PREFACE: None of this is intended as hostility. I’m intrigued by this topic, and it has proven quite enjoyable to debate upon. I admit that my views are flawed by bias. I hope everybody else involved in this debate will admit similarly.
Please. If you’d like to call me out for something, do so by name. As far as I know, I am the only person who has stated such a thing to prove my point, and generalizing something that isn’t general only leads to confusion. As far as I can tell, I am the opposition of this, so please, do not bring anybody else into the line of fire.
I can’t explain from the ground up why G1 was “good” no more than I can explain why G2 was “bad.” These things exist entirely in theory, and are dictated solely by opinion. We saw this heavily on a certain topic regarding Solek.
BIONICLE Generation 1. I will not lie. I was not present for 01-06, although I’ve certainly done my fair share of investigation into what came before I got into the line. I don’t know the day one nostalgia others might.
However, it is true that 06-09 are my nostalgic years, if you will. As goes for all of us here, objectivity is impossible.
I’ll start by saying I don’t defend the sets. While they are my childhood, my years as a MOCist have raised my own personal standards beyond what LEGO is capable of mass-producing. Again, this is the fault of none other than myself, and I blame nobody for it. I do believe despite this, that the villain waves we got from G2 were atrociously subpar compared to the hero waves.
The thing I defend in G1, rather, is the story. Perhaps I am an “edgelord” as some may call me for the following statements, but I don’t like it when a story is sunshine and rainbows. Simple truth is, for a dramatic plot to make sense for me, people will get hurt. Not everybody makes it through the story.
That’s what drew me in to BIONICLE in the first place. I played along with 06, creating my own stories with the sets I had. I barely knew anything about the actual plot. Around 07, I started getting involved in the story. Read the comics, searched the Wikia, read whatever I could. Learned about the story up to that point.
And then, as many people know, in the last comic of 07, Matoro died.
I fully stand by my belief that if Matoro didn’t die in that section of the story, I wouldn’t be here today, because it made the difference between me losing interest in the story or continuing on the path I was on.
With that character’s death, suddenly things had consequences. No hero had plot armor anymore. I fully expected others to die, and although Matoro dying made little old 7-year-old Ek sad, it made me want more.
08 introduced the resurgence of Makuta, of course. In my opinion one of the best written villains for a kid’s storyline…well, ever. I at least can’t think of any competitors for that position. However, my views are very obviously biased, so take that with a grain of salt.
The rest of 08 was good as well. Although again, I don’t stand by the sets, I certainly think the story was enjoyable, and the whole thing really felt like it had meaning, directly following up Matoro’s death. The fight for the universe. The return of the characters I had never experienced firsthand.
09…I will not make the mistake of defending. It was where the series began to lose its touch, at least in my opinion (again, objectivity on this is essentially impossible). This is where I draw my line. The story lost its touch, the power it had been building up. If BIONICLE had concluded in 2008, it would have made sense.
From my most non-objective standpoint, however, is the soul that went into G1. It felt like an ever-growing universe that individuals - people - chose to dedicate their time and passion to. The entire story changed to me when I learned about Faber’s contribution to the Mata storyline. It felt purposeful.
This is all ridiculous given that the story is, plain and simple, just a story; that the toy line was, just that. A toy line. But this is the difference between G1/2 for me. This is what I feel is the point of the debate.
I realize from a debate perspective, the entire post I have spent the last thirty minutes or so typing out is very underwhelming. However, explaining why something is “good” implies that objectivity has become irrelevant. Good is in the eye of the beholder. I don’t like G2… An opinion. You may have liked it. Guess what? An opinion.
My personal opinion will remain unchanged on this. I still dislike G2. I still like G1. Perhaps my defense of my childhood nostalgia has been too strong, and I admit that flaw, but I also see others blindly defending G2, which feels like far shakier ground than I stand on. But, those people may be defending what is to them what G1 is to me. I am not here to judge.
This has been a very fascinating topic to explore. I thank you for continuing this debate, and await the response I have little doubt I will receive.
~Eko/rak
