Favourite answer

there many reasons why one might become a brony but here's why i like it.

first off is the animation and character design, which is done beautifully. in a way it's reminicent of anime in that it has large eyes to help emphasize the show of emotion on the character's faces, the drawings are smooth and solid making them have a crisp clean feel and the animation itself is very smooth and seemless as well as detailed, to the point where even the manes of the ponies have their own movement when the characters are walking.

next are the characters and character development. The pony cast are all very likable, none are overly obnoxious, yet at the same time, while all the ponies are likable, they are not without flaws as some are too shy, too brash, vain, etc. this is a real breath of fresh air because a majority of protagonists for children's shows are in fact flawless and therefore are unrealistic role models, with the cast of MLP however, there is always at least one pony that is relatable to yourself which allows a deeper connection to the show than one would normally see. Not only that but the antagonists are solid as well, for example the first villain to appear (will not say name because i want you to watch and find out for yourself) was very nicely designed, had a great backstory, and was doing something truly antagonistic like, not something lame like "all the candy in the world will be mine" or "i will ban wearing hats forever!" like most antagonist shows end up doing.

The music of the show is absolutely jaw dropping, it's full to the brim with incredibly catchy songs that range anywhere from rock and roll (usually done for rainbow dash) to a full 20 person chorus, to broadway style musical, and when i say they are catchy, i mean that even after two months of watching MLP for the first time, i still catch myself singing/whistling the tunes from the show... out loud!

Another thing about MLP:FIM is that it's full to the brim with references galore, if you care to look for them, with references to popular movies and television series (including doctor who, star trek, big labowski and twilight) as well as well known and popular memes of the internet (including chocolate rain and double rainbow). this is probably one of the bigger reasons why this show is capable of appealing to adults as well, it allows some participation on their part as well, a sort of find the easter egg if you will.

Finally something that really impressed me was that every single episode had a moral lesson tied to it, which can range anywhere between being simple and obvious (ex. learning to share) to being an incredibly mature lesson valuable to even adults (ex. learning to accept and respect the differences and opinions of others) i mean how amazing is that!? for a lot of shows, there is so huge a focus on the entertainment factor that a majority of the time a moral lesson is skipped altogether, with MLP:FIM, it tries to make the world a better place.

really though the only true way to find out why it's so popular is to watch it yourself, i mean heck, even i was incredibly skeptical about how good this show was supposed to be and found myself pleasantly surprised.

if you wish to learn more about bronies and brony subculture, try out this video called "ballad of the brony" which is a video done by a brony for what i believe is a college or university class, it explains practically everything there is to what a brony is and why we love the show, i must warn you though, it's an hour long, but it is incredible.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UE7I_IDX98g

here's hoping you become one of us /)^3^(\