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(Updated March 9, 2012. Additions marked with "EDIT 2")
Yeah, I started watching this over the weekend.I'm currently up to this episode of the first season (that being the most recent one I watched last night). (EDIT 2) I am now caught up on all of the current episodes, and now must start waiting until new ones are released, just like everyone else. It gives me a sad. (/EDIT 2)
So far, I'm liking it pretty well. I'm mean, it is a kids' show, sure, and that is quite obvious as you watch it. The morals to be learned are usually quite anvilicious, and more than a few plots require some of the main characters to be holding the idiot ball in order to work, so that they can learn the aforementioned moral. Ignoring that, however, it's still a pretty clever show, with nods to the parents who are watching with their kids, as well as to the Internet at large that has become so fond of the show. (EDIT 2 Derpy got a speaking part! And, yes, for what it's worth, I prefer the original doofy voice to the one that got changed for the iTunes thing. It's not a big deal though, either way. /EDIT 2) It's not "just a stupid kids' show" or whatever, like a lot of the other shows aimed at children tend to be. I will definitely keep watching it. Every episode so far has been available on Youtube.
Now that that's out of the way, on to the important stuff. Okay, if I were forced to rank which of the main ponies (EDIT 2 I refuse to say "mane ponies" /EDIT 2) I liked the best (and I'm not, but I'm going to do it anyway), it would be as follows:
At the top of the list is, and forever shall be, Fluttershy. That is all. (EDIT 2) Though to elaborate a bit, even when she's being all mean and scary and nasty, which shockingly and appallingly does happen a few times in season 2, she is still (the) best pony. (/EDIT 2)
Beyond that, however, my personal ranking seems to fluctuate with each episode, depending on how cool a given character acted or on how bad the plot-induced stupidity may have been. As of right now, the list is probably like so:
Twilight Sparkle. Usually the main character, though there are a few eps in which she hardly shows up at all, aside from a token appearance at the end. (EDIT 2) And in season 2 there are some eps where she is just straight up not there at all or even mentioned. (/EDIT 2) Most of the time, she is the straight man to the craziness of all the other ponies, although she's sometimes a bit too dismissive when some weird new facet of her friends shows up, such as Pinkie Pie's "Pinkie Sense". (Though, to be fair, that was a bit out there, even for Pinkie Pie.) (EDIT 2) As time goes on though, she just seems to be getting more and more... I don't want to say boring really... but... well, she just isn't quite as interesting as the other ponies. But, that said, she's also usually never as annoying as the other ponies can get sometimes, either. On the whole, she's a bland everypony, but with a few neuroses to keep her at least somewhat interesting. (/EDIT 2)
Applejack. One of the more level-headed of the ponies, she's usually about the hard work and getting things done, sometimes to extremes, but isn't adverse to having fun. When she's at odds with other ponies like Rainbow Dash or Rarity, I tend to side more with her. (Rainbow Dash was totally cheating during the Iron Pony Competition.) (EDIT 2) "Dear Princess Celestia, I wanted to share my thoughts with you. *ahem* I didn't learn anything! I was right all along!" (/EDIT 2)
Rainbow Dash. The Action Girl. The most adventurous of the lot, and the one most likely to handle a problem by going in and kicking it in the face. However, she's more than a little arrogant at times, sometimes even undeservedly so, which is why she's a bit lower on the list. Though that can apply to Applejack sometimes as well, it's more blatant with Rainbow Dash. (EDIT 2) Seriously, I like her so much better when she's not being a complete jerkass. (/EDIT 2)
Rarity. The diva. Obsessed with fashion. Can't stand to be the slightest bit dirty or to have a single hair out of place. I usually don't like this type of character, and that's the case here as well. But, still, she's not all bad. She's willing to help out, though more than once in doing so, she has taken on more than she can handle. Don't really have much to say about Rarity, except that she's not my least favorite of the main six ponies. (EDIT 2) ....nope, still don't have much to say about Rarity. (/EDIT 2)
Pinkie Pie. I'm sorry, but there's just something about her that bugs me. I mean, there's nothing really wrong with her... she just irks me. To call her the genki girl of the group would be something of an understatement. Maybe part of the reason I don't like her so much is due to the fact that, seemingly every two or three episodes, she has a song to sing. Every time she starts to sing, for some reason I can't help but get visions of Calhoun Tubbs. ("Wrote a song about it! Like to hear it here it go!") (EDIT 2) However, there have been occasions where Pinkie Pie has managed to at least make me feel a tiny smidge sorry for her, even if I still don't like her all that much. I've never had a surprise party thrown for me, but personally speaking, I would hate that crap, especially if it involved my friends blatantly lying to my face like the other five were to Pinkie during that episode. Screw that kind of thing. Pinkie was totally justified in getting pissed about it, though of course, being Pinkie, she went aa little overboard completely batshit before the status quo reasserted itself in the end. (/EDIT 2) It's kind of amazing to me that she is voiced by the same actress who voices Fluttershy, at least in their speaking (non-singing) voices anyway. Similarly, Applejack and Rainbow Dash are also voiced by the same actress as well, but that was fairly obvious once I found out about it, as I can definitely hear the similarities between the two. Not so with Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy. Even though I know they are both voiced by the same person, it just doesn't really register when I'm hearing them speak. (See also, Tara Strong, one of my favorite voice actresses and the voice of Twilight Sparkle, when she's doing voices like, well, Twilight Sparkle or, say, Bubbles or Rikku versus when she's voicing characters like Raven or Seth.)
(EDIT)
Actually, I think I have found a pony that I like less than Pinkie Pie. That pony is the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Oh, wait, that's three ponies.
Well, okay, I don't really dislike them, I guess. It's just that, more than once, there have been back to back episodes focusing on them, and the eps are all more or less the exact same thing. They want to get their cutie marks... and they're doing stuff to try to get their cutie marks... and they never get their cutie marks in the end, at least so far... and that's about it. I'm all like, okay, cool, that's nice, did we really need two or more eps in a row of pretty much the same thing, and can we get back to the main ponies now? If their episodes were just a bit more spread out and not consecutive like they are, I wouldn't mind them so much, maybe.
The ep where they got the main six ponies to tell them the stories of how they got their own cutie marks was pretty cool though, I guess.
(EDIT 2)
Nope, still don't care for them very much. I guess it's nice that there have been a few eps that involve them that don't revolve entirely around the CMC, though. Well, involving Apple Bloom and/or Sweetie Belle anyway. Scootaloo hasn't had a non-CMC ep yet, which is sad since she's probably my favorite of the three of them. But still, the less time devoted to them and the more devoted to the main six, the happier I will be.
(/EDIT 2)
(/EDIT)
(EDIT 2)
And now that I've seen all of the current eps, I'll just say that the above ranking is still pretty much the same. Rainbow Dash is edging up on taking Applejack's spot (especially after the Daring Do episode), and both of those could potentially bump Twilight Sparkle down to the slot below them... so yeah, it's kind of a three-way tie for 2nd place after Fluttershy. But other than that, it's still pretty much the same. Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and the CMC still bring up the rear.
(/EDIT 2)
And, no, I still don't consider myself to be a brony (any more than I consider myself to be a juggalo even though I still like ICP, and wow what a juxtaposition of polar opposite things that was). Well, I still don't consider myself a juggalo, but... yeah, I'm totally a brony.
Yeah, I started watching this over the weekend.
So far, I'm liking it pretty well. I'm mean, it is a kids' show, sure, and that is quite obvious as you watch it. The morals to be learned are usually quite anvilicious, and more than a few plots require some of the main characters to be holding the idiot ball in order to work, so that they can learn the aforementioned moral. Ignoring that, however, it's still a pretty clever show, with nods to the parents who are watching with their kids, as well as to the Internet at large that has become so fond of the show. (EDIT 2 Derpy got a speaking part! And, yes, for what it's worth, I prefer the original doofy voice to the one that got changed for the iTunes thing. It's not a big deal though, either way. /EDIT 2) It's not "just a stupid kids' show" or whatever, like a lot of the other shows aimed at children tend to be. I will definitely keep watching it. Every episode so far has been available on Youtube.
Now that that's out of the way, on to the important stuff. Okay, if I were forced to rank which of the main ponies (EDIT 2 I refuse to say "mane ponies" /EDIT 2) I liked the best (and I'm not, but I'm going to do it anyway), it would be as follows:
At the top of the list is, and forever shall be, Fluttershy. That is all. (EDIT 2) Though to elaborate a bit, even when she's being all mean and scary and nasty, which shockingly and appallingly does happen a few times in season 2, she is still (the) best pony. (/EDIT 2)
Beyond that, however, my personal ranking seems to fluctuate with each episode, depending on how cool a given character acted or on how bad the plot-induced stupidity may have been. As of right now, the list is probably like so:
Twilight Sparkle. Usually the main character, though there are a few eps in which she hardly shows up at all, aside from a token appearance at the end. (EDIT 2) And in season 2 there are some eps where she is just straight up not there at all or even mentioned. (/EDIT 2) Most of the time, she is the straight man to the craziness of all the other ponies, although she's sometimes a bit too dismissive when some weird new facet of her friends shows up, such as Pinkie Pie's "Pinkie Sense". (Though, to be fair, that was a bit out there, even for Pinkie Pie.) (EDIT 2) As time goes on though, she just seems to be getting more and more... I don't want to say boring really... but... well, she just isn't quite as interesting as the other ponies. But, that said, she's also usually never as annoying as the other ponies can get sometimes, either. On the whole, she's a bland everypony, but with a few neuroses to keep her at least somewhat interesting. (/EDIT 2)
Applejack. One of the more level-headed of the ponies, she's usually about the hard work and getting things done, sometimes to extremes, but isn't adverse to having fun. When she's at odds with other ponies like Rainbow Dash or Rarity, I tend to side more with her. (Rainbow Dash was totally cheating during the Iron Pony Competition.) (EDIT 2) "Dear Princess Celestia, I wanted to share my thoughts with you. *ahem* I didn't learn anything! I was right all along!" (/EDIT 2)
Rainbow Dash. The Action Girl. The most adventurous of the lot, and the one most likely to handle a problem by going in and kicking it in the face. However, she's more than a little arrogant at times, sometimes even undeservedly so, which is why she's a bit lower on the list. Though that can apply to Applejack sometimes as well, it's more blatant with Rainbow Dash. (EDIT 2) Seriously, I like her so much better when she's not being a complete jerkass. (/EDIT 2)
Rarity. The diva. Obsessed with fashion. Can't stand to be the slightest bit dirty or to have a single hair out of place. I usually don't like this type of character, and that's the case here as well. But, still, she's not all bad. She's willing to help out, though more than once in doing so, she has taken on more than she can handle. Don't really have much to say about Rarity, except that she's not my least favorite of the main six ponies. (EDIT 2) ....nope, still don't have much to say about Rarity. (/EDIT 2)
Pinkie Pie. I'm sorry, but there's just something about her that bugs me. I mean, there's nothing really wrong with her... she just irks me. To call her the genki girl of the group would be something of an understatement. Maybe part of the reason I don't like her so much is due to the fact that, seemingly every two or three episodes, she has a song to sing. Every time she starts to sing, for some reason I can't help but get visions of Calhoun Tubbs. ("Wrote a song about it! Like to hear it here it go!") (EDIT 2) However, there have been occasions where Pinkie Pie has managed to at least make me feel a tiny smidge sorry for her, even if I still don't like her all that much. I've never had a surprise party thrown for me, but personally speaking, I would hate that crap, especially if it involved my friends blatantly lying to my face like the other five were to Pinkie during that episode. Screw that kind of thing. Pinkie was totally justified in getting pissed about it, though of course, being Pinkie, she went a
(EDIT)
Actually, I think I have found a pony that I like less than Pinkie Pie. That pony is the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Oh, wait, that's three ponies.
Well, okay, I don't really dislike them, I guess. It's just that, more than once, there have been back to back episodes focusing on them, and the eps are all more or less the exact same thing. They want to get their cutie marks... and they're doing stuff to try to get their cutie marks... and they never get their cutie marks in the end, at least so far... and that's about it. I'm all like, okay, cool, that's nice, did we really need two or more eps in a row of pretty much the same thing, and can we get back to the main ponies now? If their episodes were just a bit more spread out and not consecutive like they are, I wouldn't mind them so much, maybe.
The ep where they got the main six ponies to tell them the stories of how they got their own cutie marks was pretty cool though, I guess.
(EDIT 2)
Nope, still don't care for them very much. I guess it's nice that there have been a few eps that involve them that don't revolve entirely around the CMC, though. Well, involving Apple Bloom and/or Sweetie Belle anyway. Scootaloo hasn't had a non-CMC ep yet, which is sad since she's probably my favorite of the three of them. But still, the less time devoted to them and the more devoted to the main six, the happier I will be.
(/EDIT 2)
(/EDIT)
(EDIT 2)
And now that I've seen all of the current eps, I'll just say that the above ranking is still pretty much the same. Rainbow Dash is edging up on taking Applejack's spot (especially after the Daring Do episode), and both of those could potentially bump Twilight Sparkle down to the slot below them... so yeah, it's kind of a three-way tie for 2nd place after Fluttershy. But other than that, it's still pretty much the same. Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and the CMC still bring up the rear.
(/EDIT 2)
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Date: 2012-03-06 02:34 am (UTC)From:I like Celestia and Luna best myself.
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Date: 2012-03-06 04:12 am (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2012-03-06 01:59 pm (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2012-03-07 07:16 am (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2012-03-12 03:20 pm (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2012-03-12 05:26 pm (UTC)From:Still, with that said, I have to admit, it's been a long time since a show has come along like this that has grabbed me quite the same way that Sailor Moon, being my first ever anime, did back in the day. MLP:FiM is such a show. "It's a show for 8 year old girls" my ass. Well, okay, it is, true enough, but even so...
I mean, seriously, I'm reading goddamn fanfiction again. ^^; Aside from this (http://kane-magus.livejournal.com/252738.html), I haven't read any fanfiction at all since long before moving to WA in 2004. Well, aside from OW! posts, but I counted that as somewhat separate from just straight up fanfiction.
So I dunno, maybe I am a brony, after all. ¬_¬ Well, except that I have no interest in the toy line (http://mlp.wikia.com/wiki/Toys) at all, so I will never be like that guy in the College Humor video I linked to above. That kind of thing is simply not for me. From what little I've looked into the toys, it just seems like they took everything that was interesting and good about the show itself, sucked all of the soul out of it and generically little-girl-ified it way up, and slapped a price tag on it. Yeah, yeah, I know that the entire point of the show is pretty much just to sell the toys to little girls that watch it, but still... they could at least try to make the toys look somewhat like their show counterparts, but in most cases they fail pretty hard. To me, it's almost as bad as the difference between Sailor Moon (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b8Rvwu8Wykw) and Saban Sailor Moon (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H3scSHk4h2g#t=1m33s). (Well, not quite as bad as that, but then again maybe also worse in a way, given that both the MLP:FiM show and the toyline are both directly under the umbrella of the same company, in this case. But then, to hear it told on the wiki or on TvTropes, the show people and the toy people apparently don't communicate very much or very well, so maybe it is sort of the same situation as the Saban SM thing.) But, again, I'm not an 8 year old girl, so maybe they like the toys just fine, I dunno. >_>; Then again, even if the toys looked exactly like the show versions of the characters, and there are a few that come close, I still wouldn't have much interest in them. I'm just not a toy kind of guy.
Now... if they were to make an official video game based on the show, however, I would be not at all averse to checking that out. I mean a good video game, mind you, one that kept the spirit of the show intact and wasn't as lifeless as the toys seem to be, anyway. Something along the lines of, say, the MLP:FiM equivalent to Sailor Moon: Another Story. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Sailor_Moon_video_games#Pretty_Soldier_Sailor_Moon:_Another_Story_.28Angel.29_1995) That would be pretty cool.