Debate #60

Emerald- Welcome to another edition of Who’s Better? where we take a look at two amazing characters and debate which is superior. Today’s topic is Cocky Tough Girls; Toph Beifong of the Avatar Franchise vs Rainbow Dash of My Little Pony Friendship is Magic. Both girls are confident tomboys who are well known for being VERY powerful. They’re both loyal teammates with big egos who has a habit of doing their own thing, something they both need to grow out of. Today we have Dottie starting us off to defend Rainbow Dash and Lorelei following to defend Toph.

Dottie- Thank you, Emerald. One of the reasons I prefer Rainbow Dash is because she’s much more developed. As we see in many episodes, she has a massive ego and while she excels as a leader, she struggles to follow commands. Episodes like Newbie Dash and wonder bolt Academy highlight this, showing the grounds of which she needs to change. Toph is awesome, but she doesn’t really change throughout the course of the series. She’s not a Mary Sue, but she is certainly overpowered. 

Lorelei- Perhaps, but Toph is the character that brought the show up big time after her first appearance. She displayed the complex powers of earth bending as she’s the greatest earth bender in the world. She’s got this sassy smart ass nature that makes her stand out in the cast. On top of that, I feel she has a better story. RD’s is good, we see her family life, why’s she loves flying and is so passionate about her hobbies, but Toph’s is more ironic and tragic. She was hidden away and pampered her entire life, only to have a secret identity as an underground ring fighter for the sake of freedom. On top of that, her father is so over protective and awful, that he doesn’t accept her daughter’s abilities and only wants to hide them away even more, not treating her like a person. It made sense why Toph turned out the way she did; now that she has so much freedom with Team Avatar, she abuses it which leads to fights with Katara here and there. However, upon seeing her life style, she’s very relatable in wanting freedom and over doing it when she has it. She may not change too much over the course of the story, but is still one of the most complex and well developed characters in the series.  

Dottie- That’s where these two have a difference; Toph tends be a bit overhyped by the fans whereas Rainbow Dash is under hyped and under appreciated. Think about how well developed she is with her personal life. She seems unwilling to try certain things like reading, but when she does, it’s a whole new obsession. Making her a book nerd was a smart move on the writers’ part, it subverts her dumb jock tropes and gives her a bit more flavor. it leads to some great moments with her like with Daring Do and Quibble Pants. Plus, she has a consistent reaction to things she enjoys, like being a massive hyper fangirl over the Wonderbolts and Daring Do. She has a passionate drive to understand what she loves and will fight to defend what she cares about. As we also see how close she grows with her pet, Tank, to the point where she outgrew her desire to hide those loving emotions from her friends.

Lorelei- True true, but there are also moments where she can be very selfish and some that stagnate her development. In 28 Pranks Later, she goes on a pranking rampage and causes actual damage to the town. In Non-Compete Clause, her immature rivalry with Applejack is just as bad, if not worse than it was in season 1. At least with Toph, it’s more likable as she’s given contrast with Katara as we see their polar opposite personalities clash. Applejack is one of the worst characters int he series, too similar to Rainbow Dash and acts like a stubborn brat when they’re together. They just don’t bring out each other’s strengths like Toph and Katara do. 

Dottie- Applejack IS as lame as it gets, but Rainbow Dash does have better relationships with the rest of the cast. Her reading hobbies with Twilight, her past relations with Fluttershy, her contrast with Rarity, her playful nature with Pinkie Pie, her older sister bond with Scootaloo, and so many others that I don’t have time to list here. Unlike Toph, I feel that Rainbow’s relationships with others is better explored due to having a bigger cast. being slice of life means that MLP is allowed to relax with its story so it could focus on character development. That’s not to say Avatar doesn’t have incredible characters, it’s just that very few characters slip under the radar in terms of development, Toph being one of them. 

Lorelei- Toph does have amazing bonds with characters like Katara, Sokka and Aang-

Dottie- and that’s pretty much it. 

Lorelei-…… But she was a serious milestone in the series. Being Aang’s earth teacher, inventing metal bending, she was a legend in the series, she could probably take on Aang all by herself. However, it never felt like she was a Mary Sue because the writers did give her personal conflicts and flaws to deal with alongside the main cast. She struggles at first to adapt with living with a team, and even befriends Iroh before realizing they’re on opposite sides. It was very interesting to see her try to trust Zuko despite her friends telling her otherwise. She’s an all around fun character who gave us that missing piece of the formula that would make Avatar one of the greatest animations of all time. I’ve said my piece

Dottie-  As have I

Emerald- Thank you, girls, this was one of my favorite debates yet. Rainbow Dash is awesome and upon writing this review, I realized she’s the 2nd most underrated of the Mane 6, behind Best Pony Rarity. She has varying interests, quirks, great development and amazing interactions with others. Then there’s Toph, an incredible character from an incredible series. She’s witty, hilarious, powerful, brave, and lovable in all the right ways. However, there’s not too too much about her after season 2, and Korra didn’t develop her too much further either. While I do prefer Toph overall, I have to by writing and development. I declare that the Cocky Tough Girl Who’s Better is………………

RAINBOW DASH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!