness and kindness truly sets them apart. Even Rarity's proper and fashionista persona and Pinkie's happy party antics gives us something to look forward to. It also didn't surprise me that Rainbow was the jock of the Mane Six; I mean every magic girl group always has one. It's true that Rainbow's personality came off simplistic in terms of being the jock. The same could diffidently be said about the rest of the Mane Six as like any magic girl group had their obvious tropes. However, this was just the first two episodes and the writers would only grow their characters through the next few seasons. The moments the Mane Six experienced is what really made them become fan favorites. The best ones were Twilight's interactions with Rainbow, Spike, and Rarity as it created some funny moments. Their interactions are only taken further when they ventured into the Everfree Forest so they could stop Nightmare Moon. The most memorable moments are actually from the second episode as each girl used their traits in skill and the element they represented. It worked to their advantage as every obstacle Nightmare Moon threw at them they would overcome each one together. It's their qualities as ponies that helps Twilight understand friendship in many instances. That was the spark needed to stop their adversary and for Twilight to discover her element. An interesting note, the way Rarity, Pinkie, and Rainbow are still portrayed here was like night and day compared to Gen 3. Unfortunately, I had the absolute horror of watching Gen 3's horridness and seeing these characters act so differently was hard to endure. Imagine Rainbow with Rarity's personality and Rarity acting like an immature filly. It really doesn't get anymore worse then that for these favorites to act so stupid from a previous gen. Lauren Faust obviously needs a huge thank you from us for getting these girls out of their crappy rut. Nevertheless, switching to these redefined personalities is what truly saved them and makes each one interesting. For Nightmare Moon/Luna, this truly was a great way to start the gen and it's actually similar to the first episode from Gen 1. Similar to Tirek from Gen 1, Nightmare Moon portrayed herself as a competent and potential conqueror. Luna's back story isn't the most innovate origin that we haven't seen already from the large list of antagonists. However, it works here and didn't sound contrived in how the writers presented her. The way Nightmare Moon placed several obstacles against the Mane Six as they tried to reach the Castle of the Two Sisters was a little clever. I mean come on; she caused them to nearly fall to their deaths above a cliff and instigated a manticore to kill them. Seriously, that doesn't get any more evil and its traits like this we've haven't seen since Gen 1. One of her other abilities besides her strong powers in strength and magic casting is causing mind games against the girls. I know this was the girls' first true adventure but why would they get scared of cartoonish "scary" trees, I mean even Pinkie laughed at them. Perhaps Nightmare Moon knew how they would react to these situations based on their interactions in Ponyville. DHX obviously did a good job writing the first villain of this verse. Looking back, I wish they kept Nightmare Moon a villain throughout Season 1 where she's introduced. Then by the finale have the Mane Six face her again but this time they would try to save Luna using the elements. The lore used in this verse surprised the hell out of me back then as in just the first two episodes, DHX was able to hook me. As you have known for the last three decades, MLP was often considered a joke. It was even more so over ten years ago, a time where Kingdom Hearts was the only badass Fairytale verse...well until MLP Gen 4 over threw it. Even though Ponyville, Canterlot, and the Everfree Forest were the only areas revealed, it still added to the simple concept at the time. The world of Equis (it's what I call these worlds in my head canon) would become a little similar to its parallel Human World later. When starting a verse or one based off a previous gen, it's ideal to begin from a humble beginning. Upon re-watching these episodes, I remembered how the Mane Six made the Everfree Forest sound like a place of horror. It diffidently sounds cliché now but at the same time the mystique of the area still had many mysteries to offer. At this point, the Everfree Forest has become no different compared to its counterpart from the parallel world. It does upset me a little that that those same mysterious aspects of the area was once a part of the lore. In retrospect, this is what happens when a studio puts effort into a verse then rely on its usual girly tropes. Instead, the writers used good writing and developed characters with unique personalities. Despite the effort Hasbro put into the premiere of this new universe, I only found a couple of issues. Throughout both episodes, I noticed several instances where the cutie marks were swapped on the Mane Six. The same thing happens with Celestria's tail at the end of episode 2 where it's coming out of her cutie mark rather at the tailbone. That can easily be overlooked as DHX was probably running on a deadline by the higher ups. Most of the time I really don't noticed them aside Celestria's tail misplacement. I'll assume they were getting the hang of the animation and art style since it was vastly different from Gen 3. The next one isn't really a flaw but I noticed some things now compared to back then after sitting through seven seasons. Applejack's voice sounded very different in season 1 compared to the later seasons. I found out that the voice actor Ashleigh Ball in an interview stated that she would start lowering Applejack's voice over time. It was because she also voiced Rainbow Dash and had to keep a higher pitch for her. One last thing and that is with Luna as I noticed when she gets turned back to normal, the mare acts as if she is a young kid. For some reason Hasbro retcon this in Season 2 where she sounded competent and wise as Nightmare Moon. Of course, this makes the retcon a flaw in the writing because why would they make her sound competent as Nightmare Moon but be portrayed childish as Luna. The season introduction of Gen 4 was truly successful as DHX managed to take a once crappy franchise and turn it into an overnight sensation. I couldn't imagine MLP actually being good for once since for decades it was never a quality show. The cast of characters for the first season was a breath of fresh air and most of them didn't have girly contrived personalities. That was always a stigma MLP had which is why it solely worked with Hasbro's demographic of little girls previously. The Mane Six were definitely the highlight of the episodes as we learn who they are as the main cast. Another thing that made this opening was using a powerful and competent antagonist of Nightmare Moon. Taking inspiration from Gen 1's premiere with Tirek was ideal and I can see where they got the concept for Nightmare Moon. As for any issues, it just came down to some placement problems as I'll assume the animators ran on a deadline. Then there's the fact of Luna's portray as a young filly compared to how she's presented in later seasons. The writers obviously didn't think ahead when writing Luna because she gets retcon into a wiser character with a regal voice. For once Hasbro took it upon themselves to make MLP something more than just a show for little girls. Rating: 8.5/10 Great
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