Happy 10th anniversary, Bionicle G2!

[Lenny7092]

Hi, guys. It's been ten years and a month since Bionicle 2015-2016/G2 happened. 

It's basically a hard reboot that is similar to The Amazing Spider-Man movie series in 2012-2014. It's about the Toa Mata (called "Masters") fighting Makuta (G2's Makuta Teridax) and his various minions in the island of Okoto (looks sort of like the island of Mata Nui). Okoto is inhabited by short bio-mechanical people who wear masks (the people are sort of like Matoran, and can reproduce like Agori). The Toa have to collect magical golden masks to accomplish their tasks. They get help from a golden-armored short guy named Ekimu, the Mask Maker. They also get help from short warriors called the Protectors and small magical creatures with elemental powers called the Elemental Creatures. 

A long time ago, Okoto was peaceful and ruled by two Mask Makers, Ekimu and Makuta. Ekimu wears the Mask of Creation and Makuta the Mask of Control. Ekimu's masks were more treasured by the island's people than Makuta's. This made Makuta jealous and evil. He and Ekimu had a sacred law where they should not put more than one elemental power in a mask because it is dangerous. However, Makuta broke the rule by creating one of the most powerful masks, the Mask of Ultimate Power. When Makuta put it on, it corrupted him more, and started breaking the island. Ekimu noticed and stopped Ekimu by knocking the mask from Makuta's face to save the island. This created a shockwave that changed Okoto, put Ekimu to a coma, and make Makuta disappear. The Mask of Creation, the Mask of Control, the Mask of Ultimate Power, and six golden masks for the Toa were scattered all over the island because of the shockwave. Ekimu whispered a prophecy called the Prophecy of Heroes to the Protectors, and it is about the Toa coming to save Okoto from Makuta. The Protectors put Ekimu's body in a tomb in his city. 

Bionicle G2 had two story arcs. In its 2015 story arc, the Toa came to Okoto to fight a group of evil skeleton-based villains called the Skull Creatures, who were trying to take over Okoto. The Toa and the Protectors searched for golden masks. The Toa reawakened Ekimu. The Toa and their allies defeated the Skull Creatures, saving Okoto from them. Ekimu reclaimed the Mask of Creation. 

In Bionicle's 2016 story arc, the Toa got new armor and masks from Ekimu. The Toa went to find the Elemental Creatures and new golden masks. They and the Creatures then went to find the Mask of Control in the Labyrinth of Control. They fought a monstrous hunter named Umarak, the Hunter, and his bear trap-like creations called Shadow Traps along the way. Umarak got the mask for Makuta. Makuta used the mask to mind-control Umarak and turn him into a more monstrous form called the Destroyer. Makuta had Umarak collect the six pieces of the Mask of Ultimate Power because the shockwave opened a portal to a pocket dimension called the Shadow Realm, and the portal brought Makuta there. Makuta wanted to be free, so he could take over Okoto. Umarak collected the pieces and then started using them and doing a ritual to re-open the portal to the Shadow Realm, so Makuta could be free. The Toa and Ekimu tried to stop Umarak from re-opening the portal, but failed. Makuta also sacrificed Umarak to finish re-opening the portal. Makuta was getting out, but the Toa used their elemental powers to banish Makuta to the Shadow Realm again, saving Okoto from him. The Toa fulfilled the prophecy and this caused the Toa to go back to the Elemental Stars, but the Toa will come back when Okoto needs them again. 

G2's toy line used the Character and Creature Building System, the same thing used for Hero Factory (G1's spiritual successor) in 2011-2014. It happened after Hero Factory was canceled unannounced in 2014. It also mixed it and Lego Technic's building system in new ways. It had new masks. The sets have a large amount of transparent pieces. Four of the sets have stickers. Some of the Toa sets are large. 

A lot of the sets have various play functions. Characters who wear masks have a new way of having their masks removing by pressing the backs of their brain pieces down. Many of the characters in 2015 have a gear function that moves their shoulders. Many of the characters in 2016 have a gear function that swivels their waists. Ekimu's Toa form in 2016 has both gear functions. Some of the characters have gatling guns, which can be rotated to shoot studs by turning their knobs. 

There are combination models, but all but two of them are non-canon. Six of the non-canon combination models are where you take armor and weapons from the Protectors and put them on their respective 2015 set. The two canon ones are a Shadow Spawn and Makuta. 

The story is told through a series of online animations in 2015, three chapter books, two graphic novels, and a Netflix show called Bionicle: The Journey to One in 2016. There are 18 online animations and a longer prologue. All of them are narrated by one guy, who voiced all of the characters there. The chapter books were about the 2015 story arc. The Journey to One was the main medium for the 2016 story arc, and has 4 22-minute episodes and a shorter prologue. There are two non-canon app games, each being based on one of the story arcs. 

G2's 2015 story arc was previewed in New York Comic Con in 2014 (I was there on the first day). The developer of G2 over there said that the fans was the reason why G2 happened. 

For a few years, Christian Faber showed an original plan for the 2015 story arc in 2014. G2 was going to be a new constraction theme called "Anicent", but it is implied that this idea was scrapped because people prefer Bionicle over anything else, and Hero Factory was enough, so G2 happened instead (can't blame him). This canceled theme was implied to be going to have Epyptian-looking stuff, which inspired Ekimu and Okoto. Later, the Toa were going to rescue people from elemental monsters that look like the Elementals from that canceled video game called Bionicle: The Legend of Mata Nui and Hero Factory's Jumpers. 

Originally, G2 was going to continue with at least one more year, but it got canceled for some reason. The story has some unresolved stuff, like the origins of characters in general and the Skull Creatures. Plus, Makuta can try to get back to Okoto again. 

G2 is remembered by having a sticker of the Mask of Ultimate Power in a The Lego Ninjago Movie set in 2018. 

In my opinion, I think G2 is okay. I wish it felt more like G1. I wish it had more characters and stuff from G1. There are some inconsistencies here and there. The online animations should have had more voice actors, and there should have more more of the animations and episodes of The Journey to One. G2's sets should have been cheaper and less pieces. I wish all of the Toa's 2015 golden masks were stolen and drained. I wish there were drained versions of Tahu and Gali's 2015 golden masks, their Skull foes, the Ice Shadow Trap, Elemental Beasts of Jungle, Ice, and Earth, and corrupted versions of Lewa, Gali, and Pohatu's 2016 regular masks. Plus, building instructions for that combo model for Onua and the Protector of Earth, the combo model for Gali and the Protector of Water, one for Lewa and the Protector of Jungle, one for Pohatu and the Protector of Stone, and combo models for the other 2016 sets. I wish Lewa's elemental power had stayed Air rather than Jungle (that's not who Lewa is). Pohatu acting like Batman from DC Comics in G2 rather than his cheerful, jolly self in G1 is sort of silly. I wish the story had explored more of the origins of the characters. I wish Melum and Agil had more pieces in them. Some of the designs need to be improved, like the Elemental Beasts (the jaws are goofy. There are some stiff joints. The Storm Beast's arms and tail are a bit restricting) and Umarak the Destroyer (his thighs look strunk a little, his neck needs to be fixed, and he needs forearms (same goes to the Protector of Fire and the Protector of Ice). Perhaps four more fingers, too). If there are corrupted Toa 2016 masks and corrupted Hunter mask, why not put them in the story? I wish a Makuta set had happened rather than a combination model, and the Mask of Ultimate Power (both gold and black) had been released as a finalized piece. I wish the app games would have been better (the 2015 game makes you wait for days to get more pieces for Toa? Really? I wish the 2016 game had the Elemental Beasts and Ekimu's 2016 form). G2 is not the best thing in Bionicle, but it has some good charm (but Hero Factory is better). 

Gee, I wish G2 had continued longer. It is a pity that it got prematurely canceled (like The Amazing Spider-Man movies, but the Marvel Cinematic Universe cheers people up). There had not been a G3 since 2016 (what's taking them so long? If G3 were to happen, I would go with Hero Factory G2 first for consistency). I hope it will happen or better, G2 coming back (if G2 had been re-continued, I would imagine it becoming more similar to G1 now), but I am more into re-continuing G1 (if that happens, I would hope it will introduce G1's version of the G2-exclusive characters). 

Anyway, happy 10th anniversary, G2!

[Master Inika]

Wow, ten years already. I bought my first G1 set when I was 7 (in 2003) and it ended when I was 14 (in 2010), so BIONICLE had been with me for literally half my life. It is a blend of nostalgia and authentically good marketing/production decisions that makes BIONICLE something I still think about as if it were still ongoing. Even when it ended, it never felt to me like it ended.

G2 was when I was 19-20 years old, so it's hardly fair to compare them at all, but getting my first BIONICLE set in 2003 felt like a lifetime ago in 2013. It represented more than one-half of all my lived experiences. Ten years ago from today just feels weird to think about. I feel more nostalgia for the hype for G2 than anything it actually produced.

There's a somewhat unintentionally humorous whiplash effect reading your post. You spent quite a bit of energy going into detail about G2's many, many deficiencies and then follow it up with "Gee, I wish G2 had continued longer." In many of your posts, you seem to grapple with simultaneously criticizing LEGO as being unable to properly handle BIONICLE while also expecting them to bring it back without flaws. I love G1, but it definitely had flaws and it ended for a reason. The way you envision BIONICLE as ideally existing simply wouldn't make money.