March of the Oni

March of the Oni is the tenth and final season of the Ninjago: Masters of Spinjitzu series. It was originally released on April 19th, 2019. Garmadon is the focus character of this season, and The Omega is the main antagonist. The Oni serve as the villainous faction.

It is the third and final season in the Oni Trilogy arc, and the final season in the Masters of Spinjitzu Saga. This one focuses on the road to redeeming Lord Garmadon, and how he, his brother, and his son deal with the march of the Oni on Ninjago. There is no collectible item for this season, as there was only one set released for this half of the year. However, the Golden Weapons are the collectibles for the Legacy sets that released alongside of this season.

In December of 2018 a series of six videos from the LEGO website made to promote the Ninjago: Legacy sets titled Tales From the Monastery of Spinjitzu were released.

It is preceded by Hunted and followed by Secrets of the Forbidden Spinjitzu. A midquel between this season and Season 11 was released to tie together the loose ends that remain after changes made titled The Splinter in the Blind Man's Eye. It has been written by Tommy Andreasen on Twitter since 2021. It is considered "could-be-canon," as it doesn't conflict with canon, and serves to answer the remaining unanswered questions that March of the Oni left.

A canon comic book series was released in 2022 titled Garmadon that acts as a sequel to this season. It focuses on what Garmadon does following the end of MotO.

Plot Summary
The Oni are coming … As demonic darkness descends upon the realm of NINJAGO, the time has come for our heroes to rise again and protect the land that all Masters of Spinjitzu call home. It is a world filled with a rich history and legacy, and it is from here where our ninja heroes must unlock an even greater power to defeat the darkness that is marching towards them. What could these shapeshifting dark forces be, why do they want to destroy Ninjago, and how can they be defeated?

Characters

 * Cole - Kirby Morrow
 * Dareth - Alan Marriott
 * Faith - Kathleen Barr
 * First Spinjitzu Master - Jim Conrad
 * Garmadon - Mark Oliver
 * Jay - Michael Adamthwaite
 * Kai - Vincent Tong
 * Lloyd Garmadon - Sam Vincent
 * Misako - Kathleen Barr
 * Nya - Kelly Metzger
 * The Omega - Zach LeBlanc
 * P.I.X.A.L. - Jennifer Hayward
 * Wu - Paul Dobson
 * Zane - Brent Miller

Battles

 * Ninja vs. Oni
 * Ninja vs. Garmadon
 * Lloyd & Garmadon vs. Oni
 * Lloyd & Garmadon vs. The Omega
 * Ninja & Garmadon vs. Oni Horde
 * Garmadon vs. The Omega

Locations Visited

 * Ninjago
 * Ninjago City
 * Borg Tower
 * Borg Tower vaults
 * Ninjago Harbor
 * Mountains of Impossible Height
 * Monastery of Spinjitzu
 * Sea of Sand
 * Kryptarium Prison
 * Cell one
 * First Realm
 * Underworld
 * Departed Realm

Sets
This remains the first and only season not to have a full set wave accompany it. 853866 NINJAGO Accessory Set 2019 was the only set made for this season, although it's a minifigure pack and not a full set. However, some elements of the first Legacy wave released in winter 2019 appeared in the show, specifically elements from 70669 Cole's Earth Driller and 70670 Monastery of Spinjitzu.


 * 853866 NINJAGO Accessory Set 2019

Ninjago: Legacy sets

 * 70665 The Samurai Mech
 * 70666 The Golden Dragon
 * 70667 Kai's Blade Cycle & Zane's Snowmobile
 * 70668 Jay's Storm Fighter
 * 70669 Cole's Earth Driller
 * 70670 Monastery of Spinjitzu
 * 70679 The Ultra Dragon
 * 70680 Monastery Training

Spinners

 * 70659 Spinjitzu Kai
 * 70660 Spinjitzu Jay
 * 70661 Spinjitzu Zane
 * 70662 Spinjitzu Cole
 * 70663 Spinjitzu Nya & Wu
 * 70664 Spinjitzu Lloyd vs Garmadon

Continuity

 * The final episode of Hunted, "Green Destiny," hinted that the future villains would be the Oni, as Garmadon previously hinted that "they" are coming. The Oni are referred to as "the Bringers of Doom," and consume entire realms in darkness. Their march through the realms is shown as dark clouds engulf everything they touch.
 * The Monastery of Spinjitzu returns in this season, despite being burned down by the Hypnobrai in "Home" and again accidentally by Kai in "The Hands of Time."
 * It was confirmed in the book Fired Up! that the Monastery was rebuilt by the ninja.
 * The Realm Crystal is destroyed for the second time in this season, this time permanently, because it was previously destroyed in an erased timeline.
 * Garmadon regains his powers in this season due to creating a small conflict with the ninja.
 * Nya accepts Jay asking her to be his "Yang" in the season finale. It is worth noting that this is not the same as marriage, but it is a similar bond that people share in the world of Ninjago. This event is brought up again during Season 13.
 * The Golden Weapons of Spinjitzu are reforged in their season, making this their first appearance as individual weapons since "Wrong Place, Wrong Time." They are reforged by Kai, who wears his original blacksmith from "Way of the Ninja" suit in the last episode of this season.
 * They are reforged after melting down the Golden Armor of the Golden Master that was kept safe in a vault underneath Borg Tower. Other relics that remain in this vault are the Overlords original Nindroid army, the Serpentine General's staffs, the Sword of Sanctuary (which was last seen in Curseworld, Part II,) the Realm Crystal, the Helmet of Shadows, Yang's portrait, and Anacondrai spears.
 * The Golden Armor was hinted at having been locked away by Cyrus Borg back in The Invitation.
 * It has apparently been long enough that the power in it has faded so that the Ninja may hold it without evaporating.
 * It is revealed that Golden Power, the power of Creation, repels the Oni.
 * The Tornado of Creation is performed for the first time since "Day of the Great Devourer." It is used to defeat the Oni. The reason for this is because it is retconned that the Tornado of Creation can only be achieved with the Golden Weapons of Spinjitzu, hence why it is never used again after Season 1.
 * This is a continuity error, as of the three times the Tornado is used in the past, only one of them was used with the Golden Weapons in-hand. The other two were used when the weapons were in close proximity to the Ninja, but that does not fit the established criteria.
 * The Golden Weapons go dim at the end of the season, implying that their power is lost.
 * The Oni's fate are left ambiguous at their defeat.
 * Garmadon leaves the Ninja at the end of the season, and his fate is revealed in the comic series titled Garmadon.
 * Due to the drawback of having used the Tornado of Creation, Lloyd sees a vision of the First Spinjitzu Master, who thanks him for his years of service. He offers Lloyd the choice of leaving Ninjago to be happy in (what I can only assume is the afterlife,) but Lloyd chooses to stay in Ninjago to be a Ninja.
 * Lloyd only remembers the events of this vision as a dream.
 * All of the Ninja's major battles of the past are painted on a mural on the walls of the Monastery. The events described are that of the pilot episodes, Rise of the Snakes, Legacy of the Green Ninja, Rebooted, Tournament of Elements, Possession, Skybound, The Dark Island Trilogy, The Hands of Time, Sons of Garmadon, and Hunted.
 * The Dark Island Trilogy is placed on the mural instead of Day of the Departed because the writers felt as that was a bigger part of Ninjago's history.
 * A painting of the Ninja's hands is added to the mural signifying the events of March of the Oni.
 * This is the first episode where Cole suffers a "fall." It is foreshadowed in Grave Danger that Cole's destiny remains uncertain, and as the season goes on, there is a common gag that he keeps falling. The fall that he suffers in this season will traumatize him for seasons to come. It is the first instance where he is presumed dead when he falls.
 * In the final battle with The Omega, Garmadon takes the full form of an Oni for the battle, showing off the unique Oni ability of shapeshifting.
 * Borg Tower and the Destiny's Bounty are rebuilt in this season after being destroyed in Hunted and Sons of Garmadon.