Generation 5

[Caldwin]

I would rather they have just not connected it to G4 at all. Barring that, may mention it briefly as backstory and then never again, like they did in the movie. If they start repeatedly referencing G4, it'll be like the creators are living in the past and don't have enough faith in G5 to let it stand on its own...which would be a great disservice to G5, because they really do have a great cast of characters here.

 

[CoffeeHorse]

To be fair, even if they keep this up and never completely break away from G4, it's still more than most franchises are doing right now.

 

[Dvandom]

Of course, even though this is licensed and approved, it's not necessarily "canon". Remember the "lasso the Moon" story that kicked off the IDW G4 comic? A lot of stuff from the G4 comic got contradicted later on. Similarly, there's stuff in the Tails of Equestria TTRPG that was approved and official and will never be part of the canon.

---Dave

 

[blueskyscribe]

I feel like Hasbro wanted to keep the G4 connection just in case there were opportunities to sell combo G4 / G5 toys . . . which indeed we've seen in several sets already. That's just how it goes with toy-based shows.

I thought the G4 to G5 connection was fine (but I hope G5 doesn't reference G4 much because, real talk, I was pretty tired of G4 by the end of it). Personally I thought it was awesome that they shook things up so much. I was expecting the Transformers treatment where we got the same six characters over and over, decade after decade, and instead they gave me a rad dystopia.

I don't see the setting as besmirching Twilight's legacy or whatever. Even after thousands(?) of years, someone remembered her and so admired her that they took action to make the world a better place. That's a pretty good legacy, IMO. More than most people leave behind.

In conclusion, Twilight Sparkle looks better as a G5 toy than a G4 toy and I will die on this hill.

 

[Caldwin]

I thought the G4 to G5 connection was fine (but I hope G5 doesn't reference G4 much because, real talk, I was pretty tired of G4 by the end of it). Personally I thought it was awesome that they shook things up so much. I was expecting the Transformers treatment where we got the same six characters over and over, decade after decade, and instead they gave me a rad dystopia.

my feelings on FiM are...were...well documented. FiM really changed a lot of how I view things as far as "boy franchises" vs. "girl franchises." Hell! It's because of FiM I can watch old school She+Ra and get the toys and not give a damn w anyone thinks. So it'll always have a spot in my heart.

BUT...I was reeeeeally feeling the burn out long before the end of it. I stuck it out because the show meant so much to me. But I was burned out long before it ended.

I'm kinda torn about Transformers. To me it's always been about Optimus and Megatron (with a few other legacy characters. And the way Hasbro's dealt with the franchise so far, at this point I'm not sure they could get rid of those characters if they wanted to. It would be like TMNT without the brothers.

But aside from a few toys here and there, I'm pretty much out of Transformers now. So I don't think my input matters so much on that franchise.

MLP on the other hand...eh! I mean, they do have characters that have been represented in multiple generations (Applejack, Minty, Pinky Pie, Twilight). But they've never rea been what I'd call legacy characters. FiM had the Mane 6. Gen 3 had (mostly) Minty and Pinkie Pie. G1 had no less than three different groups they followed (Midnight Castle, post-Midnight Castle, Tales).

So really I just never felt there was much of a need to tie G5 into FiM. MLP just wasn't the kind of franchise to depend so much on previous generation.

I understand why Hasbro would want to make an exception in this case though. FiM really was a cultural phenomenon. It took MLP from being "that girls toy from the 80's" to being the poster-child of eliminating the lines between "boys franchises" and "girls franchises." It wouldn't be hyperbole to say it was history making

Still don't want it to be the end all be all for MLP.

 

[CoffeeHorse]

You know what I'm kinda reminded of? The Wind Waker. It's a post apocalyptic future built on the ruins of everything Link accomplished in Ocarina of Time. Most characters don't even know what happened. Nintendo really wanted you to remember Ocarina of time, to the extent of including two versions of it as a pre-order bonus.

Wind Waker is my favorite Zelda.

 

[Caldwin]

I already ranked all of the Zelda games over in Hyrule Townsquare. But yes, Wind Waker was one of the greats.

 

[Videomaster21XX]

Ha Wind Waker a good game. Ha ha ha.

Anyway, we've got a look at the new youtube shorts for pony.

It shows at about the two minute mark in this video. It's... yeah not very good. At least art style wise. Too close to Pony Life.

Gonna have to get used to the new voices. I still don't understand why we didn't just keep the movie voices. I mean the VAs we got have done plenty of TV and TV movie stuff. Why not this?

 

[Dvandom]

Yeah, but they cost more.

---Dave

 

[ZakuConvoy]

I'm still betting we get the movie voices again in a Movie sequel. And, chances are, we ARE getting a Movie sequel, since it was as successful as it possibly could be given the way it released.

And like it or not, Hasbro does seem to be embracing this "comedy style" of show. *vague gestures over to Botbots*

 

[CoffeeHorse]

Maybe it's what kids like these days. But I was a kid once, and in my experience it's a distinct possibility that this style was created with no input from kids, and then kids were told that they like it.

Being a kid sucks. Would not recommend to a friend.

 

[Caldwin]

Been there done that. The not hurting in every body part and being able to eat whatever the hell I want without a thought to consequences was nice. I could pass on just about everything else.

 

[Dvandom]

A lot of the "Go-ification" of properties (Thundercats Roar, Pony Life, etc) comes from the natural tendency to copy what's successful. Teen Titans Go is actually successful with the target demographic, even if I can't stand it I recognize that others do like it. Then other shows try do the same thing, but with varying degrees of success. Some may actually go to test audiences of actual kids, others just assume they know how to copy a successful formula. It's like how a drug is "FDA cleared," which means they didn't get actual approval, they just convinced the FDA it was pretty much the same as something that previously got an okay.

---Dave

 

[ZakuConvoy]

We got a few seconds of footage of Make Your Mark in a Netflix look-ahead.

At 7:08 if the video doesn't go right to it.

Spoiler

The ponies, themselves, look pretty good. Some of the backgrounds look a little flat, shading wise. But, they are using the Rainbow Brighthouse like in the Tell Your Tale series and that looks fairly pretty in places.

 

[ZakuConvoy]

Spoilers for the July comic solicitations below:

Spoiler

I know there was speculation, but I guess our mystery guest character really is...

Equestria Girls Spike?








Okay, kidding, it's really Discord, completely confirmed.

MY LITTLE PONY #3 CVR A EASTER (MAY221543)

With Discord on the loose, Izzy, Sunny, and Pipp hunker down to look for clues! And Detective Zipp is on the case, too, right? Well... not when Queen Haven is away at a royal conference and needs a babysitter for her beloved Cloudpuff. But Zipp ends up pulling double duty when Cloudpuff goes...

www.previewsworld.com

Oof, this is going to get depressing, isn't it?

 

[CoffeeHorse]

IDW's gonna IDW this really hard.

But I don't care as long as they get the G5 characters right. I want to see them in some content that isn't 5 minute vignettes.

 

[blueskyscribe]

IDW did such a nice job illustrating the G4 ponies, I can't wait to see them take on G5.

I was pleasantly surprised by the animations for "Make Your Mark". I knew it was a new studio (Atomic Cartoons) so I was expecting different animation models and (what I was most nervous about) stiffer, more "polygonish" hair like you see in Star Wars 3D cartoons. Like, it's a legitimate stylistic choice so no shade, but I was still pre-emptively bummed out.

But actually their hair models look pretty much the same as in A New Generation, texturing and all! I mean, they probably move with a little less finesse, but it looks . . . like hair. Beautiful shiny hair. <3

Anyhoo, Boulder Media (who did A New Generation) are a subsidiary of Hasbro, which is probably why Hasbro was able to directly move assets to another company. I'm thrilled to see them still in use, even if the cartoon won't be quite "movie quality."

 

[CoffeeHorse]

The movie quality was so good that it could afford to be downgraded a few points for TV and still be decent.

The movement looks okay to me. Their joints are still in the right places and the different body types make it hard to tell if everyone's using the same walk cycle.

 

[ZakuConvoy]

Yeah, I'm not sure how I feel about IDW seemingly being the branch of this franchise to be responsible for LORE, either. All last generation, "IDW isn't canon" was basically a meme. Could it be that in G5 IDW will be....the most canon?!


And I'm actually pretty sure that Make Your Mark is using completely new models.

Interesting Comparison Between Tell Your Tale, G5 Movie, and "Make Your Mark" Izzy

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic News, Brony and bronies, my little pony merchandise, pony art, pony music, pony media

www.equestriadaily.com

Izzy's hair is SLIGHTLY shorter...that's all the proof I have that these are new models. The new models are looking pretty decent for TV animation, though. Late May can't come soon enough for the special.

 

[CoffeeHorse]

Huh. That makes this a lot more impressive if they're not recycling movie assets. I figured they'd coast off the movie to save some budget but no, they're not taking shortcuts.