The idea is that the similarity is no longer a problem because now it’s a feature. They are similar because they share a common ancestry, and thus were once one tribe before they split into two. That’s the idea anyway.
I get the idea but it could still lead to confusion as to how the Earth Tribe is different from the Stone Tribe
I mean, in my mind it was never really an issue. To me the power sets were always very distinct, to compare them to water/ice, which are also similar, but no one has a problem with because they are distinct: I see stone as ice, using very solid constructions out of stone to make his attacks, earth on the other hand I see more like water, using waves of dirt to make attacks. I guess in my head it was never a problem because to me earth meant dirt which I treated as a liquid rather than a solid in terms of use.
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one lives underground, the other lives above the ground.
the difference could not just stop there, with the different tribes having different ideas, like the water villagers are peacefull and wants to trade and socialise with the other tribes, thus they lived near the oceans, while the ice tribe wants to learn, study and keep to themself, thus they moved to the top of the mountains so that they would not be disturbed.
how about the toa being the ones with different elements and the island villagers being made up of three… four elements… if possible, (just that the unrest on the island have, as @Matanui606 suggested, caused some of the tribes to split into two new tribes. We could even have the G3 Rahkshi be the ones who have caused the tribes to split up and go against one another. You know, a “divide and counqer” tactic).
That does make sense, honestly I can say that there is a good difference between the two and I can say they could work seperately but I would also like to see more main elements into the spotlight.
I don’t have a problem with incorporating more elements, my issue is with tampering with the main six. Year one should be about them, after that you can use them to explore more of the world and meet Toa of other elements, but we should start with the Toa Mata, as we always have.
Also, just as a PDA, for some reason we have four other topics for what is essentially this same discussion. Here’s some links in case you didn’t know about them:
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I would like to point out that this was the original question, not a new one.
In addition, I am not saying that Iron is better because it is an actual element, rather it is not the ‘less obvious’ choice, and it has better definition.
Are we really doing the iron debate again?
There should just be the standard four: Fire, Earth, Air, Water…
Again? It was never resolved… And it’s not so much about Iron, but about how Nature is apparently a clearly defined and far greater choice as a replacement element.
No, it went on for three days and then was canceled due to no end being in sight.
Have you watched the new episode of the podcast? It may shed some light on the issue.
Literally all of the evidence says otherwise. The polls show a landslide victory for six elements, as well as the six most popular being the original six from G1. A more accurate statement would be:
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Indeed. I very much liked Var’s ideas for the element of Earth, and it actually helped influence my poll decisions. All in all I could picture Onua and the rest of the Toa controlling their elements in a way very similar to that of Benders from The Last Airbender.
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I like the idea of having four main elements that if practiced and experimented enough can branch out and turn into what G1 had as secondary elements (Avatar). Earth would expand to include Iron and Gravity, Fire would expand to include Lightning and Plasma, Air would expand to include Sonics, and Water would expand to include Ice. I think that Shadow and Light should be extra dormant powers that the main characters have and down the line they tap into these powers. I think the abilities should be split rather than having them all have Light as a dormant ability and Shadow is bad. Shadow should be explored as an element that can be used for good rather than just evil. If not all of the main characters have Light or Shadow then one has Light and one has Shadow while the remaining ones develop their abilities faster and branch out to their secondary/expanded abilities more quickly.
True, I have many times explained Bionicle to people as “Avatar with robots,” but I feel it’s important to remember that Bionicle is it’s own thing, and one of the things that makes it stand out from Avatar or Ninjago is that it has six elements instead of four.
That is definitely a minority opinion.
Once again, Bionicle is it’s own thing, unlike avatar, Bionicle kept it’s elements separate from each other, each given their own individual identity. Lumping them all together goes against Bionicle’s nature. There is such a thing as oversimplification.
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BIONICLE’s “nature” was kind of stupid. It separated stone from earth.
And there’s such a thing as overcomplication. Such as separating stone from earth.
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Per Var’s request: After listening to the recent podcast I realize that I prefer having four elements but I am not big on losing any of the main six characters. I am attached to the characters and if you changed the names and characters then I would not mind going to four. However, part of me would want you to somehow bring them in as legend, stories or somehow have original six mentioned.
When you think of nature, what do you picture? A forest? A field? Maybe a jungle? Plants and animals? Nature is effectively just a better name for jungle.
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in regard of the podcast’s talk about the element of stone, i was reminded of this scene when they mentiond Pohatu throwing a rock:
anyway, when i though about it more… there is notting that says that Kopaka and Pohatu HAVE to be with the main toa from the start. Basicly im saying that we could still have Kopaka and Pohatu in the story… but not as “real” toa, but instead as (and this is just my idea here) artificial toa created by the villains to combat the toa (which would explain why they could have powers that are not element related, like sonics or magnetism for example). Now before anyone here gets the idea that im saying that Kopaka and Pohatu should be changed to pure villains, im not, im just saying that they could be introduced as adversaries to the toa at first, and then later learn that they have been manipulated by the real villains and thus joins the toa, thus giving us once more six main toa characters.
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i like sand as an element more than earth or stone…
if you get plasma you get fire and lightening
water → ice
darkness creates shade or rather “shadow” creates shade
Edited for Double Post - Slime
The concept of Wu Xing (Five Elements) matured during the Han Dynasty, sometime between 200 - 100 BCE. The link goes back to it’s corresponding Wikipedia page, if you’re looking to do some extra reading. Oh, and on an unrelated note, these five are also what supposedly powers the Lions of Voltron (Green is Wood, Black is Metal, Yellow is Earth, and the others are self-explanatory).
Alternatively, depending on the culture, this list actually has quite a few differing variations. The Babylonian version, for example, leaves out Fire completely, and instead implements Sky (Atmosphere) and Wind as separate elements. India’s fifth has a habit of alternating between Aether, Space, and Void. Factor in Medieval Alchemy, and now you have to deal with both the basic four, plus Paracelsus’ additional Tria Prima; Sulphur, Mercury, and Salt.
For a more extensive comparison, the page on Classical Elements pretty much has you covered. Alternatively, you could also check out Classical Elements in Popular Culture for even more ideas on the subject, which also includes Bionicle. One variation I find particularly interesting is from the old Jackie Chan Adventures cartoon, which consists of the main four being supplemented by Sky, Moon (Gravity), Thunder (Lightning/Sonics), and Mountain (essentially Stone, but on a much larger scale).
@Payinku: Again, this entirely depends on what you consider to be a force of nature. Different parts of the world do have different beliefs, after all.
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