Welcome once again to the realm of my blog. This poor thing has been devoid of life for over a year. An unfortunate lapse, if so long a time may be called so, on my part that I now hope to correct at least in part with this entry.

I am sure most people are aware of recent spates of 'Bionicle is bad, it used to be great' topics. I want to throw in my two cents penny (I'm British! I refuse to use american currency systems!) on the subject, but I don't particularly want to make a new topic about it. This would firstly be repetitive and tedious, and could easily result in another opportunity for people to say 'argh, it's so bad!' seemingly without thought or reason (if you feel insulted by that then sue me...except don't! Because I don't have much money and it's much harder to sue people over here, so hah! )

Now, what I think would be useful is for me to state exactly what I think has changed. I shall do this by comparing 2001 with 2006/2007, which for me represent clearly the shift in focus.

In 2001, everything was mysterious and new. We were introduced to the huge, fascinating and geographically impossible island of Mata Nui, inhabited by strange Bio-mechanical beings (who, for any fan of the slizers before, wouldn't have seemed that odd) and threatened by the dark spirit Makuta. This shadowed being had cast his brother, the Great Spirit Mata Nui, into an eternal slumber and existed as a symbol of evil - forever hidden and shrouded in mystery. His appearence, powers and abilities were unknown, and his greatest strength came from the fear such an entity can create in his enemies. The island itself was lush and beautiful, each region spanning an incredible distance and hiding many mysteries. It was the privilage and joy of every fan to explore this wondrous landscape, uncovering its secrets and learning more about the fantastic world.

Enter the Toa. Powerful beings whose coming had been heralded for centuries by the wise Turaga, elders of their villages. Each Toa was equipped to survive and harness their element to maximum efficiency, and seemed as one with the place in which they lived. They were more than just beings of power - they represented their element perfectly, with personalities and appearences flowing straight from them. It was their mission to uncover the powerful Kanohi masks and then to confront the darkness at the heart of Mata Nui - the Makuta himself.

The story was one of adventure, mystery and intrigue. Every revalation and solved mystery for the characters was shared by us, and it was these mysteries that drove the story. You could truly emphasize with the plight of the Matoran and the struggle of the Toa as they desperately tried to save their island, because you truly felt it was worth saving.

Cut to modern day. Toa are no longer the fabled warriors, each harnessing the full power of their element, but heroes born from the Matoran themselves. Makuta is not a shadow in the darkness, but a powerful entity - part of a brotherhood of equally powerful entities. We are no longer treated to the cinematic exploration of a lush land, but instead are given a barren island or a single city (which we see almost nothing of) and a huge expanse of endless...blue. The Toa burst in to fight very visible enemies, and indeed seem to do nothing else. Every step of their journey is halted by battles and action. Terrible, really.

To look at it another way, we have a desperate race against time as the true plight of the Great Spirit is unveiled - he is not just asleep, as we all thought, but dying. Makuta has an entire Brotherhood to back him up, Dark Hunters stalk the shadows and the numbers of Toa are falling drastically. The universe is in peril, and all adventure must be put to the side as a last attempt to save the life of the Great Spirit is made. The island upon which the heroes find themselves is in desperate peril as the villagers struggle to forge even a basic existance. Worse, six powerful and ruthless villains have enslaved the entire population and are determined to take the one thing that can save Mata Nui's life - the Mask of Life - for themselves. They mercilessly dispense with the battle-hardened Toa Nuva, and the fate of the universe now rests in the hands on a rookie team who must find a way to achieve what the Toa Nuva could not.

There. That's not so bad, is it? And for those crying for some character development, at least one character this year grows exponentially. Know who I'm talking about? Yup, it's Matoro. I would agree that there is less development (and less room for it) of character, but to say there is none is completely untrue. What is impressive is how such a large range of characters can be given screentime without becoming sidelined or too similar.

Every story has its merits. The original style of 2001 was all about adventure and mystery, while the current storyline focuses more on action and combat. Both of these give ample space for character development, and I would say an action can let you know the characters even better. The original stories on the other hand allowed for much more detailed environments and (arguably) a more engrossing storyline.

I've no doubt I've presented my points very badly, but what I'm saying is, whether you think the old-style stories are better or not comes down purely to your own preferences. Each story has its advantages and disadvantages, and each has its merits if you'll only look for them.

Also, things cannot stay the same forever. By 2003, I honestly feel that all possibilities for the island of Mata Nui had been exhausted. How could they continue the style of 2001/2002 when there was nothing left to explore? It was really a case of "been there, done that...can we move on?" What's more, how could Makuta hide in the shadows forever? A villain you learn nothing about, who does nothing but hide, is a boring villain indeed. He needed to be flushed out sometime. Mysteries can only endure for so long until they're solved, but the best ones have new mysteries to take their place. For example, while we can now identify Makuta and know his abilities, we have no idea what his ultimate plan really is or just how he plans to achieve it. In many ways he is as mysterious as he was in 2001, except now it's his mind we can't see.

Speaking for myself, I prefer mystery stories. I enjoy becoming engrossed in a good mystery and take great satisfaction in seeing it uncovered. I also find it very satisfying to see Toa using their intellect to defeat enemies (Bohrok) as well as, or even instead of, their powers. While I agree there's nothing like a nice, big confrontation to decide the fate of the island/world/universe, it's always fun to watch a good plan come to fruition - especially when it encounters problems that must be overcome. This isn't to say I haven't enjoyed more recent, action-based years. I definitely have, and believe them to be a necessary change. I would be very pleased to see more of a mysterious feel returning to Bionicle in the future however.

In short, both mystery and action are good, there's nothing worse about today's storyline it's just different, but I like mystery.