On first watch a few years back, "The Perfect Pear" shook me and blew me away. It didn't matter to me whatsoever that the premise was not an innovative one, not when the execution was so exceptional, when the emotions were so strong and the characters so well written. Episodes centered around the Apple family in some shape or form are somewhat hit and miss and up until this episode none of them would have belonged in my favourite 'My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic' episodes list.
Something that "The Perfect Pear" is very much in and quite high up. Few of Season 7's episodes were perfection, but this and "A Royal Problem" were the episodes that were. If asked what is the best Apple family episode, "The Perfect Pear" is my very, very easy answer and that is coming from a usually indecisive person. On paper, it doesn't sound like a special episode but don't let that fool you. The character writing and the emotional impact are the reasons for why "The Perfect Pear" is as wonderful as it is.
The animation is beautifully crafted and shows the big advance in quality from the already great visual style to the even greater one it increasingly became, ethereal and vibrant with some lovely atmosphere and attention to detail in the backgrounds. The music has quirkiness but also beauty and atmosphere, while never jarring with the action.
Writing is some of the best of the season and of the whole show in a while, the humour being genuinely funny, the pathos genuinely touching, any cuteness very sweet and sincere without being heavy on the sugar and any conflict has a nice amount of tension. The message is delivered so honestly and is truly haunting. The story is truly beautifully done, while the 'Romeo and Juliet'-like story between Bright Mac and Pear Butter is very sweet and at times playful with some lovely little details, it was Grand Pear's story that really grabbed my heart.
Grand Pear is a very fascinating character too and it was a long time since we saw a character with this amount of emotional complexity. It is easy to hate him but anybody who has held long term grudges will relate to him and he is very well developed. Granny Smith is also written extremely well, her character writing had never been this meaty or likeable before and wasn't since too. All the characters are spot on but those two especially shine. The voice acting is terrific all round, particularly Felicia Day and was certainly not expecting William Shatner to be this great.
All in all, perfect. 10/10.
Something that "The Perfect Pear" is very much in and quite high up. Few of Season 7's episodes were perfection, but this and "A Royal Problem" were the episodes that were. If asked what is the best Apple family episode, "The Perfect Pear" is my very, very easy answer and that is coming from a usually indecisive person. On paper, it doesn't sound like a special episode but don't let that fool you. The character writing and the emotional impact are the reasons for why "The Perfect Pear" is as wonderful as it is.
The animation is beautifully crafted and shows the big advance in quality from the already great visual style to the even greater one it increasingly became, ethereal and vibrant with some lovely atmosphere and attention to detail in the backgrounds. The music has quirkiness but also beauty and atmosphere, while never jarring with the action.
Writing is some of the best of the season and of the whole show in a while, the humour being genuinely funny, the pathos genuinely touching, any cuteness very sweet and sincere without being heavy on the sugar and any conflict has a nice amount of tension. The message is delivered so honestly and is truly haunting. The story is truly beautifully done, while the 'Romeo and Juliet'-like story between Bright Mac and Pear Butter is very sweet and at times playful with some lovely little details, it was Grand Pear's story that really grabbed my heart.
Grand Pear is a very fascinating character too and it was a long time since we saw a character with this amount of emotional complexity. It is easy to hate him but anybody who has held long term grudges will relate to him and he is very well developed. Granny Smith is also written extremely well, her character writing had never been this meaty or likeable before and wasn't since too. All the characters are spot on but those two especially shine. The voice acting is terrific all round, particularly Felicia Day and was certainly not expecting William Shatner to be this great.
All in all, perfect. 10/10.