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tiredspacedragon · 3 years

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BIONICLE Retrospective

2001: Quest for the Masks

Part 7.1: Akamai and Wairuha

Here's a fact about me I'm pretty sure no one knows: I hate fusion. I despise it, loathe it with a fiery passion. It seems nigh unavoidable sometimes. I'll be going about my business, enjoying a series I like, and then from out of the darkness rises the fusion episode, or even worse, the fusion arc. And every single time it happens my reaction is "Oh, here we go," because I will inevitably spend the next however-long rolling my eyes, tapping my fingers, and wondering when it will be over. I won't try to pretend there's a logical or moral stance behind my distaste, because there isn't, as far as I know. I just find fusions terribly boring and uninteresting, and would eagerly take the original, separate characters over fusions any day. That said, I will admit, the Toa Kaita were kind of cool back in the day. 2001 marketing, man, it's good stuff.

The Toa Kaita are the ultimate expression of the Toa’s unity. Three shall become Akamai, and walk the path of the Warrior, and three shall become Wairuha, and walk the path of Wisdom. These guys were really pushed back in that first year. They were made out to be these huge, badass, extremely important characters, so when they finally appeared, it was awesome. They defeated the Manas, and then…well, that was about it, really. Yeah, a part of me is happy that the fusions didn’t wind up being that important in the long run, but another part acknowledges that the marketing push built up a lot of hype, and not following through on that hype is less than great. Oh well. The Kaita remain a key part of 2001. They are an interesting concept, even if they didn’t wind up doing much.

The Toa Kaita are, of course, combination models of three Toa each. Tahu, Pohatu, and Onua become Akamai, while Gali, Lewa, and Kopaka become Wairuha. Like most 01 set groups, their builds are pretty similar, but have a few key differences to set them apart from each other.

Akamai and Wairuha are known as the Spirit of Valor and the Spirit of Wisdom, respectively. Because the Kaita are combinations of three Toa, they didn’t have their own elemental designation as their powers are simply the elements of their component Toa combined. Instead, they were given the designations of Wisdom and Valor. Personally, I find those designations good for explaining their designs, but terrible for explaining their component Toa, and they don’t relate to the powers of each Kaita at all. I mean really, what does wisdom have to do with water, ice and air? And Onua, the wisest of the Toa, not being a part of Wisdom, while Lewa, the reckless daredevil, is one? What? Seriously, how did that happen? How is Lewa not in Valor?

Instead, I prefer to look at the powers each Kaita possesses and designate them based on that. Following this method, Akamai becomes the Toa of The Volcano. Wielding Tahu’s power over heat and flame, as well as Pohatu and Onua’s mastery over the land in all its forms, Akamai possesses control of lava and geothermal energy. He’s a walking eruption, and he looks it. The three Toa’s colour schemes come together brilliantly, resulting in a molten appearance that suits Akamai to a tee.

Wairuha, then, becomes the Toa of The Storm. Combining Lewa and Gali’s connection to the weather with Kopaka’s ice, Wairuha can whip up howling blizzards, torrential rain, and hurricanes. The colours don’t work quite as well here as on Akamai, but the cool tones do look good together.

The legs are, unfortunately, not great. They could never have been much better, I suppose, but the way they’re built is very gappy and awkward-looking. I’m glad to see Pohatu’s feet additions back on Akamai, though, and that they’re integrated well enough. Wairuha’s slimmer legs do look a little better without the additions, though. The legs have an attempt at knees, which is better than nothing, but really doesn’t allow for too much. You can curl the leg up to about 90 degrees if you really try, but it’s a very awkward, curved look. I wouldn’t recommend it. A for effort, though, and they certainly succeed in making the Kaita massive, which is excellent.

Akamai’s thighs are wider at the bottom, while Wairuha’s are wider at the top. There’s no real purpose for that, but it does call to mind Gali’s hints towards femininity. If you like to think of Wairuha as female or non-binary, this touch works well. Technically though, I'm fairly sure the Kaita are beyond the concept of gender, and both of them should probably be referred to as "they."

There is a gear function in the legs, allowing both figures to swing their legs and look as if they’re running, a feature that works particularly well for Akamai, given their speed powers. The function is given additional friction via a ball socket in the front, so you don't need to worry about the legs flailing around wildly, but as a result, trying to use the function creates an awful grinding sound as the voodoo ball scrapes against the socket. Use it if you want, but I don’t recommend it.

The torso assembly is fairly basic, but it works well. Here, I would say, is where Akamai shines. Wairuha’s torso colours clash a little and the gappiness persists. There’s an attempt at armour with Gali’s hooks, and while I like the pattern it makes, it doesn’t cover anything. Akamai, on the other hand, makes use of Onua’s feet and claws to create a deep, well-armoured chest that covers up the major gap in the torso. Additionally, the colours already fit together well on Akamai, even more so with the armour. And as if that wasn’t good enough, they even have back armour. Back armour. I’m faint.

Both Kaita have a gear function in both shoulders, allowing them to swing both arms independently. The exposed axles this function leaves on Akamai’s back are a little unsightly, but they’re a fair trade for back armour, I guess. Wairuha fares better here, covering the axles up with Lewa’s fingers.

Taking a cue from the Toa Mata, the Kaita use their shoulder designs to convey character. Akamai’s are broad and provide more articulation than standard Toa shoulders, allowing for dynamic action poses. Wairuha’s shoulders, in contrast, are narrower and more restrictive, evoking a more reserved and studious personality.

Neither Kaita’s weapons are ideal, but I think Wairuha got the short end of the stick here. They are stuck with Kopaka’s shield, which was already weak on Kopaka and is even worse here. It’s really just a tiny buckler in this form. To make matters worse, in Wairuha’s right hand is an abomination. Rather than wielding Kopaka’s sword or Lewa’s axe, the Spirit of Wisdom uses both. How are you even supposed to pose this thing? How are they held? Are they one weapon or two? What is even going on???

Akamai fares a little better in the weapon department, though they have a problem as well. In his right hand is Tahu’s Fire Sword, which is basic, but suitable. In his left hand, though, is what appears to be a warhammer made of skulls. Which is…awesome. These weapon picks are fine for the Spirit of Valor, the only issue is that they’re way too small. His sword is more like a dagger for him, and he has zero reach on that hammer. Which is really sad, because a skullhammer-wielding giant Toa would be metal as fuck. If only he could reach anything. Both Kaita have this problem to a degree because their arms are far too short for them, but at least Wairuha gets around it with weapons that give them some reach. No such luck for Akamai.

The Kaita do something amazing at this point in Bionicle, and that’s having neck articulation. That’s right, these babies’ heads are attached via ball joint, so they can look all over the place and be expressive as heck. It’s kind of a shame they weren’t more important characters, because this articulation just begs to get more use than the Kaita allow. Oh well, at least they'll always be able to claim they're the first sets with movable heads.

I’m not entirely sold on the eye colours here. I think Kopaka’s blue would be a better fit for stormy Wairuha, and I think MNOG had it right when it gave Akamai Tahu’s red. For Akamai, though, I do at least understand the use of the green. Tahu and Pohatu’s heads work better together on the hammer than Onua’s would with either of them, so it’s acceptable, and the green helps differentiate them from Tahu.

The Hau as the Kanohi Aki, Mask of Valor; which possesses the powers of the Hau, Pakari, and Kakama; works well. The red mask ties the colour scheme together succinctly, and the canonical gold mask fits in nicely. I can’t say I like the Miru as the choice for the Rua, Mask of Wisdom; aka Water-Breathing, Levitation, and X-Ray Vision; though. Using the least wise character in the fusion as the face is a poor decision, worsened by the fact that some people see a cheeky grin in the Miru. I do not see Wairuha as cheeky. Personally, I would have used the Kaukau. It ties the colour scheme together more solidly, and fits the theme better, I think. Regardless, the canon silver mask on Wairuha looks great. Kudos to anyone who's managed to assemble these two with their properly coloured masks.

At the end of the day, I think the Toa Kaita are best described as awkward. That’s the case with a lot of combo models, but the Kaita display it well. Their legs are a mess and their weapons are way too small to be in any way effective. In terms of the parts available though, I think they’re built pretty well, and the result is believable as a Toa-fusion-titan. But yeah, as I said before, while I appreciate the Kaita for their role in 2001, I despise fusion on principle. It takes a handful of interesting characters and reduces them to a couple of boring ones. No thank you. Overall, I would give the Toa Kaita a rating of “pretty good.” Not quite a solid good, but pretty good. I appreciate them, and I like the designs well enough. Enough that I make use of my plethora of extra pieces to keep the six Toa and the Toa Kaita built simultaneously, anyway. That’s pretty cool, I will admit : , However, I can’t say I’m really that upset that they only appeared in the story once.

Next up: The Matoran Kaita

#bionicle #bionicle retrospective #bionicle setrospective #toa kaita #akamai #wairuha

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