Why am I a Brony?

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic.

I am sure everyone has heard of this program shown on the HUB network, and, just by necessity, the former series of MLP in the 80s. Also, they may have heard of the term Brony.

For the uninitiated, the term Brony refers to the unforeseen demographic of 30 yr olds (for the most part) men who, for whatever reason, enjoy the program unabashedly and shamelessly.

At the time of this writing, I am 31 years old. I had only heard of the MLP through word of mouth and such, and I had never viewed the program. I did eventually hear of the Brony phenomenon, so, I searched on YouTube and found the first episode of the series, and decided to sit and give the program a chance (I am a strong believer in the idea of giving something a chance to impress of disappoint).

I have to admit to enjoying the program. I found the dialogue very witty and well done, the characters were easily distinguishable from one another with unique characteristics, the art style colorful and bright, and the show does contain good moral lessons about friendship and living (despite having ponies rather than humans). The show also has an extremely rich mythos and lore that is built upon as the series continues, and, unlike many other children's programs, things change and develop in the series with the characters, rather then characters staying locked into static roles. As an example, of the main 6 ponies, Twlight Sparkle, has actually become a princess in the 3rd season finale, and has also become an Alicorn (spelling?) (a Unicorn and Pegasus pony combined). Take than the series Recess shown on the Disney channel. None of those character ever change roles or have things permanently change about them. Oh, we learn things about them, but their roles never change in the series. MLP does have us learn things about the various 6 ponies (Twlight Sparkle, Rarity, Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Rainbow Dash), but these are also accompanied by actual changes in the characters (Rainbow Dash has desires throughout the series to join a group called the Wonder Bolts, and, in season 3, she goes to their academy to become one! The series also features an adventure element, which involves the characters working together to solve threats against their homeland.

The biggest complaint of such fanboy-ness is probably that the series would be catered to girls. It is true: the 1980s series were very slanted to the young girl audience. And I think that is probably due to two factors: the focus of those characters on "girl qualities" (i.e. beauty, grace, caring, love, etc) and the general aesthetic of those programs (the soft colors, usually towards pinks, blues, and yellows).

MLP FiM, however, handles its characters with a lot more care. The 6 main ponies are introduced in the 1st episode, and we get a glimpse into their unique personalities. Twlight Sparkle is a student and very bookish, Applejack is a hardworking country girl on a farm, Rainbow Dash is responsible for cloud clearing in Ponyville (the central town) and a showoff, with aspirations of being a Wonder Bolt, Rarity runs a shop called the Carousel Boutique and designs outfits (she holds her beauty in high regard), Fluttershy is very shy and gentle, and has a way with animals, and Pinkie Pie is very energetic and enjoys throwing parties to spread joy. In this way, they are seen as characters first and not girls. This allows the audience to identify with them individually and enjoy the interactions between them which are consistent with their personalities.

In this way, the show is extremely accessible to anyone. I can only assume that, due to the nature of the show: that it teaches lessons about friendship (it;s main narrative), has adventure elements, well written characters, and witty dialogue, its no wonder that Brony's enjoy it!