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Dogbert

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  1. I agree to some extent. If we compare it to the entire run of G1 (which is kinda unfair) indeed, the new version feels more incomplete. But the actual g2 story, seen as an individual narrative is not lacking in potential, is just severely underplayed. In a sense I can get it, the bare-bones information makes you want to crave more, so you either search for more story materials like the books, graphic novels and series, or you create a fanfiction (regardless of it is published or not). No offense intended, but your way of seeing a canonical connection with the G1 storyline sort of falls into the same category. Believe me, I get how you feel: All those memorable characters and story left in the dust, and then a seemengly subpar reboot comes at the expense of the original story kinda feels like a betrayal. But hating the new story just because is not directly linked to the original one is something I cannot agree with (I dunno... maybe is my way to cope with it). As I said before, leaving the G1 story in the dust and then making a reboot with a different and more "kiddie" story kinda feels like a betrayal to some, including me, but I had to cope with it. Is it fair that we feel like this? Yes. Is Lego obliged to meet our demands? Not really, I honestly wasn't expecting Bionicle to have a reboot. And in a lot of ways it feels like a new story using the old motifs and some names to feel familiar, yet it still manages to be its own thing. And that is also the way that we should look at it, both as a reboot and as a separate thing. Still, I reach the same conclusion on both analisis: The sets are great, for the most part; the story has potential, I hope it reaches it.
  2. Well, so the theory of the Elemental Creatures becoming the Beasts becomes less likely. I suppose the Toa would have to help Tahu, Onua and Kopaka to get back their corrpted masks while Ekimu fights Umarak. The poster looks great. I wonder what does that light coming from the volcano is. Maybe Makuta's dark energies?
  3. I actually like the dinamic they've had going so far. The armor thingh might just get confused for new characters, as the armor would most likely be displayed on the "skeleton" part of the CCBS. As for the villager/Protector + Animal idea. I would like it of only to give the Toa a year to rest and then bring them back.
  4. Oh man, I would certainly love that. Still, I really doubt it could happen. I can only hope for a non-offensive cameo on the Lego movie 2.
  5. I like it, looks like an origami flower. As for it being the same mask as the G1 one... I don't think so. Remember when Vakama found it under the Silver Sea? It had a crack and was leaking energy altering the enviroment. Later, when facing off with Teridax, Vakama revealed that destroying the mask would essentialy destroy Time itself. Even if this only applied at the MU, Kanohi as a rule don't work when damaged, only the Legendary ones begin leaking their element. And the G1 Vahi could only speed up or slow down Time, not give visions, so breaking it in half would render it useless or at the very least severly unstable. Still, it would be cool to see it in set form. Maybe we will if the series last another two years.
  6. As someone who loves the green Bionicle, I actually like it. But if I had to give a somewhat realistic answer: As for the Temple of Time, it's probably the best place to keep it hidden with enough enviromental dangers so as to someone wouldn't just stumble into it. As for the jungle as a backdrop for the story, well, it has a long tradition in literature, although in the Western one was usually forests. They were seen as dark and mysterious places full of dangers, so it makes sense Umarak emerges from there. Non-Western traditions depict them as places full of life and wonders.
  7. Dogbert

    Nobody cares

    Same here. The closest thing is Eliza's parasite... real cute.
  8. I prefer all that negativity over that creepy post of someone saying we should socially engieneer the community to be more positive... yeesh. Anyhow, nothing is perfect, and in the end the good or the bad only stands out as much as we want to see it personally.
  9. Exactly. The Mata are named that way because they were supossed to be the last hope, only awakened when Mata Nui was asleep, so having a name more connected to their element has sense in a simbolic way. Even in the case that a Toa fell in Energized Protodemis and mutated in the exact same way, there are no record of them forming a team and calling themselves Nuva. We know that the first Toa was Helryx... no Ga in her name. The first Toa team was the Toa Cordak, led by Lesovik... okay, he has Le in his name, but Nikila and tprobably the other member don't, so it's a coincidence.
  10. "Ice is still water!" Gali, Uniter of Water throwing a piece of ice at Kopaka, 2016. That throws everything out the window. I always thought that a Toa of Water could control it regardless of their temperature, as long as it was liquid. Controling the temperature would be impossible, because it gets in the way of the Fire and Ice elements. Gali creating a flood out of mist might be just her collecting enough moisture to collapse it. I guess they always create water at their body temperature.
  11. One has to wonder how much of their culture is derived from their elements and their choice of location fo their village. Case and point: Voya Nui and Mahri Nui. Because of their exceptionally dangerous enviroments, most of the Matoran showed similar behavoral patterns regardless of their element. Dalu even discusses this with Gali, noting that she had to stop being the mellow and calm Ga-Matoran stereotype in order to survive. Also let's not forget that in the story we focus on the people who don't fit into their social categories, because we like to think we are like that, and because it creates conflict in the story. As many Tamarus we like to focus on, there are thousands of tree-climbing fast-swinging heavy-partiers Le-Matoran.
  12. The only clone sets I had to buy were the Hordika, the Visorak, the Piraka and the Inika, so it doeasn't bother me on a personal level. In spite of the frustation of building the same sets six times over, the story justified their design most of the time: Funny how no one mentions the Tohunga, because they are a clone wave... maybe because they were promotional? Anyway, they were the little people, so recycling them to have the villager type is not much of a problem. (In all fairness, I can't think of a story reason as to why thay all have the same build...) Both the Bohrok and their Kal cousins were ment to be part of a horde. The Rahkshi... well, maybe the Makuta prefer a streamlined desing for his most efective minions and keep their creative juice for their experiments? The Toa Metru... it was explained that when a Matoran turns into a Toa they receive armor that fits into their mental image of the heroes; seeing that Lhikan has the same design and was the last Toa they saw, it makes sense they had the same armor as him. The Vahki... same as the Rahkshi, no reason Nuparu would make different models other than their tools and programming. The Hordika... Well they were clones before being mutated,so why not after? (Again, no real story reason) The Visorak... as with the Bohrok, part of a horde. The Piraka... they were members of the same species, so it kinda makes sense. Also notice how at this point there begins to be more "diversity" with different feet(!) The Inika... I dunno, the unlikely transformation via Red Star, also they had the same build before, so same as the Hordika. Even more diversity, with different arms, chest armor and feet (!!) In retrospect, there were a lot of clone waves until 2007. Semi-clone status added by the Inika build and well, lots of familiar faces. No wonder I can build them almost on reflex. I guess that explains why I liked the titan sets the most? Now I'm even more thankful for the builds of 2015. Each one was a blast. Hopefully Lego's finantial status will remain big enough so we doesn't have to revert back to clones.
  13. G1 sets remained hidden in a bigh cardboard box until I install big enough shelves to display them. G2 sets roll around my desk and my dinning room, mostly beacuse I use them as models for my fanfic. I have been careful, so as not loose any pieces.
  14. The Toa Metru. Mostly because I became interested in Bionicle on 2005, so my fondest memories come from that year's story. I personally think the Metru/Hordika had one of the biggest growth both as a group and as individuals. First of all, life before becoming Toa. The Mata had amnesia when they arrived on Mata Nui, before that they were pretty sure about their role as heroes. The Inika had a lot of experience in combat related stuff (except Matoro), so their transition into a functional Toa Team was easier. The Metru, on the other hand, were common Matoran: A maskmaker, a teacher, a historian, a carver, a test pilot and a scholar; Not the exact profiles you're looking for in a team of heroes; but still they managed to work part of their previous experiences into their new role as heroes: Vakama forging the Vahi, Whenua explaning what the Visorak are, Matau building the airships to evacuate the Matoran, etc. (I can't recall instances on the other ones, but maybe searching the novels and comic books might show something) Second, life as Toa. The Mata already had their power and skill, their adventures revolved around learning Unity and facing an overwhelming invasion (the Bohrok). The Inika already had an idea of what Toa were and should be, they saw the previous failures of their heroes and learned to avoid it, there wasn't much for them left to learn, the main conflict came from the critical importance of their mission. The Metru, while they knew what a Toa was supposed to do, they weren't ready for the job. They had their first victory against the Morbuzakh, but expending all of their power ment they embarrased themself in the Coliseum and half of them got captured. Unlike the Mata and the Inika, they had to actively learn how to use thier mask. They also had to learn how to work together. But even in the middle of their defeat and their failure to prevent the Great Cataclysm, they managed to turn the tables on Makuta, rescue some Matoran and discover the island of Mata Nui. However, because they had never archieved such a feat, some of them, especially Vakama, became overconfident. Transformation! The now-Nuva had a big power-up both in strenght and ego, so they had to learn to level their arrogance. The Mahri suffered, arguably, a downgrade, which made their desperate mission all the more difficult. But the biggest downgrade was for the Hordika: Their power became locked on Rhotuka spinners, they lost their mask powers and little by little were becoming more savage. Even with Vakama leaving they managed to rescue the Matoran in one of the biggest battles in the story. They went from the lowest lows to one of the mayor victories that ensuerd the other Toa's destinies could be fufilled.
  15. Put them in a giant cardboard box --> Wait until I have enough space to display them.
  16. I like the design of all the 2015 sets. Onua and the Protector of Jungle are my favorite. The story was okay, slowly introducing us to a new yet familiar world. The Toa not directly defeating the villan at the end was a good storytelling use, it showed they were not invincible and still had room for potential. I like the Umarak the Hunter and Ekimu sets of 2016. I love that we got a new medium for the story in The Journey to One. Very good development for the most part.
  17. Well, after seeing the show about four times, I can conclude: I quite like it. I know it has some flaws, especially in the character department, but I wouldn't think of calling it bad. For one, the animation is fluid and I like the changes they've made to the sets, like streching the armor so it covers the bones pieces (I never saw the Hero Factory show, so I can't say for sure if this has been done before). Also the little details, like the cristalline parts of the armor appearing when they use their powers or join with the Creatures. I admit, the missing jaws of the Protectors and villagers are a bit jarring, but aside from that I'd say they've made a pretty good job. Now with the story, which I feel is somewhat hit and miss. Sure, the plot makes sense and nothing comes out of the left field, but is more what they don't do that's leaving me feeling a bit empty after seeing it. So I guess I'll talk about the characters one by one: Tahu: Sure, he may not be as serious as last year, but hey, they just succeded in their first mission and got new gear, so I think it's not much of a strech that he is more relaxed and, maybe, overconfident (like a certain Toa once was) Gali: Let's be honest, she doesn't have a defining trait here (even the bad puns are gone, for shame) and most of her lines could be spoken by someone else. Onua: I may be biased, since Onua has been my favorite for G2, but I don't think he has lost a lot in adaptation. But he hasn't won much either, except I find it odd that he doesn't like laberynths. And smashing through that tree was not needed, but nothing to rant about. Aside from that, I still like his humble demeanor and how he goes out of his way to protect Ketar. Pohatu: While he wasn't exactly out of character, I think what's wrong with Pohatu is not his personality itself, but rather that he is used as the plot-mover of the second episode. I get it, he doesn't like scorpions, so bonding with his Creature was going to take more effort. The thing is, why only him? We see Tahu and Kopaka have a skirmish with their Creatures, so why not keep that conflict, keep us guessing who Umarak would chose as his target? Lewa: He is my favorite in this, and yes I'm also biased since I love almost all of the Air/Jungle characters. He changes the least, personallity-wise, he is still the quick-witted joking adventurer which I love, and also he gets the first fight with Umarak, which is also a development fron last year: He now plays it more carefully, and when they meet the Hunter again he is quick to point out that they should be mindful. All in all, the first episode gives him a good place to shine. Kopaka: I know there is a lot of love for his cold G1 personallity and that the show deviated enough to make his fans angry, but honestly I'm not among them. In my personal ranking he's always bouncing between Tahu and Gali for the fifth spot (The order is Onua-Lewa-Pohatu-Tahu-Kopaka-Gali, if you were wondering). So seeing him being more adventurous when he is alone kinda makes sense to me, especially when it was established last year that he likes to be seen as a perfectionist. Umarak: Character-wise, I like him. He is actually a threat for the protagonists, if you can imagine that. Problem is he doesn't get enough time to shine. Sure he works for Makuta, who knows why. But he is also a loner, so it make sense that he eventually wants to keep the Mask of Control for himself. It would have been good to see him skirmish with each of the Toa as they tried to find the Creatures. The story itself is good, but really short. I know that having the six Toa doing the same thing would be too repetitive and asking for one episode each may be excessive, but I don't see a way to fix it. Also the time in the laberynth is way to short, a couple more episodes in this interesting location would have been nice. So lets talk about something new: Translations. The Latin American dub is okay. Sure, some phrases are spoken rather quickly, but thats common when translating English to Spanish. The voices are nice, most of them new actors, but the one playing Gali is quite bland. There are bound to be some mistranslations here and there, the most glaring one to me is when they translate "the journey to one" as "buscan al elegido" (search for the chosen one).
  18. Well, both the Grinder and the Basher are maskless and imprisoned. Who knows if Makuta may command Umarak the Destroyer to free them. Skull Slicer was reanimated by a Skull Spider, but in the animations we saw him fall maskless through the arena, so who knows, unless he is reanimated, he's most probably dead again. Skull Scorpios may be still found in the Region of Stone, but are most likely without any command and disorganized. As for the Skull Warriors and Skull Spiders, a small band of them tried to attack the city after the Okotans moved back, but they were defeated. Is curious to note that without a leader they've become pretty much zombies, but can be a treat when a Spider posseses them. We also saw a Skull Spider captured by a Shadow Trap when Lewa was looking for the Creature of Jungle, so they are still running wild and are not allied with Umarak. So even with the Lord of Skull Spiders most likely dead, the spiders are still a treat, abeit not in such a scale as before the Toa came.
  19. Honestly, I think it works better like a reboot. Trying to tie-in with G1 would somewhat allienate new fans, as much of the media and sets are somewhat unavaible. If only G2 could step up their villans game... The only connection between the two that works in G1 canon is this: It is possible to travel to the G2 dimension via a Kanohi Olmak; wherever on not it has been or will be done is uncertain.
  20. So, as everyone has been saying, bad bussiness strategy. I can only hope the story of G2 gets better, considering that this years sets have failed to appeal to me. A 13 episode, 22 minutes per episode Netflix series might do the trick. But I guess that only the success of this year's series will allow it.
  21. At first, like most people, I planned to get every retail set. Minus the free stuff that Lego gives on shipping because Lego doesn't ship to Mexico. And it has proven to be quite difficult. The "winter" wave (I use quotations because it relesaes here almost at the end of March) lacked the Protectors of Jungle and Stone, so I had to ship them via MercadoLibre (sort of a Latin American Ebay). The "summer" wave (which was set to release in November), was somewhat advertised (it apparently would lack the Skull Scorpio and the Ekimu vs. Kulta combo) but it never released! So I'm stuck ordering them via MercadoLibre at triple the price (it wouldn't make a difference if I tried Amazon or Ebay, the arancels and the Dolar-Mexican Peso exchange make them almost cost the same). This year most of the sets look unappealing to me, particulary the Creatures. Adding to the limited budget I might only get Umarak the Hunter and Ekimu.
  22. I see. I hoped all the other Toa had forms like this available in all platforms. Thanks for the info, guys
  23. So I downloaded Bionicle: Mask of Creation for Android some time ago, and I've unlocked this: I don't know how I got it. Anyone knows how to do it with the other Toa?
  24. Oh boy.... From least to most: The dialoge: At least a missed opportunity for a hidden meme (Pohatu should have said "I never asked for this"). Other than that is simple and does the job. It's not high art, but no one was expecting it to be. Pronuciation: Some Toa have somewhat different accents, I suppose to distinguish them somehow, but some times is wierd. I swear I hear Pohatu and Onua say "Hit the liver [you know, the vital organ an skeleton would not have]) Mistakes: In an episode they mixed up Stone an Earth. Not world shattering, but even f they corrected it later, it still happened. Reused animations/Recaps: This is especially obvious during the episodes when they recover the Golden Masks. Seeing the episodes every week or so as they were released, it didn't bothered me. But watching back to back is annoying: At least 4 minutes of recap could have been cut for more characer development. Speaking of which: Underdeveloped villans: None of the baddies was interesting in the very least. Most of them were beaten in one episode. The Skull Grinder only had one line of dialoge and gets beat with two hits, for Mata Nui's sake! Underdeveloped heroes: While the Toa did have an arc learning how to work together and accepting their role as heroes, most of their personallities are underplayed, especially Gali. I'm not asking for deep philosophical debates between them, but they rarely seem to act as characters and not plot-drivers. Ekimu is OP, but I kinda give it a pass because he was set up as a powerful near-mystical being. The Protectors were non existant, with only one talking in the ever-loved dialect of exposition. The first half is Tahu-centered: I understand that showing the six Toa going through the same beats dedicating one episode to each. I know kids like more the red characters. But still, I can't shake the feeling that Tahu only stole screen time, for he didn't develop much until later. The voice "acting": Suprise, suprise... This is the biggest problem. Even if the idea was to show the videos as a narration by one of the Protectors, it doesn't work. I mean, one guy for around 10 characters. Come on. I know Lego doesn't have as much faith in Bionicle as much as their other lines, but at least hire more voice actors. Gali suffers the most from this, rarely sounding as a woman. Again, I don't think the voice actor is a bad one, but making him do all the voices was a very bad mistake that, at least for me, made the animations lose most of their potential.
  25. Toa of Ice Onua and Lewa woke up to the sound of a fight. They grabbed their weapons and headed outside. The rising sun threw its shine on strange ice fragments that littered the side of the mountain: “If I had to guess, we’re not the only ones with a rough start” the Toa of Air joked. Onua nodded with a smile and pointed to a series of ice blocks that went into the jungle. The two followed the trail for a while, somewhat hopeful that they would find a new friend: “Ok, so you control earth and I control air. Whomever we find will use ice… so, how many of us will be?” Lewa wondered aloud: “Six” answered Onua. “One for each element” the green Toa looked at him curious “I saw it on a dream” added the black Toa. Further ahead the trail split in two. Onua stopped for a moment, suspecting something strange, but Lewa simply carried on to the left path jumping on the trees’ branches. A bit annoyed, Onua followed the right path. It didn’t take long for him to confirm his fears: A white mask lay at the end of the trail. Just as he picked it up he heard Lewa screaming in pain. He split his hammer in two, put on his claws and dug with such skill it appeared as he was swimming in the ground. He quickly reached the Toa of Air’s position, she was barely standing. On front of her was a white and blue being with golden armor. However, her mask was replaced with a silver skull scorpion that clung firmly to her face. Next to her were the familiar blue and green scorpions, guarding a golden mask with the same shape of the white one Onua found: “I know, I know, I was reckless” said Lewa reading her weapons “You can give me a lecture once we free this fella” “Free me?” replied the possessed Toa with a grim voice “You are the ones that will join my sister. With your Toa powers finding the rest of the Golden Masks will be no problem” “We will not let evil hold such power!” answered Onua, He thrusted his Turbo Shovelers into the ground, causing a big fissure that headed towards the white Toa. She dodged with a jump and with blinding speed threw her spear to the black Toa and barely missed. She quickly launched herself to Onua, who blocked her “The silver Skull Spiders have amazing speed. Combined with the power of this Toa, you’ll be no match for me… as your friend will find out”. Lewa had flew to grab the Golden Mask before the other scorpions made a run with it, but the possessed Toa appeared in front of her and froze her solid. She put her foot over the frozen one: “A single hit and your green companion…” Where are you?!” Onua had disappeared, digging silently below the ground. His surprise hit to the white Toa’s face knocked away the silver scorpion. Knowing they couldn’t face three Toa at a time, the silver one grabbed the Golden Mask and fled with its companions in hot pursuit. The Toa of Ice nearly passed out, but Onua kept shaking her, yelling “Save Lewa!” He put the white mask on her face, hoping that it would give her strength. Surely enough, the Toa instantly felt reenergized and with a simple hand gesture freed the green Toa from her icy prison. The black one rushed to help her on her feet: “I’m fine, I’m fine… Thank you” she said with a smile and hugged Onua. The white Toa picked up her spear and prepared to leave, but Lewa interrupted her “Wait! Who are you? Are you okay?” “My name is Kopaka” said the Toa “I’m hurt, but I will be okay” she turned her back, but the green Toa put a hand on her shoulder: “Let me guess: You landed here and found a shiny mask, but a skull with legs attacked you” Kopaka didn’t answer “He went through the same… Onua here saved me from the blue one” “That makes two of us” she turned to Onua “Thank you, Onua, but I’ll be on my way” “Oh come on” replied Lewa and jumped in front of her: “Look, I’m sorry for what happened to you. I can’t imagine what is like to be controlled by those things…” “Horrible” said the Toa of Ice “I bet. Thing is, I don’t think that any of us can make it alone” “The spiders use unity for their evil deeds, but we can use it as a force of good” said Onua. Kopaka remained silent for a moment “Fine. I’ll travel with you. But first I need a place to heal, and you too, Lewa. Being frozen is not good for a body not used to the cold” “I’ll be fine” said the Toa of Air and immediately collapsed from her wounds “If someone carries me back to our base… Onua?” The Toa of Earth smiled and picked her up. With Kopaka now on their side, they began climbing the mountain as the sun shone through the leaves.
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