Applebuck Season

'My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic', in my mind and something that others may dispute, is a perfect example of something that may on the surface and in concept (plus that it is 'My Little Pony') be a cutesy, shallow show just for little girls (absolutely hate this generalisation by the way) but actually be a well made show of substance with winning humour, great relatable morals and characters that are actually interesting, much more so than their character designs suggest.

At this very early stage of the show ("Applebuck Season" only being the forth episode, although some may argue it's the third proper one with the two parter premiere being a pilot), the standard was very promising and so surprisingly high considering what people would be thinking before watching. Although really liking/loving the "Friendship is Magic" two part premiere and "The Ticket Master, especially the second part of the premiere "Elements of Harmony", "Applebuck Season" is even better than that. For me it is among the better Applejack-centric episodes, and one of the funnier episodes of the first season.

Because "Applebuck Season" is a very funny and at its best hilarious episode. It is very slapstick driven, yet it never felt too busy or over-the-top and was instead well animated and fun to watch. Absolutely loved the baking of the cupcakes and the consequences, a perfect example of how to make a serious situation in real life hilarious without being distasteful. Particularly Pinkie Pie's line "No... not baked goods. Baked... BADS", both the line and the delivery. Twilight constantly being interrupted was another highlight and it is not everyday where you see baby bunnies causing that much of a stampede.

Yet actually there was depth here as well. A reason is given for why Applejack over-commits herself here and did find myself identifying with her counter-productive stubbornness. "Applebuck Season" has one of the season's best morals from personal opinion, about being happy accepting help and not be stubborn at the cost of your health. This is a moral that resonates with me, being like Applejack here on quite a lot of days. It was great to see character development to Applejack, before she became more down to earth, and in a way that was relatable.

The animation continues to be very good, with the increasing physical and mental strain of Applejack's stubbornness and over-committing being very vividly portrayed in the visuals. The bright colours, meticulously detailed and often elegant backgrounds and adorable but never too cute character designs still appeals. The music has presence but never over-bears what is going on. Personally don't have a problem with the theme song, am aware some find it take it or leave it.

Really loved the story, which was fun yet mature. The characters continue to engage and their character traits are already well rounded and distinct, they are much more than shallow stereotypes and they are more complex than their cute character designs suggest. Love how they interact too, and their friendship and will to help Applejack comes over as very meaningful. Applejack's character development is the most striking asset. The voice acting fits perfectly, top honours going to Ashleigh Ball as Applejack.

In conclusion, even better was to come but this is still great. 9/10

8,0/10. This is the first episode of the series that focuses mostly on one character:Applejack. And this is a great episode, Applejack is probably the most level-headed of the mane six, but just like all of them she has flaws, and that flaw is the fact that she is stubborn. This episode is also really funny, From Twilight's "speech" to when Twilight says "that pony is stubborn as a muel" and a muel randomly shows up or whenever Applejack is on screen honestly, pinkie is also really funny here. There are some weird things, like doesn't pinkie look at the cupcakes when baking them? And Applejack is talking out loud so how does she not hear her? Applejack can also get kinda annoying when Twilight tells her she needs help, but it's not that bad. In the end, she learns a pretty valuable lesson, which is that it's okay to ask for help. Also, Twilight is overpowered when it comes to applebucking.