Both stories here start strong, with an interesting new character and an interesting problem, but then just sort of run out the clock without anything happening.
My Little Pony: Pony Life (TV Series)
Friendship Gems/Dol-FIN-ale (2020)
User Reviews
Review this title3 Reviews
Good setups that go nowhere
nebbiezebbie28 August 2020
Not enough of a gem
TheLittleSongbird22 August 2022
Both "Friendship Gems" and "Dol-Fin-ale" had far better concepts than most episodes of 'My Little Pony: Pony Life' and had potential. Neither are particularly innovative, but the Mane 6 actually seemed from the synopsises for both episodes to be a lot more likeable and in character than in all the previous episodes of the show. And both sounded like they had charm and good intentions, rather than the too simplistic and predictable sounding ones for the previous episodes and the ones that came after too.
The good news is that both "Friendship Gems" and "Dol-Fin-ale" are among the best, or more like among the least problematic, episodes of 'My Little Pony: Pony Life' and there are improvements in the writing and character writing compared to usual. Neither are particularly great either, with the stories not being strong enough and the quality of both are inconsistent. Inconsistent is at least a good deal better than mediocre or downright weak like all the previous episodes were, but the good potential is not lived up to enough.
In both episodes there are good things. The best aspect is the voice acting which is very good all round, full of energy and nuanced. The character writing is some of the best of the show up to this date and overall, with all the main characters not having flaws exaggerated and having good intentions (especially in "Friendship Gems") and the supporting ones are actually interesting and not obnoxious. The dolphin is very cute.
Also thought that there is a little more humour than usual and some of it is actually amusing. Both episodes also start off very well.
Really do wish that the promising starts were maintained throughout. Both stories are on the whole too thin and mostly pretty uneventful, "Friendship Gems" ran out of ideas too early and the ending of "Dol-Fin-ale" lacks excitement. While the morals are very well intended and are not laid on too thick, they are also very rehashed and have been done before and better on the infinitely superior 'My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic'. While the writing has a little more spark than the usual 'Pony Life' episode, it is still too bland and too simple.
While the character writing improves vastly here, none of the main characters have much complexity and are a bit too one dimensional. The animation lacks imagination and looks rushed and the music is high school quality with a grating theme tune.
Overall, better than most episodes of the show but neither come off as well as they could have done. 5/10.
The good news is that both "Friendship Gems" and "Dol-Fin-ale" are among the best, or more like among the least problematic, episodes of 'My Little Pony: Pony Life' and there are improvements in the writing and character writing compared to usual. Neither are particularly great either, with the stories not being strong enough and the quality of both are inconsistent. Inconsistent is at least a good deal better than mediocre or downright weak like all the previous episodes were, but the good potential is not lived up to enough.
In both episodes there are good things. The best aspect is the voice acting which is very good all round, full of energy and nuanced. The character writing is some of the best of the show up to this date and overall, with all the main characters not having flaws exaggerated and having good intentions (especially in "Friendship Gems") and the supporting ones are actually interesting and not obnoxious. The dolphin is very cute.
Also thought that there is a little more humour than usual and some of it is actually amusing. Both episodes also start off very well.
Really do wish that the promising starts were maintained throughout. Both stories are on the whole too thin and mostly pretty uneventful, "Friendship Gems" ran out of ideas too early and the ending of "Dol-Fin-ale" lacks excitement. While the morals are very well intended and are not laid on too thick, they are also very rehashed and have been done before and better on the infinitely superior 'My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic'. While the writing has a little more spark than the usual 'Pony Life' episode, it is still too bland and too simple.
While the character writing improves vastly here, none of the main characters have much complexity and are a bit too one dimensional. The animation lacks imagination and looks rushed and the music is high school quality with a grating theme tune.
Overall, better than most episodes of the show but neither come off as well as they could have done. 5/10.
Since when does Rarity have british accent?
maratulugbek31 August 2020
This is the first question of mine. Rarity's speech's always been sort of fancy, especially if we compare to Applejack or Rainbow Dash, but she's never had british accent. Why would she have it in Pony Life? Because... Maybe it's all the potion?
And the main question. What's the point of this series? Where is morality? Where are the friendship lessons? There's nothing.
And why Fluttershy acts like a maniac who wants to steal your soul?
And the main question. What's the point of this series? Where is morality? Where are the friendship lessons? There's nothing.
And why Fluttershy acts like a maniac who wants to steal your soul?
See also
Awards | FAQ | User Ratings | External Reviews | Metacritic Reviews