spoiler Is MLP a bit too stacked now, when it comes to the character roster?

[Mesme Rize 15,681]

I just recently started to catch up on info about season 8, since it now starts this saturday and it got me really thinking, especially with the stuff i have already seen of the premiere.

Are we at a point where the character roster is just too big for it's own good? We have alot of fans for various different characters that are in the show now and have been in the show at one point. After the season 7 finale, we got 6 new characters that have come forth and now with the school of friendship being opened, we have seen a bunch of potential new characters coming forth.

I know it's silly to think to please everybody, because it's just not possible. But alot of people have already requested the return of some fan favorites from the past and now with all these new characters coming it will be extremly hard to put them in a way, that the stories will still be good.

I don't say Season 8 will be the worst ever, but it got me thinking.

What do you think?

[Rhythm Red 6,484]

I do think there are too many characters. That’s why I don’t like that they’re adding the student group. I think we should focus more on fleshing out some of our current characters, rather than adding new ones that I consider to be fairly uninteresting. 

Just my opinion, though!  

[Brony Number 42 9,899]

This happens on some shows, where non main charaters get their own episodes. I don't think I it is bad. I much prefer it over what would happen in some 1980s and 1990s shows, where the budget was small and animation was recycled. The stories were over simple and you rarely saw new characters or sets. (I'm looking at you Filmation.)

A large set of characters makes the universe more real and believable. I don't need to see Twilight learn the same friendship lesson for 8 years. But I do like seeing new characters evolve.

This could create the potential for spin offs. 

[DubWolf 16,585]

I guess it could make the show spread too thin across a wide span of characters if each character does get its own episode  , although I’m sure it’ll be more like a group of characters getting a focus.

[cmarston1 5,951]

To be honest, at this point, yeah there might be too many characters.

 

[GrimGrimoire 4,970]

It does not bother me. The show is called My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic.. not The Adventures of the Mane 6. I love the main cast, but alternating other characters and expanding the cast has never bothered me.

[Megas 27,052]

I'm more worried about how these characters will be handled, it seems they're gonna have a ton of focus in the season, yet just looking at them, I find myself not caring about them in the future, and I feel they're gonna be more detrimental to the existing cast more than anything

Not to mention, there are already existing characters that are already underdeveloped, and could benefit from more focus

[Aqua shine 1,898]

i say this i don't care how  meany characters there are it fun to watch the show way it is bronys never fight over how meany pony's there are in the show we only care about we watching the show.

Edited March 19, 2018 by pinkypie13

[Here No Longer 5,270]

It worries me, but it doesn't really bother me.

I'll watch the show, but I'm getting worried that they'll end up under-developing any new characters they introduce into the show, since they have so many characters. It's getting harder and harder to keep the plot flowing, but also reserve time for character development.

[Aqua shine 1,898]

no it isn't they only foucus only on twilight friends

[CastletonSnob 3,025]

17 minutes ago, Alvin Yakitori said:

I'm more worried about how these characters will be handled, it seems they're gonna have a ton of focus in the season, yet just looking at them, I find myself not caring about them in the future, and I feel they're gonna be more detrimental to the existing cast more than anything

Not to mention, there are already existing characters that are already underdeveloped, and could benefit from more focus

This show has a bad habit of introducing new characters instead of developing the ones they already have.

[ShootingStar159 2,155]

1 hour ago, Mesme Rize said:

I just recently started to catch up on info about season 8, since it now starts this saturday and it got me really thinking, especially with the stuff i have already seen of the premiere.

Are we at a point where the character roster is just too big for it's own good? We have alot of fans for various different characters that are in the show now and have been in the show at one point. After the season 7 finale, we got 6 new characters that have come forth and now with the school of friendship being opened, we have seen a bunch of potential new characters coming forth.

I know it's silly to think to please everybody, because it's just not possible. But alot of people have already requested the return of some fan favorites from the past and now with all these new characters coming it will be extremly hard to put them in a way, that the stories will still be good.

I don't say Season 8 will be the worst ever, but it got me thinking.

What do you think?

Im not sure.

On the one hand, yeah, that’s a lot of new characters being thrown at us. I’m getting flashbacks to the movie, where there isn’t enough time to give all the new characters and locations their due.

On the other hand, season one threw seven main characters at us at once too, and how long did it take for them to grow on you?

[Aqua shine 1,898]

new chater had new story to twilight working with her frends that the hole meainy of mpl

get over it who gives a pony mpl is the show i can fellow i understand the story i know there going back to movie conuting the story from there just fighting over that how gives a pony how meany pony's they jeez. 

[Ganondorf8 11,118]

In order to keep things fresh and prevent any repetition, they add in new characters, but are oblivious to the fact that doing just that causes further problems. The biggest one being certain characters are given lots of development while others make a few appearances and get very little. Oh, and don't get me started with one-shot characters who make one appearance only to never be seen or heard from again. It's an unfortunate problem that shows no signs of stopping any time soon but many fans will look past this and continue watching without ever really looking too deeply into it.

[Will Guide 21,325]

@Ganondorf8

Like I said before, any "wasted"/"one-shot"/underdeveloped characters can always be expanded upon by fan fiction. Heck, I've read several fan fictions that actually developed Human Flash Sentry beyond a stereotypical "good-looking guy"

Edited March 19, 2018 by We.

[Hierok 11,829]

I think it isn't, but the fandom wants to see too much characters return, so it makes the show to stacked with characters. 

[King of Canterlot 9,588]

Yes, right off the bat, I would say that MLP probably does have a little too many characters, not that its a bad thing, but it can exclude certain characters from getting a decent amount of screen-time because there's just so many characters in the show. They could make this work however, as the team behind MLP is very talented and has been doing this for 8 years now, but that still won't mean that there won't be a few characters who we would like to see more of, not get enough time on-screen 

[FirePuppy 621]

Worse yet, these new characters (the Friendship School’s students) have been confirmed at least two episodes in the second half of Season 8, and even more worse, they might become main characters themselves in Season 9, like Starlight almost did in Season 6.

I only watch the show just to see Fluttershy and Pinkie most of the time, yet both are not getting much episodes this season, and they’ll be the ONLY duo left without a second episode after 8 seasons. I just hope they’ll finally get something in Season 9, as there’s 26 episodes per season after all.

[Thrond 3,257]

I don't mind certain characters getting few appearances, as that's a common factor in a wide number of shows. Even sibling characters like Zephyr Breeze are hardly out of the ordinary as one-offs, because this is hardly a show about families. What's a bit weird is that My Little Pony has a decent handful of recurring characters who haven't gotten significant development. Sassy Saddles, for instance, is someone who keeps popping up but hasn't actually had many stories of her own. Someone like Spitfire, who has a very strong personality and minor but frequent character development, is a better example of how such characters should be handled. 

More frustratingly, the show probably could do a lot more with Luna, Celestia, and Cadance, who appear very frequently but tend to be relegated to fairly narrow roles. Aside from that, nothing else is strictly necessary, and the writers aren't doing anything wrong by leaving those characters in the past. That My Little Pony reserves so many intriguing concepts for one-off stories is part of what makes it such a great inspiration for fanfiction. 

I'm somewhat frustrated that the writers have once again decided that the main trick to keep the show fresh is to introduce a bunch of new characters, but then again, this is a merchandise-driven show, and I like the school idea too much to be that bothered. If nothing else, like with Starlight, these are characters who they're committing to and not just throwing out to take attention off the mane six, like was common in seasons 5-6. I think if the writers don't want to write the mane six anymore, they should just end the current show and make a new one, but I guess that's kinda what they're doing in a few years. 

[Drunkfrank 1,125]

6 hours ago, VG_Addict said:

This show has a bad habit of introducing new characters instead of developing the ones they already have.

What? What do you expect every few episodes to see the return of Ember? All the side characters in MLP barring a few exceptions have been developed and had their own arc, usually in an episode belonging to them, you can't say whether or not it's a bad habit. MLP isn't about ponyville, it's about Equestria and now the world, so it makes sense to have so many new characters by the season, to give a sense of populace to the universe.

[Ganondorf8 11,118]

10 hours ago, We. said:

@Ganondorf8

Like I said before, any "wasted"/"one-shot"/underdeveloped characters can always be expanded upon by fan fiction. Heck, I've read several fan fictions that actually developed Human Flash Sentry beyond a stereotypical "good-looking guy"

Except that fanfiction isn't seen as official canon in the eyes of Hasbro. Now, if these one-shot characters and the like were to get future development in one of the Chapter books that have been released over the years, then it would be seen as official. I'm not denouncing fanfiction as I am a fanfic writer myself but what we write will never be excepted by Hasbro as it would go against what they have established as their own canon.

[Nyactis Mewcis Catlum 670]

6 hours ago, RyanMahaffe said:

What? What do you expect every few episodes to see the return of Ember? All the side characters in MLP barring a few exceptions have been developed and had their own arc, usually in an episode belonging to them, you can't say whether or not it's a bad habit. MLP isn't about ponyville, it's about Equestria and now the world, so it makes sense to have so many new characters by the season, to give a sense of populace to the universe.

Ember's in a pretty unique situation regarding side characters, actually. A lot of side characters have been one-off, but Ember has not - she, and Thorax alike, have come back in multiple episodes, and in fact have been a central part of the conflict. I'd be surprised if anyone said she was underdeveloped.

[Twilight Luna 30,917]

Adding new characters can be good as it freshens things up and keeps things from going stale. The writers will have to decide which students will be the standout ones and which will be just background characters. From the intro, it looks like there will be 18 students (unless they add more). I’m afraid that some characters will be left out of this season again. 

Edited March 21, 2018 by Twilight Luna

[Drunkfrank 1,125]

10 hours ago, Wolfhog said:

Ember's in a pretty unique situation regarding side characters, actually. A lot of side characters have been one-off, but Ember has not - she, and Thorax alike, have come back in multiple episodes, and in fact have been a central part of the conflict. I'd be surprised if anyone said she was underdeveloped.

Many characters have returned, actually. Not all of them, but not a low amount either, Ember, Thorax, Iron Will, Sassy Saddles, Coco, Photo Finish, Sapphire Shores, Cranky and Matilda, Gilda, Trixie, Garble, Daring Do, etc. A lot of these characters people thought would be one offs yet returned later.

[SkyPie 259]

Yes, definitely. Believe me, I love a new character now and then, like back in season 1 and 2, but this is just too much. And now they're overloading with 5 more characters in the season 7 finale, excluding Starswirl because we already know him.