blogs_blog_1719

Your assessments of most of the things seem to actually be fairly accurate. I'll clarify a few things for you.

• I love the new Toa designs as well as what we've seen of their characterization. It's nice that more of the characters will have genuine weaknesses, and hopefully those faults will encourage them to work together more. Plus it'll be nice to be able to laugh at more of the characters instead of having one or two dedicated to comic relief and the rest being super-serious all the time. One of the coolest things about the new sets is that they have varying heights and builds, so they're much less uniform and more distinct than the original Toa. This will be echoed in the animations—each Toa's silhouette is unique, meaning they'll stand out individually AND look great as a group.
• At the panel, we were told that the "Protectors" basically serve the same role as Turaga, save for doing slightly more fighting of their own. They are both the elders and guardians of the villages on Okoto. I don't know quite what the villagers are like, but I expect that unlike the Turaga, they aren't biologically distinct from the Protectors themselves. I don't mind the lack of names for the Protectors that much now that I know their roles. Maybe they do have names, but "Protector of Fire" serves as a fine and distinctive title, like "Black Knight" or "Lord of the Underworld".
• Makuta and Ekimu are basically new characters. I imagine Makuta retained his name since he fills the same role he did originally (that of a scheming and jealous usurper), whereas Ekimu is very different from Mata Nui—he's basically Makuta's equal, not a god or a giant robot. If they appear as sets, I doubt they'll be titans, since their appearance is very similar to that of the Protectors—but perhaps they'll still appear in large sets with vehicles or mounts of some sort just to make their masks more exclusive. Or maybe they won't appear in sets in those forms at all—after all, from the Legend video it seems that their masks may be all that remains of them.
• The clear Hau is indeed amazing. It could maybe work for Jerbraz, but since there aren't a lot of other clear parts you'd maybe have to work with other transparent colors as well. It's possible that the masks will work with either the Glatorian or Brain Attack heads; I'll find out for sure when I get home. But if it doesn't, it should still work with a regular ball cup or similar part.

I encourage you to look at the new theme with an open mind, even though it is a reboot. The sets are fantastic, and the story looks like it will be plenty of fun (though it will obviously be very different from the original Bionicle). If you have any other questions about the NYCC panel, the story, or the sets, feel free to PM me—it's becoming very hard for me to keep up with discussions at the current level of activity, so until things cool down a bit it might be easier for me to discuss things with other members one-on-one.

Glad that you're giving the new theme a chance even though you're not totally comfortable with the idea of a reboot. I know you have been not just waiting but actively lobbying for BIONICLE to come back for a long time and I hope you're able to enjoy it even if it doesn't meet all your expectations!