Manehattan proved to be lots of fun as a setting in one of Season 4's high points "Rarity Takes Manehattan". It was interesting seeing Rarity and Applejack, have always loved Rarity as a character but Applejack is inconsistent, together as the leads in Season 5's "Made in Manehattan", but there was the worry of whether they would gel together or be interesting enough a dynamic. The premise had some potential but didn't sound overly exciting.
Personally thought that "Made in Manehattan" could have been a lot better. It is better than "Appleoosa's Most Wanted", "Princess Spike" and "What About Discord" when talking about Season 5 episodes, but to me it is still in the weaker half of the season. Actually liked Rarity and Applejack together and the return of one character is handled extremely well, but "Made in Manehattan" would have been a better episode if the pace was tighter and if it took more risks.
The animation is gorgeous once again, especially loved the vibrant colours and how much detail and effort went into the backgrounds. The music is dynamic as usual and is pleasant and fun to listen to. Tabitha St Germain and Asleigh Ball voice Rarity and Applejack beautifully and Cathy Weseluck's voice work is equally fabulous.
Rarity and Applejack are both beautifully and faithfully written (all the regulars featured are) and personally liked them together, they are a very odd couple personality-wise but they managed to be fun and investable as well as endearingly down to earth. Coco Pommel's return was delightful and the episode didn't waste her at all. Things do pick up at the end, it was quite intriguing seeing apathy towards community projects being portrayed and the not tackled before (for the show) and relatable moral was appreciated.
Do think though that the moral actually had room to be executed better. That it wasn't preachy was admirable, but the execution did seem a bit too safe and subtle. The pacing isn't too good, especially in the first act which is pretty dull. The dialogue early on is not the best either, it could have done with more zest and Applejack's dialogue revolving around her difficulties in adjusting (on paper very relatable, city life at first was very difficult for me too) would have made more sense if she had not featured already in "Rarity Takes Manehattan" which this episode seemed to forget.
Furthermore, the story was quite thin and pretty predictable with it also taking too long to get going. The rest of the supporting characters are on the bland side.
Concluding, pretty average but not terrible. 5/10