Unspoken Words

A slew of new characters almost constantly isn't good, but sticking exclusively with only a small cast for multiple years also isn't good.

A good mix needs to be had. HF almost had it - old, familiar "people" with a few new ones mixed in - but then stopped doing that.

Also villains should appear more than once, and not just a "big bad", but in general. Smaller baddies are still baddies, they still should show up.

A balance between the two sounds good. G1 had the Mata/Nuva for three years straight, the Metru had two years plus 3 years as Turaga before that, and the Inika/Mahri had two years plus 3 years as Matoran, and then the Mata/Nuva came back for another full year. The Glatorian were the first "hero" characters that showed up without having been there in some form since 2001, and only had one year to develop. I think G1 actually has that balance, or almost attained it as adding on an extra year for the two other Toa teams to give em an even three years would've prolly been perfect. The thing about sticking to one group of characters, as a constraction theme, is that they're gonna have to keep changing appearance and stuff and that could get really tedious and the story could get a little stale after the unique dynamics run out and dusty tropes are brought in. On the other hand, a core group of characters makes you fall in love with them, and it seems like there's a paradox there because I desperately want to stick with the Toa Mata/Okoto for the full G2 run but at the same time, I don't want to see them get ruined or boring or whatever. If the G2 run turns out to only last the three planned years, that would be bittersweet but be the perfect situation for the characters, I think. You win some, you lose some.

1. Core group IMO.

 

2. Multiple Pohatus.

Honestly, it depends on the story and how well the storytellers execute their own style.

 

As for the latter, I actually haven't dug too deep in the G2 characters yet, but I don't have too many issues with them thus far. I hope they're similar enough to be relatable for a smooth transition, but different enough to be interesting and unique from G1

I'd say it's better to stick with a core group of characters for at least five years (or however long it takes to finish telling the story that they're the main characters of). If people get bored of a franchise's main characters after three years then that probably means you didn't do a great job writing/designing them in the first place.

 

I also didn't like how BIONICLE would just send its "benched" characters on meandering side-quests once they were no longer the focus of sets. That's part of the reason the story serials left as many loose ends as they did.

 

If the current team of G2 Toa does cease to be the main characters, I want it to be because their chapter of the story has wrapped up in some fashion, not just because they're demoted to running errands until there are new sets of them to be sold.

 

I want the Toa in G2 to have less repetitive stories than their G1 counterparts. I don't want them to have to constantly learn about teamwork, only to childishly split up and give the enemy an edge, only to come together again for the climactic battle.

 

Rather, I want their relations to be rough at first, but for them to learn to depend on each other for support. Their new character flaws are a great source for tension but also a great source for that kind of supportive relationship as they learn to be honest about their own weaknesses and tolerate one another's.