LPS's general lack of popular internet presence

[Methid Man]

(This post is in response to a comment from another thread. I decided to make this into a separate thread so as not to derail the other one)

Feb 16, 2015 15:08:41 GMT -5 guillermogage said:

So... this forum isn't very active. Is it gonna be even less active after this season ends? I think this is the only fan forum in the entire English-language Internet specifically for the discussion of modern LPS media. And there's only like 12 active people on this forum.

There's also ToonZone forums. But even the LPS threads created in the media dicussion sections of MLPFiM forums and such have dried out before Season 3 even started pretty much.

This is pretty sadly true. LPS just doesn't seem to get the crazy amount of popularity MLP has been getting. I think this forum has gotten a teeny bit more active ever since season 3 went off hiatus, but only by so much. Even the sole admin of this forum hasn't been active for a while. Meanwhile, MLP's been on hiatus for 9 months now and its popularity is still as strong as ever. You can find dozens of active forums for this show all over the net.

This show is said to be second to MLP, yet it seems to be a very distant second. Not to bash MLP, I think it's a great show that deserves praise for evolving the franchise thanks to Lauren Faust, and I've started watching some of its episodes ever since I've been to Ponycon a few days ago, but when you compare the two shows in terms of popularity, I do think MLP is a little overrated for what it is while LPS is underrated.

Now, LPS is its own franchise with a focus on cute toy pets so it's probably not fair to compare it to a franchise that focuses on colorful ponies, but I'm talking about the show here and while it has its flaws, I do think it deserves at least half of the amount of popularity MLP has.

So I'm curious to ask: what does MLP have that LPS doesn't? Better writers? Better plots? Better art/animation? Better marketing strategies? Or is just the nature of the franchise that's more appealing?

[Zexoguy]

Maybe it has something to do with the different environments of each of the shows. My Little Pony takes place in a fantasy world full of colorful talking ponies (some of which can fly, others that can use magic, and some even both) and other magical creatures. The world has different laws and even different physics, all of which helps make it so fascinating.

Littlest Pet Shop takes place in the normal human world where the only difference is that one girl can communicate with animals, but she keeps it a secret. None of the animals she talks to are magical or have fantastical abilities, so there's not a lot of room for exploration on that part.

Probably even more likely is that LPS typically sticks primarily to slice-of-life stories. While the pets do sometimes go on cute little mini-adventures, the show's formula doesn't really allow for anything grand or epic. Bottom line, LPS is a sitcom, which, let's face it, usually aren't all that thrilling. I'm not saying this to bash LPS, but I have to admit that even I sometimes get bored with it and wish they would try something more exciting.

[Methid Man]

Those are some good points...

For the environment issue, LPS could easily solve that problem by having more fantasy scenes. I'm not talking a brief 1-2 minute fantasy every couple of episodes or so, I'm talking a few/several scenes per episode kinda like what they did in Bobby's World. It doesn't have to be 80% of the episode, just more than what they already do now. I don't think this would cause the show to stray from its core franchise formula; they could still be in the pet shop at the end of the day.

As for the slice-of-life/"sitcom" aspect, they just need to improve the writing for the human stories. Make them funnier and overall more entertaining. Most importantly, don't try too hard with the "relatability" factor; nothing that realistic (it's a cartoon after all) and nothing "trendy". Not only does it risk confusing, and possibly insulting, the target audience, it also makes the show dated.

[Shokew]

Why do I feel this show would have to become some kind of violent action show for the brony community to stop treating it like some red - headed step child (despite the fact that that wouldn't work without some better writers than who's working on it, now...), or better yet, to just get it noticed better than it is, now?

I've had some brilliant ideas on improving this show royally - too bad they all involve turning the show into a violent war drama/space opera of some kind...

[guillermogage]

What a precious thing for me to come back to in my month-and-a-half-long absence! A topic inspired by me!

... I think the fact that some of us feel the need to compare it to MLP kind of the wrong grounding point to approach LPS criticism from.

LPS shouldn't be like Xbox to MLP's PlayStation. It should be more like Nintendo.

ALSO... This thread title isn't just about LPS's lack of popular Internet presence compared to MLP, it is about the general lack of popular Internet presence.

... does anyone look up Littlest Pet Shop under deviantART Newest or Tumblr to see if people are still drawing fanart?

It starts to get embarrassing when the only search results for LPS online are just dumb videos or previous generation toys or toys that have nothing to do with the show, or just scraggly art.

[pepperclark1973]

There's also ToonZone forums

I was Baltofan on Toonzone forums. Now the fourm might wake up again with the S4 hype.

[Zib]

I think Littlest Pet Shop's lack of popularity is partially due to MLP being seen as the first girl show to appeal to a wider demographic. Yes, LPS does this too but in the eyes of the public and MLP fans it's seen as "second place". MLP shook up the Internet as "the girl show not just for girls", and caught a lot of attention because it was the first.

That being said, as a stand alone show LPS does have certain issues that could be warding off viewers. Such issues like:
Dialect:LOL, OMG, and JK are said often in the show and could annoy viewers reminding them of the current time period. I don't mind it when it is said rarely and said by Blythe considering she is a teen girl(another issue that I'll get to). But when used by pets like in Shang-Hai Jinks, it seems out of place. It really dates the show as "modern", if that makes any sense.
Blythe:I liked her smart side shown in her short analysis of reality TV shows like in Terriers and Tiaras, but when she becomes a screaming Fangirl she becomes annoying and a steryotipical teen.. It's weird, one second she had a smart educated view on media like reality shows but she later is all about Twilight and Boybands? This also dates the show as "modern", I understand the satire, but I wish it didn't use the main character. Despite what I've previously said, I love the steryotypical teen motif on the Biskitts because they aren't the protagonist we're supposed to be cheering for.

But, LPS has lots of pros that make it worth watching. LPS brings new thing to the table that MLP doesn't like the parodies. The parodies are beautiful and are more proof that the show isn't just for girls than the common "oh, look a pony looks like the big Labowski! MLP isn't for girls, even though he was on the screen for just a second!" And LPS actually makes competent male characters.

In the end I agree that MLP is greatly overrated, and it's popularity on the Internet sorta left the fate of LPS's popularity on the Internet to be doomed to be forever overshadowed. Even though certain issues in LPS make me understand why the show can't appeal to some people, I still love the show more than MLP because of what it does bring to the table that MLP doesn't.

[zoesparkler]

In Korea, many gays know and watch My Little Pony. But, they don't know about Littlest Pet Shop.
But it does't matter to me. I love Littlest Pet Shop more then My Little Pony and I'm so proud of it.
(Do you know that the foreign language from S01E12 is Korean?)

[Zib]

May 17, 2015 13:37:37 GMT -5 zoesparkler said:

In Korea, many gays know and watch My Little Pony. But, they don't know about Littlest Pet Shop.
But it does't matter to me. I love Littlest Pet Shop more then My Little Pony and I'm so proud of it.
(Do you know that the foreign language from S01E12 is Korean?)

It may get more fans sometime, didn't it just finish S01 in Korea?
You watch Littlest Pet Shop on Tooniverse right? Are there any other shows you watch on there like Chi's Sweet Home(치즈스위트홈) or Youkai Watch(요괴워치)?

[tessmcsavage]

  I love Lps, I wish it got more love, because it deserves it, there are a lot of people who hate on the new series, which to me isn't fair , I wish people would stop comparing it to MLP yes theres similarities but there not the same at all they are both there own show I love both, and hope LPS gets more of a following in the future with forums like this I hope it happens   

[zoesparkler]

May 21, 2015 17:34:37 GMT -5 Zib said:

May 17, 2015 13:37:37 GMT -5 zoesparkler said:

In Korea, many gays know and watch My Little Pony. But, they don't know about Littlest Pet Shop.
But it does't matter to me. I love Littlest Pet Shop more then My Little Pony and I'm so proud of it.
(Do you know that the foreign language from S01E12 is Korean?)

It may get more fans sometime, didn't it just finish S01 in Korea?
You watch Littlest Pet Shop on Tooniverse right? Are there any other shows you watch on there like Chi's Sweet Home(치즈스위트홈) or Youkai Watch(요괴워치)?

I live in dormitory of university, so I can't watch TV. I watch LPS on laptop and smartphone.
Many children in Korea love Youkai Watch. It make a great hit in Korea.

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