What do I think about G5?

So, now that Friendship is Magic has officially come to an end, and with G5 on the way, I'm sure many of you are wondering what this entails for what I am expecting to happen with the future of the MLP franchise.

I'm gonna be blunt and say that I'm honestly glad G4 is finally over. It really felt like it was dragging itself out and running out of material to keep going without making my head spin. It was the simplicity of the early seasons that drew me in, and by the later seasons, the show was becoming so complex and really took away from the typical slice-of-life style that it has been known for.

I'm assuming this was all done for the purpose of selling more MLP merchandise, which was really the main profit point of the franchise. I'm someone who's more into a good story than collectibles. What can I say? I'm a very conservative, minimalist individual.

Long story short, the show was heading in the direction I didn't really enjoy for the final seasons. I did not even watch many episodes of the final seasons, being accustomed to the back half. I don't hate the later episodes, but I feel that they were just not as faithful to, and didn't quite hold a candle to, the earlier seasons.

Maybe if Hasbro let Lauren Faust remain head producer, director, and writer for the show, she could've taken it in a much better direction, but as we all know, Hasbro was more concerned about money than story, and Faust, of course, left the project.

In all honesty, I feel that G5 will breathe new life into the franchise that it needs to become better for the brony and pegasister community than before. Now, before you all call me a heretic or traitor to the fandom, hear me out.

Here are a few sources I've looked at to get an idea of what the G5 leaks reveal, and what it may potentially entail for the reboot in development:

https://www.equestriadaily.com/2018/03/my-little-pony-generation-5-what-we.html

https://www.deviantart.com/monocerosarts/journal/My-Thoughts-on-MLP-G5-779899031

Now, based on what we know so far, G5 is going to retain similar themes from the original, but take a bold new tone that makes it unique enough to recognize as its own show. Now, onto my thoughts regarding each major point of the upcoming reboot...

THE WORLD

Now, the world in G4 seems like child's play compared to what we've got rumors of in the successor series. This is no recycling of Equestria we're talking, but rather each race of ponies have their own dimension or plane of reality, with bridges that connect them.

Now, stories that entail alternate dimensions are something I am a complete sucker for (Equestria Girls, however, was not a spinoff series I could bring myself to stomach in that regard). I know that the multiple dimensions will make for some great worldbuilding and storytelling potential.

THE CHARACTERS

We know that some of the characters' races have changed. Twilight is apparently going to take on the earth pony role, Fluttershy will be made into a unicorn, and Pinkie Pie will get a pair of wings to fill the pegasus spot. In addition to these changes, it seems Applejack is going to be drawn out of her well-known farmgirl role and take on a more urban persona (or ponysona, whatever tickles your peach! )

Now, I've seen that a lot of fans are outraged by this change, but I don't mind it, and here's why: as we've known throughout G4, each race of ponies has their own type of magic, and G5 is going to take it a step further (but what that means, we don't know yet exactly). Even though Twilight is an earth pony, she is described to be an alchemist. So, it's pretty obvious that Twilight isn't going to be without magic like we've come to know her for.

I get the feeling that each character will be able to use their own passive magic in a way that makes them familiar to their G4 counterparts. How I feel about this change; fairly indifferent. I don't like nor hate this change they made. I'll just wait to see how it all plays out, and if it's good, I'll stick around for the rest of the series!

Not only that, but in most of the concept art that's been leaked, they have actual hooves! Hooves instead of abrupt ends to their legs. I don't know why, but that level of attention to detail really makes me eager for how the finalized character art is going to turn out.

THE STYLE

So, the "cute-and-girly" theme that is so attuned to Friendship is Magic is apparently going to be absent from the G5 show and movie(s). Rumors have it that it is going to cater to an older audience, potentially of teens and adults. And because of this, it is going to go for a darker tone, and have adventure as a more prominent theme than the slice-of-life style that G4 was known for.

This is something that really has my attention. Whenever I hear that something I watched a while back is getting a darker, older-audience reboot, it really gets me hyped! (Mediatoon, on the very off chance someone from your company is reading this, could you please please PLEASE do the same for Code Lyoko? Pretty please with sugar lumps on top?)

As for the visuals, it seems that Hasbro is going to be going for the CGI used in the 2017 MLP Movie, rather than Adobe Flash. This is a change that I am indifferent to, but felt like mentioning regardless.

THE VERDICT

Now, I know that none of this information is concrete, so it's best to take it with a grain of salt. But based on all the sources provided, it sounds like it's going to be a show that I will really come to enjoy when it arrives! I know a lot of people are still suffering from post-series grief that many of us have experienced at least once with a show from our childhood, but remember that you survived that; you'll get through this, too! Don't be sad that it's over; be happy that it happened at all!

Besides, if the show kept going, I'm sure it would've gotten worse to the point of being unwatchable (hey, look at what happened to long-running shows like The Simpsons, Family Guy, SpongeBob, Pokémon, Arthur, etc.)

And besides, don't look at this as the end; to me, it's a whole new beginning! A chance for more MLP, which may be even better than before! I like to look at G5 as Hasbro's answer to the adult fandom, and they want to create a new scope that will have greater appeal to them. Plus, imagine all the G4-G5 crossover stories that will be written on this site!

I'm sure many of you are wondering what this means for me regarding my stories I have yet to publish on the site? Well... absolutely nothing. I won't stop writing G4-inspired fics, and I'm going to keep providing you all with my headcanon (including a third installment of the Find Her saga, as well as a sort of prequel, in addition to other stories that seems unrelated, but are in the same universe).

Will G5 be a show that will blow G4 out of the water? Or will it be inherently inferior to its predecessor? Only time will tell when it comes out either next year or the year after, in the good old Roaring 2020s! In any case, I firmly believe this new series is something we all have been subconsciously waiting for. Let's keep our hopes modest, and our fingers crossed! I hope many of you are eager for the fifth generation of My Little Pony!

Comments

[Bronycommander]

I agree, only time will tell. I just hope they keep this page

[midnightwolfGX]

5145532
Yeah, I agree. As for the website, I'm guessing it will either be updated when G5 is to be released, or migrate to a new server, maintaining all content currently on it.

[Bronycommander]

5145911
I hope so. I don't want to lose contact with you. I enjoy the chat