We are moved into our new place now. I am so tired.
Shortpacked! by David Willis
Toys are serious business.
Convention appearances:
Calgary Expo Calgary, AB: April 26-28
Phoenix Comicon Phoenix, AZ: May 23-26, 2013
BotCon San Diego, CA: June 28-30
San Diego Comic-Con San Diego, CA: July 18-21
SPX Bethesda, MD: September 14-15
Phoenix Comicon Phoenix, AZ: May 23-26, 2013
BotCon San Diego, CA: June 28-30
San Diego Comic-Con San Diego, CA: July 18-21
SPX Bethesda, MD: September 14-15
Multiplex
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Frumph.NET
Sorcery 101
Templar, AZ
The Transformers Wiki
Hail to the Slash
80 page GIANT
Axe Cop
The Book of Biff
Butt-Taco
Comics Curmudgeon
College Roomies from Hell!!!
Diesel Sweeties
Dinosaur Comics
Dr. McNinja
Dresden Codak
Fans!
Fleen
Gastrophobia
Girl Genius
Girls with Slingshots
Goats
Hark, a vagrant
Hijinks Ensue
Intrepid Girlbot
Legend of Bill
Medium Large
Not Invented Here
Octopus Pie
Overcompensating
Penny Arcade
PhDcomics
Power Nap
Questionable Content
Real Life
Rob and Elliot
Bad Machinery
Schlock Mercenary
Sheldon
So Far Apart
Something Positive
Two Lumps
Wapsi Square
Wonderella
Wondermark
Frumph.NET
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Rooted hair???
Prolly that irritating fake plastic hair that never untangles once it’s tangled.
Not even if you use hair conditioner?
Yeah, it’s stubborn like that.
It takes patience, hair conditioner (heavy slip kind, so something with dimethicone or cyclomethicone) and/or antifrizz serum/spray, and gentle work with a comb, but don’t believe the hype – you can restore tangled nylon hair! I’ve done it more than once.
Yeah, I have a Rainbow Dash (DON’T JUDGE ME) that needs her hair cut to be more “accurate”. But I don’t trust myself with a pair of scissors, noooo…
Oh I judge you. I judge you.
I’m sure Mike would judge you too, but to be judged by Mike as well, would be a complement and if others are judging you along with him, he’d have to insult you to make you feel worse, but even then it’s a high praise from Mike.
Buying a toy that isn’t Pinkie Pie?
Consider yourself JUDGED!
Judged FOREVER!
Fluttershy & Twilight Sparkle > all other ponies
Fluttershy? Silly gwalla, that’s not how you spell Pinkie Pie. Or Rainbow Dash. Or Apple Jack. Or Pinkie Pie. Or Twilight Sparkle again, in case something happens to the other one.
(seriously the creepy stalker vibe you get from 99.9% of all Fluttershy fans is more horrifying than all Scootabuse combined)
I definitely disagree. Fluttershy is still a candidate for best pony (my vote goes to Fluttershy or Rainbow Dash). Everyone loves Fluttershy! In fact that’s pretty much her entire shtick: even animals love her. This is not to say that there aren’t creepy fans, but hey, it’s an internet fandom. Proponents of any pony are basically all okay as long as you stay away from the people who sexualize the show. There is basically no wrong answer to the question of best pony except for Applejack. She’s just not very interesting. I’ve never even met an Applejack fan.
Is.. Is this conversation real?
Is this the real life?
Is this just fantasy?
Caught in a landslide,
No escape from realityyyyyyyy.
Open your eyes
Look to the skies and see…
I’m just a poor brony,
I need no sympathy…
I think I met a few applejack fans at otakon
Applejack is actually my favorite pony. I hated her at first because she seemed like a boring stereotype, but as the show progressed, she definitely grew on me. That western episode was when she officially surpassed Twilight Sparkle as my favorite character. Bloomberg!!
But my least favorite ponies are Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash, so consider my opinion weird.
Applejack is my second favourite pony. Guess my favourite.
(And Pinkie is my least favourite of the mane cast. That doesn’t make her any less funny, I just like the others better).
I know I’m late with the comment, so it might not even get read, but I wanted to go on record.
I don’t regularly watch the show, but the only characters I actually like are Applejack and Twilight. (though the You’re a silly Pony, Applejack music vid probably contributes to that) Maybe because her one note is more believable than the other ponies.(Twilight is ok mostly because, though her personality is vague in some ways, she feels like a person)
…I love Applejack. ;_; She’s my favorite.
The stalker behavior has been proven to be a result of the weapons-grade levels of moe that radiates from the one known as Fluttershy.
In order of best pony ever to not-so-bad-but-not-the-best according to me: Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Twilight Sparkle, Rarity
Take that as you will!
I’m more of a Spike guy myself, but due to me telling how I kind of liked the show to my father, he decided to get me a Twilight Sparkle toy due to me saying she was my third favorite character(Out of the main cast, she’s the one I like).
Twilight Sparkle needs it more. If you were careful you could probably give her bangs a trim and get pretty close to the animation model. Rainbow Dash is a hopeless case for show accuracy anyway since the toy doesn’t jam all six colors into both her mane and tail.
But they DO have the all-PVC ponies with show accurate molded hair, after all.
Honestly, rooted hair in My Little Pony, which has always had rooted hair, bothers me less than the rooted hair in the She-Ra toys of the 80s. They must have been aiming the toys at girls but the show was a spin-off of He-Man for pity’s sake. It was written like a boy’s adventure show and 90% of the show’s bad guys were sold in the He-Man toyline. Who did they think was going to watch? As a seven year old He-Man collector I wanted She-Ra toys but couldn’t bring myself to get any.
It’s not impossible! I totally got Twilight Sparkle-like bangs on my custom pony. Just cut the hair in a bang-ish shape that is much long that you intend. Then strap the hair down so it lies against the toy’s forehead. Then take simmering water and either pour it over the hair, or dunk the toy in the water (I did the latter). Leave the strap on and let it sit overnight. In the morning, take the strap off and trim and brush the bangs. Ta-da.
I would post an example, but I feel that would be rude.
Rainbow Dash is the coolest of all ponies.
Nah. She needs to be about 20% cooler…
(Also: Pinkie Pie fer shur!)
You know what I’m tired of? A distinct lack of more PVC mini-pony molds!
Preach it! Most of the FiM toys I see on the shelves are of the “toddler/preschooler” variety and scarcely show-accurate. :E
Also, Applejack doesn’t have a hat. >_>
Apparently they’re only available in Germany or something? My roomie and I keep looking, but no soap.
No soap?!
Radio?
AHAHAHAHAHA! Best joke ever!
I heard PVC. I thought of Fluttershy. I’m not sure what I think of the mental image this presents me with.
One of these days I really need to watch this MLP to fully understand what all the fuss is about.
Just look up the music video for “Pony Swag” on YouTube. But careful…it’s strongly NSFW!
Or better yet just watch the first two episodes, those ought to give you a general feel for the series just fine.
The first two episodes don’t feel like the rest of the show at all, seeing as how they’re an ongoing dramatic storyline about the end of the world. I’d rather recommend any other two random episodes.
Sounds like it’s all good advice, I will get to it after I finished watching all of Urusei Yatsura (Lum).
Try “Sonic Rainboom” first, and then “Stare Master.” Those are two of my faves.
I’m partial to “Party of One” for its hilariously creepy moments. I also like “Suited for Success,” mostly because Rarity’s musical number reminds me of some of my more… difficult web design clients.
Any artist who’s ever taken a commission, every customer who’s ever commissioned an artist, and anybody who’s ever looked at at art of any kind ever needs to watch “Suited for Success”.
Also, Steven Sondheim.
I showed Sonic Rainboom to a friend first. He liked it, thought it was cute, but I doubt he’ll be a brony anytime soon.
Maybe I should’ve gone with the first two eps. Raise his expectations a little?
Sonic Rainboom is a great episode, but I think it works best if you’re already pretty familiar with Rainbow Dash’s personality (and, perhaps to a leser extent, with Rarity’s).
Huh. This could take a while.
196 episodes of UY is a lot to watch, I only done 21 so far.
Plus the movies and OVA’s.
You know, you could burn through the first season of MLP:FiM in a weekend on YouTube. …Just sayin’.
Here’s a random episode, with links to all the others in the video description.
Milk Experiment’s totally right on about soaking up MLP:FIM pretty quickly, wouldn’t get in the way of lum watching at all.
The show’s worth it on its own, but the fan community online is pretty fun as well: http://www.ponychan.net/chan/pony/
Some of the AMV’s are also pretty awesome. Here’s my favorite: http://youtu.be/irQ_d78feMA
MLP:FiM is a very special show, and it changed my life forever. Before MLP, I never knew what friendship was. Now I do! It’s Magic!
@Malisteen: The MLP AMV Epic is indeed…epic.
Here’s a playlist of all of the best MLP vids I’ve found (not including episodes). It includes PONIES The Anthology, the AMV Epic, Equestria Girls, My Little Pony Provides a Realistic Representation of Life in Ponyville, What Pinkie’s Song Actually Sounded Like, Night of Pony, Double Rainbow Dash, Ponycraft 2, Pinkie and the Brain, My Little Wu-Tang, a couple of DJ P0N-3 dubstep vids, and the 8-bit version of Winter Wrap Up.
Chipping in for the PMV talk, just because someone’s gotta mention the “To Glory Montage”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cJhWrqI6Qvk
Spoilery if that matters to anyone.
The first episode must be watched first. It introduces all the main characters and the point of them being the main characters. It’s also easier just to watch them in order.
I watched the first two episodes last, and I felt they were kind of redundant.
While everyone’s got their favorites, if you know some Sondheim musicals episode 14 may make you squee. Or nerdrage, kinda hard to tell in advance. The series is as a whole a bit to saccharine for me but it’s smart in a way that does remind me of Animaniacs and BatmanTAS; it has a target audience and tries to talk to them without talking *down* to them.
I admit I’m not that familiar with Sondheim, but I’m curious what the connection is.
The musical number is straight from Into the Woods- also, the song in Suited for Success is adapted from Sondheim’s Sunday in the Park With George.
I started with whichever one where Applejack gets all cracked out on picking apples. I think it was the 4th ep? Good because that cemented the love. Went back and watched the first two which were ‘eh.’
see, that’s the kind stuff I saw in music vids, etc. that made me think I might actually like the show. I was surprised (though not too surprised) when I caught a few eps and the show had not a hint of that in it.
I prefer the PMV of “America, Fuck Yeah.”
Sorry, that’s “A-MARE-ica, **** Yeah.”
It’s actually not half bad. Heck, it’s not even a quarter bad.
Better than around 90% of today’s kids’ shows anyway. I’d still rather watch Animaniacs or Batman The Animated Series any day, but that’s because I’m an old fogie who insists his childhood was better than everyone else’s. (My lawn. Get off it.)
I think they allow every episode to be up on Youtube without complaint (more interested in toy sales than ratings), so if you have a half hour to kill it’s worth a look.
These are lies. It’s like jumping into tvtropes for your first time.
BTAS is awesome. Can’t attest for Animaniacs, haven’t watched it in forever.
While some of the pop culture jokes date it a bit, Animaniacs overall holds up extremely well. Easily worth checking out again if you haven’t seen it since you were a kid. Animaniacs was one of those rare jewels that you don’t come across frequently.
As well as current pop reference, Animaniacs was chock full of allusions to folks like Agatha Christie, Orson Wells and Grocho Marx. I guess you could say that it was ‘dated’ from the first. Just part of what gives the show its genius, adult appeal and rewatchability.
Animaniacs freakin’ rocked. Luckily, my kid nephew has decided he loves it and has all the DVDs. We hang out and I make the popcorn.
To be honest, I always preferred Tiny Toons to Animaniacs.
Animaniacs had its moments…but it also had Chicken Boo and Mindy & Buttons, both of which made me want to hit something. They were right down there with the most annoying of the old Looney Toons, Michigan J. Frog.
You could travel the world, but nobody’s gonna groove like the girls with the hooves!
Wow, Amber got the ONE customer who is willing to forsake the condescension for a few days… lucky her!
I admit that I hunted down the McDonalds Happy Meal versions because they are the most show-accurate of them all. Except for Applejack’s missing hat.
MLP:FiM is 20% cooler than anything else on the air right now.
Nope. Doctor who beats it. It’s the bow-tie that puts it over the top.
MLP: FiM has Doctor Whooves. Checkmate.
I don’t think he’s in the show.
He was on the Comic-con mega-poster featuring the entire cast.
Dr Whooves appeared on-screen in one episode. Had a small bit of dialog, even. Wasn’t called that, but when he has an hourglass cutie mark and a mane to match David Tennant’s hair, that’s what the fandom’s going to call him.
Until he starts wearing a fez, his live action counterpart is still the best.
Fezes are cool.
You won’t mind me shooting the fez of your head now, won’t you?
I’m confused. He’s complaining about rooted hair while simultaneously complaining no one cares about it?
I think the idea is that Back In The Day when MLP originally came out, it was just a show for little girls, so the toys all had that Barbie-style plastic hair and came with hairbrushes so you could, y’know, brush it.
The modern show is a lot more popular with older audiences and members of both genders, and such people would probably rather have the toys look like their televised counterparts with solid plastic hair than have the ability to brush it. But, seemingly out of tradition, they kept that feature.
Oh, don’t pretend, the new show is still aimed squarely at little girls. It’s just so amazingly good that other demographics can enjoy it as well.
It’s like the creators were told to make a show for little girls, and instead of the usual “little girls? ew, lets just half-arse this and get it over with” response, they instead said “little girls! That’s the best audience anyone could ever get to make a show for ever!”. There’s a joyful, positive, sarcasm-free aura that radiates from it, something that just makes you want to love it, no matter how far you are from the target demo.
Between Twilight, Rainbow Dash, and Applejack (and Spike), I wouldn’t exactly call it sarcasm-free, but that’s not meta-sarcasm anyway, it’s in-character.
Thanks for clarifying. Yeah, some of the ponies can be a bit snarky at times, but the overall tone of the show is anything but.
“Cynicism-free” might be closer to what you were getting at.
Like if you put… everything Mark Millar has ever written at one end of a spectrum, MLP:FM is plainly at the opposite.
Cynicism. Yes. That was the word I was looking for, thank you. MLP is delightfully cynicism-free compared to most shows of recent years. I think that’s what I like most about it.
Faust said she wanted to make a show parents could watch with their kids and enjoy as well. Adults are part of the target demo.
At least he’s accommodating.
He’s a brony and he’s prepared to LOVE and TOLERATE the shit out of anyone. Just don’t give him Rarity with dumb rooted hair
Also why is the toy of Princess Celestia pink?! And why does Twilight come with Owloishus instead of Spike?! I don’t wanna have to pay for the fricken sets just to get Spike! Grr!! :/
MLP toys need to be about 20% cooler.
This comic is win.
I may get a lot of flack for this but it’s just ponies, man. Most toys are not show accurate and I don’t see anyone complain, at least not where I’m from.
Yeah, but that show’s got some pretty cool character designs. At least my action figures actually look mostly like the comic dudes they’re based on.
Imagine if your Optimus Prime was Pink instead of red, and instead of having a show-accurate helmet, he had long flowing plastic hair instead.
I think that exists somewhere in the dark corners of the Internet.
if not, it should
Optimus Prime has Fabio hair under that helmet. This is now part of my own personal canon.
And in any continuity where he is never seen without his face-mask, it’s because he has a handlebar mustache under there. Prove me wrong.
My personal canon: Prime has a Lantern Jaw of Justice and Master Asia’s moustache under his face-mask. What? Don’t judge me.
So, Animated Optimus Prime with a mustache?
Yeah, lets go with that.
I can see Prime sporting a mullet myself.
Imagine if your Ratchet or Ironhide toys didn’t have heads. Oh wait…
Technically, though, the Ratchet and Ironhide toys came before the show. Doesn’t that mean they’re off-model in the show?
Also, they looked like their toys in the first issue of the comic book.
I…I don’t understand this phenomenon at all.
Oh, thank god. I was terrified that post would get the pony icon.
That would have been fantastic. XD
You’re a robot. Maybe it’ll make sense once you become a real boy.
Somebody completely failed to learn the lesson of the Short Circuit movies.
You aren’t alone good sir.
By way of explanation: there are many elements to this phenomenon. The first is that the show is just genuinely well made. Well written, good voice acting. The songs are occasionally weak, but other then that, yeah. Not the best show evar, but still quite good.
It’s clearly aimed primarily at young girls, but somewhere along the way older fans and male fans on the internet realized how socially transgressive it was to like a show for little girls (as much as women are supposed to be equal now, stuff that’s for girls still caries a stigma), and that gives the fandom a delicious icing of ironic enjoyment on top of the rich cake of unironic appreciation for a well made cartoon.
The inevitable hype-backlash, laced with homophobic & mysoginistic trolling, initially only brought this fan community together by letting them imagine themselves as the underdogs, and when they discovered how fun it was to respond to those critics with “love and tolerance” – living out the spirit of the show with that same mix of ironic and unironic layers, it only became more fun for them.
What exactly becomes an internet sensation is largely a random following of spontaneous trends (although most things that develop such fandoms have some level on which they can be legitimately appreciated, or at least had such at some point in the past), but it’s not really that hard to see how this particular show was able to develop it’s cult following. And, all in all, fursuits not withstanding, I think it’s been a pretty good thing, in terms of internet social culture.
Now the only question is whether the show and its fandom will survive the long drought before the second season starts, especially with the talented lead creator Lauren Faust no longer with the project.
Yeeeeah, except for the fact that the MLP fandom HARDLY inhabits the spirit of the show. The fandom seems obsessed with insulting “adult” themes into a children’s TV Show because it’s so ironic or whatever, and then they throw in a huge amount of homophobia, ableism, and misogyny because most of them are internet males and feel they need to compensate or whatever. I like the show because it’s pretty much like Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends, but the demographic is a little changed. It’s certainly well-made, but I think a huge part of the popularity comes from the supposed “irony”.
eh, some of the community follows the spirit of the show, some doesn’t.
There’s shipping, and yeah there’s porn and the occasional grimdark fanfic, and there are fans who react to the gender-identity insecurity of liking a show for little girls by redoubling their obnoxiousness and insensitivity, but that’s all pretty much unavoidable on the internet, and I haven’t found it to be at all the majority of what’s out there, or even especially prominent when compared to other similar fandoms.
It _is_ an internet fandom, and if you hate those in general you won’t like the one FiM has either, but mostly it’s just a bunch of fans having fun and talking about their favorite show.
Of course, these are big internets, and I can hardly claim to have experienced the bulk of this particular fandom. It could be I’ve just bumped into the better parts of what is otherwise something much less pleasant.
Um… let’s see. Picking up one of the pony blogs I follow at random.
First two posts are fan-made memorabilia. Nice works of craftsmanship. After that we’ve got a fanart crossing it over with TF2. A very cute humanized rainbowdash dressed quite tastefully. I would not be offended to see my little sister in such garb. Skirt could be longer if I want to be nitpicky.
Next we’ve got a joke that while admittedly having romantic or sexual undertones would have easily made it into any of the Shrek movies. I’ll give it a pass. A portrait of Emma Stone. Not sure what that has to do with anything. I might be missing the joke. A mini-comic featuring a couple of the ponies in the shojo-manga style. It’s what you’d expect. Romantic subject matter, but entirely appropriate for a girl under 12.
Finally a pony music video set to a wu tang clan song, which admittedly fits some of what you’re saying. After that it’s four more pages before the next nsfw item. Princess Celestia and Spiderman performing an act entirely unsuitable for younger viewers.
Basically what I’m saying is it’s the internet. Yes, these things are happening. Last I heard Rule 34 didn’t have an exception clause for children’s television programming. Doesn’t mean that’s all there is by any stretch of the imagination. If you’re gonna condemn a fandom for that portion of it then you’ve pretty much condemned every fandom.
You’re judging a large collection of communities by this guy.
http://www.shortpacked.com/2008/comic/book-8/01-skeleflex/omnios/
Thank you for your answer. This is maybe the most genuine and reasonable response I’ve ever gotten to the question of what drives people to this show, and it’s certainly the most detailed. You’ve come at me with the ideas that I had pretty much reasoned out on my own, but as I am very much an outsider when it comes to this show and the whole “brony” thing, having a fan say something well reasoned is much appreciated. Especially for this show. I have to admit that I’ve found the fandom…surprisingly rabid. At least the bits of it I’ve been exposed to.
You’re welcome. The pony fandom is quite rabid, for the reasons above and more – for a while several big image boards, 4chan among them, tried to stamp down on pony fans, going so far as to hand out bannings for posting pony threads, only contributing to that fun, transgressive, underdog feeling. It was amusing to watch. It’s be like: pony thread, ban. ten minutes later – pony thread, ban. ten minutes later pony thread, ban. Hours of this later – pony thread… pony thread… MODS ASLEEP, POST PONIES!
It was fun and silly, if completely disruptive. That kind of behavior (both the banning and the spamming) has died down at this point. But all of it helped to build the show up as more of an internet sensation.
That said, it’s not unprecedented. The Avatar fandom was pretty intense a couple years ago, to the point that it totally overhyped their show and turned a number of potential fans away from it. It’s just sort of the way of things.
Oh yeah. I was dead in the center of an Avatar fandom outbreak a couple of years ago. People I had known for years completely stopped talking to me because I didn’t burst into slavishly devoted fan-hysterics when they made me watch the first season. The thing was that I would have kept watching the show with them because it would have meant getting to spend some more free time with my friends. I didn’t dislike Avatar–just like I didn’t dislike the episodes of My Little Pony that I watched with my little nieces when they visited a couple of months ago–but because it didn’t grip me and turn me into a giggling lunatic who immediately wanted to memorize lines and start working on a group cosplay, I was suddenly regarded as an aggressive, antagonistic outsider.
And I guess that’s what really frustrates me about this kind of movement. I can grasp the 4chan thing, where they’re responding to someone who is genuinely trying to antagonize them. I can get some fans trying to be calm and forgiving in the face of someone who shouts at them and belittles them for liking the things that they like. To me, though, there’s something terribly insecure about these fandoms. For every fan who, ironically or no, reacts calmly and coolly to criticism and abuse for doing nothing more than liking a show; there seem to be three or four who are so insecure of their admiration of the show that they lash out sarcastically or even violently at the slightest hint of someone questioning their “fandom.” It’s actually really quite distressing.
Coincidentally, all of the people who ostracized me for not liking Avatar are huge bronies now. They constantly flood our remaining mutual friends’ facebook feeds with My Little Pony videos and pleading entreaties that they start watching the show and promises that the show is so “badass” and how their lives are empty for not watching it. I really don’t miss those people.
Huh. First I’ve heard of Avatar having such a rabid fanbase. Then again I didn’t have internet back when that show was airing, so it makes sense that I missed it.
But yeah, that explains a lot of the behavior I’ve been seeing surrounding the show these last couple weeks. Thanks for clearing that up.
You didn’t have internet from 2005-2008? You must have been the only human in the world at that point that didn’t.
And yeah, Avatar fandom is nucking futs. Just look up “Zutara” and have a guffaw.
The tricky thing about this fandom is that for about 90% of people who watch a non-pilot episode all the way through, they find it better than expected and watch a second non-pilot episode. About 85% of people who make it through both become totally unironic fans engrossed with the life-stories of the mane six.
I recommend Applebuck Season, followed by Boast Busters.
You have to understand that, regardless of the fandom in question, simply ‘being a fan’ takes on its own value beyond simply appreciating the show. It’s kind of a tribal thing, where enjoying the show is simply an initiation rite by which one becomes part of the group on the inside.
Because it’s not entirely about the show itself, the fans who form these fandoms also move easily from one to another, although the targets of these fandoms generally have a fair amount of intrinsic value in order to attract them to begin with. So when some group on the internet explodes about Buffy, or Avatar, or Homestuck is the best thing evar omg you have to watch it it’ll blow your mind, your brain should already be set up to translate that to “this show/comic/whatever is pretty good, and it lends itself to shipping, fanfic, fancharacters, cosplay, the generation of internet memes, or other common internet fan behavior.”
It can be fun to be part of such a group, but they can also be rather creepy. Ideally you find some fans to hang out with who are into the scene enough to enjoy geeking out over it, but maintain sufficient perspective to not go, well, crazy.
I keep hearing good things about this show, I’m almost tempted to check it out. How cool could it possibly be?
Now, y’see, I thought the exact same thing going into the series myself. I saw it plastered all over the net, and finally decided I’d give it a try. I swear, exact same thought ran through my head.
I’m a total brony now. Not nearly to the extent of the guy above, but I’ve seen the whole series, think it’s a darn good show, and will definitely watch the new episodes when they come out.
Confounded ponies, man. Confounded ponies.
*hoofbump*
20% cooler than any show on today.
I’d suggest watching the first two episodes first, then Sonic Rainboom, then Cutie Mark Chronicles. That gets you a pretty good gist of the show.
A relatively common origin story. Right up there with “Bitten by a radioactive pony”.
How good could MLP:FiM be? Like almost any show with a massive cult following, not quite as good as the fervor of its fans would lead you to believe, but still good enough to attract them in the first place. In this case, very good. Not the ‘best thing evar’, but still very good. Give it a few random episodes, most likely the competence of the team making it and the shows overall positive aura will win you over.
Be prepared to wince and cringe a bit at first, though. That’s just the show busts through whatever social stigma you may have internalized around the concept of “girly”. Because the show is _very_ girly.
That’s pretty much exactly how I got into it. The show never knocked my socks off the way Avatar: The Last Airbender did, but it grew on me over the course of a few episodes.
It’s okay. Don’t get what all the hype is about, really. I guess there are few enough decent cartoons on air right now that it looks a whole lot better in comparison. Still, can’t hold a candle to Powerpuff Girls, in the girls-shows-guys-can-like department.
Interesting that you’d compare the two, considering Lauren Faust is married to Craig McCracken (director of PPG) and served as a consultant during the show. Of course, PPG was meant more for guys and older viewers than MLP:FiM is (considering the opening of PPG showed all three girls punching, kicking, and otherwise mutilating the enemies amidst showers of blood, not to mention some of the distinctly non-child-friendly villains on the show), so it’s hard to compare the two.
It’s a good show. The characters are charming, it’s generally pretty well-written, and it has some great callbacks to classic cartoons. It is surprisingly enjoyable to folks outside of the target demographic.
It won’t blow your mind (unless the prospect of actually liking a show for little girls is enough to do that to you), and it’s not the greatest show ever. Some episodes are better than others. But it’s good fun.
Are we still in MWF for Shortpacked?
If I remember correctly, we are until we hit some sort of important story arc.
Man, just go grab the minifigs. They’re pretty accurate, and take up less space.
So does this guy just have a fetish about bitching at people about inane shit, so they’ll treat him like an idiot or something?
Couldn’t that describe almost all of the store’s customers?
Naw… some are just stupid and don’t realize it. This guy seems self-aware.
Did Shortpacked just became Coffee of Doom while I wasn’t paying attention XD
I was thinking exactly that, especially since IIRC Faye’s had that exact conversation in one of those strips before.
A little bit of Faye rubbed off on her during the cameo strips.
Just get the molded set that’s coming out. (12 ponies!) Jeez. (Maybe I’m being a little harsh, I’ve been toy collecting for a while now, so I know where to look for product info and news. A lot of new bronies are probably quite new to the whole thing.)
As a brony who’s new to toy collecting, what is this 12 pony set you speak of, and where and when can I find it?
Not that I don’t like brushing the hair on my twilight doll, but a more show-accurate set would be pretty awesome.
It is going to be a Toys R US exclusive. Although right now you might be able to pick up the gift set for fairly cheap since I think all retailers are putting the previous G4 figures on clearance. And the gift set and the ponyville figures are the only ones with molded hair. And the U.S. will be getting ponyville eventually, so says hasbro. Just to clarify the ponyville figures are about an inch high, so they are much smaller compared to the other figures.
And I totally pony-nerded out on you, I’m sorry. >.>
No probs! I thank you for the tips!
I want to buy a Rainbow Dash toy, but I’ve heard that her Cutie Mark is inaccurate. So I’d have to paint the cloud on myself.
Ha, I watched the my little pony friendship is magic episode 1 just out of curiousity. After 48 hours of pony madness and watching the final episode, I was possessed by some muse or demon to create my own little ponies based on my friends. I gotta say, that show is…influential. Check em out here at your own risk: http://maryfgr23.deviantart.com/
I remember feeling that way when I worked at a liquor store.
‘… Look it’s almost the end of the day, do I really have to watch you try to recount your money over and over for that last little mini bottle of vodka?’
^— Has actually happened. Yes the hobo was angry. No he did not have enough. No he did not get his liquor.
Wait, why does he have to check his watch to find out what day he’ll be available for Amber’s condescension?
Wouldn’t his watch just tell him what time it was?
Some watches give you the date and day of the week? And now that he knows today is monday and that he’s free in two days time, he can work out that he’s free on Wednesday?
I always check my watch for the date or the day of the week. I don’t know where else I could be expected to find that information actually. I suppose it’s on my computer if I wanna boot it up. What do normal people do when they wanna know what day it is?
Well, I check the nearest newspaper, but then again I work in a shop which sells papers.
I check my smartphone, since I’m too lazy to set the date on my watch.
It’s rooted hair so the actual, little girl target audience can play with it. ‘Cause that’s what little girls do? I don’t know. All I know is I spent a month asking for styling advice on-line so Rarity would look fabulous.
You see, My Little Pony will NEVER be as accurate a toy as possible until they use real pony hair. And real ponies.
I just had an amusing thought. You remember how during World Peace Shortpacked was giving out free ponies with purchase?
I like to think that with the end of the Utopia, Galasso painted those things pastel colors and tried to sell them as FiM merch. I just love the image of a real pony (with the miserable expression and everything) painted pink and with a perm while Faz tries to pass it off as an official Pinkie Pie.
Okay, you know what? I’m sorry, this just has to be canon. There is no choice.
I hate to say it, but I expected something to happen outside that window for comedic effect. (LOL) Still awesome tho…
Rooted heair or not, my wife and I are just waiting for wither Applejack with the hat, or Pinkie Pie with Gummy. We did end up getting that one special pack with Pinike, Applejack, Twilight, Spike, and the Princess where they all have molded hair. Still…no hat for Applejack.
Applejack has a hat in her playset, but really, shell out the extra seven bucks and pick up the Fashion Style doll (if you can find her — she was first wave — but I still see her around). You get a much bigger pony with hair that’s much easier to style show-accurate, plus she gets to carry apples around! What’s not to love?
…oh, and a hat. A pretty nice hat, though not the right colour.
I wish people had been as interested in G.I. Joe: Renegades!
Me too.
Anyway, I didn’t even know there was this much of a fandom for My Little Ponies.
Welcome to the herd. The grass is so much nicer over here~ -w-
Nah the Grass is what’s for Dinner over here.
Also while I am a Brony I honestly have zero interest in the toy’s they just have no appeal what so ever to me.
I’d like the toys better if they were more… you know… accurate?
Bleeaaaah Alfalfa Monster.
Same here, though I did come this close to using the 8-bit cover of “Winter Wrap-Up” as a ringtone. That song is such an ear worm.
*Actually has that ringtone, along with Fluttershy’s Lullaby, on his phone*
Best tune in the show, definitely. And the 8-bit version is good too.
Have you checked out Super Ponybeat yet?
One second-
*vomits*
Okay, better. I don’t see why MLP’s get such a fandom, let alone people arguing and bickering over it, like the Transformers fandom. I always thought MLP was just one of those toys people could actually outgrow. 0.0
My Rainbow’s hair needs way more blue and green to be accurate. Also, her head needs to be better shaped. And while we’re at it, WHY ISN’T THERE A PROPER FLUTTERSHY TWO INCH FIGURINE THAT ISN’T A RAINBOW DASH RECOLOUR? Fluttershy is a Rainbow Dash pose is just wrong!
Y’know what I hate?
No points of articulation. If they had the base number of articulation, I’d be in debt with pony toys.
Given the way the ponies move on the show? What we really want are bendy ponies.
Maybe they should make the ponies out of the same stuff that stress balls are made out of.
I’ll take 10!
YES! Gumby ponies!
Best way would probably be to make them out of something flexible, over an armature with ball joints.
If Derpy can put her front hooves behind her back…
David, first off, congrats on the move. I hope you and the missus enjoy the new place.
But to the real message. I’m gonna preface this by saying that I know what it’s like to run a site that’s dependent on off-site advertising. Generally, here the wait time isnt too bad. But today… I dont know what it was, but two of the off-site ad servers seemed to take forever. I reloaded the page no less than four times to get them to move it a little, and I’m serious that after this, I’m considering an ad blocker. I love your cartoon to bits, even when I dont quite understand it. But when I’m sitting here waiting for an ad for Greyhound to load and it’s taking waaaaay too long to do so? Again, dont misunderstand: I accept that ads are a way of life now on the net. But your ad servers are doing you zero favours right now by taking so absurdly long. Maybe you want to have a chat with them and see if they can pick up the pace a bit?
Amber is tired? Do I smell the prelude to a pregnancy storyline??? I’d like to see how Mike takes this!
…Maybe she’s just tired.
Probably has more to do with her recent promotion. It’s been tough managing the shifts and whatnot.
I love FIM…I love MLP toys except for G4. I think the FIM toys are hideous and embarrassment to both the show and the franchise. It’s a mash between the two, but they gave all the worse parts of G4 to the FIM ponies…
Well, everyone has a generation they don’t like I guess.
I remember when ninja turtles had TOON figures, to be a lot closer to show-accurate (minus the glitter mixed into the plastic…) it’s a good excuse to make more toys!
PONIES!
I love the new MLP. And I dont care what anyone thinks! (except my friends, my brother my mother, my father, my grandparents and my cousins)
I actually introduced my mom to the show.
The Third Impact (Evangelion reference) did good to My Little Pony and Transformers. I have yet to watch Thundercats and other victims…
I know I’m super late to this conversation, but I completely feel the same way… Actually, even the faces don’t look like the characters, especially Rainbow Dash’s.