Kayou and My Little Pony are celebrating one year since their launch last year. Fans can learn to play the trading card game at New York Comic Con (NYCC) with help from Kayou at booth No. 1143.
To celebrate the one-year anniversary, Kayou hosted a panel on the first day at NYCC to discuss fandom and the future of Kayou and My Little Pony.
“Multigenerational appeal is our goal, but so is the ability to celebrate across generations,” said Claire O’Sullivan, the Senior Manager of Global Consumer Marketing at Hasbro. The collaboration has allowed the building of community, she added.
“Since coming out in the U.S., it’s been a lot of momentum. Kayou is a way to expand and engage,” she shared.
“The fandom didn’t surprise me,” O’Sullivan noted; Hasbro has many IPs, and O’Sullivan is delighted by the enthusiasm of fans and collectors.
Andy Price, official illustrator for My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, agreed. Price noted that he joined My Little Pony in 2012, and the fervor remains strong 14 years later.
When asked how an illustration or character is transformed into a card or collectible, Cheng Chang, Head of Collectible Card Studio, Kayou, said that the mostly female team has a passion for art and design. “They have different ideas and perspectives to share,” he said. “Kayou is very strong in our design, and we want to show these techniques and passion for My Little Pony.”
Cheng added that he and the team incorporate their own lives into the artwork and designs. For Cheng, that extended to tarot card-inspired art and trading cards inspired by Dunhuang murals.
Attendees of the panel were treated to a sneak peal of My Little Pony Moon Edition 6, expected in 2027, and My Little Pony Shining Edition, scheduled for January. The cards from Edition 6 are inspired by Western Chinese culture and perfume advertisements.
Mini cards are on the way next year. Cheng said research showed that mini cards are easy to carry. Cheng was effusive with praise for the production team, which he called “passionate.”
“The artwork is what’s striking first,” Price said, explaining the appeal of Kayou. He added that collecting cards “is very addictive,” and offers collectors cards that are beautiful to look at.
Price likes that Kayou likes digital art, which translates well to cards, and traditional art, which he is known for. “The ponies are very organic characters,” he said. “Hasbro has always been open to artistic interpretation.” Today, most of Price’s artwork is painted by hand.
This year, Kayou hosted Chase the Magic, which invited one fan to design their own pony through a sweepstakes. David Abdelmaseih won the campaign and joined the panel.
Abdelmaseih and his wife have been collecting cards since they were teenagers. Kayou’s My Little Pony cards, and vintage toys, were a way to introduce his young daughters to collecting.”We could not believe the quality of the cards,” he said, noting that he and his wife were sure they had only rare cards in their first pack.
Abdelmaseih was sure he would win the sweepstakes; he and his young daughter designed Banannie Bloom together. “We had the opportunity to tell the story of our two girls together,” he said. “My girls are going to have a pony for the rest of their lives.”
For more information about upcoming releases, visit Kayou’s booth, No. 1143, or kayouofficial.com.
