Why do people like Luna?

[FearTheBelle 55]

I just don't understand why she is so popular. Her personality is dull, she doesn't even have the slight sense of humor Celestia does.

Plus, her backstory doesn't help anything; basically, she got mad that ponies are awake during the day instead of at night, and decided to turn evil because of that. That isn't interesting, it isn't sympathetic, it isn't anything besides dumb. And the worst part is that, despite immediately trying to take over again when she was released, she was forgiven for literally no reason whatsoever. Not only that, but she was given her position as a royal back. Why? What did she do to deserve not only forgiveness, but being treated like nothing ever happened or had changed? And then later, the Tantabus was even worse. She created a monster to self-harm with, and couldn't control it to the point that it started harming others; was she punished for this? No. Was it even treated like a big deal that she was self-harming in the first place? No. Essentially, she is the edgy teenager of the show, except that she's a thousand years old and has the power of royalty. How is that likeable?

[Metemponychosis 1,236]

MLP is good at feeling, not at thinking, and a character like Luna is perfect for that because she evokes feelings of similarity in the audience, both from a perspective of seeing oneself as weak and wanting tobe strong. She's, at the same time, a power fantasy and a sympathy sink. She has a popular older sister, while in reality the fandom likes her much more because of that. She's socially awkward, and at the same time, she's in a position of power and her awkwardness is never a real problem, even when when it should. She 'suffers because of her past', while at the same time she thrives because of the space that's given her in the cartoon. Celestia is more powerful, but at the same time Luna constantly shows more power than she does.

She's a great example of why MLP isn't as good as people like to say it is, but it is brimming with charisma. You can see this, as most people only finally related to Celestia when the cartoon turned her into a goofball, without even bothering to show why she was important other than the 'sun thing' that was never very relevant to begin with.

TL;DR: the problem isn't Luna. It's the fandom.

[Goat-kun 2,498]

Luna, Sunset, Starlight, Stygian ... Bronies like to fantasize about being outcasts without all the shit that comes with it. Luna is the progenitor of this double-faced silver platter fantasy.

[Misty Shadow 7,084]

Because Luna is much more relatable than Celestia and goes through the much more favored positive character arc (a character who starts off believing a lie and gets better after discovering the truth) in contrast to Celestia's flat character arc (a character who has always believed the truth). Her backstory is not as simple as "she turned evil because ponies were asleep at night", she was upset that her work was not being recognized and an evil force took advantage of the weakness in her heart to corrupt her. She was forgiven after she was freed of the evil and because there was no more reason to keep punishing her after she had already been in suffering for a millennium. Luna also only unconsciously created the Tantabus to punish herself, a representation of how overly self-conscious people in real life unconsciously punish themselves repeatedly for what happened in the past and A Royal Problem also showed both Celestia and Luna acting like edgy teenagers.  To understand Luna, you have to first understand that her fans are not attracted to her because they want a perfect character, they want a flawed, dark character who represents them. 
 

[RDDash 18,866]

I don't understand it ether, Equestria has an odd I was bewitched so I didn't do it criminal system. It also has a companion clause Please forgive me I swear I won't do it again lol. Also the fact that you are a princess or a friend of a princess, or just having any kind of powerful connections allow you to get with any crime you want. I am the element of harmony so I am above the law, lol.

Speaking of Luna I thought she is somewhat nice, but I am not really obsessed over her.

[They call me Loyalty 1,941]

It's easy to judge anything without being in its place. Now, I'm not aware as to why people may polarize towards her in one way or another. Personally, given my familiarity with the reality of dreams, I feel certain relatability towards Luna. The very name conjures the realm of illusion I love so much.

[Number62 1,247]

Luna sounds interesting. That doesn't mean she is interesting.

The problem with Luna is the vagueness of her character. Let's start with her backstory. The beginning lines from the very first episode of the show tried to say that Luna wasn't as well-liked and appreciated as her sister, but the show has never bothered to convey what the average pony citizen thinks of both sisters and how the sisters affect and are affected by the pony citizens. On a side note, there were ponies being nervous around Celestia in season 1, but that idea ultimately does nothing. Celestia also has her own problems, but they're not relevant at the moment. Anyways, since the show never did much with Luna's backstory or her motivations, saying that Luna became evil for stupid reasons isn't inaccurate, and it doesn't help that the show can't contradict what you said.

2 hours ago, FearTheBelle said:

Was it even treated like a big deal that she was self-harming in the first place? No.

I agree with this assessment. I don't know how Luna's self-harm business impacted her life or even other ponies in her life, especially her relationship with Celestia (and what do we know about their relationship, btw?). Because of that, I don't even know why (or even IF) Luna's intense guilt and decision to punish herself were supposed to be harmful. The ideas are obvious, but since the show is so vague about them, the idea that Luna's self-destructive activities were so harmful holds no water.

Consequently, I feel that Luna is a horribly wasted character.

1 hour ago, Metemponychosis said:

She has a popular older sister,

And this is another good example of the vagueness in Luna's character. At what point did a random character in the show explicitly prefer Princess Celestia over Princess Luna?

Edited March 23, 2019 by Number62

[Thrond 3,257]

Never thought I'd be the devil's advocate regarding Princess Luna, but here we go.

I like her because, like every other character, I think she's cute and funny, both in her relative naivete towards the "modern" world and in her moody snark. I also like her for a lot of the same reasons as Celestia: she's wise and kind-hearted but is also implied to carry a lot of pain beneath the surface. 

I don't find her "the most relatable character in the show" like some people do, but she's still one of my favourites.

[The Historian 515]

I have always maintained that Luna is overrated and isn't nearly as interesting as Celestia. I don't dislike Luna by any means, but I am far more of a Celestia fan and feel much more pathos for her than Luna.

[MangoFoalix 24,898]

Luna is an interesting character. I mean, this can be said about any other character. Why do you like any of the mane six? Why do you like any background pony?

[The Nth Doctor 652]

Tall, dark, female, brooding, dark tragic past, cute as a button and an utter dork that doesn't play video games like fanon wishes she did

What's not to love?

[Sepul-Coloratura 756]

People like dark, black, grim stuff. People love tragic backstory, people love misunderstood outcasts. And a cartoon series that could be as bright as MLP, that was enough to gravitate people. Certain characters are liked just because they are special inside the MLP universe, where everybody is kind and safe and pretty. People like Discord not just because he is humorous, but also because he is the only one who is able to be dangerous at free will. People like Rainbow Dash because she isn't girly. People like Maud because she is so dull. Imagine any of these characters would stand out that much in a different cartoon series.

Sometimes MLP fans confuses me because on one side they enjoy watching a cartoon called My Little Pony, about cute ponies in a peaceful town, but on the other side still crave intense fight scenes and dark stuff and realism in it too. Some people think characters like Celestia and Cheerilee are fake and pretending to be nice. And that overall vibe of MLP universe is too nice and sunshiny to be real, so some of the viewers can't stand it. I guess a chosen theocratic ruler who controls the sun being all-good and beloved is not that appealing for some people. So maybe they don't like Celestia for the similar reasons why Luna hated her. And they sympathizes with her on that part.

The part that Luna gets forgiven by Celestia in the pilot episode is OK for me. It is one of the truest reformation in the whole series. If Luna didn't apologize, they would have blasted her face. Luna was meant to be a co-ruler of Equestria. Once Nightmare Moon was defeated, Luna seems like she's back to herself and regrets what she's done. Her apology was true and Celestia accepts it. And later on, Luna becomes a good co-ruler.

The part about the Tantabus episode, yeah. The revelation was kinda weird and forced. It would have been nicer if it was just an incarnation of her subconscious guilt, and not her creation by her active choice. Luna almost doomed all Equestria. Even I liked the episode because the story was fast paced and stakes were high, that revelation part could have done better.

But Luna has lots of potential as a character. Not that the potential has been developed that much, but one of the best episode of MLP is Luna Eclipsed. That episode made people like Luna. (Cadence and Celestia doesn't have their version of Luna Eclipsed. That's why people like her the most.)

On 3/24/2019 at 3:49 AM, Goat-kun said:

Luna, Sunset, Starlight, Stygian ... Bronies like to fantasize about being outcasts without all the shit that comes with it. Luna is the progenitor of this double-faced silver platter fantasy.

 

Even when Twilight was a nerdy outcast who wasn't good at making friends all along, people doesn't seem to notice that.

[Twilight Luna 30,940]

People actually like Luna? Pffft... 

Edited March 27, 2019 by Twilight Luna

[EpicEnergy 22,074]

I like Luna, she is a very cool pony! Especially her power to raise the moon and enter the dream realm, no other ponies do that! 

As for the question in the OP, I don't really know why people like Luna - I suppose each person has their own reasons.

[Goat-kun 2,498]

22 hours ago, Sepul-Coloratura said:

People like dark, black, grim stuff. People love tragic backstory, people love misunderstood outcasts. And a cartoon series that could be as bright as MLP, that was enough to gravitate people. Certain characters are liked just because they are special inside the MLP universe, where everybody is kind and safe and pretty. People like Discord not just because he is humorous, but also because he is the only one who is able to be dangerous at free will. People like Rainbow Dash because she isn't girly. People like Maud because she is so dull. Imagine any of these characters would stand out that much in a different cartoon series.

Sometimes MLP fans confuses me because on one side they enjoy watching a cartoon called My Little Pony, about cute ponies in a peaceful town, but on the other side still crave intense fight scenes and dark stuff and realism in it too. Some people think characters like Celestia and Cheerilee are fake and pretending to be nice. And that overall vibe of MLP universe is too nice and sunshiny to be real, so some of the viewers can't stand it. I guess a chosen theocratic ruler who controls the sun being all-good and beloved is not that appealing for some people. So maybe they don't like Celestia for the similar reasons why Luna hated her. And they sympathizes with her on that part.

The part that Luna gets forgiven by Celestia in the pilot episode is OK for me. It is one of the truest reformation in the whole series. If Luna didn't apologize, they would have blasted her face. Luna was meant to be a co-ruler of Equestria. Once Nightmare Moon was defeated, Luna seems like she's back to herself and regrets what she's done. Her apology was true and Celestia accepts it. And later on, Luna becomes a good co-ruler.

The part about the Tantabus episode, yeah. The revelation was kinda weird and forced. It would have been nicer if it was just an incarnation of her subconscious guilt, and not her creation by her active choice. Luna almost doomed all Equestria. Even I liked the episode because the story was fast paced and stakes were high, that revelation part could have done better.

But Luna has lots of potential as a character. Not that the potential has been developed that much, but one of the best episode of MLP is Luna Eclipsed. That episode made people like Luna. (Cadence and Celestia doesn't have their version of Luna Eclipsed. That's why people like her the most.)

Even when Twilight was a nerdy outcast who wasn't good at making friends all along, people doesn't seem to notice that.

Twilight was just a nerd, and sometimes she still is. That's that. All aforementioned characters offer the feeling of being wronged along with instant gratification of forgiveness and popularity in their fantasy package. That's Brony bread & butter. It's such an irony that good outcasts usually get wronged by characters like Luna.

 

Trash King from Tate no Yuusha has a tragic past, you know. Due to this and that he went ahead and decided to make Naofumi's life as miserable as possible, turning him into an outcast. Our Shield Bro didn't just get less attention like Luna did in comparison to her sister. He was actively hated by an entire country. However, unlike Trash, Naofumi chose to fulfill his duty as a hero instead. Griffith, the god of scumbags, has a tragic past too. He has chosen to sacrifice his friends, none of which had a super-duber friendship power that could stop him and magically fix everything. It broke Guts and Casca. Still, they didn't turn evil. Guts even became a sort of a dark father figure to a bunch of young outcasts. Then we have Batman. He's mean, he's scary, he talks funny, yet he's one of the most well-know fictional heroes on this planet. While he didn't become Batman due to some tragic past snowflake, he does beat up his fair share of Lunas.

 

What can I say, I am fond of brooding outcasts. What I am not fond of is the writers treating them as the most popular girl in high school while spouting that rage and hatred can never be used for good. They have turned emotions into a condition that is always beyond a character's control which makes them just guilty enough for the catharsis chasers among the viewers and innocent enough to escape in-world consequences. Luna is not a struggler. She's a privileged bitch who has to make her own problems. Same with the rest of the Tragic Past Gang.

 

But Goat-kun, #KidShow!

I'm just illustrating how antihero outcasts work in comparison to villains when exposed to tragic pasts, and how antihero outcasts are actually natural enemies of characters like Luna.  She & Co chose the easy road and became villains, and then they had their cake and ate it too. God Hand would be proud.

[J.J 918]

Shes ALWAYS been my LEAST favorite princess aside from liking the Nightmare Night mix, shes the edgy but "vanilla bad guy". S1 stand up! She was bad, she was punished for being bad, she looked for vengeance in the name of her disruptive beliefs, she lost. To me forgiving her may be, "brony bread and butter", but mlps fandom ironically is not much different from Equestria when it comes to a need to "uphold harmony," ive been satisfied with what they have fed me for the most part, if a couple cynical neck beards are upset because the shows formula wont change because they are bored with reformation plot devices, and revisiting character faults, while giving things the mlp polish, they should find a different show to watch, then maybe they wont complain about the material they wanted to see

[Jedishy 3,542]

Why do people like her? Let me list the reasons
 

1. She is relatable in the fact that many people feel outshined by those around them. She did not get mad due to a sleep schedule as you claim.

2. She acts as counselor to ponies in their dreams showing great empathy and kindness.

3. She felt so bad about what she did she created a magical force to punish herself over and over again. It must be nice that you do not beat yourself up over past misdeeds. Because I find that easily relatable. Further why would she be punished no one was actually hurt scared but not hurt and it was not intentional nor something that you reasonably could expect to happen. 

On 3/23/2019 at 10:56 AM, FearTheBelle said:

she doesn't even have the slight sense of humor Celestia does

Oh? Her several jokes on NMN show otherwise. Further if you read the journal of the two sisters it shows that LUNA created all the hidden passages and joke areas of the Castle of the Two Sisters. So she indeed has a wicked sense of pranking/humor. 

 

On 3/23/2019 at 10:56 AM, FearTheBelle said:

What did she do to deserve not only forgiveness, but being treated like nothing ever happened or had changed?

She served a 1000 year jail sentence what do you think that you should be punished forever if you mess up? You do your time and thus your sentence is served. Further yea lets take away all royal duties from the Princess that controls the freaking night and dreams. I mean its clearly shown that Celestia is unable to handle the dream world and at best can raise the moon each night but nothing else. So not only do we hurt someone that did their time but let's keep the burden on the current ruler of the day rather than lightening her load....this makes sense because? 

On 3/23/2019 at 1:02 PM, R.D.Dash said:

odd I was bewitched so I didn't do it criminal system.

How is this odd? If you are drugged or driven to insanity you are not held as responsible for your actions in the current 1st world justice systems. So why would magical mind alteration be treated differently? 

[RDDash 18,866]

3 minutes ago, Jedishy said:

How is this odd?

Insanity defense is flawed and often used as get out of jail free card. Question mark? Even if Luna was mentally unhinged she would still be found guilty simply because definition of legal Insanity is slightly different from the actual insanity. 

Ironically Luna cannot be put into prison since she is potentially immortal. It would be just as pointless as if they shoved Tirek into Tartarus.

[Jedishy 3,542]

2 minutes ago, R.D.Dash said:

Even if Luna was mentally unhinged she would still be found guilty simply because definition of legal Insanity is slightly different from the actual insanity. 

And Im gonna have to disagree. One can make a very easy case that lack of sleep, lack of social interaction, and the resulting isolation can easily make a case for temporary insanity. 

2 minutes ago, R.D.Dash said:

Ironically Luna cannot be put into prison since she is potentially immortal. It would be just as pointless as if they shoved Tirek into Tartarus.

This makes ZERO sense. Time locked up sucks regardless of immortality and in fact, if you sentence them to it life IE forever is worse because the crap literally cant end as you will never die. So there is not even the hope of the suffering to end via morality. And as she really did not do much outside of what amounts to an Alicorn bar brawl 1000 years was a bit much. 

[RDDash 18,866]

1 hour ago, Jedishy said:

This makes ZERO sense...

Okay, they cannot kill a person, and that person potentially lives forever, it would be a waste of time for both parties involved since the person in question doesn't suffer any discomfort. (Food and water is provided, and contact with outside world is always present, a single guard can easily be tricked, and the prisoners can escape any time they want.)

Edited March 28, 2019 by R.D.Dash

[Goat-kun 2,498]

42 minutes ago, Jedishy said:

Why do people like her? Let me list the reasons
 

1. She is relatable in the fact that many people feel outshined by those around them. She did not get mad due to a sleep schedule as you claim.

2. She acts as counselor to ponies in their dreams showing great empathy and kindness.

3. She felt so bad about what she did she created a magical force to punish herself over and over again. It must be nice that you do not beat yourself up over past misdeeds. Because I find that easily relatable. Further why would she be punished no one was actually hurt scared but not hurt and it was not intentional nor something that you reasonably could expect to happen.

1.) Most people are outshined by somebody.

2.) She cannot even fix herself. Incidentally, she and Starlight fall into the sad but true RL stereotype of mentally ill psychotherapists. We're talking untreated full-blown schizophrenias here.

3.) There are issues to be had. I'm gonna stop here as a courtesy.

43 minutes ago, Jedishy said:

Oh? Her several jokes on NMN show otherwise. Further if you read the journal of the two sisters it shows that LUNA created all the hidden passages and joke areas of the Castle of the Two Sisters. So she indeed has a wicked sense of pranking/humor.

Pranks and jokes, are they truly the same?

44 minutes ago, Jedishy said:

She served a 1000 year jail sentence what do you think that you should be punished forever if you mess up? You do your time and thus your sentence is served. Further yea lets take away all royal duties from the Princess that controls the freaking night and dreams. I mean its clearly shown that Celestia is unable to handle the dream world and at best can raise the moon each night but nothing else. So not only do we hurt someone that did their time but let's keep the burden on the current ruler of the day rather than lightening her load....this makes sense because? 

How is this odd? If you are drugged or driven to insanity you are not held as responsible for your actions in the current 1st world justice systems. So why would magical mind alteration be treated differently? 

The dream realm was just fine on its own. Do we really need somepony running around a realm she clearly does not understand?

 

You are if you've deliberately taken something and then hurt somebody under the influence. Luna deliberately turned into NMM the same way someone deliberately started drinking cause life's too hard.

26 minutes ago, Jedishy said:

And Im gonna have to disagree. One can make a very easy case that lack of sleep, lack of social interaction, and the resulting isolation can easily make a case for temporary insanity.

She'd still be taken in ever if this excuse would hold water. Who am I kidding, Luna is a privileged princess, so of course it would. Big Sis would arrange a nice rich people rehab

[TBD 17,228]

She's one of the few character that's relatable. Someone who struggles to fit in the sociality at the same time trying not to lose herself to the dark.  I like her character more after "Do princess dream of Magic sheep?" Because its covers more in depth with her character to the extend it's deep and well thought-out when it comes expressing her anguish without saying "oh she's suffering".  Basically, she's what realism is, instead of "perfectionist cupcake and rainbows"

Edited March 28, 2019 by TBD

[Jedishy 3,542]

Just now, R.D.Dash said:

the person in question doesn't suffer any discomfort.

Have you ever even been on a civilian cruise ship? Never mind prison. Having been in the military and underway for months at a time in space conditions similar to prison I can say you seriously misinformed here. No discomfort? HA! It sucks and it sucks hard. Months of boredom with limited entertainment, the same space that easily becomes claustrophobic. Etc etc. Seriously it SUCKS. The whole point of prison is that it sucks to live in a small space with limited resources and no freedom. 

If they could get out:" any time they wanted " well then they both would not have been able to be imprisoned for thousands of years.Finally if they are dangerous even if the imprisonment is " not punishment " like you appear to think it at least keeps other people safe which is point enough in and of itself. 

 

2 minutes ago, Goat-kun said:

1.) Most people are outshined by somebody.

 

 

Yea that is what makes her relatable which is exactly what I said. 

2 minutes ago, Goat-kun said:

She cannot even fix herself. Incidentally, she and Starlight fall into the sad but true RL stereotype of mentally ill psychotherapists. We're talking untreated full-blown schizophrenias here.

Conjecture and assumption and nothing more. We have seen there are some times where she cant fix herself but that does not mean its always the case. Everyone needs help from time to time. Sorta the point of the show where the tag line is friendship is magic. 

But we do have proof that she eventually came to her senses with help and understanding and as no one can be helped unless they want it and do the work themselves she indeed has to fix herself. Oh and if you are implying she cant fix herself so she cant fix others well that is patently false. One can be a broken individual and give others wisdom that helps them at the same time. 

 

4 minutes ago, Goat-kun said:

The dream realm was just fine on its own. Do we really need somepony running around a realm she clearly does not understand?

 

 

 

Again you have nothing to back this. Running fine and running well are two separate things. She clearly helps several people via their dreams and we have no idea what could be needed if that realm was ever under attack. 

5 minutes ago, Goat-kun said:

Luna deliberately turned into NMM

No proof. You have no proof that this was deliberate any more then I do that this was a psychotic break that caused a personality shift. 

 

7 minutes ago, Goat-kun said:

She'd still be taken in ever if this excuse would hold water.

But not to jail. There is a difference in being made to get help and being sent to jail and having a criminal record. 

[J.J 918]

I guess that big change is "anti brony fodder". when referencing Luna... xD, and also I love Starlight, I wouldnt compare the two here... Luna wasnt a diplomat, and didnt have gifted organizational skills. I mean I get it, "boo hoo hoo, your friend is smarter than you, you gonna cry Starlight". Its not that, Its a "kids show", of course they have to have some hollowed out reason that makes sense to the younger audience that doesn't completely address the political/social undertones. She didnt stop there, she returned, basically came to help make dream team, because her insight has proven useful again and again. Every time a hipster brony cringes at Starlight Glimmer god grants the universe one just miracle in return.

[TBD 17,228]

13 minutes ago, Goat-kun said:

2.) She cannot even fix herself. Incidentally, she and Starlight fall into the sad but true RL stereotype of mentally ill psychotherapists. We're talking untreated full-blown schizophrenias here.

"Do Princess dream of Magic Sheep" technically confirm that she can fix herself. She has finally find closure and is now soundly asleep.