- This article is about the Ninjago Minifigure. For the dragon previously designated as Sora, see Zanth.
Sora is Ninjago Minifigure introduced in 2023.
Description[]
In most of her 2023-2024 appearances, Sora uses the same head, torso, and legs pieces. Her head is double-sided, with one side featuring black eyes and the other pink to indicate the use of her Elemental Power. She has faint pink eye shadow and lipstick, and has golden facial decorations: two curling, whisker-like stripes on each cheek and a similar curved shape above either eyebrow. Her left hand is gold, as is her left arm which is printed to resemble armor, while her white torso and legs are decorated with white, blue, pink, and gold printing to resemble a futuristic jumpsuit. Her right hand is dark blue.
Sora has vibrant coral hair and has had three different hair pieces. The first was a combination hood and hair piece, with her bangs being visible beneath a dark blue hood with cat ears. This version of Sora also came with a shoulder pad/lower face mask piece that combined with the hair piece. Other variants of Sora come with a 2023 hair piece molded in vibrant coral with two space buns; one of these also comes with a dark blue bandana piece. A new for 2024 hairpiece more closely resembles Sora's on-screen depiction, with her hair now styled in a ponytail and incorporating dark blue cat-eared headphones in combination with her shoulder pad/face mask piece.
Another variant of Sora was exclusive to Build-a-Minifigure stations in LEGO Retail Stores. This one featured a unique white torso with a plain yellow right arm with a blue right hand and a plain gold left arm and hand. The print featured a sleeveless top with white shoulders and a coral midriff encircled by a printed blue belt. The front bore a zippered pocket and Ninjargon characters reading "Sora", while the back featured a coral, white, and blue cat face. This version of Sora had a head with a single face print resembling her usual face printing, plain dark blue legs, and her space buns hair piece.
Background[]
Ninjago: Dragons Rising
Early life
Born Ana, Sora was originally a resident of Imperium, one of the Sixteen Realms. Where her parents and peers were content to conform to the strict order imposed by Empress Beatrix, Ana's admiration was instead directed towards Imperium's leading scientist, Dr. LaRow. Demonstrating enthusiasm and ability that set her apart from her classmates and other citizens of Imperium, she soon developed a miraculous invention: the Photac, a creature of solid light intended to serve as a companion.
Much to Ana's surprise and delight, her work attracted the notice of Dr. LaRow herself, who invited Ana to join her at the Advanced Research Laboratory. Unfortunately, it was there that Ana discovered the truth about not only her idol, but about Imperium itself. Contrary to what the people were told, the "clean and safe" dragon power on which their society ran was harvested at the expense of great pain to the dragons themselves. These included a specimen whom certain lab personnel had dubbed Sora, the Imperium word for "orphan."
Moreover, Dr. LaRow wanted to continue developing the Photac concept not to provide companions, but to form an army of unstoppable beasts in service to Imperium's tyrannical regime. Horrified by this intent for her invention and at the suffering of Sora which she witnessed, Ana sabotaged her original Photac device and refused to assist Dr. LaRow. This led to her being ostracized by her parents and peers, none of whom could understand her regard for dragons or her disloyalty to the Empress they revered. When the Merge occurred, Ana-adopting the name Sora after the dragon she pitied-made her escape from Imperium into Ninjago City.
New Friends
Sora soon befriended another displaced youngster, Arin, and the two took up residence in an apartment in the Crossroads, a neighborhood that blended many elements and inhabitants from the once separated realms. The pair grew to love their new surroundings, particularly the many events that were held for and by the residents. Sora was particularly enthusiastic about the Mech Master 5000 race and built a mech in order to compete in the event on more than one occasion. As she and Arin had limited, if any, funds, they would often obtain these illicitly from the local junkyard, leaving behind one of Arin's homemade pies by way of "payment."
Following one such parts run, the pair briefly discussed Sora's old home, with Sora being intent on dispelling Arin's illusions that Imperium was some kind of paradise. The following day, the pair took part in the Mech Master 5000, only to be distracted when a young dragon appeared being pursued by Imperium Claw Hunters. Determined to help the creature, Sora chased after it in the mech, unaware that their rival Kreel had sabotaged it as a precaution against them winning the race. As a result, their attempt to use the turbo boost feature caused the mech to come apart. However, after receiving a boost of energy from the dragon, Sora unexpectedly found that she had the power to reassemble the mech in new configurations.
Sadly, this didn't prevent the trio from being captured when Lord Ras appeared on the scene. However, they received unexpected aid soon after when Lloyd, one of the Ninja whom Arin idolized, appeared. With his help, and another power boost from the dragon allowing Sora to turn the dragon hunters' weapons into bombs, the group made their escape. Lloyd brought his new friends to the Monastery of Spinjitzu, but they soon set out again for the Land of Three Mountains in order to return the young dragon to his flock. Sora was of particular help in this endeavor, using her mechanical skills to get the new Destiny's Bounty up and running.
The travelers ended up in another confrontation with the Claws of Imperium but achieved victory. Afterwards, the young dragon-his name now revealed as Riyu-elected to remain with his new friends, with Lloyd taking Arin and Sora on as Ninja students. This soon proved to have its disadvantages, as Sora was quite unused to waking up at dawn for training. She eventually persuaded Arin that they should "train" by sneaking out of the monastery in order to attend the Crossroads Carnival, bringing along a disguised Riyu into the bargain.
After enjoying many of the carnival's delights, the pair had another altercation with Kreel, this time after her Whack Rats abducted Lobbo, the winner of the Mech Master 5000 they had all competed in. After learning that Kreel's friend Targle had been abducted, the young Ninja-in-training volunteered to rescue him. They soon found him at the mercy of Dorama, a deranged entertainer with a skill at energy manipulation. Fortunately, with a little help from Lloyd, who arrived in search of them, they were able to defeat Dorama and rescue Targle and his others captives. Sora and Arin then apologized for going off without permission, but Lloyd agreed they could continue to enjoy the carnival-though training would once again start at dawn the next day.
Sora would begin attempting to use her Technology Elemental Powers unaided but found herself incapable of doing so without Riyu. This proved particularly unfortunate when Lloyd and his students became embroiled in a conflict involving fellow Ninja Kai and Nya, their new Cragling allies, and a pair of Earth Dragons. With help from Riyu, Sora powered up her mech in order to battle the dragons, only to lose control and have it come apart in the process. Though the Ninja were ultimately successful, Sora felt that she had failed in her duty.
Old Problems
On the way back to the monastery from this adventure, the Ninja unexpectedly came across the Cloud Kingdom, which was being plagued by MergeQuakes and a monstrous creature that emerged from one of the rifts they opened. During a confrontation with the beast, Arin and Sora were both left plummeting from the city only to be saved by the manipulation of Wind. They soon discovered the source: Euphrasia, a member of the Writers of Destiny who refused to reveal her powers to others based on her people's policy of noninvolvement. Due to her doubts about her powers, Sora briefly resolved not to use them again, but was inspired when Euphrasia joined in battle with the returning monster and several other creatures. Riyu powered Sora up once again, and she became determined to find a way to use her powers successfully.
Sora's past eventually came back to haunt her, as during an attempt to rescue the dragon Jiro from the Claws of Imperium, the Ninja were confronted with a fully functioning Photac. After revealing her role in the creation of the artificial creature, Sora became determined to return to Imperium and destroy it. Together with Lloyd, Arin, and Riyu, she infiltrated the city, stole disguises, and forged ID badges for the human members of the group. Unfortunately, their failure to adhere to the dress code meant that they were scheduled to be subjected to public humiliation, which would reveal their presence to the Claws of Imperium. Riyu was able to provide a distraction that enabled their escape, and Sora made her way to the Advanced Systems Lab only to be met by Dr. LaRow.
LaRow attempted to convince Sora to get their Photac replicas working, eventually threatening to have the dragon Sora drained of energy to force her to cooperate. However, Sora instead double-crossed LaRow and her new associate Dorama, enabling her and dragon Sora to make their escape. Unfortunately, Sora got lost in the Imperium facility, and the pair were confronted and subdued by Rapton and other Claws of Imperium. With dragon Sora being drained of her energy, Sora was forced to help make the Photacs operational, and was horrified once she had accomplished the task.
The new Photacs would soon be put to work in an attempt to put down several dragons whom Lloyd and new acquaintance Wyldfyre had rescued from their holding cells. Upon seeing the Photacs in action, Sora's friends briefly wondered if she had returned to her former allegiance. However, Sora knocked out Dr. LaRow while the villainous scientist was distracted by footage of the battle, and then rescued dragon Sora with Dorama's unintentional assistance. The pair then came to join the battle, and Sora revealed that she had built in a means of disabling the Photacs. Unfortunately, it required the use of her powers, and Riyu's capture and delivery to Empress Beatrix forced her and Arin to find and rescue him.
Arin and Sora located Riyu and attempted to rescue him from his holding cell, only to be caught by Dr. LaRow and Jordana, a former classmate of Sora's who claimed to be her rival. Sora was baffled by this, having no memory of the other girl, while Arin was similarly confused to learn that Sora's given name had been Ana. LaRow accused Sora of being just like her, as she relied on a dragon for power, but Sora argued that Riyu willingly shared his energy with her rather than having it forcibly taken from him. Arin and Sora fought back against their captors and managed to overpower Jordana only for Lord Ras to arrive.
Despite a difficult struggle, Sora was eventually able to trick Lord Ras into helping her free Riyu, who gave her an energy boost so she could use her powers against the villain. The three friends then rushed to join Lloyd, Wylfyre, and the dragons, who had been joined by Kai, Nya, and veteran Ninja Zane. Sora used her powers to disable the Photacs, allowing the Ninja and dragons to escape into the Imperium Monastery and from there through a portal gate to the Monastery of Spinjitzu.
Hunt for the Dragon Cores
Zane soon determined that the problem of the MergeQuakes was building to a disaster of apocalyptic proportions, and the Ninja were thus compelled to seek a solution. Learning of a temple that might provide answers, they traveled there and spoke with the Spirit of the Temple after a brief confrontation. From him they learned of the First Spinjitzu Master's Dragon Energy Cores, created long ago with the power of Source Dragons. They had been used to halt a previous occurrence of the Merge, and the Ninja thus hoped that they might be able to use them to stabilize the now combined realms.
In order to locate the three cores in the Mother Garden, at the Pinnacle of Crystals, and in the Wyldness, the Ninja split into three teams. Nya and Sora, accompanied by Riyu, rode on Jiro and dragon Sora to the pinnacle, only to find the Dragon Core missing from its hiding place. The group then made their way to a Djinn tomb, hoping to use artifacts Nya had borrowed from the Cloud Kingdom to locate the missing Dragon Core. By this point, Sora had come to believe that she was essentially cursed, blaming herself for many of the mishaps she and her friends had endured. She would soon learn what it meant to be actually cursed, as their misuse of the Djinn artifacts summoned a pair of Howlers that promptly attacked the two Ninja.
After helping them escape these creatures, dragon Sora led the group to a cave that proved to be home to Arrakore, who claimed to be the last living Djinn. From him Sora learned that her dragon friend's actual name was Zanth, and that she hailed from the now lost realm of Djinjago. Arrakore also explained the nature of the Howlers, who soon arrived to attack the Ninja, dragons, and their new acquaintance. Sora quickly became annoyed by Arrakore's despondency, only to realize that it wasn't too dissimilar from how she herself had been acting. She was then able to help Arrakore find hope, which helped him to once again access his Djinn magic and help them defeat the Howlers.
With the Dragon Core still missing, Arrakore provided Sora and the others with a magical locator that brought them to the Land of Lost Things. There, they unexpectedly met Nya's friend and fellow Ninja Cole and his new allies the Finder, children of various realms who had become trapped in the area. As it turned out, the missing Dragon Core was powering an antiquated Imperium device that was the only means of repelling a monstrous creature known as the Hoarder. Sora, determined to obtain the core, hit upon the idea of powering the machine using the powers of Geo, one of the Finders who happened to be an Elemental Master like herself.
Unfortunately, forces from Imperium were also seeking the Cores, and Dr. LaRow arrived in search of the one in the Land of Lost Things. Sora attempted to stop her but was unable to do so, and LaRow escaped with the artifact. However, Sora was able to identify the Hoarder as a failed piece of Imperium tech and was thus able to help the Finders disable it. Determined to recover the core, Sora used her powers to fashion armor for Jiro that would allow him to punch through Imperium's force field. The group flew to Imperium and arrived just in time to join the other Ninja, who were locked in battle with Empress Beatrix.
The Ninja found unexpected allies in the form of the Imperium Teen Resistance Force, who noted that Sora had become their inspiration as they learned about Beatrix's true nature and misdeeds. Sora was also integral to their plan to deal with Beatrix by hacking into the Imperium broadcast system and exposing the corrupt empress. With the unlikely aid of Rapton, and in spite of interference from Dorama, Sora succeeded in her mission and broadcast the resistance's message. She then added live video of herself, calling upon the Imperians to rise up against their evil ruler and declaring "We are all dragons!"
Battling Beatrix and Building Mechs
Sora's message roused much of the populace of Imperium against their ruler, only for her to turn her newly created MergeQuake weapon, powered by stolen Source Dragon energy and two of the Dragon Cores, against them. As the Ninja battled against the deranged monarch, Sora hit upon the idea of using her powers to disassemble the weapon. However, one of Beatrix's MergeQuake rifts swallowed Riyu, seemingly leaving Sora without a means of powering up. During the struggle, Sora's parents appeared on the scene, but in spite of her broadcast remained adamant in their devotion to Beatrix.
The two of them pleaded with Sora to return home with them, and Sora realized that even after leaving them behind she had always felt like she needed to prove herself to them. Finding that she has no such need to prove herself to the family she has found, rather than the one she was born into, Sora is able to use her Elemental Powers on her own for the first time. She took apart Beatrix's weapon, but the damage had already been done and a MergeQuake storm threatened to destroy the world. The Ninja thus made their way swiftly to the Crossroads to help the citizens, with Mr. Frohicky bringing them the last of the Dragon Cores.
Reminded that Lloyd had previously channeled Source Dragon energy, Sora suggested that he might be able to wield the cores' power to halt the MergeQuake storm. Her hunch proved correct, and Lloyd then surrendered the cores to the Source Dragon imprisoned beneath Imperium so the creature could safely depart from its containment. The Ninja and their dragons friends returned to the Monastery of Spinjitzu, where Sora was soon back at work on her mech. However, having discovered what was keeping her from accessing her powers on her own, she was determined to figure out how to use them without Riyu's constant aid.
It wasn't long before Sora succeeded in this aim, which would prove fortunate when Cole arrived at the Monastery with news that a shipment of dangerous items had been sent to Ninjago. Learning that Kreel had obtained these for her junkyard, Sora joined Arin, Cole, and Kai in going to confront her. After one of the items caused Lobbo to become an enraged, giant version of himself, Sora used her powers to assemble some of the others materials, including Chronosteel, into Elemental Mechs for herself, Cole, and Kai. These mechs could be compressed into small, portable disks, and had the power to channel the Elemental Powers of their respective pilots.
Working together, the trio were able to subdue Lobbo, whom Arin helped to calm down. Sora then used a device to drain out the energy that had caused the transformation, and the Ninja confiscated Kreel's dangerous inventory. Not long afterwards, the four Ninja-joined by Nya and Riyu-would travel to the Crossroads for the latest Mech Master 5000. Sora, however, was in low spirits, having failed to register for the race due to being distracted by the various missions the Ninja had undertaken.
Sora didn't have cause to be disappointed for long, as the Ninja soon had to call upon their mechs to deal with the Mechanic, who hijacked the mechs competing in the race. Taking advantage of their own mechs' ability to swamp components and thus use each other's Elemental Powers, the Ninja succeeded in bringing down the Mechanic. Later, they would use the mechs to intervene when a pair of Ice Dragons arrived at the Crossroads in search of their eggs, which had been stolen by a group of Lava-Tides. They were fortunately able to halt the disturbance and restore the eggs to their parents, though not without ending up caught in an explosion that left them-and much of the crossroads-covered in stray noodles.
Gallery of Variants[]
Nonphysical[]
Appearances[]
- 71792 Sora's Transforming Mech Bike Racer
- 71796 Elemental Dragon vs. The Empress Mech
- 71797 Destiny's Bounty - race against time
- 71799 NINJAGO City Markets (Urban)
- 71807 Sora's Elemental Tech Mech
- 71810 Young Dragon Riyu
- 71818 Tournament Battle Arena
- 71820 Ninja Team Combo Vehicle
- Ninjago: Dragons Rising
- Season One
- The Elemental Mechs
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- In Ninjago: Dragons Rising, she is voiced by Sabrina Pitre, who also voiced Stella in LEGO Jurassic World: Legend of Isla Nublar and LEGO Jurassic World: The Secret Exhibit, and Vania, Garpo, and an unnamed member of the Geckles in Ninjago.