Was Takua's name change intentional?

[Indigogeek]

In '03, The Maori people sued Lego for using some of their terms in Bionicle lore. These terms included tohunga, and the names Jala, Maku, Huki, and Puku. These 5 were later changed to matoran, Jaller, Macku, Hewkii, and Pewku.

 

This is pretty well known info, but something I just considered is Takua's name change, to Takanuva in '03. My question is do you think this name change also had to do with the Maori dispute? It was around the same time, and they could have delayed the change so it made more sense, as Takua is a pretty big character, and it would be perfect to change his name with his transition to toa. 

 

The reason I question why they didn't just use "Toa Takua" or "Toa Takua Nuva" is because NEVER have we seen a name change like this, outside of the Naming Day thing. Both the Metru and Inika did not change their names upon transforming. You might think it could have been an "Av-matoran only thing" but in The Kingdom, Tanma became Toa Tanma. Thoughts?

[Spiderus Prime]

Well Takua's Name isn't Maori but Swahili for Hope/Pride. LEGO likely change he's name to give more Heroic sounding than just Toa Takua.

[Katuko]

Plus they stuck Nuva armor pieces on him, so although he isn't a Nuva per se he still looks like he would be "Taka Nuva". I believe many people misspelled it that way, and some still just call him Taka for short. It rolls off the tongue a bit easier than "Takuanuva" or similar would have, and they were keen on keeping the ending of the movie a secret.

Edited July 1, 2014 by Katuko

[Toa Smoke Monster]

I like to think that Takua changed his name because he simply wanted a cooler name.

 

And besides, the only Toa he knew at the time had 'Nuva' at the end of their names. He could've added that word to his name on honor of the Toa Nuva.

[bonesiii]

The name change was already necessary to avoid spoiling the twist that Takua = Takanuva. And more to the point, there was a Takua set released alongside the Takanuva set. Plus they kept using the name Takua officially when referring to his past, unlike Jala, etc.

 

So no, I very much doubt it.

Edited July 1, 2014 by bonesiii

[Spiderus Prime]

The name change was already necessary to avoid spoiling the twist that Takua = Takanuva. And more to the point, there was a Takua set released alongside the Takanuva set. Plus they kept using the name Takua officially when referring to his past, unlike Jaller, etc.

 

So no, I very much doubt it.

Yeah kinda what the Transformers The Movie (1986) did with Hot Rod and Rodimus Prime.

[Zidonaro]

The name change was already necessary to avoid spoiling the twist that Takua = Takanuva. And more to the point, there was a Takua set released alongside the Takanuva set. Plus they kept using the name Takua officially when referring to his past, unlike Jala, etc.

 

So no, I very much doubt it.

Correct me if I'm wrong, since I never got these sets, but wasn't the Takanuva and Takua sets released after the movie came out ?  I remember seeing them in the stores some time after the movie was released...

[bonesiii]

They were known online before the movie was released. And in any case, naming it "Toa Takua" would still spoil things for anybody that didn't see the movie right away.

 

I don't recall exactly which one was purchasable first, but that's irrelevant since just seeing the set's name would be enough to spoil it.

[Sir Kohran]

 

The name change was already necessary to avoid spoiling the twist that Takua = Takanuva. And more to the point, there was a Takua set released alongside the Takanuva set. Plus they kept using the name Takua officially when referring to his past, unlike Jala, etc.

 

So no, I very much doubt it.

Correct me if I'm wrong, since I never got these sets, but wasn't the Takanuva and Takua sets released after the movie came out ?  I remember seeing them in the stores some time after the movie was released...

 

 

I had a quick look at the news archives and those sets were released in June. The movie wasn't until September.

 

If you saw the sets on shelves after that, it was simply because they were available until at least the end of that year.

[Meyres of Drifting Huna]

Ooh! My cousin and I talked about this! One theory that he brought up involves Naming day. Matoran who did significant work during the Bohrok invasion were given name changes. Dispite his significant participation, Takua didn't receive a change in name

 So, Takua was thinking this upon transformation:"I am Takanuva; Toa of Light! Yes, I'm renaming myself and I can do it darnit, 'cause you neglected to give me my award!"

There's that.

[Tahu3.0]

takua changed his name because he became a toa nuva plus he needed a cooler name. 

[Aanchir]

No, Takua's name change to Takanuva was more likely just to keep the true identity of the Toa of Light a secret to people who had not yet seen BIONICLE: Mask of Light. If there were a concern about the earlier name being insensitive, then it would no longer be used in official media after his name change, as was the case with Jala, Maku, Huki, Puku, etc.

[emily]

I agree with the sentiment that the change to Takanuva was meant to keep the Toa of Light's identity a surprise. I kind of wish they had approached the problem differently, though. Why couldn't they have simply named the set 'Toa of Light"? It would have hidden his identity just as well - if not better. Essentially naming the character "Takua Nuva" and his vehicle "Ussal Nui" wasn't exactly the sneakiest or most misleading thing to do. What's more, it leaves it up in the air as to why Takua would suddenly decide to change his name when he transformed. There isn't a ton of logic to it and it is never really explained in the story.

 

Then again, I had no idea Takua was the Seventh Toa until he put the mask to his face in MoL, so I guess they accomplished what they set out to do.

[Vahkiti Master of Time]

I can't say for sure why they changed his name, but it should be noted that in the code for BIONICLE The Game and in the save data, (at least for the Xbox version) Takanuva is in fact referred to as Takua Nuva.

[Jam Pot Studios]

I always thought it was because the sets got revealed long before the movie was released, and they didn't want to spoil that Takua became the Toa of Light.

[bonesiii]

Why couldn't they have simply named the set 'Toa of Light"? It would have hidden his identity just as well - if not better.

Having cool names was part of the draw of Bionicle sets, and roleplaying kids who just got them off the shelves without (yet, or never) seeing the movie or comics would find it awkward to call him "Toa of Light" instead of an actual name.

 

What's more, it leaves it up in the air as to why Takua would suddenly decide to change his name when he transformed. There isn't a ton of logic to it and it is never really explained in the story.

You're right, I believe, that it wasn't explained in-story, but the logic of it seems pretty clearly implied. He was turning his back on the irresponsibility that had come to be associated with the name Takua for so long and that he'd lapsed back into during the events of the movie. It was (etymologically literally) a way of saying he was becoming a new person.

[Chronicler06]

I think we can all agree that, outside the story, the reason for the change in name was to avoid the spoiler at the time that Takua becomes the Toa of Light instead of simply finding him.

 

Within the storyline, however, it wasn't really explained very clearly. The best we can do is come up with our own interpretations for why Takua decided to change his name upon becoming a Toa. At this time, I think the reason just explained by Bonesiii makes the most sense to me.

[Banana Gunz]

Yeah, I would agree with all of what was said before.

 

The best way to understand why Takua would've wanted to change his name is to think like Takua. There actually is in fact quite a bit of logic to his decision if one thinks about it.

 

When Takua realized he was the Toa of Light (right before he put on the mask) one can see the change in expression on his face. How would you feel if your best friend just died for you, to protect you? Jala as far as we can tell was one of the only people who really, really cared for Takua, and still trusted him even when Takua was banished from his own village, by his own people.

 

In that moment Takua realized that he had to put aside his childish behavior to become even half the man Jaller was. To become a hero, and to follow his destiny. Takua changed as a person right then and there, and to reflect this, he changed his name. He wanted to put aside his past mistakes in his moment of rebirth, and would lead the matoran back to their salvation (Metru-Nui), to a new dawn, and he wanted to wear a new name to inspire confidence in the other matoran as he led them to this new dawn, he didn't want them to subconsciously still connect him with the child he once was. He wanted the other matoran to see him as something bigger: As a Toa, as a hero.

 

I also agree with the previous statement that Takua decided to honor the Toa that have fought for him and his friends and risked their lives to save theirs by adding the word 'Nuva' into his new name, also again to show he was more than a foolish matoran now, but a Toa.

 

So all in all Takua mostly changed his name because Takua was dead, he was more than a fool now. His old self was gone. And in his rebirth, his gave his new being the name Takanuva, to show who he really was now.

 

 

(Writing this reminded me why Takanuva is such a great character, it saddens me that he wasn't done justice later in the story and didn't hold as great as an importance.)

 

BTW, I do realize and agree that LEGO changed his name to prevent his identity being leaked before they saw suit.

Edited July 25, 2014 by Banana Gunz

[Tuuli]

The real reason was that they were selling takua and takanuva at the same time 2003, and back then the only way to find out who the seventh toa was, you had to watch the movie so they made his name different so people wouldn't except it was takua which would be a spoiler