In terms of Mata Nui's lacking in detail, size, and complex weaponry, I think it fits the story well. The Mask of Life becomes extremely weakened following its ejection from the great spirit robot, so the mask could only work with what it had to generate a body that would allow survival. I do wish they had included his Scarabax sword in the set, though.
I never understood the complaints about Mata Nui's color scheme. He's not supposed to be gold, if anything, sand brown might have fit better. His body is literally made from sand, brought to life by the Mask of Life. That's why he's representing the element of Stone.
Gelu may be simplistic in build, but he is by far one of the most elegant looking Bionicle sets. The mix of dark blue with the transparent pieces is chef's kiss.
One thing I like about Ackar's colors is they look kinda faded or sun bleached next to the more high-contrast fire tribe members, which fits since he's one of the more aged characters.... which doesn't make much sense when MOST of the 2009 cast is 100,000 years old, effectively being immortal. Stronius is noteworthy because most Skrall are just named "Skrall" until they earn themselves a name. So Stronius is an elite. One crack with that club would likely kill almost any Glatorian. Also, I think the Skrall figure was soon retconned to be a representation of Branaar, another noteworthy Skrall, so... we don't really know what an AVERAGE Skrall looks like. Funnily enough, Mata Nui gave Ackar and Kiina powers, making them honorary Toa, along with... Gresh, who isn't in this wave, but he gave Gresh AIR powers despite him being a plant guy. "It's because I'm GREEN, isn't it??" In time, I believe he also gave Tarix, Vastus and Gelu powers since they're all good guys. They basically add up to a whole new Toa Team, while Skrall, Vorox (and Stronius, oddly enough) were marketed as army builders. There are some things I appreciate about this wave- Their synergy, the return of more 2001-03 colors, how the characters compliment each other, even Mata Nui (lego once again avoiding a brownish character aside). But, their body types are less diverse (aside from Kiina), even things like the feet are more homogenized, just a lot more Inika-isms than the first wave. It's the shoulder armor doing most of the work to differentiate them. Still, they'll make a Bara Magna shelf feel even more populated, expand each tribe greatly (Vorox aside) and they're great for the last wave of PROPER canister Bionicle sets. Better than the actual last wave.
I loved Kiina's unique design among these sets. Her unique torso and color made her stand out from the others. Gelu was one of my favorites as a kid because I thought his helmet was awesome lol
Yellow was always a better colour than brown for toy play sets, I’m glad they introduced it in later years. Think a yellow Lightning element would have fit better than Stone/Sand (especially alongside Earth/Rock). In earlier years: - Pohatu, with mask of speed, as a yellow Toa of Lightning would have fit well. I’d put Vo-Koro in the stormy mountains near Ko-Koro. Have the desert be the surface of Onu-Koro, which is why they live underground. - Vo-Metru can be the power grid for Metru Nui. - Avak’s levels being urban in Bionicle Heroes fits really well if he’s a lightning pirate instead of a stone one - Lightning underwater in Mahri Nui? Interesting combo - Lightning powers work really well for air combat in Karda Nui - Desert storms on Bara Magna
Huh, i consider Kiina the most distinct here, with a unique torso build, the very scarce and we should've gotten more of shoulder and leg pieces, the bold choice of a vahki limb for torso armour, incredibly long headpiece and shoulderpads, striking light blue, a big double-ended trident... actually, on that light blue, i think she rocks the whole back to basics elemental scheme the best of them all, and her shape and silhouette cut a really...grungly figure. She captures something no other water bionicle has and that's that she's got a real murloc energy and form, obviously taking, as they did from fisherman and spear fishing, with all that bounciness and agility, really suiting the inika feet which are kinda froggish. Can see her moving in really weird bouncy but fluid ways to attack, grappling, playing lots of tricks and traps. Probably my favourite small blue bionicle, in looking deep at her, and only second best blue overall to Brutaka. Really feel on my murloc, grung, fishman vibes these days, and really striking and cool while also very on the ball of the 8-11 years old vision of cool, that sort of kidz next door, teenage mutant ninja turtles, horrible science, fake insects to gross out your sister flavour of wacky cool.
A little fact about all those: Elite Skrall: he has a name, and the weapons are what he picked to use. Akar: He thought of retirement until Mata Nui got him inspired. Vetus: He long ago helped cause a Avalanche during the Core War (the war that started all of this), which cause a innocent village to get wiped out. He was horrified by all death of those innocents. So he decided to learn some ancient mediation skills from ancient Agori. Long story short: He basically was a warrior who learned some Air Nomad things. Kiina: She really wanted to get off Bera Magna (Which is like one of the worst deserts you can be stuck in.) But she does protect her village. Gule: Trained by a Legendary Gladiator, he thought (especially after the Skrall did that massive attack), to just be protection for hire. He got attacked one time by a dozen Skrall (who keep in mind, one can beat a champion fighter), and he thought he was going to die. Then a bright light shines. The Skrall where distracted long enough for Gule to escape with is life. (Bonus fact: he is friends with someone who is 293,000 years old.) Mata Nui: Needs no Introduction. Unless you need it.
@@lemonghost9758 yep. It is one of the few times romance was a thing. Of course, Mata Nui wasn't built for love. Making one side. But a nice quote she said: "he said he bring me to a new world, instead he brought the new world to me." (More or less.)
I’m not ready for the crushing feeling knowing Bionicle is over for a second time. Honestly it’s the only reason I have stagnated at the lore up to the Mahri sets
Stronius' mace looks awesome as hell, I feel like it's hard to make a weapon come across as if it could actually crush something, in a lego set. That thing looks lethal
One nice part of Mata Nui’s coloring is it mixes well with the Ignika color set from the Phantoka year, but otherwise yeah, woulda loved for him to have come in actual gold. I remember Ackar was the only other member I got from this line cause I wanted their sick foot guard armor lol
I wish they didn't wait like 6 years to use vibrant colors again! Also I agree with the fact yellow mata nui is kinda disappointing. Maybe they could have released it as like a 7th toa in full gold? But lego makes such sets to be rarer so maybe it would be a trade of.
Shame knowing these would be the last proper wave of 6 canister sets we'd get (Closest thing after being the Stars), but I definitely enjoyed these, maybe not as much as the glatorians. Still, loved how unique each of these were. Getting a Mata Nui canister set was also a highlight for me a few years back, despite not being gold.
As BIONICLE's last true canister wave, the Glatorian Legends do a really good job at following up the reintroduction of elemental representation in various ways. However, I feel there's quiet a bit lacking here for half the models. With the inclusion of Mata Nui, the color scheme for brown sets continues to deviate from otherwise a return to form with Vorox from last wave, but Mata Nui overall is an interesting addition. Ackar and Gelu's reusage of preexisting pieces to make up a majority of their elemental aesthetic is a bit disappointing, apart from their weapons which came out looking fantastic. Kiina and Stronius are the standouts for me this wave, having bold design choices to make their silhouettes pop amongst the others. Vastus falls a bit short for me for having awkward building techniques, but he's a decent jungle tribe figure if you can look past it. Overall, I'm pleased with this canister wave, I would've like at least one or two more standout figures, unlike the previous wave where almost every character had a unique silhouette and could standout against one another.
I was really sad to find out that this was the second to last six set for bionicle that and the fact that the 2015-2016 line was a flop makes me not only hope that the rumours for another bionicle reboot coming in 2025 is more than just a rumour but also that it doesn’t end up a flop like the first reboot attempt.
They may not be as unique, but Mata Nui goes so hard. His design was always so good, especially as a kid watching the movie. OH MAN the memories, him being gold would've been nice, also Toa Mata Nui should've been a better build and he should've been in the movie. A lot of lost potential here but as we know this was the end, they were kind of cutting it very close. At least we got the cool ass shield weilding Mata Nui and i'm all for it
Something I really like and is unique to the Glatorian lines is how out of the main sets the number of good guys outwieght the bad instead of a close to even split. Malum, Skrall Strakk, and Stronium were the only real bad guys. The Vorox are neutral and don't really choose to fight for the "bad guys" So that make it 4 bad, 1 neutral and 7 hero's! If you include the agori that divide widens even more to 5/2/11
Kiina design may not be as good as the other ones but I love her personality in the movie she’s on of my favorite characters ; also Mata Nui was so hype for me he looked so cool but imagining what if his yellow pieces where more golden it would of been legendary.
as bionicle fan from beginning to end, the Glatorian (both the regular glatorian and legends) were honestly some of my favorite smaller sets. they took the inika build and actually managed to make a lot of them pretty unique. yeah they're still very uniform, but significantly less uniform than the couple years before them.
I’ve had Gelu and Stronius incomplete for the longest time and I finally got all the necessary parts to complete them. I couldn’t be happier with the two
I'm not sure about the truth in the rumor, but I think I've read that the Thornaxx balls were designed this way (rubber spikes) so they wouldn't lose that easily - they can't roll away unlike the regular Zamor spheres.
This was the first "proper" group of sets I got, shame it had to be the last one. My current character I made still retains the Ackar mask and overall shape from all those years ago though, so they definitely stuck with me.
I was born the year Bionicle began, so the only Bionicle set I got was Mata Nui, which I failed to build. Now I'm older and may start collecting, so Mata Nui would be a great place to start along with Tahu, I think.
I had all of these excpt for Gelu (8988) somehow. Partly because he wasn't in the film. Kiina (8987) and Mata Nui (8989) were the first ones I would obtain during my 12th birthday that year, and Kiina is the only one of the Glatorian Legends to not use the "Inika build" design in her structure. While she has the fewest pieces out of them, every piece on her in medium blue is exclusive, including the Vahki leg on her chest. She is also the fourth and final set to have the Rahkshi legs in Metru blue (earth blue), and including her, I had every set with that part in said color. Some of the Keet-orange (flame yellow) parts on Mata Nui are exclusive, and he is the last set to have the Toa Metru pelvis in that color, and also is the last to have the Toa Metru legs in black. Stronius, Ackar and Vastus I would obtain as Christmas gifts at the end of that year, and Stronius (8984) was the last set to have the Metru pelvis, Vahki legs and rounded Inika feet in black. He is also the first set to have the Glatorian hands in Metru red, and to have the flail parts in black on his knee armor. On Ackar (8985), the Inika torso, Inika legs and the Vahki legs are exclusive to him in Mata red, and the rounded Inika feet and Inika knee armor in orange are also exclusive. He is also the last set to have the Metru pelvis in Mata red and the pointed Inika chest armor in orange. Vastus (8986) is the only set to have rounded Inika feet in solid Metru green, and the last to have the Inika knee armor in that color. As I didn't have Matau's Hordika form (8940), Vastus was my first and only time getting the Hordika legs in Metru green as well. Each of these five have a double socket joint with a different design, that is exclusive. Though I didn't have him, Gelu (8988) is the only set to have the pointed Inika chest armor in white, and all of the other white parts make their last appearance with him, as does the Metru pelvis, Inika torso and the redesigned socket joints in Metru blue. The Vahki leg in that color would make one last appearance in a Brickmaster-exclusive model...
If they are broken and and you want a table small piece I would recommend you use nail polish to match up each plastic color with the same colors with the nail polish colors as well as modge podge and gloss it.
The thing I like more about the glatorian legends is that they feel more consistent as a set in terms of design style and size as opposed to the glatorians.
mata nui was the last bionicle I got when i was 15, before that i pretty much got my parents to buy me every bionicle if i had good grades since i was like 4. One Day i gave all my toys to a family in need to prove to my parents i was being mature. it was a good thing to do but i still feel a tinge of regret now that im an adult, i would love to have bionicles again
Not sure why Kiina is boring, she literally brings a brand-new custom torso build to the table, which is pretty big and stands out in a year that, as a whole, leaned heavily on the Inika torso. As far as the wave goes, I find a lot of them to have gangly limbs, which is distracting, and a lack of personality present. I think that's the story speaking, because I don't recall that many Glatorian getting a focus. But I think Gelu, Akar, and Vastus lack a memorable punch to their appearance. The previous Glatorian had a load of brutes and thugs, and they really did look the part, they had that kind of punch that incidentally helped Gresh and Tarix stand out. Strakk is hunched and near-Piraka-like, Vorox is a scavenging beast, Malum is stocky and taloned, and Skrall is bladed up and built strange. Gresh may be pure Inika through and through, but he stands out in that crowd because he's a familiar hero-alike, and Tarix stands out because of the gold armor. Compare that to these Legend guys. Stronius is stocky, brutish and simple, and stands out the most, arguably. Ackar, despite his massive fire sword, is an Inika hero-build with a few new details and no real discernible face (his helmet doesn't have a face part and is actually a recolor from Berix). Vastus stands out because of his scythe weapon, the only two-handed weapon used in the canisters, plus his vine-like armor is unique. Kiina has a dedicated torso build, all unique, and sweeping manta ray-like armor details that grab attention. Gelu is just an Inika build with a weapon that reminds me of the Hordika weapons and the snowflake parts from Metus, plus again a lack of a unique face area. Mata Nui I feel comes out pretty good, but that might be nostalgia talking. He's got a very similar build, but it is slightly different from how the regular Inika build comes together - a different torso piece, a hip piece, flared armed, the icnoic and very recognizable head. Plus, the shield part he has, (his weapons, his shoulder bits, is near-identical to the outer claw parts of Bionicle's Unity-Duty-Destiny symbol. It's a great callback, and given that Glatorian feels very disjointed from the rest of the series, Mata Nui is very needed to connect this particular year to the rest of the story. But, save for Stronius, the Legends have very similar builds that the regular Glatorians just don't have. I can understand it from a certain viewpoint - these are mostly good guys, they fight against wild Vorox, cruel Malum, cheating Strakk, and the conniving Skrall. But you compare that to the Phantoka, Mistika, Toa Mahri and Barraki, and you really wonder where all the different builds and looks had gone. It's like the regular Glatorian just ate up the remaining ideas and nothing was left, the well was dry. ...man i like listening to myself talk.
We're getting close to the end! I know you can fill out a lot more for Gen 1, still lots of sets to cover. But I wonder if Gen 2 is coming? I'd love a look at them!
Overall a bit disappointing but i have to be honest, Kiina is an absolute standout for me. the custom torso build and the fish-like pieces make her look super interesting and different. And Gelu is pretty cool too. might be biased though because it was the only of the Legends i had as a kid. twice. while not having any of the others. i dont even remember how that happened 😂
I love the Glatorian Legends but I felt there should've been more unique body designs like we got with Skrall and Strakk. Mata Nui has the biggest gripes for me, LEGO could've made an interesting weapon like his titan set incorporate the Thornax Launcher, and MAKE HIM GOLD!!! But, I love how the each set represent their elements more, Gelu being my overall favourite
I'm literally watching the whole Bionicle series from start to finish, top quality content mate cant lie keep it up ... on a side note i don't see any Short form content on your channel I think you should 100% try RU-vid Shorts reckon it would help bring a lot more eyes on your channel/content and obviously Bionicle, you could literally just cut up all the content you've already done and come up with some sets or separate Bionicles Type format etc that would work perfectly im sure you could come up with something really good anyway yeah just thought i say that peace man.
Shorts is something I've always been tempted to try out, but I'm very much someone who wants to really do something well and won't publish shorts until I feel like I have a good format for them. A shorts series of the reviews would be a nice lookback at the end!
@@AllOutBrick ah good i'm glad your thinking about doing them yeah i completely understand and yeah there you go your already thinking on the wave once you get your formula together i really see a space for your content there.
When I was young, I had the opportunity to either get glatorian legend mata nui, or the axalara t9. I was as so into the story I thought it would be cooler to have the gross keet orange mata nui
Bad guy sets really broke up the monotony of Inika builds in Mahri and Phantoka lines. With this line, it really feels like Bionicle is on its last legs. All basically Inika builds.
Makes me wonder if should I go straight to new condition (due to possible broken pieces) or just keep looking for a good used condition. Also, are you planning to make a big summary at the end of the series and compare scores from each year?
It's something to consider, but again don't stretch your budget if it's not in the cards. You can always replace the broken pieces through bricklink. That being said there is something just magical about opening the sets brand new. As for the end of the series, yes there will be some overall follow up's and summaries, just not set in stone how I'm going to do it yet
I used to have all of these sets. However, It felt like the bionicles end was near when they have started becoming less creative. I would say this serie was my least favourite of all time
I really like your videos, but bro, for the love of Matanui, improve the poses of the figures, you always expose them with mediocre poses that do not do them justice.
