From and Entertainment Perspective, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is a Good Animated Show

"Regardless of what my opponent presents, it's impossible for him to prove that the show is not at least "good" by animation standards." Impossible? No it isn't impossible. I will admit it will probably be a hard task, but not impossible one. Well I am going to start my side of the debate by first acknowledging the "target demographic". What is a target demographic? Well it is like a range of sorts. It can be easily defined as the rating a toy would get. Say a toy says "ages 7 and up". That mean that the toy is meant for kids that are 7 years old. The "and up" part, of course, means anyone above the age of 7 years old. The thing is while a target demographic or even a toy rating puts a range on something that range doesn't necessarily that it is restricted to those of that age group or gender. It just means it would get the MOST enjoyment by those of that range. A 7 year that gets that toy will get more enjoyment from it than a 25 year adult. That again doesn't mean a adult can't get any enjoyment from that toy or can't have it. It just means they are less likely to enjoy it than the 7 year old. I believe my opponent is partially right. My little pony: friendship is magic is good show animated show, but realistically only to those in the target demographic. That means some subject matters won't be in MLP and will never be in the show especially when compared to other shows that are meant for other demographics. What is a animated show/cartoon really? It is basically just a animated story. Some can be good stories. Some can be bad stories. MLP is no different. It is a story as well, but this is a story meant for 5-8 year old girls. If you watch MLP and expect violence or something that you would expect in a show meant for adults you aren't going to see this at all really. You might get some watered down violence, but that would be all. You also aren't going to see a lot of the elements that make a story good. This is why people of all ages usually watch tv shows in general. They get hooked on the stories and the characters in the stories that the tv shows tell. Take any popular tv show that has ever been put out in the last few decades. Were they just about random events that went no where? No! They all told a story that had a beginning, a middle, and finally a end. Take popular tv shows that are going on right now. Would Adventure time be as popular as it is now if it was just Finn and Jake just walking around all day doing mundane chores or tasks? I doubt it. Would Gravity Falls or Phineas and Ferb be popular if the characters just spent their time talking about their day and how great it was? No. These shows tell and show the stories about why their days are great. On the subjects of what makes MLP a "Good show". My opponent claims that part of what makes MLP a good show is unique content. I will address this by referring to one of my previous debates to save time and text. http://www.debate.org... In the second paragraph I explained what Lauren Faust herself originally created taken from her very own words she said at a Con, her DA account, and a Q&A. http://www.youtube.com... http://www.equestriadaily.com... http://fyre-flye.deviantart.com... A show that as my opponent pointed out is "unique content". Anyone that watches the show now or knows anything about the show now knows this master piece that she created isn't what they are watching. She tried to go against the limits put in place by Hasbro. This is proven in the Brony documentary extras where she is interviewed and various other places. The show that we see now isn't bad, but because of those limits you miss out on a lot of great story. What we see now is a show bound by limits that has wasted potential. In the end, this is a story we have seen before. It isn't really unique. It is the story of a outcast finding friends and the aftermath of such. There is some unique content here and there, but there is much more blandness. My opponent says the show isn't "sophisticated television". He is right. It isn't, but something doesn't have to be sophisticated to be good or entertaining. Faust's original concept was by no means "sophisticated television". It was a good story with elements that all can enjoy. It had action, adventure, drama, and family values that people could enjoy all the while teaching little kids morals. You don't need sophistication to enjoy a story such as that. You just need to be a person that likes good stories and good storytelling. On the point of "An Identifiable Story". It is identifiable to some extent, but most people can't identify with everything that MLP has or rather what it doesn't have. Take the character Scoot-a-loo. Disabled people could have easily identified themselves with her as a character. She can't fly and wants to fly like her idol. The episode "Flight to the Finish" she believes that all she had to do was work REALLY hard and she would be able to fly. The episode ended with Rainbow Dash saying "maybe you will fly, maybe you won't". Basically it is inconclusive if she can eventually or can't fly ever. A disabled person can't identify with "maybe". A good example of this would be If I break my back and the doctor says "you will never walk again". I am not going to believe that if I work really hard I will prove him wrong. I will still hope that I can walk again someday or that they find a cure, but I am not going to fool myself into believing that I can walk again just but putting effort into. My ability to walk wouldn't be what defines me a person. How I would continue to live my life and what I do in my lifetime is what would define me as a person. There are plenty of famous and unfamous people with disabilities who have gone on to do remarkable things. FDR used his personal victory over polio as way to help renew of the nations spirit. It is hard to identify yourself with a character or characters in a story when they water down the things that most people have to deal with on a daily basis. This is just one of the very many cuts the show does. It is hard to "identify" with anything when it isn't in the show. On the point of "Made it For Children". This actually is the reason WHY it can't be good. As I said previously certain elements can't be included. If they are included they are watered down and/or hidden. These are elements that makes stories good or great. Without them the story doesn't go anywhere and usually ends up being bad. One can never really fully enjoy MLP because they will always be left in the dark about certain characters, plots, and show lore. You won't ever get answers or learn enough about the characters and the world they live in. The story will never be fully completed. A good story likes to envelop the person into the story almost to the point that one can feel like they know the character(s) on a personal level. As if they were real people. This all goes back to my target demographic point. There will be those that watch it and can enjoy the show with these limits, but others will and do find it hard. On the point of "Humor". The "Infinite monkey theorem" goes "if you put a bunch of monkeys in a room filled with typewriters they will create shakespeare eventually". Basically the humor works in the show, but in that there will always be something that someone will find entertaining or in this case humorous at some point in time. As another example of this I dislike various the music genres like country. That doesn't mean I hate everything from that genre. There are actually two country songs that I do like, but for the most part I still hate country. I would be lying if I were to say I never chuckled or laughed at something in a MLP:FiM episode. Although most of the time I don't laugh. Given enough time you are bound to get something right and that is how MLP's humor is