Are people losing interest in the Mane 6?

[GrimGrimoire 4,973]

This thread pretty much states exactly what makes this fandom so much fun, and yet makes it such a nightmare all at the same time.

Every fan has their favorite characters, side characters and episodes. Also, each fan has their ideal vision of where they think the characters are going, where they should end up and how they should be dealt with in the future. The problem is, there is no collective... some adore the mane 6, and see Starlight as a threat to that dynamic.... others are tired of them or perhaps joined the show later, and just have more appreciation for Starlight and the gang. Either way they are looking for something new, and Twilight and company are not offering it... neither side is wrong, neither side is right.

At this exact moment, it seems they are trying to expand the cast... for what reason remains to be seen. Whether that is to replace the mane 6, start a new show down the line, or just increase the pool of characters.... who knows. The show is called My Little Pony, not The Mane 6, or Twilight and friends. Hasbro has always in the past expanded the cast in their shows, offering new faces and characters for fans and viewers mostly in an attempt to sell new toys. It is a really simple idea... Twilight lovers everywhere already have all her figures, and you can't do much more without without rehashing what has been done... but hey! They can release new Starlight figures with all the same ideas and get people collecting those as well! Not saying that is the case, but c'mon.... you don't think Hasbro is financing this show for the love of it, do you?

My personal opinion, is that it is the latter... I think they are expanding the cast to get people more interested in new characters to sell more toys. The Maud everyone sees every 3rd episode will do a lot better for overall sales than the Maud you saw in the one episode back in S5. I don't think they are looking to ignore or replace the mane 6 at all, but i do think they are looking to no longer make them the focus of everything, and open the door to a lot of new characters in a bid to get more exposure across a wider range of characters.

For us, this is a great cartoon show... for Hasbro... it is an advertisement campaign. The only real question at the moment I would have is, where will it end? Is this what we will get, or are there more new characters to come? I am not saying this is what it is, just that if I had to GUESS... this is what it strikes me to be, being familiar with them as a company and their properties in the past. Time will tell.  Either way, I love the mane 6, but I am not against new characters joining in to alter the dynamic.

[Steve Piranha 29,496]

It's possible that interest in the mane6 is getting lost. While the show and the Mane6 are some of the best many of us have seen in many years, too much of something makes them stale over time. I'd wrote it before, and I'll do it again: Mane6 have been the face of the show for years, but using the same characters will make the show stale, so I think they should start going to a new direction and either change the main cast, or use some new main characters working WITH the classic mane6. I see they started doing so with Starlight at least, and that's a step to a good direction in my opinion. I'd hate MLP becoming like Pokemon, where Ash Ketchum overstayed his welcome  

[snowflame 189]

Great episode is a great episode no matter who are starring. And if episode is dissapointing it's one regardless if it stars Fluttershy, Fluttershy Leans in was building on prior character develoment not making its own. 

[cmarston1 5,964]

I guess after seven years, people want to some new characters focused on seeing how a lot has already been done with the mane six.

[AlbaTross 1,586]

I don't know how it is for everypony else, but I for one have been conflicted.  I still love the mane six and their ongoing adventures are what I signed up for, so believe me when I say it's not that I don't enjoy seeing them or that I want to see them pushed to the side.  However, I also have to admit that it seems like there are fewer and fewer opportunities to develop them as they have all learned most of what somepony in their shoes would have to learn, and have addressed most of their character flaws.  So, it's really a matter of figuring out what to do with them that's entertaining, keeps our interest, and is in character, and it seems like even the show's writers are stumped.  I mean, sure, we can argue that new writers take a while to hit their stride, but I think the issue is bigger than that.

There are, IMHO, five possible ways, maybe six where things can go from here.  We can have characters A) relapse into lessons they've already learned, albeit possibly applied in different circumstances, but still the same lessons they've already learned, which shows character regression, which isn't what we want to see.  I think 28 Pranks Later is a prime example of that.  They can B ) learn lessons that are very similar to ones they've already learned and/or learn something one of their friends had to learn previously, which is also a form of either regression or at best stagnation.  The dual moral in A Flurry of Emotions reflects both problems as I'm not sure if Twilight explicitly tackled overburdening herself in the past, but has learned enough similar lessons that she shouldn't have to learn that one, while Pinkie learned that taking care of infants isn't as easy as it looks way back in season 2, and Twilight was somewhat of a voice of reason in that episode.  Then there's C) episodes that introduce character flaws never before seen so that a lesson can be learned.  Newbie Dash and Applejack's Day Off anyone?

On the better end of things, there's D) episodes where the character isn't developed per se, but we just kind of enjoy them, and that's fine.  There's also E) somehow managing to make a character learn something new that's in character and doesn't feel forced, but it's a long shot with these mane six.  I saw F) today, which is somewhere in the middle.  Fluttershy Leans In isn't quite what I'd call development, but we are seeing a natural continuation of her arc in a somewhat meaningful way, and she is now living a dream akin to what Rainbow and Rarity have.  I don't think she learned anything new but we got to see the results of six seasons of development.  I didn't even know the episode aired early until I came across this thread but go Canada!  We're not just Trump-free but we can get FiM episodes early.  Anyways, an episode like that is good too and maybe almost as difficult to pull off as something in the E category.

Given the above, it's easy to see why the writers have been leaning on the supporting cast more, and also why a lot of fans are currently more entertained by them.  I wouldn't exactly call them blank slates, but characters like Trixie and even Starlight have plenty more room for development as they haven't had nearly as many episodes dedicated to them and their flaws haven't been more or less addressed.  I don't want the mane six to go away or be pushed too much to the side, but I'm ok with a little more focus going to Starlight, Trixie and maybe even Maud for the time being as we can get more out of them.  The mane six have become kind of like old friends who we know all about, but our friendship with them can't get much deeper than it already has.  I still love them, but maybe it's time to get to know our new friends too.  I think that's just as true in TV shows as it is in real life.  Anyways, that's my take on the issue.

[Unlikeable Pony 2,700]

I'm not tired of them. At all. I think they're incredibly rich characters, and can be built upon in a number of ways (for example, they managed to showcase how Fluttershy becoming more assertive has allowed her to advance in life in the newest episode being about her Confidence allowing her to finally try to realize a dream of hers).


What I'm annoyed at is how LITTLE this season we're getting of them. Its like they've been booted into the corner this season.

[Megas 28,128]

The fact that people are still making big stinks over Starlight getting so much spotlight while thinking the mane 6 are being left out should tell you that people still want them

[Thrond 3,271]

14 hours ago, AlbaTross said:

I don't know how it is for everypony else, but I for one have been conflicted.  I still love the mane six and their ongoing adventures are what I signed up for, so believe me when I say it's not that I don't enjoy seeing them or that I want to see them pushed to the side.  However, I also have to admit that it seems like there are fewer and fewer opportunities to develop them as they have all learned most of what somepony in their shoes would have to learn, and have addressed most of their character flaws.  So, it's really a matter of figuring out what to do with them that's entertaining, keeps our interest, and is in character, and it seems like even the show's writers are stumped.  I mean, sure, we can argue that new writers take a while to hit their stride, but I think the issue is bigger than that.

There are, IMHO, five possible ways, maybe six where things can go from here.  We can have characters A) relapse into lessons they've already learned, albeit possibly applied in different circumstances, but still the same lessons they've already learned, which shows character regression, which isn't what we want to see.  I think 28 Pranks Later is a prime example of that.  They can B ) learn lessons that are very similar to ones they've already learned and/or learn something one of their friends had to learn previously, which is also a form of either regression or at best stagnation.  The dual moral in A Flurry of Emotions reflects both problems as I'm not sure if Twilight explicitly tackled overburdening herself in the past, but has learned enough similar lessons that she shouldn't have to learn that one, while Pinkie learned that taking care of infants isn't as easy as it looks way back in season 2, and Twilight was somewhat of a voice of reason in that episode.  Then there's C) episodes that introduce character flaws never before seen so that a lesson can be learned.  Newbie Dash and Applejack's Day Off anyone?

On the better end of things, there's D) episodes where the character isn't developed per se, but we just kind of enjoy them, and that's fine.  There's also E) somehow managing to make a character learn something new that's in character and doesn't feel forced, but it's a long shot with these mane six.  I saw F) today, which is somewhere in the middle.  Fluttershy Leans In isn't quite what I'd call development, but we are seeing a natural continuation of her arc in a somewhat meaningful way, and she is now living a dream akin to what Rainbow and Rarity have.  I don't think she learned anything new but we got to see the results of six seasons of development.  I didn't even know the episode aired early until I came across this thread but go Canada!  We're not just Trump-free but we can get FiM episodes early.  Anyways, an episode like that is good too and maybe almost as difficult to pull off as something in the E category.

Given the above, it's easy to see why the writers have been leaning on the supporting cast more, and also why a lot of fans are currently more entertained by them.  I wouldn't exactly call them blank slates, but characters like Trixie and even Starlight have plenty more room for development as they haven't had nearly as many episodes dedicated to them and their flaws haven't been more or less addressed.  I don't want the mane six to go away or be pushed too much to the side, but I'm ok with a little more focus going to Starlight, Trixie and maybe even Maud for the time being as we can get more out of them.  The mane six have become kind of like old friends who we know all about, but our friendship with them can't get much deeper than it already has.  I still love them, but maybe it's time to get to know our new friends too.  I think that's just as true in TV shows as it is in real life.  Anyways, that's my take on the issue.

 

 

What I would like to see is much more sitcom-like plots, perhaps with looser morals or something of the like, because those could do a lot more to tap into the characters' remaining potential. I don't think we'll see more of that, because the show is still driven by morals, but more stuff like "The Saddle Row Review" would probably do a lot to keep the mane six feeling fresh, and I wish the show would fully embrace its comedic side more often. 

With main characters reaching their goals, I think the best lessons for them to learn would be much more mature and career-related, and at that point I think we have the problem that the moral wouldn't have too much to do with the target audience, which is what I felt happened in "Newbie Dash" and especially "Applejack's Day Off." Still, I thought that "The Saddle Row Review" accomplished both of those rather successfully, and I wish that episode became more of a template going forward. I don't think these characters have run out of things to learn, but I guess it's harder to come up with those things now. 

Personally, I've preferred B and C to D in the past; I'd take another "Newbie Dash" or even "28 Pranks Later," but if I never have to see another one like "Fluttershy Leans In" again, I'll be happy. I found the D-type episodes relatively dull in the past two seasons as well, "Rarity Investigates!" and "Top Bolt" excluded; even those I enjoyed frustrated me due to a feeling that the characters had just plateaued and weren't growing, although "Spice Up Your Life" is an example of hitting just the right balance. I liked the new characters taking the reigns in the season 6 two-parters and such, but in season 7 Starlight isn't filling the void as much anymore, which makes it nice that I feel like the main six have regained some mojo.

That said, I think how the show has managed it lately is more or less the right way to go about it, and while some episodes have been relatively unexciting, I personally haven't felt like the show had reached some sort of ceiling like I did in seasons 4 and 5. The sudden influx of much simpler moral episodes is, to me at least, a welcome change regardless of their quality, even if the mane six are probably never gonna feel as exciting as they did back at the show's peak in season 2. Currently, my wishlist for the mane six remains 1. more purely comedic episodes, and 2. fleshing out their relationships with more secondary characters, even including Starlight and Trixie. Surely there's more room for that! 

[Firedog 321]

2 hours ago, AlexanderThrond said:

What I would like to see is much more sitcom-like plots, perhaps with looser morals or something of the like, because those could do a lot more to tap into the characters' remaining potential. I don't think we'll see more of that, because the show is still driven by morals, but more stuff like "The Saddle Row Review" would probably do a lot to keep the mane six feeling fresh, and I wish the show would fully embrace its comedic side more often. 

you have a good point! Mane six characters really shine in those comedic episode. It really brings out the best in them.

[KatonRyu 1,036]

Before I saw Fluttershy Leans In, I would have said yes. The Mane 6 seem to become more and more Flanderized lately, but Fluttershy's attitude throughout her episode was amazing to behold. I don't know why people would have anything bad to say about it since Fluttershy was more than able to pull the episode by herself. I hope that trend of giving the Mane 6 proper episodes again will continue as the season goes on.

[digit112 89]

For me, it's true that my enjoyment was despite some of the characterization, but I really also didn't notice that much, I guess? I was pretty annoyed by Pinkie but I don't really recall her every not being that spazzy. She's been pretty consistent. And ponies just accept it as a quirk of her personality that, while bad on the surface, is great in its own way.

I didn't like Fluttershy Leans in as much as Rock Solid Friendship, but it wasn't because of Fluttershy. It just seemed like there really wasn't any learning or actual conflict? At every point along the way, all the protagonist characters, especially Fluttershy, knew exactly what they had to do and did it. I'm pretty sure the writers made the whole episode just so that people couldn't say that Fluttershy hasn't developed anymore. I mean, the opening is of her letting Angel do something she never would've let him do years ago, out of her confidence in him. However, despite the lack of real story, it was still pretty fun to watch Fluttershy boss people around and get something really great done.

[Lambdadelta 1,462]

After watching that Fluttershy Leans in, the worst ep of the entire series (in my opinion), made me thinking 'Does any episode feature any member of the mane 6 as sole main character (excluding Pinkie and Rarity, those two are my safe bet) has any interesting story to tell anymore?'. Yeah, we need to shift focus to side characters more, because they have more interesting stories to tell and the writers can have more time to brainstorm some new fresh stories for mane 6 (i am looking at you Applejack) instead of shove some mediocre eps to my face. No, i dont think letting side characters take over is a good ideas but if main characters cant do any better at time, then just step back, wait for some time, and strike back with some god-tier episode like Amending Fence, Saddle Row, Mane Attraction etc. Secondary characters take over the second half of the series is nothing new to me, animes do that A LOT.

Edited May 4, 2017 by Lambdadelta