I think this is a pretty cogent analysis and I don’t have much to add. Except I think that the fact that the show was good almost stopped mattering after a while, with the fandom being self perpetuating through its in group dynamics.
Actually, I could mention now that MLP:FiM had a very interesting “conversation” with the brony fandom: fans developed in-jokes based on the show, and the show incorporated the fandom in-jokes into itself. For instance, there’s a river serpent called Steven Magnet who was unnamed in his first appearance (S1E2), but was referred to by name as Steven Magnet in episode 100 (S5E9). The name “Steven Magnet” was coined by fans because back in the earliest days of the show, you could find pirated uploads of it on YouTube, and YouTube’s auto-caption feature mangled the scene with the river serpent such that the words “steven magnet” were included in one of the lines. Fans thought it was funny and ran with it, and now you have actual licensed merchandise with the Pirated YouTube Auto-Caption Fail Name on it.
There’s also the ship of Lyra and Bon Bon, two background characters whose personalities and interests were pretty much entirely made up by fans based on random details. As the show goes on, you see these two ponies next to each other in the background increasingly frequently, episode 100 also strongly implies they’re gay for each other, and then in the last episode before the three-part series finale, keen eyes might notice for a split second…
Spoiler for ''The Big Mac Question'' (MLP:FiM S9E23)
…They’re proposing to each other!! The lesbian horses are gonna get married!!
And these are just two of MANY examples of the show’s “fanservice”. I remember that this “fanservice” was a bit of a point of contention, because some people took it as a sign that the show had been “couped” and was aiming itself at adult fans rather than children. I don’t know if I’d go that far, but it was definitely an interesting thing that I haven’t really seen anywhere else — I mean, the word “fanservice” in the context of any other show refers near-exclusively to just showing boobs, right?
I would also honestly say that MLP:FiM matured and kinda got better with time, and ended at the exact right moment. This isn’t to say that the early seasons are “worse” really, so much as they just have a different feel; for that matter, this isn’t to say that the quality of FiM is at all consistent, it can be very up and down.
Originally I stopped watching regularly after S2 but then got into later seasons more recently (thanks to you), and I have to agree that the later seasons are better in some ways. I especially love the focus on characters other than the Mane 6.
I think this is a pretty cogent analysis and I don’t have much to add. Except I think that the fact that the show was good almost stopped mattering after a while, with the fandom being self perpetuating through its in group dynamics.
Actually, I could mention now that MLP:FiM had a very interesting “conversation” with the brony fandom: fans developed in-jokes based on the show, and the show incorporated the fandom in-jokes into itself. For instance, there’s a river serpent called Steven Magnet who was unnamed in his first appearance (S1E2), but was referred to by name as Steven Magnet in episode 100 (S5E9). The name “Steven Magnet” was coined by fans because back in the earliest days of the show, you could find pirated uploads of it on YouTube, and YouTube’s auto-caption feature mangled the scene with the river serpent such that the words “steven magnet” were included in one of the lines. Fans thought it was funny and ran with it, and now you have actual licensed merchandise with the Pirated YouTube Auto-Caption Fail Name on it.
There’s also the ship of Lyra and Bon Bon, two background characters whose personalities and interests were pretty much entirely made up by fans based on random details. As the show goes on, you see these two ponies next to each other in the background increasingly frequently, episode 100 also strongly implies they’re gay for each other, and then in the last episode before the three-part series finale, keen eyes might notice for a split second…
Spoiler for ''The Big Mac Question'' (MLP:FiM S9E23)
…They’re proposing to each other!! The lesbian horses are gonna get married!!
And these are just two of MANY examples of the show’s “fanservice”. I remember that this “fanservice” was a bit of a point of contention, because some people took it as a sign that the show had been “couped” and was aiming itself at adult fans rather than children. I don’t know if I’d go that far, but it was definitely an interesting thing that I haven’t really seen anywhere else — I mean, the word “fanservice” in the context of any other show refers near-exclusively to just showing boobs, right?
I would also honestly say that MLP:FiM matured and kinda got better with time, and ended at the exact right moment. This isn’t to say that the early seasons are “worse” really, so much as they just have a different feel; for that matter, this isn’t to say that the quality of FiM is at all consistent, it can be very up and down.
Youre the first person I’ve seen to say that the show improved with age
It does feel like a minority opinion, but I’m still surprised that I’d be the very first.
Originally I stopped watching regularly after S2 but then got into later seasons more recently (thanks to you), and I have to agree that the later seasons are better in some ways. I especially love the focus on characters other than the Mane 6.