Basically, it does.

For some background, I'm not a fan of girly shows myself. Make me choose between watching Titanic or Demolition Man, and I'll be asking what the seashells are for.

But My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, changed my standard. The show is genuinely funny, and the episodes have actual plots and overarching storylines. Typical children's shows, especially girl's shows, usually have flat, vapid characters that bounce about and prattle on. The "Mane Six" of MLP:FIM are characters that break that standard. They have depth, they have flaws, and each one grows and develops as the shows continues.

Besides just that, the writing for the show is amazing. There are plenty of in-jokes for adults. For instance, there is an actual canon character named Doctor Hooves, who is a reference to Doctor Who. In a scene in a bowling alley, there is a quite easily recognizable set of ponies that are a homage to The Big Lebowski. For fans of Star Trek, they actually have a Q-type character, Discord, who is voiced by none other than John DeLancie. The writers take these jokes and weave them in to the stories flawlessly, they aren't in your face, but they definitely bring a smile when you recognize them.

So before this gets too long, that's just a couple of things that I find appealing about the show. Give it a chance sometime, watch a couple of episodes. You'll most likely be pleasantly surprised at how good it is.