Left/right-Handed Or Ambidextrous Bionicle Characters

[Voxumo]

Hey i just thought of this.Has there ever been any indication as to whether bionicles have preferred hands. What i'm meaning is are bionicles Left-handed, Right-Handed or are they ambidextrous.I don't think i have ever seen it mentioned in any form of bionicle media. although if you look alot of the sets have thier primary weapons in their left hand at least according to their instructions. but this may just be for convenience. In humans the reason this occurs is said to be related to which part of your brain you use more for example if you use the right side of your brain more you are likely a left handed person where as if you use both sides of your brain equally your ambidextrous.But since the Great Beings created the matoran including their brains would this theory still be true.So yeah let me know what you think and maybe one day we can answer this.(If this topic has already been done please close this topic)

[Paleo]

There is no indication of any character's preference for their right of left hand in the Bionicle storyline, and we don't have any information about the physical arrangement of Matoran brains.

[Makuta Matata]

Many times, Bionicle will hold their weapons in their left hands, such as with Jaller Mahri. I think that they don't have dominant hands.

[Ballom Nom Nom]

Well, we know that Hewkii Mahri was left-handed, given that his right hand vanished in that incarnation. ~B~

[Dark_Stranger]

I always assumed that they were ambidextrous, being mostly robotic and all. The theory would only apply to residents of the MU, and it really isn't based off anything other than my shaky knowledge of real-life robotics, so I could easily be wrong. "But as long as I'm here, I get to bust heads!"

[Voxumo]

Many times, Bionicle will hold their weapons in their left hands, such as with Jaller Mahri.I think that they don't have dominant hands.

that is like the example i was meaning by instructions wise. alot of the sets when built according to instructions are left handed. even the larger sets like roodaka and maxilos

Well, we know that Hewkii Mahri was left-handed, given that his right hand vanished in that incarnation. ~B~

So very true indeed

[Peach 00]

Indeed, there is not an indication that any of the BIONICLE characters, storyline or otherwise, have a dominant hand, although I'd assume that all Toa and/or Matoran are ambidextrous. Given the fact there is not an indication of either hand being dominant, all we can decipher from this is, it's just a small insignificant detail that they never clarified within the books or serials with any characters.

[Toa Zaz]

Why would biomechanical beings have dominant hands? I'm guessing all the Matoran Universe inhabitants are ambidextrous, and the Agori and Glatorian are the same percentages as us.

Edited March 21, 2012 by Toa Zaz

[fishers64]

There is a form of Matoran writing, however. You would think that they would learn to write it using one hand or another. But other than that, I say that MU inhabitants are probably ambidextrous. I also expect the Glatorian/Toa to train in both hands to try to build up prowess in battle, as favoring one side or another was shown as a sign of weakness, I think.

[Sumiki]

I've often wondered the same thing, then a possible answer came to me.For characters who hold both a melee and a projectile weapon, think about your own dominant hands (assuming you aren't ambidextrous). If you were given a gun, you'd probably prefer your dominant hand, right? I mean, after all, a left-handed person wouldn't try to shoot a handgun with his or her right hand - and vice versa. I always used whichever side a character was portrayed as using a projectile weapon with was the same side that the character preferred, if at all.This, obviously, doesn't cover characters such as Kongu Mahri, but I console myself with the fact that BIONICLE characters are probably ambidextrous anyway. I don't see any advantage to a preferred hand in that universe - then again, having dominant hands on Earth doesn't make too much sense either, now that I think about it.

[Taipu1]

Toa are right handed, Toa Nuva are ambidextrous, except Kopaka :PBut seriously I think all beings in BIONICLE are probably ambidextrous. What you say about sides of brains could be true, but humans have an obvious divide in their brains. Matoran and other beings might not even have this divide for all we know. Today we still barely understand the human brain, understanding the BIONICLE brain is probably impossible, particularly with Greg currently out of the picture. But given the evidence we've seen, nothing has shown that anyone favours a particular limb storyline-wise. Set wise there are many asymetricalities (That a word?), but not storyline.

[Makuta Matata]

Many times, Bionicle will hold their weapons in their left hands, such as with Jaller Mahri.I think that they don't have dominant hands.

that is like the example i was meaning by instructions wise. alot of the sets when built according to instructions are left handed. even the larger sets like roodaka and maxilos

Well, as an Inika, Jaller was right handed, was he not? And he still managed to have decent aim with his Zamor launcher in his left hand. Also in MoL, I'm pretty sure he uses both hands. That just goes to show that they are ambidexterous.

[Paleo]

Many times, Bionicle will hold their weapons in their left hands, such as with Jaller Mahri.I think that they don't have dominant hands.

that is like the example i was meaning by instructions wise. alot of the sets when built according to instructions are left handed. even the larger sets like roodaka and maxilos

Well, as an Inika, Jaller was right handed, was he not? And he still managed to have decent aim with his Zamor launcher in his left hand. Also in MoL, I'm pretty sure he uses both hands.That just goes to show that they are ambidexterous.

Source? I don't believe Greg ever mentioned in the story whether a character had a preference for a certain hand.

[Dralcax]

Well, characters generally hold launchers in their right hand, and weapon in the left. If they were right handed, they would have better aim, especially with the gigantic launchers we've seen, but they would have less precision with their primary weapon. If they were lefties, again, poor aim. Also, their tools channel elemental energy, so they would need to aim with that as well. And take the case of Kongu Mahri into consideration.

[T.B.O.C]

Many times, Bionicle will hold their weapons in their left hands, such as with Jaller Mahri.I think that they don't have dominant hands.

that is like the example i was meaning by instructions wise. alot of the sets when built according to instructions are left handed. even the larger sets like roodaka and maxilos

Well, as an Inika, Jaller was right handed, was he not? And he still managed to have decent aim with his Zamor launcher in his left hand. Also in MoL, I'm pretty sure he uses both hands.That just goes to show that they are ambidexterous.

Well, Jaller Inika also carried two Energized Flame swords as an Inika, so I'd assume he was ambidexterous, not right handed.

[Makuta Matata]

Many times, Bionicle will hold their weapons in their left hands, such as with Jaller Mahri.I think that they don't have dominant hands.

that is like the example i was meaning by instructions wise. alot of the sets when built according to instructions are left handed. even the larger sets like roodaka and maxilos

Well, as an Inika, Jaller was right handed, was he not? And he still managed to have decent aim with his Zamor launcher in his left hand. Also in MoL, I'm pretty sure he uses both hands.That just goes to show that they are ambidexterous.

Well, Jaller Inika also carried two Energized Flame swords as an Inika, so I'd assume he was ambidexterous, not right handed.

Oh true. I was thinking of the actual set. But on another note, how did Jaller carry a Zamor Launcher if he had two swords?

[Voxumo]

Many times, Bionicle will hold their weapons in their left hands, such as with Jaller Mahri.I think that they don't have dominant hands.

that is like the example i was meaning by instructions wise. alot of the sets when built according to instructions are left handed. even the larger sets like roodaka and maxilos

Well, as an Inika, Jaller was right handed, was he not? And he still managed to have decent aim with his Zamor launcher in his left hand. Also in MoL, I'm pretty sure he uses both hands.That just goes to show that they are ambidexterous.

Well, Jaller Inika also carried two Energized Flame swords as an Inika, so I'd assume he was ambidexterous, not right handed.

Oh true. I was thinking of the actual set.But on another note, how did Jaller carry a Zamor Launcher if he had two swords?

maybe he did something similar to the skrall how they were able to attach thornax launchers to their blades

[Makuta Luroka]

He has 3 hands. 2 dominant, and 1 recessive.

[Voxumo]

He has 3 hands. 2 dominant, and 1 recessive.

huh

[Cambion]

I've often wondered the same thing, then a possible answer came to me.For characters who hold both a melee and a projectile weapon, think about your own dominant hands (assuming you aren't ambidextrous). If you were given a gun, you'd probably prefer your dominant hand, right? I mean, after all, a left-handed person wouldn't try to shoot a handgun with his or her right hand - and vice versa. I always used whichever side a character was portrayed as using a projectile weapon with was the same side that the character preferred, if at all.This, obviously, doesn't cover characters such as Kongu Mahri, but I console myself with the fact that BIONICLE characters are probably ambidextrous anyway. I don't see any advantage to a preferred hand in that universe - then again, having dominant hands on Earth doesn't make too much sense either, now that I think about it.

Well, characters generally hold launchers in their right hand, and weapon in the left. If they were right handed, they would have better aim, especially with the gigantic launchers we've seen, but they would have less precision with their primary weapon. If they were lefties, again, poor aim. Also, their tools channel elemental energy, so they would need to aim with that as well. And take the case of Kongu Mahri into consideration.

You make a good point against what Sumiki said. If I had two weapons, a spear and a launcher for example, I would actually be holding the spear in my left (I'm left-handed). Granted, my aim might be slightly worse than if the launcher was in my left, but I would prefer that to being virtually unable to use the spear (if I held it in my right hand.) Although, really, dual-wielding those two types of weapons is somewhat ridiculous anyway.

[Makuta Matata]

Many times, Bionicle will hold their weapons in their left hands, such as with Jaller Mahri.I think that they don't have dominant hands.

that is like the example i was meaning by instructions wise. alot of the sets when built according to instructions are left handed. even the larger sets like roodaka and maxilos

Well, as an Inika, Jaller was right handed, was he not? And he still managed to have decent aim with his Zamor launcher in his left hand. Also in MoL, I'm pretty sure he uses both hands.That just goes to show that they are ambidexterous.

Well, Jaller Inika also carried two Energized Flame swords as an Inika, so I'd assume he was ambidexterous, not right handed.

Oh true. I was thinking of the actual set.But on another note, how did Jaller carry a Zamor Launcher if he had two swords?

maybe he did something similar to the skrall how they were able to attach thornax launchers to their blades

Well actually, now that I think of it, he could have switched out a sword (or both swords) for the launcher, and the launcher could have been in hammerspace (or the Toa's pack, as it's canonically called).

[Voxumo]

Many times, Bionicle will hold their weapons in their left hands, such as with Jaller Mahri.I think that they don't have dominant hands.

that is like the example i was meaning by instructions wise. alot of the sets when built according to instructions are left handed. even the larger sets like roodaka and maxilos

Well, as an Inika, Jaller was right handed, was he not? And he still managed to have decent aim with his Zamor launcher in his left hand. Also in MoL, I'm pretty sure he uses both hands.That just goes to show that they are ambidexterous.

Well, Jaller Inika also carried two Energized Flame swords as an Inika, so I'd assume he was ambidexterous, not right handed.

Oh true. I was thinking of the actual set.But on another note, how did Jaller carry a Zamor Launcher if he had two swords?

maybe he did something similar to the skrall how they were able to attach thornax launchers to their blades

Well actually, now that I think of it, he could have switched out a sword (or both swords) for the launcher, and the launcher could have been in hammerspace (or the Toa's pack, as it's canonically called).

true that is a high possibility that he simply traded it out. also has anyone ever seen a topic that tells us how the toa pack works. Edited March 22, 2012 by Voxumo The Frozen One

[Sybre]

This will vary, like with human beings.

[Voxumo]

This will vary, like with human beings.

well we are not debating on which dominant hand each bionicle have but we are debating whether or not it actually exists in the bionicle universe since their is not alot of info given about this subject.

[T.B.O.C]

Many times, Bionicle will hold their weapons in their left hands, such as with Jaller Mahri.I think that they don't have dominant hands.

that is like the example i was meaning by instructions wise. alot of the sets when built according to instructions are left handed. even the larger sets like roodaka and maxilos

Well, as an Inika, Jaller was right handed, was he not? And he still managed to have decent aim with his Zamor launcher in his left hand. Also in MoL, I'm pretty sure he uses both hands.That just goes to show that they are ambidexterous.

Well, Jaller Inika also carried two Energized Flame swords as an Inika, so I'd assume he was ambidexterous, not right handed.

Oh true. I was thinking of the actual set.But on another note, how did Jaller carry a Zamor Launcher if he had two swords?

maybe he did something similar to the skrall how they were able to attach thornax launchers to their blades

Well actually, now that I think of it, he could have switched out a sword (or both swords) for the launcher, and the launcher could have been in hammerspace (or the Toa's pack, as it's canonically called).

true that is a high possibility that he simply traded it out. also has anyone ever seen a topic that tells us how the toa pack works.

I don't think the Toa Pack goes by any rules, you just reach to your back, and things either appear or disappear. It's basically magic, or like a Kaita, I've never known.

[Makuta Matata]

Many times, Bionicle will hold their weapons in their left hands, such as with Jaller Mahri.I think that they don't have dominant hands.

that is like the example i was meaning by instructions wise. alot of the sets when built according to instructions are left handed. even the larger sets like roodaka and maxilos

Well, as an Inika, Jaller was right handed, was he not? And he still managed to have decent aim with his Zamor launcher in his left hand. Also in MoL, I'm pretty sure he uses both hands.That just goes to show that they are ambidexterous.

Well, Jaller Inika also carried two Energized Flame swords as an Inika, so I'd assume he was ambidexterous, not right handed.

Oh true. I was thinking of the actual set.But on another note, how did Jaller carry a Zamor Launcher if he had two swords?

maybe he did something similar to the skrall how they were able to attach thornax launchers to their blades

Well actually, now that I think of it, he could have switched out a sword (or both swords) for the launcher, and the launcher could have been in hammerspace (or the Toa's pack, as it's canonically called).

true that is a high possibility that he simply traded it out. also has anyone ever seen a topic that tells us how the toa pack works.

I don't think the Toa Pack goes by any rules, you just reach to your back, and things either appear or disappear. It's basically magic, or like a Kaita, I've never known.

Yeah, we have a name for that: it's called Hammerspace. I think it's named after Amy Rose's hammer, because nobody knows where she keeps it, or how she pulls it out of thin air. It's like where Sonic keeps his rings or where Snake keeps his guns. Or where a Bionicle carries all their equipment. The best example I can think of is Halhi's bag from MNOG2.

[Wrinkledlion X]

It's just about the furthest thing from a canon source, but I remember there was a contest in 2001 to create your own Toa, and there were a bunch of drawings submitted by kids on the main page of BIONICLE.com. Each was accompanied by a little description of that kid's Toa.It's weird that I remember this at all, but one of them described their character as "the only left-handed Toa," so I'm just gonna assume that there's only one left-handed Toa—or possibly life form—in the entire Matoran Universe. It seems like the logical thing to do.

[Voxumo]

It's just about the furthest thing from a canon source, but I remember there was a contest in 2001 to create your own Toa, and there were a bunch of drawings submitted by kids on the main page of BIONICLE.com. Each was accompanied by a little description of that kid's Toa. It's weird that I remember this at all, but one of them described their character as "the only left-handed Toa," so I'm just gonna assume that there's only one left-handed Toa—or possibly life form—in the entire Matoran Universe. It seems like the logical thing to do.

I don't remember there being a contest in 2001 of that type the only one i can remember is the one that took place in 2005 and the winner for that one was krakua.so yeah and there was only one other contest before that and that was for the rahi contest.

[ZippyWharrgarbl]

The MUians probably have a 'favoured' hand, but that would probably be due to preferring to wield one weapon in one hand. I suppose that they would be ambidextrous, since there probably wouldn't be a purpose to the Great Beings fixing them up to be left- or right-handed. Actually, now that I think about it, the MUians may have some form of mixed-handedness, where they do certain tasks better with one hand than they do with the other. For instance, Hewkii could write with his right hand, but use his left hand more dominantly in Kohlii. So, either ambidextrous or mixed-handed.The Spherus Magnans will, most likely, be left- or right-handed, like us, but perhaps with more even numbers of left-/right-handed people than ours.

[Voxumo]

The MUians probably have a 'favoured' hand, but that would probably be due to preferring to wield one weapon in one hand. I suppose that they would be ambidextrous, since there probably wouldn't be a purpose to the Great Beings fixing them up to be left- or right-handed. Actually, now that I think about it, the MUians may have some form of mixed-handedness, where they do certain tasks better with one hand than they do with the other. For instance, Hewkii could write with his right hand, but use his left hand more dominantly in Kohlii. So, either ambidextrous or mixed-handed.The Spherus Magnans will, most likely, be left- or right-handed, like us, but perhaps with more even numbers of left-/right-handed people than ours.

you know that is a good point. maybe it's just that they use one hand for one thing while they use the other hand for some other specific purpose. Although i like how you mentioned the agori that they may be more like us.

[Ballom Nom Nom]

I've often wondered the same thing, then a possible answer came to me.For characters who hold both a melee and a projectile weapon, think about your own dominant hands (assuming you aren't ambidextrous). If you were given a gun, you'd probably prefer your dominant hand, right? I mean, after all, a left-handed person wouldn't try to shoot a handgun with his or her right hand - and vice versa. I always used whichever side a character was portrayed as using a projectile weapon with was the same side that the character preferred, if at all.This, obviously, doesn't cover characters such as Kongu Mahri, but I console myself with the fact that BIONICLE characters are probably ambidextrous anyway. I don't see any advantage to a preferred hand in that universe - then again, having dominant hands on Earth doesn't make too much sense either, now that I think about it.

Actually, firing a projectile weapon would be determined by ocular dominance (eye dominance), which does not always coincide with hand dominance. For example, I am left-handed but right eye dominant, so I do in fact shoot a gun with my right hand. So this would provide evidence for Bionicle characters having a preference for a certain eye, but not necessarily for handedness.Oh, and Boss Tweed, you win +1 Internets for your hilarious reply. ~B~

[Voxumo]

I've often wondered the same thing, then a possible answer came to me.For characters who hold both a melee and a projectile weapon, think about your own dominant hands (assuming you aren't ambidextrous). If you were given a gun, you'd probably prefer your dominant hand, right? I mean, after all, a left-handed person wouldn't try to shoot a handgun with his or her right hand - and vice versa. I always used whichever side a character was portrayed as using a projectile weapon with was the same side that the character preferred, if at all.This, obviously, doesn't cover characters such as Kongu Mahri, but I console myself with the fact that BIONICLE characters are probably ambidextrous anyway. I don't see any advantage to a preferred hand in that universe - then again, having dominant hands on Earth doesn't make too much sense either, now that I think about it.

Actually, firing a projectile weapon would be determined by ocular dominance (eye dominance), which does not always coincide with hand dominance. For example, I am left-handed but right eye dominant, so I do in fact shoot a gun with my right hand. So this would provide evidence for Bionicle characters having a preference for a certain eye, but not necessarily for handedness.Oh, and Boss Tweed, you win +1 Internets for your hilarious reply. ~B~

I never knew that info about the eye dominance thing. but that is good info and definitely adds a twist to my theory.