Why are Takara Ponies (from Japan) so hard to find?

[brmylittleponycollector]

I have a lot of difficulties finding ponies that were made in the 80's in Japan for sale on Ebay and websites in Brazil!!  You know Takaras ponies really haven't been manufactured for a long time??  I saw that they had very few copies there in Japan!!  but I also saw that they were very successful more because of copyright problems and it is difficult to export them around the world!!  a Brazilian collector told me that here in Latin America it is very rare to find them!!  I'm even confused because even Fakes are hard to find!!  I wanted a Takara Pony (but not now because I'm not buying it at the moment !!) These ponies are really hard to find or is it only in Brazil that has this problem??  Can any experienced collector answer me??  have a great afternoon!!

[maycrestmom]

I don't think these ponies were popular back in the day (80's) so now are just rare all over the world

https://www.mlptp.net/index.php?threads/takara-pony-analysis-why-did-it-fail-in-japan.113531/

[Mewtwofan1]

It is most likely a combination of factors. I’m no expert, and I might have misheard some of my information, but to my understanding the lack of takara ponies in general can be put down to only a small amount of the planned ones ever actually being made/sold, a sort of lacking popularity when they did originally release (they had a somewhat successful run, but nothing absolutely crazy), the fact this release was only limited to Japan, and it being possible not many have survived to the present day, being thrown out, donated, or simply lost in someone’s childhood toy box and not being on the market.
I would say the biggest roadblock to most collectors is the limited release. They were only ever released for a short time window in Japan, meaning unless someone from Japan moved to your location with their childhood toys and donated/sold them, you’d be extremely unlikely to find any around you, or anywhere outside Japan for that matter. That’s not to say you might not find one, but your chances are astronomically slim.

[pinkkittywinks]

You will very rarely find them for sale on eBay. I bought mine from another collectors, this is how most people acquire Takara's. There are auction site in Japan, and Takara's do pop up for sale on them, but there is still competition for them and they will still go for in a region of $800-2000 USD.

The Takara ponies were only made for one year (1986 I believe), and not many were made before the line was discontinued. There is just isn't the same volume of them compared to "regular" release or even some "nirvana" ponies that were produced between 1983-1994.

Love pkw xxx

[pandabear_chan]

You will very rarely find them for sale on eBay. I bought mine from another collectors, this is how most people acquire Takara's. There are auction site in Japan, and Takara's do pop up for sale on them, but there is still competition for them and they will still go for in a region of $800-2000 USD.

The Takara ponies were only made for one year (1986 I believe), and not many were made before the line was discontinued. There is just isn't the same volume of them compared to "regular" release or even some "nirvana" ponies that were produced between 1983-1994.

Love pkw xxx

Pinkkittywinks is absolutely on point here.

In general Hasbro made a trade with the company Takara Tomy in the 80s. While Takara got the ability to produce their own ponies known as "Osharena Ponies" (Osharena is the Japanese word for elegant) - Hasbro got the ability to produce Transformers. Takara ponies were only sold in 1985 (almost right @pinkkittywinks ) and sold only in Japan. Japanese people tend to throw stuff away rather than keeping it. Therefore a lot of Takaras might gone missing over the decades.

They are sold on Japanese pages now and then (perhaps 3-4 per year). You need good connections to get one of them and in can take a very long time. It took me about 4-5 years to get the 6 I own now.

[pinkkittywinks]

Thank you for posting Panda

Love pkw xxx

[Queen Sophie]

I got my Takara pony through Japanese sites or mainly buyee, looking at the responses I feel like I have no idea how lucky I am to get my hands on one! I did see some on eBay though they are gone now and I’ve been told your more likely to get the Takara pony clothing

[Taffeta]

'Na' is actually connective particle, not part of the word. "O-share' means fashionable, but it's a na-adjective so the na is required to connect it to a noun (as opposed to i adjectives like kawaii, which don't need a na). おしゃれなポニー O-share na ponii.


I remember the first information we had on them was a leaflet, and at the time they were not widely known about even in Japan. My mother taught Japanese people English through the nineties but although several of these folk had pony-age kids and had G1 ponies, none of the families had ever heard of MLP before coming to the UK.


I don't collect them but do regret that back in 2007ish when I was buying Japanese stuff off yahoo auctions, I didn't go looking for them. It would have helped pay my rent and tuition as a student

I know one ponyperson did find a Takara in a store in Japan while over there and paid something like 300$ for it, after negotiating? But yeah, the lack of production, distribution, and the problem of getting them out of Japan when they are found...are all factors.

I have one Takara outfit just for the nostalgia of it because of studying Japan. I think it's a bridal dress or something. It wasn't expensive and I got it about six or seven years ago I think. I've never tried to get the moominponies though.

Japanese sellers have realised the value, and it's complicated to get them out of japan, with the extra cost of proxies. It's probably made them more expensive all around in both spheres.

[Ponyfan]

I found this on Youtube a while back.  It's a commercial for the Takara ponies.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0GdfAoE9__g



Ponyfan

[Taffeta]

I found this on Youtube a while back.  It's a commercial for the Takara ponies.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0GdfAoE9__g



Ponyfan

I think I'm getting old, because I swear I don't remember seeing it before, but I posted a translation thing in the comments like 11 years ago, so clearly I did o.O. Oh well.

Here's my 2022 version anywayz.

"My Little Pony, My Little Pony
What hair style shall we have today?
A fashionable pony (Oshare na Pony) and their wonderful friends!
You're looking for your pony, right?
O-share na pony"

In the YT comment I put 'find your pony, okay?' which isn't grammatically quite right but on reflection I think it conveys the sense better.

Full text etc in spoiler for those who want it

Spoiler

マイリトルポニー、マイリトルポニー
今日はどんなヘアスタイルにしようかな？
おしゃれなポニーに素敵なお友達
あなたのポニー、探してるね
おしゃれなポニー

MAI RITORU PONII, MAI RITORU PONII
Kyou wa donna HEASUTAIRU ni shiyou kana?
Oshare na PONII ni suteki na o-tomodachi
Anata no PONII, sagashite'ru ne
Oshare na PONII
 

I also am getting old because it took me about fifteen tries to correct the spelling in this post.

[Ponyfan]

That's really interesting Taffeta.  When I was watching the ad, I knew you'd be able to translate it in to English and then looked at the comments and saw someone already had.  I didn't realize that person was you.


Ponyfan

[Taffeta]

VraieEsprit is my YT name, it relates back to a story I wrote as a teenager, and the fact that back then I was all obsessed with french xD I still use 'Vraie' quite a lot online.

You'd think I'd remember my own translation though *facepalm* My brain cells have rotted.