My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Thread

[Nazis in Space]

Did I die and wake up in a fantasy world where grown men could laud cartoons aimed at young girls?

My Little Pony is a very good cartoon. But that's all it is - a cartoon. It certainly isn't a show I'd recommend to my friends or adults. And it definitely isn't the Citizen Kane of cartoon horse shows that some people have made it out to be.

If MLP was the Citizen Kane of cartoons I'd have switched it off after five minutes, so yeah.

But compared to, say, Spongebob or to cover the live action segment, $Whatever_CSI... Well, the differences in animation quality, characterisation, and general writing bring the point home pretty well.

MLP is awesome, and you've to be a soulless monster to not like it. Soulless I say.

Have some saccharine.

[Lubyak]

ZOMG SO KAWAII~DESU!!!!11!!one!

Sorry, had to get the weaboo out of my system.

But yes, like I said Robot Unicorn effect. At first people start watching it because it's good, then its over the top cuteness becomes a reason to watch in and of itself.

[The Holy Twig]

Did I die and wake up in a fantasy world where grown men could laud cartoons aimed at young girls?

My Little Pony is a very good cartoon. But that's all it is - a cartoon. It certainly isn't a show I'd recommend to my friends or adults. And it definitely isn't the Citizen Kane of cartoon horse shows that some people have made it out to be.

If MLP was the Citizen Kane of cartoons I'd have switched it off after five minutes, so yeah.

But compared to, say, Spongebob or to cover the live action segment, $Whatever_CSI... Well, the differences in animation quality, characterisation, and general writing bring the point home pretty well.

MLP is awesome, and you've to be a soulless monster to not like it. Soulless I say.

Have some saccharine.

On top of this, the characters are more believable (You know, aside from being talking candy coloured ponies) than the characters of most shows and movies (though this may have been what you meant by characterization, in which case I'm just expanding on that).

Even Pinkie Pie is believable as a character.

[Lubyak]

Exactly, like usually the character like Rarity (fashionista style girl) is nothing but a shallow fashionista. It's her only trait, however they've developed her so that she shows that ths'e not just a fashionista, she's a deep character who actually cares for the people around them.

I mean, I especially like Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie's alternate character modes...they are very amusing.

[Unilisia]

Umm, what the fuck is a "My Little Pony" ?

[Lubyak]

Watch and be educated.

[North Wiedna]

Umm, what the fuck is a "My Little Pony" ?

If you don't know what a pony is, I suggest you check into the closest elementary school, stat!

[Neo Esper]

I fell in love with the show straight away! Everytime I watch the show it puts me in good spirits to the point where I uh... actually sing along to the songs. Looking at Rainbow Dash, I wonder if I could pull off dying my hair rainbow coloured?

[Unilisia]

Umm, what the fuck is a "My Little Pony" ?

If you don't know what a pony is, I suggest you check into the closest elementary school, stat!

I know what a pony is, but "My Little Pony" sounds like the name of a midget bestiality site and I am not searching it up >_>

[Theoretical Freedoms]

Although I've just noticed this thread...
This show brings out all of the good in people!

I love everything about ponies, including all of you. And say hi to Confluttershy if you see me on Ponychan.

[Sol Bella]

Bronies represent!

[Holy Marsh]

I hope this comes out on DVD so when my daughter is old enough to actually watch cartoons and be enthralled by them this will be one of them that she can watch, enjoy, and not drive me to suicide.

[Lubyak]

I know what a pony is, but "My Little Pony" sounds like the name of a midget bestiality site and I am not searching it up >_>

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is a cartoon series developed by Lauren Faust. As you can tell by this thread, it has proven to be popular with a lot of people out side of its targeted audience.

[North Suran]

On top of this, the characters are more believable

Stop. Just...stop.

There are many things you can compliment this show on, but deep and believable characters is not one of them. Pretty much every single character is characterised and defined by a single trait, which they can also be summed up by (such as Applejack being a South'rn gal or Fluttershy being...well, shy).

Seriously, am I taking crazy pills or something? Have you people never seen a cartoon before?

[The Holy Twig]

On top of this, the characters are more believable

characterised and defined by a single trait, which they can also be summed up by (such as Applejack being a South'rn gal or Fluttershy being...well, shy).

Seriously, am I taking crazy pills or something? Have you people never seen a cartoon before?

Most people can be characterized and shoved into roles like that, but the ponies are hardly one dimensional stereotypes, as you make them sound. If what you say were true, then "Dragonshy" wouldn't have happened because Fluttershy would have been to shy to stand up to the dragon, "Party of one" wouldn't have happened because Pinkie would have stayed hopelessly optimistic, episode 2 wouldn't have happened because Twilight would have stayed with her books, Episode 14 wouldn't have happened because Rarity wouldn't have cared about anyone else but herself, Rainbow dash wouldn't have lost her cool in "Sonic Rainboom" - I could go on.

While concede that they all do have dominant personality traits as you pointed out, so does everyone in real life. The ponies just happen to have other personality traits and flaws as well, and while I wouldn't compare it to Shakespeare (that comes later in the argument as a last measure if I'm losing) the character development is still far better than most T.V. shows and movies today.

[The Holy Twig]

If you don't know what a pony is, I suggest you check into the closest elementary school, stat!

I know what a pony is, but "My Little Pony" sounds like the name of a midget bestiality site and I am not searching it up >_>

[Lubyak]

There are many things you can compliment this show on, but deep and believable characters is not one of them. Pretty much every single character is characterised and defined by a single trait, which they can also be summed up by (such as Applejack being a South'rn gal or Fluttershy being...well, shy).

As was said, the characters are NOT just defined by a single trait. They actually have character development.

Applejack: Yes, her primary trait is that she's the more down-home focused gal, but then you watch more and realize that she is also relatively selfless (wants to go the Gala, not for her own benefit like the other ponies, but to help her family), but at the same time can be very stubborn (the whole of Applebucking). To be honest, she's not the best example, but even she has char development...

FLuttershy: She seems like she's just going to be standard shy girl, but you watch her more and realize that she is actually kind of arrogant in her abilities (see Philomena incident, thinking she can handle the fillies, etc), and tends to get pissed when things don't go her way. Her shyness is part of who she is, but it's not her only trait.

To be honest, Rarity gets the most development. At first she seems like she's going to just be a shallow fashionista, but as we watch we learn she isn't entierely focused on fashion, she cares about pleasing her friends and making them happy. MOre importantly she is more than capable of taking care of herself.

So yes, it's not Pullitzer material, but you can't watch more than one episode of this series without seeing that the characters of the mane cast do change and develop over time.

[The Merchant Republics]

So yes, it's not Pullitzer material, but you can't watch more than one episode of this series without seeing that the characters of the mane cast do change and develop over time.

I must ask if that typo was intentional.

Your absolutely right. Rarity is actually large part why I watch the show, you don't see vain characters played like she is, it's very much different then you expect.

Anyways, yeah, it's true it's not the best show, but it's a combination of utter cuteness with significantly above par quality of writing and characters for a cartoon show that make it very watchable. It's the same reason why I like shows like Phineas & Ferb too.

[Lubyak]

Indeed it was.

[Nazis in Space]

I must ask if that typo was intentional.

I can answer that for Lubyak.

Yes it was. AFAIK a standard wordfilter on ponychan, and general bronie terminology :-p

Edit: Damn, beaten.

[Timurid Empire]

After watching the first episode, I can not say that this show has enticed me further. I will say, however, that it is a better show then some others I've seen, but I seem to be more of an Adventure Time guy. Cartoons really seem to be in some kind of upswing lately. At least for me.

EDIT: Spelling.

[Nazis in Space]

After watching the first episode, I can not say that this show has enticed me further. I will say, however, that it is a better show then some others I've seen, but I seem to be more of an Adventure Time guy. Cartoons really seem to be in some kind of upswing lately. At least for me.

EDIT: Spelling.

The first episode is a decent start and character introduction, but... Not really indicative of the series as a whole. The second episode is... Meh. Heavily cliche'd. Episode 3 is a lot more indicative of what the series is like, though it's from about episode 7 on that the series becomes really good. From that point on, there's only very occasionally a weak episode, most are fantastic.

[The Merchant Republics]

I must ask if that typo was intentional.

I can answer that for Lubyak.

Yes it was. AFAIK a standard wordfilter on ponychan, and general bronie terminology :-p

Edit: Damn, beaten.

Dear golly there is a website devoted to this? I'm afraid that steps outside the boundaries of weird for me.

I love how show always uses pony where person, people or man/woman should be though, yet another endearing element of cutesiness

[Lubyak]

Yeah, the pony fans got booted out of 4chan for some reason, so they went and started ponychan for their puposes. Their is also Equestria Daily ...really, having your own website isn't that insane.

And I'll echo what was said. Episodes 1 and 2 are good for getting to know the cahracters, but it's beyond that that you get the really good episodes.

[Olthar]

Oh, man. I fucking love the ponies. I've watched every episode at least four or five times now, and I've got a playlist of the songs ripped from (most of) the episodes that I frequently listen to, as well.


To add to this recent conversation, I think I'll have to disagree. Yes, Rarity has the most varied personality, but Fluttershy is the most complex, as throughout the series we've seen a bit of her psychology. Taking the episodes Dragonshy, Stare Master, and The Best Night Ever, especially that last one, we see that she almost certainly suffers from bipolar disorder. Normally, she's quiet and reserved, but when things don't go her way, she seriously flips the fuck out. That's really why I like her (aside from the whole almost-criminally-cute thing, obviously). She's a character with a serious mental disorder who isn't seen as either reprehensible or pitiful. Sure, there aren't many vain fashionista characters who aren't total bitches, but there are still a few others out there, and it's not that big of a stretch to imagine, either. However, when they made Fluttershy, instead of slightly altering a common archetype, they completely flipped it on its head and turned it into something totally different.

Of course, that said, I do still love Rarity and put her in the number two spot after Fluttershy because she is still such a refreshing character. She's also got some of the better episodes like Suited For Success, A Dog and Pony Show, and Green Isn't Your Color.

Really, I think the only characters who lack any meaningful development are Twilight and Applejack. Now, Twilight does have some development, but it's more the typical main protagonist kind of development where she learns shit, not so much the development where her character and personality is really expanded. That's why I place the two of them at the bottom of my list. If they were better developed, which I hope they do in season two, then I'd have to reconsider my list and possibly raise them. The others are all perfectly complex characters, though.


In the end, I can understand why people don't like this. It really just has niche appeal among the non-target audience. Sure, it's a rather large niche, but it's still a niche nonetheless. The show really has no plot to speak of. The individual episodes are cliché and predictable. The art style and animation are simplistic (I mean, the show is made in fucking Flash of all things). The only part of the show that isn't mediocre is the lovable characters, giving it the same potential audience as slice-of-life fans, which isn't that surprising as that's pretty much what the show is. The difference is that most slice-of-life doesn't make you question your manhood (unless you're watching something like Azumanga Daioh). There are a lot of insecure guys out there who are ashamed to even look at the color pink, so the only ones who'd watch the show are those secure enough to watch something girly without feeling girly, or, obviously, the guys who do like being girly.

In conclusion, I don't entirely understand this whole "recruitment" effort of the "bronies." There are just some guys out there who aren't manly enough to watch My Little Pony.