Bionicle 2015 Discussion

[Dorek]

I love how they link to the German website. I wonder I can just, like, volunteer to be a social media intern for them, because there's all these mini mistakes that could easily be avoided.

Anyway, Episode 7 was probably the best one so far. Action, good character moments, and a sweet suspenseful cliffhanger. Not bad for 90 seconds.

[Voxovan]

Fun fact: in Korean version of this episode, Gali actually has a female voice... Well, at least the Korean staff did a good job.

[Agent Fusion]

Yeah, I noticed that too. Why the English version doesn't do the same, I don't know.

[Mandate]

I didn't like this episode as much as 6, but the character interactions were great. Voice acting needed some work though, it was waaaay too obvious it was one guy. Poor Gali.

[Dorek]

I didn't like this episode as much as 6, but the character interactions were great. Voice acting needed some work though, it was waaaay too obvious it was one guy. Poor Gali.

That's the thing, I don't think it's trying to pretend otherwise; it's part of a campy appeal they're trying specifically to go for. If they wanted to include more voice actors, they probably could.

[Mesonak]

While that may very well be true, I don't think it's for the better. I appreciate the whole "storyteller" thing but I'd rather see a wider voice acting range for BIONICLE.

The grand majority of memorable things from these animations have stemmed from the voice acting, be it "oh this voice acting was pretty good this time instead of terribly corny" or things that are just so bad they've become running jokes (MASTER OF FIYAAAH). I would've preferred had they not gone this route.

Edited March 18, 2015 by Mesonak

[Quisoves Pugnat]

While that may very well be true, I don't think it's for the better. I appreciate the whole "storyteller" thing but I don't think it's the right route to take for BIONICLE.

This is BIONICLE we're talking about?

The line whose first five years involved, in some capacity or another, Village elders who sat around telling stories (of which one was the driving reason for the entire plot)?

[Mesonak]

This is BIONICLE we're talking about?

The line whose first five years involved, in some capacity or another, Village elders who sat around telling stories (of which one was the driving reason for the entire plot)?

I'm not talking about the concept of BIONICLE, I'm talking about what we actually see playing out on our screens. In the first five years of BIONICLE, we had three movies, two MNOG games, and two series of online animations, all of which had characters speaking of their own accord (be it through actual dialogue or subtitles on the screen). The events of the story weren't related through a "storyteller." The closest we ever had to that were Vakama's intro monologues. :P

Edited March 18, 2015 by Mesonak

[Quisoves Pugnat]

I'm not talking about the concept of BIONICLE, I'm talking about what we actually see playing out on our screens. In the first five years of BIONICLE, we had three movies, two MNOG games, and two series of online animations, all of which had characters speaking of their own accord (be it through actual dialogue or subtitles on the screen). The events of the story weren't related through a "storyteller." The closest we ever had to that were Vakama's intro monologues. :P

Quite true. However, given the importance of the Turaga's storytelling (the Legend of Mata Nui, in particular,) I daresay that the use of narrated-action is hardly antithetical to the franchise.

I think that, given the animations' limited amount of time, the narration is a very good choice. Things that would otherwise come across as awkward (e.g. the "Tahu didn't know what heroes did bit") work much better this way.

As for English narrator's middling skill with voice-acting, I'd say that's a matter of particulars, not the principle of the thing. If Patrick Stewart were the narrator, I doubt anyone would have a problem with that. Heck, the fellow doing the Italian versions is far more impressive than his English-speaking counterpart.

[MakutaOfWar]

Technically, a real human skeleton has longer upper legs than lower legs. In fact, the femur (upper leg bone) is the single longest bone in the human body, while the tibia (one of the lower leg bones) is the second longest.

I feel like if Pohatu's gearbox were raised like Lewa's, Onua's, or Kopaka's, he'd need some kind of shoulder armor to compensate, since it would make the distance between the torso beam and the shoulder joints that much more pronounced.

It really doesn't look all too bad when raised. :P And for the legs, the pieces used are still overly noticeable differences in length, giving him a somewhat unnatural look as oppose to a human. XD

[Clone 01354 Productions]

Episode 7 was pretty good, and I especially love all the Toa's interactions with each other. And I just LOVE how Pohatu has that reserved-but-cool attitude. And really, Tahu's voice was so great this time, and I hope the voice actor sticks with it. But two things bother me:

1) Kopaka sounded quiet, almost like he was shy--or, dare I say, even afraid. In the Italian version, he sounded so assertive and strong, but now.....And also, what happened to his "I didn't slip" voice, where he sounded very British? Now, he sounds generic.

2) WHAT IS WRONG WITH LEWA?!? He sounds so serious, and that laugh was so unnatural.

I don't mind having one narrator, but he needs to at least try......

[ToaDraco]

I have not been very impressed with the animations but 7 is by far the best. The interactions between the Toa are gold. If this is how the animations will be from now on, I will be happy. Now it can stop being the Tahu show and the other Toa can shine.

Edited March 19, 2015 by ToaDraco

[Vinyl Scratch]

Lewa's voice is slightly unnerving, but Pohatu's voice is top tier, really liking it.

Kind of missing the old clownish Pohatu but really liking this new personality.

[Shakar]

Episode 7 was pretty good, and I especially love all the Toa's interactions with each other. And I just LOVE how Pohatu has that reserved-but-cool attitude. And really, Tahu's voice was so great this time, and I hope the voice actor sticks with it. But two things bother me:

1) Kopaka sounded quiet, almost like he was shy--or, dare I say, even afraid. In the Italian version, he sounded so assertive and strong, but now.....And also, what happened to his "I didn't slip" voice, where he sounded very British? Now, he sounds generic.

2) WHAT IS WRONG WITH LEWA?!? He sounds so serious, and that laugh was so unnatural.

I don't mind having one narrator, but he needs to at least try......

Gotta say, I might be biased but I think the Italian VA (if that's who I think he is, he's a pretty famous one over here too!) is a lot better than the English one. I originally thought the opposite because he seemed to lack the English narrator's hammy fun in his tone, but he's since grown on me and now I think he sounds more natural and puts emphasis on the right lines (like he did for Kopaka in Ep 7). Also, his Onua lacks the "dumb brute" tone the English VA unfortunately gives him and instead has a more father-like tone to his voice that suits Onua well. Italian Lewa sounds more mischievous and trollish too. Edited March 19, 2015 by Shakar

[Logan McOwen]

Cockney Batman Pohatu is best Pohatu.

[Mandate]

Italian Lewa sounds more mischievous and trollish too.

Glad to see I'm not the only one who felt this way. Italian Lewa sounded snarky and sarcastic... English one? Not so much.

[GK733]

Had some fun making this.

Real enough?

larger: http://i.imgur.com/TQGYpCZ.png

I really want more polybags...

Edited March 19, 2015 by GK733

[Logan McOwen]

I want it.

In fact, I shall build him when I get home. Good Guy will be mine.

[The Outsider]

Fun episode. Frankly, Onua spoke too little for me to tell if he sounded like a "dumb brute" or an "old father", and I think Kopaka did sound defiant, only with a more cold (sorry!) tone, much like his G1 no-nonsense, "lone wolf" style of defiance.

Gali and Lewa, on the other hand, don't sound like they should. In fact, to me it sounds like Gali has the narrator's voice (the narrator's voice when he's not pretending to be one of the characters, that is) and Lewa has PoF's voice. Ugh! Let's hope things improve in later episodes (unlikely, though).

[Starrocks923]

That was a fun episode. Not much really happened though.

I do hope Tahu still becomes team leader though.

[Tazakk]

I liked Onua's voice. This episode really set him up with the "mystic wisdom" to Gali's "rational wisdom," an interesting contrast that wasn't explored before. I felt like his voice, and his simple demeanor, were big parts of that.

Edited March 20, 2015 by Tazakk

[Clone 01354 Productions]

I do hope Tahu still becomes team leader though.

I hope not, but of course he will become leader. I mean, every single Toa team was lead by a fire-character--and really, the same applied to the Turaga also. Also, they've dedicated half of the episodes to Tahu, so of course he's still the most important.

Glad to see I'm not the only one who felt this way. Italian Lewa sounded snarky and sarcastic... English one? Not so much.

Yeah, I felt that way too. I had such high hopes after the Italian version, but now.....He sounded exactly like the narrator, and he was way too serious.

But Gali's voice doesn't bother me too much. I mean, it still sounds like a man, but it's better than her sounding like some helpless girl.....

[DraikNova]

Personally, while I think Gali's tone of voice is spot on, the voice itself really, really doesn't work. Onua also kind of bothers me, but Lewa with a slasher grin and an ominous voice is so hilarious that I think it deserves to stay.

[Logan McOwen]

Had some fun making this.

Real enough?

larger: http://i.imgur.com/TQGYpCZ.png

I really want more polybags...

I made him!

He's actually a really great little figure. Fun to play with! C'mon Lego, we need poly-bonkles!

[Voxovan]

I mean, every single Toa team was lead by a fire-character

What about Toa Cordak? :P