In less formal settings, I call myself “Takua”. Given my enthusiasm in anime, people often ask me if this is a Japanese name. The answer is, it’s not. If you’re interested in the namesake, you can learn about it in this page. However, it’s not going to be a short story. To understand who the original Takua is, we have to first talk about “BIONICLE”.
Takua, from a legendary LEGO series
“Takua” is one of the protagonists in the story line of BIONICLE, a legendary LEGO series. Yes, it’s a LEGO series with a story! It got some 2 dozens of paperback story books, several e-books, its own comic installment, a collection of Flash-based web-animations and games, a handful of retail games, and even its own 3D CG movies!
By hiring a story writer, Greg Farshtey, LEGO created a whole universe of mysteries, legends, and adventures teemed with actions. BIONICLE is the series that saved LEGO from the brink of bankruptcy. You may find the sucess story of BIONICLE in Brick by Brick. Running for a whole decade, from 2000 to 2010, BIONICLE defined the shared memory of LEGO fans in the fresh start of the new millennium.
(you may visit this site for information regarding the movies)
Unfortunately, the LEGO company doesn’t archive the glory of BIONICLE on their website, which I wholeheartedly think they should. The good thing is that, there is a still active community dedicated to the preservation of the legend, media, and basically just everything BIONICLE. Surely, this page is not an introduction to the BIONICLE universe. So, if you would like to find out what BIONICLE is all about, you may visit MaskOfDestiny.com. Moreover, you may find all the stories, comics, and every piece of BIONICLE lore on BioMediaProject.
About the BIONICLE universe
The residents in the BIONICLE universe are not flesh-and-bone humans like us. Instead, they are semi-immortal bio-mechanical beings who rely on wearing masks to remain functional. Most of the residents are “Matoran” who wear powerless decorative masks. Some destined Matorans possess hidden powers. When the hidden power is tapped and unleashed, a Matoran transforms into a “Toa”, the legendary guardian of the civilization who wears Great Masks with various powers. When a Toa fulfills their destiny, they transforms into a “Turaga”, the elder that leads the Matoran and wears Noble Masks with minor powers.
Since the Toa are the guardian of the BIONICLE universe, unsurprisingly, there are some evil entities that the Toa are guarding against. The main antagonist of the story is an evil spirit called Makuta. The opening of the BIONICLE saga summarizes this conflict between good and evil:
In the time before time, the Great Spirit descended from the heavens, carrying we, the ones called the Matoran, to this island paradise. We were separate and without purpose, so the Great Spirit blessed us with the three virtues: unity, duty, and destiny. We embraced these gifts and, in gratitude, we named our island home Mata Nui, after the Great Spirit himself. But our happiness was not to last. Mata Nui's brother, Makuta, was jealous of these honors and betrayed him. Makuta cast a spell over Mata Nui, who fell into a deep slumber. Makuta's power dominated the land, as fields withered away, sunlight grew cold, and ancient values were forgotten. Still, all hope was not lost. Legends told of six mighty heroes, the Toa, who would arrive to save Mata Nui. Time would reveal that these were not simply myths — for the Toa did appear on the shores of the island. They arrive with no memory, no knowledge of one another — but they pledged to defend Mata Nui and its people against the darkness.
The BIONICLE saga began on the island of Mata Nui. As the story progressed, more islands in the universe were revealed. Meanwhile, we eventually learned which statements in the above-mentioned legend were facts, and which were figurative. Along the journey, we met more Toa, discovered the truths regarding the evil spirit Makuta, and awakened the great spirit Mata Nui. We witnessed how various characters united to carry out their duty, then found out and fulfilled their destiny.
However, for the sake of this article, let’s return to our topic at hand: Takua.
Takua the Chronicler
As one of the most influential character in the BIONICLE storyline, Takua has an elaborate origin story, which was revealed only later in the saga. In the chronological order in our world, we first met Takua while he was wondering on a beach on the island of Mata Nui. When we first saw him, Takua was amnesic and didn’t even know his name. What he knew was that he had to follow a string of footprints leading away from a stranded vessel. He knew his discovery had profound implication for his fellow Matoran. He just had to find out what the implication was.
This was the first scene we saw in the groundbreaking flash-based first-person adventure game “Mata Nui: the Online Game”.
The name and the appearance of the protagonist was unknown at the beginning. As we journeyed along on the mysterious island of Mata Nui, we gradually learned more about not only the Polynesian-culture-inspired lore and the fate awaiting the residents of Mata Nui, but also the personality of the protagonist —- Takua.
Takua was friendly, adventurous, and curious, though a bit reckless at times. Prior to the event leading to his temporary amnesia, Takua had been already frequently roaming the island of Mata Nui. He was an eccentric Matoran because no others travelled between villages without any specific business. Takua learned about interesting stuff in different villages and studied the flora and fauna on the lush and primitive island. While we may call him a naturalist, those who knew Takua referred to him as “the Chronicler”.
Takua’s journey
Along his journey, Takua witnessed villages under attack by mighty beasts that suddenly went on a rampage. Though not a warrior himself, Takua still did his best to help the villagers by devising ingenious strategies and seeking out the legendary guardians of Mata Nui, the Toa. In the climax of the game, Takua united the Matoran and rallied the Toa to fight off the evil spirit Makuta who caused all this turmoil. Takua was bad at fighting, but he was the driving force for positive changes to take place.
The island of Mata Nui regained peace, but not for long. The previous battle against the evil spirit aroused a swarm of insectoid villainous creatures which wreaked a new wave of havoc on the island. Once again, the vagrant Takua shared valuable tactical information across villages and united the islanders. While it was the Toa who defeated the swarm, Takua was crucial to the prevention of the island home from further devastation.
Later in Takua’s journey, he found a mysterious artifact, the Mask of Light and discovered his destiny as the 7th Toa. Unleashing his dormant power, Takua transformed into Takanuva, the Toa of Light. Even while wielding the power of a Toa, Takua/Takanuva was still not known for his prowess in combat. Undoubtfully, Takua/Takanuva respected the more experienced Toa. However, he seldom tagged along them to operate as a group. Instead, as he did while he was still a Matoran, Takua/Takanuva often embarked, alone, on different missions from other Toa’s. He collected information, solved mysteries, and uncovered truths that may eventually help his fellow Toa. Deep within, Takua has always been the Chronicler, the one who travelled, witnessed, and pondered. He united with his comrades and fulfilled his destiny by carrying out the duties that no one other then himself can take on.
Takua as my role model
Back in 2001, I wasn’t even in my teens. For the ten-year-old me, the adventures of Takua was just way too cool. I aspired to be Takua even before I learned about his transformation into a Toa in 2003. How wonderful would it be to contribute to the society while engaging in the activity that I love! How great would it be to carry out teamwork by expressing the special me and clearing the quests only I can handle!
Therefore, I adopted the name “Takua” as my pseudonym on the internet. I also started, in 2002, keeping diaries in the Matoran alphabet —- which is basically the BIONICLE font for the English alphabet. It has been 20 years, and I’m still doing so. I also created my own rendition of the original Takua as my avatar in my diary entries.
That’s all about Takua and I. I am Takua. I may not be strong, but I’m willing to help.
I am Takua the scientist, the witness of my once and only beautiful life.
