Long, looooooooong overdue.

Go read the bones blog if you're still baffled as to what I'm referring to. May clear it up, if only a little.

What do I like to see in a BIONICLE set, when it comes to style? I think the sets we were given in the Mata Nui saga represent what I love most, style-wise -- the main idea being a combination of a skeketon and a robot. Take a look at the Toa Mata, what with the thin, well, just skeletally shaped parts, with mechanical features everywhere. Even in weapons, this was continued, and especially the then new molds. However, the sets did not have any hyper-advanced technology; it was sleek, but still rich in details. Stylized, yet primitive. A fine balance.

Were they all humanoid? Gad, no, they all ranged from humaoid with little drivation to completely alien creatures -- but they all had a, again, primitive creature-esque touch to them. The Tohunga were ape-like, yet light, and claws and hooks were sported all over. Reminiscent of Earth beings, yet still far from that, with an aboriginal, even mystical style to likenesses. I think this is best seen in the Tohunga and the Toa -- other sets are great, but may lean a little too much towards either side; skeletal, technic, you name it.

And these days, mainly with the organic look, part of what I loved in BIONICLE sets have vanished. The creature-esque look is still to be found in most sets, as is the technicism, as they're all very stylized, some would say coolified. The skeletal look, however, and especially the primitive touches seem more or less diminished. Not actually gone, fortunately, nor is the organic style bad per say -- in and at itself, that can be very simplistic and add greater features to the creature-esque side of the sets. But now and then, some of those aspects go way too far, all according to my preferences, naturally.

Yeah, I'm looking at you bones, right now. This was brief, but hey, if popular, I may add more elaboration and visualities in the future!

-Ikk