What do you love about MLP and its fandom?

[Twilight Sparkle ✨ 8,526]

(hopefully not a respost, looked around.. didn't find anything similar.)

 

Let my rephrase that. Why do you guys like my little pony?

 

Now, i'm saying this in the must un-offensive way. We all know this show was directed toward little kids, 5 - 10 year olds. Don't get me wrong, I'm quite fond of the show and I really enjoy it but I've been thinking, what makes this generation better than the other ones, why do you guys like this show in particular. You all must have your own reasons why you like the show and decided to become a brony. I mean, what makes this show different from all the other shows directed toward 5 - 10 year olds.

 

me, myself. I like the show because of the colors, the colors cheer me up in a way I cant really explain, it feels like the world is pretty dark and gruesome but this show makes me think different. It makes me feel like we still have hope in society and the world. It makes me feel like I was a kid and I saw everything a lot more simpler.

 

Why do you like the show in particular? you must all have your very own reasons, right?

 

Just a heads-up here: we had an existing topic on why you like My Little Pony, which I merged your topic into, HorseandRaisins.

[Metemponychosis 1,261]

 

I like MLP: FiM because not only has it got good humor, good artwork and likeable characters, but compared to some of the stupid cartoons us kids get nowdays (I'm 11) MLP stands out like a piece of chocolate in waves of moldy fruit.

 

I like it pretty much because  of the same reasons. Add to that that I have a personal story with the show and the fandom that made me become a better person than I was. Dont mock me, guys... Applejack kick me if I'm lying!

[Fhaolan 4,483]

It's a cartoon about anthropomorphized horses in a fantasy setting. That's hitting four points that make me curious about stuff, throw in actual characterization and story and it's so solidly in my wheelhouse I have to check the windows to see if they were smashed on the way in.

 

What kept me here was massive fan-created content, including the various versions of Doctor Whooves, the radio-plays like Vinyl Scratch Tapes, etc.

[~TheStealthyPony~ 166]

WHY WOULDN'T YOU LIKE MLP!!!!My Little Pony is awesome and with Rainbow Dash it's 20% cooler. I mean the animation,the characters,and the plot is great

[hawkflame 3,310]

Why?  It's got well written characters, some great animation, a catchy soundtrack, and some really solid humor for all ages.  It's got a good mix of the cheeful, the heartwarming, the dark, and the absurd.  It's a girls show, but a girls show done *right*.  I like the fact that it's lighthearted but not dumb, and it respects the intelligence of the audience.  The characters are wonderfully rounded out, the humor is absolutely charming, and I love the blink-and-you'll-miss-it little animation details that the animators will add in, particularly facial details.  I like the fact that there's the slightest sense of postmodern self awareness, but just enough to give it a slight edge, not make it needlessly sarcastic.  How many other shows would devote episodes to exploring the neuroses of the main characters?  Hell, how many other animated shows *have* neurotic main characters to begin with?

[Astral Empyrean 136]

Why does MLP hold meaning to you? If you can stick through the first part of my rant... Things will make sense. So, in the comments. Share why you enjoy the show, and your favorite character!

 

I am a thinking person by nature, I am not known for keeping my mouth shut when a problem arises, you will not silence what is right and what is spoken for. For in this world, problems grow like a wildfire with an endless fueling source...Because that source is endless. The human race has fueled a fire that has burned and blazed since the beginning of time. In this world that we now live, problems can be seen, heard, and felt, yet no one does anything about it. Also the fact that we will look for a reason to fight, instead of standing up for the people in trouble. Why? Why do we fight? In the end one is victorious and the other is put down to the lowest level possible or even dead. Why do we kill and fight? Why do we pick fights instead of standing up for the persons in the fight? These things no one can answer. In this world there will be no peace. There will only be war, fear, and hatred. Our place is determined by who we are how strong we are physically and mentally. The effect we can make on the people around us. Kind of like how a countrys worth is determined by how big their military is, how deep their resources go. But I know that people only look down on others through their own arrogance and stupidity. I have realized that people are the most dangerous thing in existance. Because entire nations have been leveled by belief and strive for wealth and power. But we have no choice not to be among those people. And that a true friends worth can only be determined by their loyalty, honesty,kindness, the laughter they share with you, the generosity between you, and then that magical little spark that holds you together. For true friends will never leave you and you would never leave them. That is why I love the show and wish I could be whisked off to Equestria. Because in that fair land arguments and altercations never become fights, they become resolved situations. Also when some pony is in trouble no one stands around and goes "I see the problem, but I don't wan't to help. For its just giving me more work." No! They help each other and pull one another out of these bad situations. But not here sadly... Here men and woman have the nerve and the care-less attitude to drive a fire of hatred that has festered and broiled. And after reading this... I wan't you to look at yourself and wonder "have I been true to myself and others. Was I there for that person in their time of need?" If not... Find a way to help them now... And as you can see this show holds more than entertainment value to me. It means much more. It gives me a clear slate in which I may point out the problems in our world. It gives me ideas on how to act and respond towards our worlds so called "Pandemic of Hatred" that has forever flowed through history. The show provides time in which I may slip away and dis-appear in plain sight, to ponder the wonders of what a whole and united world may be. It gives me time to even escape my own problems and find their solutions. And on top of that seeing characters that I find I can relate to, by seeing my qualitys and values in many a characters, helps me see how to solve problems by looking at how they solve their problems as not just the Mane 6... But as in-separable friends whom care and love each other until the sweet end. This is why the show has meaning to me...

[DiscordAnarchy 770]

MLP reminds me  alot of the cartoons I grew up with. A lot of today's cartoons rely on no story lines and just scenes of randomness or absurdity and while there is nothing wrong with those but they are a dime a dozen these days. I loved cartoons like Darkwing Duck, TailSpin, the original Sonic the HedgeHog; etc.

 

These cartoons had stories and villains and we got to see the characters grow. I loved seeing Baloo and Rebecca in TailSpin start off at each others throats but become a very close friendship/lovers near the end of the series. 

 

So this is why I like MLP.

[Astral Empyrean 136]

A very good reason too. Im only Fourteen. And I hate Spongeboob, Farily Odd Parents, etc... Do to the absolute stupidity of the shows. Why can't everything be more like MLP... Wait... i answered that in my own rant up above...

[NewCalamity 3,454]

This thread appears to be related to the My Little Pony franchise and/or the Bronydom in general. Thus, it has been sentenced to Sugarcube Corner.

 

This is an automatically generated message, by the way.

[An Old Head 4,816]

It's late at night and I feel up to writing, so cool beans.

 

There are very many reasons why MLP has such an impression on me. My Little Pony is probably one of the greatest things to have happened to me, and I owe it to several elements of it, that tie in with several elements of my own person.

 

Being born in 1996, I always felt ever so slightly envious of those [particularly in picturesque-commercial US] who were born before the 1990's - because they were old enough to allow more appreciation for coming technologies and the like. They had a lot of great-quality TV shows and games to enjoy at an age that allowed them to do so effectively, and I always see these older people loving their nostalgia for different shows - Kenan and Kel was one of them, Hey Arnold (and most of Cartoon Network) was another. Now, I never lived that sort of green-lawn sunny-skies cool-cartoon sort of life, I was born quite a bit later and I've always wanted to have been born earlier and in the US so I could be part of that collective. My Little Pony is thus extremely appealing to me because it pretty much embodies it, and for the first time ever I can enjoy it as it comes along with everyone else - and I've thoroughly loved doing so.

 

Now, for the second reason you'll have to excuse a very sugar-coated story:

 

I used to have stupidly severe depression. Couldn't leave the house, go to school, couldn't talk to anyone because I felt as if growing up with Asperger's had set me up to have a screwed up life. Yeah, I'm past that now. My point is that I used to feel stuck in a pit without any hope. So initially, this show worked as a way to get my mind off things (but so did a lot of other things) and as above a strong resemblance to one of my ideals. And while I thought it was a great show, I don't think my full appreciation was there until I watched Party Of One. Remember at the point of watching it I was still feeling like shit - and when I watched Pinkie Pie in the depths of despair as she was in that episode, before very swiftly and easily becoming happy again, it made a real impression. And considering it was a little kid's show that I had loved just as a show, I thought "Am I missing something?" So I went back and re-watched every scene that had Pinkie Pie in it - and at that moment, something clicked in me. That something... it was the combination of that previous ideal, the realisation of how long I'd spent away from cartoons and how amazing they were, the realisation that you can harvest real life experiences from the most unexpected of places. And all at once, taking up that something and combining it with the applied lesson in Party Of One (to never give up hope), my life really did take a turn for the better. My former depression? Dissolved, and I owe all of it to this show, and to that one character in it.

 

 

Well, that's why this show has special meaning to me. I'll never be able to thank MLP enough for what it's done to make my life head in a better direction. The day I stop being a fan of this show is the day I stop being my true self.

 

Ponies forever.

(\

Edited February 11, 2013 by Flipturn

[Rainbow Dash 1,472]

so when i got into MLP i was a giddy school girl. Since Lauren Faust had her name behind it i knew it was gonna be an ok show. Little did i realize it would help me alot. I am a hate filled person and i am described as malicious and spiteful. When i started watching my little pony i started to be a lot happier. it got me through some really boring days. The cartoon is also alot less stupid than some of todays cartoons. That being said it provides countless hours of entertainment even if you watch it over and over again.

    Although, ever since delving into the fandom of the show i think i might have turned insane though.

[Zygen 6,066]

Theres countless reasons I love MLP, some I really can't explain to.

 

First of all the show is overall of very high quality, everything from the animation to the writing to the voice acting, its all superb, There isn't really an episode of MLP I despise due to the overall high quality of the show. Same thing with the characters, who are so relatable, and still have flaws and don't just follow cookie cutter character types, they also have the brains of the group(Twilight) as the leader basically, which is an uncommon thing for the show, aswell as putting other characters in places you wouldn't normally see them.

 

I also love the shows comedy, I love shows that don't take themselves to seriously all the time. Yet they even throw in some darker moments and do it perfectly.

 

The adorableness of the ponies, the art style and the ponies in general it just.. Need I say more? All the ponies are adorable to me .

 

The show has this way of making me happy, it has this awesome world full of caring people and not to mention a group of characters who care for each other, its admirable conditions to live in. And for the most part it makes me happy for somereason.

 

The show doesn't turn into another reality drama show or a drama really of any type at all, I mean those type of things are ok.. But seriously there's so many of those around now a days, MLP is a nice change of pace. Need I say that it also has much more effort and love put into it? You can tell just comparing it to other cartoons now a days.

 

The show also just has this, magic to it. Its one of the hard things to explain, but its just so wonderful . And the fandom it has spawned from being created is truly amazing, all the dedication, passion, and raw talent in this fandom is wonderful, not to mention its the nicest fandom I've ever been in.

 

This really is just a touch on the head of many of the things I could ramble in total detail about loving the show, but I think I've proven my point. The show is awesome, the fandom is awesome, the people behind the show create a great product.

 

And one last thing, The fact that the MLP fandom goes against the gender stereotype of the days is pretty awesome, I've never been a big fan of it on the inside, even if I'm a bit shy to go around showing it. I still love the show.

 

Tl;Dr MLP is awesome .

[Scootalove 10,689]

I enjoy the show because, it has the meaning of happiness. MLP has helped me regain my smile, after well 9th grade in high school. Pretty much, this show can brighten up your mood after a rough day of school or anything for that matter.

Oh, and Rainbow Dash is my favorite character.

That is all.

[Shanks 10,816]

Even though I never really watched the old G1&2 cartoons when I was growing up this show still reminds me of my childhood in particular this show reminds me of the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoon. Both have a great mix of humor, character development and plot though I will admit some of the seasons toward the middle got a bit repetitive but thankfully improved in the later seasons at the end of the series Master Splinter even acknowledged his adopted turtle sons/students his equals. And both of them even teach some good lessons without getting too preachy or long winded, sure Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles didn't take itself seriously much of the time but at the end of the day it was about 4 mutant turtles and their rodent sensei teaching them to use their ninja skills for good to abide by principles like honor, decency, respect and bravery.

 

And it is a breathe of fresh air entertainment has seriously gone down the toilet these last 15 years I really feel sorry for kids growing up today as almost every kids show is either some cliched, poorly written mess or something so mind numbingly stupid that it is insulting even to a two year old. And shows geared toward teenagers are even worse, they just take all the worst aspects of soap operas and dumb them down even further.

[hakaru-x 13]

Because the show makes me happy.I did not care about the show at the beginning, but after watching some episodes i realized i was learning important lessons thanks to the show.I used to be more of an innocent person before, but pain and hate made me forget my identity.The characters in the show reminded me how i used to be before.When i was happy and not miserable.

 

 

 

 

 

sorry for my bad English. 

[~Vallo~ 409]

MLP has meaning to me because... it's a good cartoon. It doesn't really affect my everyday life. It didn't make me a good person because I was a good person to begin with.happy sometimes after a hard day. 

Edited August 13, 2013 by ~Vallo~

[Astral Empyrean 136]

It's late at night and I feel up to writing, so cool beans.

 

There are very many reasons why MLP has such an impression on me. My Little Pony is probably one of the greatest things to have happened to me, and I owe it to several elements of it, that tie in with several elements of my own person.

 

Being born in 1996, I always felt ever so slightly envious of those [particularly in picturesque-commercial US] who were born before the 1990's - because they were old enough to allow more appreciation for coming technologies and the like. They had a lot of great-quality TV shows and games to enjoy at an age that allowed them to do so effectively, and I always see these older people loving their nostalgia for different shows - Kenan and Kel was one of them, Hey Arnold (and most of Cartoon Network) was another. Now, I never lived that sort of green-lawn sunny-skies cool-cartoon sort of life, I was born quite a bit later and I've always wanted to have been born earlier and in the US so I could be part of that collective. My Little Pony is thus extremely appealing to me because it pretty much embodies it, and for the first time ever I can enjoy it as it comes along with everyone else - and I've thoroughly loved doing so.

 

Now, for the second reason you'll have to excuse a very sugar-coated story:

 

I used to have stupidly severe depression. Couldn't leave the house, go to school, couldn't talk to anyone because I felt as if growing up with Asperger's had set me up to have a screwed up life. Yeah, I'm past that now. My point is that I used to feel stuck in a pit without any hope. So initially, this show worked as a way to get my mind off things (but so did a lot of other things) and as above a strong resemblance to one of my ideals. And while I thought it was a great show, I don't think my full appreciation was there until I watched Party Of One. Remember at the point of watching it I was still feeling like shit - and when I watched Pinkie Pie in the depths of despair as she was in that episode, before very swiftly and easily becoming happy again, it made a real impression. And considering it was a little kid's show that I had loved just as a show, I thought "Am I missing something?" So I went back and re-watched every scene that had Pinkie Pie in it - and at that moment, something clicked in me. That something... it was the combination of that previous ideal, the realisation of how long I'd spent away from cartoons and how amazing they were, the realisation that you can harvest real life experiences from the most unexpected of places. And all at once, taking up that something and combining it with the applied lesson in Party Of One (to never give up hope), my life really did take a turn for the better. My former depression? Dissolved, and I owe all of it to this show, and to that one character in it.

 

 

Well, that's why this show has special meaning to me. I'll never be able to thank MLP enough for what it's done to make my life head in a better direction. The day I stop being a fan of this show is the day I stop being my true self.

 

Ponies forever.

 

(\

In someways I know how you feel. I am growing up with ASD too. And because of the fact I have it... I always felt different. But I braved through the worst of it... and MLP helps.  

[Shift 4,272]

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic preaches happiness. It makes me think of all of the things...wrong in this world. I've become more cheerful and less spiteful ever since I started watching.

[Shanks 10,816]

In someways I know how you feel. I am growing up with ASD too. And because of the fact I have it... I always felt different. But I braved through the worst of it... and MLP helps.  

Yeah I can third that, growing up on the spectrum can be tough and I seriously wish I had MLP back when I was growing up because I have been through some severe depression and anger issues. I am once again struggling with depression but watching MLP has helped me keep my sanity until I can accomplish my goal of becoming an author.

[Betez 1,734]

A lot of reasons. It gives me back faith in cartoons. I feel like I'm in Equestria, you can really relate to the characters. It brings us all together. I'd probably never know that any of the people on these forums that I've come to know and call my friends ever existed had it not been for this show.

[Pixel Stick 927]

Wow, some wonderful stories in here.  Allow me to share mine.

 

I'm 36 (just had my birthday recently), so arguably one of the older bronies here (though I'm sure I'm not the oldest).  I'm a reasonably successful software developer, but I'm at a point in my career where I need to either move up the ranks or find a different profession, before I become too old to be hireable.  And trying to meet that bar has been creating a tremendous amount of stress for me, sometimes to the point that I question my sanity.

 

About the time I started to get into the thick of things at my workplace, my wife started watching FiM on Netflix.  I dismissed it at first as just a girly kid's show that it was more socially acceptable for her to watch, but she started encouraging me to watch it with her.  I'm not going to bore people with the whole "it won me over" again, but I did finally admit that I enjoy it and even want to see what happens next.  And I realized that watching this show made me feel like a kid again - I couldn't help but smile and laugh and be entertained by Pinkie Pie's antics or Fluttershy's cuteness, Applejack's dedication and honesty, and Princess Luna's mystique.  And I realized that it was OKAY to feel this way, something I think I'd been denying myself for far too long.

 

My wife said something just a few days ago that really struck a chord with me: She said she realized that she was unconsciously taking the moral lessons in the show to heart, finding herself applying them to her own life.  That made me realize that I, too, was learning from the show.  That it is all too easy to coast through life, thinking you learned everything you need to know when you were a kid.  But even though the show tends to beat you over the head with its moral lessons at times, they are good lessons, ones that we could all stand to be reminded of from time to time.

 

And this last week (at about the same time as I decided to join this forum), I had a week at work that I swear played out just like an episode of the show.  My boss basically ripped me a new one at the start of the week (about not getting enough work done), causing me to have a very angry reaction.  I went through the usual phases of anger - wrote up a strongly worded letter, re-read it, decided to not send it, simmered for the whole rest of the day, then went home and whined at my wife about it.  And she gave me a dose of tough love - said that she understood why I was angry, but helped me to realize that I shared some responsibility in it as well.  I didn't want to accept that at first, but I ended up turning the week around into one of my most productive weeks ever, and at the end of it, my boss was VERY happy with me.

 

On my way home from work on Friday, I started mentally writing a note to Princess Celestia.  I never finished it, but I remember thinking it would include this phrase: "A true friend will listen to you and provide comfort, but will also tell you when you're taking things too hard and not really addressing your own problems."

 

To be perfectly honest, I think I owe a large part of this week's turnaround to this show.

[Shanks 10,816]

And this last week (at about the same time as I decided to join this forum), I had a week at work that I swear played out just like an episode of the show.  My boss basically ripped me a new one at the start of the week (about not getting enough work done), causing me to have a very angry reaction.

Yeah I have had alot of days like that lately, I have done alot of angry rants using the blog feature on this place about it so I am not going to rehash any of them. What I am going to say is that I can attribute much of the reason why I haven't blown up and told them where they can stick this crappy dead end job is because of this show. As much as it pains me I am trying to keep together until my plans to leave that dump are finally complete.

[Phoenix237 353]

There are several reason why I like the show.

 

One

It's a good cartoon. It never brings anyone down and you will always feel good about watching it

 

Two

It's better then be rest of the crap we have around these days. Sorry for my language

 

Three

I have actually taken the morals to heart. I'm not that different thn before the show, but I have noticed some changes. I have always been kind, but recently I have been treating people better an have been treating myself better lately. It's a long story and it's not all that important or serious. But the show has made an impact on how I view myself and others.

[Pixel Stick 927]

 

As much as it pains me I am trying to keep together until my plans to leave that dump are finally complete.

 

Certainly understand how that feels.  In my case, I actually love my job and my coworkers - it's anything but a dump to me.  But it is a difficult job nonetheless, and the last few months have been particularly unproductive due to a number of factors, some of which are my own and some that affect the whole team.  So the lessons for me have more to do with how to take criticism and use it to actually improve myself, and not so much just how to grin and bear it until I find something better.

[Princess Twilight 143]

I'm tired and I want to write my love out.

Ponies...a generated form of happiness, a distraction to me and many people I know.

But, it's more than a distraction, it's almost like our medicine.

 

I've suffered sever depression for three years, and being only sixteen that's really rough. I dealt with a lot of hurt. Losing both my parents, having only my grandmother for support and being independent  yet I was always alone. I didn't have really anyone but in September a good friend of mine, Bryan, told me to watch Dragonshy. I actually used to judge bronies and think that they were weird, but I watched it and immediately bonded with two of the characters. Twilight and Pinkie. 

Twilight is a lot like me, not in her punctuality but her troubles with making friends and also her love of learning and reading. Pinkie is a lot like me too. I try really, really hard to make everyone around me happy, and as cheesy as it sounds, tend to fake a smile. Yet I want everyone around me to smile. My favorite part about Pinkie is that she ALWAYS makes me smile. No matter what.

 

My Little Pony has not cured my depression, but it's made me grow up. It's made me take in consideration for others, it's made me so much more happier than I've been in a really long time.

 

I owe my life to My Little Pony honestly.

I always think back to when I was very suicidal...A Canterlot Wedding just popped up on YouTube. I was writing a letter of my farewell, I was about to kill myself, I had everything.

I know this is cheesy, just stay with me.

My friend on Facebook told me to watch it and so I did, and the whole ending to Season 2 lifted me up. It saved me, My Little Pony saved me.

 

SO yeah...My Little Pony has really formed a special home in my heart.