TOY SHOW: Hasbro introduces MLP Guardians of Harmony

[Sparkle Pony]

Ooooh, these look really, really nice!  I can't wait to see them in person.  I get the concerns about this just pushing the brushable line even further aside though, but honestly I don't see Hasbro stepping up their brushables any time soon.  I'd love to be proven wrong though!

[LadyMoondancer]

I really don't see how action features and weapons make them "non-girly." Wonder Woman, Sailor Moon, and She-Ra all have weapons and fight villains. I would have loved these as a little girl.

[ponyqueen]

I don't mind non-brushables, since I do like the Funkos. But there's just something about these I'm not sold on, I just can't put my hoof on it...

[otocolobus_manul]

Lol @ "Twilight Sparkle and friend" as she uses her wings to beat the crap out of that changeling. These are awesome! If we get battle-style full mane 6 (applebucking AJ etc), I might get those. For now I'll probably go for Celestia and Nightmare Moon 

[ponyqueen]

I think kids will like these more than the brushables. What can kids do with those but brush their hair? With these they can act out adventures and use their imaginations.

But will parents like them more? Looks like even the cheapest one will be double the price of a basic brushie.

[KarentheUnicorn]

hum, I don't know, they're 'okay'. Is it just me or does the neck look weirdly long? Hopefully they'll look better in person, it might just be the angle of how the photos were taken.

I bought a couple of those mini equestria girls but I don't have any desire to collect them all, just not into the plastic hair that much.

While these are kinda cute it feels kind of the same way for me, I still like the brushable hair. I like articulation in dolls but for some reason MLP with articulation always comes out as a meh or weird for me.

Post Merge: February 10, 2016, 12:52:22 PM

I think kids will like these more than the brushables. What can kids do with those but brush their hair? With these they can act out adventures and use their imaginations.

not really sure how a pony with brushable hair looses the ability for kids to act out adventures and use their imagination? Is there like a 4th wall when something has hair that limits the ability of people to play with ponies? I get that kids will be able to move the legs, but I don't think that ever stopped any kid from playing with MLP in the past.

This is nothing against articulated ponies just the statement that ponies having brushable hair means kids only have the one option of brushing hair.

[ponyqueen]

That aside, what's making me uncertain is more the context of these existing - "My Little Pony has long fostered a female appeal, yet Guardians of Harmony is another way for Hasbro to release products to satisfy its current large and fervent fan base of girls and boys, young and old" Hasbro's admitting they're only making these now because boys are fans too (ie: girls have always been fans, but now that there are boy fans, we need to find another way to sell to them too). Making things for boys too is great, but there's no inherent reason girls wouldn't have liked pose-able action figures as well before, they're just rarely made for girl's properties. That really bothers me.

That said, that quote does also suggest to me that this isn't meant to replace brushables either since they seem to acknowledge they need both, which I like, if not for reasons I agree with.

So to paraphrase Hasbro, this "Guardians of Harmony"  line has been developed to appeal to (parents who are buying toys for) boys and men, since the traditional (brushable) ponies already appeal to females across generations.

Therefore I am not the target audience, so I shall not be offended that these missed their mark with me. I shall await the next character brushie! 

[Elisto]

There's an interesting thing going on here with gendered toy marketing too, though. The emphasis on projectiles and shields makes it feel a lot like a "girl" line re-imagined as a "boy" line. I'm all about, to put it kindly, forgetting the gender binary, but I can't help but be reminded of the controversy of Cartoon Network cancelling Teen Titans because girls liked it but were perceived as a weak toy buying market. If Hasbro only wants to put money into making G4 an interesting toy line because boys like it too, that's a bit disheartening.

THIS. Has anyone noticed how much Hasbro has emphasized conflict and fighting with the particular images they've released in this article so far? We don't have a toy set of Twilight with her tree house library, or her owl assistant. We have her fighting a Changeling with an angry expression on her face. We don't have Celestia and Luna as sisters, we have 'Celestia versus Nightmare Moon.' We have Shining Armor wearing gladiator-style armor riding a giant dragon with a jousting lance.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but the majority of the show is 'slice of life' episodes, not 'hero versus villain' episodes (those are usually saved for the seasons openers and finales). Rarity designing clothes. Fluttershy getting over her shyness. The CMC dealing with school bullies. But we don't have any fashion playsets or school playsets here. We have the main characters and villains that they can attack and fight.

I'm not saying girls toys HAVE to be about school or fashion or anything like that, but it looks to me like there's nothing in the new line to acknowledge that at all. I think this new line is very obviously trying to grab the boy toy market and not only ignoring the established market of toys aimed at young girls, but ignoring what the majority of the show is about too.

Hm, in all fairness, I've always preferred the more action/fantasy-oriented side of MLP and wish they would have more of it in the show like G1, so I think a focus on that here is appropriate and welcome, although at the same time, what you're saying does relate to my concern about why they're doing this now and who they think finds this appealing/necessary.

[Tropical_Sunset]

Okay, I would have been all over these as a little girl and I will be all over these when they hit shelves.  I was starting to give up on MLP, honestly.  There are so few brushable characters and other than the (common) Funko minis, that's all I collect right now. 

I hope this line does well and we get to see a lot more characters.  I'd love to have Princess Luna, King Sombra and Big Mac in this style.

[Wardah]

There's an interesting thing going on here with gendered toy marketing too, though. The emphasis on projectiles and shields makes it feel a lot like a "girl" line re-imagined as a "boy" line. I'm all about, to put it kindly, forgetting the gender binary, but I can't help but be reminded of the controversy of Cartoon Network cancelling Teen Titans because girls liked it but were perceived as a weak toy buying market. If Hasbro only wants to put money into making G4 an interesting toy line because boys like it too, that's a bit disheartening.

THIS. Has anyone noticed how much Hasbro has emphasized conflict and fighting with the particular images they've released in this article so far? We don't have a toy set of Twilight with her tree house library, or her owl assistant. We have her fighting a Changeling with an angry expression on her face. We don't have Celestia and Luna as sisters, we have 'Celestia versus Nightmare Moon.' We have Shining Armor wearing gladiator-style armor riding a giant dragon with a jousting lance.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but the majority of the show is 'slice of life' episodes, not 'hero versus villain' episodes (those are usually saved for the seasons openers and finales). Rarity designing clothes. Fluttershy getting over her shyness. The CMC dealing with school bullies. But we don't have any fashion playsets or school playsets here. We have the main characters and villains that they can attack and fight.

I'm not saying girls toys HAVE to be about school or fashion or anything like that, but it looks to me like there's nothing in the new line to acknowledge that at all. I think this new line is very obviously trying to grab the boy toy market and not only ignoring the established market of toys aimed at young girls, but ignoring what the majority of the show is about too.

Hm, in all fairness, I've always preferred the more action/fantasy-oriented side of MLP and wish they would have more of it in the show like G1, so I think a focus on that here is appropriate and welcome, although at the same time, what you're saying does relate to my concern about why they're doing this now and who they think finds this appealing/necessary.

Pandering to the feminist gender neutral movement?

I also think they might be trying to catch that older girl audience with these since as much as I like Equestria Girls I don't think they have been hitting the mark with the older girls.

[Purpleglasses]

I feel I may have been slightly misunderstood. I think it's great to see action toys aimed at girls, and I find these much more interesting than the current static, single pose g4 line. I just feel a little bugged that the initial line was not this interesting, and would love to know what kind of conversations went on in the development meetings for these.

I do think girls like action. I too was a young girl, and my ponies frequently went on adventures and died sometimes. (Probably greatly inspired by the Last Unicorn movie.)I am not one of those people who thinks the action sequences in the show are not appreciated by girls.

It's also possible that the toy's new direction is inspired by the fact that people don't want to buy the brushables that all look the same.

[Yukiru]

I NEEEEED SPIKE AND SHINING ARMOR, LIKE, YESTERDAY 

[Malicieuse]

I really like the Shining Armor set and the Celestia/Nightmare Moon set.
The other figures don't do much for me. I guess it is just the fact that i'm growing tired of the same characters. A Twilight figure with an angry face is still just a Twilight figure.
Either way, i will be really surprised if these will ever get released here. None of the big blindbag ponyville set things even got here.

[Al-1701]

Actually, Twilight reminds me of those grimacing Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles figures.

I'm sorry, but these are too silly.  They look like a joke.

[Moonbreeze]

Either way, i will be really surprised if these will ever get released here. None of the big blindbag ponyville set things even got here.

I know right? And if they were they would be twice as expensive ;.;