tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1106648781852702786.post1077226685708381700..comments2023-11-10T00:18:38.053+00:00Comments on A.T.D.I.: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic "Bats!"James Corckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16994731268585922124noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1106648781852702786.post-66389050590267386172014-03-10T10:42:51.559+00:002014-03-10T10:42:51.559+00:00(cont.)
There were a few number of very disturbing...(cont.)<br />There were a few number of very disturbing flaws in the second half of the episode.<br /><br />For example, the annoying inconsistencies:<br />The anatomy of the bats - how do the seeds get into their mouth? They don't eat the apple, just suck its juice (as Pinkie explained very well).<br />There were some incompatible things: Rarity's chemical protective clothing; Twilight's slideshow - it would be fine in a Star Trek movie on a holoprojector, but not in MLP; Pinkie's hair did some really strange things, and the digging reminded me of the old cartoons. All in all, these things strongly ruined the atmosphere.<br />Why did AJ have to sacrifice the giant apple? It seemed that Flutterbat likes every kind of apple and could have been easily gathered by a bucket of normal-sized apple.<br />Flutterbat couldn't do the stare on herself properly because she was unconscious(!). She just couldn't do it. Then, how the hell did the reversal spell work? The bats weren't even involved in it.<br /><br />The moral was okay, but the implementation was far from that. I wanted to see the resolution of the story at the end, but the important parts were missing. We will never know, how could Fluttershy convince the vampire fruit bats not to destroy the whole orchard, and why was her solution better than Applejack's (we all know that long-term solutions aren't always better than the short-term ones; it is a more complex question even in this particular case).<br /><br />The dramatic thread -despite being good- remained in the background. There was more potential in this conflict, I guess.<br /><br />I could have had a problem with Twilight's practise of magic, but honestly, it was funny. She hadn't learned from the past, she made the same mistake for the third time with an awkward spell. She used the spell without knowing or caring about the consequences. When I heard Twilight's idea, I knew that some kind of huge disaster would happen.<br /><br />So, is this a good episode? Yes, I think. Is there anything noteworthy in it? Yes, of course, the song! I love it! It will be my favorite song in Season 4 and I will sing it both day and night for a pretty long time.nemderogatoriushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11479519156593310864noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1106648781852702786.post-12167528808819508702014-03-10T10:42:08.962+00:002014-03-10T10:42:08.962+00:00Okay, this was basically a good episode. Though, I...Okay, this was basically a good episode. Though, I have some major issues. My rating is: 3+/5. This is because of the Bats song and the dark, creepy atmosphere that I really enjoyed.<br /><br />Let's see the good points first.<br /><br />The absolute best thing is the Bats song. I can't express my enthusiasm! It is the best MLP song ever! The opposing viewpoints were pitted against each other in a breathtaking way. Applejack's parts were very dark while Fluttershy tried to balance it with kindness and harmony. The graphics followed the mood perfectly. The song ended in a frightening and hilarious situation, when the Mane 5, like a group of dark cultists, creeped out Fluttershy.<br /><br />Flutterhy/Flutterbat was so cute! She is unbelievably kind as a pony, but as a vampire bat, you better not disturb her. I liked her bat-design and the transformation -fangs and pointy ears, yay!<br />What little drama was present was quite good. Poor Fluttershy. Her inner struggle was heartbreaking. She was determined about the bats, and she was right from the start. However, she was forced to do the "stare" on them and all this over that fucking apple-cider.<br />After all that had happened, Applejack made a great sacrifice to save her friend, which is a beautiful thing.<br /><br />The graphics were surprisingly dark, but I liked it. Sweet Apple Acres turned out to be as creepy at night as the Everfree Forest. For example, the bare tree branches were really scary and established the tone very well.<br /><br />The moral: long-term solutions are usually better than short-term ones; perhaps, we are of the opposite opinion, but it has nothing to do with being friends.<br />It wasn't carried out very well. I will discuss it later.<br /><br />The interactions were strong. It was good to see an AJ contra FS conflict. The different ways they relate to the vampire fruit bats were also interesting. Twilight seemed to play the role of the judge, though, her solution was closer to Applejack's.<br /><br />The most epic things for me were the following: AJ at the apple harvest - haha, she expected beautiful red apples, instead of rotten ones; AJ's giant apple; Fluttershy's hunger for apples - honestly, that scene was hilarious; Sweet Apple Acres at night - I want more creepy places like this; Fluttershy was torn between the bats and her friends and put on a never-seen heartbreaking face.<br /><br />AJ is as stubborn as always, but she didn't become mad at Fluttershy. She was really worried about losing her. It was the thing that brought depth into the story.<br /><br />I must say, the first half of the episode was awesome. It was the best possible beginning, but unfortunately the third act, the "solution" part was over-hasty.<br /><br />However, there is a surprise at the very end: Fluttershy's fangs were shortened, but didn't completely disappear. What's this? Well, a new strange event (this season is already full of strange things) and it's confusing. So, I very much look forward to seeing what will come from this.nemderogatoriushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11479519156593310864noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1106648781852702786.post-35224527643573603332014-01-07T22:48:24.407+00:002014-01-07T22:48:24.407+00:00I don't get one thing though...how come Flutte...I don't get one thing though...how come Fluttershy used stare on herself while being a bat if she said that she dared to use it only in dire circumstances. Though I presume it could be because she got scared of herself in the mirror and automatically used it then...Draggyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09246513930264445002noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1106648781852702786.post-69672914104957690172014-01-06T08:31:28.214+00:002014-01-06T08:31:28.214+00:00Another great review.
Flutterbat stole it all.Another great review.<br /><br />Flutterbat stole it all.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1106648781852702786.post-73904331666580581742014-01-05T08:46:53.249+00:002014-01-05T08:46:53.249+00:00Haha, looks like you and I both had the same idea ...Haha, looks like you and I both had the same idea for the header image with this episode.<br /><br />Anyway, great review as usual. I was curious to see if this would warm you up to Merriwether Williams and I'm glad it did since she's one of my favorite writers on the show. Still, it seemed to me that some of the things that defined her style in earlier episodes like the harsher characterization and stories were dropped in favor of a more uncontroversial style that focused on her humour and substance. I concede that AJ and her stance was still dark on MLP standards but unlike other episodes by Williams, these aspects were born from good reason rather than character flaws. While I love this episode as much as her other great (imho) episodes I'd be a bit sad if she drops all her old habits since I personally appreciated her willingness to make characters look bad, and I consider both Mare Do Well and Putting Your Hoof Down to be important episodes regarding their protagonist's development due to this.<br /><br />ANYWAY, I feel like I'm dragging on so I'll wrap up. I LOVED what you said about night in MLP. That's definitely an understated quality about the series and I always find myself partial to these night-time episodes. <br /><br />Had to laugh at the Bram Stoker's Dracula reference. While I personally consider that an amazing movie (one of my top favorites actually) seeing it stabbed in a pony review is too good!Metal Ganadohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11091612579836270074noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1106648781852702786.post-29466465942238371072014-01-03T01:52:49.271+00:002014-01-03T01:52:49.271+00:00If you want a good balanced reviewer, try AnYpony....If you want a good balanced reviewer, try AnYpony. The German guy. He has a really good format that leads to balanced conclusions, and he genuinely has fun. I unsubbed to pretty much every reviewer besides him already.<br /><br />Anyway I liked this episode. It was a decent problem with an interesting twist to the conclusion.Jonathan Mandelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18125598273586744120noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1106648781852702786.post-27822976381954741052014-01-02T19:06:05.545+00:002014-01-02T19:06:05.545+00:00Hehe, good review as always.
Funny that you menti...Hehe, good review as always. <br />Funny that you mentioned Twilight´s reaction because when I saw that I was reminded of Tennant´s on Tooth and Claw. Science people just can´t ignore a new species. It´s fascinating =) Alesiohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15230792488270133118noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1106648781852702786.post-69919217111483867912014-01-02T17:25:47.727+00:002014-01-02T17:25:47.727+00:00-This is the perfect example of an episode I like,...-This is the perfect example of an episode I like, but don't quite love.<br />-I feel that the story couldn't find an adequate balance between the pathos and advancing the plot. Pairing Applejack and Fluttershy for the leads in an episode is a dynamic the show hadn't explored until now, so I think it's a missed opportunity for the series to take that dynamic and establish a conflict between the two characters, but as the episode progressed, it drops that in favor of turning the episode into a mini-monster movie. There's a throwaway line about how AJ feels sorry about what she's done, but the show doesn't give her a chance to let the viewer sink in that remorse, especially after being at such odds from the beginning and how she wanted nothing to do with their plan to get rid of the bats and she got to pay for it worse than her friends. Yes, they make up at the end, but it still feels that something was missing.<br />-The design of Flutterbat is really good and just the idea of turning Fluttershy into a literal monster is a very appealing scenario. I still feel that they should've tried to do make her do something funny.<br />-If there's one aspect the show has been very good at all season, it's atmosphere. The transformation of SAA into something that could very well be a part of the Everfree Forest is very seamless and uncanny. <br />-All things considered, I'm willing to call this the best episode written by Merriweather Williams since at least Hearth's Warming Eve (I'd say Putting Your Hoof Down, but I can't really defend some of the claims made against it).Arturohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07660813614072812727noreply@blogger.com