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Post by japaneseteeth on Jul 4, 2014 20:53:44 GMT
Okay, I finally got around to the end of the reflections arc. The short version is that while it's not Terribad like so many people make it out to be, I think it's definitely one of the weakest arcs so far. Celestia's characterization is... questionable, and the resolution is a bit unsatisfying because the pacing is iffy. In general it feels like they had a good premise that got overtaken by a RomanticPlotTumor. The art is still great, and there are lots of good jokes, though.
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Post by Applelight Limited on Jul 6, 2014 13:30:29 GMT
I finally got caught up with the friends forever series!
The Fluttershy and Zecora one had some hilarious little jokes with the talking animals (right from the start, on the cover, Harry needing bog roll!) and I'm impressed with how they managed to keep Zecora's rhyming speech patterns up. That makes this story a valuable source of information on how to write her properly in fics. And I was delighted with the reveal of the source of the problem, and surprised at myself for having not figured it out sooner.
The Rainbow and Trixie one gets top marks just for shedding more information on Diamond Dogs (and showing what the female ones look like). The story was OK I guess. Not much to say about it really. More magical items is always good though.
The art in both was excellent too. Very very nice to look at.
Next up is the main arc, which I'm really keen to catch up on.
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Post by nomuru2d on Jul 9, 2014 2:16:15 GMT
Hey guys! I know I don't pop on often, but I got stuff autographed by Katie Cook yesterday. Specifically, my lady's #1 Mane Six covers collection and my copy of #17 from Free Comic Book Day. While she was signing all of those, we got into a bit of a talk about a gag in #17 - Luna as Pinklestia.
Did you know that everyone else on staff was so ignorant of the toyline that they thought the gag was the equivalent of pony blackface at first?
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Post by japaneseteeth on Jul 9, 2014 3:36:49 GMT
That must've been awkward.
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Post by Applelight Limited on Jul 9, 2014 14:42:33 GMT
I know I don't pop on often That's OK, but I wish you'd visit more often. And yeah, the blackface thing must have raised a few heads! Also tonight I'll get to read this reflections arc, and find out what the deal is.
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Post by japaneseteeth on Jul 9, 2014 16:40:27 GMT
Best of luck.
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Post by Sydxelia on Jul 9, 2014 20:28:14 GMT
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Post by japaneseteeth on Jul 9, 2014 21:03:18 GMT
It has Celestia riding a unicycle. This is gonna be good.
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Post by Applelight Limited on Jul 10, 2014 14:27:43 GMT
OK, having read the reflections arc I can give some opinions. First off, as always the art and the premise were fantastic. There was some seriously great artistry on the backgrounds, great expressions etc. and this arc had some serious potential. But like a lot of others who've read it I feel like a big part of it was wasted. An alternative opposite universe where the evil! Mane Six only have a brief cameo? A little disappointing imo. As to the whole love story thing, whilst I don't have any problem with romance in FIM per say, for once I feel like it did get in the way. Although this side of Celestia was nice to see. Finially, there is the fourth wall breaking remarks, like pinkie saying who cares about continuity, that it's a kids comic, and then that background poster that says 'if you're reading this you're putting too much thought into it'. I honestly don't know how to feel about these. See the show breaks the fourth wall all the time and yet it dosen't feel odd. I found them funny of course. I'm just not sure if these sorts of things work as well as they do in print as opposed to the screen. But of course, I may be putting too much thought into it .
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Post by japaneseteeth on Jul 10, 2014 17:14:40 GMT
That pretty much sums up how I feel about it. Lots of potential that they didn't follow through on. I think the issue boils down mainly to two things:
1. Focusing too much on a romance that wasn't interesting enough to merit the attention it got.
2. The resolution not being adequately developed and not really flowing naturally from the earlier plot points.
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Post by Applelight Limited on Jul 10, 2014 17:42:09 GMT
Yeah I would call those the two key issues.
I heard though some people wanted to quit the series thanks to this arc and I just think that's an overreaction. It's not terrible, just underwhelming.
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Post by japaneseteeth on Jul 10, 2014 18:04:28 GMT
Definitely. I'd say it's the weakest arc so far, but it's hardly a death knell for the series, any more than MMDW was one for the show.
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Post by Applelight Limited on Jul 10, 2014 21:38:48 GMT
Definitely. I'd say it's the weakest arc so far, but it's hardly a death knell for the series, any more than MMDW was one for the show. Yeah, exactly! And next up I hear it's a Friends Forever story featuring Luna and Pinkie? That's something I'll enjoy!
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Post by Sydxelia on Jul 16, 2014 17:54:00 GMT
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Post by Applelight Limited on Jul 16, 2014 18:06:08 GMT
Yes! The comics are always good with Fluttershy so this should be fun!
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