In honesty i love every single session in ninjago.... Well maybe not 15 and 7 but ok. But if i would to rank all the session in ninjago. This is literally what i probably would rank it 3:25:19
You forgot to mention Season 8's biggest flaw. It's the season they stopped using The Weekend Whip for the theme songs and that's like half the reasons anyone watches Ninjago. :(
the ninja sing the weekend whip in season 8, and the Fold (composers of Weekend Whip) make a cameo singing the weekend whip in the end of season 9 there's also Kai partially singing the weekend whip in tales from the monastery of spinjitzu (short episodes for season 10)
For zane defeating the overlord, I took it as zane channeling the power of the golden weapons for mere moments. Something that should very much kill you.
TBH, it’s always killed me immensely that Kai’s (and Nya’s) relationship to Lloyd has never been properly expanded on, especially considering that REALISTICALLY, they SHOULD be the closest to Lloyd. They, like Lloyd, felt (and highkey WAS) abandoned by their parents, and basically had to raise themselves. Kai and Nya should have been the first to empathize with Lloyd when they found out about his parents. Kai and Nya should have been the people he got closest to, because they mirror integral aspects of Lloyds life and experiences. Nya constantly ends up having to play second fiddle to Kai (and the boys in general actually), and is always on the sidelines, similar to Lloyd pre-aging up. Nya wanting to be a good sister figure to him should have been added in, especially since she knows how important having someone like a sibling would be if you didn’t have your parents. She’d never want someone like Lloyd feeling alone. Kai’s protectiveness would 100% be extended to Lloyd by pure virtue of him being essentially an orphan with parents that explicitly *chose* to leave him. Like there’s so much character that could have been built here but I guess it just never crossed their minds. Or if it did, they didn’t have enough time to establish it for whatever reason.
Kai was like family to Lloyd, and that's why he was the one who stayed behind after Lloyd was possessed by Morro. He had promised to look after Lloyd after his father sacrificed himself to the cursed realm. He also was the one to initially save Lloyd in season 1 to get his true potential. Kai also was the first to be concerned when Lloyd tricked them so he could face his father alone. They did demonstrate this in the show. BUT, when they made the 11 minute episodes, they sort of pushed some of this stuff to the side. Nya isn't really pushed to the sidelines considering she has lots of series focusing on her, even if it's shared with other characters. Kai is the one who got mostly sidelined.
The aesthetic of Crystalized has something really interesting, that being the switcharoo of which race between dragons and oni are the “good” and “bad” ones. The Crystal King and his army are dragon themed, and Lloyd has his oni form and the plot’s need for oni powers. It’s even more interesting when you look back and realized what the Overlord’s final form was in season 2: a dragon. They totally had the opportunity to connect Overlord TO dragons, recontextualizing an unimportant detail from the past, but never did. I know it means nothing compared to all the season’s other problems but it’s another missed opportunity to me.
Yeah, I thought the Overlord was going to be a dragon oni dragon hybrid like the first spinjitzu master was. My logic was that the Overlord had a dragon form with the color pallet of an oni
This show did a good job with the chosen one plot. It really annoys me when a protagonist of the show is given the tile of the chosen one. I think its more interesting to give it to a side character and let them fight along side the protagonist. Also, I love the fact that Lloyd has a giant green 5 on his first uniform that is never explained. It's foreshadowing that is ironically funny because it's just there for no reason.
Yeah, plus I like that it was a character people didn’t like. I think it was so you could feel what Kai was feeling, which makes you realize how important it is that he moves on.
The first 3 seasons of Ninjago were my childhood obsession for a time. I remember not being able to find a Samurai X in stores after saving up for it, and crying when I got home. My mom ended up ordering an overpriced one on eBay. Good times.
Same, though I ended up dropping it around season 4 because I hated season 3 except for Zane's death. So when s4 just brought him back I was done lol. Zane was my first major hyperfixation character
I was also really obsessed when the first 3 seasons were being released and I had my dad record and save each and every episode so I wouldn’t miss an episode
For how Zane is captured, it's explained in the video-game "Shadow of Ronin" that Chen hired the Bounty Hunter Ronin to capture Zane and Pixal for him. It explains how Zane was captured and gives credit to Ronin, showing him to be a skilled and intelligent Bounty Hunter who knows how to do a job effectively. I won't hold this against you though as a) This question was answered in a video-game instead of the show itself (bad look) and b) It still doesn’t answer how Chen even knew or cared about Zane and the Ninja unless he already had spies keeping tabs on them.
Even more obscure, the Ninjago website explained that for Chen to have Zane's pink suit on display in his palace, it must have INSTANTLY been stolen and replaced with a cleaned replica when Lloyd put it in the wash. Implying that Chen has insane connections that were watching the Ninja with unimaginable stealth from S1-4
I like to believe Chen had conections with krux in ninjago, since krux was keeping kai and nya'a parents locked and Chen seemed to know more about this. This would also explain this matter with Krux being the middle man between Chen and ronin
Harumi was my favorite character in media after seasons 8 & 9, so seeing her mishandled THAT badly in 15 just hurts so much. genuinely baffling how the writers misinterpreted her as badly as they did. on one hand, i’d want her to return to actually earn her redemption and address her shitty choices in s15, but on the other hand i don’t even think i trust the newer writers to handle her character anymore
checking the wiki on the writers, Crystalized was written by 6 people, normally seasons are written by 3 occasionally with 1 or 2 more but for this season it was 6, those additional 3...have no prior involvement from what I'm seeing and on top of that the remaining 3? Are all writers of S11-15, which outside of Seabound are all a mixed bag for various reasons (mainly tone), so yeah I think that's why Crystalized was so bad, it had too many writers and they all were basically new, while the original writters of Ninjago (it's creators) have left after the 10th season concluded
Harumi is the GOAT in every measure of the acronym! But I do think they should have let sleeping dogs lie. Don't bring back a character when their arc is perfect, it's ok for characters to have their arc and then die. Their story was told and with Harumi it was immaculate. Don't risk that story by ruining a perfect ending (looking at you Star Wars sequel trilogy).
@@lunarbat6009 i believe that the writers genuinely hate S5 bc of morro and Airjitzu. i don't know why but that's the feeling i get from how scarce the wind element is introduced. like in S4 the spell chen uses requires ALL ELEMENTAL POWERS yet the wind is excluded. like wtf?????????? or how about how morro felt in the day of departed. WHY couldn't we get a scene with morro and lloyd or wu get a scene talking to each other about how they feel. I am legit disappointed that i actually said 'FINE I WILL DO IT MYSELF' and wrote up a different story for s5
About Garmadon and the Golden Weapon, yes, he COULD do any of that. But you forget the biggest reason he doesn't. He doesn't want to. Yes, he has a physical urge to destroy and conquer, but he as a person doesn't actually want to do it. So he does the minimal amount that could be considered "evil" but that isn't actually very harmful. In a way, it's just like Lloyd stealing candy.
I would've loved if in Day of the Departed they actually had resolutions for all villains, instead of only Morro. It would've been hard, since stone dude, Samukai, robo ninja and Chen had no positive traits whatsoever, but it would've been amazing if instead of fighting they had to make these guys accept their passing and move on. It's pretty unique and gives depth to bland minor villians
Even as a kid, this was one of those shows where I knew it had a lot of dumb things happen that didn't make sense, but also appreciated for trying to be more than a glorified ad for Lego sets. For that, I'll always have a special place in my heart even if it doesn't always earn it.
I know you kinda mentioned it for season 1 but i still need to emphasise how FIRE the soundtrack of Ninjago is. It's the one thing that has remained consistently amazing from season 1 forward. And just like with everything else season 8 and 9 peaked with their soundtrack. Shoutout to Jay Vincent and Michale Cramer.
Yes! I was especially disappointed when he didn't mention the absolute BANGER that was Nya's turning into the sea theme. That whole scene is just PEAK Ninjago, from the animation to the music to the buildup!
The ost doesn't just carry the story, it leads and tells. I am biased as a music lover, but I honestly believe it's the heart and soul of Ninjago along with the cinematic feel and the main reason the show is so memorable.
Still a shame that Moro wasn’t used to his full potential, when characters that are uncontrollably angry are done right, it’s great, Gabriel from Ultrakill is a great example, he is constantly screaming and swearing, and you can really feel the content he has for V1, something that could almost exactly be transferred to Lloyd and Moro, Moro could have hated and constantly yelled at Lloyd because he hates the entire idea of someone else being worthy instead of him
it's not like morro doesn't have the voice for it ether, i was not expecting a gabe reference though, it also fit's quite well though, given gabe will likely end up acting like morro did in day of the departed.
I do wanna say something about Skybound and why i think Jay's Last wish was not as dumb as you showed it. First off, If i recall correctly, Jay was from the start of the season, kind of set up to make this wish. It was heavily implied that he had to wish from the heart, something genuine, something he struggled against. Logic and throwing shit at the wall didn't work because Nadakhan expected it, he WANTED to play somebody. Not to mention by the time the team was assembled, Nadakhan was already broken out of his curse, meaning he didn't have to obey by wishing rules, so he can grant his own wishes. In that moment he was basically unstoppable, untill getting shot by the poison. Which actually brings me to the point, the entire setup for the wish you thought was quote unquote "Dumb" for me felt like the best way to beat Nadakhan, because not only is it Jay's real, undisputed desire to patch things up with Nya, the villian is basically incapacitated (Which now that i think about it, you didn't mention, like at all. It's a pretty big plot point) Every other Ninja either tried to outsmart him or didn't know he was trying to get them at first. Idk i just feel like your criticism of the season falls short now that i think about it.
The wish is insanely dumb. First of all, Jay wishes for two things, that Nya had taken his hand and that the teapot had never been found. Without any tinkering with the wish in the first place, only the first one should’ve been granted. Yet, both are. Second, Nadakhan is clearly cognitive and able to think, just in pain, given by the fact that he literally taunts and tells Jay to make his final wish. He could’ve easily twisted the wish, and just doesn’t for no reason. He could’ve only granted the first one, or granted the second one and twisted it to be no one has ever found the teapot ever, so he never gets trapped and gets to rule Djinnjago (until it dies, at least). And even then, he would’ve known when and could’ve stopped the ninja before. But this could’ve all been solved anyways because Jay’s entire B-Team still have three wishes (along with literally ANYONE in Ninjago) and could’ve wished for everything to go back to normal (plus a number of other wishes). The scene, and wish, and concept… is dumb.
@@zame-osomething5096sure jay wished for two things but that wasn't really an atempt to defeat Nadakhan. It wasn't even directed at Nadakhan. Jay said to Nya: "I wish YOU would've taken my Hand, abd no one ever found that teapot in the first place." Nadakhan turned back time when Jay wished for the tea pot to never be found, but It was Nya who granted the wish of taking his hand. Because she wanted it. It was Her call.
Expcept the wish isn't dumb at all Jay only wishes for one thing but he phrases the wish a simple cause and effect from Jay's perspective the Nya not taking his hand is the cause for Clouse finding the teapot, hence the core of Jay's wish revolves around the teapot not being found. Nadakahn is CLEARLY not cognitive he doesn't taunt Jay at all he only instinctively grabs his sword and moves towards him. His line "Your wish is yours to keep", is something he says all the time and obviously doesn't take much thought to say thirdly, even the hypothetical ways Nadakahn could have twisted the wish that you have said up wouldn't work. Let's say he just grants the first part then the ninja don't get found by the paparazzi and stop Clouse and the teapot is never found. While yes your second scenario could work there's still a chance that something worse could happen to Nadakahn in the years between when he was trapped and the present that Nadakahn likely wouldn't want to risk. There's no guarantee that he would survive the fall of his realm or even be capable of stopping it. Your B team argument falls flat because you ignores the first half of what the original poster said about logic based wishes not working, Jay has always been a character who acts with his heart first rather than his brain. In season 1 his character arc was completed when through Nya he was able to overcome his insecurities and love himself so that she could love him. His first wish was made to get Nya back, his second wish was made because his heart couldn't bare to be alone. Both times Nadakahn didn't twist the wish at all, Jay's wishes have consistently been shown to be one's that Nadakahn couldn't twist because they're not logic based. Their based on emotion but not irrational emotion like Zane had when he lost Pixel, why risk it with a B team partially filled up of people who are most logic based characters like the commissioner, or Ronin, or Echo Zane all logic based characters, the only reliable wisher the B team really had was Skylar, but even then why take that risk when Jay's wishes have had a confirmed 100% success rate up until that point
The underlying problem with Wishing powers is the same one that the Mega weapon had: when the limitations are vague or not air tight, it's easy to work around them, making them overpowered. Why not wish that Nadakhan never existed? Why not wish that his wishes intended out exactly like we wanted them to, not how he misinterprets them. Why not just wish that he would be on our side? It would take 3 seconds to beat him and all the deception in the world on his end couldn't do a thing to change it.
As a Ninjago fan, I heard ALL of this critique and was like “Yeah but you don’t understand.” And then… I thought, and found it nice to view ninjago through a nearly completely unbiased (this is for anything I may have missed) and critical lens. Thank you.
Despite ALOT of the franchise’s narrative flaws I still love it, and so far the Netflix era of the series has actually been killing it with it’s storytelling and jokes for the most part, let’s hope it stays consistent in doing so
Dragons rising was so unexpectedly good. Like I went in expecting to bash it lowkey but it was very fun and I’m excited to see what they have set up for the next season
What makes Mr F’s return SO MUCH worse, is that the original plan for Sons of Garnadon was to reveal him as Echo Zane, because if Skybound never happened, he was just left there, so it was a great idea! But then he was killed off in Hunted. And because of that i thought “holy shit they brought him back for the finale, they can finally reveal him as Echo Zane and even give him some arc” BUT NO! THEY LITERALLY DID NOTHING WITH HIM LIKE BRUH
As a Ninjago fan, this review has me in tears with how funny it is. I applaud you for getting through it, and pointing out things I hadn't actually noticed before. Anyway, Ninjago is a mess, but I still love it. God bless!
After how great Season 13 and 14 were I was baffled with how they handled 15. This video was incredible. I put it on at midnight and watched it all the way through until 4 am.
This show outlasted The Clone Wars, TMNT 2012, Young Justice, Batman: Brave and the Bold, Last Airbender/Korra, Transformers: Prime, Justice League Unlimited, Teen Titans, and Star Wars: Rebels. That's impressive but... Ninjago? Really? That's the show that outlasts all the well regarded shows?
54:10 Chen used the ferry to send his soldier to the city, which is presumably how he kept tabs on the ninja. we even see some in Kai’s fight club in the first ep watching him
They shouldn't have continued the way they did past the 7th season. The entire Sons of Garmadon storyline happened because of that mediocre Ninjago film. Ironic, the show didn't have a large impact on the movie, but the film left a stain on the series forever
Im glad it did, Sons of Garmadon, Hunted and Seabound are all pretty recent and probably the best of ninjago, and dragons rising is looking pretty good so far
I really appreciate that you’re not doing this as a sort of apology for that old video but as a genuine critique. You make some very good points, great job.
54:00 Chen is a crimeboss with eyes and ears EVERYWHERE IN NINJAGO, having a lot of their memorabilia. There would be no one to guard the factory since it was mostly automated, the staff ran away after THE FUCKING DEVIL SPAWNED IN IT, and the robots were in the streets. Elemental masters come from all over Ninjago, not just Ninjago city. From Realm travel to their own lives, their is no reason for them help the world since they probably didn't have the son of god to tell them it's their duty. They are people and people are selfish.
So Chen somehow found out before the Ninja that Zane somehow transferred his consciousness to another machine in a factory that everyone ran away from. No one was there to guard that factory, meaning no one should've known except Pixal who just figured it out and Pixal, if this story made sense was so overjoyed that she told random people on the streets before Zane's best friends who she had also met that Zane had somehow survived and some of those people eventually got the message to Chen. Chen decides to kidnap Zane and get the Ninja to his somehow legitimate running business, how an exiled criminal runs a "legitimate" business advertised to be his own in the same place where he was exiled is beyond me. Also, there is a heavy presence of tech and robotic gadgets so the idea that in this factory that is still somehow running (still using the same logic), even though The Overlord morphed out of it, has as much as it does, and Chen's staff, the same guys who made a bed that led to the Ninja finding out all of Chen's secrets managed to break in and somehow apprehend Zane and Pixal is still beyond me 😂 and it is so funny to think about.
I really liked that seabound was praised. Nya's sacrifice was so good and so was the whole season and kalmar was a great villain. Great season but for somereason most ppl don't even have it in their top 5.
I might be reaching here, but I have an idea that it's because most people watching it are not older, or are not children with a painful past. I'm a mother in my 40's lol. I don't care, I love this show, and both my kids also grew up loving it. I still watch it. I had quite a traumatic past, where I had to make hard decisions that were not my fault. For me, what happened with Nya, and her mother hit very close to home. It was very moving to me how it was handled, and that Nya was made to realise, 'Sometimes, there are NO good choices.' Which is the truth. It was a very mature, and empathic concept, that was put forward in a way that kids could understand. The scene with Nya merging with the sea was incredibly beautiful to me, and ditto to the music they used. Also, because it was a tribute to the voice actor for Cole who had sadly died....But I think because for most, this was not personal, it didn't hit as deep for them. I also think some people were upset that Kai was sidelined so much, and all he said when Nya was leaving was 'you're not going anywhere.' I have to agree with THAT, they should have done better. Kai is my favourite, and Nya's leaving would have been more impactful for him than that.
I quite liked Garmadon in the first seasons. Mark Oliver was entertaining, and he could ham it up whenever he needed As proven in the other shows he voiced the antagonist in, he could be both menacing and hammy whenever he needed to
1:13:01 what I tink they were going for is that the ninja have grown, but they grew with Lloyd by their side. This was trying to prove Lloyd was not only the chosen one, but also a key part of the team that they needed to funtion. Although it did come off as though they were pushing this idea too heavy.
Nya returning in crystalized made no sense since she did nothing important and was completely useless in that season and even worse since dragons rising had the perfect explanation to how she would return. The merge this powerful cataclysmic event changes how ninjago is formed and this event allows Nya to return to being human, she can return because this prophecised event changed how everything worked it would have made so much sense.
It's really fascinating to look at this show with a critical eye. I was a child when it started coming out, and I watched a lot of really big episodes as they were airing at a friend's house, so I have a ton of nostalgia for this show, especially the first two seasons. But they really aren't as good as I remember them being, I think I'm just attached to these characters so much that I never really noticed, even when I watched the series when I was older. That's what I get for having Lloyd as my favorite character.
Really feel they could have kept Nia as an important character but in water spirit mode, while she suffers from amnesia or insanity kinda like ice king in a adventure time.
Thank you for making this video. Ninjago has been near and dear to my heart. So, I'm happy that you talked about it. EDIT: Too clarify Chen paid off Ronin to kidnap Zane and Pixal but I honestly never learned this till like a year ago.
with the video game season the villain could have worked like The Collector from The Owl House in some similar way where it's a all-powerful being kid who doesn't know that they're harming people.
"They've gone a level beyond bullshit... ELEPHANT SHIT!!!" I am using that. Also, for as much as I disagree with a lot of the negative comments here, I wholeheartedly agree about Crystalized. Garmadon was the ONLY good part of that hot mess.
Honestly as a longtime fan of Ninjago, this is a perfect ranking and analysis of the series. Keep up the good work. Can’t wait for the dragons rising video in like… god knows when.
Garmadon was actually the older brother while wu was the younger brother. Even though Garmadon seems younger, thats because the great devower bite, caused him to age slowly or something like that.
My God, I stopped watching when Season 2 ended with the Overlord’s defeat. I thought it was done because that’s what it was advertised as! Not even a week later it seemed, I saw the first episode of Season 3, and my pre-teen brain thought it was a special epilogue or something. But NOPE. I stopped keeping up with it after that. Fifteen seasons, holy fuck…
Here’s a good idea. What if Nia came back not as herself but rather have a clone of herself. And when learning about it, she has a small arc on what use could she held like her original. It’s sort of two way for me but it is better than what we actually got
How did the Overlord survive molecular disintegration? He rolled when he landed. How did Pythor survive being eaten by the Great Devourer? He rolled when he landed.
I see people attempting to explain things that you pointed out by saying that the lead story guy said something on Twitter, but real stories arent told on twitter and the show should have told us this.
Fun fact; the Overlord is voiced by Scott McNeill who also voiced Piccolo in the Dragon Ball franchise, Rattrap and Dinobot in Beast Wars and Mr. White in Johnny Test. Some just straight up random shit.
The whole thing with Nya being back wasn't planed. Originally she was supposed to appear in the finale while still merged with the sea. She was supposed to face Lloyd, who totally lost control and gave into his oni side after his father actually dies. Lloyd was supposed to defeat the Crystal King and take his throne, being stuck in the oni form.
Something I don't see talked about much is Why did the ninja suddenly forget they can create elemental dragons after season 6? Like i get why they stopped using it in season 5 because they lost their powers but after that there's no reason not to use it
Oh yeah since season 8 they just retconned the dragons and airjitsu and dismissed it with a vague "time twins messed with time" but first of all the writers could have at least explained it in the show instead of some books or something and they could have given a more in depth explanation, as what they have given us is not enough, like if they don't have the dragons, than did time twins change time in season 4 for ninja to cross the ocean with motor boats, just the explanation is basically non existent as I still have questions
I had always assumed the Gene gets ti pick who gets the wishes not just someone around. He has to pick who he wants to be the wisher so thats why he travels to the ninja to get them to wish and why having more people on the team doesnt mean more wishes but anyone who has been a wisher before will still have their wishes available if they still had wishes left. This is what i assumed his powers were when the show first came out cause it seemed like the logical conclusion to what he can do and why no one else that he doesnt get himself can make wishes
First of all, I appreciate the better video now here are my random thoughts on the video: 1: ...yeah sure 2: Yeah just a line saying something like "sorry father" from Lloyd before fighting the overlord would have been much better 3: I didnt know it was Pythor under the hood. I think the gold weapons meteor thing is a cool idea. The retcons actually make the overlord coming back actually pretty cool. They did say Zane had an extraordinary power source in his heart so I always thought they were clear about it overloading the overlord with energy. I like what you made up for it tho 4: I think they made it so when Zane connected himself to get the ninja in the digital world, he go some of his essence in the system. People seem to really love this season but personally I dont see it either, I do like it tho. 5: The style of Possession and Morro got me back into Ninjago, just so cool. Also Morro is Tai Lung from kung fu panda I noticed too lol. Good leader idea thing. Wu's secrets are a Ninjago blight 6: They did the say the wish had to come from the heart to not be able to be twisted, is it smarter? nah but its in internal logic. DotD: the message of "if you've not achieved anything in you life to make you famous you'll die alone and forgotten and your life was meaningless" 7:eeeeeeeeeeeh Movie: there's actually a clip from an early draft of the movie, it would be about the ninja going back to the old serpentine war and pre-evil garmadon and stuff, not connected to the show but closer, looks cool 8: ABSOLUTE MARVEL, had no idea that a Ninjago season could be that INCREDIBLE, the darker vibe just worked so well, its one of the best seasons of the show. Right from the start, the style, the action, the intrigue, the lore... wow using breaking bad clips lol, epic. Surprised you didnt point out the weird secret royal family thing tho 9: Hunted is insane with the constant anxiety and twisting of the characters 10: Yeah it was ok but didnt follow up too well, the tornado of creation and the oni were super disappointing generic villains, I wanted them to be just a bunch, maybe a hundred, but each as power as a dragon, wielding dark magic... Garmadon cool tho yeah. They lost elemental dragons and spinjitsu after their own seasons basically 11: Got goofy. Weird they never made parallels between Nya not having powers before, Kai losing his powers or Nya not being able to use her powers without liquid water... Zane doesnt control ice he creates it with cold but it would be cool to explore the thin barriers between elements 12: I didnt mind the season focusing on the ninja developing characters around them on their journey even if not changing themselves. I would like if they explained him still trying to play somewhat by the rules because he wants to be a "good program" or smth 13: The DnD based sets were pretty cool switch-up tho. People really love this season but me not so much Island: sure yeah 14: WE ARE SO BACK, maybe as good as SOG, very Shakespearean 15: Oh no you should have stopped, oh its too late, they tried to nostalgia us but its probably the most hated season lol. I begrudgingly find the way they brought her back clever, but man I wished they didnt. Pythor was super cool, especially his invisible snake motion fighting in the new animation. The Zane emotions are needed is not good, but at least it builds up to this; Negative emotions are needed, and shouldn't be rejected. HOWEVER if thats the case, have Lloyd learn and understand that his hate is to be accepted, hate is his loved, and his desire to protect those he loves, its love becoming strength, he knows Oni like Mistake can be good. He was defined by his compassion but he has to embrace all parts of himself, find balance, use the oni form (or even better an oni/dragon form, dont even need to change the design) Dragons Rising: Awwww yeah its pretty cool so far I finally overcame clicking on this video, being skeptical to how I would react to the criticism and how good it would be, actually fairly good in both regards. I think its a fairly common ranking yeah, all seemed in decent order
52:17 weirdly enough, this was revealed in a 3ds game of all things. It is shown that Ronin somehow took Zane in his new body and sold him to Chen, a lazy explanation, yes, but an explanation nonetheless
I would love to see seasons 1-7 Remade in some fashion, reworking the plots and stuff to try and improve off the shortcomings of the original show. Season 3 and 4 were my childhood, and looking back at them, I really wish they were better.
I’ve been Thinking about doing that for a while, thinking about what I’d change, what I wouldn’t, what I’d throw out, what I’d keep in, Drawing up concepts and stuff I’m Probably Not Going to do it (I don’t have enough time, and IDK, it just feels dirty), although, If I do, I’m only doing up to Season 10, and it’s going to be a Novel like thing
2:40 Aw… No Bionicle? I thought Ninjago ended after season 2 back in 2012. Did you know Image comics/Skybound(The comic publisher that created Invincible) had made a Ninjago Comic focusing on *Garmadon.* it’s pretty good book.
That's a shame, even though I really didn't grew up with Bionicle until late into its life, it's one of the most popular construction Toylines of LEGO that saved it from bankruptcy. Though JustStop probably doesn't know that or even interested into it since it doesn't have TV as its min source of media, since its spread out to other forms of media like books, comics, games etc. There's G2, but it's lacking certain aspects like the mysterious atmosphere, the varied setting, & the in-depth worldbuilding that makes Bionicle G1 so appealing in the first place.
Wow talk about a redemption arc for just stop, he gave it a chance and actually loved some things in it. Also is it me or has this been the year where Ninjago got the most attention from this to reaction channels. Did it take Hollywood to have two strikes to finally give Ninjago the credit it deserves, also OH MY that infamous it’s ok she’s my with I can’t even finish it, that line is almost as memed as somehow Palpatine returned. Also I like how you even like crusty agree Garmadon is the only salvagble thing in crystalized, he’s basically babu frik from rise of Skywalker. A sentence I never thought I would say ever.
As a kid, I was always annoyed by the lack of actual LEGO and wondered why LEGO bricks never appeared in the show. It turns out that you can't show real world products in animated kids shows (though it's allowed for live action family programming).
One thing about the end of S6 and the B team using their wishes: Jay tried to wish so Nadakhan wasn't a Djinn, but he kept teleporting away so he couldn't hear Jay's wish. Haven't fully finished the video yet but enjoying it so far
a lot of the opinions here do represent the fandom's overall opinions on seasons' qualities and its really interesting to see a review that investedly suggests room for improvements (tbh I feel like Ninjago's habit of having potential but missing the mark is part of what contributes to the strong fandom because... thats literally just fanfiction fodder. thats "here's the lovable ingredients, make something better" material LOL) I'd be really interested in seeing a review of Dragons' Rising. So far I love it a lot and I think it'd be a positive review based on the rest of these metrics. The pull a move similar to Sons of Garmadon by making abrupt changes that look at the series from a new perspective, as well as a sudden leap in quality/budget: the animation, scenery & soundtrack are all great, the character writing feels real, Mr. Frohickey is there, etc
This is extremely refreshing, hearing a mostly negative side of Ninjago's criticism really puts this series into perspective for me. Like, the entire argument of Garmadon's characterization in S2 was something I've NEVER heard before. Great video! I'm not done yet but I had something to say about Prime Empire, I think Unagami's motivation for not just killing players was because his AI was coded to make the most fun video game experience he could. And despite being after him, the ninja count as players. And kust killing them would really undermind his entire purpose for existing. Not to say the season is perfect, it's definitely flawed. But I think that's the one thing I'd disagree with you about.
Bro did not just say s8 is the best 💀 I hate season 8, one of the most glaring and obnoxious ones if the fact these heroes who’ve defeated all these villains are struggling against fucking bikers, BIKERS
Well, all in long I will say that I did generally like the video it was a bit more negative than expected and I felt like you were talking more about the villains a majority instead of the season overall but nonetheless, I am happy you finished the video and I’m surprised/glad it took This long to make considering Ninjago is a lot and when you explain your reasoning for liking or disliking something you had a reason for it and I’m happy for it, although I will say, I generally do love master of the mountains, because other than is a Cole centric season, they explained so much of his past and shows his growth and no joke. The last fight was incredibly well done besides other reason why I also like the season is just honestly up there as a personal favorite, but nonetheless, I’m glad you finish and I hope you don’t get too much hate for certain seasons because as we all know that happens and is crazy, that happened to you once before but I hope this time with the explanation you have given you won’t get that much hate and I hope you have a great day/stay safe⭐️🐸🦉⭐️
This show was my childhood and easily my favorite show as a kid. Back at its peak it was one of the only kids shows that told one big story instead of each episode being about something different like SpongeBob Ninjago was such an amazing show for being one big ad. Even tho it was just a commercial you could see the passion behind it. Just watch one BTS video of the voice actors making an episode and you can see how much fun they had. The writers really made the most out of what they were given. But it went downhill after I’d say the “Hands of Time” season. It was so boring compared to previous seasons. The biggest problem is that they just keep dragging it out and didn’t know when to just end it. The show should have ended after the Djinn season. The 2 side characters Jay and Nya who up to this point were just comic relief and the girl character that really didn’t do much. Finally got development and a pretty entertaining story arc.
@@skylandersfan6954 if that’s your favorite part then more power to you but don’t reply saying “Nah you’re wrong” when it’s just a difference of opinion. The Sons of garmadon seasons aren’t bad though
Hey man, this is a fantastic video and I agree with almost everything you said! It’s great to see an actual critical and deep dive into the series as most fans are really blinded by nostalgia or their just kids lol. Anyway appreciate all the work you put into this video!
As someone who hasn't watched a single episode of Lego Ninjago... How the fuck does Lego Ninjago have such deep lore And why are there so many of you having actual deep meaningful analytical conversations and takes about this show WHAT HAVE I MISSED
Finally, you made a serious review on Ninjago instead of throwing it and being cancelled for it. You may still not like the show, but I respect you for giving out actual valid criticisms this time. Shame that LS Mark can’t come back to redeem himself after his atrocious takes on the first “review” that was deleted out of embarrassment. (Never mess with the Clancee nation again)
2:20:50 airjitsu is only usable when the user has a running start iirc, you have to start from the ground/a stable platform before using it, which is why Cole couldn’t in this scenario
In season 2 I think Garmeddon mentions using the dark matter to make people “see what he sees” and “feel what he feels” so maybe that has something to do with how the evilness works
The whole "Chen capturing Zane" thing is explained in external media. Specifically, the game, Shadow Of Ronin for the 3DS. Ronin, the titular character, is hired by Chen to capture Zane. That's it. Obviously locking key plot points of your story behind external separate from the main media itself is a massively stupid idea.
Really enjoyed this retrospective , but thought there was one thing that should be brought up Execs actually really wanted Ninjago gone and told the fans that Chima would make them forget all about it. It was actually the fans of the series and the creators deciding there was more material to be discussed that had it come back
being a massive ninjago fan, this is a really good video. it both helps me emphasize what I do like the most being the oni trilogy. And it helps me see some more flaws in the show and understand where I stand with enjoying content. Although I disagree with much of the video, I really appreciate it. so thank you
Use code JUSTSTOP50 to get 50% off your first Factor box at bit.ly/3Rsx8BY!
In honesty i love every single session in ninjago.... Well maybe not 15 and 7 but ok.
But if i would to rank all the session in ninjago. This is literally what i probably would rank it 3:25:19
Excited to hear what you have to say about Dragons Rising honestly.
Review dragons rising or be held at gunpoint.
For me Tournament of Elements, Sons of Garmadon and Hunted are my favorite Ninjago seasons.
Alexander the Dumb had me rolling for no reason
Zane being revealed as a robot was the biggest revelation seven year old me ever experienced
it was the plot twist of the century to 7 year old me
same
Hmm I was 7 when that episode aired as well. Are all og Ninjago fans the same age lol
Same with me
seven year old me was SHOOKETH.
You forgot to mention Season 8's biggest flaw.
It's the season they stopped using The Weekend Whip for the theme songs and that's like half the reasons anyone watches Ninjago. :(
they bring it back in season 11 and beyond
They still referenced it in Season 8 and 9.
the ninja sing the weekend whip in season 8, and the Fold (composers of Weekend Whip) make a cameo singing the weekend whip in the end of season 9
there's also Kai partially singing the weekend whip in tales from the monastery of spinjitzu (short episodes for season 10)
Least salty Ninjago purist
Just because it doesn't have the Whip, it doesn't stop the intros from being absolute bangers.
It really didn't fit season 8's tone. I love the Weekend Whip, but I'm glad they didn't use it, it made the season much more serious and atmospheric.
For zane defeating the overlord, I took it as zane channeling the power of the golden weapons for mere moments.
Something that should very much kill you.
It was shown in the pilot that most people would die if they held all 4 so that would make sense
being he was a robot ig he took it better so he handled longer but also ig it was like a supercharge and it was to much then ... boom
I mean, his final attack on the overlord does start with him grabbing the weapons
It makes the most sense considering he still had the protection of the stone armor which could've prevented him from instantly blowing up
You got it right!
TBH, it’s always killed me immensely that Kai’s (and Nya’s) relationship to Lloyd has never been properly expanded on, especially considering that REALISTICALLY, they SHOULD be the closest to Lloyd. They, like Lloyd, felt (and highkey WAS) abandoned by their parents, and basically had to raise themselves. Kai and Nya should have been the first to empathize with Lloyd when they found out about his parents. Kai and Nya should have been the people he got closest to, because they mirror integral aspects of Lloyds life and experiences. Nya constantly ends up having to play second fiddle to Kai (and the boys in general actually), and is always on the sidelines, similar to Lloyd pre-aging up. Nya wanting to be a good sister figure to him should have been added in, especially since she knows how important having someone like a sibling would be if you didn’t have your parents. She’d never want someone like Lloyd feeling alone. Kai’s protectiveness would 100% be extended to Lloyd by pure virtue of him being essentially an orphan with parents that explicitly *chose* to leave him. Like there’s so much character that could have been built here but I guess it just never crossed their minds. Or if it did, they didn’t have enough time to establish it for whatever reason.
Their have been moments when kai is like an older bother to lloyd
You got your dream come true in dragons rising
Kai was like family to Lloyd, and that's why he was the one who stayed behind after Lloyd was possessed by Morro. He had promised to look after Lloyd after his father sacrificed himself to the cursed realm. He also was the one to initially save Lloyd in season 1 to get his true potential. Kai also was the first to be concerned when Lloyd tricked them so he could face his father alone. They did demonstrate this in the show. BUT, when they made the 11 minute episodes, they sort of pushed some of this stuff to the side. Nya isn't really pushed to the sidelines considering she has lots of series focusing on her, even if it's shared with other characters. Kai is the one who got mostly sidelined.
The aesthetic of Crystalized has something really interesting, that being the switcharoo of which race between dragons and oni are the “good” and “bad” ones. The Crystal King and his army are dragon themed, and Lloyd has his oni form and the plot’s need for oni powers. It’s even more interesting when you look back and realized what the Overlord’s final form was in season 2: a dragon.
They totally had the opportunity to connect Overlord TO dragons, recontextualizing an unimportant detail from the past, but never did. I know it means nothing compared to all the season’s other problems but it’s another missed opportunity to me.
Yeah, I thought the Overlord was going to be a dragon oni dragon hybrid like the first spinjitzu master was. My logic was that the Overlord had a dragon form with the color pallet of an oni
_"Long before time had a name, the first Spinjitzu created Ninjago."_
This line says a lot about the entire Ninjago lore.
Yeah, it does.
That and “ With at least a 1/3 of our problems being consequences of Wu’s actions”
That the most basic line ever LMAOO
@@annukkalehmus8701 So does your comments. Laugh my as of.
Turns out he didnt create the realm or planet but the islands of Ninjago which is odd but serviced seabound
This show did a good job with the chosen one plot. It really annoys me when a protagonist of the show is given the tile of the chosen one. I think its more interesting to give it to a side character and let them fight along side the protagonist.
Also, I love the fact that Lloyd has a giant green 5 on his first uniform that is never explained. It's foreshadowing that is ironically funny because it's just there for no reason.
My guess is that his uniform used to be a regular hoodie as the rib cage is clearly painted on, even with one rib covering over the five.
Yeah, plus I like that it was a character people didn’t like.
I think it was so you could feel what Kai was feeling, which makes you realize how important it is that he moves on.
i fr used to think it meant he was 5 years old💀😭
I thought the five was on his hoodie because he was 5 years old.
Or that he was grade 5 in the school for evil children.
@@nathanielmartins5930 ECACLTY
The first 3 seasons of Ninjago were my childhood obsession for a time. I remember not being able to find a Samurai X in stores after saving up for it, and crying when I got home. My mom ended up ordering an overpriced one on eBay. Good times.
That's sweet
I got lucky enough to get one from Walmart and it's still one of my favorite sets to this day
Same, though I ended up dropping it around season 4 because I hated season 3 except for Zane's death. So when s4 just brought him back I was done lol. Zane was my first major hyperfixation character
I was also really obsessed when the first 3 seasons were being released and I had my dad record and save each and every episode so I wouldn’t miss an episode
Up to 6 for me and my sister
For how Zane is captured, it's explained in the video-game "Shadow of Ronin" that Chen hired the Bounty Hunter Ronin to capture Zane and Pixal for him.
It explains how Zane was captured and gives credit to Ronin, showing him to be a skilled and intelligent Bounty Hunter who knows how to do a job effectively.
I won't hold this against you though as a) This question was answered in a video-game instead of the show itself (bad look) and b) It still doesn’t answer how Chen even knew or cared about Zane and the Ninja unless he already had spies keeping tabs on them.
Then they made it non canon
Even more obscure, the Ninjago website explained that for Chen to have Zane's pink suit on display in his palace, it must have INSTANTLY been stolen and replaced with a cleaned replica when Lloyd put it in the wash. Implying that Chen has insane connections that were watching the Ninja with unimaginable stealth from S1-4
@@gamejitzu
They're the real Ninjas 😂😂😂
@@alixtennyson2007
Massive respect for the Glitch Techs pfp
I like to believe Chen had conections with krux in ninjago, since krux was keeping kai and nya'a parents locked and Chen seemed to know more about this. This would also explain this matter with Krux being the middle man between Chen and ronin
Harumi was my favorite character in media after seasons 8 & 9, so seeing her mishandled THAT badly in 15 just hurts so much. genuinely baffling how the writers misinterpreted her as badly as they did. on one hand, i’d want her to return to actually earn her redemption and address her shitty choices in s15, but on the other hand i don’t even think i trust the newer writers to handle her character anymore
checking the wiki on the writers, Crystalized was written by 6 people, normally seasons are written by 3 occasionally with 1 or 2 more
but for this season it was 6, those additional 3...have no prior involvement from what I'm seeing
and on top of that the remaining 3? Are all writers of S11-15, which outside of Seabound are all a mixed bag for various reasons (mainly tone), so yeah I think that's why Crystalized was so bad, it had too many writers and they all were basically new, while the original writters of Ninjago (it's creators) have left after the 10th season concluded
Am I the only person who didn’t like Harumi.
Harumi is the GOAT in every measure of the acronym! But I do think they should have let sleeping dogs lie. Don't bring back a character when their arc is perfect, it's ok for characters to have their arc and then die. Their story was told and with Harumi it was immaculate. Don't risk that story by ruining a perfect ending (looking at you Star Wars sequel trilogy).
@@Obi-Wan_KenobiThank God they spared Morro 💀
@@lunarbat6009 i believe that the writers genuinely hate S5 bc of morro and Airjitzu. i don't know why but that's the feeling i get from how scarce the wind element is introduced. like in S4 the spell chen uses requires ALL ELEMENTAL POWERS yet the wind is excluded. like wtf??????????
or how about how morro felt in the day of departed. WHY couldn't we get a scene with morro and lloyd or wu get a scene talking to each other about how they feel. I am legit disappointed that i actually said 'FINE I WILL DO IT MYSELF' and wrote up a different story for s5
About Garmadon and the Golden Weapon, yes, he COULD do any of that. But you forget the biggest reason he doesn't. He doesn't want to. Yes, he has a physical urge to destroy and conquer, but he as a person doesn't actually want to do it. So he does the minimal amount that could be considered "evil" but that isn't actually very harmful. In a way, it's just like Lloyd stealing candy.
I would've loved if in Day of the Departed they actually had resolutions for all villains, instead of only Morro. It would've been hard, since stone dude, Samukai, robo ninja and Chen had no positive traits whatsoever, but it would've been amazing if instead of fighting they had to make these guys accept their passing and move on. It's pretty unique and gives depth to bland minor villians
I would've liked if the generals (Samukai, Kozu and Cyptor) to get a resolution but Chen to just remain evil
Even as a kid, this was one of those shows where I knew it had a lot of dumb things happen that didn't make sense, but also appreciated for trying to be more than a glorified ad for Lego sets. For that, I'll always have a special place in my heart even if it doesn't always earn it.
I know you kinda mentioned it for season 1 but i still need to emphasise how FIRE the soundtrack of Ninjago is. It's the one thing that has remained consistently amazing from season 1 forward.
And just like with everything else season 8 and 9 peaked with their soundtrack.
Shoutout to Jay Vincent and Michale Cramer.
Yes! I was especially disappointed when he didn't mention the absolute BANGER that was Nya's turning into the sea theme. That whole scene is just PEAK Ninjago, from the animation to the music to the buildup!
The ost doesn't just carry the story, it leads and tells. I am biased as a music lover, but I honestly believe it's the heart and soul of Ninjago along with the cinematic feel and the main reason the show is so memorable.
The temple of light theme is genuinely one of the best things I’ve ever heard
Still a shame that Moro wasn’t used to his full potential, when characters that are uncontrollably angry are done right, it’s great, Gabriel from Ultrakill is a great example, he is constantly screaming and swearing, and you can really feel the content he has for V1, something that could almost exactly be transferred to Lloyd and Moro, Moro could have hated and constantly yelled at Lloyd because he hates the entire idea of someone else being worthy instead of him
"What..? How can this be? Bested by this… this thing..? You *insignificant FUCK!* THIS IS NOT OVER!"
it's not like morro doesn't have the voice for it ether,
i was not expecting a gabe reference though, it also fit's quite well though, given gabe will likely end up acting like morro did in day of the departed.
Calling the Overlord "Super Hitler" is actually peak comedy.
But Kalmaar Being "Sea Hitler" is peak accuracy.
I do wanna say something about Skybound and why i think Jay's Last wish was not as dumb as you showed it. First off, If i recall correctly, Jay was from the start of the season, kind of set up to make this wish. It was heavily implied that he had to wish from the heart, something genuine, something he struggled against. Logic and throwing shit at the wall didn't work because Nadakhan expected it, he WANTED to play somebody. Not to mention by the time the team was assembled, Nadakhan was already broken out of his curse, meaning he didn't have to obey by wishing rules, so he can grant his own wishes. In that moment he was basically unstoppable, untill getting shot by the poison.
Which actually brings me to the point, the entire setup for the wish you thought was quote unquote "Dumb" for me felt like the best way to beat Nadakhan, because not only is it Jay's real, undisputed desire to patch things up with Nya, the villian is basically incapacitated (Which now that i think about it, you didn't mention, like at all. It's a pretty big plot point) Every other Ninja either tried to outsmart him or didn't know he was trying to get them at first.
Idk i just feel like your criticism of the season falls short now that i think about it.
i agree, his main points of why it wasnt that good dont really work, he didnt mention so much of the important parts of the season.
The wish is insanely dumb. First of all, Jay wishes for two things, that Nya had taken his hand and that the teapot had never been found. Without any tinkering with the wish in the first place, only the first one should’ve been granted. Yet, both are. Second, Nadakhan is clearly cognitive and able to think, just in pain, given by the fact that he literally taunts and tells Jay to make his final wish. He could’ve easily twisted the wish, and just doesn’t for no reason. He could’ve only granted the first one, or granted the second one and twisted it to be no one has ever found the teapot ever, so he never gets trapped and gets to rule Djinnjago (until it dies, at least). And even then, he would’ve known when and could’ve stopped the ninja before.
But this could’ve all been solved anyways because Jay’s entire B-Team still have three wishes (along with literally ANYONE in Ninjago) and could’ve wished for everything to go back to normal (plus a number of other wishes). The scene, and wish, and concept… is dumb.
@@zame-osomething5096sure jay wished for two things but that wasn't really an atempt to defeat Nadakhan. It wasn't even directed at Nadakhan. Jay said to Nya: "I wish YOU would've taken my Hand, abd no one ever found that teapot in the first place."
Nadakhan turned back time when Jay wished for the tea pot to never be found, but It was Nya who granted the wish of taking his hand. Because she wanted it. It was Her call.
Expcept the wish isn't dumb at all Jay only wishes for one thing but he phrases the wish a simple cause and effect from Jay's perspective the Nya not taking his hand is the cause for Clouse finding the teapot, hence the core of Jay's wish revolves around the teapot not being found. Nadakahn is CLEARLY not cognitive he doesn't taunt Jay at all he only instinctively grabs his sword and moves towards him. His line "Your wish is yours to keep", is something he says all the time and obviously doesn't take much thought to say thirdly, even the hypothetical ways Nadakahn could have twisted the wish that you have said up wouldn't work. Let's say he just grants the first part then the ninja don't get found by the paparazzi and stop Clouse and the teapot is never found. While yes your second scenario could work there's still a chance that something worse could happen to Nadakahn in the years between when he was trapped and the present that Nadakahn likely wouldn't want to risk. There's no guarantee that he would survive the fall of his realm or even be capable of stopping it. Your B team argument falls flat because you ignores the first half of what the original poster said about logic based wishes not working, Jay has always been a character who acts with his heart first rather than his brain. In season 1 his character arc was completed when through Nya he was able to overcome his insecurities and love himself so that she could love him. His first wish was made to get Nya back, his second wish was made because his heart couldn't bare to be alone. Both times Nadakahn didn't twist the wish at all, Jay's wishes have consistently been shown to be one's that Nadakahn couldn't twist because they're not logic based. Their based on emotion but not irrational emotion like Zane had when he lost Pixel, why risk it with a B team partially filled up of people who are most logic based characters like the commissioner, or Ronin, or Echo Zane all logic based characters, the only reliable wisher the B team really had was Skylar, but even then why take that risk when Jay's wishes have had a confirmed 100% success rate up until that point
The underlying problem with Wishing powers is the same one that the Mega weapon had: when the limitations are vague or not air tight, it's easy to work around them, making them overpowered. Why not wish that Nadakhan never existed? Why not wish that his wishes intended out exactly like we wanted them to, not how he misinterprets them. Why not just wish that he would be on our side? It would take 3 seconds to beat him and all the deception in the world on his end couldn't do a thing to change it.
As a Ninjago fan, I heard ALL of this critique and was like “Yeah but you don’t understand.” And then… I thought, and found it nice to view ninjago through a nearly completely unbiased (this is for anything I may have missed) and critical lens. Thank you.
This 3 hour retrospective is really well done from a non Ninjago fan. Great job.
If someone has watched all episodes, caring about the story and making a review, and makes a video like this, THEY ARE A FAN.
@@phelps6205only if they like it, if they don't, then they're a hater.
@@horadetodososlegos Is there no room for neutrality or mild emotions?
Despite ALOT of the franchise’s narrative flaws I still love it, and so far the Netflix era of the series has actually been killing it with it’s storytelling and jokes for the most part, let’s hope it stays consistent in doing so
That dragons rising you mean
Cus as much as I'm nostalgia blinded for most part it was rlly good
But only 2 confirmed seasons for the Netflix era
Dragons rising was so unexpectedly good. Like I went in expecting to bash it lowkey but it was very fun and I’m excited to see what they have set up for the next season
I stopped watching years ago when Lloyd was replaced
What makes Mr F’s return SO MUCH worse, is that the original plan for Sons of Garnadon was to reveal him as Echo Zane, because if Skybound never happened, he was just left there, so it was a great idea! But then he was killed off in Hunted. And because of that i thought “holy shit they brought him back for the finale, they can finally reveal him as Echo Zane and even give him some arc” BUT NO! THEY LITERALLY DID NOTHING WITH HIM LIKE BRUH
As you said, the best part of that was it would have added some actual consequences to what happened with Skybound, but no, we can't have nice things
As a Ninjago fan, this review has me in tears with how funny it is. I applaud you for getting through it, and pointing out things I hadn't actually noticed before. Anyway, Ninjago is a mess, but I still love it. God bless!
I'm glad their are more ninjago fans like you instead of the crazy elitist only liking the show for nostalgia and for it being unpopular.
@@Blueguy404not every hard core ninjago fan is like that
same i feel like that most ninjago fans understand that it sucks but it's still insanely entertaining for what it is somehow
@@Blueguy404 most like it cuz it is good tho
@@MandyCandy13Yeah, like me, I know it was kind of bad but still watch it for some reason.
After how great Season 13 and 14 were I was baffled with how they handled 15.
This video was incredible. I put it on at midnight and watched it all the way through until 4 am.
This show outlasted The Clone Wars, TMNT 2012, Young Justice, Batman: Brave and the Bold, Last Airbender/Korra, Transformers: Prime, Justice League Unlimited, Teen Titans, and Star Wars: Rebels.
That's impressive but... Ninjago? Really? That's the show that outlasts all the well regarded shows?
this show is very popular and well written
Both Chima and Nexo knights where made to beat Ninjago both failed.
its mid ngl@@Carslikesninjago
So what, Simpsons outlasted them all and it sucks now.
@@xxxxtentacion9931I find your lack of faith disturbing
54:10 Chen used the ferry to send his soldier to the city, which is presumably how he kept tabs on the ninja. we even see some in Kai’s fight club in the first ep watching him
1:42:48 Ray and Maya didn't have their powers at that point of time because they had been transferred to Kai and Nya to be unlocked later
You forgot a really important detail, though:
It's okay, she's with us
I’m surprised Ninjago kept going after the elemental tournament.
it peaks at season 8-9
They shouldn't have continued the way they did past the 7th season. The entire Sons of Garmadon storyline happened because of that mediocre Ninjago film. Ironic, the show didn't have a large impact on the movie, but the film left a stain on the series forever
@@tamas9554Son and Hunted were the best seasons, I am so happy they kept going!
Im glad it did, Sons of Garmadon, Hunted and Seabound are all pretty recent and probably the best of ninjago, and dragons rising is looking pretty good so far
@@tamas9554I can tell you never watched seasons 8-10 because of the artstyle
Bit of a nitpick, but Garmadon is the older brother
I really appreciate that you’re not doing this as a sort of apology for that old video but as a genuine critique. You make some very good points, great job.
54:00
Chen is a crimeboss with eyes and ears EVERYWHERE IN NINJAGO, having a lot of their memorabilia.
There would be no one to guard the factory since it was mostly automated, the staff ran away after THE FUCKING DEVIL SPAWNED IN IT, and the robots were in the streets.
Elemental masters come from all over Ninjago, not just Ninjago city. From Realm travel to their own lives, their is no reason for them help the world since they probably didn't have the son of god to tell them it's their duty. They are people and people are selfish.
So Chen somehow found out before the Ninja that Zane somehow transferred his consciousness to another machine in a factory that everyone ran away from. No one was there to guard that factory, meaning no one should've known except Pixal who just figured it out and Pixal, if this story made sense was so overjoyed that she told random people on the streets before Zane's best friends who she had also met that Zane had somehow survived and some of those people eventually got the message to Chen.
Chen decides to kidnap Zane and get the Ninja to his somehow legitimate running business, how an exiled criminal runs a "legitimate" business advertised to be his own in the same place where he was exiled is beyond me.
Also, there is a heavy presence of tech and robotic gadgets so the idea that in this factory that is still somehow running (still using the same logic), even though The Overlord morphed out of it, has as much as it does, and Chen's staff, the same guys who made a bed that led to the Ninja finding out all of Chen's secrets managed to break in and somehow apprehend Zane and Pixal is still beyond me 😂 and it is so funny to think about.
I really liked that seabound was praised. Nya's sacrifice was so good and so was the whole season and kalmar was a great villain. Great season but for somereason most ppl don't even have it in their top 5.
I might be reaching here, but I have an idea that it's because most people watching it are not older, or are not children with a painful past. I'm a mother in my 40's lol. I don't care, I love this show, and both my kids also grew up loving it. I still watch it. I had quite a traumatic past, where I had to make hard decisions that were not my fault. For me, what happened with Nya, and her mother hit very close to home. It was very moving to me how it was handled, and that Nya was made to realise, 'Sometimes, there are NO good choices.' Which is the truth. It was a very mature, and empathic concept, that was put forward in a way that kids could understand. The scene with Nya merging with the sea was incredibly beautiful to me, and ditto to the music they used. Also, because it was a tribute to the voice actor for Cole who had sadly died....But I think because for most, this was not personal, it didn't hit as deep for them. I also think some people were upset that Kai was sidelined so much, and all he said when Nya was leaving was 'you're not going anywhere.' I have to agree with THAT, they should have done better. Kai is my favourite, and Nya's leaving would have been more impactful for him than that.
I quite liked Garmadon in the first seasons. Mark Oliver was entertaining, and he could ham it up whenever he needed
As proven in the other shows he voiced the antagonist in, he could be both menacing and hammy whenever he needed to
Tournament of elements, possession, and skybound is peak fiction bro
I'm glad someone else likes S6. I will always have a soft spot for it (especially since I tend to like Jay), even if I totally get the criticism.
Describing season 13 as The Great Devide but a whole season really puts it into perspective
1:13:01 what I tink they were going for is that the ninja have grown, but they grew with Lloyd by their side. This was trying to prove Lloyd was not only the chosen one, but also a key part of the team that they needed to funtion.
Although it did come off as though they were pushing this idea too heavy.
Nya returning in crystalized made no sense since she did nothing important and was completely useless in that season and even worse since dragons rising had the perfect explanation to how she would return. The merge this powerful cataclysmic event changes how ninjago is formed and this event allows Nya to return to being human, she can return because this prophecised event changed how everything worked it would have made so much sense.
It's really fascinating to look at this show with a critical eye. I was a child when it started coming out, and I watched a lot of really big episodes as they were airing at a friend's house, so I have a ton of nostalgia for this show, especially the first two seasons. But they really aren't as good as I remember them being, I think I'm just attached to these characters so much that I never really noticed, even when I watched the series when I was older. That's what I get for having Lloyd as my favorite character.
the use of a stock photo of a straight couple while saying "any of that gay shit" at 1:50:22 drew a genuine snort from me. peak moment
Really feel they could have kept Nia as an important character but in water spirit mode, while she suffers from amnesia or insanity kinda like ice king in a adventure time.
Who's her? Nia?
@sonicfanboy3375 Yeah, im bad with names and wasn't super confident
Do you watch Crusty783
Finally, my autistic fixation on a beloved childhood property is validated through several-hour long content for me to consume!!!
Same 😅👍
Thank you for making this video. Ninjago has been near and dear to my heart. So, I'm happy that you talked about it.
EDIT: Too clarify Chen paid off Ronin to kidnap Zane and Pixal but I honestly never learned this till like a year ago.
with the video game season the villain could have worked like The Collector from The Owl House in some similar way where it's a all-powerful being kid who doesn't know that they're harming people.
53:33 For clarity, it was Ronin that kidnapped Zane and Pixal and delivered them to Chen, not that it makes much sense anyway
I like how much time you spent on Crystalized and there's still do much shit in it that you haven't covered
Bro didnt even try to Touch the mess that Oni Lloyd was
@@ZeroJump imo Oni Lloyd was well executed but each to their own
I was literally a baby watching this and now I'm a legal adult and it only just ended.
It's absurdly long.
That makes you 12 it doesn't add up
It hasnt ended lmao
"They've gone a level beyond bullshit... ELEPHANT SHIT!!!"
I am using that.
Also, for as much as I disagree with a lot of the negative comments here, I wholeheartedly agree about Crystalized. Garmadon was the ONLY good part of that hot mess.
7:49 Garmadon is actually wu's older brother.
Man, Just Stop hasn't uploaded in sometime. I'll go see how old his last video is and..... OH JESUS!
"Dragon rising!"
"Huh?"
"Dragon rising is starting out good!"
Honestly as a longtime fan of Ninjago, this is a perfect ranking and analysis of the series. Keep up the good work. Can’t wait for the dragons rising video in like… god knows when.
I was a teenager when this show came out.
I am now almost 29.
How?! Is it still going?
Crystalized hate never gets old 🔥
So..Basically the crystal council is basically the doom syndicate before the doom syndicate.
No because they're actually funny and are a legit threat
And the crystal council are old enemies coming together, whilst the doom syndicate are a group of enemies
Garmadon was actually the older brother while wu was the younger brother. Even though Garmadon seems younger, thats because the great devower bite, caused him to age slowly or something like that.
Season 3 Reeboot is the result of bad production. Over 3 times the runtime was changed resulting in wierd writing and pacing
3:18:03 It's okay, shes with us tho!!😳😳
🤣🤣🤣🤣
My God, I stopped watching when Season 2 ended with the Overlord’s defeat. I thought it was done because that’s what it was advertised as! Not even a week later it seemed, I saw the first episode of Season 3, and my pre-teen brain thought it was a special epilogue or something. But NOPE. I stopped keeping up with it after that.
Fifteen seasons, holy fuck…
I’m currently watching him rant about possession. I can’t wait to see what he has to say about Crystalized
He says it ruins everything and is the worst season buy a mile
Here’s a good idea. What if Nia came back not as herself but rather have a clone of herself. And when learning about it, she has a small arc on what use could she held like her original. It’s sort of two way for me but it is better than what we actually got
How did the Overlord survive molecular disintegration?
He rolled when he landed.
How did Pythor survive being eaten by the Great Devourer?
He rolled when he landed.
What you said about season 8 and 9 was so amazing,
it's such a shame it was ruined in season 15
I see people attempting to explain things that you pointed out by saying that the lead story guy said something on Twitter, but real stories arent told on twitter and the show should have told us this.
Fun fact; the Overlord is voiced by Scott McNeill who also voiced Piccolo in the Dragon Ball franchise, Rattrap and Dinobot in Beast Wars and Mr. White in Johnny Test. Some just straight up random shit.
“We fought a battle a million years ago, now I’m back for revenge”
That pretty much sums up a lot of Ninjago Villains
The only characters who that could apply to are Overlord and Omega though
No matter what you think about Ninjago itself, you can’t deny that the theme song fucking rocks!
Season 8 and 9 are so peak I'm so happy people are finally seeing it
The whole thing with Nya being back wasn't planed. Originally she was supposed to appear in the finale while still merged with the sea. She was supposed to face Lloyd, who totally lost control and gave into his oni side after his father actually dies. Lloyd was supposed to defeat the Crystal King and take his throne, being stuck in the oni form.
Something I don't see talked about much is
Why did the ninja suddenly forget they can create elemental dragons after season 6? Like i get why they stopped using it in season 5 because they lost their powers but after that there's no reason not to use it
Oh yeah since season 8 they just retconned the dragons and airjitsu and dismissed it with a vague "time twins messed with time" but first of all the writers could have at least explained it in the show instead of some books or something and they could have given a more in depth explanation, as what they have given us is not enough, like if they don't have the dragons, than did time twins change time in season 4 for ninja to cross the ocean with motor boats, just the explanation is basically non existent as I still have questions
I had always assumed the Gene gets ti pick who gets the wishes not just someone around. He has to pick who he wants to be the wisher so thats why he travels to the ninja to get them to wish and why having more people on the team doesnt mean more wishes but anyone who has been a wisher before will still have their wishes available if they still had wishes left. This is what i assumed his powers were when the show first came out cause it seemed like the logical conclusion to what he can do and why no one else that he doesnt get himself can make wishes
First of all, I appreciate the better video
now here are my random thoughts on the video:
1: ...yeah sure
2: Yeah just a line saying something like "sorry father" from Lloyd before fighting the overlord would have been much better
3: I didnt know it was Pythor under the hood. I think the gold weapons meteor thing is a cool idea. The retcons actually make the overlord coming back actually pretty cool. They did say Zane had an extraordinary power source in his heart so I always thought they were clear about it overloading the overlord with energy. I like what you made up for it tho
4: I think they made it so when Zane connected himself to get the ninja in the digital world, he go some of his essence in the system. People seem to really love this season but personally I dont see it either, I do like it tho.
5: The style of Possession and Morro got me back into Ninjago, just so cool. Also Morro is Tai Lung from kung fu panda I noticed too lol. Good leader idea thing. Wu's secrets are a Ninjago blight
6: They did the say the wish had to come from the heart to not be able to be twisted, is it smarter? nah but its in internal logic.
DotD: the message of "if you've not achieved anything in you life to make you famous you'll die alone and forgotten and your life was meaningless"
7:eeeeeeeeeeeh
Movie: there's actually a clip from an early draft of the movie, it would be about the ninja going back to the old serpentine war and pre-evil garmadon and stuff, not connected to the show but closer, looks cool
8: ABSOLUTE MARVEL, had no idea that a Ninjago season could be that INCREDIBLE, the darker vibe just worked so well, its one of the best seasons of the show. Right from the start, the style, the action, the intrigue, the lore... wow
using breaking bad clips lol, epic. Surprised you didnt point out the weird secret royal family thing tho
9: Hunted is insane with the constant anxiety and twisting of the characters
10: Yeah it was ok but didnt follow up too well, the tornado of creation and the oni were super disappointing generic villains, I wanted them to be just a bunch, maybe a hundred, but each as power as a dragon, wielding dark magic... Garmadon cool tho yeah. They lost elemental dragons and spinjitsu after their own seasons basically
11: Got goofy. Weird they never made parallels between Nya not having powers before, Kai losing his powers or Nya not being able to use her powers without liquid water... Zane doesnt control ice he creates it with cold but it would be cool to explore the thin barriers between elements
12: I didnt mind the season focusing on the ninja developing characters around them on their journey even if not changing themselves. I would like if they explained him still trying to play somewhat by the rules because he wants to be a "good program" or smth
13: The DnD based sets were pretty cool switch-up tho. People really love this season but me not so much
Island: sure yeah
14: WE ARE SO BACK, maybe as good as SOG, very Shakespearean
15: Oh no you should have stopped, oh its too late, they tried to nostalgia us but its probably the most hated season lol. I begrudgingly find the way they brought her back clever, but man I wished they didnt. Pythor was super cool, especially his invisible snake motion fighting in the new animation.
The Zane emotions are needed is not good, but at least it builds up to this; Negative emotions are needed, and shouldn't be rejected.
HOWEVER if thats the case, have Lloyd learn and understand that his hate is to be accepted, hate is his loved, and his desire to protect those he loves, its love becoming strength, he knows Oni like Mistake can be good. He was defined by his compassion but he has to embrace all parts of himself, find balance, use the oni form (or even better an oni/dragon form, dont even need to change the design)
Dragons Rising: Awwww yeah its pretty cool so far
I finally overcame clicking on this video, being skeptical to how I would react to the criticism and how good it would be, actually fairly good in both regards. I think its a fairly common ranking yeah, all seemed in decent order
52:17 weirdly enough, this was revealed in a 3ds game of all things. It is shown that Ronin somehow took Zane in his new body and sold him to Chen, a lazy explanation, yes, but an explanation nonetheless
I would love to see seasons 1-7 Remade in some fashion, reworking the plots and stuff to try and improve off the shortcomings of the original show. Season 3 and 4 were my childhood, and looking back at them, I really wish they were better.
They can't that would literally retcon the whole show
I’ve been Thinking about doing that for a while, thinking about what I’d change, what I wouldn’t, what I’d throw out, what I’d keep in, Drawing up concepts and stuff
I’m Probably Not Going to do it (I don’t have enough time, and IDK, it just feels dirty), although, If I do, I’m only doing up to Season 10, and it’s going to be a Novel like thing
2:40 Aw… No Bionicle?
I thought Ninjago ended after season 2 back in 2012.
Did you know Image comics/Skybound(The comic publisher that created Invincible) had made a Ninjago Comic focusing on *Garmadon.* it’s pretty good book.
Really? Because I devoured this shit I never stopped watching until my mid teens
@@Galvatronoveryeah, there’s already a trade book of it a year ago. It’s called *Lego Ninjago: Garmadon by Tri Vuong*
That's a shame, even though I really didn't grew up with Bionicle until late into its life, it's one of the most popular construction Toylines of LEGO that saved it from bankruptcy. Though JustStop probably doesn't know that or even interested into it since it doesn't have TV as its min source of media, since its spread out to other forms of media like books, comics, games etc. There's G2, but it's lacking certain aspects like the mysterious atmosphere, the varied setting, & the in-depth worldbuilding that makes Bionicle G1 so appealing in the first place.
Wow talk about a redemption arc for just stop, he gave it a chance and actually loved some things in it. Also is it me or has this been the year where Ninjago got the most attention from this to reaction channels.
Did it take Hollywood to have two strikes to finally give Ninjago the credit it deserves, also OH MY that infamous it’s ok she’s my with I can’t even finish it, that line is almost as memed as somehow Palpatine returned.
Also I like how you even like crusty agree Garmadon is the only salvagble thing in crystalized, he’s basically babu frik from rise of Skywalker. A sentence I never thought I would say ever.
Crystallized frustrates me so much. It’s abysmal writing doesn’t even understand the whole point of Harumi’s character.
As a kid, I was always annoyed by the lack of actual LEGO and wondered why LEGO bricks never appeared in the show. It turns out that you can't show real world products in animated kids shows (though it's allowed for live action family programming).
JUMP UP, KICK BACK, WHIP AROUND, AND SPIN
3:01:46 Nya was gonna appear towards the end of Crystallized (in her NRG form) to help Lloyd and the others fight the Overlord
One thing about the end of S6 and the B team using their wishes: Jay tried to wish so Nadakhan wasn't a Djinn, but he kept teleporting away so he couldn't hear Jay's wish.
Haven't fully finished the video yet but enjoying it so far
a lot of the opinions here do represent the fandom's overall opinions on seasons' qualities and its really interesting to see a review that investedly suggests room for improvements
(tbh I feel like Ninjago's habit of having potential but missing the mark is part of what contributes to the strong fandom because... thats literally just fanfiction fodder. thats "here's the lovable ingredients, make something better" material LOL)
I'd be really interested in seeing a review of Dragons' Rising. So far I love it a lot and I think it'd be a positive review based on the rest of these metrics. The pull a move similar to Sons of Garmadon by making abrupt changes that look at the series from a new perspective, as well as a sudden leap in quality/budget: the animation, scenery & soundtrack are all great, the character writing feels real, Mr. Frohickey is there, etc
In the first 7 minutes and 48 seconds he messes up calling garmadon wu's younger brother
This is extremely refreshing, hearing a mostly negative side of Ninjago's criticism really puts this series into perspective for me.
Like, the entire argument of Garmadon's characterization in S2 was something I've NEVER heard before.
Great video! I'm not done yet but I had something to say about Prime Empire, I think Unagami's motivation for not just killing players was because his AI was coded to make the most fun video game experience he could. And despite being after him, the ninja count as players. And kust killing them would really undermind his entire purpose for existing.
Not to say the season is perfect, it's definitely flawed. But I think that's the one thing I'd disagree with you about.
Literally the only time nya and cole interacted before season 3 was in season one when cole said to her: “I wish I had a sister like you.” 💀
*SWEET HOME ALABAMA*
We're making it out of our childhoods with this one!
The sequel to Just Stop’s most controversial video at last
Bro did not just say s8 is the best 💀
I hate season 8, one of the most glaring and obnoxious ones if the fact these heroes who’ve defeated all these villains are struggling against fucking bikers, BIKERS
@@TailcoatGamesit’s his opinion also the bikers have a large numbers advantage and a magic masks
@@ButterScootch 4 of them have magic
@@ButterScootch the rest are literally just normal ahh dudes
@TailcoatGames Thought I was the only who was thinking this, I never saw the hype for season 8 (other than Harumi being a good villain)
Garmadon is probably the only good thing on Crystallized
Well, all in long I will say that I did generally like the video it was a bit more negative than expected and I felt like you were talking more about the villains a majority instead of the season overall but nonetheless, I am happy you finished the video and I’m surprised/glad it took This long to make considering Ninjago is a lot and when you explain your reasoning for liking or disliking something you had a reason for it and I’m happy for it, although I will say, I generally do love master of the mountains, because other than is a Cole centric season, they explained so much of his past and shows his growth and no joke. The last fight was incredibly well done besides other reason why I also like the season is just honestly up there as a personal favorite, but nonetheless, I’m glad you finish and I hope you don’t get too much hate for certain seasons because as we all know that happens and is crazy, that happened to you once before but I hope this time with the explanation you have given you won’t get that much hate and I hope you have a great day/stay safe⭐️🐸🦉⭐️
This show was my childhood and easily my favorite show as a kid. Back at its peak it was one of the only kids shows that told one big story instead of each episode being about something different like SpongeBob
Ninjago was such an amazing show for being one big ad. Even tho it was just a commercial you could see the passion behind it. Just watch one BTS video of the voice actors making an episode and you can see how much fun they had. The writers really made the most out of what they were given.
But it went downhill after I’d say the “Hands of Time” season. It was so boring compared to previous seasons. The biggest problem is that they just keep dragging it out and didn’t know when to just end it. The show should have ended after the Djinn season. The 2 side characters Jay and Nya who up to this point were just comic relief and the girl character that really didn’t do much. Finally got development and a pretty entertaining story arc.
Nah, season 8 and 9 are the best parts of the show
@@skylandersfan6954 if that’s your favorite part then more power to you but don’t reply saying “Nah you’re wrong” when it’s just a difference of opinion.
The Sons of garmadon seasons aren’t bad though
Hey man, this is a fantastic video and I agree with almost everything you said! It’s great to see an actual critical and deep dive into the series as most fans are really blinded by nostalgia or their just kids lol. Anyway appreciate all the work you put into this video!
As someone who hasn't watched a single episode of Lego Ninjago...
How the fuck does Lego Ninjago have such deep lore
And why are there so many of you having actual deep meaningful analytical conversations and takes about this show
WHAT HAVE I MISSED
Finally finished!😅
It’s crazy to hear genuine criticism on a show i think is perfect, but it made the 3 and a half hours go by fast!
Finally, you made a serious review on Ninjago instead of throwing it and being cancelled for it. You may still not like the show, but I respect you for giving out actual valid criticisms this time. Shame that LS Mark can’t come back to redeem himself after his atrocious takes on the first “review” that was deleted out of embarrassment. (Never mess with the Clancee nation again)
2:20:50 airjitsu is only usable when the user has a running start iirc, you have to start from the ground/a stable platform before using it, which is why Cole couldn’t in this scenario
In season 2 I think Garmeddon mentions using the dark matter to make people “see what he sees” and “feel what he feels” so maybe that has something to do with how the evilness works
The whole "Chen capturing Zane" thing is explained in external media.
Specifically, the game, Shadow Of Ronin for the 3DS.
Ronin, the titular character, is hired by Chen to capture Zane. That's it.
Obviously locking key plot points of your story behind external separate from the main media itself is a massively stupid idea.
The theme song slaps
Really enjoyed this retrospective , but thought there was one thing that should be brought up
Execs actually really wanted Ninjago gone and told the fans that Chima would make them forget all about it. It was actually the fans of the series and the creators deciding there was more material to be discussed that had it come back
So in other words chima failed so they kept Ninjago, like he said
@@Turvold was a decision made while Chima was still going
being a massive ninjago fan, this is a really good video. it both helps me emphasize what I do like the most being the oni trilogy. And it helps me see some more flaws in the show and understand where I stand with enjoying content. Although I disagree with much of the video, I really appreciate it. so thank you