Mukaukau Nuva

On 9/18/2019 at 9:00 PM, masterchirox580 said:

CCBS is part of what the problem is. Whilst it has brought many great innovations I feel it has unfortunately standardised constraction to the point where the creativity has been largely sucked out of it. At least in terms of retail sets. Lego simply needed to find a way to incorporate quadrupeds and distinctly moulded pieces into the sets but they never did that.

I've heard it said on the TLG forums that constraction is, by its very nature, standardized. Even if only half of each wave is humanoid--and it could be a great deal more than that (looking at you 2009)--it means that the same humanoid body plan has been recycled at least three times over each successive year. Take a long running franchise and that's a lot of sameness.

Bionicle in its earliest years had a lot of redundant parts to try to reduce sameness; the Rahkshi lower leg, the Metru lower leg, and the Vahki lower leg all performed the same function (albeit at different lengths and styles). Sure you can recycle using different colours, make minor modifications to pieces, etc. to make the sets feel different. But at the end of the day it's either going to build like the same figure or look like the same figure.

CCBS gives you the kind of freedom the regular LEGO system has by creating a new standardized system, but since kids are only building the same humanoid designs (even in their MOCs) there's only so much play value its going to have, especially since the lack of redundant parts for 'flavor' makes it feel all the more samey. Both CCBS and Bioncile's Technic ad hoc system have their strengths and weaknesses--in an ideal world constraction could improve on those weaknesses and develop a new system that is both compatible with them and supersedes them.

ATM constraction is at a low point. IIRC the only theme using it is the Star Wars licence (which has been famously selling the same blobs of bley plastic for years now with only minor modifications and improvements). Which is both perfect in that it is perfectly suited to what constraction has been up to this point, but also disappointing because it means constraction might not get to move on in the years to come.

Napoleon III wasn't actually the son of Napoleon's brother (Louis Bonaparte); the Y DNA of every Bonaparte descendant matches except for Napoleon III and his descendants (they used both living descendants and hair from Napoleon III). Jury's still out who the 'real' father is.

The marriage between Louis Bonaparte and Hortense was arranged and neither of them was particularly 'nice' to the other, so the amount of 'betrayal' here is pretty negligible (meaning this knowledge is even more useless).

I've got at least one essay on Nokama and Legends of Metru Nui that I smashed out a few months ago. I know of essentially no where else I could post the thing where it would be read, so I became a member! 

I ruminate on Bionicle about once a year or so, get back into it, discover it from a new angle (usually I remember a character who I hadn't thought of in years. In this case, it was Nokama). Then I leave it again when I remember everyone else has already moved on. Rinse, repeat. Having an account makes getting it out of my system easier, however.

Eh, I'm ambivalent on who the heroes should be. Truth-be-told, I know that if the Mata names were kept (a la G2) it would be for marketing reasons rather than story-based ones. I prefer new names myself, but I'm not beholden to them. We already have the story of the Mata. There's no need (IMO) to do it over again. Getting back to that feeling of discovering Mata Nui bit-by-bit, diving into encyclopedias (online or in print) and web pages just to find out more information, and wanting to know what lied just outside the artwork on the canisters, doesn't require particular characters, IMO.

My preferred Toa team is the Metru anyway, and even though I knew of the Nuva first, I didn't have a hard time getting to know Metru Nui through the Metru's eyes. It was way more engrossing to be in the mindset of characters for whom this city wasn't fantastic, but merely everyday, instead of characters who were seeing it for the first time.

12 hours ago, Jean Valjean said:

As far as mask shapes go, shape doesn't determine power.  Power doesn't determine shape.

Life gets a lot easier when you ignore Krakua and Toa Norik (or at least pretend he's Toa Dume like he was supposed to be). Without those two exceptions we wouldn't have a need for great debates over how power correlates to shape. What a coincidence these were both products of the limitations placed on set/MOC designers...

I'd make an argument for the Turaga of Mata Nui. Even if they were not, say, the most intelligent, they ended up having the most knowledge within their sphere of influence (who else on Mata Nui knew anything about Metru Nui before they told them?). And given the final outcome of the series, they did pretty well for themselves, compared to many of the others.

Artakha is probably quite smart, given he has created many things and has probably experienced many things given his age. Plus (unlike the Barraki) he hasn't had a "falling out" with the ruling regime, as it were, and thus lost out on info regarding the most recent developments in the Matoran Universe.

I would argue both Mata Nui and Makuta are not really all that smart. Mata Nui has been asleep for so long that by the time he wakes up he knows basically nothing about his kingdom. And while Makuta may have a mind built for 3D chess, he didn't really foresee the consequences of his success. Otherwise he would have known his gamble never paid off. Hindsight being 20-20 of course, but did he really think no one would stop him from trying to take over the universe?

Pedantic ramblings aside, the Glatorian will probably succeed to the mantle of Toa on Spherus Magna, at least in lieu of other options. The Toa will eventually go extinct, given there are less than 50 extant and they likely can no longer reproduce (since it is unlikely any current Matoran is destined to become a Toa, given the "destiny-granting" machine, the Great Spirit Robot, is no longer functioning). Even if there are any Matoran destined to become Toa, all the info we have points to the Matoran becoming extinct at some point as well, given the method they used to manufacture more of themselves (the Great Spirit Robot) is, again, no longer functioning.

Even without elemental powers, it wouldn't be hard to imagine that the Toa would leave quite an impression on the Glatorian, who in-turn would want to emulate them once all the Toa had passed away. It's conceivable that, millennia from where our story left off, new "Toa" teams are formed entirely of Glatorian who inherited stories about the courageous, noble Toa.

Naturally, we can surmise that Bionicle G2 ended for the same reasons all LEGO themes do—the theme was underperforming sales-wise. We can ballyhoo around exactly how badly G2 sold to warrant an early expulsion, but in my opinion the degree to which it failed to sell isn’t the important part. What everybody wants to know is why it failed to sell, or what factors the theme had that may have contributed to why it didn’t meet financial expectations. Most discussions surrounding why G2 failed are centred around G2’s story—don’t get me wrong, this is important. Yet, while we’re talking about the profit potential of a product (a product that isn’t a story, mind you), we should keep our thoughts reticent of the fact that most consumers who buy the sets don’t care about the story. Therefore, we should expect that the reasons why the sets failed to sell are unrelated to the story.

I posit a few major reasons why the G2 sets underperformed; naturally, I have no evidence beyond the sets themselves and marketing materials already made public. However, even from those, we can gleam some picture of what didn’t work. For the most part, I’ll be staying away from directly comparing G2 to G1. When I do, it will only be to G1’s first two years (2001-2002); the only two years G2 got. Even then, I’ll only try to bring G1 up when discussing something about G1 that is demonstrably true (e.g. that the sets came in canisters, for example).

The first factor is simply a lack of (effective) marketing. I’m not the first to mention this. G2’s primary marketing outlet was the Netflix show Journey to One. Ninjago was LEGO’s first (successful) foray into this medium, which demonstrated that TV shows were the way to hook kids on a long-running story. Heck, Transformers proved that in the ‘80s. There’s one caveat here though—on Netflix, the viewer must actively seek out the program. As a result, no kid is going to search for Journey to One without already having heard of Bionicle beforehand. As a result, Journey to One isn’t bringing new kids to the line—it’s trying to convince already-interested kids to stick with it. At that point, you’re relying almost entirely on word-of-mouth to generate interest. Contrast this to 2001-2002, which used traditional print ads (posters, cardboard standees), an online presence as a part of the fledgling internet (Bionicle.com, Bioniclestory.com, and the MNOG), a promotional campaign with McDonalds (the Tohunga), and a short comic book series. It all served to generate hype, and it worked.

Even so, this says nothing about the quality of the marketing that’s being implemented. Journey to One does not actually seem to be poorly received (its IMDb score sits at 6.4/10 as of this writing, a smidge higher than the 6.1/10 held by the most eminently watchable Bionicle movie, Bionicle 2: Legends of Metru Nui) (1). However, many reviews were simply lukewarm (2). Even among the positive ones, not many of those reviews were enthusiastic—they recommended watching the show to support the theme (3). At that point, the show isn’t pulling its own weight—the brand is promoting it, it is not promoting the brand. Bionicle G2 also took on a concerted light-hearted tone. While not necessarily a limiting factor, a more mature tone had already become what was expected of the brand. Besides, that tone was part of what made the early years so much of a success. 2001-2002 marketed itself as a big kid’s toy (but a toy nevertheless). It was cool to like it, not hokey. The marketing (and sets) were designed with “Bionicle Boy” in mind; a kid who was going to show off how cool these toys were to other kids (4). With a campier tone, LEGO limited their ability to replicate that success.

Additionally, what marketing G2 implemented was inconsistent. Its bright colours, campier tone, and less-lore heavy bent signaled out the theme as aimed at a younger audience—kids the same age as the ones who bought the original sets in 2001-2002. However, the theme also attempted to court older fans as well; using the name “Bionicle,” using the original six Toa’s names, having the masks of said Toa resemble their G1 counterparts, as well as hosting contests on BZPower, stronghold of the original G1 fanbase. While this double-barreled strategy could have worked (subsequently pulling both new and old fans together), what resulted was mixed messages. AFOLs were pulled in by the recognizable names and faces, but many felt they weren’t catered to by the rest of the marketing. Kids, on the other hand, may have felt left out, considering that Bionicle was not made into their brand—an older brother’s brand, perhaps, but not there’s.

The second factor is that the new sets were sold at a poor price point, which isn’t discussed enough as a contributing factor to both G2 and G1’s demise. The 2001-2004 canister sets were cheap, about $8, depending on the wave (5). LEGO sets are an expensive toy as a rule, but one could enjoy most of what a wave had to offer with just one impulse purchase (as all of the old sets were clones), but if one wanted more there was more available (different masks, weapons, and colours for customizing). The 2015-16 Toa were all too expensive for an impulse buy at $20, so the first purchase was a big commitment; you either had to be aware of the theme or like it already, or you were taking a big risk wasting a lot of (your parent’s) money on a set you didn’t like. It wasn’t as easy to test the waters with the newer, bigger, (better?) Toa.

Now, at this point, I’m sure someone out there is screaming at me about the Protectors. Yes, the Protectors were priced at an impulse buy price point. Why, you might be asking, does it matter so much for the Toa to be cheap when other cheap sets are available alongside them? Well, the problem has to do with disappointment. When you’re a kid in the toy store, and you’re looking up at that awesome big red Tahu with the swords and the lava board, you get disappointed when all you can afford to buy is the weeny red Protector next to him, who doesn’t have a unique mask and doesn’t even have a name. Your purchase doesn’t feel important, because you feel you’re missing out on the main draw (the Toa). The 2001 Toa didn’t have this problem because they were the main draw, and they’re the sets you’re expected to buy and be interested in.

The final point is not so much a nebulous point as it is a very specific one. That being, G2 suffered from poor set-wave configuration. 2015’s winter wave tried very hard to recapture the feeling 2001 had—there were six Toa sets to choose from, along with a variety of little dudes. However, the subsequent summer wave was a huge misfire. Of all the G2 sets, it was the Skulls most reported to be shelf-warmers. And with good reason—skulls and spiders are cliché choices for theming villains, fit for Hallowe’en but not a great deal else. The same could be said of the beasts from 2016’s summer wave; Hero Factory had done a whole wave of Kaiju-inspired beasts only two years prior. By contrast, the Bohrok were arguably the best-selling wave from 2001-2002. This might not seem like a big deal (after all, all the other sets are quite solid), but what made G1 so successful in 2001 and 2002 was the one-two-three punch of the original Toa, the Bohrok, and the Toa Nuva. G1’s sales were declining ever since 2002 (6). Therefore, we can assume with reasonable confidence that these sets (especially the later two) sold very well to the point of overperforming (after all, the 2003-2004 canister sets weren’t bad, or at least they don’t read that way to me).

Both 2001-2002 and 2015-2016 staggered their hero and villain waves (starting with a hero wave, and this is extremely important. The original Toa sets sold very well, to the point it would be unreasonable to say they sold out in many places (7). As a result, when new fans who were brought into the theme by the equally-popular winter wave Bohrok needed hero sets to fight them, the summer wave Toa Nuva sets were just what they needed. But without an equivalent to the Bohrok (both as villains and as just plain fantastic sets), G2 didn’t give consumers enough of a break between the original Toa wave and the revamped Toa wave. There wasn’t demand for the 2016 Toa as there was for the Toa Nuva because the original versions were still on shelves. Putting it this way, G1’s first three waves were all best-selling, well-received sets in their time. Yet, between G2’s first four waves, only two of them (the Toa waves) were marketable, and thus they were the only two that could even hope to be successful.

Make no mistake, this was a death-by-a-thousand-cuts. Bionicle G2 probably could have afforded to make a one (maybe two) of these mistakes and survive as a less-than-stellar but still pretty successful theme. Rather, I think it’s a combination of all the factors that made it fail—much like how it was a combination of factors that lead the original Bionicle series to succeed. And none of this is to say that Bionicle G2’s sets were bad. I’m also sure that one of these factors probably did more damage than the other two, or that there are factors at play that I didn’t mention that we may not even know about.

Whether Bionicle G2’s failure also served as the end of original constraction lines is still to be determined. We haven’t seen another LEGO original IP constraction line since G2 ended. Maybe that will change; maybe it won’t. In any case, there’s still a lot to be said about G1 and G2 that hasn’t been covered yet.

Bibliography (in alphabetical order)

(1) a. “Bionicle 2: Legends of Metru Nui.” IMDb, https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0387658/?ref_=tt_sims_tt

b. “Lego Bionicle: The Journey to One.” IMDb, https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5075942/

(5) a. “Bionicle—Toa Mata.” Brickset. https://brickset.com/sets/theme-bionicle/subtheme-Toa-Mata

b. “Bionicle—Bohrok.” Brickset. https://brickset.com/sets/theme-Bionicle/subtheme-Bohrok

(7) Breen, Bill, and David Robertson. Brick by Brick: How LEGO Rewrote the Rules of Innovation and Conquered the Global Toy Industry. Crown Publishing Group, 2013. https://books.google.ca/books?id=OsyEX0nPkygC 

(6) Farshtey, Greg. “Post 7953744.” Official Greg Discussion Archive, 14 Nov. 2013, 

(4) Robertson, David. “How Bionicle Transformed LEGO's Company Culture.” Inc, 20 Jun. 2014,

https://www.inc.com/david-c-robertson/how-bionicle-transformed-lego-s-company-culture.html

(3) RRproAni. “Bionicle: The Journey to One review (spoilers).” Deviantart, 8 Mar. 2016,

https://www.deviantart.com/rrproani/journal/Bionicle-The-Journey-to-One-review-Spoilers-595398632

(2) “Quick Thoughts on Bionicle: The Journey to One.” Jangbricks, 4 Mar. 2016,

http://www.jangbricks.com/2016/03/quick-thoughts-on-bionicle-journey-to.html

I was actually doing a Bionicle film re-watch, but I ended up stopping before The Legend Reborn. Mainly because I always (inevitably) skip Mask of Light. Really the only Bionicle film I really like is Legends of Metru Nui, with Web of Shadows included as a (fraught) extension of that film. The Legend Reborn isn't bad by Bionicle standards anyway, but I need to be in the mood for it. I can't just re-watch it with the others, since it really goes for a different tone.

The Legend Reborn really had the potential to tap into something mythic, IMO. De facto gods taking human form always lead to that. Yet I never got that from The Legend Reborn.

That being said, The Legend Reborn did tap into the (then-)new trope of having the villain be an unexpected minor character instead of the presumed antagonist. Disney and Pixar had been doing that for years by then, of course (like with Monsters Inc.) and continued to do it for years afterwards (Frozen, Zootopia) but this is the first time I remember Bionicle going down that route. Usually the villains in Bionicle were pretty clear cut. Even if Makuta was in the shadows, we saw who he was and knew that he was bad news, even if the specific characters we followed didn't. 

19 hours ago, Vorahk1Panrahk2 said:

I think, though, that more important than the animation style is the character design.

Hitting the nail right on the head, IMO.

Regardless of what proportions a Bionicle set should have (being, as we all know, a toy), alien and robot designs in film should match form to function; the Xenomorph from Alien or the bugs from District 9 look odd as a prerequisite for those films to work; robots like Wall-E are designed for cuteness in mind, etc.

Since we're supposed to see the Toa (and Glatorian) almost as superheroes, they should look, well, like superheroes, and have proportions to match. The proportions of the '02 Toa Nuva are such that, if put to screen exactly as they are, they would have elongated arms and over-sized heads; they would look more like gorillas than Power Rangers! Miramax (rightly) did what they could to make the designs more palpable for a film. They had a slightly easier job with the Toa Metru (who had the most human proportions of any canister Bionicle set), but you can see with the Hordika they just can't make it work; the Hordika are supposed to be weird looking, of course, but they're also supposed to be the heroes were know and love. 

The set-to-film approach The Legend Reborn takes would have been more successful if the characters they had to depict had sets that were more human in proportion (a la, the Metru). Instead we have the Inika build to work with, with its too-flat torso and over-long arms. Mata Nui's shoulder-blades look awesome in set form and totally ridiculous on-screen, IMO. 

At this point in the timeline(s), the [First] Galactic Empire probably has the edge. The amount of Toa (and Glatorian gifted with elemental abilities) is quite small at this point in time, and new ones are not likely to be created: Mata Nui is dormant, and thus can't bestow powers on the (naturally reproducing) Glatorian; the destiny of all Toa has been fulfilled as the Great Spirit Robot is no longer functioning (as a result, I assume that new Toa are not likely to come into existence, as they would have no "destiny" to fulfill).

Don't get me wrong, each Toa would probably be able to take down more than their fair share of Stormtroopers and their support groups (in particular, Takanuva might have an edge on those wielding the Dark Side of the Force, but don't quote me on that). Yet the Empire has a ridiculous number of reserves, even after the Death Star has been destroyed. The denizens of Spherus Magna can’t afford to lose more than ten or so Toa, while the Empire could probably easily afford to lose 20,000 or so Stormtroopers. Even if each Toa took out 500 Stormtroopers before expiring, the Empire would still likely have enough reserves to win.

Even if the Empire lost Darth Vader in the field (likely, given Vader likes to go in with the troops) the Emperor is much more powerful and, moreover, rarely reveals himself. Since the Toa do not know about the Emperor (their best chance of finding out would be a lucky break with a Kanohi Suletu), they might not know their best chance is to rush in and take him out (which they could do, given their vast array of elemental and mask powers--especially the Kanohi Calix). 

That said, I’m trying to remember if there are any game-breaking Kanohi that could turn the tide. None of the Legendary Kanohi seem to be useful in this scenario (the Mask of Life cannot be wielded, Creation would not seem to help, and no one on Spherus Magna (or even the universe) is powerful enough to use the Vahi to its full potential). The Mask of Gravity might be able to disrupt the orbits of battle stations like the Death Star (although no Death Stars are in the field at this point in the Galaxy) or battlecruisers like Star Destroyers. Whether or not one Garai user could accomplish this is an open question; the Toa may need more than one copy of the mask, and we don’t know how many they have or how many Kanoka they have to make them.

The Toa could use Kanohi Mohtrek to even their numbers, but that mask is immoral and would not be used. If Komau can be used ignobly then this is an option too, albeit one that would never be considered. 

2001's Macku must have been my first set, but I have only vague memories of acquiring it. I know I lost the throwing disc at the McDonalds the day I got it. I was a bit too young to really get into the sets then. I still have Macku though!

In 2002 my sister bought me Gali Nuva and Onua Nuva, which I still have. While I enjoyed them, I didn't really get into the theme or the story (and I didn't seek out any more sets; again, I was still too young).

My first real set was Toa Matoro in 2006, as I had seen the commercial and had specifically asked for it on my birthday. My friends and I got into Bionicle around that time (my best friend bought the '07 encyclopedia, which I bought too), but by the time 2007 rolled around in earnest I was more interested in the Harry Potter and Star Wars themes, and the only Bionicle I got was Maxilos.

2008 (ye of broken joints) was the big year for me. Kopaka Phantoka, Krika, all 3 Toa Mistika, Takanuva, the Rockoh and Axalara were voraciously consumed alongside the 2008 recap trailer. I still remember the first Mata Nui rising video where his eyes didn't go red. The one everyone watches now came out a few hours later.

I got a few Glatorians in 2009 (3 from each wave, I think) but the only box set I got was Toa Mata Nui (as a gift. Let's hope that gold plastic Ignika  doesn't suffer from gold plastic syndrome...). The only 2010 set I got was Tahu (whose character I never much cared for, but I liked his Stars set better than all the others. I remember thinking the Takanuva one was just lazy).

And we all know what happened after that...