Unpopular Pony Opinions

[ThePoneZone]

I wanted to add another thing, since we're on the subject of FiM...

The songs. Everyone loves the songs, but I can't really like most of them because of how heavy the autotune is. I have a sensitive ear for these things and if I can hear the autotune it instantly turns me off a song. I haven't seen every episode though, so I might've missed some good songs that haven't been autotuned to death. I did enjoy quite a few songs, though. This Day Aria probably being my favourite.

I'm not trying to say G1 had better songs, either. Some of them were downright dissonant with the poor audio mixing and screechy voices. I do like a majority of G3's songs, though. Most of them are really catchy and I hate it. I still have Wish You Were Here stuck in my head after all these years.

[Taffeta]

And yeah. G4 is really girly.

I have only watched a few G4 episodes (thankfully) and from what I've seen, it is WAY girlier than G1. For all the bashing old MLP has always gotten from everyone for supposedly being all tea parties and dressups, I can only recall a handful of times when the G1 cartoons featured anything stereotypically girly (like the costume ball at the end of the second special), other than that, when ponies were not busy saving their world from doom, they would usually just spend their time playing sports, landscape exploring or chilling by the pool. Meanwhile, I remember one G4 episode that was all focused on everyone going to a big ball, trying on their outfits and all, and in another there was a whole song where pony pricesses were singing to the newest princess about what a great pony princess she will be, and it felt REALLY sappy. If you ask me, despite Lauren Faust patting herself so much on the back for challening girly stereotypes in cartoons, G1 did way better job with that.

G4 also has a song dedicated to baking cupcakes, and an episode about sleepovers in the first season.

Yeah. I wouldn't care about how girly G4 was if the fans of it weren't busy trying to make out G1 as being more girly. And I am not even a huge fan of the G1 animation, but you know, in contrast. I've watched 2 seasons and some random eps of FIM, and they're meant to be at the better end of the storyline. And they're really. Very. Stereotype girly.

On the note of the costume ball, not to be a cynic or anything, but rather than being girly, that's a shop window. Unlike G4, which does a terrible job of promoting toys in the show, Dressed Like a Dream is entirely designed to sell that year's ponywear and nothing else. If not, it wouldn't exist. Guaranteed.

The same occurs in Jem. There's one episode from early 1987 called Glitter and Gold which amuses me no end because of the number of unnecessary costume showoffs that occur in such a short period of time. They manage to promote all the new year's line of dolls with the exception of Raya and Jetta (who get a 2 parter dedicated to them right afterwards), all the Glitter and Gold fashions, Clash in correct colour scheme, a fair number of flipsides and a few others, plus GnG Jem and Rio. It's insane, and it makes Dressed like a Dream look minor and subtle in comparison xD. Hasbro were good at animation marketing in the eighties.

[MJNSEIFER]

You know... I've never seen sleepovers as a girly thing, it always seemed genderless to me (keep in mind I embrace my love of girly things.)

Anyway... how about some of my Unpopular Pony Opinions?  It's the point of the thread after all.

1.  I may have mentioned this before, but I enjoyed "Slice of Life".  It didn't seem too Brony-pandering to me, and I ultimately didn't care if it was, because they showcased the background ponies that I liked, so it didn't matter if they were brony-popular or not (even though I knew that most of the ones I was interested in were.  Also, my pen pal's favorite background pony is Amethyst Star, so I was really happy to see her used, because I correctly guessed he would love that moment - that was far more important to me than whether or not the scene was brony-pandering or not (my pen pal is not a brony.)

2.  On the subject, while I think that pandering to bronies or trying too hard to get them to like what their doing is bad... I actually don't think it really happens that much, especially in the seasons people started complaining about it.  I mean, it may be because I don't follow what their memes are anymore, but in hindsight, I don't think I saw anymore brony stuff in seasons four and five, than I did in season two (and all that was just assumed, anyway.)  The only things I really noticed was brony-popular ponies being used, and they all tended to fit into the scenes I saw them in anyway, so it never seemed to be a problem.

The only time the brony-pandering seemed in your face obvious was when they referenced the "Twiligtlicious" meme in "Pinkie Apple Pie" by having Apple Bloom do an out of nowhere version of it, but it was later brought to my intention that it might not have been brony-pandering, because Michelle is friends with the brony who made it a meme, so it might have been a shout out to him?

I also noticed that people seem to think that references to things that are from before the time of the target audience are for bronies, but I don't think they are.  I just think the writers referenced things they like because they wanted to.

3.  I don't see anything wrong with any genre being chosen to make pony music in the fandom.  I remember someone here questioning if it is really right to make a metal song about My Little Pony, and in my opinion; sure it is!  If something inspires you to create something, you can create it that way.  It doesn't look like it doesn't fit, or like their trying to take the girlyness out of it (not that some bronies don't try to do that, as discussed), it just feels like these people like MLP and they like metal music, so they put it together.

Seriously, you get an idea for a song, and you just have to go with it - I honestly think you can make it work.

[Taffeta]

I've actually not seen any of the episodes that people say pander to bronies. I genuinely don't have a problem with bronies unless they're the kind who trash G1 or trash people who like G1. But those are the crazies. I just think the word is tainted, so probably needs either serious renovation and reclaiming by the sane ones, or ditching and starting again. Because for many brony is always going to carry negative connitations, even though not all bronies are crazy.

Unpopular opinion for today. Rearing ponies were a bad idea.

Aside needing the stand and their propensity for falling over, they also skew shelf height requirements. Maybe it's because no rearing ponies were sold in the UK (unless you count baby Bouncy in 1993-4 and she's tiny in comparison) but I feel like they are unnecessary.

I like the ponies in the rearing pose fine, but I have a kind of disconnect with Magic Star because the one I grew up with knowing was different. I hated that cj pose as a kid but now as an adult I much prefer Magic Star with her hooves on the ground. The rearing pose (and the huuuge back feet) just doesn't really seem necessary to me.

[MJNSEIFER]

I genuinely don't have a problem with bronies unless they're the kind who trash G1 or trash people who like G1. But those are the crazies. I just think the word is tainted, so probably needs either serious renovation and reclaiming by the sane ones, or ditching and starting again. Because for many brony is always going to carry negative connitations, even though not all bronies are crazy.

That's the option I'm hoping for, as I have a nostalgic and sentimental attachment to the fandom name, so I do hope that it get associated with the positive side of the fandom again.  It's a shame that it has a negative connotation, but I can see why it does.

I never agreed to the bronies who hated on the previous generations (it's not just G1, they all get hated - G3 is treated especially badly), even before I got into the pre-G4 stuff, I knew I didn't want to hate on pre-G4, because I thought it looked mean, and I hated the way some bronies were being really over the top with their hate.  I then checked out the pre-G4 cartoons, and found that they're all similar to G4 in different ways, making the hate make less sense.

But yeah, long story short - I'm a brony who likes all generations.

[Leave a Whisper]

This is gonna be super controversial. I sometimes think that  MLP would be better off dying out, if it is gonna be nothing but more mane six.

But on the other hand, there's nothing saying that a future incarnation might someday return the brand to its roots as a diverse collectible toyline with cartoons for commercials. So I'm holding onto hope that the brand won't suffer this bs forever. But the leaks, if they are real, have not given me hope.

The FiM toyline is the Teen Titans Go of the brand. Ugly, poor quality, excruciatingly repetetive, has overstayed its welcome and is being shoved down the throats of consumers ad naseum.

[Pokeyonekenobie]

This is gonna be super controversial. I sometimes think that  MLP would be better off dying out, if the if it is gonna be nothing but more mane six.

But on the other hand, there's nothing saying that a future incarnation might someday return the brand to its roots as a diverse collectible toyline with cartoons for commercials. So I'm holding onto hope that the brand won't suffer this bs forever. But the leaks, if they are real, have not given me hope.

The FiM toyline is the Teen Titans Go of the brand. Ugly, poor quality, excruciatingly repetetive, has overstayed its welcome and is being shoved down the throats of consumers ad naseum.

This is the reason I don't think I'll ever feel bad about customizing a G4.  There are so many Mane 6 out there that if I can't find one to customize, there's something wrong with me.

[Leave a Whisper]

I think G4 Moondancer is awful. Those Rock Lee eyebrows, her round chihuahua head and her wishy-washy body color as though she came pre-yellowed makes me glad she never got a toy.

[Taffeta]

This is gonna be super controversial. I sometimes think that  MLP would be better off dying out, if it is gonna be nothing but more mane six.

Maybe its controversial, but I agree. I have a certain pride in this collectable and this toyline and I would rather see it die completely than just watch it march soullessly on in clone form.

[Leave a Whisper]

This is gonna be super controversial. I sometimes think that  MLP would be better off dying out, if it is gonna be nothing but more mane six.

Maybe its controversial, but I agree. I have a certain pride in this collectable and this toyline and I would rather see it die completely than just watch it march soullessly on in clone form.

*cue imperial march*

[MJNSEIFER]

I think G4 Moondancer is awful. Those Rock Lee eyebrows, her round chihuahua head and her wishy-washy body color as though she came pre-yellowed makes me glad she never got a toy.

I don't like her design either.  Especially her eyebrows and her mane - she just doesn't look right to me.

I get that she is a different character, and G4 already included ponies who are of the same name as previous generation ponies, but are different characters (as do G2 to G3.5) and I'm fine with that, but I feel that G4 Moondancer was supposed to be closer to her G1 self, considering that Lauren probably saw her that way when she first mentioned her (that's speculation of course.)

I know Lauren wasn't in control when Moondancer was actually included, but I feel if she was, she probably would have been close in looks at least to the G1 self, since she is a fan of Moondancer.

[Leave a Whisper]

Because the Gods forbid that a girl's toyline be girly. This gen is just as girly as the rest of em. And no matter how much the crazy, brainwashed fans scream otherwise, that's not gonna change. To somewhat quote the wise turtle sensei from Kung Fu Panda,

"You may wish for an apple tree or an orange tree, but it is still a peach tree."

[brightberry]

I actually didn't like any of the references to G1 in G4.  They were warped into things that never seemed quite right.  Even poor Applejack.  It's fine.  I'm over it now.

[Taffeta]

Because the Gods forbid that a girl's toyline be girly. This gen is just as girly as the rest of em. And no matter how much the crazy, brainwashed fans scream otherwise, that's not gonna change. To somewhat quote the wise turtle sensei from Kung Fu Panda,

"You may wish for an apple tree or an orange tree, but it is still a peach tree."

G3 is probably the most girly generation, but IMO, G4 is close behind it. But it's not a bad thing that way. It's just the silly protests of the fandom that it's not the case that gets me.

Maybe it's an unpopular opinion, but G4 is way more girly than G1. If I had grown up with G4, instead of G1, I probably wouldn't have been a pony collector. I'd have definitely gone down the Monster High route instead.

[MJNSEIFER]

I actually didn't like any of the references to G1 in G4.  They were warped into things that never seemed quite right.  Even poor Applejack.  It's fine.  I'm over it now.

I liked them in season 1 and 2 (Applejack not counting, she's her own character), when they just sought of casual "Oh, remember G1 and G3?" style moments - assuming they were references, because they could have been coincidences, I like to think they were references or at least "reminders" though.

It's when they actually brought in characters during season four onwards from G1 when it got weird, as they ended up being different characters in total, which is fine as this isn't G1, but it seemed odd for some reason.  Maybe because I was expecting a full on G1 tribute?  I dunno...  I'd say it was down to new writers, but they changed Applejack under the original creator - I guess Applejack was the one pony of that group Lauren saw differently?  They were based on how she played with them, more than who they were in the show at the end of the day.

I always find it silly when bronies say Applejack changed the least from G1, when if you look at the G1 ponies that the Mane Six started out of, they all kind of fit their G1 cartoon selves, but Applejack doesn't.