My Little Redesign

I went there. But I would be remiss if I didn't.

   My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is noted for its Faustian (that's Lauren Faustian) design style. I'm not sure if there are any people really confused by this, unsure how ponies could go from this...

to this:

...but if there are, this post is for you.

   It's not just a matter of totally new non-sequitur redesign. My Little Pony has undergone quite a few alternate designs over the years. There's Generation 2, which featured more realistic pony proportions (and has thus been called the "My Little Anorexic Pony" by fans...)

   Then there's Generation 3.5, still technically Gen 3 but with a complete design re-haul of the more Gen-1-inspired design.

   I'm not sure where this fits in, but there's also the Takara Japanese Generation 1 series (by far my favorite.) Just look at this stop-motion animated toy commercial.

   愛らしい!

   But like I said, this design is one of the things that allows it to be, not only good, but popular. That's... really it. Iconic character design. Remember, it's based on toys, and is meant to capture the imagination. Iconic design captures the imagination of artists, certainly. Remember also that the character design has a sense of customization, from the colors to the mane style to the cutie marks. It's ideal for making OCs. So there's that. All of these things. Lauren Faust designed both this style and the idea that the property should hold broader appeal.

   Can something be fortuitous if it was planned that way?

(Images via My Little Wiki and the Friendship is Magic Wiki.)