Did you think Bionicle Would End, When you Collected?

[Fang RRB]

I didn't because it was the Theme that saved LEGO From bankruptcy, but the Story Concluded.

 

But I don't know how it would come back?

[Sumiki]

I always knew that it would end. I didn't think it'd be in 2010, but everything comes to an end at some point.

[Axilus Prime]

I didn't think it'd go on forever, but at the same time, the thought of it ending never crossed my mind until 2009, when it was stated to end in 2012 or 2013. Then they bumped it up to end in 2010, which disappointed me a lot. It wasn't a very good ending either.

[Cambion]

heh. back in the early days i assumed that it was going to go on forever; become a mainstay line. i was, of course, a child, and didn't know any better. i don't think the thought that Bionicle could end actually occurred to me until 2008.

[Removed297]

Everything ends, but it's best not to think too hard about it if you don't want to end up nihilistic (in the bad, pessimist way.)

 

So you could say that it wasn't a shock when it ended, but neither was it pleasant for having expected an eventual end.

Edited August 10, 2014 by The Kumquat Alchemist

[Tahu3.0]

no i never thought that bionicle was gonna end and i began collecting in 2007 mahri nui  

[V-N]

It ended sooner than I thought, but I always knew it had to at some point.

[Heir of the Chronicler]

I think we all knew it was going to end, we just didn't want to believe it could.

 

- Heir

[Ta-metru_defender]

I actually didn't think it would last. The Slizer/Throwbots and Roboriders had only lasted a wave or two each, and most other themes didn't stick around that long. Heck, I still remember being very happily surprised when the Bohrok were revealed.

[Manducus]

Yeah, I knew it was going to end eventually.

[Bfahome]

BIONICLE's end had never really crossed my mind.  I was happy enough to get the sets I got and build with them.  When it did end I was a bit sad initially, but realized I'd gotten almost ten years of fun from it (now thirteen years and still growing) and nothing would ever take that away.

[LordofBionicles]

I never thought about it being cancelled because I wouldn't have ever imagined that kind of things can happen to set lines, however at the year 2008 I was starting to think the story was going to reach its conclussion.

[bonesiii]

Well of course. It was always designed as a story with an end.

 

I knew there was a possibility something besides the conflict between Mata Nui and Makuta (and allies) could take over, but it always seemed questionable. Certainly not something I would rely on. Alternative would be to never bring resolution to that and I never wanted that.

 

2010 did seem like a fairly natural place to end it too (decade after start!); only reason I didn't really expect it was we had heard of tentative plans for a few more years. But it was always said it would end when/if sets stopped selling and that could always come at any time. So when it was announced, it wasn't really a surprise.

[Makuta_of_Oz]

tbh I was anticipating it coming to an end, just not as soon as it did.

[ToaTahuFangar434]

Ohhh. I never thought about BIONICLE ending, but I was always fine with it, because it was too old!

[doodleloot]

I never really thought about it, I was still a kid in Bionicle's earlier years. It was just weird when it did end, the line had been around for about as long as I can remember, after all.

[~Shockwave~]

Well, if you look at something like... say...  Transformers, It took the original show like 2 seasons to actually move forward. Bionicle clearly had an end in mind, it wasn't simply: "Oh darn you have foiled me again see you net week." (Well okay it was kind of like that except it was see you next year but that's not the point.)

 

Once it hit Metru Nui it was clearly going somewhere. 

[Reya]

When I was a child, I never thought too far into the future. Though, when I got older, I expected to end at some point but it wasn't 2010.

 

[Rooster Nui]

I first thought it would end in 2008, when it was advertised as the final battle. However, with the big plot twist in the same year, i expected it to end in 2012.

Edited August 10, 2014 by Rooster Nui

[Phauxx Lightning]

I expected it to end, yes. But certainly not in the way it did. If they just stuck with those in Mata-Nui for a couple more years that would have been fine with me.

[Nato G]

In hindsight, I know that all things must end, but back when I was a kid, following the story and playing with the toys, the story seemed to grow up with me. I never thought it was going to end. I thought it was going to keep growing, and developing as I did. It was the most memorable thing in my entire childhood, the one thing I had in common with all of my friends. I actually cried after reading Journey's End. It was a very harrowing experience for me, saying goodbye to something that had been part of my life for literally as long as I could remember. 

 

But it wasn't that Bionicle ended that upset me, it was the way they ended it. With so many loose story threads in the serials and stuff left unfinished, and the Bionicle Star's as the only sets from that year. I felt almost like I was being punished for sticking with Bionicle for so long. And there was so much regret... sets I wished I'd gotten, but would never again have the chance to collect. 

 

I feel like Bionicle 2015 might be a chance to avoid making those same mistakes (I have a lot more money this time around). 

 

So, in answer to the original question, I did somewhat expect it to end, but when it did end, it was way too soon for me. I wasn't ready, and I'm still not. I don't know if I'll really ever be, to be honest. 

[toa kopaka4372]

It ended sooner than I expected, that's for sure. After having it for so long, I kind of took it for granted, that it would always be there. If it comes back I don't think I'll make that same mistake again.

[Sir Kohran]

Greg always said Bionicle would continue as long as sets were selling, and the line did continue for so many years that I was genuinely surprised when it did end.

 

That said, given some of the problems Bionicle hit after 2006 (the extent of which has become more apparent since Lego reps became more open about them) I'm surprised it went on for quite as long as it did.

[Dual]

To be honest, I never really thought about it. I started collecting at 7, and stopped around 12, and I didn't really think much past "read new comic, buy new set." Now I know that everything has to end sometime, so Bionicle had to as well. Would I have thought it would end when it did? Not especially. However, I don't really know how the toys were selling.

[MartinCollects]

I first thought it was going to end when they Killed Makuta in around 2003

[Shadow Destroyer]

I didn't think it'd go on forever, but at the same time, the thought of it ending never crossed my mind until 2009, when it was stated to end in 2012 or 2013. Then they bumped it up to end in 2010, which disappointed me a lot. It wasn't a very good ending either.

 

Exactly the same with me. Those ten years seemed to go by really fast...

[Guardian Legend]

Well, everything has to come to an end. Obviously when I was younger, I refused to think about that ever happening, as we knew there were years of story left to tell. Sadly, it ended prematurely and I was greatly saddened by it. Yes, I cried when Lego sent that letter to BZPower. I was sitting at my desk I am now and just lost it. I grew up with BIONICLE and while at the time, I was glad the story would continue, I still wanted sets. I was 14, give me a break.

[Fang RRB]

Yeah, I was Young when I got my first Bionicle, So I really Never thought about it

[Pomegranate]

I knew it would, and I tried not to think about it

[Sybre]

I thought it would end right after the Phantoka line (I was 9 at the time) due to all the stuff they were saying about it being the final battle. Imagine my surprise when the Mistika were announced! My friend, another BIONICLE fan, was equally surprised.

[Matoro Zeliph]

I thought bionicle would end after the 2007 storyline. But that was because I probably didn't bother to see what would go on after (my favorite) matoran had passed.

 

Although, some people here did think the 2008 storyline is just as good. So maybe I'll go read the novels if I ever get around to it.

[fishers64]

I thought Bionicle would end in 2008, and I wanted it to end in 2008. 2006-07 felt like "excuses to put off the inevitable" to my adolescent mind, whose impatience was already screaming to end the thing already. "You're just gonna drag it out, and drag it out!"

 

My opinions didn't change too much around 2010 - I still wanted it to end, but the 2010 ending felt really sloppy IMO.

[boston100]

I always thought i would be buying bionicles for my kids

[Aanchir]

Of course I did. Pretty much all LEGO themes end at some point or another, no matter how elaborate their story. The main exceptions are generic "evergreen themes" like Castle, Pirates, Space, and City, and even those see individual themes begin and end within those categories (examples: Fright Knights, Islanders, Insectoids, World City).

 

I might be a bit of an exception, though, because I was already a LEGO fan long before I was a BIONICLE fan, so I had already seen lots of different themes come and go. Honestly, the fact that BIONICLE stuck around as long as it did was extraordinary, but even so I knew it would probably end eventually — it just wasn't clear for a long time just when that would be.