LEGO Monkie Kid 2020

[Cocoa]

Set-wise, I absolutely adore these. This is LEGO doing what LEGO does best. An original, fresh take on a old tale. And I don't just say that; the sets speak for themselves. Something like the crate ship, which could've been bland, has some vibrant colors and a fun transformation feature! It's like if you combined the Samurai X cave with a coast guard set. Even the TV Show looks extremely promising. An anime-inspired, exaggerated art style with a bright palette; that's my jam. The stylization reminds me a lot of Wakfu and Imiashi works.

There's just one thing that gets me - this quality comes at a clear cost. The smallest sets are just not worth the prices being asked for. Compared to how cheap Ninjago can be, these are ultra-expensive. I think the cloud jet could easily be $45, as Ninjago sets of similar size have sold for that. That said, I can't say that the larger sets are that overpriced. That Monkey Mech is massive and comes with sizeable side builds. Additionally, it's decorated with the best of the best, from cloth to drum-lacquered gold. I don't think $150 is too much to ask for. And $170 for something larger-looking than TLNM Destiny's Bounty can't be disputed all too much.

[Pulp Detective]

You know I find it funny with how much detail Lego has put into this theme yet when you look at the villain faction 90% of the minifigures are those identical bull goons.And I know that they're clones which explains why they all look the same but still it comes off as Lego being lazy.Would it hurt if there was more variety to the villains?

[Henry Bricklider]

This is a really solid first wave. The Monkey King Mech, the food truck and cargo ship are the standout sets to me. As much I like these sets, they are really expensive. I've just now got a job and while I would really like to pick these up, I don't think I can justify purchasing them. The White Dragon Horse Bike would be a nice gateway set, but $35 is too much for me, especially when the new Harry Potter wave is coming soon. I'll probably end up Bricklinking some of the minifigures. Best case scenario, I'll eventually get the mech.

[Fenghuang0296]

I haven’t changed my opinion in the sets being gorgeous but the prices are just . . uwaaahhh. 

I can see myself getting Pigsy’s Truck and the Secret HQ. Maybe also Red Son’s Truck if I can afford it. Luckily, I know a small shop in Melbourne that usually stocks ‘LEGO-exclusive’ sets and does intermittent 20%-off discounts, so they’ll be hugely helpful. Still . . I just don’t get why LEGO thinks making a theme of mostly large sets that are out of the price range of kids is a good idea. 

[doclord]

1 hour ago, LOTR34 said:

You know I find it funny with how much detail Lego has put into this theme yet when you look at the villain faction 90% of the minifigures are those identical bull goons.And I know that they're clones which explains why they all look the same but still it comes off as Lego being lazy.Would it hurt if there was more variety to the villains?

The budget went to the heroes this time around for their introduction. Makes sense to me.

[mrfang2]

3 minutes ago, doclord said:

The budget went to the heroes this time around for their introduction. Makes sense to me.

Yeah I’d take every hero having new unique parts with just clone villains over all the heroes having the same outfit with color variants. especially since even in the clone villains there’s still some variants, like the one with grey instead of purple, the one with the bent horn, red son, the sorcerer girl who’s name I don’t know, and the bull king with his giant mech-like body

[Lucarex]

On 5/7/2020 at 12:55 PM, Lucarex said:

A price increase on this theme will be a big mistake by LEGO, as there's no reasonable way to justify it and it will impact sales.

Seems they're taking a massive risk after all. I hope for their sake there's a few million middle class affluent Chinese to buy these culturally targeted sets, because they ain't gonna shift many in Europe & US at these inflated price points. 

It's a real shame too as some of them are really nice sets. Pigsy's cannibalistic food truck and the container HQ are the standouts for me. They're growing on me but enough to cough up, when there's LOTS of competition across other Lego themes this summer? I'm not so sure.

[Dr.Cogg]

1 hour ago, mrfang2 said:

Yeah I’d take every hero having new unique parts with just clone villains over all the heroes having the same outfit with color variants. especially since even in the clone villains there’s still some variants, like the one with grey instead of purple, the one with the bent horn, red son, the sorcerer girl who’s name I don’t know, and the bull king with his giant mech-like body

Princess Iron Fan

[mrfang2]

Just now, Dr.Cogg said:

Princess Iron Fan

Thank you I don’t know why I keep blanking on hers.

[tafkatb]

Are there any images of Pigsy without the chef hat? I'm wondering if a reprint of that head mold might be used for Piglet in the forthcoming Winnie-the-Pooh Ideas set.

[Lyichir]

4 hours ago, LOTR34 said:

You know I find it funny with how much detail Lego has put into this theme yet when you look at the villain faction 90% of the minifigures are those identical bull goons.And I know that they're clones which explains why they all look the same but still it comes off as Lego being lazy.Would it hurt if there was more variety to the villains?

To be honest I find it a little charming how they're all identical but have different names. Special mention for "Bob" (the odd one out among Snort, Grunt, and Roar) who is distinguished by having one horn turned the wrong way around. Also when reviewing their names I noticed for the first time General Ironclad, who comes in the ship set and IS a little different from the others, with different arm and horn colors as well as a cape and spiked pauldron.

Story-wise, the focus is probably gonna be on Red Son, Princess Iron Fan, and the Demon Bull King as the main antagonists—but I wouldn't rule out the faceless goons serving as a bit of comic relief like Nuckal and Kruncha did in the Ninjago pilot.

[Ninjaguy99]

9 hours ago, Roebuck said:

pig that is eating a hot-dog, do that make him a cannibal


Vegetarian hot dog

[Pulp Detective]

The sets are available now at the Lego shop.As I expected the prices differ in each region in Europe,for example the bull mech costs 100€ here in Greece 

Edited May 16, 2020 by LOTR34

[Robert8]

13 hours ago, Metanoios91 said:

The interesting part is the print on them in a normal set (Demon Bull King 80010). Let's hope this continues for that piece in other themes as well

This set reminds me of the "when you've done absolutely no preparation for an exam but you turn up anyway" meme hahaahah

 

What are supposed to do a pig and a kid with a stick against that fully equipped gargantuan mech?

[Lacdaran]

The press release makes it very clear that what I and some others thought weeks ago is the case.  This is Chinese Ninjago, made in China, for a chinese audience.  LEGO is sticking to their pledge to not do region locked sets, but sales outside of china are not in any way a focus here.  The high US and European prices are another sign of this. 

Has it been made clear if these are actually going to show up at US/European retailers that normally carry Lego?  Or are they exclusive to lego.com and lego brand stores outside of China?

[BrickJagger]

48 minutes ago, Lacdaran said:

The press release makes it very clear that what I and some others thought weeks ago is the case.  This is Chinese Ninjago, made in China, for a chinese audience.  LEGO is sticking to their pledge to not do region locked sets, but sales outside of china are not in any way a focus here.  The high US and European prices are another sign of this. 

That certainly seems to be their strategy. AmeriJago is going to be an interesting theme when they get around to it. The Baseball Stadium-tank with hot dog cannons and a robotic Thomas Jefferson is going to be at the top of my wish list.

Edited May 16, 2020 by BrickJagger

[Borex]

I find this theme very sticker heavy. And very expensive. We need soms cheap sets, just to lure us in. Because once you start on a theme, a collector wants it all. 
Anyway, i think most of the sets look gorgeous and fresh. 
Best figs: Mei (in her dragon motor suit), Monkie Kid himself and Pigsy.  
Is pigsy Able to swap hats? 

[Soupperson1]

2 hours ago, Borex said:

I find this theme very sticker heavy. And very expensive. We need soms cheap sets, just to lure us in. Because once you start on a theme, a collector wants it all. 

Is pigsy Able to swap hats? 

Pigsy just has a stud at the top of his head, so you just need to find hats that fit over that specific piece!  

I agree with your we need cheap sets to lure us in comment as well! I don’t think the poly bag counts either as those are very difficult to purchase outside the U.S. I like to get at least one set from each new system theme and because I don’t like the Dragon Bike set I’m going to be stuck with spending a lot of money just to try this theme out! :P 

[Robert8]

5 hours ago, Lacdaran said:

The press release makes it very clear that what I and some others thought weeks ago is the case.  This is Chinese Ninjago, made in China, for a chinese audience.  LEGO is sticking to their pledge to not do region locked sets, but sales outside of china are not in any way a focus here.  The high US and European prices are another sign of this. 

Has it been made clear if these are actually going to show up at US/European retailers that normally carry Lego?  Or are they exclusive to lego.com and lego brand stores outside of China?

Well, the TV show seems to be voiced in english... so, at least they'll try

[gedren_y]

11 minutes ago, Robert8 said:

Well, the TV show seems to be voiced in english... so, at least they'll try

In animation there are usually multiple language audio tracks created for the various countries the show is supposed to air in. It's the language on the signs you really have to watch for. Depending on the animation studio you could see closed captioning style text translation of signs the viewer is supposed to read, or actual language replacement of the image. The second is the more expensive of the two, and is usually not bothered with if the primary target audience is the central Asian market.

[hvader]

I think these sets look amazing. Sure, I would have liked smaller sets, but that Monkey King mech looks so good because it's so complex. I'm not sure how great this theme will do in China, but considering how China has been exposed with lots of fusion cultures (a mix between Western culture and Chinese culture) in recent years, I don't doubt it. I'm pretty sure the Chinese kids are gonna beg their parents for that Monkey King mech set. Monkey King's like Iron Man in China (apparently that set is sold out on the Lego Taobao store). 

Edited May 16, 2020 by HarryVader

[Lyichir]

3 minutes ago, hpswfan said:

Do you agree? Repost from angry Chinese person

Firstly I’m Chinese and I HATE these sets. The following is a message I posted to my friends that pretty much sums up my thoughts:

LEGO is producing Monkey Kid sets based on “Journey to the West” (I tried typing the Chinese characters but they aren’t compatible with Brickset). Way to pander to the Chinese markets! They must be loving that commie dollar. Just disgusting, insulting, stereotypical and “shove down your [Chinese] throat” consumerism. 

While normally I highly praise LEGO for its ethics and morals, here I have to condemn them. I will not buy a single one of these sets and I recommend you not to either. Btw, I wonder how popular these will actually be in the mainland (target audience). I actually haven’t met a single mainland Chinese who is obsessed with “Journey to the West”. Many just brush it off as “something that an old dude wrote that we have to begrudging learn in Grade 1”. 

{potentially offensive section deleted by admins} 

If LEGO was actually trying to pay homage to, and popularise, “Journey to the West” (a story set in a rural world devoid of technology), they wouldn’t release sets that look like Tron infused with Ninjago. My only guess as to why the theme is so technology-heavy is as a vain attempt by LEGO seniors to make the theme more accessible (and marketable) to Western audiences.

And if you’re wondering why I am fine with LEGO’s abomination of Ninjas, it’s because they are pretty universal character archetypes like Knights, Wizards etc. Ninjas have greatly increased in worldwide popularity and are no longer tied down by their Japanese roots. Thus, I believe that LEGO can have full creative liberty with Ninjas. If you disagree, sure. But please take a moment to think - if LEGO makes knights like Ninjago (eg Fantasy Castle), would you get angry?

I saw that comment when it was posted on Brickset. Don't have a lot to say about its political slant (I'm not keen on getting into Chinese territorial politics and it seems pretty tangential to discussion of the Lego theme in the first place), but I disagree vehemently that infusing the theme with elements of modern China is somehow disrespectful. On the contrary, I think European and American depictions of places like Asia or Africa often have a bad habit of treating them as "fixed in time", focusing on decades or even centuries-old elements of their cultures rather than reflecting how non-European and non-American countries have modernized alongside the rest of the world. In that way, I think that Monkie Kid's approach is well-considered since it can reflect both the ancient heritage and modern society of China, rather than just one or the other.

[doclord]

38 minutes ago, hpswfan said:

Do you agree? Repost from angry Chinese person

Firstly I’m Chinese and I HATE these sets. The following is a message I posted to my friends that pretty much sums up my thoughts:

This mostly seems to be a rant against Mainland China that is only loosely disguised as a critique against Journey to the West being used by LEGO.

It is easily one of the most creative JTTW adaptations I've ever seen and can't say it's lazy or disrespectful. Adherence to the original aesthetic would be a lazier cash grab than trying something new.

Edited May 16, 2020 by doclord

[TeriXeri]

I still really don't see the value on the largest sets here, the Monkey Mech (€140 here), and Ship (€170 here).

The only set I'd consider would be the Bull Mech (€80 here) but only at a discount.

 

Edited May 16, 2020 by TeriXeri

[Lucarex]

1 hour ago, TeriXeri said:

I still really don't see the value on the largest sets here, the Monkey Mech (€140 here), and Ship (€170 here).

The only set I'd consider would be the Bull Mech (€80 here) but only at a discount.

 

There is no "value" here, it's a new inhouse theme but priced at or above Star Wars levels. Worse in fact because even SW has a variety of inexpensive sets ranging upwards to allow all budgets (kids and adults) easy access. Either a very bold or very stupid pricing strategy by LEGO, time will tell which.

Doubt I'll be buying any, would only consider either Pigsy's Truck or Secret HQ on a significant 30-40% discount. Other than that I'll look to get 1 or 2 side builds separately, like the shop build from Monkey Mech which will make a mini Chinatown build in my Ninjago City.

Edited May 16, 2020 by Lucarex