Are there any positive aspects to appreciate from g4?

[Mana Minori]

We all know that a large majority of the g4 fandom and past gen fandoms don’t see eye to eye, and beyond that, much of the g4 toyline has been....less than stellar quality, for the most part. Buuuut...there are many other aspects to g4, including fan made content, official games, animated media, TCG, comics, manga, higher end collectibles and figures, and more that can be appreciated as well.

So- what one takeaway from the g4 era of My Little Pony been appreciated by the OG fans of the franchise- be it merch, animation, or even a single friendship with a fan of g4?

[gabumon]

oh yes lots of things! I think people are more sophisticated than just "hate vs love".  there are even things about G1 i don't like so. it's give and take.  two way street imo.

[Mana Minori]

oh yes lots of things! I think people are more sophisticated than just "hate vs love".  there are even things about G1 i don't like so. it's give and take.  two way street imo.

oh, I know it’s more complicated than that. I wasn’t trying to paint it out to be, really. I wouldn’t want anyone taking it that way, either. And I’m quite sure that that og fans know and can admit to no mlp gen being perfect, and I’m not saying they are. I just want to pic people’s brains and see what they most liked about g4 is all.

Would you care to rattle off some of what endeared YOU?

[goddessofpeep]

I collect all generations, and have a *massive* collection(and a tiny house). That’s probably why the thing I like most about G4 is...the size.  Those tiny ponies don’t take up much space, which is at a premium over here.  A lot of people complained about the size when they first came out. I remember one person comparing all the different generations, and G4s were about the size of McDonald’s ponies. That got a big reaction, and not a good one.  From day one I was into the tiny ponies. 

Going along with that, I really loved the blind bag sized ponies - especially the playsets and figure lines that replaced the G3 Ponyville line.  The whole “Nightmare Night” playset, mini playsets, and figures were a particular favorite.  I thought the sculpts were well done, and the accessories were excellent.  This was also where you got to see more than just the same 6 ponies over and over. They had all sorts of characters!  It’s what the main line should have been.

[tailrustedtealeaf]

oh yes lots of things! I think people are more sophisticated than just "hate vs love".  there are even things about G1 i don't like so. it's give and take.  two way street imo.

Echoing this.
I will take the opportunity to discuss G4 though. It was the first generation I was into collecting and the show grew alongside me so I'm very kind towards it.
I adore the collections like the neon rainbow power and Pinkies Boutique that add different hair colors in! It's such a cool take on the characters.
This is usually a negative, but I think it's neat finding minute differences between each release. I figured out how to discern the bagged singles from the rest and it's really cool to me to be able to do so.

[Mana Minori]

I collect all generations, and have a *massive* collection(and a tiny house). That’s probably why the thing I like most about G4 is...the size.  Those tiny ponies don’t take up much space, which is at a premium over here.  A lot of people complained about the size when they first came out. I remember one person comparing all the different generations, and G4s were about the size of McDonald’s ponies. That got a big reaction, and not a good one.  From day one I was into the tiny ponies. 

Going along with that, I really loved the blind bag sized ponies - especially the playsets and figure lines that replaced the G3 Ponyville line.  The whole “Nightmare Night” playset, mini playsets, and figures were a particular favorite.  I thought the sculpts were well done, and the accessories were excellent.  This was also where you got to see more than just the same 6 ponies over and over. They had all sorts of characters!  It’s what the main line should have been.

ooh, that’s a good one!
 But I’m actually torn between agreeing with you, haha. On the one hand, I love the weight and feel of the earlier ponies- even the G3’s.  It if we’re talking about space requirements alone, then yeah, I gotta give it up for the G4’s. They’re definitely more compact, as you said. I can fit so many in plastic bins than the g1’s, g2’s and g3’s, since I definitely don’t have the space to properly display much.
Though I can’t say the same for the larger GoH’s and Kotobukiyas.

[gabumon]

My favorite part of G4 was the first few years of releases.  Loved the variety.  Also loved the blind bags - when there was a way to tell who was in there. LOL.

Many of the fashion style releases were just amazing with four rows of thick soft hair.

[Marshie]

My favorite part of G4 was definitely the animation and story line of the show. G4 was my first real MLP thing that I actively enjoyed, while I grew up with G3 ponies. Was a big fan back in my high school days! Made a lot of friends though it to that I still talk to today!

I can see how there can be some conflict between the gens not getting along, but I cannot understand why! We all love different aspects of the franchise all in different ways and we can all respect one another for it <3

[lovesbabysquirmy]

They did create a LOT of characters, even if not all of them have toys
More people to appreciate MLP

[fuzzysherbet]

While I do prefer the bigger toys for a lot of reasons, g4s being so small really comes with perks! With an average g4 just barely being taller than a g3's rump, it's really easy to sneak them into any display; and they don't require the bigger display spaces that the bigger generations do.
I know that the name 6 got really old really fast, believe me, I'm sick of seeing them as every toy too, but at least they have nice and varied designs!
The later toys are... pretty hit or miss in terms of quality, there's no denying that. But the hits tend to be pretty good, and the older g4s were generally good as well!
The toys that came out after the movie proved that Hasbro is still willing to give the ponies poses! I don't like the execution of most of the reboot poses; I personally think the toys are too small and the style too incompatible to be able to do it in a way that doesn't result in overexaggerated poses and odd mouths. But, they are growing on me, and I think it was a good direction to go!

[Ragamuffin]

At this point I feel indifferent towards FiM. Even though I only watch episodes of a series once and then, like... never touch it again, I remember adoring FiM's early seasons, especially season one. The rest of the series was a chore to sit down and watch, to a point where I just wouldn't unless it was a season premier/finale. First season though I've felt nostalgia towards and have sometimes wanted to rewatch it even if I'm not someone who usually rewatches things.

That said, I'm a toy collector. I'm more worried about the toys. Yeah, G4 mostly sucks in that department. What did they get right? We're still stuck in 2011...

• The accessories were cute when they were original!
• The original ponies were cute! I love Lulu Luck and Dewdrop Dazzle! Very simple ponies that have their own feel to them without being too simple like later non-Mane6 ponies. (Pursey Pink...) Great names on the blind bags too, like Lovestruck.
• They improved upon so many G3 characters! Blossomforth and Star Swirl are very similar in G3, and I never cared for them as a kid. G4 Blossomforth is super cute and G4 Star Swirl is gorgeous.
• Yes, I prefer smaller ponies to big ones. G3 size or smaller. Original G4s were a good size, not so much the movie ponies and PLs.
• The Friendship is Magic Collection is one of the better things about G4 and it's too bad they scrapped it too early. It never made it past the "Applejack part" over here. I never saw the Nightmare Night sets, the Rarity sets, anything. They couldn't get rid of the Apple Family ponies for years, even on clearance. One thing I don't like about the FiMC though is the price. $20 is a lot of something so small, like the barn, and there's nothing even inside of it. It's a wall like the other playsets. It would've been better at $10-12. What's worse is the Canterlot Castle they released for the movie at a whopping $40, which again, was a wall with no features and less than 10 accessories if I remember correctly.
• The BABs are some of the best pony plushes officially produced probably, and I don' think we would've gotten any BAB pony if it weren't for FiM's success. I hope this continues for other generations!
• I love the early Fashion Styles and wish I still had them in my collection. Back when G4 used to have cloth clothes instead of plastic! And everything is properly painted, too. It was worth the money... the quality of the pony itself, the cloth clothes, and the properly painted accessories! Embarrassing Hasbro still wants $10+ for the current ones.
• Which of the more recent Fashion Styles doesn't suck? The sea ponies! I love love love love love love LOVE the eyes on them and wish they were the standard of all Fashion Styles. I can't remember the price on these and it's probably not worth $10+ due to the lack of accessories but the eyes are so pretty.

[Mewtwofan1]

I enjoy FIM as it’s what got me into pony, and into animation as a career. I quite enjoyed the cartoon, though some of the toys were a bit lacking IMO. Like, I think I’d much rather play with the dream castle than canterlot castle. I also enjoyed the variety in toy/merchandise type. Not all of it was brushables. But I think what the most positive aspect is what this generation managed to accomplish. Critical acclaim across numerous countries and demographics, plenty of fan work and inspiring a new generation of creators.
    Don’t get me wrong, I dislike a few of the toys (like playsets built like walls and the 4.5 reboot ponies) but ultimately, I think it was a pretty positive ride.

[Taffeta]

Interesting question!

Although I also echo the fact that polarising the debate can be problematic. The divide between communities is not really based (at least from this side) on a wholesale hate of G4 and love of older gens. Most of us collect G4 in some form, or whatever. It's always been about how the 'bronies' behaved that's really created the division.

I like the G4 brushables that were not part of the M6. I prefer the original pose although it was repetitive. I have maybe 90 or 100 brushable G4 in my collection. Most are not M6, although some are. Some of them are really pretty. It's just a shame there aren't more of those as the line progressed.

I don't like FIM. To be honest, without FIM there would not be any kind of controversy about G4 and other gens and whatever. But I do recognise FIM did bring some people into MLP who are not crazy and offensive, and that's a plus we can take going forward. Just, a show that can encourage the kind of things bronydom have been connected with is clearly going wrong somewhere. A show that is meant to be about friendship should not be fuelling a bunch of crazies to spew abuse at people who disagree with them, either. But I have fundamental problems with any show that presents popular crowd clique behaviour as 'friendship' and 'normality'. So my reasons for not liking FIM are more wide ranging than my dislike of the bronies.

I DO like EqG (because of Sunset Shimmer). Even though the stories are formulaic and mostly follow the same path, I like that Sunset Shimmer has character progression, thus EqG > FIM to me. I have not seen all of FIM, but what I have seen, it feels like episodes can be played in pretty much any order (they actually were being on Tiny Pop here), and it doesn't make a difference. It doesn't feel like FIM really went in for character progression except for major moments like "Gasp, Twilight has wings!").

If you took FIM out of G4, the only complaints I would have with the line would be quality control (which is a Hasbro thing, not a G4 thing) and repetitive characters (which could have been altered if Hasbro had put those blind bag characters into brushables).

Really it's just another generation and of course it has its positives. Only they are overshadowed to a large degree by the broadly negative cloud of unpleasantness that surrounds the brony fandom and their activities. (And genuinely, if you think that side of it is done and over now G4 is ending, it's not. The Atlantic wrote an article about subversive bronies as recently as July, and all pony fans were lumped together in the way they wrote the article...proving that the real problem of G4 is not G4, but the people who have tainted it by trying to make it something else.)

[Shaz]

Blind bag sized ponies <3 I just love mini ponies. My mini Pony and Daring Do are among my favourites in my collection. I love how they're ideal for carrying in a bag or pocket, and there are lots of fun photos you can take with them because they are just so dinky!

I realise this is heresy for a pony collector but sometimes I just want a pony whose hair doesn't need grooming every five minutes. G4 has delivered in that respect with a good choice of ponies with moulded hair. It's just more convenient when they're out and about having adventures!

Being able to buy ponies and pony-related things in the shops has been fun. I only got into ponies in 2013, thanks to discovering my girlfriend's childhood G1 collection. Then we were in Tesco's one day and I was there exclaiming 'OH WOW LOOK THERE'S A NEW VERSION OF MY LITTLE PONY!'. Then I bought Cheerilee and two sparkly blind bags It's just such a happy memory.

I don't like the cartoon with its endless friendship preaching; Twilight being told to put her books away and go out and make friends is a bit too painfully autobiographical for me, except in my case I got an anxiety disorder rather than the Elements of Harmony. So FiM and I were never likely to see eye to eye. I did like Rainbow Rocks though, the songs were awesome.

Anyway, obviously G4 didn't exist for the purpose of making Shaz happy, but it managed it anyway . So good on you, G4!

[Taffeta]

I don't like the cartoon with its endless friendship preaching; Twilight being told to put her books away and go out and make friends is a bit too painfully autobiographical for me,

I can relate to this too.

Every kid develops at their own speed and in their own way, but the last thing that any child needs is to be told by a tv show they're watching that they're not behaving 'normally' because they don't want to go out and have parties. More bothersome to me is the idea of "if you're nice to bad people they will become your friend" and "you can make friends with anyone if you try hard enough." One is dangerous, two is just not true. But not liking someone is not the same as not respecting someone, and having different perspectives is not a bad thing. Will never forget that horrible episode where Pinkie and Dash destroy an important cultural artefact in the Gryffin's territory and then say it doesn't matter because now they have the more precious notion of friendship instead.

...So many issues.

I think FIM taught people how to enforce their views on other people, not how to actually become friends with people, which involves accepting them, not trying to change them to fit your values.

So yeah. FIM is both the thing that popularised attention to MLP and brought in new fans, and the thing that motivated some questionable moral behaviour and ideas. But I feel like if you took FIM out of G4, G4 would be absolutely fine. Just a bit repetitive.

...However without FIM, the toyline would have to make more of an effort and show more variety. So again it comes down to the show, NOT the generation.