Macku and Hahli: Who is the Main Ga-Matoran? | BIONICLE Deep Dive
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- Опубликовано: 19 май 2022
- Hello Gathered Friends! In this video we're taking a look at character roles in Bionicle and how Macku started off in the role of main Ga-Matoran character, but was then slowly eclipsed in prominence by Hahli. And in particular we will look at how Bionicle's unique visual storytelling foreshadowed this from the start!
BIONICLE is owned by the Lego Group
All footage and images sourced from BioMediaProject.com
I think one reason why they gave Macku the McDonalds treatment(or rather, why she doesn't wear a mask matching with Gali's) is because they either didn't want to or couldn't include a transparent mask piece in the happy meals
Huh, that's interesting I hadn't thought of that. That'd be pretty funny if they created and subverted this dynamic just because McDonald's didn't wanna carry a certain mask, always find it cool when storytellers roll with corporate decisions in creative ways, Bionicle is FULL of that, just take Naming Day.
One question I have is what material difference would a transparent mask have that McDonald's wouldn't want to use them? I mean I don't think they're any more fragile or anything
@@heroranuva8295 i dont exactly have a reason to think thats the case but to me it just seems to make sense
Possibly it might have been that transparent parts are ever so slightly different in cost than opaque parts and they didn’t want one of the toys to be worth a different amount of money from the rest
@@origulator I could see that yea
That makes sense since Macku's kanoka disk has a picture of a kaukau instead of her mask, unlike the other Mctorans.
If you look at the McToran, they all have three colors: their head, which is dark grey, their arms and torso, which are the same color, and their mask and feet, which are also the same color. This is most likely to save money. Jala has yellow feet and a yellow mask, Kongu has teal feet and a teal mask, and so on. So, most likely, in the case of Maku, they had the choice of either giving her a transparent Kaukau and transparent feet, or giving her a solid-colored mask that wasn't a Kaukau and solid-colored feet.
Poor Kotu just got lost among all this. She was one of the few named 2001 Matoran and even had a CGI render despite not having a set, which I think shows the creators wanted her to be more prominent. But in MNOG, she isn't strongly established like the other "secondary" Matoran from the rest of the villages. Kotu's first actual role is in the Bohrok animations where she wants to speak up but Nokama shuts her up, then Hahli takes over her role as a kolhii player in MNOG II, after which Kotu gets forgotten. So Hahli not only pushed Macku aside, but Kotu as well. She never became as important or beloved as the other MNOG villagers.
I know the similarity is only coincidental, but I like to think the bored looking Ga-Matoran in the crowd at 0:20 is Kotu. Has the same mask and doesn't show a lot of enthusiasm for the game cause she was supposed to be playing.
Yeah, poor Kotu. What little content from her made her out to be a potentially lovable character, her Bio on the website said she was a prankster which would've been fun to see more of. And lol, I didn't notice the unenthusiastic Ga-Matoran in the crowd, that'd be an insane Easter egg if true!
poor kotu! 😢
There's also a really sad looking Po-Matoran with a Huna in the stands right after Hewkii scores his goal against Macku (Hope she wasn't too mad at him for that lol), I'd really like to know his backstory. 😅
@@Korohpu he was rooting for Macku because she also wears a Huna
Aint you the guy who makes those Godzilla animations
Here's my take on it; The McToran sets all featured villagers that featured the Toa's respective masks...However...their color schemes were actually different enough from the toa to distinguish that these were _not_ the same masks as the toa. Meaning that you couldn't just slap these masks onto a Toa MOC and call it a day; you had to _collect_ the Toa and get the official masks.
This worked out - Jala was Yellow and Red to contrast with Tahu's Red and Orange; Kongu Teal and Lime Green, Onepu purple and Black, etc, etc...
But with the Ga-Matoran character, the color scheme wouldn't fit this model, because it wouldn't look right if their main color wasn't the dominant blue. Now if you gave the Ga-McToran character a Kau-Kau, you would have to use the same Transparent Blue color that they use for Gali - meaning that you'd potentially have a short-cut to getting Gali's mask without having to get Gali herself...
I feel like that's why they went with Maku instead of Hali and kept Hali waiting in the wings. Think of it; they didn't release Hali as a figure set until after the Nuva Transformation, when Gali had moved on from the Transparent Kau-Kau mask. By then, they were okay with you getting it elsewhere.
Huh, yeah I guess that makes sense, they might not’ve been able to make a different enough Kaukau. Though, Gali had plenty of unique blue colored pieces at the time besides her mask, though I guess the mask was the most unique. And you do have a good point about the timing, Hahli wasn’t even introduced until right before the Nuva transformation. That’s really interesting. And if true, again, really creative how they took that marketing decision and managed to make a character arc out of it
Maybe this is where the light blue kaukau misprint came from, wanted to use it for hahli mctoran character but decided other routes instead
Remember that they produced and sold Kaukaus of all of the Toa's colors with the Kanohi Packs. Don't know if the original color ones were included in those though.
@@Korohpu yes but the Kanohi Pack bags were random. Odds were that you wouldn't get the specific mask you were looking for.
if Hali had been released, you had a surefire way to get the blue transparent Kau-Kau.
@@jordanskidmore5284 Light blue was more than likely the early color for Kopaka's kaukau, with the yellow misprint being Pohatu's. In early promotional showcases, those two colors were shown in place of the colorless and orange kaukaus which saw retail release.
It feels like something similar also happened to Onepu, who started off in 2001 as this prime right-hand man to Turaga Onewa and continued to have some relevancy in both 2002 and the MNOG II, only for the focus to gradually shift towards Nuparu after his debut in 2002 with the Boxor.
Yeah it is pretty similar! I go over that a little bit in my video on whether the Turaga knew who would become Toa, but the jist of it is that Greg Farshtey actually pushed for Nuparu to be the Toa of Earth over Onepu because he thought Nuparu would be the more interesting character. Because while up till he becomes a Toa, Nuparu does grow in prominence, but he doesn’t seem to completely eclipse Onepu in the way Hahli did Macku. Onepu was still head of the Onu-Koro’s Kohlii team for example, which Nuparu was never on
@@heroranuva8295 Greg was right. Nuparu, being an inventor, means he brings a whole new dynamic to the 2006-2007 storyline and helps make him stand out as a Toa. If Onepu were to become a Toa, he wouldn't stand out as much and would probably be no different than Kongu and Hewkii who were mainly there to fill out the roster as the wise-cracking action man
What makes things even more confusing, is that I read somewhere, that Kotu was originally supposed to be what Hahli became, and that's why he had the most screen time amongst Ga-Matoran aside from Maku, for example that Tarakava that Gali beat, and then we saw resting and healing was Kotu's pet.
I think that in mnog2, the way that Kotu was expected to be with Maku, but instead Hahli is chosen, is almost like a fun reference to that.
Also what's interesting is that I always thought that Hahli Inika's mask looks more similar to Macku's, than Hahli's.Or I guess it kinda resembles the movie version of Hahli's mask.And her Mahri mask resembles Hahli's mask more.
Huh, yeah that is pretty interesting
Macku and hahli are besties
Really fun video! I always wondered why Macku was chosen to be the Mctoran rather than Hahli, and while we may never know for sure why, this was a great analysis on both characters
Thank you!
The apparently intended visual storytelling setting up Hahli for her big role in the Bohrok Animations was really interesting to me! :o
I never noticed that back in the day when I first watched them as a dumb 7-year old lol.
Yeah! Its so interesting how Bionicle basically made up its own tropes and then subverted them. I didn't notice it as much as a kid either, but I definitely remember zooming in on Hahli as special since she had Gali's mask. Plus I loved playing MNOG II, shame it was so glitchy though
So to put it simply, Macku walked so that Hahli can run....
Yeah, I guess you could say that. And it’s interesting how the character tropes specific to Bionicle seemed to pave the way for that
Hahli wasn’t the main Ga-Matoran because she slept in and missed the deadline to apply
LMAO! She is a heavy sleeper. In MNOG II she didn't notice when a storm blew a shell straight through her roof!
I think the Jaller-Hahli ship moment at the end of the Bohrok animations is what's really responsible for Hahli suddenly getting a bigger role. Undoubtedly the plans for Mask of Light were starting to get underway, and regardless of the now-infamous "romance is non-canon" policy internally I have no doubts that there was pressure from executives at both companies to give one of the protagonists a love interest -- specifically Jaller, since Takua had other things he needed to do with his screen time. Macku doesn't work for this, however, since her ship with Hewkii is one of the defining characteristics of both characters, so they needed a new prominent Ga-Matoran... enter Hahli. I think the animation where she gives Jaller the flower definitively marks the point where the team knew she was going to be in her role in MoL, and her placement as protagonist of MNOG2 afterwards was specifically designed to get audiences invested in her in preparation for MoL in a deliberate attempt to parallel how the original created such a huge fandom for Takua.
I do agree with you that they definitely included the Hahli-Jaller moment because they knew her role in the movie. After all, animated movies can often take years to produce, Mask of Light was almost certainly heavily under way when the last Bohrok Animation came out. What I'm wondering is was this planned from the start, because they easily could've given Macku Gali's mask and then introduced Hahli with a different mask, but they really made sure from the beginning that Macku didn't fully fit in with the other McToran and did fit in with all the Left Hands
On the other hand tho, I doubt that there was executive pressure to give one of the main characters a love interest. The TTV Channel actually had an interview with Creative Capers, the studio that made the first 3 movies, and it came up that they really just put in those moments for fun and to have sort of a "playground-esque" flirting that might resonate with kids, but that no one at any point was under the impression that Bionicle was a romance. They probably just did it to add some character to her.
Don't know about that... LEGO doesn't strike me as a company with execs who'd ask for that, at least back then. I could ask Templar about it...
Macku was the Nuhrii to Hahli's Vakama.
To explain: Back in Metru Nui, Nuhrii was considered one of the best Mask Makers in Ta-Metru, with Vakama having studied under him. Then Turaga Dume (AKA Teridax) came to Vakama for the creation of the Kanohi Vahi, then quickly followed by Vakama becoming a Toa, which left Nuhrii in Vakama's shadow. This is also why Nuhrii went looking for the Ta-Metru Great Disk, to make a mask out of it that would prove to Dume that he's the superior Mask Maker.
Oh wow maku was MY first bionicle as well! Crazy coincidence :0
I love answers to questions I didn't even know I needed answers for. Great work. You've now put in in a mood to play the MNOG games.
The best kind of answers. And honestly they're such good games!
I love your videos. Your commentary is very insightful and fun as always
Thank you so much, I really appreciate it :)
Hahli hands down
I'll be honest, I never realized Macku was the right hand until now. I had always assumed that was Kotu.
Yeah that makes sense, Macku really filled the story role of the left hand. But all the McDonald’s Matoran sets were right hands
Onepu was also Replaced by Nuparu
True he was! Though honestly I see that as slightly different, because with Onepu and Nuparu, Nuparu was just chosen over Onepu to become a Toa somewhat abruptly. I actually go over why from an out of story perspective in my video discussing wheither the Turaga knew who would become Toa, but its basically that Greg thought he would make a more unique hero than Onepu. Hahli on the other hand gradually over the course of the story eclipsed Macku, who was already in a weird space being different from other main matoran in other ways. Onepu was still just as prominent throughout the Mata Nui arc and it wasn't until Voya Nui Nuparu fully took over
Wow I completely forgot about this. I remember specifically seeing Hahli for the first time and being like woah 🤯 instantly attached
Right! She had such an interesting entrance to the story, not really loudly announced, but still extremely eye-catching to a regular fan
i still say the Chroniclers company should have been Toa
Kapura, Macku, Tamaru, Kopeke, Hafu and Taipu with Takanuva as leader
I think they would've been a really interesting Toa team yeah. Though I do also see the appeal in them still being Matoran and having adventures like that. Either way, they definitely deserved more time to shine! And Takanuva leading them, or maybe even being their Turaga, would be such an interesting dynamic
I always thought that Macku was intended to be the "D-lister" ga matoran even from 2001. Iirc there's a line in MNOG that name drops Hahli as the Nokama's right hand and Macku as her left, even before we got to see Hahli. My theory for how Macku ended up getting such a prominent role in 2001 as both a member of the chonicler's company AND a mctoran had something to do with kaukaus being translucent possibly affecting the production cost in Lego and Mcdonalds deal of a hypothetical Hali toy. So Macku ended up filling the role that was originally meant for Hahli in 01.
D-list?! But she's so lovable! Macku will always be top-tier in my heart
Also I don't believe Hahli ever mentioned in MNOG, the way I remember it Nokama mentions Kotu as her Left Hand and but decides to send Macku since Kotu will do better in the village and Macku had been yearning for adventure.
The idea of McDonald's not wanting to sell the translucent mask has come up before and the more I think about it, that might be a very strong explanation. Kinda interesting if they rolled with that business decision to construct an arc for another character
I don't think Hahli existed before 2002 at all, like Nuparu.
Macku is Hewkii's main and that's all that matters
PLATONICALLY of course ;)
Of course of course ;)
I think the Macku set in 01 was actually meant to be Hahli however either the kaukau was undesirable for marketing either because of production issues and cost or simply because Macku’s huna makes her look more dainty and less chunky. That the original Maturin in 2001 was meant to be named Hahli but rather they might’ve swapped Macku in at the last minute in part because she’s one of the potential first people you meet in the Mata Nui online game. I firmly believe Macku is better designed as Matoran and she was intended to be a background character however, when deciding the mctoran sets she seemed more approachable, less blocky more feminine and cuter because the great style kaukau is more of a visual brick. The Hunna has character to it the slanted eyes and longer mouth can either be for a wise, old sage, or for some cute troublemaker. I think the final nail was driven in by Greg where Hahli stops being the chronicler and becomes A toa not just because she has this as what would be a good arc for her ( she does) but also it finally drives a wedge between Hewkii and Macku, which was one of Greg’s pet peeves.
My first Bionicle figure was Pohatu and the only Matoran I have is Hewkii, really interesting
I am going to be honest, given Macku's quirks, at least protrayed in MNOG 1, I could see, if the series had continued, that she eventually rose again to prominence in her own toa team.
That would be very nice. Heck, she could make a great leader if the whole Chronicler's Company became Toa
Considering Hewkii became a Toa and Macku didn't, plus they were in a relationship; I wonder what her reaction was when her boyfriend came back taller and stronger? ^^
Yeah lmao! Also might be interesting no that he can breathe water, he has no excuse to not go swimming with her any more 😆 I remember there was a really cute comic by a fan called Jiayi, that talks about their feelings when they reunite. Macku was upset at first because she’s afraid she’ll be left behind, but then Hewkii assures her he won’t. Then it cuts to Macku showing off her awesome Toa boyfriend 🤣
@@heroranuva8295 Do you have a link? It sounds cute.
We all know who the actual best girl in Ga-Koro is
The Astrologer
You're so valid
easy, maku is the main ga matoran. hahli is a toa now
God you're so right
I really like your content, and look forward to following this channel as it grows, but you could benefit greatly from improving your delivery and speaking skills. Otherwise, good video. Keep it up!
Thank you! Yeah I'm continuing to work on that
Well, Hali DID become a Toa.
That she DID
Hay can you do video on love in Bionicle
I always liked Macku more tbh, also Hewkii and Macku is canon no matter what anyone says
Macku is fantastic and that ship was golden!
@@heroranuva8295 Macku should have also become a Toa, after all why shouldn’t the Toa Mahri have two Toa of water? And there is an open spot (may Matoro rest in peace😞)
There's a bunch of interesting headcanons I've seen about the whole Chronicler's Company becoming Toa, and honestly they're pretty great
@@heroranuva8295 I’ve always imagined that, the Toa magna but would Tamaru be a Toa of air or water though?🤔
@@No_Relation_666 Supposed be air... Since he's _Le_-Matoran and all...
Ok Hahli maybe become main Ga-matoran but Macku and Hewkii is still the best ship XDDD
Lol yeah, they're so cute together!
Do videos on another matoran
I think its kinda rude to have your comments only be requests of what you want me to make next without even acknowledging anything in the actual video I made, so I'm probably not going to interact with these if that's all you do. And anyways, I have my own plans and schedule on what videos I'm going to be making.
@@heroranuva8295 my bad I just want to if at least do one of them
@@heroranuva8295 I sorry truly I am it's just I want to know if you like my ideas
@@jennieesaltzgiver2925 I understand, and I forgive you. I'm not even mad about the suggestions, most of which I do think are interesting topics that I plan to get to eventually. But when its just requests with very little discussion of what's in the actual video, on my end it just feels like you weren't even engaging, just demanding more content
@@heroranuva8295 I know I just character analysis you know
Hali because she became a toa
True, she did go on to become more prominent and a main hero, though its very interesting how at the start Macku was the more prominent one, and they shifted in plot importance