This is How You Write a Soft Reboot (Ninjago: Dragons Rising)
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- čas přidán 29. 06. 2024
- In todays video I go over why I believe Ninjago Dragons Rising works so incredibly well as a soft reboot to Ninjago!
Want more Dragons Rising discussion? check out the most recent NinjagoCast: • DRAGONS RISING PART 1!...
Chapters
0:00 Intro
1:01 Context
2:00 The merge
6:45 New Characters
14:47 Final thoughts and Outro
Thank you for watching this video and I hope you enjoyed it!
#NInjago #LegoNinjago #ninjagodragonsrising - Hry
What's great is that Arin represents the old fan that grew up with Ninjago and is suddently questioning were the ninja are, while Sora represents the new viewer that sees this pre-established world for the first time.
he is litterly me
This is my thoughts too
It's so refreshing to see Lloyd get character focus that isn't about Harumi.
Fuck Harumi, all my homies hate Harumi
I don’t know how you feel about Harumi but I really hope she comes back in later seasons 3 or 4 😊
@@adenweiner5573 Pre-Crystalized Harumi is great, not so much after
@@samhbricks3353 yes i admit her redemption arc could have been better it felt rushed but it wouldn’t hurt to have her in later seasons for like 1 episode right?
@@adenweiner5573 Maybe, but she already served her purpose a while ago
I think the biggest improvement Dragons Rising makes is reverting to 22 minute episodes. I fully believe that the 11 minute episodes were the biggest problem with the previous era of Ninjago, and I’m more than glad to see them gone.
Why did they go to 11 minute episode?
They were really only an issue in s11 though
@@skylandersfan6954 not really, when you consider how prime empire has awkward transitions and pacing in places between episodes, and how crystalized can’t develop a character or concept to save its life (except for the benefit of grief). Even seabound and Motm have slightly janky pacing, with Shintaro and Merlopia feeling very underdeveloped as societies. There is a consistent and insidious problem in seasons 11-15 regarding pacing and developing ideas, and that is a symptom of the 11 minute episodes
@@aegis84 None of those are symptoms of the 11 minute episodes, they are just poor pacing decisions. Also, acting like 11 minute episodes were the fault of underdeveloped societies when thats been an issue long before (in fact the Wildbrain seasons do a much better job at building on the Geckles and Munce then they do shit like the Oni or Djinn, season 11 was the first time they did any major worldbuilding with other factions since season 1). Also, Prime Empire was like that not because of the episode length but because half the season was cut. Monkie Kid shows the episode format is not the issue
@@skylandersfan6954 i will have to kindly disagree. 11 minute format is not the issue itself, *but* it is a large part of it.
these poor pacing decisions stemmed *from* the fact that the episodes had to be 11 minutes. each episodes content had to be shortened, and when writing a good episode, one single episode has to have some specific establishing content that makes it stand out and excuse it existence in the first place. and you have to of course build up to that. 11 minute episodes shorten drastically the amount of time the writers have to establish a plot point, hence a lot things that wouldnt have to be rushed, were rushed.
e.g. seasons 13 and 14 despite being great, suffer from lack of proper, greater plot points for the characters outside of its poster mcs (cole and nya), giving them more light hearted arcs. these are not badly done in themselves, but they exist because the shorter screen time does not allow them to properly build up for something more serious for the side characters.
you mentioned monkie kid, but these are not 1:1 cases. monkie kid makes 11 min format work, because first, its first season started with that format. its premised and build ups were written with this amount of time in mind. its a completely different mentality when compared to ninjago, which before only had the 4 pilot eps in 11 min, with proper seasons having 22 mins. monkie kid also, especially in its first two seasons, focuses way more on gag and gimmick episodes, which works better in the 11 min format. bits of lore are dropped around the eps, but the overall core usually revolves around a gimmick, and only at the end they compile the lore-y stuff into a one ep. it works wonders for monkie kid, but not for ninjago. ninjago was never created with these gimmicky gag episodes, from the beginning its main goal was to move the plot and/or its characters development further. writing ninjago in the same way monkie kid is written would mean a complete change in the structure of the show, and with that changing the core of the show itself.
it is also clear as day that basically any ninjago writer is more comfortable writing for 22 min format. 11 format is not something that suited them and really backed off their full abilities to structure a season. in fact, when hagemans, the writers for seasons 1-9, departed from the show, they did complain about the possibility of working in the 11 minute format. this, and the sheer fact how much improved is the pacing and content per episode between season 11-15 and dragons rising, only makes me further believe that LEGOs decision to make ninjago 11 min ep show was a large part of many issues that caused (for me at least) major problems in ninjagos writing in the second ninjago era.
You have no idea how satisfying it is to see the fandom be so positive about Ninjago content again, after the mess then Crystallized made I saw a lot of people start to loose hope on the show and just wanting to leave, but seeing how much support and praise this first season has gotten for all the community just makes me so happy!
I loved the first episodes of Dragons Rising it was an amazing way to start this new chapter in the franchise, I like then there's so many pre stablish lore coming back while also adding further information to said lore, I hope that's a common thing with this show going forward, even if it's too late to say this could finally be Ninjago's opportunity to have amazing seasons regularly and not just 2 bad and 1 good across the years
Tbf every ninjago season was good and then season 7 came which was where a decline started. Season 8 to 10 came with the characters looking different but honestly was one of the best ninjago seasons. After 10 is when things got a bit Meh tho yeah.
@@powerjolt7215 nah seabound was s tier also don't blame you for this but day of the departed is the shows decline trust me
I know this is a bit silly, but I’m honestly a little bummed that the seasons don’t have names anymore. I really liked that and I felt like it made each season unique
Yes
I agree, but who knows. Maybe other seasons do have names and season 1 ends up being the only one without one, which we could just call Dragons Rising
I think in the original show the seasons didn’t originally have names, but they were added later on
I’m enjoying almost everything about Dragons Rising and Arin is a character I particularly relate to
I like Arin too! I also like Sora's backstory I relate to her a lot
WyldFyre is my favorite new character ^^
I haven't watched this show, but the way he describes Arin sounds very similar to MK from Lego Monkie Kid. Maybe minus the Hiperactivity.
This is a greeeeat reboot but i think the og 4 should have died or lost their powers or something
Bro I love it but my brother was raging so hard bro was screaming and yelling
Bro relates to talking plastic
Dragons Rising is everything season 11 first tried to do
Eh, not really. While season 11 was a soft reboot, it was still a continuation of the show. Dragon's Rising is its own thing altogether
@@skylandersfan6954 The Show creators said something like nah you can definitly watch it without the old seasons wich was just untrue
@@ZeroJumpthe same can be said with dragons rising tho lol
@@l1ttl3ab77 It still would be a bit wierd but not so wierd like Lloyd talking about his evil ex
@@ZeroJump Not really, you can watch it without prior context and be just fine, the only major thing thats tied back to a previous season is something thats presented in a way that makes sense within the vaccuum of the story for newcomers anyway
I love Sora’s arc. First off, they don’t make it like “tech is a boy thing! And a girl is doing it?” It’s more her adventure with her skill and her turmoil over whether or not it’s hers.
And that moment when she finally controls it without Riyu’s help isn’t a big burst of power, and suddenly she’s an elemental master. It’s very natural, being a monumental achievement without being needlessly overpowered.
I also love that the appeal of Aryn to the ninja is the fact he taught himself spinjitzu. He took time and effort into that, and demonstrates impressive skill. It isn’t the fact he’s just some kid who is a fan that the ninja found and adopted. Aryn has actually left an impression on them.
I totally agree !! I have seen people complain that she wasn't "cool" or "bad-ass" enough as if she didn't just gin her powers that season
How would tech be a boy thing? What about Nya? What about Pixal?
@@Fist95 I agree, it’s a stupid direction to take. Which is why I’m glad they didn’t do it.
Uhm, have you like actually watched Ninjago? Tech was never "a boy thing". From the shows first season on we always had a girl being the mechanic/inventor. I think we are at a point where a boy must be the next mechanic because its getting really boring at this point. Even in Imperium, Dr. Larowe and Soras rival were girls again. Idk its getting really boring at this point.
@@GreenNinj4 Jay was the first mechanic, and honestly I miss it. It was an integral part of his character
But I mention it because, yeah, Ninjago can be on a roll, but sometimes they slip up after establishing something already good (examples, Jay’s character, Kai’s character).
What I find unique to the start of Dragons Rising is that it takes its time showing how the Merge affected Ninjago citizens, and doesn't dwell too long on how it affected the Ninja themselves. I'd argue that initially experiencing it through the eyes of someone else helps give new viewers more background information, and makes it quicker and more effective.
Also, whereas Marvel's first Phase 4 title, Spider-Man: No Way Home, relied almost entirely on nostalgia for a good rating, Dragons Rising creates its own almost-standalone story and leaves references as fun details that older fans can notice. If anything, even OG fans like myself have only slightly more relevant background factoids than newer fans.
Yea I Agree
Bro bought No Way Home in here for no reason 💀
Oh yea, one last thing, the animation is gorgeous, man really the previous show looked as if everything was made of cardboard, this is pleasant to look at.
It’s literally everything I wanted. I honestly change nothing in my opinion. It’s such a fun season where I do think it will fade into a new cast in time and it still has the old Ninjago feel that I love. Also Baby Riyu is just perfect. I love the mini goof ball haha
Nah make Lord Ras more powerful he’s really lame, he was cool until Sora and Arin defeated him even though they’re really ijexperienc
what even not making kai a good character again
I went into this season with a sour taste. The two new characters gave me a feel of "Deviantart Self-insert OC", but i was relieved when they had depht and weren't Mary-sues. I mean, Sora really looks like an OC, but i'm really glad that she has good depth.
Jesse, wtf are you talking about?
My thoughts exactly. They looked like OC's like crazy. But Arin and Sora didn't turn out to be Mary Sues I was really really surprised
I want 3 things from part 2
1. For Wildfire's power to be heat, and not a 2nd master of fire
2. Lloyd to act as a father figure to Sora and Arin (I want him to have an arc where he realizes they have that dynamic and freaks out bc he doesn't want to be like his dad)
3. Magic crossbreeding if that makes sense, I want to see different magica combining into new things bc of the merge
WyldFyre's element IS heat according to the Wiki dont worry
um lloyd is around their age? why would he be a father figure
@@palemeadows no he isnt. if he was a young adult/late teen by the start of the merge when they are kids then when theyre teens lloyd would be mid-late 20s
@@palemeadows Lloyd is not around their age, not even sure how you came to that conclusion this makes 0 sense, delete this bruh
@@palemeadows ...Lloyd's literally an adult now bruh. Arin and Sora are early teens.
I’ve been a Ninjago Fan for a long time, I think that this show was really good, Seasons 11-16 just felt like they were trying to keep making more, and Dragons Rising is really good. I just want Jay and Cole back in part 2.
i really freaked out when watching Dragons Rising, it's such a step-up from Crystallised, its got really great humorous moments (in my opinion) and its actually being advertised properly this time. I even saw an ad on the street for Dragons Rising, Can't wait for part 2!
I absolutely agree with you. When Crystalized ended I had a very sour taste in my mouth, it left a really negative impression on me and I was really negative about the franchise for a while. Still, from the moment the first teaser trailer dropped I was like, dude, this is just awesome in every way, I don't care about all the mistakes Crystalized made, this sh*t's another level, my excitement only grew more significant as more trailers and the sets were revealed.
If you ask me, I think it all comes down to one magic word: "Direction"
The moment ninjago came back from cancelation it had an apparent problem: lack of direction. It wasn't all bad, but you must admit that for a while it just felt like we were just aimlessly wondering around ninjago, not a bad ride or anything, it was fun exploring all the ninjago lore and characters, but you can't deny that there was a sense where we didn't know we were going, or if we were even going anywhere, that all changed when the Oni trilogy arrived, it was obvious from the start that it had a clear direction to where it wanted to go and a clear goal that it wanted to reach. We no longer felt like we were aimlessly wandering around ninjago, we were actually getting somewhere, and we could feel how every step would take us closer to that final goal.
Unfortunately, as soon as the oni trilogy ended, we went back to wandering around aimlessly through ninjago, and again it wasn't all bad, but it still lacks direction, by the end, crystalized tried to do the same as the oni trilogy, and gather all the elements from previous seasons to create a big finally, unfortunately, it couldn't stick the landing, because it was clear that the writers were just improvising at that point and trying to tie everything together in a very loosely way.
Now from the very beginning, it's clear that this new show, dragons rising, has a very defined direction, we don't know what it is yet, but we still feel how as the show progresses, we move closer to our goal, whatever that may be. and I think that's the best thing about dragons rising, I'm definitely looking forward to seeing what the future has in store for this franchise.
I think it has to do with the fact that the revival era wasn't a multi-season story like the Pilots-Season 2.
I did like Dragons Rising, and I think it's a big save from Crystalized, but I do also have a few problems. Namely that I feel like we missed all the stuff I would've _really_ liked to see. Namely, actually _seeing_ the merge and the ninja trying to fight it, seeing Arin and Sora meet and become friends, and seeing all these drastically different worlds colliding and coming together. We kind of skipped right past all of that. I also feel like Arin in particular got sidelined in the latter half of part 1, I hope we get to see more from him and more of a proper story out of him
im sure we will get more information about it in part 2. I mean we still don't know what happened to Cole, Jay, or Pixal so if they come in the next season, maybe they will help explain a bit more.
Your Videos have become one of my favorite Ninjago Content on this platform - they are very well edited, scripted, and paced, and overal fun to see. Its always great hearing you talk about this show. Thank you! 😄
I really liked the first half of the season. Of course it’s entirely possible that the second half will completely suck and ruin everything but as for the first half I thought it was pretty good. Not perfect by any means but good. And after crystalized, I’m willing to take anything that isn’t horrible😂. I really like Sora, but Arin just kind of feels like he’s just there. I don’t hate him or anything though. I honestly don’t have a lot of complaints, except for the flash back in the calm inside. Hearing Lloyds new voice actor coming out of his child’s body is super jarring and really distracting and they didn’t even get his old design right. I also think Kai is starting get Flanderized. Its not nearly as bad as jays Flanderizashin. Also I’m so glad Nya actually does shit this season! Anyway I really liked the first half and I hope part 2 doesn’t suck. Part 1 gave us a lot of questions and very few answers. My biggest question is what happened to the Departed Realm? That’s the afterlife but if all of the realms are merged now, how does the afterlife work? (also I really hate that there releasing the season in parts)
Right? I love that Nya starts to do stuff in that season, which fixes one of my biggest issues with Crystalized and has her character to go back to where she was before what happened to her in Crystalized. but I want to make sure that Lloyd is just okay, because oh man I just want him good. Otherwise, I might as well be a Kai fan now.
the first part was mainly Sora so maybe second part will be mainly Arin?
also they mentioned all 16 realms, but from skybound it is sort of mentioned that there is only 14 realms left unless the djinn realm never actually fell or did it fall into another realm, is it part of the departed realm?
@@professionalprocrastinator are there is technically 14 now, but people don’t really know that djinjago was destroyed
What I love most about this new season are defenitely the villains. They world is so interesting and can teach children so much about our own world
i love everything about dragons risingʼs lloyd cause yeah youʼre right his character was in a very weird place last few seasons. heʼs easily my favorite character in the series and it was heartbreaking to see what theyʼre doing to him. so the new matured lloyd (who calls sora and arin kids 🥴) is so much fun! itʼs like therapy. seeing him be the sensei he was meant to be but in his own clumsy and awkward way... i giggled and screamed every time he was on screen i love him.
Gotta say, as someone who has recently rekindled her interest in the series and binge-watched most of it for the past couple of weeks (starting from season 6 all the way throught 15/16), Dragons Rising is a massive breath of fresh air. Don't get me wrong, I love the original Ninjago, it's original charcters, worlds, powers, lore, etc. That being said, I could definitely feel certain qualities draining out of the show post s10. (Brace yourselves: lengthy, passionate paragraphs in bound....)
From a technical and writing/lore-heavy standpoint, the WildBrain era definitely shifted many things in Ninjago that seemingly strengthened some things while definitely weakening others. The only real net-positive from seasons 11-15 were the fights scenes and their choreography as well as multiple special effects (say what you will about Espheara and the Fire chapter, but that last fight scene was absolutely fire! No other previous fight scene made me that kind of hype!)
Sadly, this is where most of my praises cease because while certain ideas and finales were super cool on paper, developing and reaching them usually felt like a slog. Nevermind the number of ideas/elements they seemingly forgot along the way: Zane's falcon, summoning personal dragons, etc.....
Master of the Mountain, for as amazing as it was to finally get a Cole-centered season, made the other ninja kinda "meh" in terms of purpose and humor (Kai especially was assassinated in my eyes, going from determined and passionate to a last-minute, paper-thin joke character). Shintaro looks cool, but we're only shown, like, 4 rooms of the whole city. Also, black skeletons definitely hit the "they're running out of ideas for evil factions" button in my mind. I have similar sentiments to Seabound: the ending made me cry my like a baby, but what it took to get there was still rather flawed.
Crystallized was basically all of its flaws mashed together and cranked up to 11, (especially the humor; at least in Hands of Time there were a couple of actually funny bits and gags I still smirk at. I'd gladly rewatch that season over Crystallized...)
I could run on and on about the rest of my issues, but, suffice it to say, Dragons Rising s1 pt 1 fixed ALL OF THAT and MORE. New charming characters with definable goals and simple yet effective backstories with neat powers/abilities (srsly, Arin with a grappling hook is genius and should have been done sooner!) A villian faction filled with intrigue and genuine threat levels behind it. A new world that respectfully builds on the previous one with lush new ideas and conflicts ripe for the picking. Old characters and locales are present but they aren't dragged around by the plot. 22 minute episodes - PERIOD. The whole series feels like a return to form without dumping on the old Ninjago. I also find it interesting that the 2 new main leads are a mega Ninjago fan who knows all-things ninja and an outsider friend who's only now really learning about the ninja for the first time after hearing second-hand stories - arguably the 2 target audiences this show is trying to reach. Coincidence? We may never know...
Tl;dr I agree with everything you said and am glad this series is doing what it's doing. As great as the old Ninjago was and is, the series desperately needed a shake-up; I say Dragons Rising did just that. The visuals are top-notch, they fixed Lloyd, the new characters are fun, the dragons are exceptionally protrayed (kind of important in a show with dragons in the title), all of it just makes me hyped and hopeful. Whatever happens next, +1 sub from me!❤
Edit: out of all the things I hope for in pt2 - please, please, please, please, please, please, PLEEZZ make Jay genuinely funny again and pitch his voice down back to normal! I NEVER understood why everyone's voices got higher and why Jay essentially became a child post s10! As a massive Jay fan I hope they fix him most of all alongside Kai; it's like they realized kid-Jay wasn't working so they whacked Kai with the stupid stick as a last ditch effort to artificially squeeze out some humor - it only really worked once or twice. Kai was funny, but not at the cost of his competence....
I agree with everything you said in this reply.
22 minute episodes coming back was all I ever wanted because seasons 11-15 felt so rushed with only 10 minutes.
I like what you did about Jay and Kai in your edit. When Jay comes back in part 2, I really hope they bring back the good parts of what made Jay so likeable in s1-10. Also when did kai become the 2nd comic relief character
Explain what you mean when you said they "fixed Lloyd"
MotM still gave more purpose to the other ninja than seasons like Skybound and SoG so I don't really get that point
Arin and Sora are just so good. When I first saw the show, I was almost bout to quit watchin because i just see some random pink haired furry and a some kid running around. But imo, sora is the best character in the show rn, cuz her story is so relatable with and amazing with her parents and stuff. And Arin is super great too.
I hadn’t even realized that I was starting to leave the Ninjago fandom after Crystalized. I generally liked the wild brain seasons but Crystallized was just… I didn’t like it that much. While watching something I tend to be oblivious to things like character assassination or all around bad writing but when I saw all the characters come back in that “final battle” so the ninja could go dragon… I was just straight up disappointed which is a first for me. In between Crystalized and the new series I had gotten into other fandoms and started forgetting about Ninjago and the fact that Dragons Rising was able to pull me back in as hard as it did and made me remember how much I adore this series is remarkable. I loved watching the first few episodes and I’m cautiously optimistic about part 2, could be trash like Crystalized but it does have potential with the empress finally joining the fight.
Arin is like every fan of the show EVER
Crystalized is in my top 3 worst seasons, along with HoT and SotFS. Part one of Dragons Rising is awesome. My biggest problem is that Wyldfyre’s power does feel like a rehash of fire. I think heat could be better if it allowed the master to control the temperatures of their surroundings as well as to survive temperature extremes.
I also think Arin and Sora are great new protagonists. I also think the merge was executed much better than I thought it would be.
I am also glad to see problems solved like the Cloud Kingdom writers not being actually writers of destiny (This idea of destiny being controlled by actual people was one of my few gripes of Possession).
Whats wrong with season 11?
Why do people hate Hands of Time? It was the last good season.
@@upbeatproductions7614 the reason people don’t like HoT is because it has bad animation, bad dialogue, and the characters are all bland. I do like the story of the season, but it can get boring because most of the episodes are the ninja fighting vermillion. For example episode 4 is the ninja fighting in the city, episode 5 is the ninja fighting in the desert, and episode 6 is the ninja fighting on a sky island
I like how they went into change as a whole like a new world, new elemental masters, and new ninjas for the old ones to mentor.
I didn't see it as a soft reboot, even if that's what it is, but rather a next generation story, akin to that of Monkie Kid, and even there Ninjago Dragons Rising still succeeds. It treats the previous generation characters with the respect they deserve and actually allows them to grow, as well as ties the new characters to the previous generation. It's not on the same level as Monkie Kid (not even close) but Ninjago Dragons Rising is still a really good example of a Next Generation Story and a Soft Reboot. I'm excited to see where it goes.
I like how they said they're handling characters, with a few of the main cast rotating in and out every season. It will hopefully allow them to get more development while not hogging up an entire season to themselves.
I absolutely love this video, you really explained this seasons ideas really well and I love hearing your thoughts, keep up the great work man!
I hope the old ninja dont get fully sidelined (maybe have them take up the mentor role) but i am hyped for the new characters and that ninjago is finally back
I feel like arin is a character that we can all relate to because none us have powers but I know we would all love to have them
I actually wanted for Arin to be the only ninja of the team with no power, always wanted to see that you don’t have to have powers just to be a hero. I think that may convey a good message to many of us since we can relate to Arin’s love for the ninjas and that he’s not an elemental master
@@brickbanditstudios6037 yeah with arin learn his own for of spinjitzu and not having an elemental power it make him unique from the other ninja and makes him Stand out from the rest in a good way
I want there to be a season focused on the world of Chima since that is canonically one of the 16 realms. How cool would it be to see Laval and Cragger just show up suddenly and then power up the ninja with chi power
Finally, they introduce the actual Lego aspect in this show through breaking setpieces and creating something new with it, though only through Sora...
Another thing I really, really appreciate about DR is how it's improved writing female characters. Even looking at Ninjago charitably as a product of it's time and a 'boy' show, the way it handled it's female characters has always been at best cringe. I don't think a single non-villain female character was introduced as anything but a love interest until Faith, and even after that the show had a major tilt towards male characters (like how the kingdom of Merlopia has no known female characters). It's just the little things, ya know? Why are all the Keepers male? Why were all the Upply male? (SoG, apart from it's broader commentary on the show's own sexism, is the only villain faction I remember that actually tried to show a mix of genders).
Looking at DR, so much has been improved. Side characters get to be women now (Euphrasia, Kreel, that rival girl with Sora whose name I forgot), and the main ones we have are so dynamic! I love Sora's practical, calm demeanor in contrast to Arin's wide-eyed optimism, and that she's great at tech stuff without the show feeling the need to draw attention to "girl do...tech?? but tech...boy thing!!!" (the show only really did with Nya and fighting up to S6, but still, too many cartoons from that era did exactly that). I especially love Wyldfire and her feral nature. You don't see a lot of female characters in the comic relief role, let alone to be as temperamental and violence driven as she is. Even Nya has been greatly improved on -- her dynamic with Kai is so much snippier and personality-filled (Kai and Nya's writing as siblings has improved a lot, actually -- they actually bicker and tease each other like siblings now, rather than blandly stating "She is my sister (that drove me crazy in Crystallized)).
Oh, and Empress Beatrix... finally a female villain motivation that doesn't rely soley on some guy. Just a narcissist with a penchant for power and animal abuse. What a girlboss. Dr. LaRoe, though a more minor villain, is also really fun and sinister. Her cold, callous demeanor to those around her in the pursuit of knowledge is pretty novel for a Ninjago villain, not just a female one too.
Overall, the show seems to finally be making an effort to have a more balanced gender ratio, alongside being marketed in a more gender-neutral manner. Man, I would've loved to engage with the show outside of a 'girl can't like boy thing' way when I was younger, but I'm so glad new viewers will get to!
Lots of words......... I didn’t finish reading but you have a point
This is a great breakdown. :0
I’ve thought a lot about how sexism shows up in the earlier years but I hadn’t thought about how some of the problems that plagued early Ninjago (limited story types, presence, and development for female characters) shows up again really prevalently in the wild brain era. Especially that “all our villian goons/supporting factions happen to be male” thing. We get out of that a bit with the heads of some of those factions being female, like Asphera, or the munce Queen, but that still baffles me-
It’s great to see ninjago finally grow into having an all around strong, gender balanced cast.
Shout out to Lego Dreams and the friends reboot for doing something similar, I think it’s a great direction for Lego’s IPs that’s long overdo.
There’s always that one person who talks about some kind of sexism or phobia that needed correction in a kids show. And I’m sure you’re an adult which makes this really cringe.
for merlopia, we only saw the army (which is pretty obvious why they're only male), however we saw som few citizens who could be females.
the keepers aren't all male, a lot of female keepers have appeared in the background in the island
the upply are just bunch of random guys lol its not that deep, we had a lot of female characters that werent love interest, like the munce queen, racer 7, jet jat, maya, tox, edna, camille, libber (which was a female comic relief), aspheera, bansha, dogshank, akita, antonia, vania etc....
and we had a whole arc for nya fighting sexism. so again it's not that deep at all
There is always someone seeking for sexism where it doesnt exist.
Non-villain-none-loveinterest-females: Nya, Edna, Maya, Mistake, Tox, Chamille, the previous elemental masters and Skylor post S4. Its a normal thing that armys dont include women and if you think about it, the earlier seasons were more historical with their themes. Having female skeleton, snake or stone warriors would have felt out of place. In S3 in a more modern setting they expanded on that though and made for example female snakes like Skales wife. The great Devourer was female, so were Skylor, Bansha, Dogshank, Dilara and Maccia. You are acting like they never included women in anything and the sky pirates had already mixed genders long before SOG.
Your „girl do tech??“ stuff never existed, Nya has been the mechanic since S1 and Pixal afterwards and at this point its boring that we have a female mechanic again.
And where did any of the female villains rely on a guy solely. The Devourer wanted to eat Ninjago, The Preeminent wanted to conquer it and Harumi wanted revenge on ALL ninja. Skylor helped Chen because manipulating people was his thing, Banshas master was literally a female so please stop your bs
As someone who watched the show religiously from the pilot season to about season 9: Hunted before jumping back in with season 14: Seabound and only watched the first 10 episodes of season 15: crystalized. It's nice to see that the show I loved as a kid is still going and finally going through a soft reboot to make it more interesting again
Definitely one of my favorites and a huge improvement over Crystalized.
Also keep up the awesome work your videos are always entertaining to watch.
As a ninjago fan for years too I agree with most of the stuff you said except for Lloyd like yeah he did need some work from previous seasons but this is the first half of the first season I’m sure him and his moment with the merge and how it affected him will get touched on more
Omfg it’s literally soo good!
I’m O B S E S S E D with dragons rising, it’s so absolutely fantastic
I already know this vid will be a banger
I was so unaware of Dragon Rising release so I watched it and loves it. And yes its definitely a soft reboot and its nice and hope Arin can improve his spinjutzu
Dragons rising is a breath of fresh air, it’s so good IMO
fun fact: in poland they literally never showed the last season (crystalized). literally. we ended the show on seabound so it wasn't ruined for us!
Personally I LOVE Crystalized. It is a good idea to bring villains back but not if they come back five or six times. Pythor had a smiliar situation but I think the ending was better than him just running away in DOTD and I think it was a great season, also as the overlord hadn't been seen since Rebooted. Although the situation with Nya was a bit disapointing But thats just my opinion
Same. It’s personally my favorite season of the show.
@@skylord1846 In my opinion crystalized was a really good season but it had a few problems and missed oppurtunities but it was good and entertaining overall
@@Green_Ninja-fm7hs Yeah I agree. It’s definitely not perfect and does have a couple missed opportunities, but it’s still a good season nonetheless.
@@skylord1846 yup
I'm just glad they went back to 20+ mins episodes, I really missed them.
I like my own little theory that when Lloyd lost his golden power to the overlord and when he died, the power went to Arin instead which is why he has much more potential than others
I enjoyed dragons rising but it annoyed me that Pixal, skyler, Garmadon and other characters just disappeared I just hope we see them along with Cole and jay in part 2
at the end when loid got the big power up I wish it was the golden power because when the power touched him it looked gold
Man I'm so lost in ninjago I haven't watched the show sense season 4 so I'm look forward to check this show out
It probably helped a lot to get fresh new writers. Andreasen clearly was completely out of ideas and probably in a major creative block, which after writing 16 seasons, is understandable why the show completely fell apart at the seams. The show needed new people to take over, much like it needed new characters like Arin and Sora to take over as our main leads.
Its the same writers as Crystalized. Tommy wasnt a writer hes a producer. Only Bragi realy left.
Dragons Rising is what ninjago needed now I don't want to get to exited yet but so fair this show has restored my love for ninjago and I can't wait till part 2.
A video about ninjago, with pvz music, hitting all the nostalgia points.
I loved dragons rising part 1. But I will say I do not think the og ninja have run out of stories/ arcs to tell. Just look at Jay, 99 percent of his character arcs are devoted to nya, the love triangle, the future vision with nya/ skybound, losing nya in seabound and becoming depressed in crystalized etc. Pus look at Cole who got his first focus season after 9 years!! I feel like they havent even scratched the surface with the other ninja and the repetitive/ bland nature of more recent arcs for them isnt because of a lack of options its because of a choice that was made to do something that we have kinda already seen before.
I can think of so many arcs that each of them can go through, and I really hope their characters get taken in new directions with this series instead of just being pushed to the sideline and getting a role equivalent to Pixals role in past seasons or something.
I really hope the Lloyd Arin Sora thing is just a season 1 thing and after that all 8 of the ninja trade off relevance between each season with team seasons/ multiple protagonist seasons thrown in as well, as long as the stories being told are new and fresh. Dont show me a losing powers arc, or a sacrificing myself arc, or a romance arc, or exploring the backstory of my family arc, show me something that will make me go "oh shit, I did not expect that."
Arin, Sora and Lloyd are tge main Charakters and that wont change
Lego recently acquired back the rights to legends of chima.Since chima is one of the realms I'm really hoping we get to see chima in season 2.I'd specifically like to see them interact with the serpentine.
Lego owns Chima, its is their theme. How could they acquire back the rights for their own thing?
@@matejblaho4549 they sold it to someone I don’t remember who.They bought it back like last year
@@ZackStormYT it is a lego theme. I don't think they could sell it like that. And it would make no sense as the show is over. Do you have any source to that information?
@@matejblaho4549 I can’t remember where I heard it.I just remember a few channels making a big deal out of it because they were hoping it meant a new season of chima was gonna be made.I think they sold it cause they weren’t doing anything with it so let another company buy to put the show on their platform to be watched.Something I forgot to mention originally is I think they only sold half of it so they still had partial rights.They just wanted full rights back I’m guessing for dragons rising.
Im going to enjoy this show once again like I did lil over a decade ago something new etc.
The black and white 2 music already got me emotional
Before part one aired, I was complaining that Arin looks like the main New Charakter and that he is a boy, because the Team already had 5 males. I tought that Sora would be just some sidekick like Pixal, wish I hated. But oh boy was I wrong. I can happily say that I love both characters already. You already talked about Sora's backstory, so I will not repead it, instead I will say that I love tha fact that
1. Arin does not have an Element
And
2. It's such a simple but great concept that Arin bakes cakes. I love it
Great video.
The goat is back
im having so much fun with DR! its so funny and a refresh the series really needed. personally i dont really care for the world and lore, im here for the characters and jokes and the new trio of arin, sora and riyu is perfect
I feel like the spark that got me interested in ninjago is back
the animations got so much better like what
Another thing to point out is, dragons Rising really highlights how meaningless and basically impactless Crystalized is, there was literally no reason for the ninja to have to give up their powers at the end of Crystalized other than "it's a finale we have to make it impactful" except, it's not, the ninja give up their powers just to basically have them back in the very next season as if they hadn't even lost them, to begin with. This isn't a problem with dragons rising, it's a problem from crystallized. the whole team basically had to write a whole book just to undo what Crystalized clearly shouldn't even have done in the first place.
This is just like saying reversing nyas sacrifice isnt crystalizes problem its seabound for sacrificing in the first place. Having the ninja lose their powers is a sense of consequence, something people desperately look for in crystalized. Its dragons rising fault for not going through with that consequence. It seems like ur just looking for another reason to hate crystalized. Hell having the ninja not have their powers in dragons rising would add to the feeling of being a new show entirely. I still dont see a reason for the ninja having their powers in dr. Or a reason for nya being killed at all in s14.
@@l1ttl3ab77 Lot of negativity there
But no, I'm not looking for excuses to hate crystalized, I really just wanted to enjoy it, I wanted it to be good, I didn't really want to be on the negative side, the truth is, most of Crystalized criticism doesn't even bother me, it's just Lloyd oni form that really got on my nerves and prevented me from enjoying it. Believe me I would have loved to be one of the people who was able to enjoy it in spite of its flaws.
The reason I say the ninja's sacrifice is meaningless and it being Crystalized fault and not dragon rising is because:
1. Dragons rising is not trying to be a continuation of Crystalized, it's trying to be its own separate thing
2. Nya's sacrifice in seabound while ultimately meaningless, it still played a huge role in crystalized which was actually trying to be a direct continuation of seabound.
Truth is, crystalized didn't need to make the ninja sacrifice their powers , they already had the ninja's dragon form and Lloyd's oni form and decided to use none, that's why I'm putting the blame on crystalized and not dragons rising.
Just lastly, as I said, I'm not even trying to look for excuses to hate crystalized, most of the criticism it got didn't even bother me, and I genuinely wanted and tried to enjoy it in spite of its flaws, but by the end, the sour taste in my mouth persevered.
@@EduardoMartinez-rs3bu dragons rising being it's own thing doesnt excuse it for its continuity error. Many soft reboots respect what came before. And like I said it would make more sense if the ninja didnt have their powers in dragons rising, as there is still no real reason they need it in dragons rising. You can make certain plotlines still relevant while making a completely new installment, that's what a soft reboot is. They even kept the cloud kingdom a thing. And I dont understand how you connect the ninja losing their powers to having the dragon and oni form? Why this comparison? If anything having the ninja turn into their final forms was the perfect way to send of their powers. And again, losing powers adds consequence. It's not a bad thing to want impact.
I know you like dragons rising, but its ridiculous to put it at no fault when it comes to continuity because you didnt like what came before.
@@l1ttl3ab77 Okay let me put it this way
YES, as you say, it's not bad to want an impact, and that's everything that crystalized lacks, but the impact it creates by making the ninja lose their powers is artificial because:
1. As I already explained before, they already had 2 other plot points they just completely ignored by the end in favor of this artificial one.
2. Crystalized was meant to be and was promoted as a FINALE, a conclusion. An ending to the previous show, so the other show could begin
You do NOT leave loose ends in a finale.
Did the rise of the green Ninja's finale leave any loose ends?
Did the Oni trilogy's finale leave any loose ends?
No, because they were trying to be a conclusion, and so was crystalized, so the decision to make the ninja lose their powers to begin with was an artificial impact because they were very aware that they wouldn't follow up on that, and also leaving a loose end to something that was already unsatisfying.
Only reason I rejected the new pro tags is because Kai isn’t the main character.. but the just the old fan in me so I hope this is good!!
I wanna see the golden ninja return by season 2 it was such a cool power up only used for a few episodes
I’ve been watching since before season 3 released and ninjago has always been amazing
The secret was right in front of us all along! Just fire the old writers and get new ones!!
At first, I didn't like the idea of a rebooted ninjago for like the 3rd time and let go of ninjago for a year a few weeks ago I went to a lego store and got the zane race car and kinda inspiring me to give it a try and at the end of the show I genuinely got hyped and loved the characters, in conclusion u loved this new take and I think it really showed me to give things a try even if I might not like them, and I got nostalgia watching these new characters explore there new abilities like our first 4.
I like this season so far but the villains feel a bit boring. I hope it doesn't turn out like crystalized where part 1 is pretty good and part 2 is terrible. Riyus cool i like him. Sora is pretty good and arin has felt a bit boring, he just doesnt have much of a charcter. Ras seems like he has potential but hasn't been explored much. I think this season is a solid 8.5/10.
Now that monkie kid season 4 is over are we going to get a wukong or macaque essay since I really enjoyed your last one.
next season there is new location known like the ginjago and more
My only issue with dragons rising is the suits
Epic video! Really like how this show reinvigorates the show while purposefully not alienating older fans.
Also...
Nice MKWii music in the background ;)
i do hope they explain the merge tho, why and how it happened.. and i hope we get another big bad after garmadon and overlord too. just my opinion tho. but i hope they take inspiration from something like garou in one punch man, where "god" gives him a small amount of his powers to garou. honestly im just so excited for all the possibilities of new characters meaning brand new minifigures and other stuff
Sora really reminds me of Sabine Wren from SW Rebels, both great characters
7:33 Nucal and Kruncha would like to have a word for you
Ima watch it now.. i watched it for a lil and got bored maybe cuz i had binged all the seasons for nostalgia just before hand so ima give it a try now after a few months :3
One thing I am hoping that they bring back is the original elemental masters given that sora is a new elemental master I think will be cool to see the old ones come back
This first half was really great, it gives me hope that this series can thrive again
The only real problem I got with it is Wyldfire, they’re just borderline annoying and obnoxious whilst onscreen
I agree that a lot of things were done right with this reboot, But why u gotta do my boi Kai like that man 😭
Kai was amazing compared to almost everything he had after season 7.
I'm really hoping if they keep the realms merged we'll see the return of the characters from Chima. I think it would be epic also for Nexo Knights to be involved, maybe have all 3 shows merge and their characters adventure together. Lego has a lot of potential of they have IPs interact with each other, Lego Dimensions and the Lego Movies were awesome for this.
God Ninjago I haven’t watched that it like 3 years now I was on season 6 I believe I will continue watching it now
I know the show is under netflix but I wouldn't mind part two having the ninja go to the Chima Realm,I've been wanting a follow uo to that easter egg since season 5. And Maybe Nexo Nights or Hero Factory
Unfortunately, Nexo Knights and/or Hero Factory are NOT considered to be part of the Sixteen Realms
@@brickbanditstudios6037 eh, worth a shot, still a follow up to that Cameo would be awesome even if it's just another cameo or Confirmation that the cat villian guy is from there. That would be insane and it would make sense.
ive been meaning to get back into ninjago
Seeing Lloyd drinking tea as they train makes me wanna cry
9:15 "Photac"
More dragons more toys of them! I really wish if the whole ninja gang are together again that they could bring back their elemental dragons mount back including lloyd golden dragon if happen.
I remember as a kid they advertised the LAST EPISODE of ninjago not a finale like three different times as a kid and by the end third time I just rolled my eyes as said “yeah, right”
i wasnt gonna watch DR but seeing some clips and positive reviews for it is gonna lead to me giving this show a chance. Hoping for jay and cole to come back, but i feel the cast would be oversaturated
CRAZY…, I‘m watching this show since 12 years😳🤯
You know the one scene that I’m nit-picky with Arin was the scene when he and Sora were sneaking back inside Imperium to rescue Riyu, they were sneaking past a sleepy Imperium Guard. But Arin really just had to wave at the guard’s face, honestly that’s a stupid move when trying to not get caught sneaking back in. Sorry for anyone reading this, had to vent somewhere 😕
I been looking for somebody to talk about the shows new seasons because I didn’t have time to sit and watch but now after this video I’ll watch this channel instead
A nice breath of air after the disappointment that is crystalized
bro ninjago always had this top tier animation i wonder how they keep it up especially in the first season of the offical reboot
Ninjago never had a Reeboot
Did anyone else recognise the pvz theme music playing in the background?
Also random irrelevant fact, Arin is technically Ninjago’s first canonically black character. His fluffy hair, and the fact that he’s voiced by a black person. Some people head-canon Cole as black, but Arin is the first CANON black character.
Well what if he ha Vitilligo lol (yeah hes probrably black)
@@Bug_Mist I mostly get it from his curly afro.
yeah, I also think that way tbh
I love the new artstyle, did the finally updated there blender to 3.5?
Unreal Engine
Right after watching Crystalized, I lost a lot of hope and didn't want to give Dragons Rising a chance. Went into it anyway and thought
"woah, I haven't felt this excited to see more in years."
crystallized was pretty good imo, but one thing i hoped DR would’ve done is show us what happened to the old villains who were defeated