g4 fandom paranoia. THE END IS NIGH!

[Strawberrysweets]

I wouldn't call this gen the highest quality MLP has ever been. The toys are the crappiest I've ever seen, the animation is cookie cutter, sterile and deformed and the cartoon is average fare.

I think the toy quality varies, but the oversaturation of mane 6 doesn't help.

The first G4 ponies I got had super soft hair, the latest applejacks have so greasy and unkempt hair even after I wash them, even how much I try the hair flair up after they are dry and no one have touched them ;^;. I know I can babypowder the hair but then it wont be shiny anymore.

[Leave a Whisper]

I wouldn't call this gen the highest quality MLP has ever been. The toys are the crappiest I've ever seen, the animation is cookie cutter, sterile and deformed and the cartoon is average fare.

I think the toy quality varies, but the oversaturation of mane 6 doesn't help.

The first G4 ponies I got had super soft hair, the latest applejacks have so greasy and unkempt hair even after I wash them, even how much I try the hair flair up after they are dry and no one have touched them ;^;. I know I can babypowder the hair but then it wont be shiny anymore.

Eww. Hate greasy haired ponies. There worst offender is chemical pony smell. When you open up a pony, and the smell burns your nose and throat and you hafta toss it. Hasbro is indeed, doing something very wrong.

[Ponyfan]

I do enjoy FIM but I think G5 should start with new characters instead of recycled ones.  Pinkie, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Sweetie Belle, Rarity, Scootaloo and Chereliee's names were all reused from G3

I'd love to see Terramar and Ocean Flow as brushables but don't that will happen since the G4 is ending.

Ponyfan 

[KarentheUnicorn]

But I don't think people should be hating on it over and over. Saying stuff on how they wish the mane six would disappear forever is really disheartening.

hum, hate. Well none of the below are quotes from the arena, they're all about previous generation ponies.

I've seen things, man. It was horrible. They were so ugly. And the names. Not the names. And Unicornia. How? How could such a place exist?

G1:  Does anybody even like this generation?

I've never ignored the existence of adult fans of previous gen horses, but they've always been under the radar, while we provoked a culture boom, and we are WAY more open for our love of these horses with pastelis coloritis

Honestly they just looked creepy to me.

Gen 2 or 1.5: Divisive. Hate it with a burning passion

Gen 3 and 3.5: Horrible Abominations. The pony designs are freaky, nightmarish and unsettling.

G1's are bulky and ugly and the cartoon had hidden bondage fetishes in it

They look like fat horses

[WaterDraw]

But I don't think people should be hating on it over and over. Saying stuff on how they wish the mane six would disappear forever is really disheartening.

hum, hate. Well none of the below are quotes from the arena, they're all about previous generation ponies.

I've seen things, man. It was horrible. They were so ugly. And the names. Not the names. And Unicornia. How? How could such a place exist?

G1:  Does anybody even like this generation?

I've never ignored the existence of adult fans of previous gen horses, but they've always been under the radar, while we provoked a culture boom, and we are WAY more open for our love of these horses with pastelis coloritis

Honestly they just looked creepy to me.

Gen 2 or 1.5: Divisive. Hate it with a burning passion

Gen 3 and 3.5: Horrible Abominations. The pony designs are freaky, nightmarish and unsettling.

G1's are bulky and ugly and the cartoon had hidden bondage fetishes in it

They look like fat horses

I didn't say the previous generations didn't get hate, but G4 seems to get an unproportional amount of hate compared to them.

[SaraMari]

Where does g4 get hate? Are you referring to people here?

I think if anything g4 gets an disproportianate amount of love. Yes here you will hear criticism of it, but I believe the brony community gives it a ton of love. So overall I believe it does not receive much hate

[Flitter]

The fandom reaction doesn't and never has affected me much but I can understand people being upset that something they enjoy is ending. The G4 hype has already died down a lot but it still seems to have a solid fanbase. The fandom won't die but it won't be the same after G4 is over either.
 
Myself, I love G4, I only collect G4, but I've been ready for it to end for a while now. The toyline and show have disappointed me many times. Besides the boy brushable ponies, I never got into the toys since the style reboot and just recently restructured my collection drastically into what I feel will be it's final evolution (unless Funko starts making vinyl collectibles again and gives me Sunset Shimmer and Starlight Glimmer but I'm not holding my breath, just dreaming...). I still watch the show but almost passively. The narrative this season especially has lost me a bit. Yona is adorable though. I'll likely watch it through to the end.

As for G5, I'll watch how it develops but, as of right now, it would probably take something really exceptional to get me interested.

[KarentheUnicorn]

I didn't say the previous generations didn't get hate, but G4 seems to get an unproportional amount of hate compared to them.

I really am not sure what you mean at this point. You seemed to suggest that on the arena g4 gets a lot of hate...but im not sure what youre comparing it to. I posted quotes from other forum where g4 fans slam previous gen of mlp. So i dont see how the arena has more hate...just because its fim/g4?

if we say of all thr pony boards and forums out there then maybe you should consider places like the arena are the one place you can have a much better discussion on all the ponies, not just one gen.

And maybe thats why because some of us dont consider g4 to be better or above other gen.

And besides Ive been on pony boards long enough to remeber when g2 came out a lot of folks didnt like them and voiced their opinions on the forums. So why g4 should get a pass is beyond me.

[sd_dreamcrystal]

I'm actually hoping to see some of the art trends for G4 die out. I know that art is expression but seriously some things should not even be considered with FiM or EQG.

I have stopped watching the show several seasons ago because it just got to the point where I could not stand it any longer and I'm just now hoping G5 will have a good show start (despite being the same 6 ponies)

[katrine2309]

@Waterdraw: I don’t think G4 gets that much hate here. I think the main criticism, in this thread, is around the fandom and the community it brings with it. I think it would be an excellent idea for the Mane 6 to find their happy ending. Not because I don’t like the characters. Certainly not because I hate them. But I am a tired of seeing them. They have been released so many times since the start. People are sick and tired of G3 Pinkie Pie for the exact same reason. It is not hate in my opinion, that is just wishing for more creativity and originality from Hasbro.

Like Taffeta says, I will not look at it as G5 if they are to use the same characters as they have now in the same universe. That is not a start of a new generation. That is a reboot of the old one. What has differentiated each gen in MLP is not only the difference in poses and the toys itself. But the whole world of MLP. G2 ponies never interacted with G1, G3 ponies did not interact with G2 or G4. The concept of MLP were re-launched each time. If they’re not doing that- it is certainly not G5 to me.

I really hope they do conclude the show and the characters. Good things come to an end and that is certainly true for TV shows. ANY TV show. Perhaps now, Hasbro will allow the future stories of the Mane 6 to continue in little girls imagination. Like they should have, in my opinion, a long time ago

[Baby Sugarberry]

G4's main cast are stereotyped.  That's not really surprising in a kid's cartoon show?  It's written so kids joining in season X don't need to have seen Season X-1 in order to understand what's going on.  That means very few episodes change the status quo.

I would also prefer to never see the G4 main cast again.  That is no different from my feelings about G3's 'core 7', whom I also disliked.  And saying 'I hope they never use G4's characters ever again and start fresh' is not hate, it's an opinion and possibly a critique if it's backed up with 'because X, Y and Z'.  Hate is something like 'G4 is a flaming pile of horse dung and all the horrible characters suck rotten lemons and anyone who likes them should be killed on sight.' 

(For the record G4 is not horse dung, the characters aren't rotten and I don't advocate for shooting anyone with anything but cameras and Nerf/water guns, with all participating parties enthusiastic consent beforehand.)

[Taffeta]

I didn't say the previous generations didn't get hate, but G4 seems to get an unproportional amount of hate compared to them.

I really am not sure what you mean at this point. You seemed to suggest that on the arena g4 gets a lot of hate...but im not sure what youre comparing it to. I posted quotes from other forum where g4 fans slam previous gen of mlp. So i dont see how the arena has more hate...just because its fim/g4?

if we say of all thr pony boards and forums out there then maybe you should consider places like the arena are the one place you can have a much better discussion on all the ponies, not just one gen.

And maybe thats why because some of us dont consider g4 to be better or above other gen.

And besides Ive been on pony boards long enough to remeber when g2 came out a lot of folks didnt like them and voiced their opinions on the forums. So why g4 should get a pass is beyond me.

I am 100% with Uni on this. I actually found the comment about there being more G4 hate genuinely offensive, given that many of us have experienced direct or indirect hate just for being G1 fans, without even engaging in a discussion or dispute over generations with fans of FIM. I've also seen much much worse than the stuff she's posted , but that would be against forum rules.

As I said above, I don't think all bronies are crazy and rude, but there are some and the some there are are very vocal.

But this place has a very balanced mix of fans. And mostly they coexist quite peacefully, which is a really positive thing. It's not generally the case that if one person likes BBE ponies and one doesn't, they're immediate hate rivals forever. Whereas in the FIM community, liking or not liking a specific character can create a real "incident". Of course, again, that's not necessarily all of the fans - but that exists there, it doesn't exist here. We have an unpopular opinion thread which has not been locked because we are actually able to express not liking things that other people do like without fear of being hunted down or ostracised. That is what this place is.

A lot of us who criticised G4 aspects in this thread also collect G4 in some capacity. In my case I collect predominately non mane 6 characters. I have some M6 but I'm over them because they're so plentiful. I did watch some of the show, but I don't like it because some of the episodes are morally troubling to me. However, I took the time to watch it before deciding I don't like it.

I think Baby Sugarberry and Uni both made good comparison points between constructive criticism of aspects of the generation vs flat out trash comments like those seen on other forums. I don't have a problem with people disliking G1 if they actually know what they are disliking - but the kind of comments that Uni posts mostly demonstrate a lack of that. The most common kind of insults G1 gets are basically "Lauren Faust said they were x so I hate them". At least in this thread, when people have said they don't like something, they usually have a reason why because they know what they are disliking.

As Katrine said, all generations bring their new aspects to the community. It's a weakness in G4 fans that sometimes they don't realise that change is the only certainty of MLP. And not wanting to see the mane 6 ever again is perfectly valid. We should expect new characters and a new concept for G5. I don't need to see even Applejack again, to be honest. I didn't need to see her in G4, either. MLP has survived by completely reinventing itself. To not reinvent itself for G5 is a betrayal of its origins.

And the clinging to the mane 6 is a brony trait, because of the influence of the show. It isn't shared by people with pan-generational interests largely because we're used to losing characters, not just within a year of their release but also within a change of generation. Ponies are precious because they are unique and don't outstay their shelf life. It's time for a change, and saying that is not hate, as Baby Sugarberry said.

[Leave a Whisper]

@Waterdraw: I don’t think G4 gets that much hate here. I think the main criticism, in this thread, is around the fandom and the community it brings with it. I think it would be an excellent idea for the Mane 6 to find their happy ending. Not because I don’t like the characters. Certainly not because I hate them. But I am a tired of seeing them. They have been released so many times since the start. People are sick and tired of G3 Pinkie Pie for the exact same reason. It is not hate in my opinion, that is just wishing for more creativity and originality from Hasbro.

Like Taffeta says, I will not look at it as G5 if they are to use the same characters as they have now in the same universe. That is not a start of a new generation. That is a reboot of the old one. What has differentiated each gen in MLP is not only the difference in poses and the toys itself. But the whole world of MLP. G2 ponies never interacted with G1, G3 ponies did not interact with G2 or G4. The concept of MLP were re-launched each time. If they’re not doing that- it is certainly not G5 to me.

I really hope they do conclude the show and the characters. Good things come to an end and that is certainly true for TV shows. ANY TV show. Perhaps now, Hasbro will allow the future stories of the Mane 6 to continue in little girls imagination. Like they should have, in my opinion, a long time ago

[tailrustedtealeaf]

It's not blatant hate so much as it is weariness and exhaustion with hearing G4 being hailed as the all-powerful generation that finally gave fans relief from the girliness of the previous generations, because that was totally a problem previous pony fans had with the franchise. *eye roll* I'd just be repeating everyone else's statements if I kept going.
So, if we wouldn't call "G5" G5, would it be G4.75? I'm sure everyone will just go with G5, but I do agree with Taffeta that because it's not a complete reboot it should still somehow belong under G4. If it's more commonly referred to as G5, I will go with the crowd for the sake of clarity.

[Sunset]

I feel like it's going to be G5 regardless.  Hasbro has changed how they are marketing the brand to be very dependent on the show with a core group.  That means we may also have to change how generations are classified.  People are already calling pretty much what ever happens after FiM ends "G5".  I don't think it will be possible to change course after the fact if it turns out to be not much different from G4. 

Certainly, plenty of non-collectors wont care what classifications went into determining different gens previously.  They will simply go with whatever they hear others calling it.  As much as I know those of us who have been here a long time will hate it, it's likely that the bronies will determine the classification (and they are already calling whatever it is G5).  There are just more of them than us and they are more vocal.  That means we will be fighting an uphill battle to try to insist that the next step isn't G5 but still G4.  People will still want something to label the change with no matter how small.

We could try calling whatever comes up next by the name of the show provided that Hasbro provides a convenient handle.  So early G4 would be "FiM" followed by the "Movie/reboot" followed by "?".  But again, it will still be an uphill battle if everyone else is calling it G5.