Someone in the talkback topic said it best: 2007 took off soaring with awesome Barraki and even Matoran and Hydruka. Nocturn gave the year an extra lift. Gadunka, Hydraxon and Maxilos & Spinax are jst as cool. But then, Bionicle 2007 had a major crash landing when the Toa Mahri arrived.

I was quite excited about having the story be completely underwater -- it was new, different, and I liked it. Then we saw the Barraki. They fit into this environment so well. I was loving how the sets became more and more organic-looking as time progressed, starting with the Hordika and Visorak. The Piraka's rubbery spines and grinning faces did a fine job, and then we got the Inika. Yes, they were clone sets, but they're different weapons and masks were cool enough to get them all. And these masks were ALIVE. They could move on their own. Brought back memories of the krana. Then the Barraki -- wonderfully organic while still retaining mechanical parts. Watching Pridak swim like an actual shark sent shivers down my spine (in a good way).

Now we've got Toa Mahri to face off against the Barraki. So now it's evil organics vs. heroic machines? These "Toa" look like deep-sea diving machines for humans, with the exception of Jaller and Matoro. And they really look far from the heroic Inika. The Hordika looked more noble. I really can't imagine Matoro saying such a daring and heroic line to Pridak when he looks like an albino Smeagol/Gollum with a reworked Kakama Nuva. But let's look at them individually.

Jaller: My favorite, and the only one I would buy (if only for his mask). His Kanohi design is really cool, as is his sword. But he looks far too much like his Inika form as far as body design goes. And the crab... Eh, it just doesn't work for me.

Hahli: I like her color scheme. Lime green and dark blue look pretty awesome together. Otherwise, she IS Hahli Inika, just with a Piraka torso and no body armor. Her mask, while looking much more feminine than her Elda, looks like it's permantly attached to her head. Or at least that if you take it off, she'll die (like Darth Vader).

Hewkii: Ew. It looked like someone slapped a small sting ray on his head and called it a mask. Looks like he was on the losing end of a battle with Mantax. His spear is pretty cool. He looks way too much like a bulky fighter machine, though. Like he belongs in Gundam.

Matoro: Looks like someone took a Kakama Nuva, made it white, gave it trans-blue eyes, chopped off its fins and said "Voila! Kanohi Tryna!". His hunchback-ness makes me cringe. Next to Hahli, Matoro always struck me as the most graceful of the Inika. Plus he had the coolest mask design. As a Mahri, he's third worst, beating only Hewkii's and Kongu's.

Nuparu: Slap some black Zaktan feet, a new mask and new weapons on Nuparu Inika and there you have Nuparu Mahri. The entirely black body with a silver mask looks way too awkward. Saddening -- he was my favorite Inika.

Kongu: Good. Lord. As an Inika, Kongu looked like the thinnest and quickest of the team, even as a set with a team of clones. Now, his bulk is seconded only to Hewkii. What's with the lightbulb on the back of his head? He looks like a complete robot.

As a whole: The tubes everywhere look pretty bad, IMO. The masks all look like they're grafted to their heads or are the faces themselves (like the Hordika), with the exception of Jaller's and maybe Nuparu's. Way too much like their Inika forms. I realize the Nuva were similar, but they had awesome masks and weapons to compensate. The Mahri don't. There's only one thing better than the Inika: heads with faces. Even if they are Metru heads, I don't care. They beat Inika heads any day.

Now, I realize they're prototypes (thank heavens). But at ToyFair, the prototypes are usually pretty close to the final sets. Very little changed on the Inika. And the Barraki (as seen from their 3D models on the profiles page on the site). But that's okay, as I liked the Inika prototypes. LEGO, my best suggestion would be to completely scrap these and start over from scratch.

I'm sorry if I sound harsh or rash. I'm rarely disappointed with sets, especially canister sets, even moreso the heroes. Last I was disappointed was the Bohrok-Kal, but even they grew on me. I have no desire to pick the Mahri up, except for maybe Jaller for his awesome mask.

I'd really hate to see Bionicle drop after such a great roll of awesome 07 sets.