Problems/Improvements to Bionicle G2

[MakutaDreadscythe]

Seeing as the line has been discontinued I think it would be interesting to look back on it and perhaps look at reasons as to why it may have failed to grab the attention it needed. I'm not here to harp on G2, I personally loved it, but I also think it wasn't perfect, it definitely had issues.

Me personally, I think it had four main problems that contributed to it's cancellation. Warning, massive wall of text incoming. Will include TLDR at end.

1. Pricing.

Inflation exists so having a higher price tag is inevitable, but for many the sets were out of impulse range, where a purchase is easily made without much thought. The 2015 wave was more expensive on an individual basis by UK terms, however the necessity to buy multiple sets in the 2016 wave didn't help. Considering the line is very team based it's not beneficial to a kid having to shell out around £80 for a team of heroes where the same amount probably gets a decent system playset with both heroes and villains, something not present in G1's lifetime. This comes into my next issue and one I feel is very significant.

2. Lackluster Villains.

Don't get me wrong, the Skull villains have their charm, Kulta and Umarak are fairly standout for me, and I even like the beasts, but they very much pale in comparison to the Toa, exemplified even worse when they unite with their creatures. There's a reason the Autobots are generally smaller than the Decepticons, why the Rebels are a smaller force than the Empire. Having the odds stacked against the heroes makes for interesting conflict, not to mention had the roles been reversed where the Toa were smaller but cheaper and the villains were larger and more pricey I feel they could generate more interest. Also in terms of the villains whether you like them or not they are quite clunky and in some cases obviously unappealing. Skull Scorpio and Skull Slicer are examples. Point is they're an acquired taste, and not one I feel many kids are rushing to try.

3. Marketing.

This issue is very polarising. I think it's spiteful to say that LEGO betrayed us or didn't care, they did put a lot of passion into the marketing, including contests, an entire Panel at SDCC 2014, some TV commercials and stands. I'm not really sure what to say regarding this because for whatever reason it didn't work. I have two younger brothers who didn't even realise it existed, and noone at their school did either. Taking that into perspective it isn't a good outlook if we assume it as an average. Money was spent but perhaps not in the right places. Again it's difficult to say why it didn't strike a chord but it's a possibility.

4. Story.

The story of G1 was too complex. In the later years that is, I still have trouble wrapping my head around the whole "planet inside a robot" thing, among other things. In this regard I understand that a less complex story is more appealing to a new generation.

Where I take issue is...numerous things. I will admit I haven't read the books or novels but as trivial a point it is, the first books and novels came out right as 2016 was around the corner, so we already knew what happened. Then with the other books Journey to One was out, so I didn't feel I missed anything, until I read the preview with Kulta. It felt like it had a lot more substance to it than the actual story. This to me is backwards as I feel books should expand on the current story, not take the spotlight to it.

Inconsistencies are also an issue. Funny accents aside the personalities changed a fair bit between the 2015 animations and the 2016 JtO special. This is a similar issue to Hero Factory where it felt like characters who were already defined as various steriotypes suddenly changed into different steriotypes with conflicting personality traits.

Nowhere did I feel this was more apparent than with the main character Tahu. He was fairly straightforward and argumentative in 2015 but he was at least consistent. In JtO he was such a box of nothingness it was almost amazing. Very disappointing. Also something about Skull Slicer's hook blades, past life and connection to LoSS, not to mention that golden Skull Spider mask, all left out in the animations. Not significant but they serve my point that the story was annoyingly and consistently...inconsistent.

Biggest gripe with story is the complete lack of world building. In order to have complexity or simplicity there sorta needs to be a world. The main thing that interests kids is the numerous stories and worlds that franchises show off. Some may be simple as suburbia, like Yo-Kai Watch, others have sprawling forests and deserts like in Naruto. My point is people gravitate towards these two shows because the world complements the characters and is interesting in it's own right, particularly Naruto.

Okoto isn't a world, it's a backdrop for the Toa to do cool things. I didn't feel immersed or invested, and it isn't just my age either. It's not like I don't find it cool or it's too kidlike, there's nothing there! Like the complexity or not the World and exploration was a KEY factor and part of G1, and why many got into the theme into the first place. Without it the sets are just generic robots to the average consumer, unlike say the Star Wars constraction sets, hence their popularity.

TLDR.

Due to pricing just out of impulse range, villains too small and alienating, marketing issues and a complete lack of story and worldbuilding, I feel G2 just didn't hit the mark with a majority of consumers. AFOLs who remember G1 or were into HF cannot sustain the line alone, so it's important to branch out to other consumers. This basically didn't work out very early on, hence the extremely sudden cancellation. I apologise if I came off as negative, as again I loved G2. For how I feel the Toa were too big, they were awesome and the villains I liked too, even if they needed extensive modding to coincide with my visions. JtO was actually really cool to see them back in action in an actual TV show, even if I didn't feel the story was too great. I feel they did G2 justice despite the discontinuation and I thank everyone involved for letting me have memories one more time with my childhood heroes.

Let me know your thoughts below, I'm very interested in your opinions. Perhaps something I left out? Happy building.

[DraikNova]

A pretty good summary. I mean, just think what could have happened if they kept the 2015 Toa (with the possible exception of Onua) all in the 15 euro budget range or decided to go with the half-and-half villains/heroes strategy Hero Factory and Bionicle had been using previously. If they had implemented a few of these changes, they could have possibly kept enough budget to allow for one of the Skull Villains to be a larger, $35 or so set (not counting Skull Grinder vs. Ekimu here, since that's a $17.5 villain against a $12.5 hero set). Some of the villains could have really used such a budget increase (Looking at you, Skull Scorpio), and besides, larger sets tend to be in the christmas gift range and the sort of thing that legitimately causes excitement in small kids, larger kids and LEGO-obsessed adults. They're what generate hype in the target market.

Edited July 31, 2016 by DraikNova

[Still Raindrop]

You already covered most of this, but here's part of a post I made in the other topic. In addition to being a Bionicle fan (from 2001 to mid-2004, then again starting in 2009), I'm also a parent. My kids aren't quite old enough to play with non-Duplo Lego yet, but I've already thought over how I as a parent would react. So, here's the post.

1. Price/Size. Though my kids are too young for Bionicle, this would also apply to how I as a parent would operate if my kids asked for something. The original Toa were $7--and they had mostly new molds, plastic canisters, and mini-CDs. By the time the Glatorians came around (the year I got back into the theme after entering my Lego dark ages in late 2004), that had increased to $13.

The $7 of the original Toa and the $8 of the Nuva and Metru put these squarely into the realm of an impulse but. For me, the cutoff is around $10. For example, I bought 6217 Surge on a whim at $9 (followed by Splitface, who was pricier, but he went well with Surge, whom I had already bought). This is something I appreciated about Hero Factory: they downsized the hero figures and bright the price down too--I prefer slightly smaller figures anyway.

Given inflation, $15 was a decent price for the new smaller Toa. But it still put them out of the impulse buy category, at least for me. I had to really think about whether I wanted a Toa or whether I could use the $15 on tea or other Lego. And with the exception of 2015 Gali and 2016 Onua, the other stuff won out. I did buy a Protector on an impulse, though. Still, having the main heroes so inaccessible really didn't seem to work so well.

2. The lack of CDs--or an equivalent. For at least the first few years, the canister sets came with those mini CDs. I know those wouldn't be practical now, but something similar would have been nice--maybe a website code. I know I spent lots of time exploring the lore, layout, and feel of Mata Nui from those mini CDs. That kind of immersive experience that helps with worldbuilding and is tied to a purchase really helped those early years, I think.

[YellowCorvette]

My biggest problem with G2 is by far the story. The premise is good (Althrough cliched)and can be great if executed properly, but the execution leaves something to be desired. The audience didn't leaved enough time to care about the characters, the plot can be a little bit complex and more serious (Not "Empire Strikes Back" kind of serious, but less goofy), and the villains is just standing there, waiting the Toa to kick their a** and nothing more than that.

The marketing and the advertising is also dissapointing. The current advertising isn't enough to promote G2 to the general audiences. It's like trying to promoting a new Mercedes Benz car to babies; trying to promote it, but the audience didn't even care of it to be interested. The sales suffers for poor marketing as I can't even see any 2016 Bionicle summer sets in shelves and I can still see several 2015 Bionicle sets sitting on the shelves till now!

[VBBN]

I really feel the marketing was problematic in this generation. Yes, LEGO went full force at SDCC. That's great, it reached media outside of the LEGO online communities. People knew about it and it generated interest. And that was it, after that we had what, a few contests that were limited to online LEGO communities? A majority of people who entered and knew about those contests were already members of communities and already aware of Bionicle. The next push towards gaining a broader audience was JTO- once again, a marketing tool that really was only effective for attracting attention of people who were already Bionicle fans. If you were just a casual netflix watcher, how likely is it that you would have come across JTO? Even within Netflix, there was no advertising for it, which is astounding given it was a Netflix original show.

In my opinion LEGO blew their load in the first 5 minutes of the race with SDCC and didn't follow the marketing funnel for retention and reiterating marketing- they hoped that would generate the hype it needed and they could just reap the interest from that event alone for the 3 year plan. The additional marketing tools they used help strengthen some of the interest gained from SDCC, but it didn't grow that interest.

Of course we don't really know why it failed in specific so we are all just whipping eachother with tissue paper right now. I'll say this and you'll say that, but the theme wasn't firing on all cylinders, that's obviously clear. That's likely all we WILL know.

[MakutaDreadscythe]

Well yeah I know we're speculating but I feel criticism not only helps us come to an answer, but I personally find it interesting. It's not like we're giving criticism while the line is running, it's had it's run, thus we can look back in retrospect and compare the waves, the story, etc.

From what I can tell so far marketing seems a common issue. Makes sense.

[Umbra-Manis]

Yeah, marketing was definitely an issue. I think I saw one commercial for the winter wave of 2015, and I never saw another one on TV.

[Master_Data]

Stores in my area don't hold massive clearances, but, when they do, Bionicle was the overwhelming majority.

I think the LEGO Magazine comic really helped boost sale back in the day. They actually worked as advertisements. I don't even think kids knew JTO existed...

[MakutaDreadscythe]

Updating for the sake of updating.

After thinking about the line for a bit, something struck me in that I personally think the villains had a big part in it's cancellation.

Besides height issues they were really polarising. Even if they were cheaper than most of the sets you still had to put a lot of thought into buying them. I've only just ordered Skull Slicer and Skull Basher myself because the line was being cancelled anyway. If it takes a cancellation to get me to buy something it's probably not too great.

Like I said they have their charm and I personally like them even if I wasn't too invested, but a lot of people on the board didn't. If we as adults are picky about sets and their details, imagine how picky kids are gonna be. Might seem trivial but considering the extreme circumstances anything could reasonably be taken as a factor in it's cancellation; sets like LoSS, Slicer and Scorpio all release in line with the estimated time the decision to cancel was made. Just a thought.

Edited August 2, 2016 by MakutaDreadscythe

[Quisoves Pugnat]

One possibility that occurred before we even got news of the line's cancellation is that LEGO as a whole is doing poorly of late, and BIONICLE simply took the fall, being a niche-theme. I have no data for this, so this is merely idle speculation, but it would reconcile claims that LEGO has apparently made about the line not selling poorly with the fact that it got cancelled.

[xboxtravis7992]

One possibility that occurred before we even got news of the line's cancellation is that LEGO as a whole is doing poorly of late, and BIONICLE simply took the fall, being a niche-theme. I have no data for this, so this is merely idle speculation, but it would reconcile claims that LEGO has apparently made about the line not selling poorly with the fact that it got cancelled.

Strange seeing how Lego was the biggest brand and Toy line for a time in 2014 around the time The Lego Movie happened. Strange, but not unlikely... Many business suffer mini-recesscions within their company shortly after moments of great success. For example after the smash release of "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs," the Walt Disney Company went into a period where they used their new found money to stretch their resources thin, soon ending the corporation in the red. It wasn't until Disneyland opened nearly a decade and a half later that the corporation went into the black again

Same thing is happening currently to the American Railroad industry. 2014 was a peak year in profits and tonnage hauled. It set the record for the busiest time in railroad history since the 1940's! Then in 2015 the coal industry quickly collapsed, and with it so did the rail industry. Now the industry is seeking to cut losses and recover.

Perhaps the same is happening behind the scenes at Lego. After a boom in success, Lego is now losing its popularity. To cut costs, Lego is nixing lower priority themes. In this scenario, Bionicle would obviously be one of the first products to be cut to save money for the rest of Lego.

Possibilities!

[Lego Dino 500]

The problem with the smaller sets though, is they lack detail and complexity. I wouldn't mind them being a lot smaller, if they were able to pack a lot more detail into them. It's not really appealing to get Protector of Fire, only to realize he has almost no articulation. You can't pose him well, and the lack of elbows, knees, and wrists doesn't help either. CCBS shells and parts are so large you can only make good stuff in large scales, like the 2015 Toa, General Grievous, or any of the wonderful MOCs that get here. If Lego made a micro CCBS system, using the same joints as the pixels that was compatible with technic, I think that would hit the sweet spot. They could interface it with larger CCBS to add more details, articulation, and make smaller more affordable figures.

[Kalta the Noble Mind]

One possibility that occurred before we even got news of the line's cancellation is that LEGO as a whole is doing poorly of late, and BIONICLE simply took the fall, being a niche-theme. I have no data for this, so this is merely idle speculation, but it would reconcile claims that LEGO has apparently made about the line not selling poorly with the fact that it got cancelled.

why would lego be filing? are sets not being baught enough nowadays? and if so i would think lego shot itself in the foot for nixing Bionicle G2 in general leto alone a year too early. if they went with the intial plan and waited a bit longer they could have made Bionicle their version of the MCU, a PG-13/family friendly franchise with expanded universe/spinoff potential. from what i seen of the advertizing and social media campeigns they have been targeting more or less the Millenial demogrpahic, young adults who are heavy into geek culture nowadays.

it would be a long game but after gathering enough clout from the (guarrenteed)* successes of the Lego batman movie and possible the Lego Ninjago movie and Lego movie Sequel Lego could have made the theatrical Bionicle Movie they wanted to do throught g1's run which would have gotten the franchise into the mainstream,with the signal already boosted by us AFOLs.

(* the Lego Movie has proven to be a runaway success and the batman spinoff would not only attract fans of the first movie but batman fans as well doubling the audience so they make make double what they did last of the movie.)

but cutting that beloved franchise turned off a few of the already miniscule Constraction fanbase (judging by reactions i seen about the news) which would hurt that subsystem further as well as Lego's cult classic theme. if i make sense.

maybe i am talking utter nonesense but i will be completley surprised if lego didnt recognize the current pop culture climate and how their original geek franchise can fit right in.

[Lord-Vorahk]

I'm thinking that maybe spending a huge chunk of their budget on solid gold masks might've been a bad idea.

[Lego Dino 500]

I'm thinking that maybe spending a huge chunk of their budget on solid gold masks might've been a bad idea.

I wouldn't be surprised if that was a major factor of the decision, it's pretty stupid in hindsight

[The Outsider]

Seconded. At least G1 had the smarts to only do it to one mask mold.

[MakutaDreadscythe]

Gold masks were a neat idea in theory, but they gave them away for really silly stipulations (take a photo of something that kinda looks like a face for a gold mask). Even just chrome-plating them would have been a cool solution.

[Onepu the Protector]

I'd even go as far a to say that the Mask Hunt contest was the only Bionicle G2 contest that was done RIGHT. I mean, it was accessible to kids (and they're, obviously, the target audience and not aiming the advertising campaign specifically at them was the reason why G2 failed) and that was a good thing even though they might not be aware of the golden masks' value and their parents will probably sell them to a jeweler. The sets might've been a better prize for children but I still think the contest itself was a good idea.

[MakutaDreadscythe]

I'd even go as far a to say that the Mask Hunt contest was the only Bionicle G2 contest that was done RIGHT. I mean, it was accessible to kids (and they're, obviously, the target audience and not aiming the advertising campaign specifically at them was the reason why G2 failed) and that was a good thing even though they might not be aware of the golden masks' value and their parents will probably sell them to a jeweler. The sets might've been a better prize for children but I still think the contest itself was a good idea.

That's actually a good point, though a reward that isn't gold masks might have been better.

The exclusivity of some masks is also very perplexing given the theme's apparently poor sales. Almost feels like it was treated as this exclusive little club for people wanting some nostalgia, except it wasn't. It's been said before, fans of the line from previously cannot sustain and advertise a product alone.

Complete side note, been looking over some of the story again, to be honest I don't think I was harsh enough on it. Especially Journey to One's last 2 episodes.

Voice acting and script are awful, crammed with one-liners and disjointed emotions. It's been beat to death I know but it just gets worse the more I look at it, it's actually almost infuriating how bad it is.

As I stated before the lack of care and consistency in the toa's character is an absolute sin. Lewa doesn't really act sarcastic, Kopaka isn't as cold and a loner, Pohatu lost the Australian accent and is even angstier, Tahu is a void of personality that I can't get past. Seriously I know he wasn't an amazing character in G1 but considering he's the flagship mascot of Bionicle it's absolutely amazing how little personality he has. I can't even call him a stereotype because there's nothing there.

Makuta is...well it's hard to judge. It's a different story that never truly panned out so I can't really compare him to Teridax, but he seemed decent at least. Umarak is weird, he starts out okay seeing as he has his own personality, though it's depressing to see him turn into a hulking brute. The complicated dialogue didn't help much.

Anyone who's followed me over the last few days saw this coming. Ekimu is the worst character in Bionicle. Period.

He's supposed to be this mentor figure on the level of Mata Nui. He doesn't hold a candle at all. Mata Nui had a character arc where he realised the struggles of his people by coming to terms with his loss in power and seeing the world from their perspective.

Ekimu doesn't have a character arc. He spends the series moaning at the toa telling them where to go and what to do without giving them a chance to explore a potentially amazing locale, only to withhold a prophecy that tells of how a forbidden mask is made, the toa sacrificing themselves, etc. The prophecy in of itself is a contrived mess that's insulting and self destructive for it's own reasons.

Instead of coming off as a desperate move where Emimu destroys the MoUP, he prepares himself slowly letting his brother make the mask and take it to a MASSIVELY POPULATED CITY WHERE IT'S MADE CLEAR A LOT OF PROTECTORS GET SCREWED AND EITHER DIE OR GET BANISHED.

Who wrote this prophecy? Why is there a sacred vow to not reveal it? Why did Ekimu go along with it despite the significant casualties? How does this benefit Okoto in any way shape or form?

Taking those plot points aside, if the prophecy HAD to be a thing, Ekimu could at least redeem his character in a sacrifice to save the Toa and ensure the villages of Okoto are always protected, make their own destiny and all that (and yes I did snip this from NickonAquaMagna, guy's a genius). That works amazingly and opens up the story for future adventures even if the products are cancelled.

But no, the toa sacrifice themselves calling it destiny like twelve times, Ekimu stands there for a bit then we get the whole The End thing in yellow text. It's not even Ekimu telling us this is their legend, just some random protector! It's depressing and everyone's up in arms because it doesn't leave an open end to make your own story afterwards, it's gone, dead, finished. Even G1 understood the importance of this, even with how conviluted it got near the end of the story.

I could almost forgive most of Journey to One if we had a final year to go out on, but it was cancelled the same day, and it was more apparent the more the episode went on. As it stands it's awful. It makes me sad because this is how G2 will be remembered, not for the sets or the innovation to CCBS, but an example of a line that was cancelled with the absolute care and precision of a broken, beaten, rusty butcher's knife.

I loved G2, because it had me excited again, it had potential. It could have been so much more, but it wasn't. I'll keep building and thinking up my own ideas, but I won't look back on this year with a lot of fond memories to be sure. What a way to go out.

[YellowCorvette]

That's actually a good point, though a reward that isn't gold masks might have been better.

The exclusivity of some masks is also very perplexing given the theme's apparently poor sales. Almost feels like it was treated as this exclusive little club for people wanting some nostalgia, except it wasn't. It's been said before, fans of the line from previously cannot sustain and advertise a product alone.

Complete side note, been looking over some of the story again, to be honest I don't think I was harsh enough on it. Especially Journey to One's last 2 episodes.

Voice acting and script are awful, crammed with one-liners and disjointed emotions. It's been beat to death I know but it just gets worse the more I look at it, it's actually almost infuriating how bad it is.

As I stated before the lack of care and consistency in the toa's character is an absolute sin. Lewa doesn't really act sarcastic, Kopaka isn't as cold and a loner, Pohatu lost the Australian accent and is even angstier, Tahu is a void of personality that I can't get past. Seriously I know he wasn't an amazing character in G1 but considering he's the flagship mascot of Bionicle it's absolutely amazing how little personality he has. I can't even call him a stereotype because there's nothing there.

Makuta is...well it's hard to judge. It's a different story that never truly panned out so I can't really compare him to Teridax, but he seemed decent at least. Umarak is weird, he starts out okay seeing as he has his own personality, though it's depressing to see him turn into a hulking brute. The complicated dialogue didn't help much.

Anyone who's followed me over the last few days saw this coming. Ekimu is the worst character in Bionicle. Period.

He's supposed to be this mentor figure on the level of Mata Nui. He doesn't hold a candle at all. Mata Nui had a character arc where he realised the struggles of his people by coming to terms with his loss in power and seeing the world from their perspective.

Ekimu doesn't have a character arc. He spends the series moaning at the toa telling them where to go and what to do without giving them a chance to explore a potentially amazing locale, only to withhold a prophecy that tells of how a forbidden mask is made, the toa sacrificing themselves, etc. The prophecy in of itself is a contrived mess that's insulting and self destructive for it's own reasons.

Instead of coming off as a desperate move where Emimu destroys the MoUP, he prepares himself slowly letting his brother make the mask and take it to a MASSIVELY POPULATED CITY WHERE IT'S MADE CLEAR A LOT OF PROTECTORS GET SCREWED AND EITHER DIE OR GET BANISHED.

Who wrote this prophecy? Why is there a sacred vow to not reveal it? Why did Ekimu go along with it despite the significant casualties? How does this benefit Okoto in any way shape or form?

Taking those plot points aside, if the prophecy HAD to be a thing, Ekimu could at least redeem his character in a sacrifice to save the Toa and ensure the villages of Okoto are always protected, make their own destiny and all that (and yes I did snip this from NickonAquaMagna, guy's a genius). That works amazingly and opens up the story for future adventures even if the products are cancelled.

But no, the toa sacrifice themselves calling it destiny like twelve times, Ekimu stands there for a bit then we get the whole The End thing in yellow text. It's not even Ekimu telling us this is their legend, just some random protector! It's depressing and everyone's up in arms because it doesn't leave an open end to make your own story afterwards, it's gone, dead, finished. Even G1 understood the importance of this, even with how conviluted it got near the end of the story.

I could almost forgive most of Journey to One if we had a final year to go out on, but it was cancelled the same day, and it was more apparent the more the episode went on. As it stands it's awful. It makes me sad because this is how G2 will be remembered, not for the sets or the innovation to CCBS, but an example of a line that was cancelled with the absolute care and precision of a broken, beaten, rusty butcher's knife.

I loved G2, because it had me excited again, it had potential. It could have been so much more, but it wasn't. I'll keep building and thinking up my own ideas, but I won't look back on this year with a lot of fond memories to be sure. What a way to go out.

I won't really say that Ekimu is the worst character in G2 by far. My biggest problem with Ekimu is he's just kinda "there" for me. He is just there to be a mentor (KInda), wearing a weird powerful gold mask, making mask, blue and gold in colour, and there's nothing more descritive that can describe him. I think the villains (yes, even Umarak) are much worse. There're like just standing there, laughing menacingly and wait to been defeated. The tension is barely there since the villains will always lose at the end.

[MakutaDreadscythe]

I won't really say that Ekimu is the worst character in G2 by far. My biggest problem with Ekimu is he's just kinda "there" for me. He is just there to be a mentor (KInda), wearing a weird powerful gold mask, making mask, blue and gold in colour, and there's nothing more descritive that can describe him. I think the villains (yes, even Umarak) are much worse. There're like just standing there, laughing menacingly and wait to been defeated. The tension is barely there since the villains will always lose at the end.

I'm personally of the mindset that Ekimu suffers more for it because while the villains are a blank slate they aren't central to the plot like they make Ekimu out to be. Ekimu is supposed to be this grand virtuous being who can make masks and stuff. He does nothing but boss the toa around like idiots and let them get their megablocks handed to them because some prophecy on a wall told him so. It's ultimately because his actions have an impact on the nature of the story itself, the central plot and it's pacing that I take such issue with him and why I feel he's the worst character in Bionicle. I can't say that about Kulta or Umarak no matter how bland they are.

[Bigger Fish]

I actually kind of enjoyed Ekimu's "grumpy old man" vibe we got from the 2015 animations and the first few episodes of the Netflix series, I just weigh that we had more time for everyone's characterization in general in regards to the series.

[YellowCorvette]

I'm personally of the mindset that Ekimu suffers more for it because while the villains are a blank slate they aren't central to the plot like they make Ekimu out to be. Ekimu is supposed to be this grand virtuous being who can make masks and stuff. He does nothing but boss the toa around like idiots and let them get their megablocks handed to them because some prophecy on a wall told him so. It's ultimately because his actions have an impact on the nature of the story itself, the central plot and it's pacing that I take such issue with him and why I feel he's the worst character in Bionicle. I can't say that about Kulta or Umarak no matter how bland they are.

That's one of my problems with Ekimu's character. His character is so confusing that I once have a theory that he's secretly evil, because I through that it'll will make his character make more sense.

The villains bothers me more since that they're suppose to be a evil, powerful and unstoppable. It's the same thing like saying that Anakin and Obi-Wan are friends, but showing that both of them saying bad things about each others when one of them is not around.

[MakutaDreadscythe]

That's one of my problems with Ekimu's character. His character is so confusing that I once have a theory that he's secretly evil, because I through that it'll will make his character make more sense.

The villains bothers me more since that they're suppose to be a evil, powerful and unstoppable. It's the same thing like saying that Anakin and Obi-Wan are friends, but showing that both of them saying bad things about each others when one of them is not around.

Yeah I get that. It makes sense and I do take issue with the villains too, bit one-dimensional. Certainly nothing amazing. I'm just of the mindset that one is worse than the other, but hey that's what discussion is for right? :)

That Anakin and Obi Wan analogy was pretty good too, good point about the story as a whole.

[xboxtravis7992]

I actually kind of enjoyed Ekimu's "grumpy old man" vibe we got from the 2015 animations and the first few episodes of the Netflix series, I just weigh that we had more time for everyone's characterization in general in regards to the series.

Yeah the grumpy old man vibe was pretty fun.

What killed Ekimu in my opinion was the rush job for the last episode. I think his 'character' was one of my favorites in G2... until I realized his "powered up form" was a wasted plot device allowing him to follow the Toa to the final battle then sit on the sidelines blabbering about the prophecy he wasn't allowed to tell them about. Not so much he was a bad character, but more that he had some horrible expositional dialogue the cancellation of Bionicle forced him to give!

Edited August 10, 2016 by xboxtravis7992