5 Things I Want to See in Season 3 of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

It was only a couple of months ago when I discovered Friendship is Magic. I had never realized how well-written the show was, just a couple of months later and I consider it to be the greatest cartoon of the 21st century. It's a show where you can go back and enjoy each episode a second time. Season One debuted back in 2010, with Season Two the following year. Personally I think Season One was a little better, but they're both great. The third season is on course to come out this year, truly exciting. Here are five things I want to see happen.

5. More Princess Luna

Princess Luna was the first major villain of the show, under the guise Nightmare Moon. As a villain, she was about as cheesy as they can get, perfect for the premiere two-parter. In the end, she departed from her evil ways to be reunited with her sister, Princess Celestia. After that, she disappeared for all through Season One. She reappeared in the Season 2 episode Luna Eclipsed. In it, we discover that she wants to be liked  by the public but due to her scary background and deep voice, the other ponies of Ponyville aren't too welcoming and run away in fear. So Twilight Sparkle takes it upon herself to get Princess Luna acquainted and change her villain background name. She then disappears until the season finale two-parter where she makes a brief appearance in each. Princess Luna is definitely one of my favorite characters, and one of the more interesting ones in general. Her relationship with Princess Celestia is like that of Sonic and Shadow. Celestia is the day-time light-hearted hero, whereas Luna is the night-time more serious hero. I'd like to see her get another episode to herself. I was disappointed that she didn't get to fight against Queen Chrysalis in the season 2 finale, I want to her fight alone or alongside her sister at least once in the upcoming season. She has a great personality, I'd like for an episode to explore it.

4. The Cutie Mark Crusaders Get Their Cutie Marks

The Cutie Mark Crusaders are a team of young ponies consisting of Rarity's sister Sweetie Belle, Applejack's sister Apple Bloom, and a young Pegasus who thinks Rainbow Dash is awesome, Scootaloo. These girls have one main thing in common: they're the only ones in their school without a cutie mark. Debuting in the episode Call of the Cutie, the running gag is that throughout the show they do all kinds of crazy stuff in hopes of their marks appearing. In one episode Apple Bloom unnaturally gets a fake cutie mark through the use of Zecora's potion. Two seasons later, it makes sense that they would finally get it. After all their endeavors, they deserve to finally get them.

3. The Return of Discord 

Nightmare Moon wasn't truly an evil villain at heart, just one angry sister. Queen Chrysalis on the other hand was pure evil, fooling the cast other than Twilight and having a definitive goal in mind. As queen of the Changelings, her goal was to make sure they have food and take over Eqestria. She was rather serious for the most part, no fooling around. Discord on the the hand loved to have fun with the ponies. Instead of being a straight up fighter, he plays mind games. In the Season 2 premiere, he got the Mane 6 to disband. This guy is just a real blast to watch, he loves chaos and likes to mess around with the characters. I mean, Twilight's like "Stop it Discord, you're not playing fair!" and he's like "I'm not playing fair? Perhaps we haven't met. I'm Discord, spirit of chaos and disharmony, helloooo." His lines are just great. I would love to see this guy return for another two-parter.

2. An Armageddon Future Episode 

In one of my favorite shows ever, the 2003 incarnation of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, it had an episode titled Same as it Never Was. The story in that takes place in an alternate future where the show's antagonist, the Shredder, is ruler of the world. The turtles have lost, there is only the Shredder in a very 1984-like setting. I'd love to see an episode like that this upcoming season. Swap out Shredder for Queen Chrysalis, we'd have a very interesting and dark episode. Having Twilight somehow getting warped into the future and finding out the Mane 6 have disbanded and Queen Chrysalis reigns supreme over Equestria would make a cool and memorable episode. It would also be a neat way to bring back the Queen without having to worry about doing a present-day story with her.

All those things are great, but the primary thing I would trade any of the above for is...

1. The Same Level of Quality 

Friendship is Magic is a great show for one primary reason: each episode brings something to the table, each episode is filled with quality. The writing, stories, voice acting, songs, and most of all, the friendship morals, are what makes this show fun to watch and why I personally think it's one of the greatest. I want to see that continued in Season 3, I don't want the show to go down the Spongebob path and become something that was once good, but now something mindless. Thankfully, I doubt it'll go down that route.

And those are some things I'd like to see in this upcoming season. If not, then in probable future seasons.

Why My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is the Greatest Cartoon of the 21st Century

My Little Pony is a franchise title that associates itself with the likes of Barbie and Polly Pocket. Then Friendship is Magic came along and changed that. Let's head back two months ago. Now I as many others have always known about the franchise, you know, those little pink pony dolls you see in Toys R Us. It wasn't for people my age really. Friendship is Magic I didn't think was any different. To be honest, I didn't even know much about it, I just made an assumption because of the My Little Pony insignia. I would sometimes see the ponies in ads while watching Transformers: Prime on the Hub. Outside of that, I never really saw them. On the internet I began to realize just how popular the show was, spawning hundreds and hundreds of memes. I found out that there are legion of fans who are guys, and that they're labeled 'bronies.' (Bro-pony.) I thought that was...interesting. Sometimes on TOHO Kingdom I would take a peak at the Friendship is Magic sub-forum, these guys were really into it. Throughout the internet I kept hearing about how amazing the toon is. Great animation and stories I would hear. One day I was having breakfast and looking for something to watch on demand. I went into the Hub section and ran into a couple of Friendship episodes. I was there, doing nothing other than having a meal, so why not? That way I could see what all the hype was about. I ended up watching The Show Stoppers. I was a little taken off-guard, it was pretty nice and cute. Okay, so the following day I saw another one on demand, Fall Weather Friends, which featured more of the main cast. Now that was good I thought, it was entertaining, funny, and even gave you a warm feeling inside. So after that I typed the show into Netflix and to my amazement it was streaming the entire show. I started to watch episodes out of order, ones that sounded good. Eventually, I decided to start from square one and work my way through. About a month later, I am finished with Season 2. Wow. Even after finishing Season 1 I knew it...this show was a true gem. Yes, I'm a fan, big fan even. I haven't seen a cartoon like this in a long time. No, I'm not overrating it, it really is a fantastic show.

First off, there is literally nothing wrong with this show. I'm using wrong with both definitions. There is nothing wrong in terms of negatives. As a reviewer, I cannot find any faults with the show. There is literally nothing negative I can say about it. If you read my On the State of the Cartoon post, you would know that I'm not fond of today's cartoons in general. Obnoxious, poor story telling, and is completely moral free with main characters going against their parents almost every episode. (The Amazing World of Gumball....stay away from that show.) There is nothing bad about this series. There's no crude humor that parents would find off-putting, no questionable main characters, and just remains a really innocent show. Most importantly, there are plenty of great morals found. Let me give you a quote from Twilight Sparkle herself:

"It's great to be really good at something, but it is important to act with grace and humility." ~Twilight Sparkle

Grace and humility? Do you hear that ever in any cartoon today? I'd like to think there are two types of cartoons, ones for entertainment and ones moral based. (Cartoon Network vs. PBS Kids.) Friendship is Magic combines them both. I've seen enough things such as anime where they have the cheesy friendship speech where the main character gets hidden power and all that nice stuff. Thankfully, this show is anything but cheesy. The morals come natural as the characters learn them. And don't think these are things only little kids can take out of, people my age could also take them to heart, they're that good. In today's violent world, we could use a show like this. One that's free of today's culture and makes you smile. (I hope I'm not sounding cheesy now.)

Twilight Sparkle is the show's front runner, but the rest of the characters also get plenty of episodes centering around them. We have Fluttershy, (as you guessed, the shy, low-voiced one) Rarity, (the one who is into fashion and looking good) Applejack, (a swift contrast to Rarity, works at an apple farm and doesn't care all that much for fashion) Pinkie Pie, (the hyper one who loves parties and making friends) and finally Rainbow Dash, the tomboy of the group. This is probably the most well-written cast of characters I have ever seen. Their personalities are all extremely well defined, which makes interaction all the more entertaining. You will most definitely have a favorite. They're all awesome however, you can't really dislike any of them. This is of course thanks to the smart writing. In today's toon world, I'm going to admit I have zero expectations for any new TV-Y show, I expect the writing to be juvenile and cringe-worthy. Not here. Another thing I like is how new viewer accessible it is. The Show Stoppers was an episode in the middle of the first season, yet I had absolutely no trouble following along. It takes really good writing and story telling to be able to make practically every episode one which a new viewer can jump in.

I hate sing-a-longs, I really do. I almost died from watching High School Musical 2. I really cannot stand them. Tangled, a very good movie, had them which felt kinda forced in my opinion. Once I heard the first song in an episode here, I started to shout the Darth Vader "Nooooo!" from Revenge of the Sith, but then stopped, cause the song was actually pretty good. This may sound shocking, but the songs in the show are really good, even a little emotional sometimes, it gives you that warm and fuzzy feeling, they're really well done. (Highlights include Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash's pet song duo and At the Gala.) I think I'm going to have to put some of these on my iPod now.

The thing about this show is that you actually care about the main characters. Such as when Fluttershy is sent away in tears from being pushed around by a griffon called Gilda in Griffon the Brush-off or when Rarity is kidnapped in A Dog and Pony Show. Then there's the emotion-filled final two parter of Season 2. I am amazed at the amount of emotion these episodes pack. I gotta say that I don't find too many things in media funny these days. You will be astonished at what passes for 'humor' in cartoons and sitcoms alike. Here the humor is genuinely funny. There's the classic Fluttershy going kinda crazy in the finale of Season 1, almost any scene with Pinkie Pie, among many, many other things. The voice acting is phenomenal. I don't think I've seen a show with better voice work. Each of the ponies' voices compliments their personalities 100%. There are three major villains, Nightmare Moon, Discord, and Queen Chrysalis. All written surprisingly pretty menacingly, especially Discord. While this isn't an action show, don't think it holds out on letting the ponies let loose. Especially in the final episode, where they battle an army of demonic servant things working for Queen Chrysalis.

What I'm saying is that Friendship is Magic is the perfect cartoon. There are literally no faults to be found. These last couple of paragraphs I would never have thought I'd write if this was two months ago. I've spoken to a quite a few people who are hesitant on checking it out just cause of the My Little Pony insignia. If you think it's just a little girls show to help sell the toys, *newsflash* it's not. You're talking to a 16 year old guy who enjoys movies like The Matrix and Aliens. This show is not the stereotype you're thinking it is. It's a series full of heart. With Season 3 starting next month and a comic series coming in November, it's not going away anytime soon. Every thing stated above is why I think Friendship is Magic is the greatest show of the 21st Century, and maybe ever. And with that said, I will close with another quote from Twilight:

"Friendship is a wondrous and powerful thing. Even the worst of enemies can become friends. You need understanding and compromise. You've got to share, you've got care." ~Twilight Sparkle

Week in Review: Transformers: Prime Season Finale and Look-Back

Airachid: "You have something to say, Soundwave?"

Soundwave: "....."

Airachid: "I command this vessel, you will resume your post!"

Soundwave: "....."

I don't know about you guys, but I've been dying of anticipation to watch this episode all week. Once I saw the preview, it was one of those "freeze and jaw on the floor moments." I had high expectations for this episode. Now that I've watched it, (and again on YouTube) I'll give you a review, and even a look-back at the first season, talking about the characters, and what they got right and wrong. Minor spoilers approaching.

The plot continues as Optimus and the Autobots follow Megatron into the core of Unicron. Meanwhile, aboard the Decepticon vessel, Airachid claims that Megatron is lost, and that the Decepticons should move on with her in charge. Soundwave has something to say about that....

Wow. That was the one word I thought while watching it. After, I was speechless. This episode is by far the best in this show yet, and one of the most exciting episodes of ANY show I've ever seen. Amazing writing, epic fight scenes, and just had a very cinematic atmosphere. I found my myself getting supremely excited over some scenes, (SOUNDWAVE!) which I hardly do.

There are some really big pay-offs in this episode. We get a very nice flashback of Optimus and Megatron before they were hated enemies. Very in-depth and helps newbies understand. The biggest pay-off (for me anyway) was Soundwave taking a stand against Airachnid. Seriously, I have been waiting for this guy to make a move, I'm glad the writers understand that he's not just the computer guy, he knows how to fight. (Megatron did make him his chief among his followers.) That scene with Airachid getting humiliated automatically gets five stars. 

The Unicron plot finishes, though fans might be disappointed at how fast the "Chaos Bringer" loses. To be honest, this arc lacked pizzazz, he wasn't fully fleshed out. Optimus and Megatron, them being the central characters of the show, have some great scenes in this episode. Hated enemies, but have their backs in honor. The other Autobots don't really do much, but that's to be expected. Jack and the rest of the pitiful humans are thankfully nothing but side-characters. (Jack's mom says that they should play a game to ease the tension. I mean really?) Also, that important Cybertron card Optimus gave Jack? He's tapping it against a rail casually like it's some credit card. And that ladies and gentlemen is why we need more mature main characters. And I have to wonder why Bulkhead was the only one effected by Dark Energon. 

Overall, fans will be disappointed at how fast the Unicron plot finishes. On the other hand, this episode is packed with thrills, not a dull moment. (Excellent music by the way.) Soundwave finally shows Airachnid who's the real person in charge, I'll never forget that moment. (Seriously, I've been waiting for that.) When they said a mind-bending ending, (saw what I did there?) they weren't joking, even I was caught off-guard by how ambitious it was. You are not going to want to miss this.

10/10. PERFECT score.

So the first season of this show is over. Transformers has had a lot of incarnations in the past. G1 is still, and always will be, the most popular and recognized by fans. There's the infamous Beast Wars, the anime trilogy, and Animated. (Which was pretty horrible by the way.) Prime seems to want to appease both fans of G1 and the movies.....and it succeeds wonderfully. It takes the good stuff about the franchise, and just puts a hint of the movies in. (Like Bumblebee not being able to talk.) The show succeeds in having that cinematic atmosphere, having superb voice acting, great animation, amazing fight scenes, (more hardcore than you would think from a Y7 rating) and spectacular writing. There are many standout scenes, such as when Ratchet became powered up and entered the Decepticon base. Megatron laughs, saying he isn't a threat. Ratchet then punches Megatron to the ground, with the ladder getting up and saying "Alright then." Another great moment was when Megatron entered the Autobot base, saying "So this is where the magic happens. Quaint." Those are just a few of the amazing dialogue pieces. Now I will examine the character re-designs. 

Optimus Prime is the same as always. Voiced by the ever great Peter Cullen, he brings a certain calmness, putting the atmosphere at ease, even with certain death impending. Megatron has his look more akin to his movie incarnation, but with the famous Frank Welker as his voice. He is definitely his most evil yet, none of that cheesy "Decepticons, RETREAT!!!!" nonsense. Bumblebee completely resembles and acts like his movie incarnation. I don't mind, he was never a major character to begin with. Fans of Arcee may be annoyed at her color change. But really, I can't picture an all pink bot running around. Bulkhead, a character first introduced in Animated, (though technically his name was first used in Energon) is portrayed as the strong, but not very bright type. So take that as you will. Now, for Soundwave.

Soundwave's re-design is by far the most diverse, sporting a completely different look. The major change that had us fans scratching our heads was that he doesn't talk, he's silent. His new ability is being able to record anything through computer, and play it. (Heh, I still remember when he played Arcees's recording way back in episode one, and everyone thought he was a girl.) We're so used to his awesome computerized voice, this wasn't welcomed. However, after episode one, I began to appreciate this re-design. Him being silent, (though he could talk, according to producer Duane Capizzi, he just chooses not to, how awesome is that?) made him unique in this show, and his look is by far the coolest. The only gripe is that he was underused, way too underused. He was absent for some major episodes, and sometimes all he would do is just making a standing appearance, it was like the writers didn't know what to do with him. The season finale finally gave him a fight, (seriously, up until that point, he hadn't fought once) and truly established his character. He's not this quiet computer whiz you push around, you mess with the order of things, you better watch out. This Soundwave is by far the coolest of his incarnations, my favorite character. 

I almost forgot to mention Starscream. He's like his campy G1 self, but at the same time, cunning. (He is voiced by all-star Steven Blum, which helps.) He was surprisingly absent for the Unicron arc, then again, what could he do? Nothing, he's not exactly the brightest or strongest. Original character Airachid brings something new to the table. (She might be a Predator wannabe, but she's cool anyway.) Her story and rivalry with Arcee is a very good dynamic, especially with the flashbacks. Knockout and Breakdown are good, they bring some genuine humor. There's this evil human group called MECH, I forgot about them throughout this arc. Let's face it, they are NOT INTERESTING. I don't see why they were added in the first place, they really bring nothing to the table.

Some things I have to mention, good and bad. A bad thing was when Megatron came back to the living, he didn't destroy Starscream, even though he knew that the ladder would have destroyed him in space. I didn't get that, after that fiasco, I would have expected him to completely eliminate Starscream. The humans are just plain annoying, the episode where they are absent or side-characters are always the more enjoyable ones. Seriously, I want to see a whole arc without these guys. The show succeeds in giving each character a diverse personality, something G1 was lacking. (I love the scene where Soundwave sends Laserbeak to monitor Starscream, it's those little moments that make this show stand out.)

Overall, if you haven't been watching Transformers: Prime, what are you waiting for? Old and new fans alike will greatly enjoy this show. Season Two is coming soon, so catch up with the episodes. The series has been good with keeping the episodes exciting and non-filler, the only episode I didn't care for was the one with those Scraplets. The two things this show needs to do are: Give Soundwave a much bigger role in things, and.......destroy off Miko, I don't know how, just do it.