Hasbro could do this to broaden the audience a bit more and pick up the anime fans. So that this could become popular with the audience in Japan and the anime fans here. The series would air in Japan at first with a Japanese cast (obviously) with the English Dub airing after enough time has passed with the respective cast from the original show reprising their roles.
The difference between the anime and the source material is that the anime will probably a full narrative structure with a continuous storyline and story arcs. It could develop the characters that would feature in the anime. For example, one story arc could detail how Shining Armor and Cadence first met which would result in a very tearjerking scene (they would be tears of joy, however). Status quo will not be God in this series. There would be strong character development and it could be something like Clannad which means that you will cry at certain scenes.
However, due to the difference in the culture and the such, the characters HAVE to be human. This is due to them not liking anthropomorphic characters. You see, they feel that they wouldn't be able to relate to an animal rather than a human. This one of the reasons as to why Sonic games do not sell well at the slightest in Japan. Also, when they do have anthropomorphic characters, the males look like animals whereas the females look like humans with animal ears and an animal tail. For example, the catgirl. Also, I believe that the names would have to be changed to regular Japanese names to fit in with the realistic Japanese setting. However, the names would most likely be changed back in the English Dub that would air on the Hub.
It could be something like this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vpGZY3fJjZ0