Aaron's Review: My Little Pony-Firendship Is Magic

There aren’t many shows that are intended for one audience, but end up attracting another entirely. Myself included.

Guys, Gals, & Non-Binary Pals, this is Aaron’s Review of ‘My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic’.

!Background!

The show takes place in the land of ‘Equestria’, a pre-industrial world occupied by various ponies, Pegasus, and unicorns which runs on magic. The main character is a unicorn named ‘Twilight Sparkle’. She is the student of Princess Celestia, the ruler of Equestria, and is told to live in ‘Ponyville’ to study the magic of friendship. There, she meets the other five main characters and the series begins to focus on their interactions and adventures.

!Characters!

I’ll talk about the characters first. In my opinion, that’s really where the series shines. The interactions between the ‘mane-six’ are what I love about the show as well the characters themselves.

Each pony has something called an ‘element of harmony’. The ‘elements’ were used in the first episodes to help the ponies vanquish a villain (at the time) and the ponies are now bound to their respective element.

Twilight Sparkle is the element of magic and is main character of the series. She’s a bookworm who’ll always help out her friends and tries to use logic and reasoning…for the most part. She’s very prideful and loves being a help to others but can be cynical. It’s mainly used for comedic relief, but Twilight has shown to be incredibly stubborn mainly in the first season. She’s also easily stressed when trying to meet her own or others expectations. Out of all the characters, Twilight is easily the most layered. 

AppleJack is the element of honesty. She’s an Earth pony that works on an apple farm with her family and is the ‘southern tomboy’ type of character. She’s incredibly loyal and courteous but is stubborn and prideful to a point where it was annoying at times. Once again, this is mainly in the first season. She’s grown as a character to now, while still being a bit stubborn, it’s to obtain a goal instead of her own pride. 

Rainbow Dash is the element of loyalty. Because RD is a daredevil who prides herself on her skills, the Pegasus is the most arrogant but will try not to endanger others in her antics. Rainbow is a tad insecure at times with specific things, but does her best to work through it. She’s at her comedic best when she is commentating with the other characters. So in this case, less is more.

Fluttershy is the element of kindness. The voice actress whispers all of her lines and this greatly benefits the Pegasus’s personality and tendencies. Like her name implies, Fluttershy is the most passive and gentle of the ‘mane-six’. She has the ability to talk to animals that don’t poses human speech (please just run with it) and takes care of those animals as a vet.
She’s shown growth as being more assertive and outspoken while still being respectful but needing a second to speak up. While Fluttershy has gained the most obvious character development, it came after season 4. 

Rarity is the element of generosity. The unicorn speaks with a mid-Atlantic accent conceding with her love for fashion. Rarity, like A-J & R-D, can be very short sighted, but in a comedic way. Many of her traits can be seen as negative like the fact that she is a show-off and loves to soak in glamour. However, it is presented well enough that she doesn’t come across as annoying. Instead, her inflections and reactions are hilarious and well done.

The last character is Pinkie Pie, the element of laughter. Pinkie is the most energetic of the ponies and is a professional party planner. She thrives on making others laugh and creating a good mood. While that is the case, Pinkie is the least ‘intelligent’ of the six. She isn’t ‘stupid’, just immature and can’t take a hint sometimes. She’s the perfect counteractive for the more hard-nosed characters to lighten up around. Thus, the earth pony is my favorite.

!The Story!

Getting this out of the way, the series is meant to be for little kids. That is abundantly clear with the shows style, dialogue, and the plots behind the episodes. Not to mention it’s a show about magical horses. 

Each episode focuses on a moral or a dilemma that will teach a character (really the intended audience) a lesson. Each lesson is relevant to the element that the character the episode in question focuses on. I like this because it creates a show that is character driven. Not only that, it relies on the characters developing to create different scenarios as the show progresses.
Not every episode is a simple ‘always tell the truth’. The episodes try to create reasons and situations for the characters to go against their element or challenge them. ‘Tell the truth, but it will hurt the person you’re telling’. ‘Be generous, but know that there are people who will take advantage of you’.
The world itself is very inventive. Unicorns can use magic and Pegasus can control the weather while earth ponies have increased senses and/or strength. Most of the non-domesticated creatures are based off western mythology. Sometimes the ponies will face a giant bear known as an ‘Ursa-Minor’ in the third act of an episode or a ‘cure all ailment’ drink which is just the placebo effect.
The humor ranges between fast-paced slapstick, to childish horse puns. Such as, ‘looks like we have some ‘Neigh-ay’ sawyers in the audience’. I feel as though the thought behind the jokes are creative and logical for the world they live in. But I do groan at the puns sometimes. 

!The Show!

The reason that I’ve been so cut and dry about my explanations are because, there isn’t much to talk about other than the fact that it simply works. The characters work well off one another and are the source of the show’s fun nature.
The only thing I don’t like about the show is the music. I’m conflicted about judging this aspect of the show. I mainly think the reason I don’t like the songs the ponies sing in some episodes is because the show is, once again, meant for little kids. The topics are simple and the lyrics are extremely corny. I don’t like the songs because they’re too childish. They aren’t horrible, just not good. 

!Grade!

I’m not the type of person to believe the hype for a show. But this is a special case. The writers decided to go the extra mile for their show and it paid off. I may be an adult male, but I have to say it: I’m a ‘Brony’. 

I may not have a bunch of dolls at my house, but I’m a ‘Brony’ because I love this show. If you’re willing to give it a try, you’ll at least see why it’s so popular.

My Little Pony-Friendship is Magic: B+

Final Word: One of the best cartoons of its generation.

What’s Your Opinion?