The latest incarnation of Hasbro's

empire has generated buzz among an unexpected fan base: grown men.

So what if the target demographic for the television show and toys featuring brightly colored, sparkly equines is 6- to 12-year-old girls?

The nationwide contingent of men who call themselves "bronies" say they're man enough to admit they love "My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic," The Hub television network's newest generation of the children's brand first popularized in the 1980s.

"Just because it's a kids' cartoon show doesn't mean it's not entertaining," says Jacob Schultz, a 20-year-old self-professed brony from Eagle Creek. "Ignoring the fact that they're colorful ponies, they have a good story and characterization behind them."

Schultz is part of a Portland-based group of bronies that recently began meeting to share their passion. The group's latest endeavor, July's "Northwest Bronyfest," attracted 80 My Little Pony enthusiasts -- mostly men, plus a handful of women -- for a two-day celebration of bronyism.

The phenomenon began taking hold soon after "Friendship Is Magic" debuted last fall. As the brony ranks grew, monthly viewership -- which was 1.4 million a month in November -- nearly tripled to 4 million by the end of the first season. The bronies expect another growth spurt after the show begins its second season today.

"We are getting new members by the day," says Nathan Shepard, 20, who helped organize the Portland group. "There's been a lot of buildup."

Shepard planned to wake up early this morning to catch the 6 a.m. premiere of the show, which follows a brigade of six kindhearted young ponies as they battle the forces of darkness. Such die-hard enthusiasm isn't uncommon among the bronies, who say they're just as shocked as the general public that the show has attracted such a fan base.

"About the fourth episode in, I had that moment that all college 20-year-old guys get: 'Wait, I'm watching a show for little girls?'" Schultz says. "Right after, I had that moment I was like 'Eh, who cares?'"

With the occasional exception, the bronies share a common profile. Talk to any of the 117 (and counting) members in Portland's network, and you're likely to get a similar story.

They're self-described geeks, nerds or video gamers in their teens to mid-30s. They discovered My Little Pony after noticing a glut of pony-related activity while browsing Internet forums. Curious, they checked out the show and got hooked.

"I've gotten raised eyebrows from friends," says Jim West, a 20-year-old brony from Olympia.

But don't call them girly men. Yes, some bronies are sensitive types. But they also rock climb and play sports, have girlfriends and maintain active social lives.

"I play video games and hang out with my (non-brony) friends; I still like fighting zombies and all that good stuff," West says. "It's not like the ponies are the only thing, but they have become pretty big for me."

Animation fandom is nothing new among the anime and gaming set. Past and present fads include "

," "

," "

" and scores of Japanese anime cartoons.

But the bronies are different -- and not just because their obsession is peculiarly feminine and juvenile.

They're outspoken. Many bronies proudly display their pony passion with T-shirts, pins, posters and large figurine collections. One of the most popular Facebook pages on the subject lists Bronyism as a religion.

"My favorite is Fluttershy," says Theo Truesdell, 22, a

student who has watched the entire first season at least seven times. "I'm a sucker for cute things, and she's a very shy and adorable character."

They're organized. Shaun Scotellaro started the national brony site

in January, after My Little Pony's adult fan base reached a recognizable size. Since then, traffic to the site has climbed, to a current daily average of 500,000 page views. Bronies meet there to discuss the series and share art, writing and musical remixes based on the series.

"People are pumping out stuff left and right -- fan fiction, videos, music," says Scotellaro, 23, of Arizona. "This sort of gave a place to show it off."

In addition, local

brony groups have cropped up across the country, including in Portland and Seattle.

They're an industry. The Hub is a joint venture of Discovery Communications and toy company Hasbro.

The Hub sees "My Little Pony's" online following as an added marketing tool, says Jayson Thiessen, the show's supervising director.

"There's a demographic there that they can use that they haven't really seen before," he says. "I don't think anyone expected a candy-colored show about sparkly ponies making friends with everybody to be as entertaining as it turned out to be."

The show's creators have latched on to the craze by creating special commercials for the bronies and granting interviews on

.

Perhaps most notably, execs for The Hub don't yank unlicensed episodes from YouTube.

"The main goal here is to sell toys," Scotellaro says. "It's free advertising for them."

Many bronies expected the buzz to die down during the four-month gap between seasons 1 and 2, but it's only grown more intense. But they struggle to pinpoint a single reason why "Friendship Is Magic" has garnered such a following among adult men.

For some, it's the show's catchy music. Others laud the positive message, the flash animation or the show's ability to appeal to an adult sense of humor.

Scotellaro says it's likely also a matter of exposure. "Friendship Is Magic" generated buzz within the male-dominated online gaming world, so men were more likely to come across the show.

"I'm sure there's going to be some crazy research project in the future that will tell us all why," he says.

And that quirky nickname? It's anybody's guess who coined the term brony, Scotellaro said. Someone popped it into an online discussion board, and the name stuck.

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