Thoughts on Bronies

[GrinningYMIR]

Conversation with my dad, apparently some people were talking about it in chat

D: "My little pony, that's some Gay ass shit"
Me: "mmhmm"
D: "The only people who watch that show are pedophiles and faggots"
Me: "Not true dad"
D: "Fuck yeah it is, only gay little fucks watch that show. Fucking Faggots"
Me: "Its watched by men and women, of all ages"
D: "No it isn't, you liar, its watched by a bunch of homos who I wouldn't leave my little daughter around, how can they enjoy a show about fucking ponies?"
Me: "So storyline and animation quality don't make a difference?"
D: "what storyline is there in a bunch of fucking ponies, all they do is brush their hair. Bet those faggots love that too"
Me: "They do a lot more than that, you're thinking of the 1980's version, not the modern version where they actually fight each other"
D: "Bunch of gay ass shit, if I ever see you watch that show I'm going to beat it out of you"
Me: "uh-hunh, whatever dad"

[Hydra009]

The "that's gay" argument.  It's been ages since I heard that one.  Probably because being gay is more socially accepted now.  And come on, the threatened masculinity thing, again?  Sheesh.  I'd call it an argument refuted a thousand times, but it's more like a million and counting.  And even from a fevered perspective, the part about his daughter doesn't make any sense.  What harm could come to a girl hanging out with male homosexuals?!

D: "Bunch of gay ass shit, if I ever see you watch that show I'm going to beat it out of you"
Me: "uh-hunh, whatever dad"

That's some seriously abusive stuff right there.  Run.

[GrinningYMIR]

You get used to it, after 19 years it doesn't really bother you anymore

[The Skeletal Atheist]

Conversation with my dad, apparently some people were talking about it in chat

D: "My little pony, that's some Gay ass shit"
Me: "mmhmm"
D: "The only people who watch that show are pedophiles and faggots"
Me: "Not true dad"
D: "Fuck yeah it is, only gay little fucks watch that show. Fucking Faggots"
Me: "Its watched by men and women, of all ages"
D: "No it isn't, you liar, its watched by a bunch of homos who I wouldn't leave my little daughter around, how can they enjoy a show about fucking ponies?"
Me: "So storyline and animation quality don't make a difference?"
D: "what storyline is there in a bunch of fucking ponies, all they do is brush their hair. Bet those faggots love that too"
Me: "They do a lot more than that, you're thinking of the 1980's version, not the modern version where they actually fight each other"
D: "Bunch of gay ass shit, if I ever see you watch that show I'm going to beat it out of you"
Me: "uh-hunh, whatever dad"

If you need a gay guy to beat up your dad I'm available.

[Mr.Obvious]

If you like kids cartoons with jokes in it that only adults will get, try Animaniacs :)

No, try adventure time.

How?! How is that labeled as a kids show?! How can... How?!

I love that show to death.

But seriously, how?!

[GrinningYMIR]

If you need a gay guy to beat up your dad I'm available.

Thanks, but I want to reserve the right to beat him for a special occasion, I want the privilege

[Hydra009]

No, try adventure time.

How?! How is that labeled as a kids show?! How can... How?!

I love that show to death.

But seriously, how?!

I'm kinda jealous how those shows are okay to like but not MLP.  Frank or whoever can jump into a car made out of his magical shapeshifting dog and that's cool, but talking unicorns is crossing some sort of line.  People don't make sense to me.

Adventure Time's not really my thing, but I do like Bravest Warriors.

[GrinningYMIR]

Bravest warriors kicks ass!

[Mr.Obvious]

I'm kinda jealous how those shows are okay to like but not MLP.  Frank or whoever can jump into a car made out of his magical shapeshifting dog and that's cool, but talking unicorns is crossing some sort of line.  People don't make sense to me.

Adventure Time's not really my thing, but I do like Bravest Warriors.

It's okay to like whatever you want, Hydra. At least to me.
But, and I've seen a couple of the MLP shows just to see what the fuzz was about, they are quite different shows.
The reason why I don't personally like MLP is not because of talking unicorns. It's because it's so heavily sugarcoated and puts the emphasis on 'friendship' and 'love' and all that beating the forces of darkness. Yes, it was edgier and on a much higher level than I first thought it to be, but it still seems to put the focus on that old spiel. At least in the five episodes or so I watched.

What I like most about AT is that morality is really shady in that universe. The episodes don't need a 'happy-let's-learn-a-lesson' ending. In fact there are many of them which end on a very cryptic and morally-bankrupt tone. The heroes in this show even often show such fundamental character-flaws that  you must ask yourself if they are truly heroes. For example the bubblegum princess does highly unethical science experiments on living things. Or Finn beats up a 'monster' in a dungeon that didn't attack him at all and is just sad to see his treasure be stolen. But you still somehow find yourself rooting for them. There are no lessons to be learned, because Ooooooo isn't a magical place of happines. It's filled with flawed characters and monsters. And most of them try to be as moral as they can be, but doing the right thing for the right reasons just isn't as convenient as in MLP or many other cartoons.
Also, some of the imagery is just plain horrifying and creepy. They dare show actuall monsters. Characters get eaten alive. The Lich is a true agent of destruction, not falling in the trope of 'explaining' why he's evil or does evil things. He just murders and destroys. Peppermint Butler will take your flesh as you sleep and killed a guy off screen.
That and the fact that after a few dozen episodes they manage to make two seemingly unrelated characters have the deepest and most sad bond of all is just amazing. They are willing to really implement tragedy and loss into their story, and not the kind that get's resolved by the episode's end. And one of those two characters was pretty much the silliest person in the show. They make you feel bad about laughing at him and his misfortunes up to that point, but don't stop you from laughing at new ones. They pull your heartstrings and you love 'em for it.

These reasons are reasons why I like the show, and coincidentally, they are the reasons why I don't understand how it's labeled a 'kids show'. But hey, you like what you like. And I'll like what I like. And maybe we can both agree that neither our shows are the best cartoon of the last few years and agree that that place belongs to 'Avatar: The Last Airbender'.

[GrinningYMIR]

I like ATs lore I just can't watch the first few episodes, I loose interest everyh time, but I enjoy reading about it, it's really weird to be honest.

If you havent watched bravest warriors give that a shot too, I personally like it a great deal and I'm itching for the next season to start. Think of it as a space version of AT, with lots of Fandoms and shipping and such, and heartbreak.

And I think or of the reasons that mlp got popular was because of its benevolence, it had upper level jokes for adults and such, but it was also a nice show at heart, so many shows are dark and brooding nowadays and I think that some of us, even though we love these dark shows, still remember the cartoons we liked as a kid which weree nice and special, so this harkens back to it subconsciously

Lastly, I don't know of avatar is my favorite cartoon but it's pretty close, up there with courage and robotech

Courage was another show that felt more aimed towards the older crowd than kids, the first season was scary as fuck for a little one too

[Hydra009]

The reason why I don't personally like MLP is not because of talking unicorns. It's because it's so heavily sugarcoated and puts the emphasis on 'friendship' and 'love' and all that beating the forces of darkness. Yes, it was edgier and on a much higher level than I first thought it to be, but it still seems to put the focus on that old spiel. At least in the five episodes or so I watched.

That's basically true.  Thankfully, they've more or less dropped the moral lesson at the end.  But yes, there's a pretty stark good and evil.

By and large, it's a slice-of-life show where most of the time, conflict is either interpersonal or a character is failing at their vocation (aka cutie mark failure insanity syndrome) or there's some event that has to go off without a hitch.  Or dealing with some minor antagonist, like a huckster or bully or dragon.  Rarely, there's some sort of crisis, usually paired with a major antagonist.  So yeah, not a whole lot on offer in the conflict department.

I think the main draw is a combination of the setting and the characters.

This is a setting where everything is bright and cheery and cute without being sickeningly so, though your mileage may vary.  Magic is real and the fantastic happens every day.  It's an incredibly idealized world.  Though not exactly a utopia, it's very close to it.

The characters are well developed and have their own personalities and interests.  And personally, most of the enjoyment of the show is the characters interacting with each other.

What I like most about AT is that morality is really shady in that universe. The episodes don't need a 'happy-let's-learn-a-lesson' ending. In fact there are many of them which end on a very cryptic and morally-bankrupt tone.

That's precisely why I like Game of Thrones.  Very morally ambiguous.  And the good characters tend to die off at alarming frequency, leaving the ensuing conflicts mostly black vs grey.

And maybe we can both agree that neither our shows are the best cartoon of the last few years and agree that that place belongs to 'Avatar: The Last Airbender'.

Don't you mean, Avatar:  the Legend of Korra?   

[Mr.Obvious]

The legend of Korra is awesome, but only season 3 holds a candle to the first show.

It looks like we are destined to disagree in our taste in cartoons forevermore :D

[Jason78]

Dogtanian and the Three Muskehounds had some pretty adult themes...

[GrinningYMIR]

Watched the first two and a half seasons while I was in Dallas

Had great fun with them

[Hydra009]

Btw, I love the new Dashie avatar.  Best pony of the mane six, imho.