Like tens if not hundreds of thousands of others, I’m a brony – an adult,
male fan of Hasbro’s My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic series. It’s something that seems unusual to those
outside of the brony community; after all, My Little Pony is something that’s
always been associated with and marketed to little girls. And until Friendship is Magic came along in
2010, it pretty much was. Friendship is
Magic, however, is different. While it’s
true that younger girls are the main demographic the show is targeted towards, show
developer Lauren Faust designed it to not be overly girly, and to be enjoyable
by all both men and women of all ages:
I didn't create this show for little girls, I
created it for little girls and their parents--including male parents. It only stands to reason that adult animation fans without children may like it, too.
To me, it’s no different than a show like Sesame
Street: even though it’s clearly
targeted at children, it’s designed in a way that adults can enjoy it too;
plenty of grown-ups watch classic clips from the show both with and without
their children. Likewise, Friendship is
Magic can potentially be enjoyable for anyone who approaches the show with an open mind, and
doesn’t decide they’re not going to give the show a chance because of the past
of the My Little Pony brand. I encourage anyone who hasn't done so to at least watch an episode or two – it's not hard to find all the episodes on Youtube.
So why exactly do we bronies enjoy the show? Honestly, there’s no one simple answer. There’s lots of things to like, and different
people have different reasons. One
strong reason for me, however, is the characters themselves. The six central characters (or the “Mane 6”
as the fandom calls them) are all very strong, developed characters with unique
personalities. While they’re all very different,
they all share a strong sense of friendship with each other. They’re all very likeable, and I’m always
rooting for them to be successful in their endeavors. Here’s some information on why I like each of
them, starting with my favorite:
She’s easily my favorite character, largely because her
personality is a lot like mine. She
shows many traits of Asperger’s syndrome, which I have myself: She is socially awkward, is especially
interested and talented in a specific thing (in her case, it’s unicorn magic),
and had no interest in making any friends until she was forced to. I find she often reacts to situations in much
the same way I would. Because of these similarities, I associate
myself with her the most.
Favorite Twilight Sparkle moment:
Because I love her character so much, there’s a lot of
moments that come to mind. Some of the
best ones are:
- The adorkableness of her reading about how to throw a slumber party,
- The insanity she goes through when things aren’t going as she planned (Swarm of the Century, Lesson Zero, and It’s About Time all have examples of this)
- Being the only one able to calm down the rampaging Ursa in the episode “Boast Busters”
- Her utter joy at being accepted to Princess Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns (and the joy she gets just from telling the story):
But if I had to choose one above all the rest, I’d
go with the entire episode Winter Wrap Up.
The premise is that Ponyville needs to clean up the town and get ready
for spring, but as the town was founded by Earth ponies (i.e. non-unicorn,
non-pegasus ponies), it’s tradition for the town to prepare for spring without
the aid of unicorn magic. Twilight tries
helping with a number of activities, but without being able to use her magic,
she isn’t really good at any of them. It
turns out that because of poor organization, the rest of the town actually
doesn’t do any better, and it appears they won’t finish on time. Twilight ends up saving the day, using her
organizational skills to direct the various teams and help everybody finish on
time. It’s a great episode that helps to
build her character. It also has a great
example of the wonderful music the show has, which is another of the things I
really like about Friendship is Magic.
2. Rainbow Dash
While Twilight Sparkle is very similar in personality to the
way I actually am, Rainbow Dash is very similar to the way I like to think of
myself as being, even though I’m really not.
She’s very brave, competitive, and athletic, and while being “cool” is
very important to her, her loyalty to her friends comes first. I also love her determination to impress her
heroes, the Wonderbolts (basically the Pegasus equivalent of the Blue
Angels).
Favorite Rainbow Dash moment:
Some of my favorite Rainbow Dash moments are really quotes
rather than moments, like “It needs to be about 20% cooler” and “I could clear
the sky in ten seconds flat” (which she then proves isn’t just idle
boasting). But to me, the most epic
moments are the ones where she pulls off her Sonic Rainboom.
While the other ponies’ positions on my favorites list is
pretty much fixed, these two are the hardest for me to give an exact place
for. I could really list Rarity higher
one day and Fluttershy the next without basing it on anything in particular. So I’ll just say they’re tied for third.
Rarity is a fashion designer, and is easily the girliest
character on the show, but even she isn’t anywhere near overboard with it. I enjoy her preoccupation with making things
beautiful, and that she is very generous and patient with others. I also like that, despite her girliness, she’s
completely able for standing up for both others and herself, as demonstrated
best in my…
Favorite Rarity moment:
Rarity’s assertiveness in “A Dog and Pony Show.” While out using her magic to find gems for
her dresses, she’s kidnapped by a group called the Diamond Dogs, who intend to
force her to find gems for them. The
diamond dogs are dumb and dim-witted, however, and instead of being the typical
damsel in distress waiting to be rescued, she annoys the dogs to the point that
by the time her friends come to the rescue, they want them to take her away.
Fluttershy reminds me of myself in some ways, though not to
the extent that Twilight Sparkle does.
As her name suggests, she’s quite shy and timid. She also loves nature, particularly animals, which
I find appealing. She’s very kind,
almost to a fault, as she generally won’t stand up for herself. She will
certainly stand up for others, however, and some of her most awesome moments
are when she does so, such as when she confronts the dragon in the episode “Dragonshy”
and staring down the cockatrice in “Stare Master.”
Favorite Fluttershy moment:
Still, if I had to pick a favorite, I’d have to go with her
cheering practice. I could totally see
myself being the exact same way.
5. Pinkie Pie
It’s hard not to love Pinkie Pie. She’s almost always so cheerful, energetic,
and just generally random. She loves
parties, and she sings a lot. Just
watching her be herself can cheer me up.
She’s also very “cartoony,” frequently breaking the fourth wall and
performing typical cartoonish gags.
Favorite Pinkie Pie moment:
There’s too many great Pinkie Pie moments to list them all,
but among my favorites are the Piggy Dance song she uses to try to cheer up Mr.
and Mrs. Cake’s foals, and her hilarious tactlessness while trying to befriend
Cranky Doodle Donkey. But the most memorable is when she (incorrectly, of course)
thinks her friends don’t want to be her friends anymore, and she completely
loses it:
6. Applejack
Although she technically is my least favorite of the “Mane
6,” I do still like her. She’s a
southern-accented country farm girl, and I usually end up hating such
characters, because they’re often bland, one-dimensional characters who have
interests that are completely opposite of mine.
Applejack, however, is nothing like that. She’s a very hard worker, and her
determination is admirable. If there’s
any fault to find, in fact, it’s that she’s not focused on enough in the show –
as some in the brony community have noted, she frequently ends up sharing the
spotlight in episodes where she’s supposedly the main character.
Favorite Applejack moment:
“Dear Princess Celestia:
I didn’t learn anything! I was
right all along!” That’s the element of
honesty talking there, for sure.
William,
ReplyDeleteYou give wonderful insight into the characters on the show. You are a gifted writer. Thanks for sharing!