Unpopular Pony Opinions

[Itcheeee]

This seems to be a pretty unpopular-ish opinion here, but... I love the Mane Six... 

I get how they can be a problem from a toyline perspective or (especially) a collectors perspective, but purely as characters, I love them and have a sentimental and nostalgic attachment to them.  They weren't always written how I feel they should have been, which is an opinion in itself, but for the most part I still feel attached to them as characters, and the friendship they have with each other, and always will.

I agree with you 100%! Applejack and Fluttershy are my favorites so it's always disappointing when they get left out in merchandise 90% of the time.
Both were sometimes portrayed badly, especially Fluttershy (At the Gala for example) so maybe that's why. I'm going to miss them and all the other G4 ponies so much. Many based on G1 and G3 ponies makes it more painful to see them just disappear.

[TheBeatlesPkmnFan42]

This seems to be a pretty unpopular-ish opinion here, but... I love the Mane Six... 

I get how they can be a problem from a toyline perspective or (especially) a collectors perspective, but purely as characters, I love them and have a sentimental and nostalgic attachment to them.  They weren't always written how I feel they should have been, which is an opinion in itself, but for the most part I still feel attached to them as characters, and the friendship they have with each other, and always will.

I love the Mane 6! I just wish Hasbro hadn't released so many versions of them is all. I like them as characters and I also enjoy various third party releases of figures and plush of them, but I just think Hasbro themselves released them too much in the main toyline. I'm fine with the Mane 6 being all over third party products and merchandise, it was just way overboard as far as the main toyline was concerned. Just too many releases where many ended up looking similar to one another when they could have made some other FiM characters into toys, or had made more toy original ponies. So as much as I do complain about Hasbro putting toys of them out so much during G4's run, I still do like them! Especially Twilight and Fluttershy, they're my favorites!

[starrynights]

It makes me sad when people hate on other gens or says MLP just needs to end because they don't like a certain gen.

[Ponybookworm]

Starry yep!!!

MJN agreed. TS is my fave of the Six. It's just the oversaturation in the toyline which drove me bonkers, when there were so many background characters who never got a brushable

[Taffeta]

My unpopular opinion is that I don't think the animation is that important for defining MLP, their characters or whatever. It's admittedly harder to make that separation for G4, but I definitely feel like G1 and G3, the animation is an add-on and absolutely not integral or important to the line overall.

And with G4, speaking as someone who likes the toys but not really FIM, I'd have probably been happier with more toy variety, and fewer animated episodes, memes and the like.

I don't know why I am so apathetic towards older gen animation, except that as a kid it felt like it was full of mistakes because of the different names/ponies not sold here/whatever. I always preferred the comics. I dunno, I just feel like MLP is fine even when there isn't any animation. Which is why it always bothers me when G2 gets ignored simply because it lacks a cartoon.

[SpacePinto]

My unpopular opinion is that I don't think the animation is that important for defining MLP, their characters or whatever. It's admittedly harder to make that separation for G4, but I definitely feel like G1 and G3, the animation is an add-on and absolutely not integral or important to the line overall.

I don't think this would be considered an unpopular opinion among 99% of users on this particular board...

[Taffeta]

My unpopular opinion is that I don't think the animation is that important for defining MLP, their characters or whatever. It's admittedly harder to make that separation for G4, but I definitely feel like G1 and G3, the animation is an add-on and absolutely not integral or important to the line overall.

I don't think this would be considered an unpopular opinion among 99% of users on this particular board...

I'm not sure. I think a lot more people reference/are sympathetic to the G1 animation when it comes to discussions, and certainly privelege the characterisation from those over other things like backcards.

[brightberry]

My unpopular opinion is that I don't think the animation is that important for defining MLP, their characters or whatever. It's admittedly harder to make that separation for G4, but I definitely feel like G1 and G3, the animation is an add-on and absolutely not integral or important to the line overall.

And with G4, speaking as someone who likes the toys but not really FIM, I'd have probably been happier with more toy variety, and fewer animated episodes, memes and the like.

I don't know why I am so apathetic towards older gen animation, except that as a kid it felt like it was full of mistakes because of the different names/ponies not sold here/whatever. I always preferred the comics. I dunno, I just feel like MLP is fine even when there isn't any animation. Which is why it always bothers me when G2 gets ignored simply because it lacks a cartoon.

I would like to say I agree but feel uncertain.  I really loved the first two G1 specials, but I agree there wasn't much characterization for most of the ponies and it's funny how many of them aren't even named in the first one but we all know who they were now.  As a newbie, Cotton Candy, Bubbles and Moondancer were a mystery to me.  I only learned about them later on their backcards.  It didn't matter by the 2nd special because I was already into ponies.  I think I just enjoyed seeing colorful ponies having adventures and they all seemed pretty interchangeable to me. 

I did not love any of the other cartoons while growing up.  I found their "characterizations" and animation annoying. The show might had been good for drawing new kids in and making them aware of ponies.  But for the ones already hooked, I don't think the shows were important. 

 

[BlackCurtains]

I grew up in the 80s and had ponies as a kid but never knew there was a G1 TV show until I joined the Arena. I had seen RAMC as a kid but that was it. As far as backcards, I didn't pay attention to them, I guess? I named my ponies whatever I wanted to and made up their personalities myself. Granted, I didn't have a lot of ponies and they weren't my favorite toy line, but I still definitely *knew* My Little Pony without the movies and cartoon.

[SpacePinto]

My unpopular opinion is that I don't think the animation is that important for defining MLP, their characters or whatever. It's admittedly harder to make that separation for G4, but I definitely feel like G1 and G3, the animation is an add-on and absolutely not integral or important to the line overall.

I don't think this would be considered an unpopular opinion among 99% of users on this particular board...

I'm not sure. I think a lot more people reference/are sympathetic to the G1 animation when it comes to discussions, and certainly privelege the characterisation from those over other things like backcards.

If only...

[Taffeta]

My unpopular opinion is that I don't think the animation is that important for defining MLP, their characters or whatever. It's admittedly harder to make that separation for G4, but I definitely feel like G1 and G3, the animation is an add-on and absolutely not integral or important to the line overall.

I don't think this would be considered an unpopular opinion among 99% of users on this particular board...

I'm not sure. I think a lot more people reference/are sympathetic to the G1 animation when it comes to discussions, and certainly privelege the characterisation from those over other things like backcards.

If only...

I think you're confusing what I mean, but I think that's probably my fault for how I phrased my posts.

I meant that in discussions about lore/story/character, the animation tends to be what people talk about more than other mediums like comics, backcards, storybooks, cassettes etc.

For me I'm the opposite. I don't like the characterisation of nearly every pony in the animated G1 series, as most of them have better/more distinct characters in the comic or on backcards. But it's a guarantee that more people are aware of the animation characters - which is fine, and why this is an unpopular opinion.

But I should have phrased it more clearly, as this is obviously a toy-centric forum where more people talk about the toys than the series overall.

[Carrehz]

What I miss is people being... allowed? to make up their OWN personalities for ponies. Like, it used to be that if you wanted to write a story where maybe one pony uses her cartoon personality, but another is more based on her backcard, or UK comic, or whatever, or just made up from wholecloth... no one would bat an eye. But nowadays, especially with G4/FiM, it's all "alternate universe" this and "headcanon" that, you know? I dunno if this makes sense, or if I'm wording it right, but I miss when it was just an understood thing, that everyone had their own idea/version of Ponyland.

A bit off-topic, maybe, but it's what the convo reminded me of.

[brightberry]

What I miss is people being... allowed? to make up their OWN personalities for ponies. Like, it used to be that if you wanted to write a story where maybe one pony uses her cartoon personality, but another is more based on her backcard, or UK comic, or whatever, or just made up from wholecloth... no one would bat an eye. But nowadays, especially with G4/FiM, it's all "alternate universe" this and "headcanon" that, you know? I dunno if this makes sense, or if I'm wording it right, but I miss when it was just an understood thing, that everyone had their own idea/version of Ponyland.

A bit off-topic, maybe, but it's what the convo reminded me of.

Me too

[Taffeta]

What I miss is people being... allowed? to make up their OWN personalities for ponies. Like, it used to be that if you wanted to write a story where maybe one pony uses her cartoon personality, but another is more based on her backcard, or UK comic, or whatever, or just made up from wholecloth... no one would bat an eye. But nowadays, especially with G4/FiM, it's all "alternate universe" this and "headcanon" that, you know? I dunno if this makes sense, or if I'm wording it right, but I miss when it was just an understood thing, that everyone had their own idea/version of Ponyland.

A bit off-topic, maybe, but it's what the convo reminded me of.

I miss this too. I always loved that G1 had many canons and you could chop and change or ignore it completely.

[Shaz]

What I miss is people being... allowed? to make up their OWN personalities for ponies. Like, it used to be that if you wanted to write a story where maybe one pony uses her cartoon personality, but another is more based on her backcard, or UK comic, or whatever, or just made up from wholecloth... no one would bat an eye. But nowadays, especially with G4/FiM, it's all "alternate universe" this and "headcanon" that, you know? I dunno if this makes sense, or if I'm wording it right, but I miss when it was just an understood thing, that everyone had their own idea/version of Ponyland.

A bit off-topic, maybe, but it's what the convo reminded me of.

YES. I have always loved inventing my own personalities and worlds for toys!
Honestly, my definitive canon for G1 isn't the cartoon, or the comics, or the backcards....it's the stories my girlfriend wrote about her ponies when she was little! If the media disagrees with Kitti's pony world, it must be wrong We've had a lot of fun expanding on her childhood pony world to include the ponies from my collection, and of course our other toy collections past and present. To be honest, I think the freedom to invent is what playing is all about, whether you're a child or just a child at heart!
I hope there are kids out there now ignoring FiM and inventing their own pony worlds