That Matoran with a Vahi

Okay, give me a few moments... *INSERT LOUD SQUEALING AND FLAILING HERE* See, this is why I should check up on BZP more often; this kind of quality news right here. I didn't quite believe it at first, I honestly never expected this to happen... and now that it has, I think I am going to need to set aside time to punch myself in the nostalgic feels sometime very soon. I may no longer be the massive fan of this movie that I was when I was younger, but I'm pretty certain that the nostalgia alone will make it a worthwhile purchase. EDIT: ...Oh whoops, I think I just ran afoul of the revival rule; I can't remember how long it is for this forum D: Sorry... I was just too excited, I didn't think to check the date until after I'd posted. Um... feel free to delete this post if need be ^^;

It was the dawn of the third age of mankind, ten years after the Earth-Minbari war. The Babylon project was a dream given form... ...and I know it's way too old for them to even consider now, but I'd really love to see a Babylon 5 Lego theme in existence. There could be smaller sets of most of the general ships, vehicles and minifigures, and then a big UCS model of the Babylon 5 station itself, kinda like that massive Second Death Star that was made a number of years back. NOT that I would have the money to buy any of that, of course. But I'd be happy just to know that it existed xD

Don't quote me on this but I always figured, by that point, Vakama just wanted to prove to himself that he could do it. If I remember correctly - and it's been a long time since I watched that movie - he was feeling pretty down by that point, after misinterpretting Lhikan's instruction about protecting 'the heart of Metru Nui' and being the only one who hadn't discovered his mask power; I got the impression that he simply wanted to validate himself in his own eyes, and the only way he knew how was by crafting the 'ultimate' great mask. That, and I just checked the novel, which says "he couldn't explain why, but he had a feeling that the mask he was making would be vital to saving the city"; so, there's that too. Basically, I guess... he was acting on a hunch, little more than that.

THE EXO-TOA, for me. I'd been wanting that set for ages. Not... right since '02, but for a good while, at least; it was the last of the large '01-'07 sets I hadn't been able to get my hands on, it always seemed to ellude me at an affordable price. And then earlier in the year... I literally just happened across it. I'd bought a bag of numerous Bionicle bits and pieces in a charity shop, just £7 for the lot, with the intention of rebuilding them all and selling them on as complete or near-complete on ebay. To my complete surprise and incredible delight, amongst a bundle of semi-complete Rahksi and Toa, the bag actually contained an 85% complete Exo-Toa! Of course, I wasn't going to sell that one on; and, with a bit of help from Bricklink, I was able to pick up most of the pieces I needed to complete it. I'm still missing one or two, but... it's the find of my small collection nowadays, for sure. In fact, all of the '01 Rahi I only picked up years after their releases, too; either cheap on ebay or floating around in the local toyshop about three or four years after they were no longer being produced. Those were longer ago, though - the Exo-Toa thing is still recent for me, so that feels like the most significant find for me ^^

I know a lot of this is down to nostalgia, but... I just can't not say 2001. I just... I know I thought the premise of the story was a little weird at first - particularly the earliest descriptions that spoke of the Toa as if they were gods - but it didn't take me long to just... fall in love with it all. The Toa were just as mystical to me as they were to the Matoran, and even if I missed a lot of the story's subtlties until I revisited them a couple years on, it just all... It was the mythical feel I think, more than anything, that drew me in. The sense of exploration there was to it all; that this was all new, the world was new, there was just so much to explore and touch on in it... and even in later years, nothing could overpower that for me. 2003 came close at the time, but in hindsight MoL was rather a let-down. 2006 was probably the next closest to me, because of the intriguing villains, setting, and hints of greater story depth than we'd previously been exposed to - not to even mention the way it revisited the original Matoran characters, who had always been important to me - but not even that could top '01 in my mind. Even now, when I think back on Bionicle, it's always the first year that I regard with the most fondness. Nostalgia forever, I guess? xD

I know I replaced Kopaka Nuva's shield arm with the same piece as his sword arm for a while. Partially for the symetry - more, because I wanted his arms to match his movie appearance better. I also switched out all the '03 Matoran heads, giving them Toa Mata head pieces with appropriate eye colours, because the Matoran heads' lack of coloured eyes bugged me for ages - especially since Hewkii and Hafu were shown with distinct glowing green eyes on their box art. Also, the Mata heads for them match better with how they look in the Mata Nui Online Game 2, as well.

Eh... I have to confess to not being thrilled with the new bios. I mean, with each of them, they start off as reminiscent of the Toa I remember and love - and then they throw in some stupid quirky character flaw that each made me double-take and go 'wait, *what*?' Don't get me wrong, I'm not opposed to characters being flawed. But just... with the original Toa's incarnation, the character flaws each of them had were... I dunno, they always felt like they made sense in the way they meshed with the rest of the character's personality. They sort of felt 'coherent' as characters, if you will; at least to me. These new traits just seem to have been tacked on the end for comedy's sake than rather than being believable in any way. Still, seeing how they're handled ought to be... interesting, I guess. As for appearances, I love the callback to their 01 masks, especially in Kopaka, Tahu and Onua. These actually feel like they *could* be the same characters, which already makes them a massive improvement on the Mistika in my book. I think I like Kopaka's new form the best, truth be told; I dunno if I'm actually going to buy any of them myself, but if I do, he'll be my choice.

Oooh. I'm not sure I really have any concrete feelings on this as a reboot, especially not since I've been out of Bionicle for so long; but if nothing else, it certainly appeals to my sense of nostalgia. I know a lot has changed in it, but still... brings me back to when I was a kid watching the original Bionicle legends for the first time.

Maybe I just have a thing for dark endings sometimes, I don't know XD I'm not going to disagree with your arguments, I get that it wouldn't have been viable for Lego to leave it there; I'm just saying that it would have been my personal preference.

Huh. I have to confess, a Bionicle return would certainly make me curious; but I can't see myself investing in it, even when it does happen. I know I still lurk and post here now and again, but for the most part, Bionicle's a part of my past and I'm content to let it remain so. Still, I guess it's cool to know it's not as dead as I thought. At any rate, thanks a lot for filling me in ^^

Ah, for me it was the Bara Magna arc. There wasn't anything specific against the arc itself, so much, for me - admittedly, I was on the verge of losing interest in Bionicle then anyway and didn't pay much attention to the year as a whole - I just felt it was a thoroughly unneccessary addition. 2008 had been a perfect wrap-up, to my mind, with Makuta's ultimate victory; my personal opinion was that the story ought to have been left there; the future of the whole Matoran Universe would have been left up to the fans' imaginations rather than anything else.

I think Mutran takes my favourite. I liked some of the others, too - Gorast and Icarax primarily amongst them if I recall correctly? It's been a while - but... I dunno. I found Mutran a particularly interesting character. As for Teridax... eh. I know everyone else is saying him, but... while I liked him as a villain at first (and his ultimate victory was one of Bionicle's more epic moments, if you ask me), the way he just kept coming back, and back, and back... I have to confess that he kind of got too repetetive for him to keep my interest.

Wait, wait, wait... so I only read the first and last few pages because I don't have the time required to browse sixty-something pages... but I'm thoroughly lost. When did the topic under discussion go from being 'just an unlikely rumour' to something that people seem to be implying is confirmed? I'm confused.

Toa Mata: Gali Mata Nui Rahi: Muaka & Kane-Ra Turaga: Nuju Tohunga: Kongu Toa Nuva: Tahu Nuva Bohrok: Gahlok Bohrok Kal: Nuhvok-Kal Rahkshi: Kurahk 2003 Titans: Takua & Pewku Toa Metru: Nokama Vahki: Zadakh 2004 Matoran: Ahkmou 2004 Titans: Lhikan & Kikanalo Toa Hordika: Matau Visorak: Oohnurak 2005 Titans: Roodaka Toa Inika: Nuparu Piraka: Avak 2006 Matoran: Piruk 2006 Titans: Vezon & Fenrakk Toa Mahri: Hewkii Barraki: Pridak 2007 Matoran: Idris 2007 Titans: Hydraxon Toa Phantoka: Kopaka Makuta Phantoka: Antroz 2008 Vehicles: N/A; never owned enough of them to make a judgement 2008 Matoran: Tanma Toa Mistika: Tahu Makuta Mistika: Gorast 2008 Titans: Takanuva Glatorian: N/A; never owned enough of them to make a judgement Agori: N/A; see above Glatorian Legends: N/A; see above 2009 Titans: N/A; see above Bionicle Stars: Tahu Also, though they weren't mentioned: 2002 'Titans': Boxor Bohrok Va: Lehvak Va 2003 Matoran: Hafu Rahaga: Kualus

Unikitty ^^ Perhaps my avatar gave that away, though?

*silent cheer* I'd been hoping for a cameo, but not really believing they'd do it, so it was a very pleasant surprise.

I did do just that I still take month-at-a-time hiatuses, so...? General Discussion and Bionicle Discussion, typically. Just to see if there's anywhere interesting to add my two cents into. If I was actually returning to invest anything, I'd hit the Epics forum up, too, because I have a story in veeeeeeeery slow progress; but so far I haven't taken any of my returns sufficiently far to be worth that.

Oh my goodness, I can't even remember. I think I chose the default Tahu's face avatar to start off with? Not because I had any particular liking for Tahu, just because it matched my awful first screenname at the time. Or perhaps the Jaller one? I'm certain it was a classic Hau of some description, but I can't recall beyond that.

All my love always goes to the 01toran. Call it nostalgia if you will; I just have incredibly fond memories of the little guys from their classic appearances, and their simplicity - and, I must confess, cuteness to a degree - won me over right from the start. I did like the Mahritoran a lot too, though; their designs seemed... well, fuctional, I guess. Not just thrown together like some of the previous small set designs seemed to be, but actually came off as more sturdy and believable. Plus, the fact that their masks were cool recolours was a point in their favour, too.

I can pretty much enjoy either. I mean, for one example in my case, I can enjoy the simplicity of MLP and the incredible complexity of Homestuck on equal levels. It's not a deciding factor for me, essentially; I'm more likely to judge a story by how much I can invest in the characters than in degree of complexity or lack thereof. The other two questions, I can't say much that wouldn't just echo Bonesiii above. When I was younger, simpler stories held more appeal to me; I just didn't gain the patience to invest in something more complex until I'd aged a bit. And yeah; at the time and in hindsight both, I thought Bionicle had its up and down years even when in its prime. Personal preference there though, I guess.

I utterly *LOOOVE* Unikitty; that is all. Well, no, actually, that's not all. But she *was* my favourite character, easily. I have to confess a massive soft spot for cute characters like her XD But yes; I definitely enjoyed the movie a lot more than I was expecting to. I'm not sure what I was expecting, but I didn't think it would be that good; it was mostly nostalgia - and the fact that I was literally going to be walking right past the cinema the exact time it was on - that prompted me to go and see it. But yes, even if I wouldn't call it my favourite animated movie of the year, I did end up liking it a lot.

Yeah, I learnt it, back in the day. I'd probably be a bit rusty now, but I have a good memory for useless trivia of this kind; with a little bit of thought, I reckon I'd be able to read and write it fluently again. The original Mata Nui version, at least; I never did get the hang of the hexagonal version that was used on Voya Nui.

Seconded; I remember being very happy when we first got canister-villains with individual personalities, rather than ones who were just part of a massive swarm of some form or another.

It all started with an issue of the then-called 'Lego World Club' magazine, all the way back in January 2001. I was nine at the time, and having been a moderate fan of the Slizers the year before, was incredibly fascinated by this new line of buildable figures that seemed to look like them - and yet, not like them at the same time. After reading the double-page spread on the Toa Mata, not to mention the additional free Comic One, I was hooked; I think I persuaded my mum to take me into town after school the very next day so that I could buy one for myself. The reason I chose Onua over the other Toa was, in fact, very simple. From the picture in the magazine, I simply couldn't figure out his build. The other five were clearly humanoid; but the pose Onua was in made it impossible for me to tell exactly what he was supposed to be - mostly, I think, the fact that his head seemed planted in the middle of his chest threw me off -, and so it was curiosity more than anything else that drove me to choose him as the one to get.