Gen 1-3 tv shows and OVAs: Is there any merit to any of it?

[AlbaTross 1,581]

I'm a relatively recent fan of FiM, I'm still shocked that I've gotten into the series in a big way. When I get into something though, there's always a part of me that likes to know at least some of the history behind it. To top it off, people talk about previous gens all the time here, and I do feel a little left out of those conversations, since my experience with MLP is exclusive to FiM. I've seen a couple trailers, and one theme song from previous gens, but that's about it, and they all gave me mixed impressions.

 

I understand that FiM is built on a foundation set by series that were by and large meant for little girls, and indeed, that was FiM's initial target audience. What I'm wondering is, as a 20 something guy, should I dip my feet in shows and films from previous gens, and if so, how should I go about it? Is ignorance bliss in this case, and should I leave past gens in the past where they belong? I guess where I'm at right now is that I'm somewhat curious, but I also don't want to suffer through something I might not even like. If you have any advice, feel free to share it.

[Megas 27,086]

There are lots of things things from previous gens that fans still want to see(Firefly, Surprise, ect. from Gen 1, Minty from Gen 3) but otherwise, the majority dislikes the older gens

 

Normally I'd say watch it for yourself(as that's the only way to give something a fair chance), but I think it's a lot harder to recommend when we're talking about MLP

 

There are some fans here who do like older gens though, though mostly G1, though there are a few who enjoyed G3 and Tales

 

As I've said a lot of FiM's foundation was built mainly from G1, and G1's main drawback was that it was more or less your typical 80's cartoons. Tales and G3 are much harder to recommend as they lack almost everything that made FiM so enjoyable, as well as contain things that the majority dislikes among girl's cartoons, but like I said there are a few people here who did enjoy those so who know's. In G3's case, probably the only thing that might be worth your time is Minty's Christmas since I've notice that quite a lot of bronies like that character.

 

All that said, I think everyone can agree that G3.5 should be avoided at all costs

[AlbaTross 1,581]

There are lots of things things from previous gens that fans still want to see(Firefly, Surprise, ect. from Gen 1, Minty from Gen 3) but otherwise, the majority dislikes the older gens

 

Normally I'd say watch it for yourself(as that's the only way to give something a fair chance), but I think it's a lot harder to recommend when we're talking about MLP

 

There are some fans here who do like older gens though, though mostly G1, though there are a few who enjoyed G3 and Tales

 

As I've said a lot of FiM's foundation was built mainly from G1, and G1's main drawback was that it was more or less your typical 80's cartoons. Tales and G3 are much harder to recommend as they lack almost everything that made FiM so enjoyable, as well as contain things that the majority dislikes among girl's cartoons, but like I said there are a few people here who did enjoy those so who know's. In G3's case, probably the only thing that might be worth your time is Minty's Christmas since I've notice that quite a lot of bronies like that character.

 

All that said, I think everyone can agree that G3.5 should be avoided at all costs

I've heard about that Minty character. What's Gen 3.5? Is that Princess Promenade trailer related to that? If there was ever a trailer that turned me off of the very idea of checking out a product, it was that one. It gives off the impression that it only exists as a lazy cash-in. Did they really think they could just draw antennae on existing pony designs, and call them Breezies, and expect no one to notice how little effort went into it? I was surprised to hear it's from '06, since it looks a lot older than that, and not in a good way.

 

I saw a trailer from the 80s, that I presume is for Gen 1. It has humans in it. It looks really cheesy, in an 80s kind of way, but that's kind of to be expected. The villain looks ok though, as does the plot. My main concern is that the ponies in that series are like Care Bears, in which case I think I should avoid that.

 

I also saw the opening theme for a cartoon that must be from the 90s. Some familiar names were thrown around in it, though it looks like Cheerilee and what are now members of the CMCs were originally part of the main cast, and around the same age as the rest of them. I wish I could unsee the character called Rainbowdash acting like Rarity, but I want to unsee that Princess Promenade thing even more. In all due honesty, the art and animation for that series looks solid enough, and the modern-esque setting intrigues me. The series looks really slice of lifey, but it also seems to have some of that bright and happy charm that an average episode of FiM has. I hear most people dislike that series, but out of what I've seen so far, I'm the most sold on it, and hearing some names of familiar characters just intrigued me further.

 

It doesn't sound like you're particularly enthusiastic about any of the stuff I mentioned, mind you, and if the community at large isn't fond of it either, that's not a good sign.

[_Kurtis 636]

If you want to be a real fan of My Little Pony, then give the older generations a try. I'd have to say that my favorite generation is G1, which I think is better than G4 on so many levels. G1 is filled with dangerous adventures, great songs, amazing plots, and memorable villains; all qualities you want a good cartoon to have.

[TenorSounds 831]

Gen 1-3 have their pros and cons, but if you go in expecting something like Gen 4 you're setting yourself up for disappointment. I actually like G1, in a cheesy 80's sort of way (THUNDERCATS, HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!) and respect the fact that that was where it all started. I didn't care much for Gen 2 because of the high-school girl culture tropes. The animation and voice-work isn't bad, though, so if you like those themes then you might like Gen 2. Unfortunately I haven't seen much of Gen 3, can't comment on that...there's a general consensus though that 3.5 is a low-point in terms of quality for the tv shows, with scratchy audio and low-budget animation. It might be entertaining on a surface-level for the target audience of very young girls, but otherwise there's not much there.

 

@ I'm actually curious what aspects of Gen 1 you like more than Gen 4? Not saying you're wrong, it's just not something you hear very often considering the proliferation of fans that have never watched the original series.

Edited August 5, 2014 by TenorSounds

[Orablanco Account 3,706]

 

 

I've heard about that Minty character.

 

She's basically the closest we have to Derpy being written as an actual character. She was even voiced by Tabitha St. Germain, who voiced Derpy during her "Last Roundup" cameo. She was a cute character.

 

Anywho, G1 is kind of cool, what with all the monsters and surprisingly intense villains bounding about. There was this nice sense of adventure present in many of the episodes, and it's great to see a show aimed at girls that wasn't afraid to get epic or dark at times. But as @ said, it's your typical 80's cartoon, so don't expect any compelling characters or well-written plots or anything. But for what it is, it ain't horrible, and it deserves credit for sparking the imagination of Lauren Faust in the first place.n The G1 movie isn't exactly good, but it has Danny DeVito and an awesome villain song for an awesome villain that I hope makes a comeback some day, so give it a watch of you're interested.

 

G2, which is just ponies doing things in high school, is a major downgrade. It's like Equestria Girls, except at least that had the better characters from Friendship is Magic and some fantasy elements. G2 is just your basic Disney Channel routine with the girls trying to find dates or finish their homework or something. It's interesting to take note of, but it ain't worth your time, me thinks.

 

G3, which wasn't a TV series but a line of direct-to-video stories, is the "girliest" of the iterations, and the one people probably point to when talking about how much the older generations suck. I'd be lying if I said it was good. Minty is fun enough, and it's kind of funny seeing characters you know in their G4 form doing ridiculous things you would never imagine them doing, but it's all very bland and lifeless. Kind of ugly, too; whereas the first two generations had a sort of charm in their pony designs, this one's characters are really unappealing to look at, and Ponyville looks like the a rainbow monkey threw up all over Babes in Toyland.

 

G3.5 is the equivalent of reading those terrible comics you find in Bazooka bubblegum wrappers while an orangutan farts in your ear.

[AlbaTross 1,581]

She's basically the closest we have to Derpy being written as an actual character. She was even voiced by Tabitha St. Germain, who voiced Derpy during her "Last Roundup" cameo. She was a cute character.

 

She sounds awesome, especially with Tabitha St. Germaine voicing her. If I do check out any past gen stuff, I'm not going to go into it with high expectations, and I am expecting it to be different from FiM. If nothing else, I'm kind of interested in seeing the evolution of certain characters into the cast of FiM as we know them today, and a little interested in seeing what characters aren't around anymore.

 

When I say interested though, that's subject to change if I find it's not enjoyable. I'm not even saying I will check out past gens, but I'm open to the idea. I may be a fan of MLP, but it's just as likely, if not more, that I'm just a FiM fan. However, I'll never know the answer to that unless I take the plunge. This is something I'll have to think about. I suppose there's an off chance I'll be into at least one tv show or OVA series out of the bunch, so it may be worth a shot. I'm not sure where I can find any of it though, so I may have to look into it.

[AlbaTross 1,581]

Ok, I took the plunge, and decided to start at the very beginning. I saw Rescue at Midnight Castle. I might as well post my thoughts. Part 1 feels very rushed, and in general, the whole thing is probably objectively terrible, from poor writing, to equally poor voice acting. Is it bad that I actually kind of like it? The overarching storyline is engaging, the characters are flat, but likeable enough, the villain is great, the tone is unexpectedly dark(maybe even up there with the darkest of FiM episodes), it's kind of neat seeing early iterations of Twilight, Spike and Applejack, and even the bad stuff is bad in the hilarious sense, which is something a fan of both the original Resident Evil game, and the movie The Room, can put up with.

 

The entire thing is cheesy, and there's a healthy dose of BS throughout, but somehow, I think it adds more charm to this episode, or film, or whatever this is. My favorite character would have to be Mr. Moochik, but out of the main ponies, I'd say Firefly is my favorite, just because she actually reminds me a lot of Rainbowdash(just with a different name, more feminine, and poor voice acting).

 

I liked this entry enough, so I think I'll keep going, if possible. I found a YouTube channel that supposedly has every episode from every gen of MLP, in order, but it's not available in my region, so I'll have to be a little more savvy. I just googled the name of the first episode that came up, so I might just try going down the list and googling the names that come up, as I go about watching them. Well, looks like I've committed to at least starting a journey through all of MLP. I can't guarantee I won't stop at some point, and I've been warned that the road will be treacherous, but so far so good.