Bionicle 2015 Discussion

[Aanchir]

2. Yes please, I'd love that! I'd find some in black really useful, but we'll probably end up with gold instead . Given the Round Shell Detail piece (one of my favourite add-on pieces) isn't coming back anytime soon, looks like these will be their replacement (and they do look like Nuva shoulder pads - I just hope we don't get the sets we got this year next year, just with new pieces for armour just like we did in 2002) so I'd be suprised if they only appeared in Star Wars...

Not sure what you mean about the Round Shell Detail not coming back... while I don't necessarily foresee it being used in BIONICLE, it's evidently still in production since it appears in the Darth Vader set.

All in all, I wouldn't be surprised to see the shoulder shell details OR the leg shells from the new Star Wars sets in future BIONICLE sets, but I don't know if they'd be a defining motif for any team of characters in quite the way the Nuva armor was. Some people have made a fuss about the G2 BIONICLE sets not having enough detail, but truth be told, many of the actual new parts introduced for BIONICLE specifically (like the heads, the piston shell detail, the new fractured shell detail, and the various weapons) look extremely detailed compared to most of the new parts we're seeing in the Star Wars constraction sets.

I know the first set of Toa upgrades in G1 actually involved smoothing their designs out, but I don't think the G2 Toa need that kind of smoothing out nearly so much.

[TheOneVeyronian]

Not sure what you mean about the Round Shell Detail not coming back... while I don't necessarily foresee it being used in BIONICLE, it's evidently still in production since it appears in the Darth Vader set.

All in all, I wouldn't be surprised to see the shoulder shell details OR the leg shells from the new Star Wars sets in future BIONICLE sets, but I don't know if they'd be a defining motif for any team of characters in quite the way the Nuva armor was. Some people have made a fuss about the G2 BIONICLE sets not having enough detail, but truth be told, many of the actual new parts introduced for BIONICLE specifically (like the heads, the piston shell detail, the new fractured shell detail, and the various weapons) look extremely detailed compared to most of the new parts we're seeing in the Star Wars constraction sets.

I know the first set of Toa upgrades in G1 actually involved smoothing their designs out, but I don't think the G2 Toa need that kind of smoothing out nearly so much.

Oh yeah, I forgot it was in Darth Vader! I think the Round Shell Detail won't appear in Bionicle sets though so once Darth Vader is retired and we don't get a new constraction line/continuation of SW Constraction that uses them, it may get retired, but I guess you should never say never.

If rumours are to be believed, then we should be seeing the leg armour at least next year, and I look forward to their possible inclusion. I wasn't one of those who thought G2 Bionicles didn't look detailed enough, I think they look perfectly fine the way they are.

[Shakar]

I'm still convinced they're Titanium Metallic (it'd fit better with their pseudo-mechanical appearance), but black would be welcome for those pieces too. I'm really not fussed. I'm looking at Scorpio right now, and the parts that can only be black (the Y joints, cup-cup bones and it's barbs) do appear darker than it's legs. Titanium Metallic looks more likely to me, but at the same time it could be a lighting trick and they are all black. Remember how Pohatu's bones appeared trans-yellow but actually turned out to be trans-neon green? Might be the same here.

Huh, looks like you're right after all- the colours on my phone are even worse than I thought. Well, I'd say titanium metallic is a lot better for weapons, spikes and the like (in fact, I'm already thinking of a few uses for those). Black might be a neutral colour, but it's not very good for additional armour (like Tahu's gold) and for weapons- silver and titanium metallic are much better for those purposes, IMHO.

1. Never gave it a thought, but now you mention it I'm curious too.

2. Yes please, I'd love that! I'd find some in black really useful, but we'll probably end up with gold instead . Given the Round Shell Detail piece (one of my favourite add-on pieces) isn't coming back anytime soon, looks like these will be their replacement (and they do look like Nuva shoulder pads - I just hope we don't get the sets we got this year next year, just with new pieces for armour just like we did in 2002) so I'd be suprised if they only appeared in Star Wars...

Actually, the round shoulder pads from Breakout (if those are what you're referring to) are coming back with Darth Vader, along the more square add-ons (the so called "Captain America boots" reused by sets like Core Hunter). Ninja'd by Aanchir, should've refreshed the page before posting. Since the new shoulder pads are of similar size, I wonder if the real reason they decided to reuse such "old" parts was for budget reasons (since the Breakout shoulder armour already existed in titanium metallic, whereas white, silver and orange were missing). It's not that farfetched I think.

Overall, I think the SW pads are going to be used more - since they're so plain, I think that we're going to see them printed or stickered on the new sets, following the idea behind Kopaka's leg armour decorations.

Edited May 14, 2015 by Shakar

[DraikNova]

Also, they're not so weirdly bulbous as the Breakout version. The Breakout ones are better for shoulder armor if you want to attach them to the torso, but the new ones can be attached to the arms without looking weird. I kind of want to see how they look if they're layered a bit, or if that's even possible. They'd make great dragon scales then.

[Aanchir]

My only frustration with Skull Scorpio's legs being Titanium Metallic is that it means we're still waiting for those large leg pieces to be available in the same color as the smaller size. If they had been Black or Silver Metallic then you might be able to use the two sizes together to great effect, but it's not so easy when there still aren't any colors that both sizes come in.

[TheOneVeyronian]

Since the new shoulder pads are of similar size, I wonder if the real reason they decided to reuse such "old" parts was for budget reasons (since the Breakout shoulder armour already existed in titanium metallic, whereas white, silver and orange were missing). It's not that farfetched I think.

I think you hit the nail right on the head there. TLG have recently been on a roll with reusing moulds that we thought were retired (one only needs to look at Jurassic World sets, or the 8M shell, for confirmation of this), so honestly, it wouldn't surprise me if they suddenly whipped out something like the Breakout torso mould or Drilldozer's torso armour again.

Also, they're not so weirdly bulbous as the Breakout version. The Breakout ones are better for shoulder armor if you want to attach them to the torso, but the new ones can be attached to the arms without looking weird. I kind of want to see how they look if they're layered a bit, or if that's even possible. They'd make great dragon scales then.

I agree, the new shoulder armour is better for armouring slender characters. I already use the Breakout shoulder armour to add muscle and bulk to my muscular characters (my standard muscular character build uses between 5 and 7 of them!), and these new ones would be great for my slim characters (even if the current colours that part comes in are mostly useless to me).

My only frustration with Skull Scorpio's legs being Titanium Metallic is that it means we're still waiting for those large leg pieces to be available in the same color as the smaller size. If they had been Black or Silver Metallic then you might be able to use the two sizes together to great effect, but it's not so easy when there still aren't any colors that both sizes come in.

Come to think of it - Skull Scorpio's legs may well have been better in Silver Metallic anyway - to match the other Skull Villain's torso and "bone" bone pieces. And would have matched it's smaller counterpart as you mention.

[MakutaOfWar]

Soooo with as little story information as we have, the possibility of Tahu and Gali being a thing still exists, right?

[Lord-Vorahk]

Soooo with as little story information as we have, the possibility of Tahu and Gali being a thing still exists, right?

You mean like a couple, or just the last Toa still fighting by the end of the arc?

[Logan McOwen]

*sigh*

No.

[Aanchir]

If people want to ship, let them ship. It's just one of the many ways that people engage with stories. And yes, it sometimes gets silly, but that's part of the fun. It only becomes a problem when people have a hard time keeping their heads on their shoulders and start insisting in complete seriousness that their OTP must be "canon".

So far there hasn't been any info to suggest romance doesn't exist in this universe (and plenty of info to suggest that characters can have progeny, which eliminates the main reason romantic relationships were denied to the Matoran species in G1). So while nothing in the story has really teased the likelihood of any particular ships, I see nothing wrong with letting your imagination run wild.

Me, I'm still going to wait for some more shippable moments in the story. But heavens know I had plenty of ships I supported back in G1 (Kopaka/Pohatu, Onewa/Krahka, Gali/Takanuva, etc), even when I knew most of those could not be canon, so I'm sure I'll eventually discover one or more I support.

Edited May 15, 2015 by Aanchir

[Agent Fusion]

I don't care what they say, Tahu X Onua for life.

[Bigger Fish]

I don't care what they say, Tahu X Onua for life.

I hope Onua-Senpai notices me.

-Tahu-Chan

[DraikNova]

So far there hasn't been any info to suggest romance doesn't exist in this universe (and plenty of info to suggest that characters can have progeny, which eliminates the main reason romantic relationships were denied to the Matoran species in G1). So while nothing in the story has really teased the likelihood of any particular ships, I see nothing wrong with letting your imagination run wild.

Why was a lack of progeny a reason not to have romance?

[The Outsider]

Why was a lack of progeny a reason not to have romance?

Beats me. That never stopped other fictional artificial beings (from LEGO or otherwise).

[Kalhiki]

Don't know why, but I always ship Gali and Onua.

[Nekchir]

I wanna ship Gali x Hali.

But Tahu X Lewa for 2015.

[DraikNova]

I ship Protector of Earth x magma. They already have adamantine, they might as well have the other dwarfy stuff.

[Aanchir]

Why was a lack of progeny a reason not to have romance?

Greg always explained it as that if an entire species was unable to reproduce then there was no biological justification for romance. Which, to me, is overthinking things, not to mention thinking of things strictly in logical terms rather than in terms of their storytelling merit.

I think even Greg knew that — he wasn't afraid to include "flirting" in the BIONICLE Adventures story arc, like between Matau and Nokama or between Onewa and Krahka. So I'm almost tempted to say the romance ban might have just been something he talked up in order to avoid having to answer shipping questions, rather than something that he strictly adhered to in his own work.

[One Very Agile Cat]

You know what else doesn't have biological justification? Most of what Matoran, Toa, etc. could do. Greg didn't always know what he was doing. Afterall this is the same guy who basically said all males are confrontational hotheads and all women are calm peacekeepers. AND that females only exist as "not males." Dude was losin' it by the time Bionicle conked out.

Edited May 15, 2015 by One Very Agile Cat

[DraikNova]

Saying that asexual ≠ aromantic seems profoundly stupid to me, though. And anyway, if it was just to avoid shipping questions, why not just say "I won't answer questions about shipping. You're going to write fanfic about stuff even if it blatantly contradicts what I have said."?

[MakutaOfWar]

Bohrok caught me shippin'.

[Lord-Vorahk]

Not being capable of sexual reproduction shouldn't rule out romance. 'Cause, you know, homosexuality is a thing that exists. And there's no biological reproduction going on there. But they still have a relationship, which is cool.

In terms of all the shipping and such, it's all over the place in G1. Tahu and Gali. Kopaka and Gali. Jaller and Hahli (MNOG II flat out says "The one you love will be destroyed" to Hahli at one point, referencing Jaller's then-impending death at the claws of Turahk), and of course, Hewkii and Macku. Then there was the sort-of-triangle with Vakama, Nokama, and Matau. And who could forget Roodaka's incredibly loving evil speeches to the imprisoned Teridax?

[Clone 01354 Productions]

Gali x Lewa, because one is great at telling jokes, and one can't tell jokes. Opposites attract, people.

Also, MonkeyChud, I clicked the link in your signature......

[Aanchir]

Not being capable of sexual reproduction shouldn't rule out romance. 'Cause, you know, homosexuality is a thing that exists. And there's no biological reproduction going on there. But they still have a relationship, which is cool.

Well, on a species-wide level, some people would argue that the reason romance exists in any form (whether among individuals who can procreate or those who can't) is that having romantic feelings and being able to care for others on a deeply personal level strengthens our ability to support a population. In some species there's nothing romantic at all (as we understand it) about mating, so we know that our "human-ness" is part of what gives us the ability and inclination to feel romantic feelings towards others. It's not a huge leap from there to assume that we are genetically predisposed to feel romantic feelings towards others, and that this genetic predisposition came about through evolution.

Even so, it's kind of irrelevant to G1 Toa and Matoran since no reproduction means no natural selection. Thus, unless you think romance is a net LIABILITY for the species that would force it into extinction (which is a remarkably cynical way to think of things), then there's no reason the Matoran couldn't exist WITH romantic attraction as easily as without.

[Nekchir]

Gali x Lewa, because one is great at telling jokes, and one can't tell jokes. Opposites attract, people.

Also, MonkeyChud, I clicked the link in your signature......

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