History YMMV / MylittleponyFriendshipIsMagicIDW

** Season 10's overall plotline was pretty interesting, focusing on other races with their own Tree of Harmony. The problem however is the threat from comes from the Knights of Harmony who aren't established until the last two issue of the series, robbing their impact when they finally do show up. Instead having them monitor the tree activation and only taking action once all were lit up. Had they showcased being individual threats during the other stories, that actually would made the connection to the harmony tree stories and why they feel their actions are in the right correlate better. This likewise in turn would've drove home the message of unity between species much cleaner too then the rush job the final issue showcased.

** Having different writers has led to [[SeriesContinuityError continuity discrepancies]] (like the [[RefugeeFromTVLand appearance of Daring Do]] clashing with [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS4E4DaringDont her being shown to be]] RealAfterAll) which were understandable and minor enough [[MST3KMantra as to not interfere with enjoyment]]. The 2014 Holiday Special seemed written pre ''Rainbow Rocks'', and had Sunset Shimmer mistreated in a way that would have been understandable [[TheBully given her past]], but a detail (Sunset's journal) showing it was post (when she's proven her reformation) made her persecutors UnintentionallyUnsympathetic and the story detested. It also gets criticized for plot points that were handled better in [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E25ACanterlotWeddingPart1 "A Canterlot]] [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E26ACanterlotWeddingPart2 Wedding"]] ([[spoiler:the Mane 5 abandoning their friend was paid off with an epic villain, action, and they realized their mistake]]) and [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS4E20ForWhomTheSweetieBelleToils "For Whom the Sweetie Belle Toils"]] ([[spoiler:one of the Cutie Mark Crusaders being a GreenEyedMonster, but was portrayed sympathetically enough that her forgiveness received no complaints]]).

* ItsTheSameSoItSucks: While initially elated to see that the world outside Equestria isn't a CrapsackWorld, which would had given off vibes of [[WhiteMansBurden ponies' burden]] during the Season 10 comics, a common complaint for the Season 10 storyline is that it follows the same formula instead of having each different country have their own take on friendship, with their own set of values and special location. To summarize: Each team of the Mane Six head to a distant land only to find a problem there. They meet individuals who are parallels to the Mane Six and discover an ancient temple which hides a tree of harmony within. The individuals become their lands elements of harmony and use their newfound powers to solve the problem troubling their land. Rinse and repeat four times. This made every nation that would have been interesting in their own way just [[SameStoryDifferentNames Equestria in the skin of another race]], [[RecycledPlot effectively re-creating the show pilot over and over]].

* ItsTheSameSoItSucks: While initially elated to see that the world outside Equestria isn't a CrapsackWorld, which would had given off vibes of [[WhiteMansBurden ponies' burden]] during the Season 10 comics, a common complaint for the Season 10 storyline is that it follows the same formula instead of having each different country have their own take on friendship, with their own set of values and special location. To summarize: Each team of the Mane Six head to a distant land only to find a problem there. They meet individuals who are parallels to the Mane Six and discover an ancient temple which hides a tree of harmony within. The individuals become their lands elements of harmony and use their newfound powers to solve the problem troubling their land. Rinse and repeat four times. This made every nation that would have been interesting in their own way just [[WeAllLiveInAmerica Equestria in the skin of another race]], [[RecycledPlot effectively re-creating the show pilot over and over]].

* ItsTheSameSoItSucks: A common complaint for the season 10 storyline is that it follows the same formula. Each team of the Mane Six head to a distant land only to find a problem there. They meet individuals who are parallels to the Mane Six and discover an ancient temple which hides a tree of harmony within. The individuals become their lands elements of harmony and use their newfound powers to solve the problem troubling their land. Rinse and repeat four times.

* MST3KMantra: ''[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS5E12AmendingFences Amending Fences]]'' shows Twilight Sparkle was friends with the same five ponies Sunset Shimmer rejected in her origin story, furthering the noted FridgeBrilliance in its {{foreshadowing}} their different fates. The five have an age discrepancy between the stories that can only be explained by {{retcon}}, but why let that stop you from enjoying the thematic brilliance? Especially since the show {{retcon}}s its ''own'' continuity (their ages shown in flashbacks in ''[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E23TheCutieMarkChronicles The Cuite Mark Chronicles]]'') to make it work. However, it's still very likely that the portal simply has bizarre space-time effects.

* ItsTheSameSoItSucks - A common complaint for the season 10 storyline is that it follows the same formula. Each team of the Mane Six head to a distant land only to find a problem there. They meet individuals who are parallels to the Mane Six and discover an ancient temple which hides a tree of harmony within. The individuals become their lands elements of harmony and use their newfound powers to solve the problem troubling their land. Rinse and repeat four times.

** Luna's characterization in the comics is very different from the show, an excitable GenkiGirl with a bit of a HairTriggerTemper and still slips into her antiquated linguistics as a sort of VerbalTic. Some prefer this alternate interpretation as it makes her more endearing and fun and contrasts sharply with the calm and straight-laced Celestia, others find it makes Luna look too childish and immature.

** The 2014 Holiday Special for details that become questionable when placed alongside ''Rainbow Rocks'' and the human characters' [[spoiler:(especially the Cutie Mark Crusaders)]] characterization. And the 2013 Annual fell into this once fans realized [[FranchiseOriginalSin it has the same points of criticism]].
** The "Cattle Rustlers" arc for the massive MoralDissonance and Twilight's [[LawfulStupid characterization]].
** "Chaos Theory," for its sheer {{Worf Effect}} on everypony [[note]]Including the [[WorldHealingWave Elements of Harmony]], [[BeyondTheImpossible no less]].[[/note]] but [[BaseBreakingCharacter Starlight]] ('''''[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS6E26ToWhereAndBackAgainPart2 again]]''''').
** The idea that Cosmos was secretly responsible for ''everything'' that happened in Discord's initial rampage while Discord never actually ''hurt'' anyone and [[TheScapegoat even took the rap]] to [[UnPerson erase her from the history books]] which effectively rendered Discord's character arc in the show redundant as he was secretly GoodAllAlong. Not to mention, this revelation effectively contradicts his actions from Seasons 2 to 4, like his debut in Season 2, letting the Plunder Vines run rampant instead of stopping them if they were secretly Cosmos work in the Season 4 premiere and his FaceHeelTurn in the Season 4 finale. This is effectively the Nightmare Forces scenario all over again, where a comic-exclusive character is revealed to be the cause of a show villain's fall from grace and acts of terror while the show villain in question suddenly is absolved of all blame.

* FanonDiscontinuity: Some fans of the show view the comic as such for its discrepancies in tone, continuity, and characterization. Even those who accept it ([[BroadStrokes or parts of it]]) tend to be dismissive of the following:
** The Reflections Arc for [[TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot wasting its potential]] MirrorUniverse conflict, [[TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter its characters,]] and Celestia's [[LoveMakesYouDumb characterization]] (that she ask the Mane 6 to [[LetUsNeverSpeakOfThisAgain never let anypony know that this all took place]] helps).

** "Root of the Problem" for its sheer IdiotPlot and the Deer's [[CantArgueWithElves characterization.]][[note]]See a pattern?[[/note]]

* ItsTheSameNowItSucks: While initially elated to see that the world outside Equestria isn't a CrapsackWorld, which would had given off vibes of [[WhiteMansBurden ponies' burden]] during the Season 10 comics, many readers and reviewers aren't pleased at the reveal of that there are ''[[UniquenessDecay Trees of Harmony in every nation being visited]]''. This made every nation that would have been interesting in their own way just [[WeAllLiveInAmerica Equestria in the skin of another race]], [[RecycledPlot effectively re-creating the show pilot over and over]]. The biggest compliant is why can't each different country have their own take on friendship, with their own set of values and special location.

* IronWoobie: In main series #21, it's revealed that while Trixie's reputation was already pretty bad after ''[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E6BoastBusters Boast Busters]]'', after ''[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS3E5MagicDuel Magic Duel]]'' everyone thinks she's evil. Despite this, she is determined to continue performing and prove that she can be a good pony.

** The 2014 Holiday Special for details that become questionable when placed alongside ''Rainbow Rocks'' and the human characters' [[spoiler:(especially the Cutie Mark Crusaders)]] characterization. And the 2013 Annual fell into this once fans realized [[FranchiseOriginalSin it has the same points of criticism]]. While never stated, it may have ascended into CanonDiscontinuity, since, in ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyEquestriaGirlsLegendOfEverfree'', Pinkie Pie explicity states that the events in the previous three ''Equestria Girls'' films took place in the same year, making it hard to place the comic within the films' timeline.

** The 2014 Holiday Special for details that become questionable when placed alongside ''Rainbow Rocks'' and the human characters' [[spoiler:(especially the Cutie Mark Crusaders)]] characterization. And the 2013 Annual fell into this once fans realized [[FranchiseOriginalSin it has the same points of criticism]]. While never stated, it may have ascended into CanonDiscontinuity, since, in ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyEquestriaGirlsLegendOf Everfree'', Pinkie Pie explicity states that the events in the previous three ''Equestria Girls'' films took place in the same year, making it hard to place the comic within the films' timeline.

** The 2014 Holiday Special for details that become questionable when placed alongside ''Rainbow Rocks'' and the human characters' [[spoiler:(especially the Cutie Mark Crusaders)]] characterization. And the 2013 Annual fell into this once fans realized [[FranchiseOriginalSin it has the same points of criticism]].

** One of the biggest complaints to Cosmos aside from being revealed to be TheManBehindTheMan for Discord, was that practically all of her villain tropes have already been done before by previous show and comic villains with less contrivances. Chaotic goddess related to Discord? Eris. [[GreaterScopeVillain Bigger bad]] turning out to be the man behind the man to a canon villain? Rabia. Assimilate others into a hive mind? Accord. Take out the Princesses easily? Sadly common. Throw the world into chaos? Show canon Discord. Sealed in a celestial body? Nightmare Moon. Betrayed and sealed away by her second in command? Tirek. Meanwhile the things that did make her unique (her crush on Discord, being an alien and the FusionDance) weren't given enough fleshing out to make her stand out, resulting in her being poorly received in general.

** One of the biggest complaints to Cosmos aside from being revealed to be TheManBehindTheMan for Discord, was that practically all of her villain tropes have already been done before by previous show and comic villains with less contrivances. Chaotic goddess related to Discord? Eris. Bigger bad turning out to be the man behind the man to a canon villain? Rabia. Assimilate others into a hive mind? Accord. Take out the Princesses easily? Sadly common. Throw the world into chaos? Show canon Discord. Sealed in a celestial body? Nightmare Moon. Betrayed and sealed away by her second in command? Tirek. Meanwhile the things that did make her unique (her crush on Discord, being an alien and the FusionDance) weren't given enough fleshing out to make her stand out, resulting in her being poorly received in general.

** Some feel that Manehatten Mysteries (#21-#22)could have stood to be longer to flesh out its story and the character interactions.

** "Siege of the Crystal Empire" (issues 34 to 37) has also been getting this after Sombra made his return to the show in the season 9 premiere. It's generally agreed that, for all its flaws, the comics gave a far more interesting portrayal of Sombra than the GenericDoomsdayVillain he was ultimately portrayed as in that finale.

* SnarkBait: The only reason many fans acknowledge the "Cattle Rustlers" and "The Root of the Problem" arcs are for the sake of ridiculing how poorly they turned out, [[FanonDiscontinuity they don't exist to them otherwise]].

* BadassDecay: Played with. While Chrysalis is still a powerful and ambitious schemer, the comics portray her as ''much'' more comical, and sometimes her antics can be downright silly: in "Siege of the Crystal Empire" for instance, she pouts and sticks her tongue out at Twilight, and later cheers excitedly when she overpowers her in a battle. This is in sharp contrast to the show, where whenever she appears she is a completely serious character whose sparse moments of comedy come from being a DeadpanSnarker. The result is that while her threat level remains high, she can be difficult to take as a serious threat sometimes. Ironically, starting with Season 8 the show would have her undergo SanitySlippage that ''would'' make her more comedic and bring her in-line with the comics.

* EightDeadlyWords: Between the [[CorruptCorporateExecutive purely unlikeable villain]], the Deers' hypocrisy squandering what sympathy they had, and the Ponies [[CantArgueWithElves failing to call the latter out]] or do anything useful on their own, many wrote off "Root of the Problem" by part 1. While the finale had [[DeusExMachina significant]] [[IdiotPlot criticisms]], it failed to cause the backlash the writers previous {{Story Arc}}s did, likely because readers had stopped caring one way or another.

** "Chaos Theory," for its sheer {{Worf Effect}} on literally everypony [[note]]Including the [[WorldHealingWave Elements of Harmony]], [[BeyondTheImpossible of all things]]![[/note]] but [[BaseBreakingCharacter Starlight]]. ''[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS6E26ToWhereAndBackAgainPart2 Again.]]''

* {{Narm}}:
** In Issue #34, [[spoiler:when Radiant Hope uses a really powerful healing spell to revitalize King Sombra, that appears very intense and painful. However, it's hard to take it seriously when Sombra starts yelling "The pain!"]]
** #35 gives us another moment: [[spoiler:Sombra, upon learning that Hope stole the Crystal Heart so that he could return unharmed... runs up his underground staircase back to the Crystal Empire while giving the absolute cheesiest EvilLaugh ever, looking like a little kid who's pretending to be a LargeHam supervillain. However, [[MoodWhiplash he quickly begins reasserting himself as the]] ColdHam NoNonsenseNemesis [[MoodWhiplash that we know him as]].]]

** "Tempest's Tale" addresses Celestia and Luna's poor showing in TheMovie by having Tempest outright admit she would have lost in a straight up fight and that the TakenForGranite bombs are implied to have been made specifically to take them out.

** "Siege of the Crystal Empire" (issues 34 to 37) has also been getting this after Sombra made his return to the show in the season 9 premiere. It's generally agreed that, for all its flaws, the comics gave a far more interesting portrayal of Sombra than the GenericDoomsdayVillain he ultimately portrayed as in that finale.

** "Siege of the Crystal Empire" (issues 34 to 37) has also been getting this after Sombra made his return to the show in the season 9 premiere. It's generally agreed that, for all its flaws, the comics gave a far more interesting portrayal of Sombra than the GenericDoomsdayVillain he ultimately was in the show.