The title just about sums it up. You can ask me anything about the show as well as its fanbase. One thing to note is that any of the more sensitive issues that are brought up in here might not be answered in this thread or at all. If I feel I can discuss the issue with you, I will send a private message. If not, I will let you know in here that I am skipping it.

Seriously. What's so good about the show?

I tried watching and almost barfed diarrhea out my mouth, it was so bad.

legacyme3 : How much of an explanation do you need? You could try a well-made 47-minute video that covers just about every aspect of the show and it still might not satisfy you. Either way, I'll sum this up as best as I can.

The first aspect that comes to mind would have to be the characters themselves. The situations that they face strike a cord with me enough that I have broken down in tears --as to why it goes that far, that is private. They may be ponies, they may be mostly females, and they may be living in a fantasy world, but those points do not change the messages that the show seeks to convey and I can appreciate it on a personal level.

Jayson Thiessen, the show's supervising director, in an interview gave his thoughts on why us older men would enjoy this show. He said that we had grown up during a time that was mostly known for cynicism, and we were very tired of throwing that cynicism around. I agree.

The popularity of this show can also be attributed to the fact that it started airing in 2010. This whole phenomenon started on the Internet where it is almost too easy for people to share ideas with each other. If the show first aired in the 90's or early 2000's, when Internet access wasn't the easiest thing to come by, this fandom would have only expanded like what you see with some of the older cartoons like Spongebob Squarepants or The Powerpuff Girls. A lot of us male MLP fans, including myself, first heard about this show because somebody else was making memes... or whatever the heck he/she wanted to do.

The last, and arguably the biggest, point I want to say I'll give you a quote.

"Critics who treat 'adult' as a term of approval, instead of as a merely descriptive term, cannot be adult themselves. To be concerned about being grown up, to admire the grown up because it is grown up, to blush at the suspicion of being childish; these things are the marks of childhood and adolescence. And in childhood and adolescence they are, in moderation, healthy symptoms. Young things ought to want to grow. But to carry on into middle life or even into early manhood this concern about being adult is a mark of really arrested development. When I was ten, I read fairy tales in secret and would have been ashamed if I had been found doing so. Now that I am fifty I read them openly. When I became a man I put away childish things, including the fear of childishness and the desire to be very grown up." -C.S. Lewis

I'm not looking for you to be convinced, but I hope this all helps understand.

Is magic friendship,or is friendship magic?

AuraBlaze :

I guess from there, its easy to segway to the next question, why this show in particular.?

I've come across several shows in the past decade that made me feel as you said, though the difference being the characters who voiced these issues/concerns. Its also far easier to take the characters I'm talking about seriously due to the fact they are predominantly human, and the setting is a tad more realistic. The point isn't about the characters, but rather that there are alternatives which I find far easier to take seriously.

So why this particular show? Its not a unique/novel concept by any stretch, it's actually starting to become something of a trend, at least with shows I watch. There are more likable characters or at least more personable. Really, I'm racking my brain to try and find a suitable reasoning for anyone really liking the show.

And a side note, I've been criticized for watching girlyesque shows in the past so it has little to do with disliking it simply because of the cast/setting. I just feel like the alternatives are better made while keeping similar messages in its program.

DARKANINE : Yes.

legacyme3 : My own mom has asked me that question once. I wish I had a striaght answer, but I just can't pinpoint it on any one thing. When I first watched an episode of this show, I had no expectations whatsoever. Reflecting on this, I may have been naive, almost oblivious, to the gender stereotyping that holds guys back from watching this. Despite that, it wasn't all that easy for me to get through the first viewing. I was pausing the video every minute or so because it did feel a little embarrassing to be watching it --and no one else was home at that time. Somehow when I got to the end of the episode and saw "To Be Continued..." I was shouting inside my head, "What? NO!?!" I was having a major desire to see what happens next, and I did go to see the next episode that night.

TL;DR. I don't have an answer. Well done for making me look bad on the first page of my own Ask Anything.

My pleasure

legacyme3 : AHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!! Wow, I can't stop laughing. Way to put it! My question is why is a show aimed for 4 year old girls more watched by 30-40 year old hippies? I think they are called bronies.

Do you ever see a cow in MLP:FiM? I like cows.

TheFadedWarrior : A whole herd of them nearly stampedes into town in the episode Applebuck Season (season 1, episode 4). One cow makes a casual appearance at the beginning of Sleepless in Ponyville (season 3, episode 7). That's all I remember at this point.

I did not know you were a brony. Was this the work on sonic?

AuraBlaze : what is favorite MLP character of all time ?

thing1 : I actually don't consider "brony" to be a relevant term at all, but I'll explain that in the Are You a Brony? thread. And no, I didn't become a fan of this show because of sonicmcmuffin. My curiosity peaked when I was frequenting Halolz.com back in 2011. Pony posts on that site were dividing the community despite their fair tolerance for pony-related posts in the first place. It wasn't until January of the following year that I got into the show, for the sake of staying away from pornography, that my interests climbed on their own.

supercool22 : Probably Twilight Sparkle.

AuraBlaze : What is your favorite My little Pony : Friendship is Magic villain ?

supercool22 : I have to say Discord. Although other villans may have put the mane six in bleak scenarios, Discord was the only one that nearly destroyed their friendships. Not only that, but The Return of Harmony really speaks to me on a personal level that I can't explain.

AuraBlaze : Yeah , same here as you could see but didn't the ponies try to turn Discord from bad to good in one of the episodes . i believe it was " Keep Calm , Flutter On " if im wrong .

I have a question for you. Have you ever explored the music created by some bronys or the fan-fictions some of them write? I feel that it opens up more to the community rather than the show and can tell a pretty interesting story about whoever wrote the music or stories. If you haven't are you willing to give them a try? If you're not, Why aren't you? Sorry if I come off as rude, I'm just curious is all.

Frodlex : Absolutely! I am enjoying both the fanfiction and fan-made music --the former being a secret guilty pleasure! And I couldn't agree more with you, these avenues definitely give us a better perspective of the community than what our initial beliefs would say. And the quality of the work people have made with these to areas alone is astounding!

A user of this : I am not upset about Twilight Sparkle being an alicorn. As for the second one, you can read about it in this post.