Okay, so recently I got into the new Disney show Star vs. the Forces of Evil, which has been a surprise hit show that looks set to replace Gravity Falls in the nearer future. Obviously interested in the fandom, I looked up Fanfiction.net to see if there were any good fics of this show. I even asked on the Reddit page if there were any good fics. [Why so many Star x Marco (Starco) fics tho?]
One fanfic seemed to come up very frequently on a lot of people's best list was Starfall, written by GolfAlphaMike. I've reviewed the fic in the past, but I never got to express everything I felt about it and only said a few details on fanfiction.net and Reddit. I honestly feel this story needs a FULL review, which I am doing today.
The question is, does Starfall live up to the hype? Let's find out.
THE PLOT
The plot is definitely unique, I'd give it that. If there's one thing that Mike, the author, got right, is that he understood several ways to hook the reading audience, which is key for any piece of fanfiction.
Now before I crack down the actual plot of this fanfiction, I must warn all of you reading this review right now that should be obvious:
Now let's move on.
The fanfiction opens up rather ambiguously. It discusses a talk between what we assume is Marco's parents with a doctor. This is kind of where you see the first problem with this fanfic. Often, there are times where, during a fluid conversation between two characters, There's NOTHING but dialogue.
I thought at first this only happened in the intro scene. Fine, it keeps the reader hooked, and can lead the user to wanting more. Nope, the all exposition/no setting thing happens in a scene where an adult Marco is in the hospital and being taken to an insane asylum (don't ask), and also in a few flashbacks.
Frankly these were done better than the introductory chapter, as from the talk we can tell where and who they are, but it's mostly assumptions, again with nothing describing where the scene is taking place (assuming it's a hospital). We have NO idea who they are (assuming they're cops). This is the kind of thing that was killing the story for me. It is mostly a lack of visualization. I'm not being told who the people are, where they are, or what the people talking look like. Therefore (as said above), I can't even picture what is happening in said scenes.
The story DOES nail this concept down when Star and Marco actually have their own starring scenes.
The story starts out as Princess Star Butterfly's mother is dying of an illness (um, Disney mother death syndrome, or something?). and must appoint the princess to become the Queen of Mewni. However, Star only wants to marry Marco.
Interesting choice, seeing as though the couple had no romantic intentions in the show. How did this relationship develop? The answer comes sooner than later.
The fanfic is told through many of these flashbacks, and through them, it is cool to see how Star and Marco's relationship develop. It's also pretty, I admit, well told and well narrated. However, as you go through many of these flashbacks, you'll realize they get a bit more inconsistent and that they were trying to be like Christopher Nolan's Memento, as the flashbacks often in descending order.
Throughout the story, the many tales/historical facts are also well described. I especially love the visualization of flashbacks in order to explain the history that the writer makes up, rather than just having the characters babble out what happens through exposition. However, it does work against itself sometimes, as there can often be too many of these flashbacks and backstories, so much so that it begins to feel more like reading a school-curriculum novel than actually reading a fanfiction story.
THE CHARACTERS
Another issue that I have with Starfall is in its characterization, primarily in our main protagonists. The protagonists are supposed to be the main people we root for in a story. The characters are usually relatable, funny, and can hold their own in a story for several chapters.
We rooted for Star and Marco because they were strong characters who had their definite flaws. They were relatable. Star is a strong fighter in combat and loyal to her friends, but tends to be impulsive and reckless, traits which often gets her into trouble. Marco has self-esteem issues and insecurities although he is considered a 'good and responsible kid'. We wanted to see them do well because they were just like us. I mean, Daron Nefcy has said she created those two characters based on herself (Star) and her husband (Marco).
This is what the fanfic nails down, Marco is like Marco, while Star is like Star. I definitely love how they're personified...
....that is, until they reunite in Mewni...
As a fanfic writer myself, I get annoyed when other writers dispose of all personality from the character once the couple gets together. Die for our Ship doesn't just happen to individual characters, it also happens to their personalities as well. The main shipping characters begin to become more like something out of a Shakespeare play and fade away from their respective characters, anything they had before they weren't an item...
I do admit they were personified really well in the flashbacks, and Mike understood this when writing his fanfic. As older adults, however, Star and Marco lose all of their character. The emotions are replaced by those of Romeo and Juliet's. The flaws are gone, as they can do no wrong from that point on. The characteristics of each one is also gone as well.
What about the other characters? They're alright... to an extent. I definitely loved how Dipper and Mabel are true to the canon in this version of the story, and Grunkle Stan is just like his old self... But because their characters are only in a few chapters, they stay static. Their personalities didn't change once we got to the epilogues.
King Butterfly and Glossaryck are mostly just shippers in the sky type of characters. Nothing to see here... King Butterfly is often his derpy old self, which I love how he's personified. Glossaryck is a bit too exposition-y in this story, as mentioned before.
The characters in the flashback are static and often generic, but that's understandable. They are just static characters. They don't need much explaining. Instead of cameos though, they're mostly OCs. That's another problem. There's really an overabundance of original characters in this story. I think for this story however, it can be an exception, since making the characters older probably strays away from old characters and introduce new characters when it gets there.
Most of the OCs are pretty forgettable though. Especially the ones we were supposed to care about, like Daisy. Hey, can any of you guys who read all of this story tell me who Max of Lur was in the story?
CRASH COURSE (THINGS I MISSED):
- Marco being mistaken as psychotic by his own parents and friends was a bit cruel-hearted for my taste. Yet again, it was probably the most innovative part of the fanfic as well, and they didn't go overboard with it so much to say that we'd be comparing the fic to a Spongebob torture porn episode.
- The dialogue flows naturally. That is, if it isn't plastered with some sappy romantic line seen in any generic romantic movie/book/show seen by man:
- "I don't want to be alone anymore."
- "Please dance with me Max. I want to dance with you forever."
- "As I love you, Nova, my light."
- "You are important and special... and Marco is mine forever.
- Alright, granted, the dialogue is actually pretty good in general, and many of the analogies make the fanfic much smarter than any average fanfic. I love the symbolism found in astronomy facts and constellations. It's like this fanfic had a hint of Inception trying to break out from all the mushy dialogue.
- The sex scene in Starfall. Oh boy, we're going there. Honestly, this is one of many things the fanfic does right. Star and Marco don't rush the sex, and it isn't sloppy either (weird thing to say). All I'm gonna say is, at least it isn't Fifty Shades of Grey.
THE VERDICT:
After bashing this fanfiction and overanalyzing it, what do I really think about it?
Granted, I believe that I sounded a bit too critical about the fanfic, and I often exaggerated a few of the criticisms I had, although most of the criticisms are true to my own heart. As a fanfic, it's really good. Does it have its flaws? Of course. No fanfic is perfect, and this is just some 17 year old male's opinion about a fanfiction of a show he watches.
Starfall is just a simple Point A to Point B fanfic with several twists and turns here and there, and that's okay. The flashbacks, the scenes and the overall journey it goes through to get to the climax and resolution are great. I can't wait to see what GolfAlphaMike comes up with in the future.
INFERNAPE'S RATING: 8.5/10
