Re: My Little Pony (Original title: The... um, yeah. The bronies thread.)
An essay? *sigh* You asked for it.
To start with, it's actually a rather enjoyable show once you can break down the barriers set by it's intended demographic. The show has quite a bit of humor and drama while still staying almost disturbingly innocent. (Except when characters go insane. And I mean that literally.) Aside from an obvious plot summary, the most I could tell you about the content of the show itself without providing spoilers is that each episode turns into a very roundabout way of providing a lesson about friendship (given in written or spoken reports by the "mane" characters).
My first impression of this show was that I was going to be watching some Disney-esque pile of sickly sweet crap for twenty minutes just to say I gave it a try. What I ended up watching was an engaging and diverse western anime-esque cartoon with characters that actually have personality depth and don't go OMG every five minutes. Everything from the sports fanatic to the farmer's daughter to the fashionista is covered here, and it makes for a well-blended cast. WHo don't always automatically see each other as best friends forever. I mean, they do, technically. But they're different enough and acknowledge their differences for their to be some inter-cast conflict, as opposed to a villain of the week just to keep the ball rolling.
The fanbase, however, is the real reason most people are fans of the show. While the otaku community, by one comparison, bands together under something they enjoy and can talk about that has a wide range of series for everyone, the Brony group is actually focused more on genuinely getting along with people and providing moral support. Instead of "this show is better," "no this show is better" bs, you get a large crowd of people who honestly just want something fun to talk about, and who not only preach love and tolerance, but practice it in full force. It's grown to the point that noone expects the community to fall apart in the 8 month gap between seasons, and there is little if any conflict on the message boards.
All in all, the show has become somewhat of a banner for people who want more out of there entertainment experience than trololololol and Gyrobowls, and are tired of posting an honest opinion and getting hated on for it. It helps that the show is funny as hell and has as much rewatch value if not more than most shows out there.
I know it's probably not 400 words, but there you go.