A Fan since Season 1 reminiscing on the Show and the Fandom
I've been wanting to talk about this since I've thought about a few things here recently as a long time fan that I wanted to express since this show has been a part of my life for the past seven years.
On pre-EQG MLP
Over the years I've come to draw a distinction between pre-EQG MLP and post-EQG MLP since I feel like there were some noteworthy changes in the perceptions of the show after Twilight became an Alicorn and after the first EQG film.
I've been part of this fandom since Season 1, with my first episode being S1 E9 ("Bridal Gossip") which aired in December 2010. I've always hated things that are overtly cute, so I went into the show anticipating that I'd hate it, but was quickly taken aback by the fact that I liked the humor and art style. I watched a few more episodes and the rest is history. Season 1 and Season 2 still have some of my favorite episodes from the entire series and I can't speak of them highly enough.
Though what truly made this show different for me from the start was the fandom. Most of my memories of the early show is of the fandom with the musicians, the commentators, the narrators, the fan-fictions, and so on. I'll try to touch on all the ones I remember. Both for the sake of reminiscing, and potentially introducing newer fans to some of the older content produced by the fandom.
I have a lot of fond memories of WoodenToaster (Glaze) and TheLivingTombstone with many of the classic early songs in the fandom. Glaze in particular with Rainbow Factory, Awoken, Beyond her Garden, Nightmare Night, and others all are somewhat nostalgic for me now. Especially Rainbow Factory, that really brings me back to the early days of the fandom when things weren't so complicated in the show.
I also have extremely fond memories of the first narrators like MictheMicrophoneZero, Azekahh, and MindlessGonzo. A wide variety of stories, which I won't go into detail for the sake of keeping things SFW, including Rainbow Factory, Rocket to Insanity, and the infamous Cupcakes story were all things I remember very well from back then. As well as the Luna horror games and Story of the Blanks. On that subject, its also worth mentioning all the old "Ask blogs" from the early days of the fandom like Fractured Loyalty and Lil' Miss Rarity. Most of the stuff I paid attention to in the fandom was of the grimdark variety. Though of course, on the topic of fan creations, we also had the early Ponies the Anthology works by Zephystar, especially Anthology II.
Of course, one of the few early content creators still going that I'm aware of would be FlimFlamPhilosophy, known today as Dawn Somewhere. Famous for the Mentally Advanced parody series, and the Rainbow Dash presents series. I'm also reminded of SherclopPones, who others might remember for the Friendship is Witchcraft parody series which ended a long time ago due to copyright issues.
There were the fan creations that attempted to imitate the show, like the short-lived "Adventures of Button Mash" and the Snowdrop animation as well.
I remember the only reactor I watched back at the start was JackTHerbert, who reacted really only to fan creations. Which increased my exposure to other pieces of fan content like the earlier installments in the ".mov" series.
Lastly, there were the commentators for the show, of which there were several that I watched. Those like BronyComms, Ratchetness, theOtakuAscended, MrCobaltSky, PonyPokey, Equestria's Reflection, and others. The most notable of these would be xxSoundSpeedxx who I cannot speak highly enough of. His commentaries provided me with a lot of extra entertainment in those earlier times, as did his other MLP related videos. After Soundspeed started to slow down around Season 4, MrCobaltSky became the main commentator I watched until Season 6.
I look back to these times (Seasons 1 and 2; 2010, 2011, 2012) as the "Glory Days" of the show and the fandom. No EQG, no Princess Twilight, no Starlight, no reformed Discord, no Crystal Empire, none of that. Everything was still fresh and simple. I miss these days sometimes, I could go on about them for hours. Really brings me back thinking about all the original content creators who aren't active anymore, but dominated the fandom back then.
post-EQG MLP
For a short time, around mid-Season 4 I drifted away from the series because I had been with it by four years at that point and was starting to get a bit bored with it. I also wasn't too thrilled with Twilight being an Alicorn at the time. I didn't hate it as much as a lot of other people did at the time, but it just felt like it put her in a position where she couldn't be threatened anymore. Really, I still prefer Unicorn Twilight to this day, and Season 4 is kind of the black sheep of the series for me because of how I drifted away from the series during that time.
A lot changed when Season 5 started though. Without Starlight Glimmer, I probably would've left after Season 4. It's hard to describe how much Starlight's first appearance reinvigorated my interest in the show, and Season 5 went on to be rivaled only by Season 2 for me. With many of its episodes being some of my favorites in the series, and Starlight being one of my three favorite characters in the show at this point. Alongside Rarity and Trixie.
Now... things have started going downhill since the start of Season 6, in my opinion. Perhaps its my time with the show finally winding down, but Seasons 6 and 7 have started to feel like they've been dragging on a bit for me. They have their moments, but they just don't have the same charm that the earlier Seasons did. I've had a growing concern about the writers spreading ideas too thin and the show suffering as a whole because of it. I began to feel this way especially toward the end of Season 6 and throughout all of Season 7 with a few bright spots from time to time.
That said, the fandom itself is still relatively strong with an entirely new cast of great narrators, commentators, and so on.
We have theLostNarrator, GutiuSeranade, ScribblerProductions, Emogak, RarityDash, Blank Slate, DWK, Silver Quill, and plenty of others. Though it definitely feels like a much different era these days than it did back in the early days. I'm particularly fond of Silver Quill as one of the best newer content creators in the fandom, both Blank Slate and DWK are some of the funniest people in the fandom in my opinion, and all of the Narrators do very well and their blooper reels are great, but its definitely a different time for the fandom.
Closing Thoughts
I've been with this fandom virtually since the start, and the love I have for this show and the fandom is hard to describe. I've seen a lot of people come into the fandom, and I've seen a lot of them go, but I've been here from the start.
I think the show has passed its prime at this point, and is on its way into a decline. I kind of hope the series will end sooner rather than later so that it can have a bittersweet ending that will solidify the series as one of the best animated series of the decade, rather than drag on as it has for the past season and a half from my perspective.
I've never been to conventions, and I never intend to since I've never been one to be into such things, and while I know there's been some incidents at some of the events, I know the majority of people in the fandom are just around for fun.
So whether you're new to the fandom, or been around as long as I have, I hope you guys have all been able to enjoy the show as I have, and I hope you continue enjoying it as I hope I will be able to as well.
Submitted March 31, 2018 at 01:36AM by Esoteric_Innovations
via reddit https://www.reddit.com/r/mylittlepony/comments/88h6ra/a_fan_since_season_1_reminiscing_on_the_show_and/?utm_source=ifttt
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