Yes, this entry came out of the last couple of entries in Smeag's blog, and no, I'm not attacking him. You all have a right to your own opinions, I certainly haven't gotten popularity points anyway for liking the Mistika.

That being said, I've seen a fair amount of praise lately for the early years of BIONICLE, specifically 2002 and the Bohrok, and how things aren't as cool. As far as my opinion goes on 2002-early 2003, it was -- wait for it -- easily my least favorite year. My biggest problem was that it felt like very little actually happened, even compared to 2001. And this is not an afterthought looking back; even back then, at age 12, my interest in BIONICLE dropped after 2001, and yeah, I thought the Bohrok were pretty neat, but I wasn't nearly as interested in it as I was in its first year until I saw the Rahkshi for the first time.

Heck, the Rahkshi and the hype for Mask of Light were what really kept me going through the Kal era. And then when we hit Metru Nui, I was more excited then ever. Then there was 2005, which I believe had the same issue as 2002: not a whole lot really happened until the movie. I still hold it higher than 02, though, because the events in Challenge of the Hordika, including its ridiculously huge battle, helped get me through the early parts of the year. When 2006 happened, with the more modern stuff and the raps and everything, I thought it was going downhill, then the actual story started and it still is one of my favorite years. My interest has yet to wane since.

So 2002, early 03 and some of 05 were the low points for me. And yes, I did get the Bohrok, the Boxor and the Exo-Toa (not the Bahrag, though), which I hear people saying are some of the best sets ever, but in its 9 1/2-year run, no set has beaten Maxilos for me. If I could put that kind of articulation and complexity into the 2003 Makuta set, I might die of happiness. But I digress. I just felt like I needed to get that out and see just how much I'm in the minority when I say that the Bohrok years were incredibly boring, story-wise.