This week I interviewed MJNSEIFER who gave very thoughtful answers. Thanks so much!
Personal Interview-
Where did you get your user name?I chose it when I logged on to my first forum (a video game discussion forum called "GameTalk") and didn't want to use my real name. It was actually supposed to be "MAJIN SEIFER", which would have combined my two main online interests at the time;
Dragon Ball and
Final Fantasy, but I basically mistyped "MAJIN" as "MJN" and it stuck
How old are you?36.
Do you go to school or work?I'm between jobs at the moment.
What are your hobbies?I love writing; I am currently writing several different projects, including a
My Little Pony Fanseries. I also have a YouTube channel where I (among other things) have an Animation Review Show.
Do you have any pets?Not anymore, but I had a hamster and several fish when I was a kid.
What do you like/dislike about yourself?I like that I am nostalgic about all decades that I have experienced, including the one I am currently experiencing, and I like that there is no music that I dislike, despite acknowledging that this is a weird opinion. I also like that I am pretty feminine, hence my love for things like
My Little Pony. ^_^
I dislike that I am not always good at stating my opinion verbally – I am respectful of other people's opinions, but it doesn't translate well all the time in real life, and can sound like I'm forcing my own opinion as correct (online it's easier, as it's either typed [though even that can be worded badly and/or in a rush] or edited into a silly video.) I also dislike that I am not very articulate during a verbal argument, and fail to... well,
argue my actual point, and just end up saying a load of nonsense.
If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be?To be honest, I'm perfectly happy where I am, but would love the ability to visit anywhere I liked at any time, regardless of real life rules such as distance, travelling and time.
Do you collect anything other than ponies?Ornamental Cats, though it's been a while since I added to this collection (and probably have enough, unless I see some I really like.) I also used to do some rock collecting when I was younger.
Ponies-
How long have you been collecting ponies?Since 2013, if plushies count.
Why did you start collecting ponies?For plushies, I saw a G4 Rarity in Blackpool and just had to have her! ^_^ Plus, I would have wanted the Mane Six at some point, anyway. For the actual toys, I mainly had them given to me (mostly G4s, but some fakies as well), but would love to collect the previous generations too (as much as I love the G4 cartoon and my plushies, I prefer the design of the G1 and G3 toys.)
Who is your favorite pony and why?G4 Fluttershy! ^_^ She's so adorable and kind-hearted, and just gives off that vibe that makes me want to look after her... she also cares about animals, which is a definite plus in my book. It really is hard to narrow down why I love her... I just love her. ^_^
Who is your least favorite pony and why?Zephyr Breeze. I don't like his design (I actually hate the designs of the entire “Shy” family, except, you know, Fluttershy), I found his personality irritating, his storyline makes no sense (if he doesn't know his purpose, then how come he has a cutie mark!?) and his “crush” on Rainbow Dash wasn't funny or cute, at all IMO – it just made him look like he couldn't take the hint, or that he didn't want to (I get that unwanted admirers is a trope, but it's usually done better.)
Also... this will sound strange, but he was too much of a “dude” to fit in with
My Little Pony for me – there's nothing wrong with being a male character in a show aimed at girls, or even being a masculine male character in a show aimed at girls (both canon and fanon have shown this can work perfectly), but Zeph just didn't fit in for me, he was out of place IMO.
Who is your favorite pony from another country?Haven't researched these as much as I should have, but the first I think of is Nachtlicht (“Night Light”) in G1, and I love her design and color scheme.
Who is your favorite fakie?I don't know who/what she is specifically, but out of what I've got, I'd say it's the earth pony I got an arcade; she's a white pony with a pink mane and tail and her cutie mark (or symbol, if you prefer) is two sets of seven green dots (both sets being six dots in a kind of circle with the seventh dot in the center) and a green sun.
Who was your first pony?That I owned, G4 Rarity. That I liked, G1 Firefly.
What pony did you get recently?Princess Luna.
What is your favorite generation?Generation 3! ^_^
What is your favorite part about collecting?Weird answer, but... it's kind of a nostalgia thing, like the idea of something that reminds me of childhood, despite not really having
MLP as part of my childhood, really, but it has that vibe to it – though that would be more the case if I had some G1s, as they give me that vibe toyline wise (G4 gives me that vibe cartoon wise.)
How big is your collection?Not very... I have seven G4 plushies, 17 G4 toys, four smaller G4 soft toys (like beanie babies and/or the like) and three fakies.
What do your friends and family think about your collection?They're cool with it.
My dad used to joke about it and call them donkeys, but he was just goofing, and that seems to have faded out now. My mother also looks after my Rarity plushie's mane whenever she visits, which IMO is adorable. ^_^
Do you still play with your ponies?Does hugging and kissing my plushies count? ^_^
What rare or popular pony makes you ask why!?I don't really know that much about how rare or popular the ponies are in the toyline (aside from the cliché thing about Mimic being rare, which I think I heard was exaggerated.) In the cartoon, I'm surprised that Maud Pie seems/seemed to be somewhat popular, at least to bronies (unless I got that wrong) – I respect those who like her, but she seems like a dull pony to me (I get that's likely part of the joke, but...)
If you had to have a pony symbol tattooed on your butt, which would you pick and why?If I had to... I'd go with G4 Rainbow Dash's cutie mark, as I always felt it looked cool.
If you could have any pony remade in a different generation, who would you choose and why?I dunno really, it's kind of cool to see everypony drawn in a different generation style in my opinion, since they all look at least good in their own way, IMO. The only thing I'm not sold on is seeing the G4 Alicorn style in other generation styles, as G4 made them standout by giving them a separate style compared to other G4, while the other generations (as much as I love them) don't have that, so if you do them in, say, G1 style, they just look like other G1s (which on its own is beautiful, but the alicorns don't stand out like they should.)
What has been the worst part about collecting?That the older generations aren't in stores.
What is your ultimate collecting goal?I WANT IT ALL! Well, not really, but in a perfect world, I'd at least have all of the G1 and G3 toys – I even have a silly imagination where I have an entire room dedicated to my pony collection (and the door to it is a bookcase, of all things...)
What is your biggest collecting accomplishment?I don't really have one, since I haven't collected anything from before G4 (unless a “Concept Six” version of Surprise counts, which is obviously a custom G4 Pinkie Pie), so I guess my biggest achievement is getting all of the Mane Six as plushies, as I will always love them. ^_^
What is your biggest collecting regret?That I didn't collect the G1s as a kid – I'm sure it wouldn't have been like my imagination portrays it (due to reasons all you veteran collectors likely already know) where I'm watching the show (which I also didn't do as a kid) and collecting the toys, regardless of whether they were in the show or not, and just playing with them, be it inspired by the show, or my own “storylines” – there's just something about the G1s that screams out “Childhood Nostalgia” to me, but it just wasn't mine.
Who is your grail pony and why?
Do you have it?Star Catcher – she's the most beautiful pony from the most beautiful generation, in my opinion. ^_^
No, I don't have her.
Do you prefer loose or MIP ponies?Loose, I'm not a fan of the whole “don't remove from the box” thing, but I know understand that it is important to some collectors, so I always try to collect loose ponies, so I don't feel guilty about removing them from their packages, as some collectors may prefer them that way.
Quick! Close your eyes and grab a pony! Who did you get?G4 Rainbow Dash.
Are you a customizer?
Would you ever be?I am not a customizer, and I don't see myself ever becoming one.
What do you think of custom ponies?I'm mixed on it, on the one hoof, the people who do it are very talented, but on the other, that's now one less of that pony that exists in the world now.
What are acceptable and unacceptable pony flaws, in your opinion?I don't know about the toyline (I love and respect it, I'm just not an expert on it outside “That pony looks beautiful”), but in the cartoons, and acceptable flaw would be the pony making mistakes that they can learn from as the show goes on, or by the end of the episode – and even the “jerk” characters are allowed to exist, as that's their purpose – to be jerks. An unacceptable flaw would be to be a pony who doesn't fit into
My Little Pony at all (like my mate Zephyr!)
Would you rather have a bait pony or a fakie?I had to look up what a “bait” pony was, but now that I know... I'd go with a fakie. No offence, but I don't really want a damaged pony (that sounds so out of character for me – if a real Little Pony with something wrong with her appeared before me, of course I'd take her in! ^_^) though I will say that this puts custom ponies into perspective, as (according to My Little Wiki, this the fate of bait ponies, which is pretty cool!)
Do you watch pony shows/movies?
Which ones?As you've probably guessed by now (or from when you've seen me on the forum) I'm actually more knowledgeable about the cartoons that I am the toys – I watch G1,
My Little Pony Tales (which is also G1, of course – generation numbers still have meaning, even in the days of the bronies) G3, G3.5, G4 (
Friendship is Magic is my favorite show, even though G3, including the cartoons, is my favorite generation) G4.5 (I love
Pony Life!) and G5 (I loved
A New Generation, and I love M
ake Your Mark – I'm mixed on
Tell Your Tale, but I don't hate, or even dislike it, it just doesn't always feel like
My Little Pony to me.)
Do you read pony comics?
Which ones?I have looked at some G1 and G3 comics on “Heck Yeah, Pony Scans!” but don't own any myself. I would love to be able to read more pony comics, of all generations that had them, for more inspiration.
What is the worst thing you've ever done to a pony?There is old home video footage of a younger me (at least pre-teen) at Blackpool Lights insulting
My Little Pony, calling it a “Rubbish girly thing” – I'm pretty sure it was the G2s who were being shown, who I love now (I was going through a phase – I was actually intrigued by the first G1 cartoon before this!)
Fill in the blank!
"I wish Hasbro would _______"
Release the final seasons of
FiM, all of
Pony Life, and all of G5 on DVD/Blu-ray –
My Little Pony is meant to be something you can watch as physical media, IMO (it has that nostalgic vibe of being a collectable toy, and it should have that nostalgic vibe of collecting the physical media too! I love that nostalgic feeling of looking at a video/DVD/Blu-ray and thinking “Yeah, I own that.”)
"When I was new to ponies I didn't know ______"
That
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic was a real cartoon! Seriously, for all my praise towards it, and despite how I insist now that it is a beautifully drawn and animated show – I actually thought it was a fan made thing when I first saw it, likely because I didn't realize how awesome
MLP has always been at the time, so I just thought it was some fun fanmade thing that someone did, because I saw my first episode on YouTube, but I did some digging and found it was a real show.
"I think the most underappreciated pony is _______ because ______"
G3 Cotton Candy, because she has a beautiful design and is adorable in the cartoon, but hardly ever seems to get any fanart – she's not “Cotton Candy”, she's “Forgotten Candy”.
"I don't like _______ because _______"
I don't like how the brony fandom and the rest of the MLP fandom ended up with such a divide between them - as a brony, I know it was ultimately the bronies (though not all of them) who caused things to go like this, but it would have been awesome if the brony fandom had been better at meeting the MLP fandom half-way and actually acting like part of it (for the record, I do feel like the brony fandom is part of the MLP fandom, even if it goes its own way.)
The divide may not be as bad as it was now (though I've spent more time with this side of the fandom now, than I have with other bronies, so I don't know), but even if the brony fandom had to be its own sub-section, or even a separate fandom, it could have done better at co-existing.
"I love ______ because _
I love
Pony Life because it is adorable and fun, and shows that you can write a fun and silly show that can still be loving and nostalgic, and that you can still write a serialized show, even when you're focusing on comedy (and that it basically took the things that I felt was ruining
FiM, despite me still loving that show, and actually made them work, IMO!)
I love all the
MLP generations, but I had to show my love for
Pony Life, as it seems kind of overlooked, IMO.
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