Do bronies ask for too much?

[Sparity4Ever 1]

Personally, while I think bronies can ask too much at times, I don't necessarily think that things like asking for darker and more mature plots is necessarily a bad thing. I don't expect anything as big or dark as, say, a Game of Thrones plot. But to expect somewhat darker plots and deeper character development is hardly asking too much. Besides, let's remember: Lauren Faust intended this for all ages to enjoy. Granted, she said little girls and their parents, but I think she pretty much meant family friendly/all ages. Besides, many Disney movies often deal with dark and deep themes including betrayal, death, etc. I've seen people argue that Disney was intended to be for families, whereas MLP is going for like 5-7 year olds, but I just can't bring myself to agree with that. Some of the writers besides Lauren Faust have said that their target demographic is between 6-12. And while Disney movies may indeed label themselves as, and be recognized as for families, they still market towards little girls arguably as much as Hasbro does. I think there are arguably just as many Disney princess fans that wear Disney princess shirts that are no older than 5-7, as there are little girls that same age that are into MLP.

Also, I think another reason fans expect it is because the comics often tend to be darker and deeper than the show. Having read arcs like The Return of Queen Chrysalis, Nightmare Rarity, Neigh Anything, Reflections, the whole Fiendship is Magic mini-series, and Siege of the Crystal Empire, they're often fairly dark and/or emotional. I don't mean like Game of Thrones dark, but dark by MLP standards, and probably on the same level of darkness and emotion as a classic Disney movie. Especially when you consider everything Celestia had to go through with Starswirl and the alternate Sombra, not even getting a chance to say goodbye. Also, think about how Luna reacted when she found out everything Celestia had done, including interacting with the alternate version of her. That's not even counting the fact that Celestia nearly sacrificed herself and had to say goodbye to Sombra for good by the very end of things. This was probably one of the saddest and most emotional stories to come from the comics or show, IMO. I also think Sombra's origin story and Siege of the Crystal Empire were very emotional too, for similar reasons. With that said, I think Siege of the Crystal Empire is very unfairly hated, but I won't go into that. Although, I do understand that the comics probably have slightly more leeway, since, even though their target audience, like the show, is young girls, comic books in general are more often read by pre-teen boys and/or adult guys. Combine that with the fact that the writers are well aware of their older audience, aka us bronies. Which isn't to say that there aren't any little girl comic book readers, but I still think they have a bit more leeway for these reasons.


 

On 8/28/2017 at 10:10 PM, KH7672 said:

Thank you for thinking about the target audience. That's probably my biggest problem with these complaints is I know most are never coming from the target audience.

I have to say the complaint I hate the most is a desire for more characters talking heart to heart. I'm sorry that's a terrible idea for a kid's show. What kid's program ever does this except to reinforce the moral at the end which is the only time it should happen. "Brotherhooves Social" is a fantastic use of this mindset as it allows the antics of the episode to unwind and present the moral in a serious way. But for an episode like (there are plenty to choose from but this is the most recent one I can think of) "A Royal Problem" the complaint that this episode would have been better with Twilight talking with Celestia about her bias or Starlight just have the sisters talk to each other is a terrible idea. There is absolutely no entertainment value for kids with those ideas. Kids will remember that episode for Luna trying too hard to be social and Celestia fighting her evil self. It's these exaggerated circumstances tthat will stick with the viewer and the solution or moral will stick easier as well.

I guess that's the problem is some bronies can't take the exaggerated nature of each conflict. "Amending Fences" wasn't made for those extremely anti-social people, Moondancer was just an extreme to emphasize a point. "Flutter Brutter" wasn't made for those that are extremely annoying and mooch off others, Zephyr Breeze is an extreme for giving up too easily.

It's time to take a step back and keep the target audience in mind but appreciate the lengths the writers, editors, and animators go through to keep the older audience invested as well.

I think those plots are matter of how you choose to interpret things. Especially when you consider Twilight's rather poor relationship with her old Canterlot friends, as was evident in the series premiere, as well as the fact that in Friendship is Magic part 2, Celestia reminded Twilight that what she said is she needed to make some friends. And Fluttershy said herself that he had a history of being a freeloader. Although, admittedly, he did give up too easily on most of the jobs he tried. So I think Flutter Brutter was a little bit of both.


Well, that's my two cents on this anyway.

Edited August 30, 2017 by Sparity4Ever

[hollow-shades 129]

Yep. As everyone else said, we're not really the target audience, to put it simply. But thats exactly why we invented fanfictions and roleplays!

Edited August 31, 2017 by Flinp

[DANUTERCISD 204]

I think the brony fandom asks for too much obviously. Its kind of a hit miss thing. We might get what we want, and sometimes you don't. I enjoy the show regardless. we are NOT the original target audience, and you have to consider people of all ages. Plus, most bronies don't even support hasbro buy buying their merch or toys or whatever, which is kinda wierd, because bronies have suggestions up to the roof about the show,