I’m pretty sure they’re not supposed to be 100% organic. I remember Greg saying something about them being roughly 80% organic and 20% mechanical, whereas it was the other way around for Matoran et al.
This year felt like the 2001 I had missed.
I loved it. I’ve got Mata Nui staring down at me from my shelf right now. I liked the concept of the year, being a big Roman history/culture buff, I embraced the gladiatorial society. The sets were colorful and fun to play with and look at. It was almost as though Lego was trying to rekindle the spark of mysterious welcoming Bionicle had the first go round. I spent hours a day learning all I could about Bara Magna and the questions left by the GBs. TLR is my second of the four. I enjoyed the animation style (it’s set-accurate for once) and, despite a few nitpicks, liked the story.
BUT THE JOINTS!!!
3 Likes
I liked 2009! Yeah, it strayed away from other characters, but it gave us likable characters that felt real.
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2009… what an interesting year.
Story-wise, it was okay. I actually felt like some of the characters were pretty intriguing despite falling into clearly defined stereotypes and, had they been given time to adequately grow, could have risen to the same levels as all of the Matoran Universe characters. They didn’t, but they could have had BIONICLE not been canceled. That’s why I don’t hold 2009 completely accountable for a lot of its mistakes; part of it was the story’s fault, and part of it was the cancellation’s fault.
The one critical flaw in the storyline, one that I heavily doubt was impacted by the cancellation, was Mata Nui’s arrival. The “REBOOT” (massive sarcasm quotes, btw) was completely overturned by Mata Nui’s arrival, and slow revelations of Bara Magna’s secret ties to past story ended up seeming rushed and poorly elaborated upon due to the events of the plot line of The Legend Reborn (which, to be honest, was possibly affected by the cancellation).
Otherwise, I thought it was okay. A lot of people dislike the fact that it boiled down to gladiatorial combat but I thought it was pretty fresh! Taking away the crutches of elemental powers and mask powers made things feel pretty desparate and slightly more cutthroat on Bara Magna; I liked that aspect.
Media-wise… it kinda sucked. It had few books, Glatorian Arena (which was an okay game but not on the same level as the starting chapter of the other era of BIONICLE’s story, MNOG), and TLR which was polarizing AT BEST.
Set-wise it was ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC. It was the most elementally-driven, vibrant, fresh, innovative year of sets seen in years. Whenever it did borrow ideas from other years (Av-Matoran build, Inika build, concept of vehicles) it built upon them and offered an interesting spin on things. It also brought an incredible selection of new pieces that were much more interesting from a design and aesthetic standpoint than the overload of silver and blandness that was 2008.
Also, the vehicles for that year were some of the BEST SETS EVER. Thornatus V9 holds the title of my favorite BIONICLE set (except for Perditus which takes it down a peg, but whatever, he’s just a generic pilot).
2009 was pretty grand. It had serious flaws and the disconnect between the Matoran Universe was bound to irritate some people. If taken at face value and if you don’t take into consideration the story team’s limitations due to the cancellation of the line, the story and marketing were pretty terrible. Flat characters, uneventful story, etc. I enjoyed what was there, but it could have been a lot better.
TECHNICALLY, though, that’s not the fault of 2009. It’s the fault of 2010. 
-Mesonak
11 Likes
This is what I was trying to say.
I have a little topic of my own discussing how 2009 was similar to 2001, so I’ll be using some of those points here 
First things first, 2009 was not in the Matoran Universe. This throws up red flags for lots of people, I don’t mind too much. Bara Magna was pretty cool. The change of pace was exciting. We lost the Toa and the Matoran, replaced with races we knew nothing about. And since Mata Nui was cast out of his own body, we all wondered what was going on. The serials helped.
Next, the sets. The sets weren’t bad. Gresh, Skrall, Tarix, and Mata Nui were cool Glatorian, and the Battle Vehicles were possibly the coolest things ever. The Agori were meh, but good for parts.
I honestly liked 2009. It gets a bad wrap, but was crucial to the story. 2010 kind of ruined it.
4 Likes
To me Bionicle 2009 might have been stronger as it’s own series. I really liked the new world of Bara Magna they introduced. It’s kind of similar to Mad Max when you think about it, where the world is a barren wasteland and tribes fight over what little resources are left. I think the Glatorian game that they introduced was pretty entertaining even if the Thornrax were the newest in a long line of gimmicky launchers. It’s telling that the parts of 2009 I don’t like all come from after Mata Nui arrives. It would have certainly been a more interesting theme than Hero Factory was.
1 Like