Losing Interest in MLP

[FlareGun45 2,221]

I know exactly what your problem is, cause I can relate! Basically, it's best to step away from the show for a little while, that includes the fandom. Watch other shows! Maybe you'll get a kick outta them, and come back later good as new!

[GrimGrimoire 4,973]

Sounds like you are just burnt out. I don't think you can "grow out" of it, since people of all ages enjoy it, but I do think tastes and interests can change thus making it where you do not enjoy it as much. As others have stated, just take a break... watch it when you want to. Also don't put expectations on yourself to watch it thus making it a chore... if you feel like skipping it for a few weeks, the cartoon will wait for you and be available in some format or another to catch up on, whether by re-runs, streaming, DVD etc...

Although I have yet to take a break, I also don't hype myself for the show constantly and try to sit myself down to catch every new episode... if I am home and not doing anything, I'll watch it, otherwise I'll catch it when I get around to it. I have plenty of other things that interest me to keep me occupied so that I rarely experience fatigue on a simple show.

[Dreamcatcher 31]

maybe your being to hard on yourself forcing to love it so much to a point it feels like to much effort 
and no one likes a fandom feeling like an effort it needs to be a want to be exciting to give the kind of new album off your favourite band chills
before this, i was a fandom of a band and between albums, i would find i would explore google youtube Tumblr ect ect for new stuff new interviews new pictures
i felt i needed to be doing something whether it reading or listening to keep my fandom fresh like they where watching me like they new how religious about it i was
it all seems silly now but my point is there are different levels of fandom i have learnt from my last fandom and know that you don't need to have a college degree in my little pony to be classed as a fan studying searching its ok to be a week here a week there what count is that you like it my advice in a nutshell is to stave yourself do the opposite of forcing yourself to watch you go on a pony fast no nothing and your miss it and will come back to watching 

 

[SolarFlare13 16,087]

My suggestion is to play some Legends Of Equestria, watch some Bronies React (on ACRaceBest's youtube channel), watch some live-streams of the latest episodes on Equestria Daily or wait for the MLP movie to come out. Definitely go with the first option. That's what keeping me interested in the show  

[Ra1nbowCrasH 272]

I've stayed engaged by reading fanfiction, that's the main reason I've stuck around this long. I almost never catch a new episode the day it comes out, I normally watch it the next day after work, or sometimes not until the next weekend. Another thing that keeps me interested is poni videos, I watch and rewatch old and new videos every day, from Ponies the Anthology to Spitfire's Day Off. I highly recommend reading fanfiction and watching videos as a way to stay interested.

[Sly 236]

I admit that despite I'm loving the S7 WAAAY more than expected, I'm very, VERY reluctant in watching whatever will com afterward, because I REALLY hated the trashy treatment the Mane 6 got in the previous season finale, and the fear of seeing them treated like that again just kills my enthusiasm for future episodes (and.... the fact that Haber is gonna be the boss again in S8 and.... apparentely the premiere is gonna take that scheme once again.... just doesn't help). I'm giving time until the end of the season before making a decision. Good thing that the finale airs a week earlier than expected. 

[Adderbane 121]

I'd recommend looking into fanfiction.  There's a lot of great stuff out there.  I'd recommend some, but I have no idea what you'd enjoy, and there's simply too much to list.

Also, I've found watching reactions of your favorite episodes to be rather entertaining.

[Drunkfrank 1,125]

8 hours ago, SolarFlare13 said:

My suggestion is to play some Legends Of Equestria, watch some Bronies React (on ACRaceBest's youtube channel), watch some live-streams of the latest episodes on Equestria Daily or wait for the MLP movie to come out. Definitely go with the first option. That's what keeping me interested in the show  

Really, it feels like bronies react just got pretty negative.

[Steve Piranha 29,424]

Perhaps it's wise for you to take a break. If you don't feel like coming back, you get an unproductive chore out of the way. OR, you'll return to ponies desperately, and in new spirits  

[KH7672 1,604]

6 hours ago, Ryanmahaffe said:

Really, it feels like bronies react just got pretty negative.

I know what you mean. I couldn't watch the last two (especially the Season 7 premiere) because it was just "let's all bash Starlight in every appearance she has on screen" and I mean all as almost everyone was shown with something to say (whether it was necessary or not)

That being said the newest on "A Royal Problem" was pretty decent (for me mostly for Silver Quill's positivity or neutrality toward all the characters) and the Starlight comments felt more jokey and less biting. I guess people really are warming up to her.

[ManaMinori 4,145]

over time, it's natural for excitement of something to wane or fade entirely from something that you thought seemed bold and magical when it was first introduced to you- such as the beginnings of FiM, whenever anyone was first exposed to it. But through the years, as new writers come on board, or that special seasoning that made FiM so shiny and fantastic is lost- has anyone experienced that? Do you guys think it's possible for FiM to spark that special something within you, as it once did, if it has been lost? Or have you just come to accept it, and look forward to finding that joy reignited with a new MLP reboot?

[Quinch 1,120]

For me, I don't think it's been lost - simply morphed. I still enjoy FiM as much as I ever used to, it's just that the anticipation of future content has made way for appreciation of what has been made since.

[The Historian 516]

Nothing's changed. It's still good. At least, for me it is.

[bigbertha 414]

Yeah. That magic is long gone. Even the good episodes of recent seasons can't capture the same charm of the early seasons, not that I'd expect them too. The staff has changed and Lauren Faust's influence is gone. It makes sense that the magic of the early seasons would be gone. That doesn't excuse how mediocre the show has become though.

[MangoFoalix 24,956]

I don't care what other people think, so I'm going to say exactly how I feel. No, it hasn't been lost. I still almost feel the same towards the show since the first time I really got into it. Sure, I might not be religiously watching it all the time now but I still feel it's still there.

 

[PCutter 127]

14 hours ago, bigbertha said:

Yeah. That magic is long gone. Even the good episodes of recent seasons can't capture the same charm of the early seasons, not that I'd expect them too. The staff has changed and Lauren Faust's influence is gone. It makes sense that the magic of the early seasons would be gone. That doesn't excuse how mediocre the show has become though.

No it's not lost. Never was. The show was never mediocre

[Guest]

15 hours ago, bigbertha said:

Yeah. That magic is long gone. Even the good episodes of recent seasons can't capture the same charm of the early seasons, not that I'd expect them too. The staff has changed and Lauren Faust's influence is gone. It makes sense that the magic of the early seasons would be gone. That doesn't excuse how mediocre the show has become though.

Can we stop praising the hell out of Faust? She wrote all of two episodes and they were regarded as the worst episodes of that season for a long time, and she's proving time and time again that as a writer... She sucks. Remember Them's Fightin' Herds and the backstory she wrote for that? The literal carbon copy of MLP. We have a character that is a shy animal lover, a unicorn that likes books, a deer that is all about vanity and grace, an alpaca that is hyper, bouncy and energetic. She literally can't seem to write any other characters. Even her new show bears a lot of similarities to EQG and MLP.

The show has been massively more successful without her input. Lauren has proven over and over to me that she is a bad writer and that she's crappy to work with. I get that people have loyalty to her because she "created" the show, but the components of the show you love are not made 100% by her, and the only thing she REALLY did that was "great" was design the initial characters and premise. Keep in mind, the premise she wanted was not even what made it into the final show EITHER. If she had had her way, you're be calling her Twilight Twinkle for example.

What I find more insulting is not only this blind worship of Faust, but the REGULAR shitting on the current show staff and telling them their work is inferior over and over by the peanut gallery. Can we perhaps recognize that you can like Faust without HATING the current show staff? Or at the very least being respectful and not shitting on them? These people have worked at it HARDER THAN FAUST HAS. Many of them have put in more years of work on the show than Faust and had much more taxing jobs than her. Some people on the show have been there since day 1 and are still there almost a decade later, but get no recognition.

Faust has been gone for over 7 years, it's time to let her go and let the show be graded on its own merits rather than constantly looking back to the Faust days with nostalgia.

Edited March 26, 2019 by Guest

[TheAnimationFanatic 3,596]

Friendship is Magic is not the show it was when it first aired, it's changed, evolved, and become something else. But can the same not be said for most TV shows (animated and live-action)? 

But, honestly, as much as I respect Lauren Faust's work in setting the series up (and her current work on DC Super Hero Girls), the series has matured and gotten better  in her absence. It was allowed to grow beyond what it was.

[bigbertha 414]

7 hours ago, Kzr haekS said:

She wrote all of two episodes and they were regarded as the worst episodes of that season for a long time, and she's proving time and time again that as a writer... She sucks.

You are really underselling Lauren's input on the show. She was an executive producer during season 1 and consulting producer during season 2. She oversaw everything during season 1 so we don't know just how much influence Faust had during that season, and the same goes for season 2 to a lesser extent.

And calling her a bad writer seems to ignore the fact that MLP isn't the only show she's written for. She wrote for PowerPuff Girls, Foster's Home, and Wander Over Yonder and wrote some really great episodes. Equal Fights and Meat the Beat-Alls from PowerPuff and Crime After Crime from Foster's Home. I won't argue she's a perfect writer, but she has shown that she can write well.

7 hours ago, Kzr haekS said:

Remember Them's Fightin' Herds and the backstory she wrote for that? The literal carbon copy of MLP. We have a character that is a shy animal lover, a unicorn that likes books, a deer that is all about vanity and grace, an alpaca that is hyper, bouncy and energetic. She literally can't seem to write any other characters. Even her new show bears a lot of similarities to EQG and MLP.

Fair enough with how DC Super Hero Girls resembles MLP, but I can give a pass for Them's Fightin' Herds. It was just a recreation of an MLP fan game. It's not that surprising that the new characters are just the mane six since those actually were the characters before.

7 hours ago, Kzr haekS said:

and that she's crappy to work with.

Where did you get that?

8 hours ago, Kzr haekS said:

blind worship of Faust

Lol. 

7 hours ago, Kzr haekS said:

but the REGULAR shitting on the current show staff and telling them their work is inferior over and over by the peanut gallery

Do you mean to say that hating the show is the same as hating the staff? Because that's not true. Just because I don't like what the show puts out doesn't mean I hate the people who make it. And you seem to forget that when you put work out to the public, there will be people who hate or dislike it. As long as people aren't demonizing the creators as people, which I'm not, there's nothing wrong with people expressing their distaste towards the work.

Also, I wasn't "shitting on the current show staff" when I said they can't capture the tone of the early seasons. That's not inherently a good or a bad thing. It's just a thing that happens when a show's staff changes over time. The Simpsons proved that a show can not capture the tone of early seasons and still be good. It got much wackier in seasons 4-5, taking it away from the more grounded tone of 2-3. All of those seasons are still considered part of the golden age. It just so happens that I dislike where MLP went. 

8 hours ago, Kzr haekS said:

These people have worked at it HARDER THAN FAUST HAS.

That's a bold claim. I can't prove that Faust has worked harder than them (nor did I ever imply that she did) and I'm sure you can't prove the current staff has worked harder than Faust.

8 hours ago, Kzr haekS said:

Some people on the show have been there since day 1 and are still there almost a decade later, but get no recognition.

That's just the nature of the job unfortunately. Not every name gets top billing and I'm pretty sure the people in those jobs know it.

8 hours ago, Kzr haekS said:

let the show be graded on its own merits rather than constantly looking back to the Faust days with nostalgia.

1. I have no nostalgia for the show since I started watching in 2017. Also I like season 3; a season that Faust wasn't involved in.

2. I have been grading it on its own merits. I just happen to dislike the newer seasons. 

[Will Guide 21,360]

6 hours ago, TheAnimationFanatic said:

Friendship is Magic is not the show it was when it first aired, it's changed, evolved, and become something else. But can the same not be said for most TV shows (animated and live-action)? 

But, honestly, as much as I respect Lauren Faust's work in setting the series up (and her current work on DC Super Hero Girls), the series has matured and gotten better  in her absence. It was allowed to grow beyond what it was.

I agree that the show has evolved. It's gone through ups and downs. But in my view, the magic has never ever gone away.

8 hours ago, Kzr haekS said:

it's time to let her go and let the show be graded on its own merits rather than constantly looking back to the Faust days with nostalgia.

 

7 minutes ago, bigbertha said:

1. I have no nostalgia for the show since I started watching in 2017. Also I like season 3; a season that Faust wasn't involved in.

2. I have been grading it on its own merits. I just happen to dislike the newer seasons. 

To add on my own thoughts on this subject of "nostalgia filter/blind" debate: I joined the Herd in April 2013, so I didn't grow up on the first 3 seasons. Personally I enjoy all seasons. Some more than others.

11 minutes ago, bigbertha said:

She wrote all of two episodes and they were regarded as the worst episodes of that season for a long time, and she's proving time and time again that as a writer... She sucks.

They were the very first few episodes on G4. And this was before any character development or further world building was done. To hate on what's supposed to be our introduction to the world and characters and expect them to be perfect from the start is silly and frankly makes one look too demanding with such high standards. 

17 minutes ago, bigbertha said:

blind worship of Faust

Lauren was mainly credited as being the one to develop the new G4 reboot for television and a new audience. It's an important job, but that doesn't make one a goddess. She's only human and honestly having to take everything she says as the absolute truth to an extreme is simply ridiculous.

[chirox the pony 1,336]

I got into this show in late 2012 during the middle of season 3. I stopped watching this show when season 5 ended. I saw the direction the show was headed and I wanted no part in it. Now I have returned to the fanbase (not the show itself) to patiently wait for the premier of G5. What I have returned to is a fandom in grieving over what used to be. And I don't blame a single one of you. In answer to the question. yes. this show's magic is long gone. What used to be this charming show about 6 (well 12 if you count Spike, CMC, and the princesses) characters having these personalities which bounced well off of each other turned into something very different. It was around season 5 that I could see the show was switching focus to other characters who simply could not compare. Whilst great if you were one of those people who obsessed over secondary characters I do not believe this was enough for the average fan at the time who liked the mane 6 themselves to stick around. Thus the show lost it's charm.

[Guest]

54 minutes ago, bigbertha said:

You are really underselling Lauren's input on the show. She was an executive producer during season 1 and consulting producer during season 2. She oversaw everything during season 1 so we don't know just how much influence Faust had during that season, and the same goes for season 2 to a lesser extent.

The show's show bible was leaked forever ago. We saw a lot of her original ideas were changed. Also she literally herself more or less said after the first episodes of season 2 her role was drastically reduced. She admitted that.

55 minutes ago, bigbertha said:

And calling her a bad writer seems to ignore the fact that MLP isn't the only show she's written for. She wrote for PowerPuff Girls, Foster's Home, and Wander Over Yonder and wrote some really great episodes.

All of those shows were supervised and had their premises written by her husband and her work was overseen by others heavily. There is no telling how much of her writing was changed. Even her new show is being co-written by M. A. Larson.

56 minutes ago, bigbertha said:

Fair enough with how DC Super Hero Girls resembles MLP, but I can give a pass for Them's Fightin' Herds. It was just a recreation of an MLP fan game. It's not that surprising that the new characters are just the mane six since those actually were the characters before.

Literally changing a few things to avoid copyright infringement is not becoming of an industry professional. It's kind of... Noobish.

57 minutes ago, bigbertha said:

Where did you get that?

Leaks, the fact that we've seen emails between her and others, we've gotten a ton of stuff that is suggesting... She is somewhat unreasonable. Hell, how about the fact that she came off of working on one of the biggest smash hit shows of the 2010s and somehow... REALLY struggled to find work after that. That she couldn't get ANYONE to pick up her Galaxy Girls Show? That she was let go by Sony. That she was let go even from her HUSBAND'S show. Those are not good signs.

59 minutes ago, bigbertha said:

Do you mean to say that hating the show is the same as hating the staff? Because that's not true. Just because I don't like what the show puts out doesn't mean I hate the people who make it. And you seem to forget that when you put work out to the public, there will be people who hate or dislike it. As long as people aren't demonizing the creators as people, which I'm not, there's nothing wrong with people expressing their distaste towards the work.

 Also, I wasn't "shitting on the current show staff" when I said they can't capture the tone of the early seasons. That's not inherently a good or a bad thing. It's just a thing that happens when a show's staff changes over time. The Simpsons proved that a show can not capture the tone of early seasons and still be good. It got much wackier in seasons 4-5, taking it away from the more grounded tone of 2-3. All of those seasons are still considered part of the golden age. It just so happens that I dislike where MLP went. 

No, but you are more or less implying that they can never live up to her is pretty crappy too. Like you're not really offering them a proper critique, you're just saying how what they do is mediocre and not as good. That's not really being too respectful either. You're giving no credit to them unless your arm is twisted and that's unfair. 

1 hour ago, bigbertha said:

That's a bold claim. I can't prove that Faust has worked harder than them (nor did I ever imply that she did) and I'm sure you can't prove the current staff has worked harder than Faust.

I'm sorry but when people have been working on the show more years than she has, that's literally the definition of working harder than she has. They've put more time into it.

1 hour ago, bigbertha said:

1. I have no nostalgia for the show since I started watching in 2017. Also I like season 3; a season that Faust wasn't involved in.

2. I have been grading it on its own merits. I just happen to dislike the newer seasons. 

Fair enough, but most people who share your sentiments, sadly are faust fanboys. I have even seen people say anything after Faust is non-cannon because she didn't make it.

I apologize, I was getting the impression you were one of said fanboys. Agree to disagree?

[bigbertha 414]

24 minutes ago, Kzr haekS said:

Also she literally herself more or less said after the first episodes of season 2 her role was drastically reduced. She admitted that.

She still had a lot of influence during season 1 and played a big part in setting up the show.

26 minutes ago, Kzr haekS said:

There is no telling how much of her writing was changed.

It is possible that some of her writing was changed, but I highly doubt it was changed that much. Equal Fights especially feels like it had a lot of influence from Faust

28 minutes ago, Kzr haekS said:

Literally changing a few things to avoid copyright infringement is not becoming of an industry professional. It's kind of... Noobish.

Yeah, it's not great, but she did create an entire world along with the characters.

29 minutes ago, Kzr haekS said:

Leaks, the fact that we've seen emails between her and others, we've gotten a ton of stuff that is suggesting... She is somewhat unreasonable. Hell, how about the fact that she came off of working on one of the biggest smash hit shows of the 2010s and somehow... REALLY struggled to find work after that. That she couldn't get ANYONE to pick up her Galaxy Girls Show? That she was let go by Sony. That she was let go even from her HUSBAND'S show. Those are not good signs.

I'll have to look into a lot of this, but I will say that it was Hasbro that asked Faust to make a new generation of MLP. That is at least something.

32 minutes ago, Kzr haekS said:

Like you're not really offering them a proper critique, you're just saying how what they do is mediocre and not as good. That's not really being too respectful either. You're giving no credit to them unless your arm is twisted and that's unfair. 

I've done reviews for every episode offering more of a critique. And there are many episodes that I will gladly praise from seasons post-Faust

34 minutes ago, Kzr haekS said:

I'm sorry but when people have been working on the show more years than she has, that's literally the definition of working harder than she has. They've put more time into it.

That's the definition of working on the show longer, but she could've been putting in just as much work as the current showrunners when she was there.

36 minutes ago, Kzr haekS said:

Agree to disagree?

Yeah. I may disagree with where the show has gone, but I don't hate the staff for pushing the show in another direction, especially when there are a lot of people who enjoy where the show has gone.

[Odyssey 5,716]

The magic has changed, but for the better. It feels a lot more ambitious and promising compared to the earlier seasons, where it was cute but it was not 100% sure on where it truly wanted to go with the premise. I welcome this change wholeheartedly.

 

[Sparklefan1234 170,609]

11 hours ago, Kzr haekS said:

She wrote all of two episodes and they were regarded as the worst episodes of that season for a long time, and she's proving time and time again that as a writer... She sucks. Remember Them's Fightin' Herds and the backstory she wrote for that? The literal carbon copy of MLP.

 

1. I didn't think FiM's pilot was that great, TBH. I think her pilot for "DC Superhero Girls" did a much better job introducing the main characters.  

2. DC Superhero Girls is pretty much the same character wise. I still like it though. 

Edited March 26, 2019 by Sparklefan1234