What brought you to Bionicle?

[Alterax]

Did you see a commercial, or found it on the web? How did you discover Bionicle? Discuss.

[bioniclepluslotr]

my mom

[Pohatu: Uniter of Stone]

I saw a Toa Hordika ad when I was little, but it confused me. The next year, I saw the Inika versus the Piraka on Lego.com and in stores, and I thought it was cool. My thoughts on Bionicle back then were something like "It is made by Lego, so you build it, and its also an action figure you can make fight with the ball shooter and light-up weapon!" In late 2006, I subscribed to the Lego magazine and got a Bionicle comic with it that confused me since I hadn't been following the comics before then. I knew that the characters were the Inika and Piraka, but I had no idea what they were doing. I was being very sneaky about Bionicle, since my mom didn't really like it. In 2008, I finally got a set.

[Pomegranate]

Family was spending the day at this enormous shopping mall, and seeing as I was around 6 or 7, a stop at the toy store was obligatory. I was walking through the Lego aisle, saw the Bionicle sets, and wow, they just looked incredible. After bricks and bricks and more bricks, seeing a row of creepy, colorful Bohrok is the most exciting thing. I don't remember if there were any other sets there, there might've been, but all that's in my memory is the Bohrok. Picked up the blue on, Gahlok, and probably a year later I got the first Bionicle book when it came out; this was an accident, as the book was at a school book sale and I recognized the word Bionicle and some technic elements on Tahu on the cover. That's how I discovered the story. Nothing else in between, really. Had to make it all up.

So, I guess capitalism brought me to Bionicle, or rather, brought Bionicle to me

[Aanchir]

I was already a die-hard LEGO fan while growing up in the 90s. I started getting into LEGO Technic when I was about six years old (This was one of my first LEGO Technic sets), and it wasn't too long before the Throwbots/Slizer sets started guiding both me and the LEGO Group towards BIONICLE. My first BIONICLE sets were Tahu and Vakama, which I got through a special offer in the March/April 2001 issue of LEGO Mania Magazine.

[Nescent]

My big brother bought me Tahu Mata for my birthday and I was instantly hooked.

[Click]

My story is pretty close to Aanchir's, but I was probably younger. I loved Roboriders and Throwbots, and the logical progression was Bionicle, where I was captivated by the story and the fact that they were robots that could shoot fireballs from their hands (I was 5 )

[Cambion]

i got my first set as a birthday present. i loved it, and went and bought two more with birthday money. it was all downhill from there.

[Toa Green Ninja]

To be honest, I hardly remember. I think I just randomly got Krekka for my birthday in 2004 (he's a horrible set though, IMO). That was one of my first actual LEGO sets after growing out of Duplo.

[takanuva1988]

2001, grade 7, final year of Elementary school. Announcements and ads on the internet, I was hooked on Bionicle. Stuck with it til the end.

2014, 8th and final year of post-secondary education. Stinkin' internet hypes again  History repeats!

[Dralcax]

Towards the end of 2004, I got my first Lego magazine, and it was the one that featured the Hordika for what I believe was the first time. Back then, I hadn't even set foot in a store, Lego to me was the stuff my parents brought home and they only looked at stuff like Soccer and Creator. That magazine opened my eyes and began a lifetime of begging my parents for sets.

[fishers64]

Remember back in the day when Scholastic book fairs were a thing? Well, me and my brother went to one, and he picked up Bionicle Adventures #7: Web of the Visorak. Eventually I got bored enough to read it, and the characters with the cool powers sealed the deal. 

 

We then proceeded to raid the local library for the rest of the Adventures books...

 

(There were sets before that, but that's how my brother go into Bionicle, not how I did.) 

[Zidonaro]

Pohatu

[Diend]

Went to McDonald's with my best friend and we got happy meals. The featured toys that month were the Matorans. We didn't really "get" what Bionicle was until a little while later he got some Nesquik (?) cereal and it came with a disc containing a Bionicle video and the song "radio girl". We were hooked after that. I ended up getting Toas Tahu, Pohatu, and Onoa, while he got Kopaka, Lewa, and Gali.

Edited October 23, 2014 by Diend

[fenderbender336]

I grew up playing with Lego during the mid 90s. I'm pretty sure that the Lego website or a Bionicle commercial introduced me to the theme. Kopaka was the first Toa I bought, then it spiraled out of control until 2003. Dark ages started then I came out of them this past March only to find rumors that Bionicle was returning! I lucked out on that.

[Rahkshi Lalonde]

memory's blurry, but I think i got a lego magazine subscription first, and found a Bionicle comic inside (Toa Nuva vs. Bohrok Kal). and i was always the kinda kid who found colorful robot heroes with amazing powers fascinating. :v

[Sumiki]

My grandmother got me two Va sets in 2002, and there was no looking back.

Edited October 23, 2014 by Sumiki

[Nidhiki of the Shadows]

My brother and the very first Bionicle comic. Good memories.

 

-NotS

[Toa Smoke Monster]

I discovered Bionicle when I first got Tahu Mata and Lewa Mata all the way back in 2001 I then got Onua and the rest of the Toa Mata, and its history from there. 

Edited October 23, 2014 by Toa Smoke Monster

[Vspinax]

I first discovered it at a store, there I asked my parents if I could have one, and the rest is history...

[Dogbert]

First I got Matau as a primera comunión (not sure how it is said in USA) gift. Then I bought Nokama Hordika in a Wal-Mart. I was instantly hooked when my parents bought me the rest of the Hordika for christmas.

[randomreviewerbros]

I saw them in stores one day and thought thats a LEGO Ive never seen before and my parents bought one (Hordika Vakama) and Ive been hooked ever since!

Edited October 23, 2014 by randomreviewerbros

[The Undertaken]

2001,I was four at the time. Saw the commercials on Tv one day(Onua if I recall correctly) and it lookes so sleek. So shiny and cool. I wanted one. I think I got some of the McToran, yeah Onepu, Huki, Kongu and Matoro. I then got Kopaka and Gali (and possibly Lewa) for Christmas and the rest is history

[Spiffy247]

I think I started after seeing the originals in the Lego magazine. I remember Finding out about them before they were released, and got Tahu the day they came out when my Dad came home from work.

[Sad-Machine]

I went to a friends house and seen onewa metru.When I went home I told my mother about it and next week she brought be to a toy shop and she brought me pridak.I still have him only with vaki leg pieces.

[Republic Commando Niner]

My grandparents were in town for my little sister's birth, and I went with my grandma to the grocery store and I found a Kopaka set in the bread isle. I instantly recognized the mask as the same one that my favorite McDonald's toy had, and grandmas don't say no when their grandkid wants a new toy. The canister alone left me hooked before we even left the store.

[Zeddy]

My dad bought me Pohatu Mata, and for the next couple of years I was just buying sets without really knowing what the story behind them was. A couple of years after that I started getting into the story. I guess it was probably the lack of computer that caused the delay, I would have started searching for Bionicle info on the internet way sooner if that wasn't the case.

[Noxryn]

from a really old teaser in... i think either -in- or slightly before 2001. like i remember seeing Lewa and being all "that looks really cool" and being let down that the waist piece wasnt an actual accordion-esque thing that was moveable, but it was before the official launch since i remember waiting and going to the Mall of America (back when my family lived in MN) the day it launched (after we went to the aquarium)

 

i had to have been like five~sixish at the time

[Tuuli]

I think I saw it first from a Lego magazine, possibly online but my first set was kopaka Mata, and without him I may not have entered the bionicle world.

[Rider Of Spiders]

I was reading those free Lego catalogues they have in stores(dunno if just here), and I saw the Hordika. I was fascinated, and saw the Visorak and Rahaga, with the Hordika's release put at autumn. I checked the Rahaga, and later that very day I got Iruini. A few days later I got Oohnorak and after immense hype I got Vakama Hordika, and so on...

[The Meta Knight]

I had known about Bionicle since it's beginning. I had seen the sets and how people freaked out over them, but I never really got into it until the I saw a commercial for the Visorak. I thought the way they had pincers that actually pinched was REALLY cool. One day, I was with my Mom in Wal-mart. She was shopping for school supplies. I remember it like it was yesterday. Someone had picked up a Vohtarak and left it in the art isle. Recognizing it from the commercial, I begged my Mom to buy it for me. She didn't want to because she didn't believe I could actually build it. But eventually she gave in, which was a huge deal to me because she never really bought me anything regardless of how much I begged. (not to say she was mean ) I kept with Bionicle until it ended. I didn't get in to the story, however, until I played the Mistika racing game on Neopets.com, which was the only website I was aloud to get on at the time. After it ceased to be on Neopets, I asked my Mom if I could get on the Bionicle website. She agreed, and I discovered the story and read all the comics that were available to me. I did eventually get a hold of some of the books. I also got on Bioniclestory.com. The rest of what I know of the story I learned about a year before Bionicle's discontinuation, courtesy of BS01. Despite having not read many of the books, I'm very well acquainted with the characters and story.

Edited October 28, 2014 by The Meta Knight

[Rooster Nui]

My brother's 2001 collection of Bionicle sets looked awesome and inspired me to obtain some. Eventually my dad bought me Tohunga Matoro, then later Tahnok Va and Tahu Nuva. From there on I was able to get most of the sets within each year, usually only missing out on a few of the big sets in the later years, however I'm not too worried about that.

[emily]

I got into LEGO in early 2000 and started visiting the LEGO website frequently to play the online games. When MNOG launched in 2001 I tried it out, but I gave up after I wasn't able to figure out how to leave the beach, I didn't realize that it was simply impossible at that point. In March I got my first issue of LEGO Mania Magazine, which happened to be the one referred to by Aanchir, with the special offer for Tahu and Vakama on the back. I wasn't at all aware of BIONICLE's predecessors at the time, so to me it seemed a really weird diversion from proper LEGO. I figured it wouldn't be a popular theme, it was just too bizarre.

 

The comic in the May/June issue of LEGO Mania was what really engaged me in the story and started me collecting.

[Aanchir]

I got into LEGO in early 2000 and started visiting the LEGO website frequently to play the online games. When MNOG launched in 2001 I tried it out, but I gave up after I wasn't able to figure out how to leave the beach, I didn't realize that it was simply impossible at that point. In March I got my first issue of LEGO Mania Magazine, which happened to be the one referred to by Aanchir, with the special offer for Tahu and Vakama on the back. I wasn't at all aware of BIONICLE's predecessors at the time, so to me it seemed a really weird diversion from proper LEGO. I figured it wouldn't be a popular theme, it was just too bizarre.

Even to me the BIONICLE designs seemed sort of bizarre at first. Slizer and Roboriders sets did not have specialized masks or weapons — their heads were identical Technic blocks and their weapons were built from generic minifigure accessories. They did have specialized printing for their faceplates, disks, and wheels, but nothing that felt so different and alien that it changed the entire look of the set. Thankfully, the story's sense of magic and mystery helped me get over my initial reservations.

[Banana Gunz]

Hmmm. My first real experiences with Bionicle though were the MNOG and MNOGII, which were really cool for me but I never knew how to finish them. I started reading the comics several years later when I subscribed to the Lego Magazine and I didn't like them because I couldn't understand them, but when I got Icarax for my birthday I decided I wanted to know who he was and started researching the story online, which brought me back to the MNOG and 2001 story, which immediately activated uncontrollable nostalgia and got me completely hooked. So for me it was really a mix of experiences that played out together! 

 

Good times, good times. 

[Element Lord of Milk]

I actually don't remember anything before I got into Bionicle. My oldest memory is of getting Maku in a McDonald's drive-thru. It's possible that that was the first I heard of it.

[OnuaNut]

Largely the comics and the first sets, but the teasers leading up to the set releases played a part as well. I remember first seeing the map of Mata Nui with the Toa bios, which  caught my attention, and then reading the comic that followed. Oh, the comic! I was enchanted by that very first issue. As for the sets, I knew I wanted Onua first, he was mysterious and strong, while seeming gentle at the same time. The LEGO Magazine stated that Bionicle sets would release in July, but the stores near me didn't get them until August. It was a very long month for this fledgling Onua-nut, but when I finally held that canister in my hands, I was caught hook, line and sinker.

[Sir Kohran]

I first became aware of the line in early 2001 through the Lego Magazine. At first I assumed it was another Slizers, some decent figures but nothing special beyond that. Once I bought a few Toa, visited the website, and started playing the MNOLG, it was clear this line was beyond both of the previous lines.

[TehBestMemberEvar!1]

I was traveling in Europe, and it was the Promo CD that came in Nestle cereal.  Very well done.  Getting back to America and finding a comic with my LEGO magazine sealed the deal.  They should be doing a lot in the buildup for BIONICLE to get kids interested in the story -- makes for loyal customers.

[nikolojedison]

Friends. One had a couple of the last Makuta that I got from a garage sale, and I became interested in some of the lore. Whilst reading up, I began to identify with Kopaka, which further deepened my interest. I learned some of my other friends liked it, and it escalated rather quickly from there.