okay, something that needs to be explored

[ggg-2 3,552]

what i mean is, it was FIM that sparked the brony fandom. so, the question i ask is, what is it about gen 4 MLP that caused this? why this particular generation of the franchise, and most importantly, what is gen 4 doing differently than previous incarnations?

[BastementSparkle 20,321]

The characters have unique and interesting personalities. The animation is much more smooth and fluid. The art style doesn't cause people to cry tears of blood. The songs are catchy and fun. It's pretty much everything that the previous generations weren't.

 

 I mean have you seen Gen 3? That stuff is literal nightmare fuel.

[Teller 360]

It all started as a joke on 4chan that backfired horribly...

[Virgil 685]

While I think there are number of things that contributed and allowed the fandom to thrive ( the ease of access to the internet and internet culture obviously).

I think the thing that "sparked" FIM popularity is much the same reason people like Star Wars (the original trilogy anyway); namely both stories and their respective characters are so archetypal. The world of FiM has the same type of timeless quality (to me at least) as a Hans Christian Anderson Fairy tale and the characters are constructed in such a way where you either are able to instantly sympathize with them or at least have a "hey I know someone like this or have met someone (either real or fictional) like this!"

 

I'm probably being rather vague but that comes with the territory with an archetype. Put simply, because the show was constructed the way it was, it has a "all things to all people" which means one could put FiM on the level of a good myth. That statement may seem a bit overzealous, which it might be, but let me ask this question if you think my answer is too out there (I haven't thought about it enough, to make it easier to help others understand what I thinking of, I will grant). How else could one show appeal to such a diverse group of people and with such drastically different worldviews, that would normally not freely associate with one another (at least so easily)?    

[Fire_Fly 499]

I feel like what really ignited the fandom with G4 was the fact that it has so many different things that appeal to so many different people, instead of just appealing to its intended demographic, like the other generations. FiM has memorable characters, movie/TV references that I'd be a little surprised if the target audience understood, objectively funny moments, well-written episodes, and songs with lots of effort and time put into them. The previous generations make it unbelievably clear that the target audience was its only focus, and everything seemed geared toward that, so it was harder for others to find any pull with them. 

[Metemponychosis 1,252]

The way I see it, this whole thing began as a joke. Turns out people actually liked the show... Well... Why did they like the show?

 

I think that the internet had a big part in this. I myself first heard of the show via a comment on another video on YouTube Without the internet the way it is today, the show would never have been so famous. And then there is the state of the whole universe of animated shows. Different opinions will vary but MLP-FIM did a gigantic leap in quality compared to it's previous version and compared to today's animations, MLP is superior in the character development and world-building departments. Animation tends to be pretty good too and it has been improving. Not so sure about the other two anymore. This show is a litany of wasted potential in characters, IMO, but it's better than a lot of other cartoons.

 

The biggest difference for me was that this cartoon spoke of real friendship and solving problems through it. It's not a message I'm used to see in modern media in a way that is not tarnished by a plethora of BS other shows seem way too fond of.

 

Today, I think that what keeps the whole thing going is the fandom itself, after all a lot of fans seem more connect to the fandom's interpretations of the characters and ideas than the actual canon of the show.

[takai 1,060]

Attractive art, great animation, great characters, clever and quality writing. The list goes on. Gen 4 is a clear cut above the others in every regard.

[Singe 2,111]

When talking about FIM, can't forget the show's love of flanks.

[DryGuy84 (Inactive) 927]

I'm in it for all of the plots. 

[Technicolor_Pony 34]

The characters have unique and interesting personalities. The animation is much more smooth and fluid. The art style doesn't cause people to cry tears of blood. The songs are catchy and fun. It's pretty much everything that the previous generations weren't.

 

 I mean have you seen Gen 3? That stuff is literal nightmare fuel.

I totally agree with that. and it's not nightmare fuel. It's nightmare's mother. (Lol nightmare moon puns)

[Shanks 10,816]

Back during the original G1 cartoon its creator Bonnie Zacherle like Lauren Faust intended the show to not just be for little girls but Zacherle and her team was not given as much creative room as Lauren Faust and the G4 staff are. Despite this G1 was for its constraints still in my opinion a decent show but not nearly as good as G4 and while it had considerable appeal among little girls didn't have the universal appeal that G4 has with a little tweaked it could very easily have had the same appeal though some of its heavy hitter villain like Tirek, Grogar and the Shmooze were even darker than a lot of villains in cartoons geared toward boys. The ponies of G1 while colorful and many would argue cute were also very childlike and a bit more one dimensional than the ponies we know in G4 but they did form that basis of G4. G1 continued with another cartoon that many people mistake for G2 which had no cartoon, this one was meant to tap into the teen audience and wasn't quite as successful as the original. G3 cartoon tanked big time because it took nearly all the flaws of G1 and multiplied them and took out nearly all the redeeming qualities. The ponies were all a bunch of bland Mare E Sue's and the writing was no better. What makes G4 stand out is that it took what was good about G1 and ironed out a lot of its flaws to actually make it appeal to more than just little girls.

[Scootalove 10,689]

Generation 4 was able to use the amount of creativity that they were given, and use it to their advantage. With the new improvements that Generation 4 made, it showed how much it was able to stand out with the other three generations before it and how it fixed the flaws that the three generations had. The animation, music, villains, and characters showed a breath of fresh air from the transitions that the show made.

[DryGuy84 (Inactive) 927]

Generation 4 was able to use the amount of creativity that they were given, and use it to their advantage. With the new improvements that Generation 4 made, it showed how much it was able to stand out with the other three generations before it and how it fixed the flaws that the three generations had. The animation, music, villains, and characters showed a breath of fresh air from the transitions that the show made.

 

Maud gets it. Because she rocks. 

[Scootalove 10,689]

Maud gets it. Because she rocks. 

Oh, you. I adore your rock puns in my honor.

[DryGuy84 (Inactive) 927]

Oh, you. I adore your rock puns in my honor.

 

Why, thank you my dear, I've been getting boulder with them. 

[Scootalove 10,689]

Why, thank you my dear, I've been getting boulder with them. 

Very good. Now, I'm going to practice my earth bending.

[DryGuy84 (Inactive) 927]

Very good. Now, I'm going to practice my earth bending.

 

You do that while my previous comment most likely nets me a warning for off-topic posting.

[Eloquence 2,076]

You do that while my previous comment most likely nets me a warning for off-topic posting.

 

Probably for the best. You wouldn't want your relationship with the mods to get rocky

[DryGuy84 (Inactive) 927]

Probably for the best. You wouldn't want your relationship with the mods to get rocky

 

This post deserves a brohoof and a friend request. 

[Eloquence 2,076]

This post deserves a brohoof and a friend request. 

 

I'm glad you appreciate it. I wouldn't want my puns to just be taken for granite

 

(to any mods who see this I am so so so sorry please don't give me warning points)

[Adorkable 2,737]

Why, you ask?

 

Does the name Twilight Sparkle ring a bell?

 

You know, the best pony ever that nobody could dare to hate on?

 

 

I'm kidding, sorta kinda not really.

 

Really, I'm not too familiar with the history of this fandom, but I think @Teller hit the nail on the head.

 

Eventually the show got so popular with the founding fathers of Bronyhood, I think other may have began to check it out to see if it was "hate-worthy", or just to see what all the hubba was about.

 

Now for me.

 

 

BOOM! There it is, you see it? The very first frame Twilight Sparkle is shown in the entire series.

 

INSTANT BRONY.

 

It's like, just add water! Not for me, just add Twilight Sparkle's first frame! 

 

It's that easy!

 

Now, I know what you're thinking. "Take it easy there, Billy Mays!"

 

Hey, this is serious business.

 

This is Twilight Sparkle.

Edited March 20, 2014 by ~Adorkable~

[Eloquence 2,076]

BOOM! There it is, you see it? The very first frame Twilight Sparkle is shown in the entire series.

 

INSTANT BRONY.

 

It's like, just add water! Not for me, just add Twilight Sparkle's first frame! 

 

It's that easy!

 

Now, I know what you're thinking. "Take it easy there, Billy Mays!"

 

Hey, this is serious business.

 

This is Twilight Sparkle.

 

I actually completely get your fangirling, but if you don't mind I'm going to go ahead and extrapolate on it :3

Because Twilight Sparkle's first frame actually is a big reason why so many teens and adults got hooked on the show. After all, prior to the inception of this series how would you expect a show like this to begin? You would expect to see a bunch of vapid little pony-girls sitting together talking about something inconsequential, like you'd see in the earlier generations. But how are we actually introduced to the main character?

 

She's reading. Not just reading, reading a history book, intently, presumably doing research for it's own sake. For all the flaws of the pilot episode, it completely succeeds in showing early on that Twilight is not your average vapid Mary-Sue girly-show protagonist. She has established strengths and weaknesses and a clear personality and is a dynamic character from the very beginning. She is a strong, well-written, female protagonist, something that even the media aimed strictly at adults achieves less often than we'd like it to.

 

And that, my friends, is how I got hooked on a show about candy-colored horses. 

[Venomous 18,859]

Generation 4 of My Little Pony has more relatable and three-dimensional characters.

There are little to none female gender stereotypes like there was in previous generations.

 

Generation 4 also has better humor and an intriguing story.