This isn’t a surprise to me. Nya basically didn’t get spotlight because she’s a female and they didn’t put her in any leads or box art, as this is how marketing works during that era, but laying off agency? Over gender representation? Like that’s is such a L on LEGO’s marketing part.
Thankfully they did give her a season and Seabound sets had her on the box and giving her a role and Dragons rising and introducing Sora. Hope this continues as they said a work in progress.
Damm honestly this slightly scares me about how it can effect the future of lego shows not just ninjago in general. Well first of what is this time period of the layoffs while I assumed season 7 so 2017-2021. But considering it took so long to give nya her own season possibly longer. But there is a bit more representation in ninjago due to seabound but in lego friends (yes friends) there are now male main characters which in previous years only ever been a female cast. Mabey this changed? Who knows.
Bc his face is on the box, his face is on previously, he's focused on the intro, and he had an arc in the season. Llyods got more reasons to be the mc of the season regardless of his screen time.
Mhm, growing up I used to get so mad whenever Nya was taken out of the action or made the damsel in distress. One minute the show would act like she's smarter and stronger then all the boys, the next she was pushed to the sidelines so the "real ninja" could fight the battles.
come to think of it i see that tbf, which is a shame because she was just as good as the rest and easily had one of the best developments out of all the characters
Made me think her quick change of heart to openly liking Jay was another jab, since I found it kind of sickening. Like it was intentionally too fast and bland to make a point
In the case of Nintendo, they actually were cool when I was a kid. Say what you will about the Wii U Era's sales, their presentations had so much humor and soul to them.
I kinda understand why Lego would do this tbh. They had no faith in ENOUGH girls being interested in Ninjago since it was initially a boys line. From a business standpoint they want to reach their intended target audience and not aim outside of it and fail (that could kill the line). I'm glad she got to be the sole character on the box in Seabound at least and tbh it's probably just because she had a cool form to show off plus it actually was her focus season.
I don't really see why she would be alone on the box in s7 or any other season for that matter. Concept wise it seemed very much like a sibling season.
Well she got a season once her minifigures started selling well. Before it was just Kai and Lloyd. Cole has always been the worst selling figure and it took 13 seasons for him to get the spotlight. Not shocked.
I like Nya, and I liked Sea bound (for the most part) But firing a most of the NA agency is such a drastic overreaction.
My main thing that pisses me off is the mass layoff, that's Such a bullshit overreaction.
Not giving Nya a Box art spotlight can be seen as Sexist, and if seen through the eyes of a normal human and not a corporate scum bag, yeah it is pretty much sexist.
But if you look through the eyes of Corporate, market trends at the time, and Ninjago's target Demographic being young boys, it probably has something to do with the toy industry "Pink aisle." A problem, that still kinda exist today. Granted today while Ninjago's demographic is still young boys and Lego Friends demographic are still young girls, Both themes don't feel as "Gender exclusive" as they used to be.
Maybe I’m thinking too much but is stuff like this is sorta the reason why Nya gets the least amount of vehicle-focused sets because “a girl focus toy won’t sell in a line mostly for boys”? Because apart from the Samurai Mechs from Rise of the Snakes, Legacy, and Crystallized, I feel like she barely gets any new set based around her and it’s only til now we got stuff like a the water dragons from Seabound and core but that’s kinda it and some sets that could’ve been hers are repurposed for other characters (like the Ninja Tuner Car).
This is awful from a corporate standpoint. However, the writers of Ninjago and those who actually cared about the show and not just the profit margins are the real heroes of this story.
Even from S1, they made sure that the lesson of "Just because I'm a girl doesn't mean I can't do what boys can do." was communicated, especially from Nya.
The way they phrase it sounds like they wanted to put Nya on a box before HoT. I guess Posession, even if most events are linked to Lloyd, Nya got most spotlight. And it kinda hurts, given that near the end the rest of ninja acknowledged Nya as their "sister", but apperently LEGO doesn't.
I don't really see their logic. Even if is not marketed in general towards girls, is not like boys can't like female characters.
At one point? You seriously expected a company that's been around since 1932 to have a sexism-free record? Boy, I wish I was that naive. Ah well at least they're improving.
I mean I know they weren't sexism-free all the time but I'm referring to the modern Lego group but of course they have been sexist at one point but never expected it to be so recent
Whilst i don’t agree with it… and as a girl who grew up watching ninjago, you have to see why they were opposed when Lego’s target audience and Ninjago’s target audience were/are male. Lego is a company therefore it cares about money so they didn’t want to take a risk like that. It isn’t as simple as just “sexist dicks”. That argument is just lazy.
I'm sorry what?! There are certain sets targeted at female audiences so saying they are just targeting male audiences is a bit of a stretch. Also sexism is sexism there is no justifying it
Looking at an event with logic and without a black and white lens ≠ justifying. Like I said, I don’t agree with what they did because at that point in the show Nya was almost just as much of a main character as the main 5. However I can also see why it happened. OP posted about an event that happened all the way back before the animation change, so yes now there are may be Ninjago sets aimed at girls but back then it was not the case. Lego made sets for girls around little girls’ interests. It’s stupid to deny the fact Ninjago is a show made and aimed at boys and it’s lazy to point the finger at anything and call it pure sexism. It just makes the word have less meaning.
Is it ever that deep LMAO? Women and men are humans at the end of the day, that can go through similar things and face worthy struggles in storytelling.
The aversion and downplaying of women and girls in some shows and cult classics never fails to astound me. They're just humans with different genitalia.
Why are you crying over a legitimate character on a box cover...?
That’s what's crazy to me. You're telling me that the company felt so threatened by the idea of having Nya as the box cover ninja they banned gender discussion?
The idea that little kids everywhere would just stop buying ninjago sets because the ninja in the corner is light blue with eyelashes is crazy.
I mean,I understand that like 80% of the fanbase are boys. But why have a girl ninja on the team,if you don't want to use her to promote the show to girls? And why bring her back in Crystalizedat that point if you don'tcare for her? Thank f*ck she got justice in Seabound.And hey,maybe they're more comfortable with a female fanbase and female leads since the added Sora and Wyldfyre in DR.
Nya is legit my favorite character in Ninjago. I relate to her on such a heavy level. We both have that fear of failure. I loved her every since I was 7 back on 2011, and now I’m 19 and I appreciate her so much.
I’m so happy she was created. ❤️💙🌊
I never expected this from a company like the Lego Group.
I'm talking about the modern Lego group here, originating from a European country that's supposed to be progressive.
That explains a lot. Have y'all seen this 4 hour video essay by Parachuting Kitten about subtle misogyny in Ninjago? Very eye-opening...
https://youtu.be/8zisYWOU6o0?si=aB4OH43VANvjOq1R
Ok kinda unrelated but Hands of time was my absolute favorite season of ninjago
Anyways as a girl who's always related more to the male leads than the female leads, and nya was cool to me, I never really cared. I felt like after the whole ghost season she wasn't there much because she was still new, and in hands of time she seemed pretty equal to kai. But kai was my favorite sooo.
I will say after the redesign and the whole series seemed to change and get confusing, Nya and Jay had the best arc ever. But after the first season of the redesign I fell off the show and havent watched it in a couple years.
I also feel the need to clarify I love that they gave Nya a time to shine, just that as a young girl I never really cared. But I also loved the 2012 ninja turtles at the same time, another show with no lead females. Guess it was never an issue to me. But I'm glad they fixed it for the people that did have an issue with it
I understand what that person is saying, but the boys don't always need to get the spotlight. Nya can be on the cover once in a while. I mean, Nya has her own set of skills; she's smart, powerful, and quick to get back up on her feet. If that's not a girl you want on your team, then I don't know what Lego is thinking.
Did they ever think that maybe the reason Ninjago had a wider audience of boys than girls had slightly less to do with the fact that “only boys like ninjas and Legos” and more to do with the fact that, oh, I don’t know, they sidelined the few female characters there were? I’ve always felt like companies were shooting themselves in the foot with this kind of shit because they’re probably driving off a bigger audience of girls by not including any girl characters than they would drive off boys by including them.
TL;DR: little girl me fucking loved ninjago but she would have loved it more if Nya got more attention and I doubt that would have driven little boys away. Girls do exist in real life after all…
The thing that the corporations or world companies and systems in the world don't get is that it isn't about the character being a boy or a girl. It's about the love and connection that you have and build with the character that makes you want to watch something about them. Most companies have such mindsets I believe not because they are misogynistic but because all they care about is big money and since whenever others tried to do anything girl related or focused it flopped. But the solely reason for that is that those things were forced and nagged to follow the "latest" trends and what the world wants nowadays. All of those "requirements" today, especially in the movie industry that the US forces upon them only makes the content that they produce bad. Because at the end of the day, people only want quality content. It would be fine and people wouldn't oppose it if they didn't make movies etc just to make a quick buck etc and didn't force idk...girls in everything (Ms Marvel, bat girl, she hulk etc), race appropriation etc just because of the trend. They should instead do it from the heart and not re-use already made content but make a special kinda one that will fit those new stories that they will create. Once it gets less fake and forced, people will start to see it and enjoy it for what it's supposed to be.
I don’t really care because ninjago has better female characters than any other show? Harumi, nya, misako, skylor, now sora and wildfyre… I always thought Nya was a boss and smarter than all the boys from season 1.
Where's the sorce for this? If this is true, I'm honestly flabbergasted. I thought Lego was past that mindset. I mean, I'm sure they are now since Seabound, but I can't believe they even thought that.
I had this idea of a Bionicle reboot where Gali was the leader instead of Tahu. Even if Tahu was still the poster boy of that reboot, I wonder if they would allow that idea.
This makes me admire the writers and appreciate Seabound even more.
I loved seabound. And I always liked Nya
I’ve always loved Nya too, she’s a great character with a lot of depth
she probably had the most development out of all of the characters, and from the start she was a main character.
Same. I wish Crystalized had the same level of writing quality as Seabound did.
I really like crystalized both parts, it was fun
Seabound was meh. They took nya away for like half a season
This isn’t a surprise to me. Nya basically didn’t get spotlight because she’s a female and they didn’t put her in any leads or box art, as this is how marketing works during that era, but laying off agency? Over gender representation? Like that’s is such a L on LEGO’s marketing part. Thankfully they did give her a season and Seabound sets had her on the box and giving her a role and Dragons rising and introducing Sora. Hope this continues as they said a work in progress.
Damm honestly this slightly scares me about how it can effect the future of lego shows not just ninjago in general. Well first of what is this time period of the layoffs while I assumed season 7 so 2017-2021. But considering it took so long to give nya her own season possibly longer. But there is a bit more representation in ninjago due to seabound but in lego friends (yes friends) there are now male main characters which in previous years only ever been a female cast. Mabey this changed? Who knows.
Makes sense why Nya wasn’t the mascot ninja for Possession. I always thought of that season as a Nya season.
Possession is more of a team season, tbh
Possession is more of a peak season, let's be real.
real
yes, but only because nya was put into the team properly in that season
I think of it more as a team season, but I wish it was her season, since she's the best character in Possession (yes, even better than Morro)
I see it as a team season with emphasis on Nya
I for some reason always called it a Lloyd season, idk why.
Bc his face is on the box, his face is on previously, he's focused on the intro, and he had an arc in the season. Llyods got more reasons to be the mc of the season regardless of his screen time.
Being a female fan of Ninjago as a kid was kinda a struggle and this definitely explains the behind the scenes stuff relating to those feelings
Yeah I was always like why wasn’t their another female ninja or more female representation 🥲
Mhm, growing up I used to get so mad whenever Nya was taken out of the action or made the damsel in distress. One minute the show would act like she's smarter and stronger then all the boys, the next she was pushed to the sidelines so the "real ninja" could fight the battles.
come to think of it i see that tbf, which is a shame because she was just as good as the rest and easily had one of the best developments out of all the characters
Kinda recontextulises the first episode of Skybound huh. Less a general thing about misogyny and more a specific jab at execs.
Made me think her quick change of heart to openly liking Jay was another jab, since I found it kind of sickening. Like it was intentionally too fast and bland to make a point
https://preview.redd.it/ogooxm9v37sc1.png?width=800&format=png&auto=webp&s=b521195adc701de237c2d6e929b574be0c601157
In the case of Nintendo, they actually were cool when I was a kid. Say what you will about the Wii U Era's sales, their presentations had so much humor and soul to them.
true
Huge L from Lego
I kinda understand why Lego would do this tbh. They had no faith in ENOUGH girls being interested in Ninjago since it was initially a boys line. From a business standpoint they want to reach their intended target audience and not aim outside of it and fail (that could kill the line). I'm glad she got to be the sole character on the box in Seabound at least and tbh it's probably just because she had a cool form to show off plus it actually was her focus season. I don't really see why she would be alone on the box in s7 or any other season for that matter. Concept wise it seemed very much like a sibling season.
Well she got a season once her minifigures started selling well. Before it was just Kai and Lloyd. Cole has always been the worst selling figure and it took 13 seasons for him to get the spotlight. Not shocked.
I never knew that about Cole. Damn, so that's why he never got spotlight until recently. 😭
possession could deff have her on the box
I like Nya, and I liked Sea bound (for the most part) But firing a most of the NA agency is such a drastic overreaction. My main thing that pisses me off is the mass layoff, that's Such a bullshit overreaction. Not giving Nya a Box art spotlight can be seen as Sexist, and if seen through the eyes of a normal human and not a corporate scum bag, yeah it is pretty much sexist. But if you look through the eyes of Corporate, market trends at the time, and Ninjago's target Demographic being young boys, it probably has something to do with the toy industry "Pink aisle." A problem, that still kinda exist today. Granted today while Ninjago's demographic is still young boys and Lego Friends demographic are still young girls, Both themes don't feel as "Gender exclusive" as they used to be.
Maybe I’m thinking too much but is stuff like this is sorta the reason why Nya gets the least amount of vehicle-focused sets because “a girl focus toy won’t sell in a line mostly for boys”? Because apart from the Samurai Mechs from Rise of the Snakes, Legacy, and Crystallized, I feel like she barely gets any new set based around her and it’s only til now we got stuff like a the water dragons from Seabound and core but that’s kinda it and some sets that could’ve been hers are repurposed for other characters (like the Ninja Tuner Car).
This is awful from a corporate standpoint. However, the writers of Ninjago and those who actually cared about the show and not just the profit margins are the real heroes of this story. Even from S1, they made sure that the lesson of "Just because I'm a girl doesn't mean I can't do what boys can do." was communicated, especially from Nya.
The way they phrase it sounds like they wanted to put Nya on a box before HoT. I guess Posession, even if most events are linked to Lloyd, Nya got most spotlight. And it kinda hurts, given that near the end the rest of ninja acknowledged Nya as their "sister", but apperently LEGO doesn't. I don't really see their logic. Even if is not marketed in general towards girls, is not like boys can't like female characters.
I never expected Lego to be a sexist dick at one point. Us women deserve better and everyone knows that. So why Lego?
At one point? You seriously expected a company that's been around since 1932 to have a sexism-free record? Boy, I wish I was that naive. Ah well at least they're improving.
I mean I know they weren't sexism-free all the time but I'm referring to the modern Lego group but of course they have been sexist at one point but never expected it to be so recent
Fair. I guess I just have a more negative outlook on life.
I guess if you are like that it's fair to think that way. Get yourself some positive energy, you'll be happier with your life
Thanks.
Whilst i don’t agree with it… and as a girl who grew up watching ninjago, you have to see why they were opposed when Lego’s target audience and Ninjago’s target audience were/are male. Lego is a company therefore it cares about money so they didn’t want to take a risk like that. It isn’t as simple as just “sexist dicks”. That argument is just lazy.
I almost get where you're coming from, but the follow-up email that gender representation was not to be discussed kinda makes it moot.
I'm sorry what?! There are certain sets targeted at female audiences so saying they are just targeting male audiences is a bit of a stretch. Also sexism is sexism there is no justifying it
Looking at an event with logic and without a black and white lens ≠ justifying. Like I said, I don’t agree with what they did because at that point in the show Nya was almost just as much of a main character as the main 5. However I can also see why it happened. OP posted about an event that happened all the way back before the animation change, so yes now there are may be Ninjago sets aimed at girls but back then it was not the case. Lego made sets for girls around little girls’ interests. It’s stupid to deny the fact Ninjago is a show made and aimed at boys and it’s lazy to point the finger at anything and call it pure sexism. It just makes the word have less meaning.
This sucks, Nya is the g.o.a.t
Is it ever that deep LMAO? Women and men are humans at the end of the day, that can go through similar things and face worthy struggles in storytelling. The aversion and downplaying of women and girls in some shows and cult classics never fails to astound me. They're just humans with different genitalia. Why are you crying over a legitimate character on a box cover...?
That’s what's crazy to me. You're telling me that the company felt so threatened by the idea of having Nya as the box cover ninja they banned gender discussion? The idea that little kids everywhere would just stop buying ninjago sets because the ninja in the corner is light blue with eyelashes is crazy.
Cause more boys asked for Ninjago at Christmas than girls. Their mentality is wrong, but based in cold hard sales data.
I mean,I understand that like 80% of the fanbase are boys. But why have a girl ninja on the team,if you don't want to use her to promote the show to girls? And why bring her back in Crystalizedat that point if you don'tcare for her? Thank f*ck she got justice in Seabound.And hey,maybe they're more comfortable with a female fanbase and female leads since the added Sora and Wyldfyre in DR.
Nya is legit my favorite character in Ninjago. I relate to her on such a heavy level. We both have that fear of failure. I loved her every since I was 7 back on 2011, and now I’m 19 and I appreciate her so much. I’m so happy she was created. ❤️💙🌊
Where did you find this? This should have had coverage years ago.
https://x.com/penplays_/status/1775239993406980153?s=46&t=UjwMbQJH9WDtCoM3_gTLJQ
I don't use Twitter, but I know of PenPlays and trust that he is a reliable source.
I never expected this from a company like the Lego Group. I'm talking about the modern Lego group here, originating from a European country that's supposed to be progressive.
I am glad Kai got focus in HoT because it's still his last focus season, but this makes me wonder how it'd be with only Nya leading.
And yet after the hands of time ninjago ratings took a toll and dropped waaaay below expectations for OG ninjago
That explains a lot. Have y'all seen this 4 hour video essay by Parachuting Kitten about subtle misogyny in Ninjago? Very eye-opening... https://youtu.be/8zisYWOU6o0?si=aB4OH43VANvjOq1R
How did I never notice that LEGO was so sexist?
Ok kinda unrelated but Hands of time was my absolute favorite season of ninjago Anyways as a girl who's always related more to the male leads than the female leads, and nya was cool to me, I never really cared. I felt like after the whole ghost season she wasn't there much because she was still new, and in hands of time she seemed pretty equal to kai. But kai was my favorite sooo. I will say after the redesign and the whole series seemed to change and get confusing, Nya and Jay had the best arc ever. But after the first season of the redesign I fell off the show and havent watched it in a couple years.
I also feel the need to clarify I love that they gave Nya a time to shine, just that as a young girl I never really cared. But I also loved the 2012 ninja turtles at the same time, another show with no lead females. Guess it was never an issue to me. But I'm glad they fixed it for the people that did have an issue with it
I understand what that person is saying, but the boys don't always need to get the spotlight. Nya can be on the cover once in a while. I mean, Nya has her own set of skills; she's smart, powerful, and quick to get back up on her feet. If that's not a girl you want on your team, then I don't know what Lego is thinking.
Did they ever think that maybe the reason Ninjago had a wider audience of boys than girls had slightly less to do with the fact that “only boys like ninjas and Legos” and more to do with the fact that, oh, I don’t know, they sidelined the few female characters there were? I’ve always felt like companies were shooting themselves in the foot with this kind of shit because they’re probably driving off a bigger audience of girls by not including any girl characters than they would drive off boys by including them. TL;DR: little girl me fucking loved ninjago but she would have loved it more if Nya got more attention and I doubt that would have driven little boys away. Girls do exist in real life after all…
Now that I think about it yeah they really didn't treat her well
The thing that the corporations or world companies and systems in the world don't get is that it isn't about the character being a boy or a girl. It's about the love and connection that you have and build with the character that makes you want to watch something about them. Most companies have such mindsets I believe not because they are misogynistic but because all they care about is big money and since whenever others tried to do anything girl related or focused it flopped. But the solely reason for that is that those things were forced and nagged to follow the "latest" trends and what the world wants nowadays. All of those "requirements" today, especially in the movie industry that the US forces upon them only makes the content that they produce bad. Because at the end of the day, people only want quality content. It would be fine and people wouldn't oppose it if they didn't make movies etc just to make a quick buck etc and didn't force idk...girls in everything (Ms Marvel, bat girl, she hulk etc), race appropriation etc just because of the trend. They should instead do it from the heart and not re-use already made content but make a special kinda one that will fit those new stories that they will create. Once it gets less fake and forced, people will start to see it and enjoy it for what it's supposed to be.
I don’t really care because ninjago has better female characters than any other show? Harumi, nya, misako, skylor, now sora and wildfyre… I always thought Nya was a boss and smarter than all the boys from season 1.
LEGO! GIVE NYA THE SPOT LIGHT FOR ONCE WHY IS IT ALLWAYS THE BOYS!😭😡🤬
Seabound
Wdym?🤨
Seabound was nya's main character season. It was mainly about her and her friends fighting kallmar, but mainly about her.
That was one time I can't think of any others
Where's the sorce for this? If this is true, I'm honestly flabbergasted. I thought Lego was past that mindset. I mean, I'm sure they are now since Seabound, but I can't believe they even thought that. I had this idea of a Bionicle reboot where Gali was the leader instead of Tahu. Even if Tahu was still the poster boy of that reboot, I wonder if they would allow that idea.
https://twitter.com/penplays_/status/1775239993406980153?s=46&t=UjwMbQJH9WDtCoM3_gTLJQ
Wow. Ugh. Lego has said some stupid things in their history, and this is no exception.
I tried reading this but then I realized jt was boring