Mi Anqi frequently draws encouragement and inspiration from her favorite TV character, Rarity — the sophisticated and entrepreneurial unicorn from the cartoon series “My Little Pony.” So when she stumbled upon collectible cards based on the beloved franchise, it was a no-brainer that she buy them.

Three months on, Mi has spent more than 1,000 yuan ($137) on her new hobby. For the 13-year-old from Shanghai, collecting and trading cards is also a way to socialize with peers. “They give me and my friends a lot to talk about,” she said.

Collectible trading cards, especially those featuring characters from franchises like “My Little Pony,” the Japanese cartoon series “Ultraman,” the Chinese animation “Yeloli,” or the mobile game “Eggy Party,” are currently enjoying a surge in popularity in China.

Their growing fandom is apparent offline, with racks of colorful boxes containing glossy cards placed at prominent positions in convenience stores and stationery shops. Online, card pack unboxing livestreams often attract thousands of viewers.

But as these collectible cards have started to trend, parents and education specialists have raised concerns about the potential negative impacts of gambling-like behaviors among kids. Some schools have even prohibited students from bringing collectible cards to campus.

“My Little Pony” cards are organized into a 16-category hierarchy according to their rarity. The rule for acquiring the rarest cards is simple — buy more packs.

Each pack of six typically costs between 2 and 10 yuan, making them affordable for minors to purchase with their pocket money. But it is also common for fans to purchase 20-pack boxes, priced between 60 and 200 yuan.

“If a pack doesn’t have any good cards, only regular ones, I’ll be really angry,” said Mi. “I won’t be satisfied and will want to buy another pack.”

“It’s like opening a blind box, because you never know what card you’ll get. I’ll be especially excited if I get a rare one,” she added, referring to the popular randomized toy boxes marketed by brands like Pop Mart.

A junior high student surnamed Lian in the southern Guangdong province said she struggles with the desire to buy more cards. She’s already spent more than 3,000 yuan on her collection.

Lian acknowledged that her spending habits have changed significantly since she started buying cards. “Products exceeding 10 yuan were expensive for me before, but now I don’t even blink at spending 100 yuan,” she told Sixth Tone.

“Even though my parents don’t object, I feel guilty after buying them because I know how hard they work to earn money. But I can’t control myself.”

Although still in its infancy, the collectible card craze’s similarity to the now heavily regulated blind box industry has some state media outlets raising the alarm. One recent report catalogued examples of extreme behavior related to collectible cards, including kids who were found doing homework for others in exchange for cards and one case in which a child resorted to stealing money from their grandparents to fund their card collection.

China’s fast-growing collectible toy market, from cards to figurines is fueled by a new generation of consumers who are increasingly willing to open their wallets for nonessential but fun, affordable items.

Chinese collectible toymaker Kayou Inc., the company behind My Little Pony and Ultraman card collections, generated 1.95 billion yuan in the first nine months of 2023, according to the company’s prospectus. Nearly 85% of its revenues were from trading cards.

Although the cards cost only pennies to produce, the value of the rarest variants has skyrocketed, with some commanding significant sums on the secondary market.

One notable example is a “My Little Pony” card featuring the character Twilight Sparkle, which, according to a widely circulated video, is worth 160,000 yuan due to its rarity — only four are known to exist. Another card, featuring fan favorite Pinkie Pie, can fetch between 40,000 and 50,000 yuan.

Similar to blind boxes, collectibles and trading cards are regulated by the government’s “Guidelines for Blind Box Business Practices.”

Under the guidelines, operators are prohibited from selling blind boxes to minors under the age of 8. When selling products to minors aged 8 to 18, the operator must obtain the consent of their guardian.

Collectible trading cards experienced a similar boom in the 1990s, when “dry noodle” snack brand Little Racoons began distributing collectible cards of heroes from the classic 14th-century novel “Water Margin” in their products. After the collecting craze took off among school-age children, parents called on the state to intervene due to the cards’ apparently addictive properties.

Now that generation of kids has become parents, and many are adopting a more open-minded approach toward collectibles and other, similar trends.
Mi’s mother, Wang Feifei, said she is supportive of her daughter’s hobby as long as she keeps her spending within a reasonable limit.

The 40-year-old allows her daughter to buy cards once a month, limited to 200 yuan. “If she wants more, she has to use her own pocket money.”

“Children might see the characters in My Little Pony as idols, and admire their personalities,” Wang said, adding that the positive life attitudes espoused by such characters means they may serve as a role model for children.

Children have a wider and more diverse range of interests to choose from in this “era of information overload,” according to Wang. “We should embrace this change and try to interfere as little as possible with their interests, supporting them instead. Things that are popular now often don’t last long. Teenagers’ attention is easily diverted, and they might start liking something else after a while.”

Jasmine Liu, a 36-year-old mother of two, and herself a collector of anime and game memorabilia, echoed Wang’s sentiments. “Harsh prohibition will only harm the parent-child relationship,” she said, adding that wise parents should try to understand their kids by keeping up with the trends.

“Every generation follows new trends that parents may not understand,” Liu said. “Instead of opposing your child’s interests, it’s better to respect and understand them, and go with the flow. Become your child’s ally and mentor. After all, what most people don’t understand may in fact present an opportunity.”

Editor: Tom Arnstein.

(Header image: “My Little Pony” cards on display at a store in Anyang, Henan province, July 14, 2024. VCG)