The Journey to One: First Episodes Discussion

[Vrokorta]

In any case, if they bring back the comics, we could probably get our much needed (apparently) complex stories we are used to, otherwise I think we'll be waiting for a long while before the story starts to spin us for loops or anything like that.

I'd prefer novels to comics since the novels explained more while the comics skipped stuff.

[Junior Shark]

I'm more partial to Bionicle comics than novels, if only because of nostalgia.

[Lyichir]

I'm more partial to Bionicle comics than novels, if only because of nostalgia.

I have nostalgia for both (well, comics and chapter books, since "novels" is a bit too generous). But I do prefer the graphic novels and comics to chapter books, if only because they are visual media that can do a better job of helping readers to visualize the story even if they aren't 100% familiar with the sets (and can do so even in the case of characters or settings that have not been depicted visually before).

[Clyce]

I have to agree it was really cringe-worthy. While I understand it's targeted at kids, did they HAVE to go with the bland ninjago style humor? The sad part is that ninjago is actually BETTER than TJTO. In the end, it's a series I won't be watching and won't be missing out on. Even the Legend Reborn was better than this garbage they are calling Bionicle

I will have to disagree with you on that one. The Legend Reborn was an embarrassment to the franchise. It had so many animation errors and cheesy-cliche scenes that I wouldn't be surprised if they cut the editing team out just to save on budget. I mean while JTO wasn't the best story in the world, you can definitely tell they put a lot of time into the artwork and making sure that everything was fluid.

[Junior Shark]

Yeah, "novels" is a bit too generous. El oh el!

 

I certainly have nostalgia for both, but there was just something soooo comforting in knowing that every other month I would get a dope Bionicle comic in my mailbox.

[Dogbert]

Well, after seeing the show about four times, I can conclude: I quite like it. I know it has some flaws, especially in the character department, but I wouldn't think of calling it bad.

 

For one, the animation is fluid and I like the changes they've made to the sets, like streching the armor so it covers the bones pieces (I never saw the Hero Factory show, so I can't say for sure if this has been done before). Also the little details, like the cristalline parts of the armor appearing when they use their powers or join with the Creatures. I admit, the missing jaws of the Protectors and villagers are a bit jarring, but aside from that I'd say they've made a pretty good job.

 

Now with the story, which I feel is somewhat hit and miss. Sure, the plot makes sense and nothing comes out of the left field, but is more what they don't do that's leaving me feeling a bit empty after seeing it. So I guess I'll talk about the characters one by one:

 

Tahu: Sure, he may not be as serious as last year, but hey, they just succeded in their first mission and got new gear, so I think it's not much of a strech that he is more relaxed and, maybe, overconfident (like a certain Toa once was)

 

Gali: Let's be honest, she doesn't have a defining trait here (even the bad puns are gone, for shame) and most of her lines could be spoken by someone else. 

 

Onua: I may be biased, since Onua has been my favorite for G2, but I don't think he has lost a lot in adaptation. But he hasn't won much either, except I find it odd that he doesn't like laberynths. And smashing through that tree was not needed, but nothing to rant about. Aside from that, I still like his humble demeanor and how he goes out of his way to protect Ketar.

 

Pohatu: While he wasn't exactly out of character, I think what's wrong with Pohatu is not his personality itself, but rather that he is used as the plot-mover of the second episode. I get it, he doesn't like scorpions, so bonding with his Creature was going to take more effort. The thing is, why only him? We see Tahu and Kopaka have a skirmish with their Creatures, so why not keep that conflict, keep us guessing who Umarak would chose as his target?

 

Lewa: He is my favorite in this, and yes I'm also biased since I love almost all of the Air/Jungle characters. He changes the least, personallity-wise, he is still the quick-witted joking adventurer which I love, and also he gets the first fight with Umarak, which is also a development fron last year: He now plays it more carefully, and when they meet the Hunter again he is quick to point out that they should be mindful. All in all, the first episode gives him a good place to shine.

 

Kopaka: I know there is a lot of love for his cold G1 personallity and that the show deviated enough to make his fans angry, but honestly I'm not among them. In my personal ranking he's always bouncing between Tahu and Gali for the fifth spot (The order is Onua-Lewa-Pohatu-Tahu-Kopaka-Gali, if you were wondering). So seeing him being more adventurous when he is alone kinda makes sense to me, especially when it was established last year that he likes to be seen as a perfectionist.

 

Umarak: Character-wise, I like him. He is actually a threat for the protagonists, if you can imagine that. Problem is he doesn't get enough time to shine. Sure he works for Makuta, who knows why. But he is also a loner, so it make sense that he eventually wants to keep the Mask of Control for himself. It would have been good to see him skirmish with each of the Toa as they tried to find the Creatures.

 

The story itself is good, but really short. I know that having the six Toa doing the same thing would be too repetitive and asking for one episode each may be excessive, but I don't see a way to fix it. Also the time in the laberynth is way to short, a couple more episodes in this interesting location would have been nice.

 

So lets talk about something new: Translations. The Latin American dub is okay. Sure, some phrases are spoken rather quickly, but thats common when translating English to Spanish. The voices are nice, most of them new actors, but the one playing Gali is quite bland. There are bound to be some mistranslations here and there, the most glaring one to me is when they translate "the journey to one" as "buscan al elegido" (search for the chosen one).

[Xboxtravis]

"Encontremos el elegido! "

 

-cut!-

 

"What did I do wrong with the line?"

"It's supposed to be Journey to One; not looking for the chosen one!"

[Clyce]

Well, after seeing the show about four times, I can conclude: I quite like it. I know it has some flaws, especially in the character department, but I wouldn't think of calling it bad.

 

For one, the animation is fluid and I like the changes they've made to the sets, like streching the armor so it covers the bones pieces (I never saw the Hero Factory show, so I can't say for sure if this has been done before). Also the little details, like the cristalline parts of the armor appearing when they use their powers or join with the Creatures. I admit, the missing jaws of the Protectors and villagers are a bit jarring, but aside from that I'd say they've made a pretty good job.

 

Now with the story, which I feel is somewhat hit and miss. Sure, the plot makes sense and nothing comes out of the left field, but is more what they don't do that's leaving me feeling a bit empty after seeing it. So I guess I'll talk about the characters one by one:

 

Tahu: Sure, he may not be as serious as last year, but hey, they just succeded in their first mission and got new gear, so I think it's not much of a strech that he is more relaxed and, maybe, overconfident (like a certain Toa once was)

 

Gali: Let's be honest, she doesn't have a defining trait here (even the bad puns are gone, for shame) and most of her lines could be spoken by someone else. 

 

Onua: I may be biased, since Onua has been my favorite for G2, but I don't think he has lost a lot in adaptation. But he hasn't won much either, except I find it odd that he doesn't like laberynths. And smashing through that tree was not needed, but nothing to rant about. Aside from that, I still like his humble demeanor and how he goes out of his way to protect Ketar.

 

Pohatu: While he wasn't exactly out of character, I think what's wrong with Pohatu is not his personality itself, but rather that he is used as the plot-mover of the second episode. I get it, he doesn't like scorpions, so bonding with his Creature was going to take more effort. The thing is, why only him? We see Tahu and Kopaka have a skirmish with their Creatures, so why not keep that conflict, keep us guessing who Umarak would chose as his target?

 

Lewa: He is my favorite in this, and yes I'm also biased since I love almost all of the Air/Jungle characters. He changes the least, personallity-wise, he is still the quick-witted joking adventurer which I love, and also he gets the first fight with Umarak, which is also a development fron last year: He now plays it more carefully, and when they meet the Hunter again he is quick to point out that they should be mindful. All in all, the first episode gives him a good place to shine.

 

Kopaka: I know there is a lot of love for his cold G1 personallity and that the show deviated enough to make his fans angry, but honestly I'm not among them. In my personal ranking he's always bouncing between Tahu and Gali for the fifth spot (The order is Onua-Lewa-Pohatu-Tahu-Kopaka-Gali, if you were wondering). So seeing him being more adventurous when he is alone kinda makes sense to me, especially when it was established last year that he likes to be seen as a perfectionist.

 

Umarak: Character-wise, I like him. He is actually a threat for the protagonists, if you can imagine that. Problem is he doesn't get enough time to shine. Sure he works for Makuta, who knows why. But he is also a loner, so it make sense that he eventually wants to keep the Mask of Control for himself. It would have been good to see him skirmish with each of the Toa as they tried to find the Creatures.

 

The story itself is good, but really short. I know that having the six Toa doing the same thing would be too repetitive and asking for one episode each may be excessive, but I don't see a way to fix it. Also the time in the laberynth is way to short, a couple more episodes in this interesting location would have been nice.

 

So lets talk about something new: Translations. The Latin American dub is okay. Sure, some phrases are spoken rather quickly, but thats common when translating English to Spanish. The voices are nice, most of them new actors, but the one playing Gali is quite bland. There are bound to be some mistranslations here and there, the most glaring one to me is when they translate "the journey to one" as "buscan al elegido" (search for the chosen one).

I think you hit the nail on the head in analyzing the characters. Bravo! Also, since this is one of the first major projects Volta has done, I'm sure we will see improvements in the character development and personalities in the next two episodes, since the voice are getting an idea of how their roles are played.

[Xboxtravis]

i wouldn't pin hopes on better characterization in June's episodes. They were probably produced at the same time as the first set, so probably the same quality.

 

The only way I could see JtO getting better would be if Lego decided to have it be done again for 2017; and then the crew's new experience would aid them there. It is clear Volta knows how to animate well enough; but I am desperate for them to get better script writers, since the dialogue of our 2016 episodes is so awful it ruins the show and story for me.