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Star vs. the Forces of Evil (2012)
All-Around a Solid Show
Star vs. the Forces of Evil is quite the solid show. It's not quite exactly there to be a defining classic in its time period but I believe that it might be able to get there, although that's besides the point. The plot is quite simple, it follows the antics of Star Butterfly, a princess from the dimension of Mewni who is sent to Earth and lives with Marco's family as an exchange student. Ludo, the villain, constantly tries to steal her wand from her while Many, many of the points that I've seen brought up to attempt to prove the show's mediocrity are mostly nitpicks and a few decent points. As far as I'm concerned, those more valid points are more than made up for several factors such as the solid animation, entertainment value, etc.
I believe that probably one of the best things about this show is the animation. The animation is smooth and natural - which is further compounded by how such is rarely seen in flash animated shows. Secondly, the facial expressions are not only easily recognizable, there are also few if any awkward looking ones. The art style also is generally quite attractive and while it's mostly subjective, I doubt that anything more than a small minority will find it unattractive. The backgrounds are detailed, the character designs aren't too overblown, generally suit the character, and still have a good amount of detail. Finally, it's nice to see some small attention to detail such as highly detailed eyes for love interests.
However, by episode 6 the animation studio changed. As a precautionary warning, the animation becomes far more inconsistent and at times downright jarring. However, as of episode 9, Mercury Filmworks allegedly is in charge of the animation again.
The characters themselves, however, are somewhat shallow. While there is some character development such as Star actually getting the spell right to revert Marco's monster arm, the characters generally haven't been explored much. Personally, I don't believe that this is that big of a deal considering that the show is very light-hearted. Saying SvtFoE's general lack of character development is a major weak point is like saying the same for Invader Zim. Admittedly, the pacing is sometimes a mess - most likely due to its short 11-minute timeframe for a single episode. On the other hand, in 'Fortune Cookies' the show introduces a villain which actually seems competent, so that's pointing towards the show actually heading off on a more serious direction.
The soundtrack, isn't half bad either. The theme song is catchy, the outro is as well, and the background music is quite fitting as well - notable BGM tracks can be found on the composer's Tumblr. The background music establishes a reasonably consistent theme of often being electronic and hyper, although this is sometimes ignored in scenes where it wouldn't fit. There have been people who don't enjoy the music, but so far I've only seen one or two instances.
The humor is a big selling point in the show and also might be a turn-off for a minority. The jokes, while sometimes cheesy, usually will work. This is all subjective, of course, but the humor is definitely not half bad. It ranges from slapstick, unexpected occurrences, with many other more subtle things it executes.
While the show is quite solid, there's one thing that I believe that people should keep in mind. It may not necessarily be for everyone. It's definitely not something that only a minority of people can enjoy, but if you're looking for something more serious then it might not be the right show for you.
Littlest Pet Shop (2012)
Rough Start,but it only went uphill.
What can I say about this show? I love this show, and I have my reasons.
I watched the first two episodes about over half a year ago, and it wasn't very good. Anybody who thinks that it was intentionally a few month slap together to try to attract bronies are wrong.
The animation is inconsistent, although it at average is good, it can be plain stiff and unnatural at times, mostly the humans. The artwork isn't the best, but it's better than what I can come up with for this show.
Think it's all girly and about fashion? Watch past the first two episodes. The quality has easily doubled, or more. And while there is some romance, it barely is what the show is about.
The voice acting, is actually good. I dare say that it's more expressive than MLP.
Overall, this is a good show with flaws, but most of the gaping ones have been patched up.