Thought Experiment: What if EQG had been the main series?

[emerpirp an sedi caa 50]

Hey, guys and gals! I tought of an interesting thought experiment. 

Would the brony community be the same if the original show was in the style of Equestria girls and the spinoffs were with ponies? The show would still have the incredible writing, animation, humor, characters and all the things we love about it. What do you peeps think?

Edited December 10, 2014 by Jeric
Changed Topic Title to be more descriptive

[Imperator Knoedel 58]

"This is absolutely ridiculous! Equestria Girls set a new bar for children's and girls' entertainment with its fresh take on the seemingly cliche high school setting with its outstanding characters, storytelling and animation. Its setting is a vivid and realistic world in which believable, lovable and unique characters face epic challenges such as raging she-demons and mind-controlling sirens. And now they want to make a spin-off with PONIES of all things in some fantasy sugarcane land? This is a disgrace to all Lauren Faust stood for! Just look at these garish and unimaginative designs! Two characters are even unicorns for crying out loud, not to mention that they turn our beloved principles into... *gak* PRINCESSES! Can they become any more of a sell-out? Never in my life have I seen such an obvious and contrived ploy to sell toys to little girls, and I am absolutely disgusted by the fact that this is what has become of the show I once held so dear. They aren't even trying anymore, just look at the name of the new villain for this one hour advertisement: Twilight Sparkle. Haha, get it? Because she is obviously the evil counterpart to Sunset Shimmer. How bland and uncreative. And don't even get me started on that whole graduation fiasco in the Season 3 Finale! Shimmy has always been one of my most favorite characters, and it pains me deeply to see her turn into such a Mary Sue, but that's only the beginning! Judging by the trailer (you know, the advertisment for the hour long toy commercial!) Hasbro has much worse in store for her. Not only does she turn into a... unicorn (blergh, just typing that word makes me sick to my stomach), nooooo, she gets wings too! While the rest of her friends' counterparts have either a horn or a pair of wings (or in the case of AJ and Pinkie neither, and don't even get me started on the implications of that!) she gets both as if DHX had to make sure that everyone can see her new status as Mary Sue at first glance! But wait, there's more! As if they hadn't degraded the poor girl enough they also decided to turn her into a honest to goodness horse loving sodomist! Can anyone explain to me how it makes sense that she has the hots for some random cardboard cutout white knight of another species? They even named that douche Shining Armor for heavens' sakes! And made him the brother of the cardboard cutout villain to add more romantic drama!

 

I could be going on for hours, but honestly, what's the point? Hasbro has made it clear that they don't care about their loyal fans, only the bottom line. It pains me to say this, but this is the end of the fandom, and one of the best shows of the century. Oh I'm sure it'll be going on for a few more years, I have no doubt they are gonna milk this cash cow for every last dollar, but the spirit, the inspiration, the uniqueness, it's all gone. From here on out it's gonna be only (literal) horse apples. Hope you enjoy your magical pony show, I'm out.

 

Signing off for the last time, a former Equestria Guy."

 

I literally signed up for this forum just so I could make fun of all the doomsday sayers and EG haters. Oh Celestia my sides, I was laughing the whole way through typing that up. XD

[emerpirp an sedi caa 50]

@@Imperator Knoedel, WOW DUDE! That was awesome! Do you do fanfics? Id love to see those. Your imagination and talent are astonishing. This is an example of an EPIC freaking post. You deserve to be on the front page of fimfiction. 

[Imperator Knoedel 58]

@@Imperator Knoedel, WOW DUDE! That was awesome! Do you do fanfics? Id love to see those. Your imagination and talent are astonishing. This is an example of an EPIC freaking post. You deserve to be on the front page of fimfiction.

Aw shucks, thank you for the compliment! While I have not yet written any fanfics I considered it several times and indeed have a number of ideas floating in my head. However I'm afraid I can't muster the longterm commitment to work on anything really substantial, so I figure I might as well not start at all lest I turn into another one of those people who leave their fans hanging with two year hiatuses between each chapter. I guess I could try a one-shot and see how it goes from there though, but most of my ideas lend themselves more into longer stories with several chapters.

[Lisa 5,553]

I wonder if the tables would've been turned on the hatred towards the spin off. Instead of hating human-like ponies, everyone started hating pony-like humans and start saying they look ugly.

Edited December 6, 2014 by Colour

[Gurugurujaan 25]

I wonder if the tables would've been turned on the hatred towards the spin off. Instead of hating human-like ponies, everyone started hating pony-like humans and start saying they look ugly.

Ooh, yeahh. This might be true.

Unless equestria girls is based off my little pony? Then people might find them being ponies more appropriate... But if EG was introduced as a completely original series not based off of MLP; yeah, I can see people hating the pony versions. It just happens?? Idk really.

 

My reaction to EG wasn't good tho, I'm glad I had an open mind about it. When I saw the design, I was pretty mortified and skeptical. But, I warmed up to it and enjoy the movies for sure.

Edited December 7, 2014 by Gurugurujaan

[Everleaf 541]

Interesting... I suppose how reactions go depends on the one who reacts... but I would assume many would prefer the humans if so... though I have always been into fantasy so I would remain pony! 

[Steel Accord 6,660]

I don't think so. One of the show's strongest assets is it's fantasy world and non-anthropomorphic denizens. It allows for a level of escapism and wonderment to exist. Certainly worlds closer to our own can have elements like magic and monsters but the fact that they then return to something approximating our existence hangs over the rest of the experience.

 

It's for this reason Harry Potter has Hogwarts be a castle far away in the countryside surrounded by a forest of monsters. The Wizarding world exists alongside the Muggle world, but separate from it and this is intentional in-universe and out.

 

Equestria does have some things in common with our world, indeed, one it's greatest strengths is how even us adults can relate to the very human emotions, morals, and dilemmas. But, another one of it's strengths is how smoothly and naturally both the characters and setting could focus on issues like dealing with jealousy and unwanted attention and then flip to battling giant carnivorous plants without either feeling out of place.

 

The world that Equestria Girls takes place in does not have that advantage. School life is very niche. You certainly can make a good series around it as demonstrated by Saved by the Bell and Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide but you limit the action to what it can be about. The supernatural elements are a by product of it's neighboring universe, not a holistic aspect of itself. Rainbow Rocks, particularly Celestia's reaction to hearing of "dark magic" and the ending, indicate that the supernatural events are not something that are known of outside the school. So to make the scenario stand on it's own, it would have to be made a part of the world's reality. Such would be if magic was a part of Canterlot High, and this isn't Winx Club and it sure as Hell aint RWBY!

 

All of that makes for a very different show, something more akin to Sailor Moon. The product does matter as to how it's reflected in it's following. The show would not be the phenomenon that it is, if it was not rendered in it's current form.

Edited December 15, 2014 by Steel Accord

[Starlight Fan 538]

Take someone who has never been exposed to MLP, bronies and brony haters and make them watch EQG and Rainbow Rocks. Then, show an episode of MLP and say it is a "spinoff". Watch reactions.

[Coco before Pommel 678]

Huh, that's an interesting idea~  Probably there would still be hate, even if not quite as much, because it's different from the original show and there will always be people who react negatively to any kind of change (as we can see pretty well with FiM even before EQG). But it's a different situation because shows about humans are the majority of media anyway, and a lot of the appeal of FiM (and other shows based around non-human characters) is the magic/fantasy and worldbuilding of Equestria, and how the ponies, while obviously anthropomorphized to a degree, function as characters in a world without humans. From that perspective, it's easy to see why removing those characters from their world to make them humans in high school can seem like taking away everything that's original and appealing about FiM in the first place, so there was a lot of negativity and skepticism long before the movie was even out.

 

The reverse is far less common, though – taking a show about humans and making them magical horses? Again, if we'd gotten to know and love the characters first as humans rather than as ponies I'm sure there would be skepticism as to how that would even work, but I feel like people (I know I would!) would be more curious rather than immediately angry, about a different take on the show/characters/franchise and how it could open up different possibilities and expand the world, now that we know these humans are also AU ponies. I think that would be viewed differently than the FiM/EQG because while it does technically expand the MLP universe, it doesn't at first seem to add anything "new" because after Equestria, high school seems a lot less interesting, and we're already way too familiar with the usual tropes and cliches associated with shows about high school/teenagers etc. So while there would definitely still be hate and people not into the idea of reverse-EQG, I feel like there would be less and it would be about different things, obviously, with the different genres. "But now they're ponies there's not enough pointless romantic subplots!"

 

...or maybe I'm just biased because I'm pretty certain I would LOVE it if a show I loved (about humans) had a "what if these humans were magical animals" spin-off. Because what isn't better with magical animals~?

[Sceethe 704]

at a basic level, i think the show would stil work as well with humans as characters.

 

even though some themes would´ve to be re-written, like eating hay( just as an example, can´t think of a proper one atm)

[DND 2,355]

I'm sure it'd remain the same thing we all adore. A new setting and new character design doesn't necessarily change the quality or writing of a show. I may prefer them as ponies since fantasy-based high school cartoons are abundant nowadays but I'd probably like it all the same, bronies would too considering this is another universe we're talking about. In fact, the fantasy elements and semi-realistic setting may account for more relatability considering the general Brony age group.

Edited December 10, 2014 by Hope

[Tom Snyder 4,112]

I don't know about it being the main series, but it had its funny moments, but nothing worth mentioning.

[Singe 2,111]

Hey, guys and gals! I tought of an interesting thought experiment. 

 

Would the brony community be the same if the original show was in the style of Equestria girls and the spinoffs were with ponies? The show would still have the incredible writing, animation, humor, characters and all the things we love about it. What do you peeps think?

 

Equestria Girls would be completely different from the one we have now. If it's following the same history as FIM, then it would be Lauren Faust at the helm. Lauren Faust fans will check it out and stick with the show since it turned out to be great.

 

Knowing this history, Lauren got into doing FIM since she was pitching her own show "Milky Way and the Galaxy Girls" to Hasbro. If Lauren was asked to do Equestria Girls instead, then this show would be much closer to her "Milky Way and the Galaxy Girls" blueprint.

 

The characters would likely be from these. http://milkywayandthegalaxygirls.com/the-girlaxy

Edited December 14, 2014 by Singe

[Wind Chaser 4,768]

If EqG was the main series, the fandom would be nowhere near the size it is today. As @Steel Accord said, the fantasy world is one of the biggest draws this series had going for it, especially with a break from the norm of high school settings for many girls' shows. The school setting is, by design, very limiting from a writing standpoint, which is why MLP and lots of other media portrays characters with child or teen-like personalities being afforded more freedoms and engaging in more activities than their age group would normally get.

 

I really have no idea how anyone would react to it if the roles were reversed. If anything, would Equestria Girls still carry the My Little Pony brand on it? In that case, that kind of thing would be expected. Additionally, would themes similar to FiM's still appear throughout an EqG series despite the different setting? Both would make the transition easier, at least.

[emerpirp an sedi caa 50]

 

 

I really have no idea how anyone would react to it if the roles were reversed. If anything, would Equestria Girls still carry the My Little Pony brand on it? In that case, that kind of thing would be expected. Additionally, would themes similar to FiM's still appear throughout an EqG series despite the different setting? Both would make the transition easier, at least.

Well, in a fictional universe where that was EqG G4. Like, in the 80's or whenever the MLP brand was first used, it wasnt MLP but EqG. So, in that universe the MLP trademark didnt exist untill they made the spinoff. Also, yes, the show would be basicly the closest you could get to an reanactment of G4 MLP, if it was in the EqG setting. 

[Wind Chaser 4,768]

Well, in a fictional universe where that was EqG G4. Like, in the 80's or whenever the MLP brand was first used, it wasnt MLP but EqG. So, in that universe the MLP trademark didnt exist untill they made the spinoff. Also, yes, the show would be basicly the closest you could get to an reanactment of G4 MLP, if it was in the EqG setting.

 

In that case, I agree with the notion that MLP being the spinoff franchise would be seen as an unnecessary and transparent cash grab, as well as pandering to the target demographic, similar to how EqG was seen to us.

[TheRogueDroid117 57]

I don't think so. One of the show's strongest assets is it's fantasy world and non-anthropomorphic denizens. It allows for a level of escapism and wonderment to exist. Certainly worlds closer to our own can have elements like magic and monsters but the fact that they then return to something approximating our existence hangs over the rest of the experience.

 

It's for this reason Harry Potter has Hogwarts be a castle far away in the countryside surrounded by a forest of monsters. The Wizarding world exists alongside the Muggle world, but separate from it and this is intentional in-universe and out.

 

Equestria indeed does have some things in common with our world, indeed, one it's greatest strengths is how even us adults can relate to the very human emotions, morals, and dilemmas. But, another one of it's strengths is how smoothly and naturally both the characters and setting could focus on issues like dealing with jealousy and unwanted attention and then flip to battling giant carnivorous plants without either feeling out of place.

 

The world that Equestria Girls takes place in does not have that advantage. School life is very niche. You certainly can make a good series around it as demonstrated by Saved by the Bell and Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide but you limit the action to what it can be about. The supernatural elements are a by product of it's neighboring universe, not a holistic aspect of itself. Rainbow Rocks, particularly Celestia's reaction to hearing of "dark magic" and the ending, indicate that the supernatural events are not something that are known of outside the school. So to make the scenario stand on it's own, it would have to be made a part of the world's reality. Such would be if magic was a part of Canterlot High, and this isn't Winx Club and it sure as Hell aint RWBY!

 

All of that makes for a very different show, something more akin to Sailor Moon. The product does matter as to how it's reflected in it's following. The show would not be the phenomenon that it is, if it was not rendered in it's current form.

 

Very good points

 

I don't hate Equestria Girls, but I'm glad that it's not the main series. I was personally never a huge fan of high-school related stuff (it reminds me of the hours of schoolwork I had to do lol).

 

The fantasy and imagination of Equestria, and the ponies that live there, are some of the many things that makes the show special The world of Equestria is more fun than high school

[SilencedBrony123 11]

There is a very equal amount of people who like Equestria girls as with ponies, so I would say it would have the same amount of hate and love if EG was the main series.