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Post by Tross on Jun 24, 2019 15:07:29 GMT -5
So...after this Saturday's episode, it looks like the usual mid-season hiatus has started, although it's supposedly going to only be until the start of August, so that's only about a month and a half.
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Post by OttselHero on Jul 2, 2019 8:29:47 GMT -5
So...after this Saturday's episode, it looks like the usual mid-season hiatus has started, although it's supposedly going to only be until the start of August, so that's only about a month and a half. A short hiatus? Well, that's good at least. What are your overall impressions of the season thus far?
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Post by Tross on Jul 2, 2019 14:41:15 GMT -5
So...after this Saturday's episode, it looks like the usual mid-season hiatus has started, although it's supposedly going to only be until the start of August, so that's only about a month and a half. A short hiatus? Well, that's good at least. What are your overall impressions of the season thus far? Well, it's not perfect by any stretch, but it's a definite improvement over last season. It has certainly been consistent in its quality. There are one or two duds where the message is kind of clumsy or the characterization is a little off, but there's usually other stuff going on to make it interesting such as an unexpected cameo of a character from a previous season, or checking something off the fan-wishlist. The best episodes on the other hand are great and the lessons are weaved effectively into the narrative while the characters are spot-on. Attention has been well-distributed among the various parts of the ever-growing cast IMHO, with some starring Starlight or the Student Six, while there is still time for the Mane Six and the CMCs. So far we haven't had a Fluttershy, Pinkie or Rarity or Pinkie episode yet, but I've read synopses for episodes starring both of Andrea Libman's characters. Now here's hoping there's a Rarity episode between episodes 19-24 (since 25 and 26 will surely be the series finale). It's the only thing it's missing. I mean, The End in Friend had better not be the last true Rarity episode. Sure, she plays a big role and is fantastic in Sparkle's Seven (season 9 episode 4), and she does have a decent role in the Rainbow Roadtrip special, but those are stories where all of the mane six share the spotlight. As for the specials I watched yesterday, the EQG one is the story in that choose-your-own-adventure style book I told you about. The short answer is I like the book better, not just because it has reader agency, but because almost all of the mane six (except maybe Fluttershy) has some time in the spotlight in some of the routes and endings, and there are more nods to Groundhog Day, not to mention some pretty dark endings and the book doesn't actually establish how long Sunset has been in the time loop. That said, the special is good too. It includes the basics, including the main story route. It even does some things a little bit differently, so both stories are worth checking out. Also, it doesn't have problems like having a main page face a page with a huge spoiler or certain minor things making less sense if you arrive at a page via a route other than the one it clearly builds on. I've since found out that Sandalwood is the name of the EQG character known colloquially as Eco-kid(green-haired hippie), but I didn't remember that before reading this book and his interaction with Sunset in that one ending still makes more sense if she took his yoga class. Sorry, long rant. Sandalwood only makes a minor cameo in the special anyways, and there's no yoga scene(as great a Groundhog Day Easter Egg as that is). The point is, the special is more basic, but it also doesn't have some of the issues of a branching story due to it being presented in a linear fashion here. The Rainbow Roadtrip (nice reference) special is pretty decent too. It uses an art style that's more like the movie, albeit with a smaller budget, but the voice acting is great and the story itself takes its time and is full of great character moments. It's pretty straightforward and clearly aimed more at the target audience, but the writing is decent. It's also, interestingly enough, not produced by DHX. I wonder if the studios involved will produce more specials in the future. This special only stars the mane six and the characters they meet on their journey, with Spike making a cameo in the beginning, so no Starlight. I'm ok with that though. It's a decent special overall. Maybe season 9 isn't the last we will see of FiM. I hope that's the case. Perhaps it might live on with the occasional hour-long special released periodically. I also haven't heard anything about EQG or the comics or books ending, so we will see about that.
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Post by OttselHero on Aug 5, 2019 9:41:13 GMT -5
It's sad to think that the final BronyCon has just ended. I was sad not to go, but I had the trip of a lifetime back in the spring, so that was the sacrifice I made. I'm scrolling through their Twitter page right now, and apparently they auctioned off a fully functional party cannon signed by Andrea Libman. Wow.
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Post by Tross on Aug 6, 2019 0:23:23 GMT -5
It's sad to think that the final BronyCon has just ended. I was sad not to go, but I had the trip of a lifetime back in the spring, so that was the sacrifice I made. I'm scrolling through their Twitter page right now, and apparently they auctioned off a fully functional party cannon signed by Andrea Libman. Wow. Wow indeed. That's awesome! That would cost a lot though. I met Andrea Libman once and she seems like a really nice lady. So even the main BronyCon has ended, huh? That's sad. That's something I went through when my local con ended, but now it's ended for everyone. Season 9 just resumed too, so it won't be long now until the show is ended as well. I think I've fallen behind on the spinoff media. I'll have to check more of it out. Hopefully that at least will keep going.
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Post by Tross on Oct 13, 2019 2:25:00 GMT -5
So..it really is the end of an era. Today's the day FiM officially ended. *Sniff* It has been a good season overall, and a huge improvement on the last. It gets a point off for having virtually no Rarijack shipping (seriously, how could they neglect best ship), but otherwise it's a pretty solid season.
Apparently there's a "Season 10" planned for the comics. The comic staff decided to keep the current numbering for the issues, but I guess they will continue the story. It looks like the books have slowed down, if they haven't completely stopped. I hope they will have a resurgence. The new OEL manga series will probably help satisfy my pony fix. I hope there will be an Elements of Harmony Volume III. If I were to make a wishlist of pointless novelties I would legit buy, it would be a "Friendship Tome" that would literally consist entirely of the Friendship Lessons from the Elements of Harmony Guidebooks, just with all 9 seasons worth of episode recaps in one book. Hopefully Hasbro and Little Brown will make it happen.
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Post by OttselHero on Oct 15, 2019 11:21:09 GMT -5
So..it really is the end of an era. Today's the day FiM officially ended. *Sniff* It has been a good season overall, and a huge improvement on the last. It gets a point off for having virtually no Rarijack shipping (seriously, how could they neglect best ship), but otherwise it's a pretty solid season. Apparently there's a "Season 10" planned for the comics. The comic staff decided to keep the current numbering for the issues, but I guess they will continue the story. It looks like the books have slowed down, if they haven't completely stopped. I hope they will have a resurgence. The new OEL manga series will probably help satisfy my pony fix. I hope there will be an Elements of Harmony Volume III. If I were to make a wishlist of pointless novelties I would legit buy, it would be a "Friendship Tome" that would literally consist entirely of the Friendship Lessons from the Elements of Harmony Guidebooks, just with all 9 seasons worth of episode recaps in one book. Hopefully Hasbro and Little Brown will make it happen. Aww, it's going to be so tough to watch now. I'm glad to hear that it will continue in the comics, though. I will most certainly look forward to that. As for when I'll start watching Season 9, things are a little busy at the moment, but I will try to begin watching it within the next week or so.
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Post by Tross on Oct 16, 2019 0:18:44 GMT -5
So..it really is the end of an era. Today's the day FiM officially ended. *Sniff* It has been a good season overall, and a huge improvement on the last. It gets a point off for having virtually no Rarijack shipping (seriously, how could they neglect best ship), but otherwise it's a pretty solid season. Apparently there's a "Season 10" planned for the comics. The comic staff decided to keep the current numbering for the issues, but I guess they will continue the story. It looks like the books have slowed down, if they haven't completely stopped. I hope they will have a resurgence. The new OEL manga series will probably help satisfy my pony fix. I hope there will be an Elements of Harmony Volume III. If I were to make a wishlist of pointless novelties I would legit buy, it would be a "Friendship Tome" that would literally consist entirely of the Friendship Lessons from the Elements of Harmony Guidebooks, just with all 9 seasons worth of episode recaps in one book. Hopefully Hasbro and Little Brown will make it happen. Aww, it's going to be so tough to watch now. I'm glad to hear that it will continue in the comics, though. I will most certainly look forward to that. As for when I'll start watching Season 9, things are a little busy at the moment, but I will try to begin watching it within the next week or so. I don't think you will be disappointed...other than the fact that there won't be a televised season after this. It's also uncertain whether the "season 10" in the comics will be its swan song or if there are plans to continue it beyond that, but I guess we will find out soon enough. That and whether the art style will be show-accurate or vary like it does with every other comic. Starting in issue 69 there seems to be a new artist named Toni Kuusisto whose art is quite reminiscent of the show. Maybe he will do the art for the comic continuation.
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Post by Tross on Oct 23, 2019 13:16:00 GMT -5
The new Equestria Girls Holiday Special is not too bad. It's a series of roughly 6-8 minute shorts, but it works. It may not have the kind of plot that a full-blown film has or even the 30 minute specials, but unlike the 2-4 minute specials that are dropped on the internet periodically, there's more time here to set up the story and see it through and there aren't any issues with the pacing. That it released in October...is consistent with the show specials, so I guess EQG can join the club on that. Actually, October is way closer to Christmas than the FiM specials usually were.
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Post by OttselHero on Oct 27, 2019 12:56:36 GMT -5
The new Equestria Girls Holiday Special is not too bad. It's a series of roughly 6-8 minute shorts, but it works. It may not have the kind of plot that a full-blown film has or even the 30 minute specials, but unlike the 2-4 minute specials that are dropped on the internet periodically, there's more time here to set up the story and see it through and there aren't any issues with the pacing. That it released in October...is consistent with the show specials, so I guess EQG can join the club on that. Actually, October is way closer to Christmas than the FiM specials usually were. I wonder if they chose to release them that way so that they have time to end up on Netflix in time for Christmas. When did "The Best Gift Ever" come out? I feel like that appeared on Netflix shortly before Christmas last year.
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Post by Tross on Oct 27, 2019 16:53:55 GMT -5
The new Equestria Girls Holiday Special is not too bad. It's a series of roughly 6-8 minute shorts, but it works. It may not have the kind of plot that a full-blown film has or even the 30 minute specials, but unlike the 2-4 minute specials that are dropped on the internet periodically, there's more time here to set up the story and see it through and there aren't any issues with the pacing. That it released in October...is consistent with the show specials, so I guess EQG can join the club on that. Actually, October is way closer to Christmas than the FiM specials usually were. I wonder if they chose to release them that way so that they have time to end up on Netflix in time for Christmas. When did "The Best Gift Ever" come out? I feel like that appeared on Netflix shortly before Christmas last year. That's possible. I can't remember, but now that you mention it maybe that's true.
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Post by OttselHero on Dec 4, 2019 12:52:50 GMT -5
I still haven't watched Season 9 yet because of the continuing extortion scheme on Amazon (still no option to purchase the season as a whole). At this point, I'll probably be waiting until it shows up on Netflix.
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Post by OttselHero on Jan 9, 2020 11:17:55 GMT -5
We like to have Jeapordy! on in the background at work. If we know the answers, we usually shout 'em out, but I felt compelled to hold my tongue when an MLP question came up. The clue went something along the lines of, "Tara Strong plays Twilight Sparkle on this television series." None of the contestants knew the answer (or were holding their tongues the same as I was).
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Post by Tross on Jan 13, 2020 0:38:50 GMT -5
Well, my friend informed me on Thursday of a con I didn't even know existed and is into its second year. Apparently BronyCAN has been revived as Vanhoover Pony Expo, and it's hosted in January for some reason. I'm not sure how my friend knew about this con as she's not a Pegasister, but the important thing is she told me about it and I went. I couldn't go Friday as I already had something to do, but I made sure to go yesterday and today.
I will say, it was a lot smaller and a lot more chill than BronyCAN was. There weren't as many panels, and there weren't as many vendors (not that that stopped me from checking out what wares there were). However, it also kind of reflects not only where the fandom is currently, but where I'm at currently. I still love FiM, but it's not the obsession it once was for me. That said, it's still something I enjoy, and I did like meeting a friend or two from previous cons and making some new ones. I refrained from getting into CCG tournaments, as I would have had to relearn the game and decided to focus on other things. I did spend a lot of time in the board game room though (which this time was the same room as the CCG room). I played quite a few official and fan games, the standouts being MLP Monopoly and Buck Legacy.
The con had a few guests. Since I already had Kelly Sheridan sign my ultra rare Starlight Glimmer Chrono Trigger CCG card three (or I guess just under two and a half) years ago, I collected a signature and artwork from Chiara Zanni, who voiced Daring Do. She was really nice. The mascots from BronyCAN returned for this con, and joined this con's mascots, so technically there were four mascots at this con (and I hope they stick around for next year).
I have once again over-spent on con merch, most of which I don't need and has just added to my pile of pony stuff in my closet. I did buy a few CCG packs, just because. Apparently Enterplay is winding down with the CCG. On one hand I thought it died ages ago, so it's good to know it's still around. On the other, I got a super rare and an ultra rare, neither of which are foil, because apparently Enterplay wanted to save money. The ultra rare Applejack card I got has a bit of a shiny design in the corner of it. The super rare is indistinguishable from any other card besides the SR in the corner. Apparently future CCG cards will require printing out as they will be distributed digitally. Lame. Oh well, I guess I should be glad they're still around but they don't excite me anymore.
I bought a few other miscellaneous things such as a few mini expansions for Twilight Sparkle's Secret Shipfic folder, and an unopened Funko Bon Bon vinyl figure to pair up with my sealed Lyra from some years ago, a nice Celestia poster and a Rarity button, but the thing that excites me most that I bought is a MLP-themed tarot card set (ok, the Bon Bon figure also excites me). It cost me $65CAD, but it's a really well-done set. The art is great, it comes with a free velvet drawstring bag, and it just feels so professionally done. It is actually a functioning set too as it has both the major and minor arcana. Those official Persona arcana cards I have are only of the major arcana, and are the size I imagine clow cards from Cardcaptors being, so they're not ideal for shuffling either. This set is.
Well, there is one problem with the tarot set I bought in that it's missing an equivalent to the lowest value of face cards for the four suits of the minor arcana, so it's a 74 card set as opposed to a 78 card set. I looked up the cards online and the art for them seems to indicate that they never did produce an equivalent to the page (medieval servant). The set includes equivalents to everything else though. The major arcana cards are all the same as the official major arcana, except that they depict FiM characters. For the minor arcana, I did some research. The suit of horns is clearly equivalent to the suit of wands (duh). I found out the suit of power is equivalent to the suit of swords, wings is equivalent to cups and hooves is equivalent to coins (with Ace through Ten being represented by horseshoes). Instead of the king of each suit, there's the Emperor of Power and the Empresses of Horns, Wings and Hooves. The Queen of each suit is still called such. There's the Prince of Power and the Princesses of Horns, Wings and Hooves, which I'm assuming are equivalent to the Knight. I decided to treat them as both the Knight and Page and make up a rule of rolling a die, with high rolls indicating a Knight reading, and low rolls indicating a Page reading. I don't actually believe in tarot so I'm perfectly fine with making up nonsense like that. The Ace through Ten of each suit is just like it is in an official deck.
So...I had fun. For a surprise pony con, I'm glad I went, and I'm ok with it being low key. Also, although the con was still spread out across two sides of a building that require exiting to outside to enter the other side (which is less fun in the winter when the wind is picking up), at least it was not also spread out across a few different floors of the hotel, and the vendor hall was close to where the main panels were happening this time. It's still in the same building, but I disliked having to move from a main panel to the vendor hall way to the end of the winding corridor in the other building and am glad I don't need to do that anymore. All in all, it was kind of like Christmas...including the financial hit that Christmas entails. Yes, that metaphor works in more than one sense. I'm glad I went though.
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Post by OttselHero on Jan 18, 2020 14:03:43 GMT -5
Well, my friend informed me on Thursday of a con I didn't even know existed and is into its second year. Apparently BronyCAN has been revived as Vanhoover Pony Expo, and it's hosted in January for some reason. I'm not sure how my friend knew about this con as she's not a Pegasister, but the important thing is she told me about it and I went. I couldn't go Friday as I already had something to do, but I made sure to go yesterday and today. I will say, it was a lot smaller and a lot more chill than BronyCAN was. There weren't as many panels, and there weren't as many vendors (not that that stopped me from checking out what wares there were). However, it also kind of reflects not only where the fandom is currently, but where I'm at currently. I still love FiM, but it's not the obsession it once was for me. That said, it's still something I enjoy, and I did like meeting a friend or two from previous cons and making some new ones. I refrained from getting into CCG tournaments, as I would have had to relearn the game and decided to focus on other things. I did spend a lot of time in the board game room though (which this time was the same room as the CCG room). I played quite a few official and fan games, the standouts being MLP Monopoly and Buck Legacy. The con had a few guests. Since I already had Kelly Sheridan sign my ultra rare Starlight Glimmer Chrono Trigger CCG card three (or I guess just under two and a half) years ago, I collected a signature and artwork from Chiara Zanni, who voiced Daring Do. She was really nice. The mascots from BronyCAN returned for this con, and joined this con's mascots, so technically there were four mascots at this con (and I hope they stick around for next year). I have once again over-spent on con merch, most of which I don't need and has just added to my pile of pony stuff in my closet. I did buy a few CCG packs, just because. Apparently Enterplay is winding down with the CCG. On one hand I thought it died ages ago, so it's good to know it's still around. On the other, I got a super rare and an ultra rare, neither of which are foil, because apparently Enterplay wanted to save money. The ultra rare Applejack card I got has a bit of a shiny design in the corner of it. The super rare is indistinguishable from any other card besides the SR in the corner. Apparently future CCG cards will require printing out as they will be distributed digitally. Lame. Oh well, I guess I should be glad they're still around but they don't excite me anymore. I bought a few other miscellaneous things such as a few mini expansions for Twilight Sparkle's Secret Shipfic folder, and an unopened Funko Bon Bon vinyl figure to pair up with my sealed Lyra from some years ago, a nice Celestia poster and a Rarity button, but the thing that excites me most that I bought is a MLP-themed tarot card set (ok, the Bon Bon figure also excites me). It cost me $65CAD, but it's a really well-done set. The art is great, it comes with a free velvet drawstring bag, and it just feels so professionally done. It is actually a functioning set too as it has both the major and minor arcana. Those official Persona arcana cards I have are only of the major arcana, and are the size I imagine clow cards from Cardcaptors being, so they're not ideal for shuffling either. This set is. Well, there is one problem with the tarot set I bought in that it's missing an equivalent to the lowest value of face cards for the four suits of the minor arcana, so it's a 74 card set as opposed to a 78 card set. I looked up the cards online and the art for them seems to indicate that they never did produce an equivalent to the page (medieval servant). The set includes equivalents to everything else though. The major arcana cards are all the same as the official major arcana, except that they depict FiM characters. For the minor arcana, I did some research. The suit of horns is clearly equivalent to the suit of wands (duh). I found out the suit of power is equivalent to the suit of swords, wings is equivalent to cups and hooves is equivalent to coins (with Ace through Ten being represented by horseshoes). Instead of the king of each suit, there's the Emperor of Power and the Empresses of Horns, Wings and Hooves. The Queen of each suit is still called such. There's the Prince of Power and the Princesses of Horns, Wings and Hooves, which I'm assuming are equivalent to the Knight. I decided to treat them as both the Knight and Page and make up a rule of rolling a die, with high rolls indicating a Knight reading, and low rolls indicating a Page reading. I don't actually believe in tarot so I'm perfectly fine with making up nonsense like that. The Ace through Ten of each suit is just like it is in an official deck. So...I had fun. For a surprise pony con, I'm glad I went, and I'm ok with it being low key. Also, although the con was still spread out across two sides of a building that require exiting to outside to enter the other side (which is less fun in the winter when the wind is picking up), at least it was not also spread out across a few different floors of the hotel, and the vendor hall was close to where the main panels were happening this time. It's still in the same building, but I disliked having to move from a main panel to the vendor hall way to the end of the winding corridor in the other building and am glad I don't need to do that anymore. All in all, it was kind of like Christmas...including the financial hit that Christmas entails. Yes, that metaphor works in more than one sense. I'm glad I went though. It's great to hear that BronyCAN has a spiritual successor! Maybe the same will happen with BronyCon, but I think a lot of people believe that BabsCon will serve the same function. I can see a smaller, more relaxed convention as being a positive thing, as they tend to weed out fans who more or less contributed to the bandwagon effect more than anything else. I don't personally own any tarot cards, but their aesthetic always fascinate me. I think they just made a set themed after The Legend of Zelda, and I am equally curious to see what an MLP set looks like. It appears that the option to buy all of Season 9 for $30 has finally arrived on Amazon. I'll wait just a little longer to see if it ends up on Netflix next month before diving in, though (the latest season is normally up by this point in time). Omnibus Vol. 5 just released! I know what I'll be spending my gift card money on next.
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