Bionicle 2015 Discussion

[Hawkeye616]

Personally, I would not mind takanuva being a female character, however I feel that if they decided to make a G2 takanuva just a random toa without the story of takua would feel pretty boring since it would be basically using the characters name without being anything like it. Now, some argued that if they went the whole takua routte, old fans would instantly know it's him (her if lego did change gender for the sake of it) but I feel like takanuva (IF even is introdcued to G2) should have a story as interesting as G1 to balance the change.

[Tahu]

http://www.lego.com/...tory/episode-15

The six Toa united the elemental powers, and now Ekimu is AWAKE!!!!!

Edited September 11, 2015 by Tahu

[Mandate]

Please use spoiler tags when discussing new episodes. You can do this by using [ spoiler ] and [ /spoiler] (without spaces). For example

Darth Vader is Luke's father.

edit:

Anyway, now that I've seen the episode

It was obvious how the Scorpios were going to die (er, re-die?), it was as lame as I expected. Kopaka is still a cross nanny and Ekimu's voice is arguably worse than Berix. Every time I expected him to finally stop speaking he started again. I do have to wonder, did the original Protectors build Ekimu's tomb after he fought Makuta or did he just have a tomb built and ready to go should he ever drop dead? He looked a bit like a puppet when they resurrected/woke him up, kinda strange.

Lewa is starting to get overused. Better than the Tahu show, I guess, but at least when everything was about Tahu it wasn't making everyone else look incompetent. It was a decent episode, given the target audience.

Any news about the web version of MoCR getting an update?

Edited September 11, 2015 by Mandate

[Tazakk]

This episode does everything right and I want to hug it. The ending especially I can't get over. It really evokes Templar's stuff for me, especially

one. They both end on an emotional high with a close up of a character, have a hard cut to black but let the music linger a bit afterwords to draw out the feeling and help you to carry it over as you exit the narrative.

[GK733]

This episode does everything right and I want to hug it. The ending especially I can't get over. It really evokes Templar's stuff for me, especially

one. They both end on an emotional high with a close up of a character, have a hard cut to black but let the music linger a bit afterwords to draw out the feeling and help you to carry it over as you exit the narrative.

...too bad Ekimu's voice ruins all this. I certainly hope he has a different tone when takes the hammer of power.

[Tazakk]

...too bad Ekimu's voice ruins all this. I certainly hope he has a different tone when takes the hammer of power.

I don't have any qualms with his voice. I mean, I get that it's exaggerated, but to me that's part of the charm of having a single narrator depict all of the voices. In general, though, I love the narrator and think he was the perfect choice, which seems to be in opposition to most everyone else. It's me, I'm the wrong one!

[Chimaninja454]

I really like the episode. It's really emotional when I saw Ekimu be awakened.

Edited September 12, 2015 by Chimaninja454

[Kalhiki]

I don't have any qualms with his voice. I mean, I get that it's exaggerated, but to me that's part of the charm of having a single narrator depict all of the voices. In general, though, I love the narrator and think he was the perfect choice, which seems to be in opposition to most everyone else. It's me, I'm the wrong one!

You're not alone. I don't mind Ekimu's voice nor do I mind the use of only one voice actor. I don't know if he's done any voice acting work outside of narrating commercials, but he's done a fantastic job of throwing his voice and giving the characters a variety of tones.

The way I see it, things could have been much worse.

[Aanchir]

I'll never understand why so many people get so bothered by voices in cartoons. That's in general, not just in reference to Bionicle, but in general. Even in real life, some people have bubbly voices, some people have raspy voices, some people have high-pitched voices, some people have deep voices, and some people have distinctive accents. And cartoons have free rein to exaggerate any of those characteristics for dramatic effect. So why is it that some people have such a deep loathing for certain types of voices?

After the release of Bionicle: The Legend Reborn, for instance, some people complained at great length about Kiina and Berix's voices. Why? Berix's voice would fit in just fine in plenty of high-quality cartoon productions from companies like Nickelodeon or Disney (understandably, since James Arnold Taylor was not at all new to the voice acting industry), and Kiina's voice sounded like one you might easily encounter in real life. Likewise, I've heard My Little Pony fans say Applejack is their least favorite character because they "hate southern accents", which is about as petty a reason to hate a voice as I can imagine. It can't be easy to go through life if you are that picky about what types of voices you are able to tolerate even in a work of fiction.

[GK733]

The problem I have with Ekimu's voice that instead of trying to sound like a corpse they could have just edited that in. It just sounds so forced.

[Kalhiki]

I'll never understand why so many people get so bothered by voices in cartoons. That's in general, not just in reference to Bionicle, but in general. Even in real life, some people have bubbly voices, some people have raspy voices, some people have high-pitched voices, some people have deep voices, and some people have distinctive accents. And cartoons have free rein to exaggerate any of those characteristics for dramatic effect. So why is it that some people have such a deep loathing for certain types of voices?

After the release of Bionicle: The Legend Reborn, for instance, some people complained at great length about Kiina and Berix's voices. Why? Berix's voice would fit in just fine in plenty of high-quality cartoon productions from companies like Nickelodeon or Disney (understandably, since James Arnold Taylor was not at all new to the voice acting industry), and Kiina's voice sounded like one you might easily encounter in real life. Likewise, I've heard My Little Pony fans say Applejack is their least favorite character because they "hate southern accents", which is about as petty a reason to hate a voice as I can imagine. It can't be easy to go through life if you are that picky about what types of voices you are able to tolerate even in a work of fiction.

In terms of Bionicle, I think part of the reason could be that people form an idea of how a character sounds in their head. So when a movie or form of media comes out and the character's voice doesn't match how a person imagined, that can lead to some distaste.

Of course, I'm sure that's not the only reason. I can't really speak for others, so I don't know. Personally, I can't really say. It's been to long, and can't remember how I felt about the voices in TLR. And like I already said, I enjoy the voices in 2015's animations.

In general, one of the main ways I judge good/bad voice acting: If I can picture the guy in the recording studio doing the voice instead of a character on-screen delivering his lines, then it's bad. Or if it's just bad acting in general. Acting. Not the voice. Voices can be perfect, but if the VA doesn't deliver his lines properly and naturally, then it becomes hard to watch... Or listen to.

[Tahu]

He sounds like an old man. Even in his character video he didn't have this voice!

Edited September 11, 2015 by Tahu

[Dorek]

It can't be easy to go through life if you are that picky about what types of voices you are able to tolerate even in a work of fiction.

On the contrary, I think a work of fiction is the best place for one to be picky about these kinds of things. Oftentimes it's not necessarily just a dislike (though it may evolve into that) but a difficulty in understanding a certain accent or dialect (whether you just don't have an ear for it, or the VA isn't enunciating). In terms of fiction, it's the voice actor's job to affect the accent, make it believable, but also make sure that the viewer still understands what is being said. Not an easy task, and for novice or lazy voice actors, it can get grating to have to listen to them try.

That's not to mention the myriad of other reasons why a voice can be "annoying". Sometimes it's even deliberate! Berix, for instance, was SUPPOSED to be an annoying character, which made his "growth" over the course of the movie more sympathetic. Or characters, if given previous non-voiced appearances, can create an impression that doesn't necessarily carry over into a voiced appearance.

Regardless, I didn't mind Ekimu's voice, but it doesn't make me wonder what it'll be if he does continue on as a character. Personally I would rather Ekimu stay an ancient mentor figure, but if set rumors are to be believed, then he'll be getting some sort of new form next year, which is a little meh to me.

[Jacob_9821]

Wow, that's surprising. I didn't expect that to happen so soon! This certainly opens up the possibility of a more expanded view of the Ancient City.

[Mandate]

I'll never understand why so many people get so bothered by voices in cartoons. That's in general, not just in reference to Bionicle, but in general. Even in real life, some people have bubbly voices, some people have raspy voices, some people have high-pitched voices, some people have deep voices, and some people have distinctive accents. And cartoons have free rein to exaggerate any of those characteristics for dramatic effect. So why is it that some people have such a deep loathing for certain types of voices?

After the release of Bionicle: The Legend Reborn, for instance, some people complained at great length about Kiina and Berix's voices. Why? Berix's voice would fit in just fine in plenty of high-quality cartoon productions from companies like Nickelodeon or Disney (understandably, since James Arnold Taylor was not at all new to the voice acting industry), and Kiina's voice sounded like one you might easily encounter in real life. Likewise, I've heard My Little Pony fans say Applejack is their least favorite character because they "hate southern accents", which is about as petty a reason to hate a voice as I can imagine. It can't be easy to go through life if you are that picky about what types of voices you are able to tolerate even in a work of fiction.

I can see where you're coming from, but it's all down to personal preference. Over the years I've seen plenty of people complain about the voice of Lloyd in NINJAGO, even though I have no problem with it. In games such as the Borderlands series, I had no problem with a robot named Claptrap yet absolutely hated another robot named Gortys simply because of how annoying I found her, and for quite a few people it was the opposite way around. The problem I have with Ekimu's voice isn't just his voice, but also what he says. His final line in the episode was perfectly fine, but the two before it were nothing but spouting lore and exposition we've already heard. Ekimu's voice is too high-pitched to sound like the guy that made powerful masks and fought Makuta.

I don't think you've realized that it's not just a matter of people disliking voices in cartoons and nothing else. People dislike other people's voices in real life, too. I can't speak for all of humanity, but there are plenty of people I know whose voices I just don't like. As for the reasons behind disliking voices being petty, do you even need a reason to dislike someone's voice? It's a matter of personal preference, really. Sometimes people have a length of reasons for why they support people like Greenpeace and sometimes they can't offer an explanation for why they dislike the color red. If you actually hate the person for something out of their control (unless of course they're changing their voice just to annoy you) then that is petty. But when something can be controlled, such as the voices used in a movie, cartoon or video game there's a lot less of a reason to be "understanding" about it when there was the ability to change it.

[Toa of Gallifrey]

I don't mind narmy voices but in dramatic moments they totally kill any drama the moment might have for me, as has been the case with these animations. Not so much silly, mind, I'm okay with Jar-Jar's voice during dramatic moments of Clone Wars so long as the tone is appropriate, but here all their voices sound so over the top that I can't take it seriously.

Edited September 12, 2015 by Toa of Gallifrey

[AidanBionicle1]

Hey! My friends from BZPower are here!

[ToaDraco]

I don't like Ekimu's voice nor do I like the goofy magical sounds used in the videos for the most part. This one was good, if not unpredictable however this little tidbit was particularly interesting.

The Toa might have known Ekimu in the past and recognize him despite not knowing how or why! Interesting...

I think there is certainly potential for a big secret akin to the giant robot of G1, particularly with the mask of time involved and the Toas' mysterious past.

I must say I do miss the tone of G1 compared to G2 in terms of presentation. The more epic, serious 'heaviness' is something I really liked though I do enjoy the humor of G2 I would just like some serious moments too when the time is right.

[GK733]

I don't want the story to be darker, I just want the characters to realize how dark it already is. They have heard about entire villages being taken over skullspiders, seen armies of skeletons rise front of them and yet they still act like they are taking a walk in the park. They just shrug off after everything.

[DuplexBeGreat]

This episode really didn't impress me at all. I think it's my least favorite so far, and that's even counting the clip show Episode 13.

Pohatu's "Now what?" was probably the single worst thing about the episode. It completely ruined the dramatic effect that had been building up until that moment, and didn't even sound very well acted, like it was being read off a script without any thought put into it. Not only that, but it's totally out of character for Pohatu, who up until this point has been the wise one. Was it supposed to be funny?

[Kingslayer]

This episode really didn't impress me at all. I think it's my least favorite so far, and that's even counting the clip show Episode 13.

Pohatu's "Now what?" was probably the single worst thing about the episode. It completely ruined the dramatic effect that had been building up until that moment, and didn't even sound very well acted, like it was being read off a script without any thought put into it. Not only that, but it's totally out of character for Pohatu, who up until this point has been the wise one. Was it supposed to be funny?

I wouldn't really call the episode a clip show. Sure, it wan't the most exciting episode but it was one that was heavily needed. It was the Toa actually having a minute to talk and realise what they are fighting for. Why should we give a damn about or heroes if they don't even have any care about what they are doing. That episode corrected. Though I will admit, like all the episode it could have been a bit longer. They always seem a bit rushed pacing wise. It's all story, story, story and they never really take a breather to take in what happened. They'll complete one task and all of a sudden they'll be half way into another. I feel like they could stand to be at least double the length they are. 1:30 was always going to be way too short.

[DuplexBeGreat]

I actually agree with what you're saying. My point was that unlike most people, I don't dislike Episode 13.

[The Outsider]

He sounds like an old man. Even in his character video he didn't have this voice!

If I remember well, he didn't even speak in his character video.

My problem isn't that he sounds like an old man; I expected that. To me, the issue is that he sounds like the wrong kind of old man: less "ancient master/sage", and more like "sitcom grandpa".

Wow, that's surprising. I didn't expect that to happen so soon! This certainly opens up the possibility of a more expanded view of the Ancient City.

Actually, given the pace of the previous ones, I think it will be something like this:

• Episode 16: Ekimu tells them of the Skull Grinder, they go to the Forge, Basher attacks them and steals Onua's mask.
  
• Episode 17: The Toa (probably Lewa, but I'm hoping Gali) defeat Basher, they find Grinder, Grinder puts MoCr and defeats Toa.
  
• Episode 18: Ekimu fights and defeats Grinder and other Skull Creatures, recovers MoCr, hint towards 2016 storyline.
  

I'm not missing any future episode, right?

[Tazakk]

• Episode 18: Ekimu fights and defeats Grinder and other Skull Creatures, recovers MoCr, hint towards 2016 storyline
  

Ekimu's character spot is original animation that won't appear in the episodes. None of the villains are going to return after their defeat by the Toa.

[Tahu]

If I remember well, he didn't even speak in his character video.

We heard his voice as he attacked the Skull Villains.