I always loved how the Piraka felt like an evil toa team, similar powers and weapons and aesthetics, makes their role as imposters on Voya Nui all the more believable

I also think that the Piraka’s story can be a reflection of the three virtues: -Unity is obvious enough with the Piraka constantly backstabbing each other for their own goals and whatnot -Duty is an inverse of the Toa’s duty to selflessly defend the matoran by enslaving them for selfish purposes -The Destiny of a Toa becoming a wise Turaga is subverted when the Piraka are mutated into sea snakes the next year, and only becoming more bitter

Vezok: “And We’ll kill ANYONE who gets in our WAY!!!” Zaktan: “No we’re not.” Vezok: “Okay we’ll kill a few people!” Zaktan: “No.” Vezok: “We’ll kill ONE guy, one stupid guy that no one loves.” Zaktan: “I’m surrounded by idiots.”

Here's something that kids who didn't experience the way these characters were introduced at the time might not realize: all of the marketing surrounding the Piraka was meant to convince us that these guys were replacing the Toa at the center of the plot. All of the prior canister villains, while some of them elite, had just been drones or footsoldiers; traditionally only Toa got so much spotlight and persona. Just as the Piraka duped the Matoran into believing they were Toa, the audience was intentionally fed into that lie and led to believe these were our new protagonists. I remember being incredibly offput by this in 2006, and I literally thought, "what are they doing? They're ruining Bionicle" before the relieving introduction of the Inika won me back over. Only later did I realize how thematic and clever that marketing angle was.

I'd also point out that, since you brought up Vezon being the evil counterpart to Takanuva, that would also make Fenrakk/Kardas the dark counterpart to Pewku.

Something worth noting; Vezon could be seen as an anti-Takanuva for more reasons than discussed here. Much like Takanuva he was an unwilling host to a legendary golden mask whose domain is a one-syllable word that starts with “li”, his mount could be seen as some dark and twisted parody of Takua’s Pewku, his weapon of choice - the spear of fusion - shares many aesthetic commonalities with Takanuva’s scythe (including the exact same blade part), and he came from a Piraka whose color scheme primarily consisted of blue in a similar vein to Takua being primarily blue prior to becoming a toa.

The Piraka were honestly super scary. They seemed nearly an impossible challenge for the Toa because they countered them all so well

I guess Thematic opposition was a recurring trend in BIONICLE's villains. It kind of started with the Rahkshi and their powers and personalities, and the writers ran with it and continued that theme or motif, It just became less obvious and they weren't as up front and in your face with it as they were with the Rahkshi with "Their unity, can be poisoned..." and so on and so forth.

This could actually help people who want to make Skakdi MOCs. While Toa of Iron would be extremely creative, Skakdi of Iron would like Themselves into destruction and etc

Design wise, the Piraka were always my favorite villain set, so I love this look into how they contrast with the toa and tropes of their elements

Yea, that makes a lot of sense - the Piraka being a team of "dark Toa" fits really well with the characters and what they represent, and you also have a great point that the entire island is something of an inversion to the Mata Nui island, right down to the Voya Matoran being broken, run down and forgotten by the rest of the universe where the Mata Matoran were regarded as precious and had to be protected at all cost as they were (almost literally) the lifeblood of Mata Nui.

Honestly, never thought of Vezon as an Anti Takanuva, but now that you mention it, I can see that it makes a LOT of sense. Especially the part with "he wasn't supposed to exist", because it's completely true. His creation was an accident and the only big story purpose he ever had was being enslaved to guard the Mask of Life. After the Voya Nui storyline Vezon has absolutely no purpose and is mostly used for comic relief. He is the embodiment of chaos.

The idea of been passing as Toa was a clever idea to have the villagers at their side, the Piraka`s intentions was only getting the Mask of Life for themselves and even bethaying each other.

These guys were the first villain sets I managed to get EVERY figure for. They had so much personality it was fun just to have them side by side one another as a kid. =)

Also, there is a comment by Reidak when he says Toa are too weak opponents, and that he has killed so many and so easily it doesn't bring him joy to do it. I don't think there is really that big of a power imbalance between Skakdi and Toa. Instead, I think the difference is that Toa will never use their powers to kill and will always try to avoid hurting third parties or the environment; by the other hand Skakdi will never hesitate to use their powers and take advantage of their opponents. I think that a dishonored Toa like Tuyet or Zaria could kill a Skakdi easily by using their powers in ways no other Toa would ever dare to try.

Good point, in many ways the Piraka were foils for the Toa Nuva and by extension, the Toa Inika.

Outside of the barraki (which i also believe they too represent what the Piraka did to the toa of their time [in a way]) I feel like you hit the nail right on the head with all of them which also made them my favorite villains from all of Bionicle. I do wish they would have come back in the end instead of them being turned into eel like creatures later on.

The Piraka were peak villians

I also noticed that Vezok is the first (and as far as I know) the only blue Bionicle of a team to be a male, as opposed to the vast majority of blue Toas being portrayed as females. Which I think neatly adds to the whole "polar-opposites" theory of yours.

The gang is on the lose and their is nothing you can do

A lot of Bionicle villains are like that, especially during the ignition trilogy, lacking unity, duty and destiny, and in the end it’s why they all lose.

One of my favorite things about the Piraka when I read the books was this contrast between Piraka and toa! They were clearly meant as alternatives to the regular Toa, and their powers and personalities made them powerful enough to smash the Toa Nuva

Great video man, I think its reasonable to say the least that the Piraka were mirroring the Toa. also just to mention it, they were always my favorite design.

I missed these guys for years, how time changed drastically.

Some of the Barraki felt like they had opposite personality traits of some Toa of elements associated with each of their respective color of armor. Tahu was hot headed but deeply caring and protective of his teammates, and would often charge into a situation with little to no forethought, and Vakama became like this for a while as well. Kalmah was cold, calculating, ruthless, and rarely displayed emotion. Kopaka was known for being cool, calm, cold, and collected. Pridak was short tempered and ruled by his emotions, being a word or two away from exploding into a rage and violently assaulting even his fellow Barraki. Lewa, Matau, and other Toa of Air can be wild, spontaneous, brave, reckless, fun loving, and care free. Ehlek was cautious, and nervous by nature, distrustful of any being that was not a natural native ocean dweller and was extremely bitter and angry with the Matoran of Mahri Nui after their city crushed his fortress on it's fall to the seafloor and they begun hunting sea creatures.

Hmm yes the lore of the Piraka

The Rivalry between Tahu and Nektann has remained me of Charizard and Blastoise

this is great idea

"He doesn't smile," *Immediately shows clip of Zaktan smiling after that*

I love the piraka storyline because there's SO many times when they all betray each other, but at the end of it they get back together immediately

“He doesn’t smile”, Proceeds to show a clip of Zaktan doing Exactly that. 2:54

This was an awesome essay! Interesting way to get back to Bionicle. Good job!

Thok was also the opposite of the archetypical Toa of ice in that while Toa of ice were sometimes quiet and reserved and/or intense and serious, or at least Kopaka was, Thok was a snarky dick who would often make jokes and remarks, some at his fellow Piraka's expense.

Love this, played Bionicle heroes for the PS2 growing up and own all 6 Piraka, I never thought of them as the Anti Toa, but I love this idea and it holds a lot of water Very great vid

Just discovered this channel, love your videos!

Yeah this is a brilliant analysis, I never thought of that! I am so glad that people are giving Bionicle the attention it deserves!

I've been thinking about this concept for a while now, and it's nice to know I'm not just seeing things.

Reading through the voya nui chapters, I noticed something similar might be going on for the voya nui matoran as well. Either being strong in their opposite elemental traits, or sort of broken or lacking in their own typical characteristics. Balta appears to be more concerned and caring, being most concerned about Dalu passing out. Velika being the philosopher, but is sl mysterious and doest explain which hinders practicality. Kazi, constantly getting angry and triggered by Velika's comment, and being the one to understand the least of what he says.

Ooh I love that observation!

(Someone else might’ve already said this) Vezon having the Staff of Light piece in his spear could be meant to show his connection to Takanuva.

Here is my opposite personalites of real toas, the Barraki and the Pirakas An toa of fire-Bold, honorable, charismatic passionate but also hotheaded with a strong sense of duty and caring of others. Hakann-Narcissistic as hell Kalmah-Very cold, calculating and incredibly calm as the same time despite trying to plan to the take over the matoran universe An toa of water-Calm, kind and peacemaking. Vezok-Very impulsive, violent and insane. And before he got splitted into two peaces he was very dangerous and unpredictable. Because of he was then a psychopath. Takadox-Very manipulative towards everyone around him, especially to Carapar. Who he treated like a robot of a dog, when he was sent to the pit and when he lived in the bottom of the Sea of the Southern Continent. Which also shows that he was a psychopath like Vezok and Thok as well. An toa of earth-Very smart and strong, were they think more before they make any decisions to attack their enemies. Reidak-Loves to use his brute strength rather than thinking and planning. Before he is taking any action, which is a typical toa of air or stone would do. Mantax- Are secretive when he decides to investigate things. An toa of ice-Quiet, calm, collected, very intelligent and very independent as well. Thok-Very manipulative towards everyone around him like Takadox, and likes to bully the rest of the Piraka with his so called “Jokes” towards them. Pridak-Very aggressive and violent despite being a leader. An toa of stone-Strong, independent, practical and direct. As well as dependable. Avak-Very creative, smart and hates to fight psychically. Carapar-Use to be a dominant and smart conqueror, until he was sentenced to the pit. Were he was hypnotized by Takadox so much that, he became too obedient to him and sometimes very dumb because of this. An toa of air-Very lighthearted, and relaxed. But also hates sometimes to think before taking action. Zaktan-Are very serious and scary. Ehlek-Very angry and because of this gets very irritating towards things. Takanuva-Mata Nuis great hope of defeating Teridax and his evil at that island. Vezon-An copy of the Joker from Batman. Were he is insane and unpredictable because of this. Nocturn-Aggressive, with no impulse control what so ever but dumb as the same time.

Something that just came to.mimd that may also be an interesting twist and contrastimg the toa are their eyes. The toa figures always had light constantly shining through because of the transparant pieces exposed to the light. Bit the piraka skulls are all covered up letting no light in, relying on the button to be pressed to appear light, for as long as you are willing to put in the effort, or as long as the battery lasts. Their light/goodness is not natural but artificial, an act. While.for the toa it is a reflection of their open and transparant nature.

Good stuff man! You just earned yourself a new sub! I mean, a new gathered friend! :D

Don’t forget Toa of fire have a strong sense of protecting those weaker than them. Hakann derives joy from hurting and dominating lesser beings.

While the points on Reidak, Vezok, and Hakann, are pretty similar, the other comparisons are a lot more strong.

“In addition there is no way LEGO would actively delve into religion like that” He says about a property whose story is focused on waking up god after the devil put him to sleep.

To add two more parallels between Takanuva and Vezon, both had a similar staff with a blade at the end of it, and both had their fates dramatically influenced by a mask, but whereas Takanuva realized his destiny and willfully accepted it by putting on the Avohkii, transforming him into who he was meant to be, Vezon was cursed by the Ignika after touching it in an attempt to use it for his own selfish ends, having his fate forcefully bound to the mask by it fusing to his head and making him a slave to it and forced to protect it as its guardian for all time, having the mask use and wear him in a way, Ironically.

There's one thing I don't understand. Vezok poses as a Toa of water, right? And all Toa (or most) were once Matoran on. And all Ga-Matoran are female. What's a male "Toa" of water doing on Voya Nui?

i feel like avak or thok would be the least evil of the piraka. and it 's worth mentioning about zaktan that, according to greg i believe, he was one of only like two or maybe three piraka that didn't kill any matoran for no reason. i know thok was the other and MAYBE avak also another general way in which the piraka are mirrored is that their elements are not significant to them at all. they don't define their lives of dispositions in any way, as opposed to toa and matoran

Not many people know this, but I'll say it. The Piraka are evil, but it's not their fault. An experiment done to them, and other Skakdi, by Makuta Spiriah made them the way they are. They used to be peaceful.

Me, myself and I.

Is Zaktann still “alive” by the end of the series? (Even if he’s still a giant cloud of bugs)

It kinda sounds like you're squeezing a piece of plastic in the background. Are you playing with a Bionicle in this recording? 😂

woah

You said that visakh would kill and fight and being violent and paranoid and angry does that mean he’s a sin of wrath you said that Piraka look like a the seven deadly sins? Right or wrong I’m just saying

I had the hakann Shit was badass

Who's the white bionicle not the piraka one the other one I forgot it's been so many years

I hear creaking plastic through your microphone. I'll bet you were playing with a Bionicle while making this.

0:25 Who represents lust? lol

*YO YO PIRAKA*

Do you know about the webcomic slightly damned