I have been thinking: What are the most common nicknames of the characters of the show used by the fanbase? A partial list:
Applejack: AJ.
Rainbow Dash: Dashie. RD.
Twilight Sparkle: Twily. (Does it count if it's used in-universe?)
Princess Celestia: Sunbutt. Trollestia. (Ok, the latter may be more than just a nickname per se...)
Hmm... what else? Don't the other characters have any nicknames?
I have been thinking: What are the most common nicknames of the characters of the show used by the fanbase? A partial list:
Applejack: AJ.
Rainbow Dash: Dashie. RD.
Twilight Sparkle: Twily. (Does it count if it's used in-universe?)
Princess Celestia: Sunbutt. Trollestia. (Ok, the latter may be more than just a nickname per se...)
Hmm... what else? Don't the other characters have any nicknames?
Fluttershy: Flutters
Scootaloo: Scoots
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It's Google's marketing, of course. Seeing how an estimated 97% of bronies also are diaper fetishists, they decided to kill two birds with one stone. Clever, really.
Uh....I don't see it at all. Nor do I intend to in case someone posts a pic of it.
I get the feeling that you misunderstood. The photos don't have bronies wearing diapers. What happens is that the google page has little animated pixel-art ponies running across the screen... and they are all wearing diapers for some inexplicable reason. (If anything, I would consider this some kind of insult. I don't understand it at all. Perhaps someone at Google didn't understand the implications; the actual joke is missing and instead it comes out as insulting.)
On a completely unrelated topic...
I may be quite late to realize this, and it might be completely self-evident to most of you, but somehow it just dawned on me one of the reasons why the MLP:FiM characters are so likeable and have so much depth to their character.
In the vast majority of little kids' (especially little girls') cartoons, most of the good guys are "Mary Sue" characters. This at least in the past (unsurprisingly I have not been watching very many cartoons aimed at little kids in later years, so I have no idea if they have progressed in this regard.)
A Mary Sue character is one that's perfect and flawless, always lawful-good, kind to everybody, unselfish, philanthropist and one who loves everybody and everything, and who are always ready to help and defend their friends and anybody else for that matter. They may not be (and often are not) physically or emotionally strong characters (eg. they might be emotionally impressionable and can eg. get scared and cry relatively easily), but they are always kind and nice and thinking of others, and show little or no flaws (and often even if they show some flaws, they tend to be "cute" and "adorable" flaws, such as being afraid of the dark or something.)
Such characters tend to be flat and two-dimensional because they lack character depth. They tend to be too perfect, and come across as trying to appeal to the viewer for being so nice and cute and friendly and flawless.
In MLP:FiM, however, all the main characters, while being good (of course), are very much flawed and entire episodes are dedicated to these flaws. The closest we could perhaps get to an actual "Mary Sue" character is Fluttershy, but even she is shown several times to have personality flaws (especially in "The Best Night Ever".) All the other characters are also very much shown to have their flaws and sometimes acting in selfish or irrational ways because of those flaws (such as Applejack trying to leave Ponyville for good because she was ashamed of not getting first place on the rodeo competition in "The Last Roundup", or the usually self-confident and brash Rainbow Dash getting extremely nervous and stage fright when her turn comes to show her skills in "Sonic Rainboom", Twilight being extremely obsessed and neurotic in "Lesson Zero", or Pinkie Pie going absolutely and even frighteningly bonkers in "Party of One".)
I think these are characteristics that you seldom see in most other kids' shows. (And even if they try it, often it's only half-hearted and not very engaging and does not help much in establishing personality.)
If there are any Mary Sue characters in the show, those would be princesses Celestia and Cadance. I don't remember seeing a single flaw to their personalities shown. (On the other hand, they have had extremely little screentime overall...)
I may be quite late to realize this, and it might be completely self-evident to most of you, but somehow it just dawned on me one of the reasons why the MLP:FiM characters are so likeable and have so much depth to their character.
In the vast majority of little kids' (especially little girls') cartoons, most of the good guys are "Mary Sue" characters. This at least in the past (unsurprisingly I have not been watching very many cartoons aimed at little kids in later years, so I have no idea if they have progressed in this regard.)
A Mary Sue character is one that's perfect and flawless, always lawful-good, kind to everybody, unselfish, philanthropist and one who loves everybody and everything, and who are always ready to help and defend their friends and anybody else for that matter. They may not be (and often are not) physically or emotionally strong characters (eg. they might be emotionally impressionable and can eg. get scared and cry relatively easily), but they are always kind and nice and thinking of others, and show little or no flaws (and often even if they show some flaws, they tend to be "cute" and "adorable" flaws, such as being afraid of the dark or something.)
Such characters tend to be flat and two-dimensional because they lack character depth. They tend to be too perfect, and come across as trying to appeal to the viewer for being so nice and cute and friendly and flawless.
In MLP:FiM, however, all the main characters, while being good (of course), are very much flawed and entire episodes are dedicated to these flaws. The closest we could perhaps get to an actual "Mary Sue" character is Fluttershy, but even she is shown several times to have personality flaws (especially in "The Best Night Ever".) All the other characters are also very much shown to have their flaws and sometimes acting in selfish or irrational ways because of those flaws (such as Applejack trying to leave Ponyville for good because she was ashamed of not getting first place on the rodeo competition in "The Last Roundup", or the usually self-confident and brash Rainbow Dash getting extremely nervous and stage fright when her turn comes to show her skills in "Sonic Rainboom", Twilight being extremely obsessed and neurotic in "Lesson Zero", or Pinkie Pie going absolutely and even frighteningly bonkers in "Party of One".)
I think these are characteristics that you seldom see in most other kids' shows. (And even if they try it, often it's only half-hearted and not very engaging and does not help much in establishing personality.)
If there are any Mary Sue characters in the show, those would be princesses Celestia and Cadance. I don't remember seeing a single flaw to their personalities shown. (On the other hand, they have had extremely little screentime overall...)
I think you're right. All of the main characters have a number of quirks and flaws that make them likeable and easy to relate to, and that's part of the reason the show is as popular and loved as it is. There have been complaints as of late regarding how Twilight Sparkle has become more and more of a Mary Sue, more boring and not as easy to relate to; over the course of the series, she has slowly overcome her own fears, problems, and quirks, going from a simple resident of Ponyville to an Alicorn Princess, highly regarded and loved by friends and citizens alike. You can directly link this to how she has grown as a person, seeking to constantly better herself, and ultimately being rewarded with the highest of honors. This is probably why people have been less able to relate to her; some people aren't put through the same life-changing trials Twilight is put through, and some simply don't want to change for the better, so it makes sense that someone they can't relate to would be branded as a boring Mary Sue.
Celestia, on the other hand, is shown as a symbol of perfection. She's loved and respected by everyone. She's innocuous, beautiful, graceful, and wise beyond measure with naught in the way of visible flaws; this is why she is a sort of litmus test for all the other ponies who seek to better themselves. Princess Celestia is a role model Twilight Sparkle looks up to in every way possible, and in seeking to better herself and being crowned as an Alicorn Princess of Equestria, she hopes to one day live up to Celestia's name and reputation.
I'll admit it; I'm not a brony. That doesn't stop me from respecting the show or the people who enjoy it more than I do. It's simply not my cup of tea. The show isn't just for little girls anymore, either; I know that the writers began making content and cameos for their unintended fanbase during and after season 2.
(Also, if any of my facts are wrong, feel free to correct me. >_>)
I still think the main reason why adult males like this show is that the colors and voices of the ponies are very stimulating to them. Pink tones are very stimulating to males for obvious reasons. We don't always know why we like something (f.e. we often like pop songs more because of the singer is attractive but will attribute it to the song, or we like a singer's voice more because of good song writing but we will attribute it to the singer), so it wouldn't be surprising for fans of the show to not be consciously aware of it. Another thing that should be stimulating is helpless, cute little boys/girls, which the ponies are. They seem very clumsy, so it triggers instincts of wanting to protect them. So my hypothesis still is the colors and voices are stimulating and it gets somehow attributed to the plot. Like, if they all were brown male 20-something ponies, I think way less adult males would be watching it, no matter if the plot stays the same.
Pretty sure just about everybody who's a fan of the show will disagree with this, but that is to be expected.
Pretty sure just about everybody who's a fan of the show will disagree with this, but that is to be expected.
Of course, because it's just BS. If it were true, then there would be a huge adult male fanbase of the previous-generation MLP series too, but there isn't. This series is different.
Fans disagreeing is consistent with my hypothesis. To find out if there's something to it, one would have to draw and synchronise the same episode twice, let both versions be watched and the plot be rated individually. See how much of an impact it makes. (Too bad that would be way too expensive) Until then, it's just your guess against mine. I can call your Mary Sue theory bs just as easily, and point out a show where there aren't any Mary Sue characters that however isn't really popular at all. I don't think that's very useful.
Some previous MLP cartoon generations looked similarly cute, such as [URL=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ZpurerF2HM]this[/URL], the main difference seems to be that current MLP characters seem a bit older. So maybe that's an important difference? I don't know, there might well be more to it. Although, I seriously doubt the popularity of MLP can be explained by the plot just being that damn great alone. That just doesn't seem realistic to me. Yea, it having turned into an internet fad is a big factor, but then why did it turn into one in the first place?
Most importantly, why don't females like the show just as much? They don't see how great the plot is? Doesn't seem very likely to me. There has to be something that interests/excites males specifically.
Fans disagreeing is consistent with my hypothesis. To find out if there's something to it, one would have to draw and synchronise the same episode twice, let both versions be watched and the plot be rated individually. See how much of an impact it makes. (Too bad that would be way too expensive) Until then, it's just your guess against mine. I can call your Mary Sue theory bs just as easily, and point out a show where there aren't any Mary Sue characters that however isn't really popular at all. I don't think that's very useful.
Some previous MLP cartoon generations looked similarly cute, such as [URL=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ZpurerF2HM]this[/URL], the main difference seems to be that current MLP characters seem a bit older. So maybe that's an important difference? I don't know, there might well be more to it. Although, I seriously doubt the popularity of MLP can be explained by the plot just being that damn great alone. That just doesn't seem realistic to me. Yea, it having turned into an internet fad is a big factor, but then why did it turn into one in the first place?
Most importantly, why don't females like the show just as much? They don't see how great the plot is? Doesn't seem very likely to me. There has to be something that interests/excites males specifically.
Perhaps it's possible that it's not one thing specifically, but instead a number of combined factors. Maybe Hasbro got lucky and just struck gold. Maybe society today is just different than it was back then. It could be anything; who knows?
I'll agree with you that the smooth animation and the bright, constantly varied colors are all very eye-catching and ultimately an excellent polish to the series as a whole, but I guarantee you that no matter how eye-catching the bait is, you still need a solid hook to hold someone on. While all the colors and animation are impressive as an understatement, you still need excellent writing. The plot, the events, the characterization; these all have to be well-done to genuinely hold the audience's attention and keep people coming back for more.
The idea that the artistic style pervading the series as a whole ultimately depicting these ponies as cute and relatively helpless driving more viewers and higher ratings is also a possibility, though this may be due to a number of other separate reasons combined. This draws back to the concept of characterization; many characters are flawed in one way or another, and despite their efforts, they don't have the power to solve every problem without one another.
Some people I know of genuinely feel like they identify with one character or another. All of the main characters and a great number of supporting characters have unique personalities, each with their own flaws and endearing character traits.
You're also right with your concept that some people will subconsciously place the blame for something on something associated. It happens all the time, good and bad. Media, accidents, music, television... The thought that many people say the story is great could be blamed on a myriad of other reasons is a possibility, but you have to take into account that there really are a myriad of other reasons to blame.
Seems fair. I'm sure if the plot totally blew, then people would feel bad for watching it, so I'm not saying the factors I pointed out alone are what make the show popular. My hypothesis is they are key factors though. In no way am I sure to be right about it, but intuitively I feel this is what's going on. I'm well aware of how little that means as an argument.
To actually prove my theory, I think as a first step I'd have to establish that pink tones have an important impact on triggering protective instincts, and for males specifically. One idea is maybe to show various pictures of katydids, and let users rate how sorry they'd feel if they got squashed. They naturally exist in many different colors, and my hypothesis would be that they'd feel most sorry for pink ones, and this effect would be especially pronounced in males. If that turned out to be correct, that would be a good starting point maybe. (Maybe just having underage fashion models photo shopped different colors of clothing on the same picture would be a better idea? This model got cancer, how sorry do you feel for him/her?)
Actually, a better setting might be to invent pony characters that I'd tell the participants got rejected from the show. Again, they'd rate on a scale how sorry they feel about that. Then I could identify common traits in the designs which make them feel most sorry. Though again, this would be expensive.
Until I do any of this, this is just a hypothesis. I don't think it's the most unreasonable one, but it's far from being based on solid evidence.
Joined: 10/12/2011
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Location: The land down under.
scrimpeh wrote:
so why are none of you nerds celebrating Filly, huh?
"We're not trying to compete with My Little Pony. I mean, is there any universal law that forbids you to watch or enjoy both series? I'm pretty sure that, in only one hour, you can see one chapter of each show and you still have time to have a snack.
Take it easy, we only want to make something fun that kids can enjoy. That's all." - BRB Internacional
485 Dislikes. Because of most likely 4chan bronies.
WebNations/Sabih wrote:
+fsvgm777 never censoring anything.
Disables Comments and Ratings for the YouTube account.Something better for yourself and also others.
People probably feel like this is encroaching on MLP territory, so they're mainly just being touchy and territorial about it. I don't see this reaching to the same heights as MLP in any sense. I'll give them that the designs and colors are really nice, but watching it, I really thought this was related to MLP in some way; then again, I'm not as tuned into MLP as bronies are, so it's not as easy for me to tell the difference.
Also, if that's a trailer... that trailer looks a little silly. Everyone ramping up to fight off some giant cupcake-stealing monster that was made up because one of the lead characters lied? Not to mention the odd-looking kicking, the teachers using 'common sense' to say "Let's use our magic to blast away the monster!" instead of "Let's find out what really happened"... It really just looks like a chopped-down version of one episode, not the teaser it needs to be to get people excited about the series.
