This is one of the reasons why saw the movie

@PastelBacon  
Yeah, I kinda felt the same way too. “Rocks” kinda tried too hard to make the viewer feel sorry for her, I felt.

@Ebalosus  
I felt her character wasn’t entirely validated by Rainbow Rocks. She felt too nice with no real flaws, and mostly was just attacked.
 
Friendship Games is when her character really finally completed and she had her own personality, and not just generic “I’m reformed, so I’m nice now.”

Pretty sure nobody seems to know who the heck is Rebecca Shoichet then.

@Beau Skunky  

I remember too, and like you I was one of the people who didn’t immediately jump on the Sunset bashing train. I was actually a fan of the character despite her somewhat cliched first outing because of what she represented: a look into pre-twilight Celestia and someone who had lore potential in their own right. I had hopes that Sunset’s character would be expanded upon, and was validated when Rainbow Rocks was released.

@Dsiak
 
(Reactions to Gen 5 on day one.)
 
”How dare Hasbro betray the holy vision of the Overlord Mother Faust!!!”
 

@Beau Skunky  
Oh, just you wait for the gen5 apocalypse, we are going to be flooded by people freaking out that character X and Y is different in W Y Z, I can already see everything.
 
“Reee!!! Fluttershy was not this and that back in season one, the writters butchered her! I’m not autistic even tho a small change affects me on a personal level reeee”
 
I might also join this wagon tho so I’ll stop making fun of them.

@Beau Skunky  
It’s no worse than the haters who bash every character Vincent Tong voiced until someone decided to have him take over for Rumble.

@punzil504  
I always thought she was a good singer.
 
I think the old EqGirls/Sunset-bashing is why I dislike how some (note: I said some) Sunset-fans like to bash characters like Starlight, or even Twilight herself, as honestly they’re acting like the old Sunset-haters back in 2013 did, and making Sunset fans look bad.  
But at least, that’s calmed down a bit.
 
Seems like everytime a new major character gets introduced they’re met with ire at first. (Heck, remember the drama over Flurry Heart? The baby we’ve only seen like 5 times.)

@Beau Skunky  
I remember some people bashing her voice actress… despite Rebecca also being Twilight Sparkle’s singing voice.

The username is not coincidence :P

A little.I’d much prefer post first movie Sunset Shimmer.

@PastelBacon  
I even like the first movie more nowadays with new Sunset.

@Beau Skunky  
“Everyone”

@Beau Skunky  
She was a “generic alpha bitch”  
I hated her with fiery passion cause she felt like not only one of those but a slight rip off of both Twilight and Trixie Trixie, having the literal same exact minions as Trixie.
 
Nowadays, with how much her character advanced though, she’s my favorite character in MLP, no not EQG, just MLP. She’s my favorite character overall using both EQG and FIM in that list.

@Beau Skunky  
She was pretty generic back in the first movie. She got better with Rainbow Rocks.

I actually remember some bashing her, (kinda like with Twilicorn, and Starlight Glimmer) and saying she looked like a “generic alpha bitch” villain character. Nowadays, everyone loves her.
 
I remember even catching hell for saying, “Maybe we should wait ’till it comes out before judging it.” Boy, times change.

Yeah, I was already an old fart back then.

I think I aged about 90 years looking about this image.
 
IT WAS FUCKING 2013