An Aprehensive Greeting

[Tales 19]

My Favourite Mane 6 Pony

How did you find MLP Forums?

A Google search for the Brony community.

How you became a fan of My Little Pony

---

Hi! I just want to get this out of the way; I have yet to seriously watch any season of My Little Pony. I have watched a few episodes here and there,but until recently, I figured I would just keep my distance. After looking into it some more, I can't help but resonate with central themes and values in both the show and community. I came here so that I could possibly get to know some of the community from an inside perspective.

My previous exposure to the fandom mostly stemmed from the Furry community. Through the many content creators in that community, I eventually discovered "Crowne Prince". She featured a video a called "Is it real?" which, despite it's message, showed to me how much the Brony community has in common with my favorite aspects of the furry fandom.

As I prefaced my introduction with, I haven't watched any cohesive season of MLP. What would you recommend I start with? MLP:FiM, or some of the films? Are there any areas of filler content I should avoid if I choose to binge? 

[Rikifive 23,493]

Hello there!  

That's pretty interesting story; I hope you'll find what you're looking for.

As for the show; The movies actually are kind of fillers, that happen in-between seasons. Either way, surely start with MLP:FiM, that's where it all begins.  

Have fun and welcome to the herd!  

Edited August 9, 2018 by Rikifive

[Lord Valtasar 12,685]

hello and welcome, i'd recomend wathing it from the start, and just skip the Equestria girls movies,and if you like the show, then watch those too.it seems a bit long to binge when you see the episode count, but when you start, you won't want to stop,(at least i didn't) so don't be intimidated, every episode has its charm, and its not about an overarching story so much so i wouldn't say fillers is a term to use here,once again welcome to the mlp comunity

[Jedishy 3,542]

Welcome to the forums. I am sure you will find the fandom as welcoming as I have. Take your time and go slow or just pull a Pinkie Pie and dive on in. Either way I can almost promise it will be fun. 

[Jordan D 149]

Hey there! The FiM fanbase is huge, so it's very versatile. There are people who practically embody the bad aspects of it but on the whole the community is very nice and friendly, especially these forums. I hope you enjoy your venture into the community.

As for your question, here's a basic guide:

The first season of FiM is where it all starts, so start there. Chronologically the first storyline is probably Legends of Magic but a lot of it wont make sense without watching at least the first two seasons. 

The manga series starts out during the events of Season 1 and ends on the night of the events of the finale of Season 2.

The first two arcs of the comics take place after Season 2 but before Season 3. The other arcs are harder to gauge but arc 5 ("The Salty Sea Mare"/"My Little Pirate") takes place after Season 3. From then on, outside of a few arcs, most arcs are self-contained and can be read without viewing later seasons. 

The first Equestria Girls film takes place after Season 3, before Season 4. The first series of novels takes place roughly around this time too. The second can be watched right after it since the only baggage it carries is from the first film. As far as I ca tell, the other Equestria Girls films, specials, comics and series tends to be self-contained within its own universe with occasional nods to the FiM universe.

The 2017 film takes place after Season 7 but before Season 8. It's referenced in the Convocations of the Creatures arc of the comics, lightly mentioned in the cartoon and the previous and next comic arcs heavily delve into it. It also got a prequel series that lasted 4 issues but it got retconned hard when the movie came out. 

Hope this helps answer your question. As for "filler", what would count as filler would vary from person to person. The show is primarily episodic but introduced long-term storytelling in Season 4 onward while the comics are arc-based affairs. A lot of episodes don't really "matter" in the long run but are still fun in there own ways.

[Tales 19]

2 hours ago, Rikifive said:

Hello there!  

That's pretty interesting story; I hope you'll find what you're looking for.

As for the show; The movies actually are kind of fillers, that happen in-between seasons. Either way, surely start with MLP:FiM, that's where it all begins.  

Have fun and welcome to the herd!  

Thanks! I just got started with the first few episodes, and am falling in love already. I guess starting from the beginning makes quite a bit of a difference (The episodes I had seen before were usually quite... random... scenes.   I'm so excited to watch the rest of the show. Now I guess I face the same dilemma I had with the furry fandom: Finding a place to view stuff without being teased. 

1 hour ago, Lord Valtasar said:

hello and welcome, i'd recomend wathing it from the start, and just skip the Equestria girls movies,and if you like the show, then watch those too.it seems a bit long to binge when you see the episode count, but when you start, you won't want to stop,(at least i didn't) so don't be intimidated, every episode has its charm, and its not about an overarching story so much so i wouldn't say fillers is a term to use here,once again welcome to the mlp comunity

Thanks for the encouragement. I will admit, the episode count is quite high. I've toughed out Naruto and One Piece, so I should be able to manage the binge. XD  Besides, if they are anywhere as good as the first 3 episodes so far, it should be a smooth ride.

1 hour ago, Jedishy said:

Welcome to the forums. I am sure you will find the fandom as welcoming as I have. Take your time and go slow or just pull a Pinkie Pie and dive on in. Either way I can almost promise it will be fun. 

Thank you for the warm welcome! I really appreciate it.

1 hour ago, Jordan D said:

Hey there! The FiM fanbase is huge, so it's very versatile. There are people who practically embody the bad aspects of it but on the whole the community is very nice and friendly, especially these forums. I hope you enjoy your venture into the community.

As for your question, here's a basic guide:

The first season of FiM is where it all starts, so start there. Chronologically the first storyline is probably Legends of Magic but a lot of it wont make sense without watching at least the first two seasons. 

The manga series starts out during the events of Season 1 and ends on the night of the events of the finale of Season 2.

The first two arcs of the comics take place after Season 2 but before Season 3. The other arcs are harder to gauge but arc 5 ("The Salty Sea Mare"/"My Little Pirate") takes place after Season 3. From then on, outside of a few arcs, most arcs are self-contained and can be read without viewing later seasons. 

The first Equestria Girls film takes place after Season 3, before Season 4. The first series of novels takes place roughly around this time too. The second can be watched right after it since the only baggage it carries is from the first film. As far as I ca tell, the other Equestria Girls films, specials, comics and series tends to be self-contained within its own universe with occasional nods to the FiM universe.

The 2017 film takes place after Season 7 but before Season 8. It's referenced in the Convocations of the Creatures arc of the comics, lightly mentioned in the cartoon and the previous and next comic arcs heavily delve into it. It also got a prequel series that lasted 4 issues but it got retconned hard when the movie came out. 

Hope this helps answer your question. As for "filler", what would count as filler would vary from person to person. The show is primarily episodic but introduced long-term storytelling in Season 4 onward while the comics are arc-based affairs. A lot of episodes don't really "matter" in the long run but are still fun in there own ways.

Thanks for the break-down! It's nice to know where all the different media fits into the timeline. I'm sure I'll butcher the ordering anyways, but I really appreciate your help!

[Rikifive 23,493]

1 hour ago, Tales said:

Thanks! I just got started with the first few episodes, and am falling in love already. I guess starting from the beginning makes quite a bit of a difference (The episodes I had seen before were usually quite... random... scenes.   I'm so excited to watch the rest of the show. Now I guess I face the same dilemma I had with the furry fandom: Finding a place to view stuff without being teased. 

Happy to hear that!  Yeah, even though it all is in episodes, these aren't completely meaningless, as (not all, but) they bring something to the main storyline.

Heh, true that, I have soooo many things spoiled already.  

Either way, good luck! Hope everything goes well there!  

[bronywhocodes 218]

What is up dude, welcome to MLPforums! i hope you have a great time!

 

re: you not watching very much of the show, if you have netflix, watch through there. it's probably better to start from season 1 but, you do you.

[Rixton 1,105]

4 hours ago, Tales said:

Hi! I just want to get this out of the way; I have yet to seriously watch any season of My Little Pony. I have watched a few episodes here and there,but until recently, I figured I would just keep my distance. After looking into it some more, I can't help but resonate with central themes and values in both the show and community. I came here so that I could possibly get to know some of the community from an inside perspective.

My previous exposure to the fandom mostly stemmed from the Furry community. Through the many content creators in that community, I eventually discovered "Crowne Prince". She featured a video a called "Is it real?" which, despite it's message, showed to me how much the Brony community has in common with my favorite aspects of the furry fandom.

As I prefaced my introduction with, I haven't watched any cohesive season of MLP. What would you recommend I start with? MLP:FiM, or some of the films? Are there any areas of filler content I should avoid if I choose to binge? 

My Favourite Mane 6 Pony:

How did you find MLP Forums?: A Google search for the Brony community.

How you became a fan of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic:

Welcome!
I too recommend starting with MLP:FiM, and avoiding any grimmdark out there in the beginning. Ok, I'm now talked against myself since I also working in one of the dark story lines.
Anyway, have fun with the show and with the films!