LEGO Ninjago 2019

[JJ Tong (zfogshooterz)]

The suits definitely looks pretty interesting. I'm getting similar vibes to Hunted and that's cool. I'm glad on by the way the suits is, this doesn't seem to be your average typical fire and ice stuffs if it is that. Looking forward to seeing more of the next wave!

[Kim-Kwang-Seok]

1 hour ago, GarmaFan said:

Man, how long will Ninjago last though? We should assume it will continue indefinitely, and the constant cries of doom have been annoying since 2016, but how long until they get tired of it, or run out of ideas? 5 years? 10? 20?? I guess the answer is when it stops selling so well.

But so far there hasn't been a really bad season. Of course there is that risk, especially with the original writers gone. "Hands of time", was the weakest season so far, and they didn't direct it; while the last two seasons were just beyond anything one could ever expect, from such a show.

Ninjago worked against all odds, because people made it with effort and knowledge:
From the sensitive touch of how they integrate and use eastern asian culture to their effort to how well they integrated Feminism (some Nya arcs). Everything shows me: these people know, what they are doing.

Exploration of other realms, Ninja getting children or students - If you do it well, and there is a market - it could go on for another 10 seasons probably

[PenPlays]

6 hours ago, GarmaFan said:

Man, how long will Ninjago last though? We should assume it will continue indefinitely, and the constant cries of doom have been annoying since 2016, but how long until they get tired of it, or run out of ideas? 5 years? 10? 20?? I guess the answer is when it stops selling so well.

And the answer to it not selling well is a hard reboot.

A la each iteration of Transformers and Power Rangers.

[Fenghuang0296]

To be honest, I'd like a reboot. Preferably soft. I'm getting a bit sick of the 'formula' - granted, the SOG/Hunted/Oni saga was spectacular, but hopefully the Summer wave won't just be a return to the 'structure' that we saw from Rebooted to Hands of Time.

[Peppermint_M]

There is also the chance of going the Power Rangers/Voltron/Digimon route and come up with a new team. There are a lot of options open to take then; Next Generation, New Spinjitsu Students, a rag tag group of different personalities stumbling across the power of spinjitsu... So many tropes and all of them fun to work with. Heck, there is always the "Alternate Reality" or "Alternate Timeline" options that can use the same character names but in a different situation.

 

[Thedarkmaster2]

11 hours ago, GarmaFan said:

I guess the answer is when it stops selling so well.

That's the logical answer

11 hours ago, GarmaFan said:

the constant cries of doom have been annoying since 2016,

I think it first started when chima was announced

[DarthLeapyous]

summer pics will be out any hour now

[Falconfan1414]

There is apparently no summer ninjago at the toy fair

[Blazej_Holen]

Just now, Falconfan1414 said:

There is apparently no summer ninjago at the toy fair

Lets wait and see :)

[DarthLeapyous]

4 minutes ago, Falconfan1414 said:

There is apparently no summer ninjago at the toy fair

I mean, they would be pretty stupid not to show off there most popular non-licensed theme

[Thedarkmaster2]

14 minutes ago, Falconfan1414 said:

There is apparently no summer ninjago at the toy fair

They were at Nuremberg!

[Aanchir]

Just now, Thedarkmaster2 said:

They were at Nuremberg!

True, but that was not a press event that allowed photos.

I remember at last year's New York Toy Fair, LEGO primarily showed their first half year products (including a few coming out later in the spring), but only a few summer and fall products (like Stormbringer and the Hogwarts Great Hall). Then in May they had a separate event of their own for fansites and the press called LEGO Goals where they revealed more of their product line for the second half of the year.

[GarmaFan]

I know there's being optimistic, but why did no one point that Ninjago apparently hasn't been shown at the toy fair since 2016 (aside from one single set)? The way people were talking about it, I thought it was a sure thing. Guess I shouldn't have gotten my hopes up.

[ninjagoyax555]

1 hour ago, GarmaFan said:

I know there's being optimistic, but why did no one point that Ninjago apparently hasn't been shown at the toy fair since 2016 (aside from one single set)? The way people were talking about it, I thought it was a sure thing. Guess I shouldn't have gotten my hopes up.

do you think they might put them up tomorrow?  

[GarmaFan]

52 minutes ago, ninjagoyax555 said:

do you think they might put them up tomorrow?  

I don't think they'll be there at this point.

[obsidianheart]

There's a bunch of Ninjago boxes on a wall in the background of one of the Hidden Side shots (the train, specifically) but they are all the Legacy wave sets.

[Aanchir]

6 hours ago, GarmaFan said:

I know there's being optimistic, but why did no one point that Ninjago apparently hasn't been shown at the toy fair since 2016 (aside from one single set)? The way people were talking about it, I thought it was a sure thing. Guess I shouldn't have gotten my hopes up.

In 2017 it was because the sets were for the movie so were probably kept under wraps as part of the licensing agreement with Warner Bros. And last year LEGO pretty much entirely stopped showing second half year sets at NYTF except for a few teasers like Stormbringer and the Hogwarts Great Hall. Instead, they did most of their second half year set reveals at theIr OWN press event in May called LEGO Goals. The same will probably happen this year. It's nothing to worry about and nothing specific to Ninjago.

Other themes like City, Friends, Super Heroes, and Creator didn't have any second half year set reveals at this year's NYTF either. I suspect it's a matter of LEGO feeling like revealing all their sets at once dilutes some of the media attention given to them, and also risks giving bootleggers a head start copying them. Also, they're in a strong enough position as a company that they CAN hold their own big press event and count on the media to attend, something that wasn't such a sure thing ten to fifteen years ago.

[Digger of Bricks]

11 hours ago, Peppermint_M said:

There is also the chance of going the Power Rangers/Voltron/Digimon route and come up with a new team. There are a lot of options open to take then; Next Generation, New Spinjitsu Students, a rag tag group of different personalities stumbling across the power of spinjitsu... So many tropes and all of them fun to work with. Heck, there is always the "Alternate Reality" or "Alternate Timeline" options that can use the same character names but in a different situation.

Personally, I'd wish to see a hard reboot that takes the aesthetic of the theme in a direction that's either completely medieval/DaVinci-Punk or completely futuristic/Cyberpunk, none of this half-baked look anymore. 

[Aanchir]

2 hours ago, Digger of Bricks said:

Personally, I'd wish to see a hard reboot that takes the aesthetic of the theme in a direction that's either completely medieval/DaVinci-Punk or completely futuristic/Cyberpunk, none of this half-baked look anymore. 

I don't really anticipate LEGO doing that for the theme as a whole as it would pretty much just limit its versatility. The "half baked look" gives them the option of pretty much anything that falls under either of those categories, or anything outside or in between those categories, so long as it stays true to what kids expect from a Ninjago set.

And since it's a fantasy theme one way or the other, kids aren't likely to get too hung up on the mashup of subject matter coexisting in one universe not being "realistic" any more than the idea of space aliens, Norse gods, super-soldiers, genetic mutants, spies, wizards, talking animals, and robots fighting together in a Marvel movie.

[DarthLeapyous]

man i'm real peeved that they didn't show the sets at NY Toy Fair.

[Digger of Bricks]

10 hours ago, Aanchir said:

And since it's a fantasy theme one way or the other, kids aren't likely to get too hung up on the mashup of subject matter coexisting in one universe not being "realistic" any more than the idea of space aliens, Norse gods, super-soldiers, genetic mutants, spies, wizards, talking animals, and robots fighting together in a Marvel movie.

If kids don't care much about those aesthetic technicalities, why shouldn't the theme evolve to be more retrofuturistically coherent? You see, I'm just asking for Ninjago to try and be more like Nexo Knights. In my eyes, that theme did it right, as the knights actually "dressed for the occasion" so to speak. 

[Lyichir]

1 hour ago, Digger of Bricks said:

If kids don't care much about those aesthetic technicalities, why shouldn't the theme evolve to be more retrofuturistically coherent? You see, I'm just asking for Ninjago to try and be more like Nexo Knights. In my eyes, that theme did it right, as the knights actually "dressed for the occasion" so to speak. 

I think the main reason why it shouldn't is that the theme's flexibility is probably a big part of how it has been able to last so long. The ability to shift from fantasy-esque dragons to futuristic vehicles to traditional Japanese architecture helps the theme to keep things fresh, as well as to appeal to buyers with a wide range of interests. I think limiting it to one style of subject matter would hurt the theme more than it would help it.

[Digger of Bricks]

10 minutes ago, Lyichir said:

I think the main reason why it shouldn't is that the theme's flexibility is probably a big part of how it has been able to last so long. The ability to shift from fantasy-esque dragons to futuristic vehicles to traditional Japanese architecture helps the theme to keep things fresh, as well as to appeal to buyers with a wide range of interests. I think limiting it to one style of subject matter would hurt the theme more than it would help it.

On a individual wave-to-wave/year-to-year basis, I wouldn't mind the inconsistency as much if the theme were to act more like an anthology in its narrative; but, why couldn't they maintain some sort of retrofuturistic coherency for each individual wave? One year would have Renaissance-era technology with DaVinci-esque Clockpunk mecha and flying craft, the other going for more of an 80's Cyberpunk urban vibe, and so forth. Just give our characters some retrofuturistically-approprate attire to boot keeping with the set vibe.

[Thedarkmaster2]

35 minutes ago, Digger of Bricks said:

Just give our characters some retrofuturistically-approprate attire to boot keeping with the set vibe.

You're kinda missing the forest for the trees, Ninjago is so successful because it can be so varied. You're idea would chop down all the trees you don't like down.

You're ideas would neuter the theme

[Digger of Bricks]

Just now, Thedarkmaster2 said:

You're kinda missing the forest for the trees, Ninjago is so successful because it can be so varied. You're idea would chop down all the trees you don't like down.

You're ideas would neuter the theme

Can't it be varied on a wave-to-wave basis anthologically, like I had suggested?