My Little Pony...Why?

I wrote paper on the correlation between the popularity of something and the enthusiasm of its hatedom.

It wasn't long. It essentially said that there is a correlation between the popularity of something and the enthusiasm of its hatedom.

Presumably they get irritable from having to defend their hate from so many people.

I'm not going to defend the show. I don't even know why I enjoy it, actually. Perhaps I am falling like a rock for some subliminal device expertly weaved into the show's subtext that compels me to watch it.

However, I certainly have no desire to go out and buy the toys. In fact, there's quite a glaring lack of communication between the creators of the show and whoever's responsible for producing the toys. They often get the color schemes, personalities, and overall designs of the characters themselves completely wrong. It's pretty much two different companies doing their own thing, connected by only a superficial similarity to one another. I guess they figure "stupid little girls can't tell the difference", but us 20+year-old males certainly can!

To the best of my knowledge, besides the show featuring ponies as it's main characters, it's never made any references - promotional or otherwise - to any of it's merchandise. I guess what I'm saying is, it doesn't feel like a show about merchandise as much as it feels like a show that happens to have merchandise. Though from what I understand, this is the first MLP generation to not exhibit completely whorish behavior, so I can sympathize with those who write it off as just a another commercialized sales pitch to children.

I know nothing about the programme and I know not so much about the merchandise, but I feel that I ought to point out that "us 20+ year old males" aren't the target audience. The target audience (to my understanding) of My Little Pony thus far has been little girls. From what I have observed, when they like something, little girls (and also little boys) buy all kinds of things related to it (in this case, the toys). Hopefully, most 20+ year old males aren't that obsessive.

Of course 20+year old males aren't the target audience. That's exactly what I'm saying. The target of audience is little girls, so they think they can get away with cutting corners. Older audience members are more scrutinizing.

The makers of the merchandise aren't going to do everything perfectly for that small part of the fanbase, when they can do a half-arsed job making little girls happy.

Won't happen, it's something the Japanese toy market has only just cottoned on to.

Besides, there's a huge moral guardian outrage when something supposed to be marketed towards little kids is simultaneously marketed towards adult men.

I never suggested they were.
Two people misunderstood that my comment about adult males was in jest. Of course I don't expect them to make merchandise for my demographic. Why the fuck would I?

Imagine going to see Twilight: Breaking Dawn with a MLP fanatic who likes listening to Nickelback. Beer anyone?

I’m with Sekto here. I watch the show on Youtube and enjoy it, and I appreciate it’s a relatively high-quality piece of animation.

However, I don’t go crazy over it, I don’t go out and buy the merchandise, read/write/make fanfiction or fanart, and frankly I detest the people who do.

It also gets pretty annoying seeing the same “IT’S MADE FOR LITTLE GIRLS YOU ARE A PEDO” argument all the time. Christ, just let people watch their cartoon.

FUCKING POHNEES

Like you wouldn't believe.

this ain't magical anime gurls, you know. this is my little pony. it's serious shit.

I don't think people quite understand. It's 'my' 'little' 'pony', say it enough times, you will work out why you shouldn't like it. Why no one who isn't a little girl over the age of five should like it.

I mean, why not teletubbies? Ffs.

Do explain.


Your analogy doesn’t quite work because Teletubbies isn’t a show with plot-driven episodes, characters with any kind of dimension or personality, or artistic flair.

The whole reason people enjoy MLP is because of how much it stands out from other kid’s shows.


Oh and by the way,
This is a stupid thing to hold against the show. I mean, have you seen how much worse 99% of Flash-animated cartoons are compared to this?

To be fair, objectively being flash animated would be a valid criticism if it didn't look so good. Flash animated cartoons as a whole is a travesty of an undertaking.

This seems like the kind of argument someone your age would make. Just a year or so short of when you cross that threshold in your late teens where you no longer feel the need to prove to everyone that you're a big boy, and you're secure enough with your own masculinity to watch insipid kidsy shit like MLP.

Are you gay, STM? I think you might be gay.

It also doesn't work because Teletubbies are fuckin' bad ass.

Flash animation is a habitually lazy practice in modern cartooning in general. The 'but it's better!' argument doesn't make that less true. It's a completely legitimate question of quality. Calling me stupid is not going to make your parents any less proud of raising a fucking manchild, either, so take it down a peg.

This is so fucking sad, guys. I had a fair conglomeration of respect, but you can't even laugh at yourselves about it. Find something better to do with your time.

The thing about laughing at yourselves is it's much better done without someone typing like they have a beehive up their arse and several scores to settle doing it for you.

How so? It’s digital instead of hand-drawn, okay. Now explain how the way it’s made has any bearing on the quality of the animation itself.


No, it’s not. You don’t bitch about a car because it’s made in a factory instead of a garage; you don’t criticise a TV show because of the fucking software they used to animate it.

Lol, I don't think I'm gay Sekto, colourful ponies don't appeal to me...oh and I'm pretty fine with my masculinity thanks very much. Nice to see your concern though mate.

I do see what Mac is saying. Flash animation has the potential to look really shitty, and often does. It costs about the same amount to make good flash animation as it does to make mediocre traditional animation, but most production companies won't even shill out for that. That's why more flash-animated shows look like Johnny Test or Total Drama Island, and only a select few can hold a candle to Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends.

Flash Animation:


Real Animation:


Learn the difference.

Yes, I know how biased my example is

Who is that on her shirt?

Quit defending yourself, it just makes you look gayer.

I'm just not ready to come out all flamboyantly yet. Don't rush me.

I actually dunno, I just know it was a flash based anime airing about a year ago and I thought the premise sounded cute, but the production was terrible.

Not saying all flash animation is like that, because it obviously isn't (See: Ponies) it's just that it's so limiting and something as popular as Ponies being succesful opens huge amounts of doors, mostly in the heads of producers.

My Little Pony is just the best. isn't it just the best?

Not really.

It actually looks a little like Curly Howard /InitialImpressions

How about "Miniature Horses that I am Entitled To"