Man I love anime!  It's great that there are a wide variety of genres for animated shows in Japan.
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is the only anime I know of, and it's children'ts anime.  That's how I first heard the term "bronies."
Heh, I think bronies get a bad rap because a few of them (let's be honest, a bit more than a few) are a little... intense... but you can't really judge them by the worst examples, right?
I am a high school teacher and about 10 years ago some students started a Bronie club.  Cracked me up.  They just watched MLP over and over and got so excited.  Easiest club we ever had.
Heh Anime fans can get to be the same way.  Sometimes they just find a really good show and fantasize about it being real.  It's nothing new, really.  Star Trek had the same kind of fans back in the day.
I guess it is similar to ComicCon and Trekkies. Didn't Trekkies also enjoy "The Man From U.N.C.L.E?"