Pony Life and G4.5

[StarSwirl05]

What a waste of potential and a HUGE letdown. All that build up for what is basically The Mane Six part 2. Even the title of the show is lame.

[Taffeta]

But I saw some bronies around say, in reaction to the *toy design* "Well, it looks better than G3! I'll accept any pony that isn't a G1 or G3" like what? Do you have any reasoning for that? Is it because they look like horses? Are you so anti-G3 you've become blind to what actually looks good?

Nah, it's because those are the successful prior generations and thus walls to be knocked down in their quest for whatever it is they want to define themselves and their generation as...

I dun really understand it but it feels like it goes along with the other stuff about how G4 is grown up and never has any of those terrible things G1 and G3 had in their animated series...

For some reason SOME of the G4 fans think there's some kind of competition involved and that they have to destroy all the others by deriding them. Some people think that makes them better? I dunno...but it seems to be that way.

The reason they don't badmouth G2 is that they don't see it as a threat to their G4 ego.

This is not all G4 fans. Just those crazy ones.

Let's also remember that lately retro versions of the G1 and (in the US at least) G3 have been a thing. And Hasbro have gone down the "lets retro stuff!" with the M6 as well. That must be a particularly threatening sight for the G4 crazies who feel competition from past generations...

[Nemesis]

These

Style is a small part of it. I think the main issue why G3.5s are "so bad" is because it's so "girly", and girly is bad! Good thing G4, the best generation, is not girly at all! Pink and glitter and rainbows is bad! But G4 is for GROWN UPS!! It does NOT have "glitter" or "pink" or "rainbows" or "tea parties" and the characters never "giggled" or cared about "fashion". Writing plays a part too, to be fair.

But I saw some bronies around say, in reaction to the *toy design* "Well, it looks better than G3! I'll accept any pony that isn't a G1 or G3" like what? Do you have any reasoning for that? Is it because they look like horses? Are you so anti-G3 you've become blind to what actually looks good?

*Sigh* If you’re gonna watch a cartoon about magical, rainbow ponies, just own up to it. It’s sad how people try to pretend that a show rated “TV Y” (aka: the preschool rating reserved for the likes of “Dora the Explorer” and “Blue’s Clues”) is somehow aimed at adults.

Umm... I guess they just hate anything that remotely resembles an actual pony?

What a waste of potential and a HUGE letdown. All that build up for what is basically The Mane Six part 2. Even the title of the show is lame.

Eh, I’m sure this is just a placeholder until G5 is ready to launch. I wouldn’t worry too much.

[tailrustedtealeaf]

What a waste of potential and a HUGE letdown. All that build up for what is basically The Mane Six part 2. Even the title of the show is lame.

Was there buildup? I hadn't even heard of a new pony series until...today!

[BlackCurtains]

I only watched the first two seasons of FIM so I'm not to fussed about the new cartoon. I still hate the toys though.

[Leave a Whisper]

I agree with ponyfan about this video.  If I had a young child, I wouldn't want them listening to "feeling good as hell" repeated over and over and over again, then going off to school or something and repeating that.

Yeah. Something tells me they're gonna get a little backlash from angry parents for that one.

[StarSwirl05]

What a waste of potential and a HUGE letdown. All that build up for what is basically The Mane Six part 2. Even the title of the show is lame.

Was there buildup? I hadn't even heard of a new pony series until...today!

There were teasers posted the past two days on the MLP Facebook.

[Flitter]

What the hell are they thinking? 

[aintnobuffalo]

My reaction was the same as everyone else here (not liking the cat look, worried about the implication of the Teen Titans Go look), but I'm calming down and deciding to be open minded. I realize that I also had a visceral reaction to the reboot (guess I shouldn't call that G4.5 anymore), which I now love, and to Equestria Girls, which turned out OK. People have freaked out about things that seemed wrong but turned out great in their minds later (Heath Ledger as the Joker as a famous example). I'll withhold judgment for now and probably even purchase the Rarity for my Rarity army and maybe Twilight since somehow she turned out the cutest compared to the rest. I just also will withhold expectations. I hope that is it's a brief series like it seems, as that may prevent it getting annoying, and I'm just glad the voice actors are the same.

Side note: I don't have kids, so maybe I'm not being sensitive enough, but I think it's funny the ponies got to say/lip sync "hell" after all these years.

[Dragonflitter]

I agree with ponyfan about this video.  If I had a young child, I wouldn't want them listening to "feeling good as hell" repeated over and over and over again, then going off to school or something and repeating that.

Exactly! That song was a terrible choice, and I can’t believe it made it into the final video. :/

I wonder if the song choice indicates that this variation of MLP is going to be aimed at older girls? It certainly seems like a song that would appeal to older girls and not the younger demographic.

But I saw some bronies around say, in reaction to the *toy design* "Well, it looks better than G3! I'll accept any pony that isn't a G1 or G3" like what? Do you have any reasoning for that? Is it because they look like horses? Are you so anti-G3 you've become blind to what actually looks good?

Nah, it's because those are the successful prior generations and thus walls to be knocked down in their quest for whatever it is they want to define themselves and their generation as...

This is it exactly. G1 and G3 weren't "theirs" so automatically they are bad. It wasn't the designs of the pony toys or the cartoons, it was just the fact that it was something they could label as 'different' than their generation and therefore have something they could be against.

[Sunset]

So I have never been a fan of this type of cartoon or character styles.  I just can’t see myself liking this.   Though I will get a Potion Nova toy to review as soon as she is available, but mostly for comparison sake.

But here is the bright shining spot.  There is absolutely no way that MLP can get any more cartoony.  That’s it.  This is as far as the train goes.  No matter what comes next, whenever that is .... it will be more horsey than this.

On a random note: am I the only one who immediately flashed back to the Tales opening in the ice cream shop when I saw that one promo pic of Pinkie behind the counter at Sugercube Corner?

[aintnobuffalo]

But I saw some bronies around say, in reaction to the *toy design* "Well, it looks better than G3! I'll accept any pony that isn't a G1 or G3" like what? Do you have any reasoning for that? Is it because they look like horses? Are you so anti-G3 you've become blind to what actually looks good?

Nah, it's because those are the successful prior generations and thus walls to be knocked down in their quest for whatever it is they want to define themselves and their generation as...

This is it exactly. G1 and G3 weren't "theirs" so automatically they are bad. It wasn't the designs of the pony toys or the cartoons, it was just the fact that it was something they could label as 'different' than their generation and therefore have something they could be against.

Hmm, I think that is true for some, but it would unfair and harsh to say that is the case for them all. In my experience with the community, the reaction to the older generations is often just the shock at the major differences; the "chunky" and more horse-like design instead of the cutesy look. Sometimes people don't enjoy seeing something they like look so vastly different. One might see that in this very thread...

[Sparkle Pony]

I-I'm not sure how much more of this I can take. I'm tired guys, so tired... 

On the off chance this show turns out fun, I'll be happy. I always love being pleasantly surprised! In the more likely chance its an insufferable piece of trend chasing garbage, I hope it ends up lasting a very short amount of time.

[Zapper]

Yep, this is the legit G4.5
And it will probably be goofy and fast like Unikitty and TTG! (hopefully with non of the adult/disturbing humor of the latter).

They look way cuter animated than their toys. Making Pinkie the star makes sense because she is the dumbest. They don't even have to dumb her down like they did Robin for TTG!
Likely all ponies will keep their personalities but now it's mostly centered on gags to bridge the gap until the movie comes. The press text says it all, they want a new audience to engage with a fresh MLP.
I'll definitely check out the new show and hope they'll use the other voice actress for Pinkie. The one who did the CG Pinkie's voice in the youtube shorts.

[Minty_Magic]

Phew okay when I first saw the designs today I was really really upset. I’ve never seen Teen Titans Go, and I’ve overall held a strong opinion on it, but based on what I DO know, that is not the direction I want to see this brand go in. I have nothing against the exaggerated cartoony style, but I have everything against fast paced slapstick with no substance. It sounds redundant post FiM, but even before that My Little Pony has always been about building genuine friendships and showing kindness to others. I think that’s part of why G3 is my favorite generation over all. The focus of that line was just the ponies and their being relationships with each other.. Sure there weren’t any high stakes or sweeping adventures, but isn’t it nice sometimes to just see a community that gets along and enjoys each other’s company?

Now that I’ve had some time to process this though I’m willing to give it a chance. I mean, this is obviously a weird G4.5 to hold us over until the next gen. We know this won’t live long. Maybe a year at best? The style of the animation looks cute in some of the promo pics, but over exaggerated in others. I despise this new style where we just have the mouth clip over the eyes, it’s so weird. Also what is happening with Rainbow Dash’s hair? What is the weird disconnected blob at the end? She would look better if she just had the weird Mohawk.

Story wise, if it’s truly just slice of life stuff I’d actually be cool with that. I’ve never really liked a lot of adventure and battles in pony, it just feels weird. I just hope they’re not overly snarky to each other like the animation style kind of implies. I watched a lot of shows as a kid where the characters were really sarcastic and mean to each other for no valid reason and it took me a while to realize that wasn’t actually a good way of interacting with people. I understand it’s funny sometimes, but when that’s all kids see? I wish we had more shows like Steven Universe that out an emphasis of patience and understanding. I liked that FiM overall portrayed kindness and friendship as being positives. It had some really stupid and cynical moments, but overall it always felt like a pretty uplifting show.

I just really wonder what G5 will bring at this point. I’d really like to see a hard reboot with all new designs and characters, but it’s pretty clear that won’t happen.

Sorry for the long post, I’m not great on gathering my thoughts when I have so many floating around in my head.