- Joined
- Aug 1, 2017
- Messages
- 206
I don’t see many people talking about the Takara ponies much, in the g1 collector community. And I think that’s a shame. I really like these ponies, as region exclusive as they are. They’re really cute, and I fully understand that many others within the latest generation fandom don’t seem to think so.
But why did they fail so hard when released in Japan, back in 1985? Let’s try to figure that out.
Looking at the design of these ponies, some things immediately become apparent. These ponies made by Takara (Tomy) are nothing like the originals. They stand upright on two feet....hooves? Rather than on four hooves. In addition, they have tiny, beady eyes and bulbous noses- I suspect that this is just a stylistic chose that the design team went with that mimics the longer muzzle of real life ponies. But the original design of the g1 ponies already had that down.
In any case, this design didn’t fly with the Japanese audience, and understandably so. As someone who has an interest also in anime, and knows that large, expressive eyes and small noses are what is preferred in anime characters, even around that time (Astro Boy, Ganbara Genki, Monchhichi, etc.) I can see why these super stylized ponies missed the mark. What I can’t fathom is why the developers chose these attributes for these ponies, clearly going against the grain for them. It is hardwired for people- especially females- to find small creatures (and characters) with small noses and large eyes to be more attractive- like human babies, kittens, or puppies.
Regrettable though this is, to the point where the MLP g4 designs have been modified to look (and act) more like cats than horses, with practically no existent muzzles, I can see why the g1 Takaras failed, on the design alone. Sadly, many might not think of them as ponies at first sight. (Though that may also be argued for g3 and g4 ponies...)
Though, I find it interesting that when searching for Takaras on Google Lens, the results I got were of “Unicorn no Cony” ( Connie the unicorn), which shares the same beady eyes...- Albeit a much smaller nose than the Takaras sported, but seem...fairly more popular?
But why did they fail so hard when released in Japan, back in 1985? Let’s try to figure that out.
Looking at the design of these ponies, some things immediately become apparent. These ponies made by Takara (Tomy) are nothing like the originals. They stand upright on two feet....hooves? Rather than on four hooves. In addition, they have tiny, beady eyes and bulbous noses- I suspect that this is just a stylistic chose that the design team went with that mimics the longer muzzle of real life ponies. But the original design of the g1 ponies already had that down.
In any case, this design didn’t fly with the Japanese audience, and understandably so. As someone who has an interest also in anime, and knows that large, expressive eyes and small noses are what is preferred in anime characters, even around that time (Astro Boy, Ganbara Genki, Monchhichi, etc.) I can see why these super stylized ponies missed the mark. What I can’t fathom is why the developers chose these attributes for these ponies, clearly going against the grain for them. It is hardwired for people- especially females- to find small creatures (and characters) with small noses and large eyes to be more attractive- like human babies, kittens, or puppies.
Regrettable though this is, to the point where the MLP g4 designs have been modified to look (and act) more like cats than horses, with practically no existent muzzles, I can see why the g1 Takaras failed, on the design alone. Sadly, many might not think of them as ponies at first sight. (Though that may also be argued for g3 and g4 ponies...)
Though, I find it interesting that when searching for Takaras on Google Lens, the results I got were of “Unicorn no Cony” ( Connie the unicorn), which shares the same beady eyes...- Albeit a much smaller nose than the Takaras sported, but seem...fairly more popular?