I'm just Overthinking Ninjago

From the science of Spinjitzu to, is Zane a replica? - it’s just me overthinking Ninjago! Explanations, observations and world-building galore! Click the navigation button (chain icon) below to filter the posts, find the About, or get a random post.

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Please note that all the “new” posts

here in this blog, posted December 2015, prior to the Bechdel test discussion, are actually old drafts I’ve been meaning to post before my hiatus.

I’m kind of discontinuing my blog. I’m sorry.

If you want any details I wrote an apology-farewell letter.

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I’m sorry everyone.

I'm quitting Overthinking Ninjago. If I'm not quitting I'll post very rarely, though I doubt that. (Or a really really long hiatus?)

I am not deleting Overthinking Ninjago, though.

If I am closing this blog then I'd like to say thank you to everyone. Thank you for following me, for asking me questions, for contributing to or criticizing or correcting my theories, for liking my posts and sharing them, for being supportive, for the nice things you said, for even looking at my stuff, because despite being crazy with trying to get noticed I never really cared to make Overthinking Ninjago a somewhat popular blog, at least for my standards.

Overthinking Ninjago became precious to me, but I know I must let it go. Ninjago doesn't need me. The fandom has @ninjago-theories anyway, run by an awesome girl I admire who I used to call senpai. Anyway, you guys already made a lot of theories without any effort on my part, and it's a shame I wasn't able to reblog any of them during my hiatus.

I still made a few promises, so if I made a promise to you, please message @samurai-faineza, who is me. I hate breaking promises. However I'm no longer going to write about how Lego World and Ninjago are alike (you know who you are and believe me I'm sorry I was going to do that), or refute @ninjago-theories‘ refutation, or any theories/analysis/asks.

I'm not really exiling myself from Tumblr since I'm going to upload some Ninjago-related stuff (memes and screenshots and an origami Pythor), which I've been meaning to post at @samurai-faineza before I leave, and one project will have to wait for a month before I can continue it. But yeah, I'm not gonna be quite active anymore.

Anyway, merry New Year! 

And um, if you want an explanation...

I really didn't want to do this, and despite the three-month-long hiatus I only seriously considered quitting a few days ago. And I'm not making it up when I say I am ashamed of this hiatus, of quitting, and I am ashamed of the reasons behind them. (A friend might tell me it's not that big of a deal, but it hurts my pride.)

Maintaining this blog typically takes one work-free Sunday (I was pretty slow), and with school's workload increasing I couldn't keep up. I thought that I'd come back to Tumblr after three weeks the most when I become more competent with time and productivity, but we know that's not what happened. I kept feeling guilty over the first few weeks. I've grown to a disappointing failure. But as time passed I felt more free with less responsibilities (while the responsibility was abandoned at a grey bench, dying of hunger and crying for help; my consciousness taunted me to go back and nurse the poor thing back to health - yes, I'm talking about updating Overthinking Ninjago). And yes, I did have opportunities to update, but I didn't. Guilt, guilt, guilty Faineza.

I have the time this week to update, actually. That was my plan. But if I can only research and answer asks on long breaks, how can I maintain it during school time, which is around 75% of the year?

The more cowardly decision - quitting instead of continuing - was also the harder option, because I truly enjoyed gathering data while I'm cracking my head at the puzzles, of being known as an authority in the Ninjago community, my words taken seriously by an entire fandom. I love my blog, and handling Overthinking Ninjago gave me a big head. Heck, up to now, despite knowing that I really should quit, I still can't get myself to accept it (so don't be surprised if I just randomly come back from the dead for a minute then jump back to the grave).

The other reason why I quit - I'm no longer a crazed Ninjago fanatic. The guilt of the hiatus got me to avoid Ninjago completely, because every time I think of those pajama lego kids I'd feel a pang of YOU SHOULD'VE UPDATED YOUR BLOG BY NOW YOU DIRTCLOD. So I lived my life without Ninjago (*gasp*)! I haven't watched an episode since. I can barely include a good Ninjago reference in my formal apology/public announcement of quitting/farewell letter. I moved on to other interests, some dumb and some smart, and recently I continued some of my hobbies I cherish and little projects I left. 

I asked my friends about my dillemna, and yeah, they share the general consensus that if a blog isn't fun then I should quit. What's the point of running a blog of something you lost passion in? I never believed in quitting the moment you lose your mojo, but I'm no longer competent. Every now and then I cringe at all my inaccurate theories and false facts, and that was when I was in my prime. Now I find myself lost at keeping up with Lego news.

Again, thank you all for even noticing me, and though I'm still checking off items in my before-Ninjago-ends bucket list, I'd like to say farewell. Thank you and goodbye. Probably.

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One of the few times - or only time - the official Ninjago FB page ever replied to a comment. 

Then the comment turned canon.

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Are Lloyd's abilities prophesied or genetic?

Good question, but let’s change your words. Can we really say his abilities are in his genetic code? It’s fantasy, not sci-fi. I can’t recall anything that implies his powers are in his genetic code. Let’s not say “genetic”; let’s say they were passed down from his father and Grandpa First Spinjitzu Master. Next, prophesied means predicted. So let’s replace prophecy with destiny, which are events that will necessarily happen.

Are Lloyd’s abilities acquired through destiny or were they passed down from the First Spinjitzu Master?

How many times was the word and concept of destiny said in pre-Reboot Ninjago? I clearly remember a symbol of destiny. It wasn’t just prophesied; these powers were destined for Lloyd. With this we can confirm that Lloyd was indeed destined to have them.

And also, why wouldn’t he have his powers from being the grandson of the First Spinjitzu Master, the god and creator of Ninjago? He probably got it by bloodline too.

Here’s a viewpoint. Do you know why destiny chose Lloyd as its hero? Because he had the powers of the First Spinjitzu Master. Destiny wasn’t going to give the life of a hero to some random kid. It was finding a hero who already had the power to follow destiny’s story, or someone who fits its requirements.

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Chen is a psychopath (psychology proves)

Let’s look at the Hare Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R):

Factor 1: Personality “Aggressive narcissism”

glib and superficial charm

grandiose (exaggeratedly high) estimation of self

pathological lying

cunning and manipulativeness (blaming Jay and Cole for not giving jewels to the competitors and convincing Kai to kinda betray as two of the many examples)

lack of remorse or guilt

shallow affect (superficial emotional responsiveness)

callousness; lack of empathy

failure to accept responsibility for own actions (”It’s not Skylor’s fault.”)

Factor 2: Case history “Socially deviant lifestyle”

need for stimulation (the whole tournament’s all varied and there’s this short)

parasitic lifestyle (might be wrong but I think it kind of manifests in his gigantic army and taking-control-of-the-world scheme even if it doesn’t exactly fit the description)

poor behavioral control (very)

lack of realistic long-term goals (debatable)

impulsivity 

irresponsibility

juvenile delinquency

early behavior problems 

revocation of conditional release

Traits not correlated with either factor

criminal versatility (starting two Serpentine Wars, enslaving factory workers, taking Ninjago’s elemental masters to a manipulative demoralizing Hunger Games and stealing their powers...)

poor behavioral controls

sexual promiscuity (even if the kabuki aren’t...you know...I think having a lot of them tells a lot)

many short-term marital relationships (unprovable)

Acquired behavioural sociopathy/sociological conditioning 

ONLY THINGS HE FAILS AT BEING A PSYCHOPATH:

revocation of conditional release (but he never had been “free to go on a few conditions”)

lack of realistic long-term goals  Does planning for maybe centuries to rule Ninjago and building a chain of restaurants count? No. But not every psychopath needs to fit every single detail in the description. Or maybe he got help.

early behavior problems and juvenile delinquency, only because we don’t know his past (but I’m sure he was a criminal at age 9)

Maybe he’s a sociopath?

Which would mean he has a sense of morality (good and bad) and a conscience but different from ours, and that he, unlike psychopaths, can empathize. Click here for the full explanation of the differences.

My theory is that he’s probably a psychopath, not a sociopath. I can’t see anything humane about him. Probably the writers wanted to come up with the most despicable human in the planet, and Chen jumped out of their creative juices.

Oh wait, what about the time Clouse blamed Skylor for him losing the elemental powers in Ep. 42, and Chen defended his daughter? Sorry, he risked his daughter’s life by using her elements to turn his men (and daughter) into Anacondrai.

Remember, I’m just overthinking it.

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How did Wu track down the ninja originally? Did he keep tabs on all the original masters' descendents' locations?

[This was answered months ago but wasn’t published so it may be wrong.]

YES I ADMIT THIS IS AN OLD ASK IT WAS SITTING IN MY DRAFTS SECTION THIS WHOLE TIME I AM SO SORRY ANON.

Got two ideas:

1. Sensei Wu just found them when they were doing something extraordinary. Kai was an exception. 

Seriously, Sensei Wu, if you really knew where the new lightning ninja was, or kept track of the original lightning master’s descendants, you could’ve just knocked on Ed and Edna’s door. You obviously would’ve accepted Kai immediately without him having to prove his worth, if only he didn’t speak to you so rudely.

You probably found them so easily because of destiny, right? The Cloud Kingdom writers would lead you to them. Just look around.

2. He probably did keep tabs on the elemental masters and their lineage. 

And why wouldn’t he check on his friends and allies, and their children - people who may be needed in another battle?

And remember when Garmadon was identifying the new elemental masters in the ship on the way to Chen’s?

That may mean the brothers checked on them every now and them.

I think the writers originally intended the first idea though, since the idea of inheriting elemental powers came late.

If you guys have information I don’t, go ahead and reply.

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So I have a theory, not a headcanon-theory. Not for the TV series, but the upcoming Ninjago movie (which we know is a bit AU and is in The Lego Movie universe.)

Ninjago is part of a child’s mind. Finn’s mind.

It’s rather dull and predictable in my opinion, but I’m almost sure it’s gonna be canon in The Lego Movie universe.

I’ll be more specific (because overthinking). No, the child didn’t make the Lego Ninjago theme (those Lego sets) by himself, and there are Lego Ninjago sets in The Lego Movie’s reality, because Lloyd was there.

What we don’t know is if the TV series Ninjago: Masters of Spinjitzu – you know, with the love triangle and elemental masters and the lack of non-minifigure Lego, the Ninjago – exists. Not that Finn made a TV series, because he’s a kid. Either the real-life TV series we watch exists in the Lego Movie as an imaginary world in the child’s mind, or the kid is a big fan of the TV series, and has his own version in his Lego Movie paracosm (imaginary world). And his whole little Ninjago AU – the Lego Ninjago Movie - is going to be somewhat different.

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Like yeah. Chen admires Anacondrai so much he gets their bones and makes them props for a tournament

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Predictions for Ninjago movie

I know, it’s too early to guess. That’s why I’m doing it - I want to see how much I can get right. I’m basing it off all the films I’ve watched targeted at kids and young hearts. Majority sound too trivial to list. I hope Lego looks out of the box and surpasses my expectations.

Also, I do expect I’ll get a lot of things wrong, and some are just plain gambles and guesses, so we’ll share a laugh when the trailers and movie come out.

Characters and Plot

The five ninja, Wu and Nya as the important main characters (duh) with all their core traits highlighted

More Nya focus for feminism, with a lot of scenes of her being badbutt cool 

Lloyd’s master builder status will be addressed

A cameo by one or a few Lego Movie characters 

OR many Lego Movie characters shown in one scene where Lloyd shows up for his master builder business

a romance subplot (likely Jaya)

Quirky but evil new villain with an army of robots/zombies/idiot minions/skeletons/whatever non-human species you’d be OK to kill voiced by popular actor

Disappointing lack of:

P.I.X.A.L.

Skylor

Every season-exclusive character (tournament characters and Cyrus Borg)

Overlord

Garmadon (or less attention)

Dareth (unless writers love him)

A small possibility of Kai having his Lego minifigure hair and scarred face instead of TV show (or a moment’s reference of it)

A temporary betrayal by one of the ninja (or a main character). At least a cowardly kind.

If you do, do not hope for the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles to cameo even in the background due to fans comparing them

Style  (note: official sources say it’ll be part of The Lego Movie universe)

Lego movement and stop-motion (like Lego Movie)

Very similar style with The Lego Movie

A lot of animation action scenes

Scenes of the ninja just hanging out being teen bros

A healthy amount of laughter

Others

The Fold songs featured (at least two!)

The Weekend Whip (kinda the Ninjago theme song) played right after movie in credits

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I think Ninjago passed the Bechdel test in Season 2

Possibly.

Misako: We must go to the Temple of Light. Nya: The Temple of Light? What’s that? Misako: *explains* Wu: It’s on the dark island? Misako: I think our only choice is to find out. Cole: So we get our powers back? All right! Nya: But there’s still one big problem - the Bounty can’t fly. Misako: It’s a ship, right? Can’t it sail?

And the Bechdel test:

It includes at least two women,

who have at least one conversation,

about something other than a man or men.

Above dialogue is a conversation, though it involves other guys.

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Theory: Why the Elemental Masters became punkish

They’re not street gangsters, but they’re not exactly kind/saintly/hopeful enough to rebel or escape from the tournament. Or they don’t believe in other people’s sane reasoning and were influenced by Hunger Games. 

But seriously, they’re the children/descendants/grandkids of the warriors of the First Serpentine War, guardians of the First Spinjitzu Master, so what are they doing in Chen’s tournament?

1. Peace did not need warriors.

Remember in the end of the introductory film, the first scene of the Reboot? Kai the narrator said something about how the age of peace starting means the end of the ninja? Who needs fighters when there’s nothing to fight for; samurai where there were no wars?

So the elemental masters settled down and built families to pass on their powers and keep them existing, or simply to find another purpose of life.

2. There wasn’t much of a future for an elemental master.

Cool, you’re a warrior. If society was kind to you, you’d get recognition and enough money to live by. If not, you better find some money as a fish vendor, if you weren’t an accountant or chef before you started fighting.

Maybe war trauma led them to become mentally unstable, and losing faith in goodness of people.  

(There’s the possibility that the first female elemental masters were abused. Or the guys were irresponsible. You get it? I don’t wanna explain.)

No wonder Sensei Wu turned them into teachers. It’s way better than being a lumberjack and a makeup-caked game show host.

3. The original elemental masters were never nice in the first place. Remember what Garmadon said?

“You did what the original elemental masters could not: stick together.” Something along those lines. Remember when Chen convinced some of the original masters to turn against the others in war?

Gosh what? You mean punks like them were more harmonious than their ancient ancestors/parents? Even if they dressed the Avatar-warrior part?

Well, soldiers don’t always start out as soldiers. They were farmers, hunters – ordinary people. The elemental masters may’ve been folks like us, but un/fortunate enough to be trusted with superhuman power from the First Spinjitzu Master.

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Yeah, we all know the Ninja officially stopped schooling kids.

HASN'T ANYONE EVER THOUGHT OF THEIR STUDENTS?!?

Just imagine if you belong to a small school run by Jackie Chan, Chuck Norris, and two other famous kickbutters

and suddenly Headmaster Sensei Lao Shi says, "Sorry kids, your teachers will be in a new Hollywood movie that will take five years to film. Please transfer to another school." (I know it's his death but still it's a big stop)

And don't get me started on the tuition fee complications, the pains of a new school, possibly having to repeat an entire school year, complaints and lawsuits from unsatisfiable parents...

But then again, it was Darkley's Boarding School, so they might've rehired the old staff. Though because we don't see them working there anymore, it's gonna be tough to get them all again, since they probably quit or have different jobs. Plus, it'll take a while for them to re-adjust when they're continuing other people's work.

...gosh, I’m overthinking it.

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The Many Meanings of Morro

and its spelling variants 

note that they are mostly Spanish (or Spanish-ish)

Morro 1. a rounded hill or promentary

2. (Mexican slang) kid, dude

3. (Spanish) nose, mouth, nerve

Morrow 1. the day after (on the morrow means tomorrow) 

2. the time following an event

3. the near future

Moro 1. a Muslim inhabitant of the Philippines

2. (Spanish) Moor

Most likely came from “Morrowind”, the third installment of Elder Scrolls and a province in the game.

Fun fact: all three spelling variants are surnames. (I’m looking at you, Kirby Morrow.)

Honestly I thought it was a religious attack because I hear the word “Moro” at my place more than “chimichanga” 

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I’m probably overthinking it, but gold does look like amber. Color amber is midway between orange (Skylor’s color) and gold (creation / golden power of Lloyd’s).

What if they chose Skylor’s color because it was close to gold? I mean, Golden Power is kind of the ultimate elemental ability, but the ability to absorb every single element could compete and go at par with the Golden Ninja.

Or maybe the creators preferred orange over color purple.

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Hi guys, I got only a minute to explain my busyness that prevented me from updating and my plans for Overthinking Ninjago, so I’ll give the full explanation when I can - next weekend if I’m lucky.

I queued some posts about the old seasons, so I’m not online at that time of posting.

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I’m sorry guys, I can’t answer asks, nor reply do I have time to discuss the upcoming season (you’ve seen the preview, right?). I found out that tonight will be one long night, and I’m not keen on prolonging it. Anyway, it’s hard to theorize the new season at an early stage.

Please accept my emergency article, which answers the popular question: Did Nya cut the blue or black wire?

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This GIF proves Nya cut both wires

Irrefutable proof! There is no possible reasonable way she cut only one.

Watch closely. Try to pretend you’re holding wires and a shard of glass. Copy her movement. 

She puts the glass knife under both the wires. Then she quickly swings her blade straight upwards in a flash, barely a second.

click this if there are no or incomplete pictures

“But maybe the black wire might’ve slipped when she lowered her hook-hands down,” say some persistent Jaya fans. Unlikely and almost impossible - study them slowly.

The question is, did her choice mean she chose them both, or wanted to cut them both from her life? It doesn’t matter - it’s old news.