Why I Didn't Care For MLP · 1:25am Jul 14th, 2020
My relationship with the show has always been a little bit weird.
As it happens, I wasn't into the show when it came out. I had memories of watching the older series when I was a kid, back when I was still unaware/in the closet. I knew it was supposed to be "shameful" for a "boy" to watch something like that, so I'd go into my parents' bedroom and watch on their TV with my finger poised over the Last Channel button.
On reflection, I don't think I cared for it that much, like I wanted to but it kind of disappointed me.
Ultimately, I would experience that last emotion again, but for Generation 4.
Later on in life, I met GaPJaxie, the subject of a long and complicated narrative between us that I shan't get into (we're still friends, even if we're no longer dating,) and he was super into it. It was odd to me, because I'd always known him as the kind of weird cynical kid, but he found something to adore in it and still does. He's the one who convinced me to write, challenging me to make fanfiction and see who would make the more popular work. I maintain that I won that with Pirene, and I am proud of that novel to this day. Yet, something about the show hasn't sat right about me for a while, and I finally believe I'm ready to say why.
It wasn't for lack of trying on the artists' parts, I could tell that much. Season 1 was fun, and season 2 built on what had made season 1 such a success. It wasn't even that the quality went downhill - to be frank, I have no personal "best season" list, and as far as I can tell they had good episodes in the first season and good episodes in the last season.
Where MLP failed me was in how it refused to change.
Season after season, episode after episode, the stakes never really moved all that much. Oh, sure, there would be occasional recurring villains, Twilight would get wings and a new house, the CMC would get their marks, but no one really aged, no one really grew up. Character arcs would be repeated one after the other, lessons learned in prior seasons lost, and ultimately the show never really felt like it was building to anything.
Not every show needs to be She-Ra, with its relatively tight plot and narrative, but Steven Universe managed to blend episodic content with epic storytelling (even if, at times, it felt like the episodic parts could drag a bit, especially in the beginning. Everyone who has watched SU thoroughly knows that Steven Universe was the worst character early on until he transformed into the best.) Shows like Gravity Falls and Owl House could be episodic while still maintaining direction in both character and story development.
It felt like MLP had stubbornly stayed to its lane, though, refusing to grow like many of its contemporaries had. It remained in that ghetto of fluff and teased us with glimmers of more.
I will always be thankful to the community for reading and loving the words I loved to write, and I will forever be grateful to Fimfic for teaching me so many important things about writing that let me have a shot at becoming an author out in the world, but I'm sad it couldn't have been more.
I've always been a bigger fan of the fandom than of the show itself.
Yeah I kinda get that, got bored of the show super quickly, S2 maybe? But I found this website and I've been hooked reading here since and seeing some the authors I've enjoyed transitioning to writing mainstream fiction has been a huge joy.
I think more people are enamored by the world and its inhabitants than the actual storyline.
Yeah, I'd say for me... I love the characters and world, I adore Gallus and the gang, but what really keeps me going is fimfiction and the friends here that have so many stories to share.
The show never had a "writer's room." That means the writers couldn't share ideas or even keep up on what was happening in the current season, aside from a few major events outlined by the showrunner. Without that structure, it's almost impossible to have a progressive arc. For what they had to work with, I think they did pretty well.
To be honest, I’ve greatly enjoyed the stories here on FimFic far more than I’ve ever enjoyed the show. And it’s quite the same as your reasons. The show never actually...progressed. The show quickly grew static. I won’t go in much further, as you’ve already addressed that.
But here, the stories made by fans have let them grow and become more. The fans have let them live.
I get that feeling. The main difference between FiM and the shows you listed is that they had a consistent showrunner throughout the run, had a planned serialized story, and weren't trying to market toys. Maybe Lauren Faust's FiM would have only been 3 seasons, but they would (probably) been 3 seasons of consistent growth and quality. Sadly, Lord Hasbro didn't see things her way.
If you're looking for a show with a good mix of slice of life, character growth, and worldbuilding, give Adventure Time a shot. It starts off mostly episodic, but the serialized stuff later on is really good.
5308305
I think the "selling toys" was the big one, and ironically they didn't even do that right
5308305
Also I don't like Adventure Time. Too weird
Don't agree with your with some of the view points or half the examples with the other shows. It built slowly on characters and the world while adding new focus on different aspects. Yes, lessons get repeated, but it does take awhile and multiply applications to change people. Plus many of the stories were fun, interesting and thoughtful. Mostly logical. At the end, the main six were much better characters along with a host of other repeat characters. Did mostly like the cyclic ending and the over all message of the show.
Do agree that MLP was almost too long, focused on selling toys to little girls, and the writers could have worked together in more harmony. Not sure if leaving Laura Faust at the helm would have made things greater? I do know the show would have turn our differently and suspect it would have run shorter to tie the story elements up. The ending never answer an important question to me: Cozy Glow. Having a irredeemable child (just assuming she is one and not a midget) as one of the main final body guys was not logical.
Think you being reflective and taking a look is a fine choice to do.
I don't wholly agree with your points, but for me, FiM has always been more of a toolbox than a story in and of itself. I think that's why it's created such an incredible fan community. She-Ra is Journey or Undertale or, in Catra's case, Spec Ops: The Line. FiM is Super Mario Maker. Yes, there isn't nearly as much narrative depth, but my word the sheer variety of tools it gives you to make it your own. (Granted, with SMM, "your own" tends to mean a lot of auto-players and kaizo levels, but I suppose those equate to self-inserts and grimdark.
)
5308335
Dwarf or little person
"Midget" is a slur.
5308171
5308190
5308392
I agree with all of this. The show had less depth than other animated shows at the time, but it was unspecific enough to be an amazing foundation for the fandom and for fics to be made by the thousands. And the fics to me, are why I could be so interested in the world.
5309177
Exactly this. Some shows' worlds are much too detailed to give room for expansion, leaving only some finer details between canon to be filled in. MLP provides an opportunity to build a house upon a foundation where other shows let you arrange furniture in the house they built.
It's weird, there are lots of objectively better cartoons than pony, but I've never felt compelled to write fanfiction for any of them. maybe this is why.
5315610
To be fair, I wouldn't have either if not for a bet.