This blog is the opposite of the previous one. This one is noticeably longer, a complete Top 10 list, and is more directly related to the show itself. Will directly be the Cinelume version of course
10: Wizgiz
Wizgiz is my favorite professor. I always thought leprechauns were cool.
9: Pop culture references
Who doesn't love those? From Darkar's shadow monsters resembling xenomorphs to a man dressed up as Freddy Krueger for Halloween, to the main inspirations of the show being Harry Potter and Sailor Moon.
8: Army of Darkness
Aside from being quite an epic battle that lasts many episodes, this is perhaps the king of the pop culture references in this show: Army of Darkness is also the title of the third Evil Dead film, and the book the Trix use to summon the Army of Darkness is the Necronomicon itself!
7: The Pixies' Charge
Season 3 is the most intense season of the Cinelume version. While I do like that in an animated show, it was kinda nice to get a comical and lighthearted episode in the middle of it. The episode revolves around the pixies, and their fight with the Trix, who are fighting over Valtor, much to his entertainment and ours (though Valtor eventually grows tired of it). Also gains points that the Trix, who were a huge threat in Seasons 1 and 2, are defeated by the pixies in this episode. Valtor won't let them forget it!
6: Chimera and Cassandra's defeat
Definitely the secondary antagonists of Season 3. They caused major trouble for Stella, my favorite Winx. From the beginning, Chimera steals a dress and pizza from Stella, winning the dress by threatening some puppies forcing Stella to save them (though this is the only time she transforms in Season 3 until the fight in which she gets her Enchantix). Then she and Cassandra make a deal with Valtor to give him Solaria's power in exchange for giving them the power to screw Stella over, Chimera turning Stella into a monster while Cassandra brainwashes Radius. Finally, near the end of the season, Stella soundly defeats the dastardly duo, blasting Chimera to the ground and breaking her staff, and Cassandra is unable to even put up a fight. Somehow this was even more satisfying than Valtor's demise.
5: Mitzi stepping on the rake
I know this seems minor, but the part where Mitzi steps on the rake and it hits her in the head is reminiscent of the Molson Canadian Bubba commercial where the guy steps on the rake. Besides, I'm not exactly a fan of Mitzi either.
4: Choice of villains
I love the villains' inspirations. As Harry Potter is one of the show's two main inspirations, the Trix, who are witches, are based off of Bellatrix Lestrange. Then you get Darkar, who is based off of Sauron from Lord of the Rings. Then Valtor, who is obviously based off of Voldemort, the main villain of Harry Potter, and he's even darker than Darkar (no pun intended). The fairy hunters seem to be the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, though Duman at least is inspired by Dumain from Charmed. This led me to discover that series (which I like better than Buffy or Supernatural) and I'm on Season 6 right now, of course I know Dumain is Season 8 because he and Duman are the last demons to be destroyed in their respective series. Speaking of that, with the exception of the Trix, all the main villains in the Cinelume version are killed off (though there is some debate as to whether Ogron, Anagan, and Gantlos survived their fall), and I like an animated show that is not afraid to do so, because it doesn't feel like too much of a "kid show".
The fairy hunters are also a refreshing change from the Trix, who were there for the first three seasons even when Darkar and Valtor were the main villains (Darkar did have the Trix do most of the dirty work for him, though there was some level of satisfaction when he betrays them). And the fact that they all have their own powers much like the Winx: Ogron can absorb energy like Sebastian Shaw from X-Men, Anagan has super speed, Gantlos uses sound waves like Musa, and Duman is a shapeshifter. Speaking of X-Men, Mark Camacho, the voice of Gantlos, also plays President Nixon in Days of Future Past.
3: Bloom
She definitely puts new meaning to the term "fairy princess". She wields the mighty Dragon Flame. She overcame back to back challenges on Pyros and the Omega Dimension, and singlehandedly owned Icy in the Season 1 finale, and destroyed Valtor, the biggest threat to the magic dimension (although I heard Season 5's Tritannus gives him a run for his money). Even Princess Cadance the Knight of Cerebus slayer can't compare to her.
2: Stella
She is my favorite Winx. I hated that she was left out of the action for two arcs in a row in Season 3 (again, which is covered in my opposite blog). Again it was extremely satisfying to see her defeat her arch-nemesi Chimera and Cassandra. She does really well against Darkar's shadow monsters, being of light element. She kinda reminds me of Rainbow Dash and Rarity, and has many great moments, like when she randomly drops the sandwich for no reason, or where she blasts Duman's mohawk with a fireball on account of "serious split ends". Perhaps by coincidence, her boyfriend, Brandon, is my favorite of the Specialists.
1: Darkar and Duman
I know I listed "Choice of villains" already but these are my two favorite villains. Some of you may question my decision to put my two favorite villains above my two favorite heroes on this list, but at least I'm not so infatuated with them that I want them to live, unlike many others (don't worry, this is not a shot at those who are). I was still satisfied to see them killed, I just like them as villains. Darkar is technically behind the Trix and even Valtor, and while all the other villains have human appearance, Darkar's is more demonic and skeletal (though I didn't really like the design of his Shadow Phoenix form as much, aside from his three tails), also the name "Darkar" sounds cool, while Duman's voice, mohawk, and shapeshifting ability are kinda cool. Though I was not disappointed to see them die, I do kinda wish they had more screentime and lines before that. Like, I can recite all Duman's lines in two minutes.