LEGO's Hidden Gem: Monkie Kid 

The Monkie Kid line has such a good team behind it. Every set looks so polished and the colors are so pretty. Really doesn't get enough attention imo

Fun fact: "Shrimp soldiers, crab generals" is Chinese idiom (蝦兵蟹將 xiā bīng xiè jiàng), it's use to describe a badly trained, incompetent army or useless underlings. This idiom is used in Journey to the West, both literally and figuratively, to describe Dragon King of the East Sea's underwater army.

Seeing how Monkie Kid's staff uses the long lightsaber piece, it makes me wish that Lego used that piece more often, especially for Star Wars and Darth Maul.

I think we can all agree that these sets looks beautiful. It's a shame they're only in Lego stores and are quite expensive. I might actually pick one up some day

I have heard of monkie kid and have seen reviews and praises over this amazing theme. It looks like the perfect theme for just some pure enjoyment and quality builds. Also loved the fun atmosphere and music in the background

Honestly, if I wasn’t as broke as I am, I’d buy this entire wave on the spot. This theme looks absolutely gorgeous???!!

There is a very cool documentary vid by LEGO telling the story of how LMK theme came to be. I also very much recommend giving the show a chance. It's super well animated and has a very good script. You can start with "A hero is born". What also added to my overall enjoyment of this theme was digging a bit into Journey to the West itself with Overly Sarcastic Productions retelling of the story here on RU-vid. :)

Even what would be considered a basic vehicle in Ninjago is amped up and full of detail in Monkie Kid, love this theme

TOTALLY agree with you on this- the Monkie Kid line is one of LEGO’s most creative themes right now- probably one of their best since Monster Fighters. I collect the entire line.

I was 1st drawn to the Monkie Kid line because of Mei’s color scheme of white & translucent bright green but I was really impressed by the building techniques this theme had to offer. For example, I really enjoy all the satin pieces in the palace set like the new fern piece at 19:44 in satin pink. So, I now have all 4 of Mei’s vehicles & fully intend on getting her Dragon here this summer. I’ve also gotten some other sets from the theme like Monkie Kid’s Galactic Explorer because I’m a fan of space sets & the Flower Fruit Mountain which is an amazing environmental landscape set, even if you know nothing about the lore behind it. I picked these sets up each for $25 off retail because they are really expensive & I refused to pay full price for them. Monkie Kid really does well with all these massive over $100 sets though because the building techniques are really innovative & interesting & while they may be expensive, unlike some other themes they feel 100% worth the price.

i was looking at the nexo knights theme and i realised that it's probably underestimated or forgotten by many fans, myself included until recently, it had some great concepts and gimmicks and some dang awesome figs. could be worth a retrospective, even though it is newer than themes which usually get retrospectives

Can we just take a moment to admire how much can been done with the robot arms from Exo-Frorce like wow!

I've been a big fan of MK since year 2, and I've gone back and try to get every Demon bull set they've made! The demon bull's aesthetics is one of my favorite villain designs ever! The best way to describe it is industrial diesel-punk with a little bit of chima flair! I also loved year 2's spider villains (I'm a sucker for spiders). I'm glad that you've started to enjoy this underappreciated theme as well!

MK is a great theme, the big boat and city of lanterns are absolutely gorgeous sets with great internals. I love how compact but packed the theme is. Usually each building or boxy build has a ton going on inside it.

I think monkey kid is one of the best thems that Lego has made in the past 10 years, but I hate how hard it is to find. My local LEGO store totally stopped selling monkey kid, and it has become incredibly hard to find on official Lego sites. If it was sold at big box retailers I would buy most of the sets, however I can only find them second hand in my area 😢

I feel like LEGO Monkie Kid has the same quality as the LEGO Ninjago Movie sets had. LEGO poured their heart and soul into that wave even though the movie wasn’t an overwhelming succes, but they are still some of the best Ninjago sets of all time. I feel like their succes lies in the fact that they strive away from the formula they usually follow, such as the mechs and obnoxious vehicles. Also the source material for these is refreshing! Thank you for shining your bright light on this theme!!

Man this theme has strong Ninjago vibes, with all the animal-headed minifigures, brings me back.

Love the season 4 sets! I totally recommend the show that coincides with them, it's very different from a lot of the other Lego action theme TV shows :)

Monke kid is a very very cool serie, the color schemes and characters are quite fun and the TV cartoon is very decent in animation which is good.... I do hope it won't be a somewhat short serie like nexo knigths, ultra agents or dare I say Atlantis and miners

What I love most about your videos is the quality. Your lighting setup as well as how great your camera is, along with your very relaxing voice makes for a perfect review! Really love your videos! Keep it up!!

Thanks for reviewing this wave! I've been interested in getting an in-depth look at the theme, especially with all the fantastic colors and pieces! I may just got buy some sets now!

Modern sets in other themes have lost a certain amount of charm the 90's and 2000's sets had, but it's always incredible to see the designers really push for super unique techniques and styles, it's a different vibe than it used to be, but if this keeps up I'm sure it'll be just as good!

I was extremely surprised by your comment not building any mech since Exo-Force! Based on the wall behind you, I expected you to have a major collection of Ninjago mechs as those are, in my opinion, the best Lego mechs ever made. I also collected Exo-Force mechs when I was younger (mine's are also displayed in cube shelves so kindred spirits) and Ninjago mechs gave me a feeling I hadn't felt since Exo-Force ended 15 years ago. So if you do like mechs I strongly encourage you to get some of the titan ones currently being sold at Lego like Zane's Titan Mech, Jay's Titan Mech (this one looks like it could be piloted by Hikaru!), the Ultra Combo Mech, and Nya's Samurai X Mech. Seriously can't recommend them enough, you'll love the added bulk, full articulation, and increased stability! They are what Exo-Force would look like if it were made today!

VINDICATION!!!!!! i'm so glad you finally got a chance to check out MK! i really hope we can possibly see some revisits for previous waves because there is honestly SO much to talk about in regards to the sets! (as well as the show which you totally should watch ;o )

Monkie kid is such an unique series and i love it. Shame that the price to piece ratios aren't the best due to the extravaganza of detail. Fair trade? Yeah i think so!

Monkie Lid is what got me back into Lego after I “grew up” and went to college, grabbing the occasional Star Wars set. Idk if it’s because I love Journey to the West and Chinese stories so much, or just the uniqueness of the theme, maybe the fun building and the classic feeling transformations and vehicles, idk but I love it

Now I can only wait to see the Dreamzz reviews. What do you think about the revealed sets? They're all such a beautiful blast of colours and techniques too!

Oooh I’m so jealous you have the Underwater Palace early! (And I assume for free!) The Heavenly Realms, Flower Fruit Mountain, and that palace are all locations in the source material _Journey to the West_ and are kind of like dreams come true. I don’t like licensed stuff but if it must be done classic literature from around the world is the way to go for me. I’d love a 1001 Arabian Nights theme. 2:30 oh man Sandy has THE DRIP in that set.

I am so excited to see Monkie Kid on this channel! It's far and away my favorite theme, and while expensive, the sets have so much bang for you buck compared to any other theme, and truly stand out. Pleae do more!

I just like how the palace has a giant version of Palpatine’s lightsaber stuck in the ground

I’m so happy you said, “Yup that’s gone forever!” 😂😂

I VERY heavily recommend checking out the tie in show for Lego Monkie Kid. Dead serious, it's just FANTASTIC in every way possible.

I find it funny that the azure mech is turquoise, rather than dark azure. I find it even more funny that the turquoise is complemented with purple, which if you know the history behind why turquoise was discontinued, you’ll find it interesting.

Was waiting for someone to review at least one of these sets, and here's you with all 4!

100% agree on Monkie Kid being "excessive" in a good way. This january I wanted the Bionicle GWP and decided to give Monkey King Ultra Mech a try. MY GOD, it's almost baroque. Imho, most Monkie Kid sets are just great to play with while feeling premium products too. They're pricey but dang, it's woth the money.

Journey to the West was always my favorite story so when I heard that Lego started a Lego set off of the theme. I was a day one buyer. I was sad that it wasn’t really big here in the states but it’s really grown as an original set and Its making its way back into American Lego stores

I grew up reading the famous novel "Jurney to the West" and monkey king is known to every chinese household. I found these large "Monkie Kid" sets are very truthful to the story lines, and I bought them just for the nostalgia sentiment.

Very nice review, thank you! 😊 The Monkie Kid sets are very friendly priced in Europe. However, since they are only sold at Lego, never on sale! If you can get your hands on the City of Lanterns 80036, highly recommended! 😊

THANK you so much for including the AUD price because most good reviewers are from different countries and only include american, canadian or pounds

You mentioned that you'll be on the lookout for mechs at 16'10". I can strongly recommend both the of the Monkie Kid mechs that came out earlier this year, at either end of the price range. The $20 Combo Mech is a bit more expensive than the similarly-sized Marvel or Ninjago mechs, but uses much more versatile joint pieces than the new System/CCBS fixed angle limbs, while the $160 Ultra Mech is just that- ultra. It's got gold highlights, vinyl banners, multiple weapons, a detachable jet, and above all, bulk. As you said in the video, most of the once-exclusive figures in it have shown up in the summer wave, but they're still great to have. It's also a great build and, while it gives up some mobility that the smaller mechs have, it does stay remarkably stable.

I found these sets pretty interesting at launch as well, but I stayed away from them in the same way I avoided Chima back in the day. Looks like I was wrong! Might have to pick some up... great video!

The problem of Monkey Kid is that the sets are always expensive. There's rarely cheap sets and when there are, it's only a few options

Oh boy, forget watching this on my phone, I'm making lunch then putting this on the TV - sitting down to dedicate all my attention to a new Cheesey video - and one this long, too - on a sunny afternoon? Bliss!

Turtle Minister is a character from Journey to West, he was present when Monkey King took one of the palace’s column as a staff.

Ninjago (the TV show, not the sets) did something in a few seasons where they swapped over to this weird anime like animation, but just for little chunks of the episode, and I personally didn't love it. It felt un-lego like, but then you look at a show like Monkie Kid, and it's animation is spectacular, the story is always engaging, the stakes are genuinely there, the heroes don't always win, the world is massive and has so much lore it can go into. And then you look at the sets and your like, Jesus, that's beautiful. All the sets are freaking fantastic, and every year they release I look at them throughout the year, and like you said, you love them and then forget about them, I never end up buying them, and I wish I did. I think one thing that contributes to that is the lack of them being in Canadian stores, but everytime I see them online I'm like, I should buy them. I love there large sets, always fantastic, and there small sets too. The vehicles are always great, which is something you can't say about Ninjago, even though they share similar designs in terms of where there set. But overall, Monkie Kid the show has been fantastic, and the sets represent the show beautifully. It's really too bad not alot of people have seen the show, or even seen the sets. If it was more openly advertised and showed off in more English countries I reckon it would attract a lot of viewers. In short, I adore Monkie Kid, maybe even over Ninjago, a show I've been watching for years. Monkie Kid's sets are fantastic, and yet I never seem to end up buying them, partly because of the money factor, gotta prioritize the sets I really want, over the ones I have not collected anything from.

My Monkie Kid dream has always been to have the Gold Demon and Silver Demon hairpieces. They're retired and appear on Bricklink very rarely and at a hefty price but oh, they're so good for making fantasy figbarfs. Mei's dragon is freaking gorgeous, as well. And she's affordable in the UK! Amazingly!

17:45 not so shrimple now

Thanks again.... now I need another theme on my shopping lists.. sigh , your costing me a fortune... lol great video

IMO, Lego monkie Kid is actually better than Ninjago in some ways. From how detailed the sets are to how it's near pinnacle of 2D animation for shows, this series won me over the moment I discovered it. I've dedicated a lot of time to this franchise because you can just see and feel the pure passion behind each scene you're given. Hopefully, Lego will continue this series and one day move the sets back to the US because if they did, it would become a major rise in stocks and more fans for Lego Monkie Kid.

I love seeing the different well thought out adaptations of characters and settings from journey to the west, the cultural inspiration is clear (sort of like a modern Lego orient expedition in a way?)

I’ve always really enjoyed the “off the wall” style of Monkey Kid sets. They always look a blast. Never have enjoyed their traditionally higher prices though. Makes it hard to justify buying sometimes. Great video and thanks for sharing these sets!

I love your vids, you should do a review of all the sets from the botanical collection line.

Dude, have you tried chang’e moon cakes factory ? It’s got a mech rabbit, piloted by rabbits, a moon cake factory (duh) putting mooncakes into boxes that go into a carrot rocket, and a flying platform for chang’e to stream the process ! It’s so creative !

Sad to see that LEGO Star Wars doesn’t get the same great treatment as these other themes.😐 For example, the monkey king has SUCH GOOD and crisp side leg printing. While some clone troopers from Star Wars, (which normally would have a waste cape, but now it’s printed) don’t get the waste cape printing continued on the side of the legs and it just looks ugly. But that’s just an example. We can ramble a lot more about quality and care differences between the themes.🙄 It’s just sad. You’d think they’d do “Only the best is good enough” for all of their product lines.☹️

Welp, now that the display is switching from minecraft to Monkey Kid, I propose the Flower Fruit Mountain biome lol

I doubt the Azur Lion is supposed to be a mech. The absence of mechanical details (mainly in the torso cockpit) shows that it might more likely be a powered up version of the character or even a gigantic creature in the flesh.

I have wanted to get into monkie kid for a long time and I loved the show, but all the sets are SO expensive. I’m pretty sure a majority of them are over or around $100 dollars and on top of them just not being in stores in the us it makes it really hard to get into. The sets are all amazing though and definitely look worth the price, I just wish there were some slightly cheaper ones as well.

I am so excited for the new wave. I had to scale back on what I can collect, but I am pleased to say I have been fortunate enough to be able to collect the theme in it’s entirety (sans polybags). This is going to be one that we will look back on fondly I think once it’s discontinued.

I really enjoy the colors and minifigures of this line, as well as the animation style in the show. But somehow, despite this being my friends number 1 theme, i’ve never really been interested. This videos been getting me quite interested into the theme though, maybe i’ll give it a chance. As always, astounded by the quality of your videos!

5:48 Idea - all studs to be shot need to be UV Active. Holy smokes.... Look at that palace. Wow. Thank you for opening my eyes to Monkey Kid. Or maybe it should be, dang you. You now added to my addiction. LOL

I can see why it hasn't been put out into normal stores, as it is too close to the Ninjago theme. Shame we get 2 similar themes, but no castle or pirate theme.😢

I love this theme so much! The sets are really good, and the show is good as well, I just wish it was easier to come by in the U.S.

I have two main problems with the theme: 1: They are ridiculously overpriced, that coupled with them being LEGO store eksklusive means they don't go on sale. So it is hard to justify them over other LEGO sets. 2. The shoe isn't available for me to watch, so I have no idea what's going on.

I have never picked up any Monkie Kid sets, but I do know a lot about these huge mechs! I love the giant Ninjago mechs they have been putting out lately! Some of the best would probably be Lloyd’s Titan Mech and Zane’s Titan Mech. I would highly recommend checking them out! Also the original one of this size for mechs is I believe Kai’s Fire Mech for the Ninjago Movie! That one is epic also!

I’m happy you got on the monkie kid train I can’t wait for more😊😊😊

i didnt watch this video for 2 weeks because i had no interest in the theme.. but when i did decide to watch it, i really agree with the title. Yet another amazing video!

Monkie Kid wouldn't be so much of a hidden gem if they actually marketed it in the West. I understand that the base story of Journey to the West is not familiar in the Americas and Europe, but LEGO has barely made the show available, behind on episode releases on streaming services, and pulled the sets from shelves last year when they were limited to LEGO Brand Retail stores already. Do they want this theme to thrive or not? I took great joy seeing the sets on shelves and I was willing to accept that they wouldn't make it widely to Target or Walmart and other retail chains. But I'm less motivated to buy them from the LEGO shop website when A) I don't have updated episodes of the show to provide context, and B) can't see how they operate from a few images on a product page. I didn't expect the Flower Fruit Mountain to be so big until I purchased and built it, and even less idea that it would be cumbersome to keep sections together. I do enjoy some sets and characters, not to mention the plethora of LEGO easter eggs adorning the modular city sets like City of Lanterns and Megapolis City. But how come I can't see them in person on display? Sadly I know the reason why, they don't WANT to push Monkie Kid here as hard as other lines and licenses especially, but it makes a vicious cycle: devalue a product, nobody buys it because they're unaware of it, product gets sidelined further back, even less people have access to buy them. It's a shame they would greenlight this theme which has strong potential but only favor the East in celebrating it in the market. I'm not upset that I see more Lunar New Year sets in the West than Monkie Kid, that's a global experience for heritages from China and surrounding regions who traveled outward. Unfortunately, I have better chances picking up Monkie Kid on the aftermarket than directly from LEGO itself at this point, which won't help the theme grow or show there is still an interest in North America. If not for self-sabotage, Monkie Kid would be a more celebrated LEGO IP right now among the ranks of Ninjago or Dreamzz.

The colors is just 👌 PERFECT. definitely impressive

all the monkie kid mechs are top tier, i would def look into the bone demon and the newer of the two monkey king mech's

The blade on the dragons tail is sick, cheesey do you think you'll review the summer minecraft wave early too?

I love Monkie Kid and what it’s based on, so these sets are just for me. I wonder if they’ll do more series of it, as at the end they zoom in on a mysterious scroll

I have a collection of every lego zeppelin/airship and... I'll have to buy a new one... Yay!

looks absolutely amazing, kids set and theme but looks pretty premium to me. and amazingly it sticks surprisingly close to the actual JTTW and MK lore (still a loose adaptation, but the similarities are a nice surprise)

LEGO Monkie Kid sets SLAP!!

At some point I would like to see them do a Romance of the 3 Kingdoms set. That would be a Minifigure heaven. I can see them even turning into a new boardgame franchise.

If you want to see some well built mechs, check out Zane's titan mech from ninjago legacy and Jay's titan mech from ninjago core. Both are really big, yet have knees. and zane's mech was ridiculously well priced when it was for sale

“Yep that’s lost forever 😀”

I honestly love the monkey kid sets, so much detail.

I just want a chima reboot with this level of detail

I only have one monkie kid set, however i really love it, the show, and definitely plan to get more. Monkie kid is one of the absolute best themes, and its a real shame its not more readily available in stores outside of china

As somebody who doesn't have any Monkie Kid sets, yet... I really want to get some now😆

Cool stuff. Are you gonna review any of the new Dreamzzz line sets? There are some very interesting new parts in those sets

Flower fruit mountain is an absolute master piece for me

Oh my gosh, Mei's Powerup Dragon is THE BEST dragon set I've ever seen!

I've never cared for a single Monkie kid set but the dragon will be my first set. Though I wish the wings were bigger

I love the references they made to the monkey king/journey to the west

The only thing I could see myself buying here is the the mighty azure lion, I’m more of a displaying/collecting type of guy but wow these sets from this theme are great!

Very important note, the azure lion is the very first time we have gotten the long hilt piece used on monkey kings staff in pearl gold. Very very very big deal imo. Hopefully it will be on pick a brick in the coming months or included in other sets.

I've loved Monkie Kid since the start, although they're costly and harder to find deals (in the U.S. at least). Between these and DreamZzz, I'm excited for the summer.

Boi, you missing out so much!! you better look at 80045 Monkey King Ultra Mech. Imagine from Exo Force being an anime inspired LEGO theme, and now Monkie Kid, which is not so different in terms of anime inspired theme, is actually transferred Gundam like Mech into a LEGO build! you definitely must build that one!! i bought mine just recently, and it sure quite an experience for me as a fellow Exo Force fans.

Finally some more love for mk the sets and show are awsome so i hope the sets get more main stream

That airship remind me old lego adventures expedition airship set from 1999

i love all the colors monkey kid like i dont think even ninjago had that much gold

these sets are so good!!!!

It’s a great review!

Fun fact, the Demon Bull King isn't a mech it's a whole character. He's very mechanical in the first place but he's very much just a dude.

the blue rock was used in chima probably the newest one made other than starwars cybercrystals

I love how they made it base off a Chinese Legacy or story

Moneky kid even made it';s way into Lego Racers 3 I mean 2K drive with the shop and garage characters!

My favorite range of LEGO.