Have always had a thing for good concepts and have said so quite frequently here actually. A lot of 'My Little Pony: Pony Life' episodes didn't have particularly interesting concepts and sounded like ones that would feel over stretched and dull in execution. "Debut Taunt" did not sound very interesting and also sounded like Rarity would be really unlikeable. "Flutterdash" did sound more appealing, despite sounding very predictable it also seemed like it would be another episode that sees Fluttershy in a positive light without being much special story-wise.
Both "Debut Taunt" and "Flutterdash" were more or less what was expected, on account of reading the summaries and taking into account the generally weak standard of the previous episodes. "Flutterdash" actually had moments and the character writing is better while still not being particularly good, but "Debut Taunt" was pretty much a disaster in pretty much every way except for one aspect and actually turned out to be even worse than how it sounded. Which is no easy feat if you ask me.
The two episodes have one good thing in common, which is the voice acting. Andrea Libman and Tabitha St Germain give it one hundred percent while being dynamic. Libman is more subtle, while St Germain has a little more energy.
"Flutterdash" did start off great, really liked the set up. Fluttershy is very likeable throughout and loved her inspiring good intentions, have actually liked Fluttershy's character writing in this show which has been let down by wasteful storylines.
There is a lot wrong however. The animation is unimaginative and less than vibrant, with it looking rushed and careless. The music is like cheesy high school quality and never fits with what goes on. The theme tune is grating. There is very little that is interesting about the writing, which is completely lacking in invention and lacks personality (occasional amusing humour aside). Emotions, nuance and complexity aren't there and some of it is rather childish. Furthermore, the storytelling is overly simple and mostly uneventful, the plotting in both being very thin and dully paced.
"Debut Taunt" is especially over-stretched and would have been more suited to a 5 or 6 minute cartoon's worth. Despite being less eventful and having good intentions, "Flutterdash" is very predictable and doesn't suit Fluttershy as a character, with her needing more assertiveness for the storytelling to work. Other than with Fluttershy, the character writing is one dimensional and has little development or subtlety, while the interaction seemed disconnected. Rarity is too much of a selfish melodramatic diva while the rest of the characters have little to do, apart from Rainbow Dash early on in "Flutterdash". The moralising is well intentioned but not very subtly delivered and is derivative.
Concluding, one mediocre segment with sporadic good things and one disaster. Weak episode as an overall whole. 3/10.
Both "Debut Taunt" and "Flutterdash" were more or less what was expected, on account of reading the summaries and taking into account the generally weak standard of the previous episodes. "Flutterdash" actually had moments and the character writing is better while still not being particularly good, but "Debut Taunt" was pretty much a disaster in pretty much every way except for one aspect and actually turned out to be even worse than how it sounded. Which is no easy feat if you ask me.
The two episodes have one good thing in common, which is the voice acting. Andrea Libman and Tabitha St Germain give it one hundred percent while being dynamic. Libman is more subtle, while St Germain has a little more energy.
"Flutterdash" did start off great, really liked the set up. Fluttershy is very likeable throughout and loved her inspiring good intentions, have actually liked Fluttershy's character writing in this show which has been let down by wasteful storylines.
There is a lot wrong however. The animation is unimaginative and less than vibrant, with it looking rushed and careless. The music is like cheesy high school quality and never fits with what goes on. The theme tune is grating. There is very little that is interesting about the writing, which is completely lacking in invention and lacks personality (occasional amusing humour aside). Emotions, nuance and complexity aren't there and some of it is rather childish. Furthermore, the storytelling is overly simple and mostly uneventful, the plotting in both being very thin and dully paced.
"Debut Taunt" is especially over-stretched and would have been more suited to a 5 or 6 minute cartoon's worth. Despite being less eventful and having good intentions, "Flutterdash" is very predictable and doesn't suit Fluttershy as a character, with her needing more assertiveness for the storytelling to work. Other than with Fluttershy, the character writing is one dimensional and has little development or subtlety, while the interaction seemed disconnected. Rarity is too much of a selfish melodramatic diva while the rest of the characters have little to do, apart from Rainbow Dash early on in "Flutterdash". The moralising is well intentioned but not very subtly delivered and is derivative.
Concluding, one mediocre segment with sporadic good things and one disaster. Weak episode as an overall whole. 3/10.