My Little Pony > K-ON! (and its spawns)
Weekends on campus are boring, so I watched My Little Pony. All three seasons.
A few months ago…well, actually, probably about a year ago, I decided to check out what all this pony obsession was all about. I ended up watching four or five episodes and was pleasantly surprised and extremely charmed. Despite that, I never got back to watching anymore. But thanks to a socially and physically reclusive weekend on campus, as well as Yumeka’s post (and partial suggestion), I decided to resume my pony-filled journey.
Thus I ended up watching all three seasons in less than two days.
Personal feels:
- I see much of myself in Twilight Sparkle, Rarity and Pinkie Pie.
- Fluttershy is probably the most awesome, though.
- The two-parters are epic.
- Winter Wrap-Up and Cutie Mark Chronicles are two of my favorite episodes.
- I found the second season the weakest.
I won’t be delving into the Brony community or the fandom in general. I’m just gonna compare it to anime.
It’s very easy to see why this cartoon has become a beloved part of a large populace among the anime community. It’s episodic but still has continuity to it, has tons of insert songs, and is just plain adorable. If it were an anime MLP would obviously fall into the moe/slice of life genre. But what makes it better than shows like K-ON!, Yuruyuri and the like? Why does it succeed at doing the same things those anime have without coming across as stupid and irritating? (From now on, K-ON! is referring to all girls in school-slice of life anime that are like it.)
I think the primary reason is due to MLP’s cast of characters. Like K-ON!, MLP’s cast is small and each pony has one or two defining traits. Fluttershy is timid and with animals, Rarity is vain and a fashionista, Twilight Sparkle is studious (often to a fault), etc. What makes them different than K-ON! characters is that the ponies:
- Actually have hobbies
- their main defining characteristic is often exploited, both for plot points and for faults.
In K-ON!, yes, Houkago Tea Time do have hobbies, playing their instruments and baking. But aside from playing in the band, it’s never really used for anything. Except annoyance. By showing the ponies’ few characteristics in both good and bad lights, it made them feel more human and relatable than any of the K-ON! girls. MLP’s cast of side characters such as Princess Luna (whom I love) and the Cutie Mark Crusaders (Apple Bloom is my favorite) are great, too.
In addition to that, MLP also has the advantage of setting. Ponyville, Canterlot, and the Crystal Empire are all far more interesting than your average Japanese high school. MLP’s aesthetic in general is also bright and eye-catching.
Though perhaps what really sets MLP above K-ON! is the fact that I never felt intellectually insulted. Yes, the lessons that MLP teaches about friendship are for girls in elementary school. But that’s way more than what we get out of K-ON!, which would just be that eating pastries and not practicing your instruments can still lead to a good band. Which is incorrect.
Glad I inspired you to watch more MLP and that you enjoyed it so much XD
Like you said, a lot of the joy from the show comes from how the ponies’ personalities are shown in both positive and negative lights, and how they’re cleverly exploited for endearment as well as humor. It’s especially great when the ponies’ cutie mark qualities fail them and they have total mental breakdowns as a result (like Pinkie did in “Party of One,” Twilight did in “Lesson Zero,” and Fluttershy, to an extent, in “A Bird in the Hoof”).
What it boils down to as far as the difference between MLP and a K-ON-type slice-of-life anime is the value of conflict in a story. Even though MLP is mostly episodic, there’s always some kind of conflict in every episode – usually a story involving a character who has a problem they have to solve. With K-ON, the viewer is made to relax and “hang out” with the characters in their uncomplicated and mostly problem-less lives. To some people that’s terribly boring of course, but to others that’s entertainment too.
Oh yeah, one more thing I almost forgot. I’m surprised you found season 2 to be the weakest; I actually liked that one the best as it was the most consistent as far as episodes I enjoyed XD Plus it was bookended by two awesome two-parters. All three seasons had episodes I liked as well as didn’t like, but season 2 had more of the former =P
Personally, I find My Little Pony much more irritating than K-On in many ways. Thinking back, I used to love My Little Pony, but as a comic relief.
Now, I know I just said comic relief. In my opinion, I find My little Pony my favorite show that endorses comic relief moments. With that said; once Twilight was crying on her bed in the last episode of season 3, saying she ruined her friends’ lives and fates; all I could do was to burst out laughing. Why, because I don’t think I really connect with ANY OF THE CHARACTERS.
Maybe with the show leaning towards comedy (and, to be fair, I’m pretty sure Hasbro thinks that little girls are their top priority in the MLP franchise, than bronies and/ or pegasisters), but I never really, as per say, felt connected with the characters because of this. Yes, MLP has much more realistic and likeable personalities than K-On!, but I really think K-On! (Yui, Ritsu, Mio, Tsumugi, Azusa, Ui, Jun, Nodoka, Sawako, etcetera…) dragged me into their lives 1,000% better than what Twilight and company ever did.
Also, since I see My Little Pony as a comic relief, I never cried when they cried. All I do is laugh at the screen. When K-On! characters cry for something I don’t find stupid (yes, I laugh at when K-On! is emotional for the dumbest things, but I don’t find everything they do annoying, like I find My Little Pony at moments) . Like, when they were saying all the things they were going to do in the club-room next year, yet they knew it was their last year in that club-room. It was like they were saying,
“Hey, we’re going to do this and that with each other the following school year!”
But really, they were saying, “Hey, I’m going to miss this, and that! This is really out last year (besides Azusa, who is basically hurting the most)”
And I cannot forget what they did in episode 11 of season 1, and the time Ui got sick in season 2 (made Yui realize how Ui was basically acting like a mother to her for such a long time, and she actually done something about it!). As well as the graduation episode, well, any episode leading up to the last was absolutely breath taking. The animation is simply wonderful, too. All reasons I know My Little Pony Friendship is Magic will never make me feel!
Okay, so I may sound biased, but if you haven’t found out already, I’m on team MLP < K-ON! for reasons that only reflect upon me and my personal thoughts. If you have anything to say, please do, I’d love to hear it!
P.S: Yes, I do find K-On! spawns to be annoying *cough* *cough* Tamako Market *cough*
Thanks for the response.
Anyway, I can definitely see where you’re coming from. But I think the reason why I find myself attached to the MLP cast is because they all have clear motivations and goals. Whereas in K-ON! it was just girls living their day to day lives. It’s not as if I can’t relate to the things that HTT does, because I can. Though I think it’s because I’ve done all those things before (baking, practicing music, etc.) that I find it dull and mundane.
TL;DR: Watching ponies working hard towards specific goals > Japanese school girls doing stuff I do all the time.