The Legend of Korra - Your opinions?

[Playful Pony]

Absolutely love Avatar: The Last Airbender, so I guess I had too high expectations for Legend of Korra. I'm not enjoying it as much as I'd hoped (haven't seen the new season, waiting for more episodes before I dig in); the characters and story are not as interesting to me, but it is how the world has changed I dislike the most. I just don't feel as invested in the world and the induviduals as I did in The Last Airbender.

 

[Sarasena]

Usually I enjoy it quite a bit (which is saying something, since animated shows usually can't hold my attention), although there are a couple of things I dislike.

First, Korra is UNBELIEVABLY hot-headed and short-sighted, and always seems to try to resolve problems with her fists. It's mostly endearing and relatable - I remember being just like that when I was 17, metaphorically speaking - but sometimes it's a little too much, like when she just doesn't get why the President can't start a war at the drop of a dime.

Second, I think Mako and Bolin are a little too one-note; Mako is too much the straight man and Bolin too much the goof. It would be nice if they had a little more personality, especially if they are going to make Mako right about every hunch he has and conveniently in all the right places at all the right times, as they are doing this season.

All in all, though, the series is a lot of fun, and I'm definitely going to keep watching. I really like how they've pushed the world forward instead of keeping things eternally pseudo-medieval, and I like the plot points and other characters a lot.

 

[Realitycrash]

Then the question is if she 'truly' is in the Avatar state. If she can't access the power and knowledge more than superfluously, without also losing her grip, then she clearly isn't as developed of an Avatar as she believes. One wonders why/if she can't simply request the relevant knowledge needed for the situation (like Spirit-Mending).

 

[tzimize]

With the second season of LOK now fully underway, I've once again been watching the show religiously. Like it's predecessor, The Last Airbender, I enjoy this show and the episodes it's given me so far.

However, I am fully aware that the Korra show has had more than it's fair share of critics since it began. So, I would like to know where you guys in the Escapist stand with regards to this show.

Do you like it? Dislike it? Or perhaps somewhere in between? Your reasons would also be appreciated.

And I apologize in advance if this is a thread that's been done before.

I've just watched the first season of Korra, will start the second asap.

I'd say that for now its not as good as TLA. The story is not as interesting and the stakes seem smaller and not as well defined. The characters might be my main gripe with the show as I feel they are mostly boring/bad.

What is interesting about it is the in-depth look of how a society with benders work, and how there can be oppression and segregation-like qualities. It is very cool to see a kid-show that takes itself so seriously and I am extremely happy for the kids that have the privilege to watch a show that might actually get them to think and learn something instead of...Hannah Montana for example :s

This might seem overly negative, but to say that its not as good as TLA is not really negative. Just because something is not awesome doesnt mean it cant be good, which I think Korra is. I'd really wish they had a little less focus on that stupid sport though, I can understand why it was there, but it was too much and too uninteresting.

 

[Sewa_Yunga]

Aang could only enter it under duress, and then he was pretty much unstoppable. Korra can enter it at will, and she is far, far weaker? Doesn't make much sense. She has greater control than Aang, but less access to the required powers?
It's also questionable if the Avatar State is Schizophrenia Times 1000. Seems more to be like "One person, with access to knowledge and memories of others".

To me it makes sense that Korra's Avatar state[footnote]Yip yip![/footnote] is much weaker than Aang's.
I mean, it's the whole worldly detachment thing all over again. Aang had a real headstart on that since he was raised by the air monks who were all about spiritualism.
Korra, while being a real bending savant (even air bending came to her naturally once she could use it at all), sucks at spirituality. So while she might easily access the Avatar state[footnote]see [1][/footnote], her almost complete lack of spirituality prevents her from using it as more than a bending power booster.

 

[Greymanelor]

I've reached the point where I figure the show may as well be called Legend of Mako, because he's practically the only one who gets to accomplish anything. He's the one who breaks free from the villains control in the first season, who starts out the second with all the action-dude-cool-guy scenes, and is always right about everything (except maybe how he treated Asami, which so far - I haven't seen the most recent episodes - not a single person has called him out on being a tremendous douche about). Women want him, men want to be him, yadda yadda. Yet for all that, he remains a incredibly boring and poorly defined character.

Korra just feels weak and helpless, both as a combatant and a character, which is disappointing because I was really taken with her at the start. She was impulsive, eager, and had a rough-and-tumble way to her that made it seem like she would be a fun character. She felt like a teenager.

Then the show got going and everything just seemed to go wrong. She never actually wins a fight worth mentioning and spent most of the first season so cringing and terrified of the villains, so helpless before them, it quickly reached the point of nausea. After awhile, you just want to smack her in the back of the head and tell her to knock it off. That the second season isn't starting off any better is not a good sign to me. She falls instantly in love with Mako on the basis of 'he's hot' and he with her because 'she's hot' and we're supposed to be happy about this apparently, despite the two having nothing in common beyond pro-bending. Fair enough that teenagers might be prone to mistaking hormones for love, but thus far there isn't any sign that they (and by they I mean the writers as much as the characters) might be realizing that's all it is.

The first season produced no growth or change in her as a character. In fact, the whole thing felt cold and hollow. There was no journey, internal or otherwise. Nothing was taught to the characters or the audience, nothing was learned. It wasn't the Book of Air. It was the Book of Pro-Bending and then Air-bending turned up as a complete asspull power out at the very end. As was the Avatar-state. There was no natural progression, she could suddenly do them because the plot demanded it.

I never expected Korra to be exactly like the original series, but it's sad that the one place it's really live up to the legacy of the original is in it's characters. What had really drawn me to the original series had been how well developed and interesting it's characters were, far more so than it's world or philosophies (though those were a nice bonus). In Korra, the characters seem to take a back seat to the world. Most of them are one-dimensional figures who never develop beyond their state roles as mentor or boyfriend or comedy relief.

 

[TheYellowCellPhone]

I haven't seen the new season yet. I'm going to watch it when this post is done.

I loved the first season, not specifically for the character cast, or the story, or the animation, but for Republic City. It was just so alive in its class divides, politics, culture, law enforcements, gangs, entertainment, and inhabitants. It was everything I liked from the Bah Sing Se segment in The Last Airbender but with a crapton of more character and story put into the city.

People say the art and animation is weaker. It still looks identicle to The Last Airbender, it's still pretty freaking good, but every time a machine appears you can tell they didn't want to animate it much and instead just threw in a 3D model. But The Last Airbender did that too with most of the Fire Nation war machines.

Anyway. The cast is weak: the main cast, Korra, Mako, Bolin, and Asami, are either close copies of the original cast or are stale archtypes. Korra is an average teenage girl with all of Aang's irresponsibility and none of the maturity, Mako is one half that 'too cool' kid and one half Zuko, Asami is this humble rich girl while taking the "I'm not a bender but I can still kick ass" role of Sokka, and Bolin is Sokka. Just Sokka who can earthbend. The really good cast is the older people, who seldom get as much attention as the rest of the group: Aang's son Tensin, Toph's daughter Lin, and the main antagonists are such cool characters, but sadly they have to sweep it aside for teenage romance and ploys to make you like the cast as much as you did in The Last Airbender. Which they can't.

It doesn't ruin the show, not by a long shot, but the main cast needs more character put into them. I'll go see if they fixed that in the next season, and if they stay in Republic City.

It was also a bit more morbid and dark than The Last Airbender was, which I really liked. The Last Airbender was sad and shocking at times, but it didn't have the dark implications such as the finale and the actions and back story of Tarrlock, which I won't spoil.

It's definitely worth a watch, regardless if you saw The Last Airbender, but those moments in the show when the original cast of The Last Airbender shows up is so rewarding if you've seen it.

 

[Silverspetz]

Then the question is if she 'truly' is in the Avatar state. If she can't access the power and knowledge more than superfluously, without also losing her grip, then she clearly isn't as developed of an Avatar as she believes. One wonders why/if she can't simply request the relevant knowledge needed for the situation (like Spirit-Mending).

Who says she believes that? Seriously, Korra has never once claimed to be a fully-fledged Avatar during this season. She wanted Unalaq to teach her because she KNOWS that she sucks at the spiritual side of bending and Tenzin's methods weren't working for her anymore. Ready or not however, this is a crisis and she NEEDS to make the kind of decisions an Avatar is supposed to make NOW. The only ones who say that Korra thinks she already knows everything she needs to know are the haters who use it to paint her as an immature brat.

 

[Realitycrash]

Then the question is if she 'truly' is in the Avatar state. If she can't access the power and knowledge more than superfluously, without also losing her grip, then she clearly isn't as developed of an Avatar as she believes. One wonders why/if she can't simply request the relevant knowledge needed for the situation (like Spirit-Mending).

Who says she believes that? Seriously, Korra has never once claimed to be a fully-fledged Avatar during this season. She wanted Unalaq to teach her because she KNOWS that she sucks at the spiritual side of bending and Tenzin's methods weren't working for her anymore. Ready or not however, this is a crisis and she NEEDS to make the kind of decisions an Avatar is supposed to make NOW. The only ones who say that Korra thinks she already knows everything she needs to know are the haters who use it to paint her as an immature brat.

She is an immature brat, and a cartoonishly (fitting) genre-blind one. I can agree that her control over the Avatar-State might be far from perfect, or that her power-access might somehow be lacking, but it doesn't excuse the idiot-ball she's almost constantly holding.

Then again, maybe she's supposed to be that way. Which is fine, if we at least got some balance. Not all flash and fury.

 

[Silverspetz]

Then the question is if she 'truly' is in the Avatar state. If she can't access the power and knowledge more than superfluously, without also losing her grip, then she clearly isn't as developed of an Avatar as she believes. One wonders why/if she can't simply request the relevant knowledge needed for the situation (like Spirit-Mending).

Who says she believes that? Seriously, Korra has never once claimed to be a fully-fledged Avatar during this season. She wanted Unalaq to teach her because she KNOWS that she sucks at the spiritual side of bending and Tenzin's methods weren't working for her anymore. Ready or not however, this is a crisis and she NEEDS to make the kind of decisions an Avatar is supposed to make NOW. The only ones who say that Korra thinks she already knows everything she needs to know are the haters who use it to paint her as an immature brat.

She is an immature brat, and a cartoonishly (fitting) genre-blind one. I can agree that her control over the Avatar-State might be far from perfect, or that her power-access might somehow be lacking, but it doesn't excuse the idiot-ball she's almost constantly holding.

Then again, maybe she's supposed to be that way. Which is fine, if we at least got some balance. Not all flash and fury.

I'm not going to bother with this one since already explained why I think Korra's actions are justified from a character perspective. Summed up it amounts to: She isn't stupid, she is desperate. Big difference.

 

[Rebel_Raven]

I like the series a lot. It feels pretty unique, and Korra's a well written female lead in a somewhat mature series.

They kinda ticked me off what they did with Eska. She went from an interesting character to, well,

Spoiler

She became an insane, one dimensional villain going after Korra because she stole her husband... that came off as incredibly demented, and out of the blue. So jarring. I don't know if they'll smooth it out, or if she'll stay seemingly insane, or what.

It's not perfect, but the pacing works as far as the stories go.

 

[Realitycrash]

Then the question is if she 'truly' is in the Avatar state. If she can't access the power and knowledge more than superfluously, without also losing her grip, then she clearly isn't as developed of an Avatar as she believes. One wonders why/if she can't simply request the relevant knowledge needed for the situation (like Spirit-Mending).

Who says she believes that? Seriously, Korra has never once claimed to be a fully-fledged Avatar during this season. She wanted Unalaq to teach her because she KNOWS that she sucks at the spiritual side of bending and Tenzin's methods weren't working for her anymore. Ready or not however, this is a crisis and she NEEDS to make the kind of decisions an Avatar is supposed to make NOW. The only ones who say that Korra thinks she already knows everything she needs to know are the haters who use it to paint her as an immature brat.

She is an immature brat, and a cartoonishly (fitting) genre-blind one. I can agree that her control over the Avatar-State might be far from perfect, or that her power-access might somehow be lacking, but it doesn't excuse the idiot-ball she's almost constantly holding.

Then again, maybe she's supposed to be that way. Which is fine, if we at least got some balance. Not all flash and fury.

I'm not going to bother with this one since already explained why I think Korra's actions are justified from a character perspective. Summed up it amounts to: She isn't stupid, she is desperate. Big difference.

Allowing Northen forces to take over the South for 'protection', not seeing that is was just a power-grab and acting only after the trial got out of control?
Not seeming to realize that maybe, just maybe, the guy who possesses Spirit-Bending can ALSO cause the spirits to become angry and attack? That is idiot-ball.

 

[Adamantium93]

I didn't get past the first episode. I love The Last Airbender and Korra isn't even close to the same show.

Maybe its good on its own merits, but I really hated how modern the show became and how the culture/lore that made the first series great was all muddled up. It moved from a strikingly original fantasy, pseudo-medieval interpretation of various Asian cultures into the came cliched "modern with special magic" setting found in most western oriented anime.

Like I said, it may be a good show, but it has the problem of being compared to The Last Airbender. I just couldn't get into it in the same way that TLA drew me in.

 

[Saltyk]

So far, I really enjoy the Legend of Korra. It takes the world that Avatar built and expands upon it. And it's showing the difference between technology and spirituality in the world. It's obvious that all future Avatars will have to try to maintain a balance between the two in the world. Allow technology to flourish for the sake of all, but also make sure that people respect nature and the spirits.

I personally hope that all the following Seasons of Korra will be self contained stories. I think it would be interesting to see more than one battle. It's obvious that Aang fought many battles after the Fire Lord was defeated. And, I hope that we see multiple different battles. I think that would be interesting.

As for Korra's personality, I think of it as such: Korra knew she was the Avatar from an early age.

There's a reason they waited till the Avatar became of age to tell them. It's a lot of responsibility to be the Avatar. People all over the world look to you for guidance, help, and leadership. Not just for one nation, or one people, but for the entire world, human and spirit.

In addition, her entire experience has been people telling her, "You're the Avatar, so you're great and powerful. The most powerful of all. Don't let that go to you head."
How would do you think a person would grow? I'd say they would be headstrong and arrogant. But Korra also shows a true willingness and desire to help others. I think that is something to her credit. She wants to do the right thing, but it's not that easy. She's had several people disrespect her and even some she trusted had lied to her. And she feels that no one is letting her do her duty, the one they were telling her about her entire life. How would you feel if the same people who were preparing you for greatness were now telling you that you were ready? Aang wasn't ready.

I can see why some people don't like her, but I have no problem with her. It would have been far too easy to make her Aang 2.0, but they didn't.

So, yes, comparing Aang to Korra is wrong. Aang was a monk trained to be an Air Nomad. He never wanted to be the Avatar. Never even suspected that he was. And when he learned that he was, it threatened to take everything away from him. His friends, his master, his entire way of life. Aang had strong spiritual training from an early age. He was taught to be detached and separate. Korra was kept separate, detached from the world, and embraced her role as Avatar. It gave her life meaning. There are huge difference in the characters and their pasts.

Oh, and as for the Avatar State, I think people are right and wrong. Early on Aang could not control it. It was stated to be a Defense System for the Avatar. It activated whenever the Avatar was in mortal danger and empowered them with the skill, power, and knowledge to escape that danger. Aang was shown to have little to no memory of what he did at those times. And certainly no control over it. And that scared him.

Later on, he mastered the Avatar State and could control it at will. He could enter it for extended times to utilize great power, or store a "charge" for immediate use for a single act, like causing the river waters to rise and put out flames from his battle against the Fire Lord.

Korra can currently use the Avatar State at will. But that doesn't mean she's perfect in the state. That would be boring, would it not. She's still in control and acts as she would. The reason she doesn't seem to explode with power is simple. Avatar State doesn't do that. Why wouldn't Roku have simply used Avatar State to calm the volcano? Because even the Avatar can't do that.

The Avatar isn't unstoppable. A truly skilled and powerful bender can be their equal or close to it. Remember Toph and Katara?

Beyond that, I had a feeling they were going to reveal what they did in the last episode. I started thinking that near the start. That things seemed a bit curious with how things were going. As for his motivations, I can't guess at. But I suspect that he's not quite the patriot that we were led to believe.

 

[Yuuki]

If I hadn't watched Last Airbender first, I think I would've been a lot more easy-going in my judgement of LoK. After all, LoK isn't supposed to be an actual sequel to ATLA in the sense of being as big/expansive...more of a mini spin-off vaguely linked to the original.

That being said, LoK's biggest flaw/weakness is it's protagonist...and that's a fucking silly mistake to make considering the protagonist is the primary "medium" through which we are taken through the story. I don't know how the writers could botch-up a character something up so badly.
Maybe some of them thought that being a whiny stupid angsty teenager who never learns is "cool" with today's kids or something. The Nickeledeon audience is quite young after all, but that didn't stop ATLA being an absolute blast to watch. Even Zuko was a whiny angsty brat, but he ended up having one of the most incredible character arcs I've ever seen and possibly maturing the most.

I really have no clue what they were aiming to do with Korra as a character.

Those saying she's a strong female protagonist, she's "strong" in the sense that she can kick ass, but when it comes to being LIKED or making the audience sympathize with her Korra would probably rank in my top 10 worst characters of all time (of animated shows). If not "worst" then at least severely disappointing, I wasn't expecting this from the writers of ATLA.

and the creator's douche-y response to fan criticism

The creators responded? Link/source/what did they say??

 

[Manji187]

Disappointment.

Yeah, pretty much this. I really want to like it, but I can't because I feel the series squanders its potential. If only Korra wouldn't have been handed the Avatar State so soon and so easily. Having no bending except for subpar airbending would've done wonders for the character. Perhaps the writers realized they missed this opportunity and decided to achieve something similar by...

Spoiler

...giving Korra amnesia. That is, if bending were somehow connected to memories and identity. Anyhow, Korra really needs to finally hit her lowest low so she can grow and transform as a character. I don't know how much longer I can endure her bipolar disorder.

 

[Silverspetz]

Then the question is if she 'truly' is in the Avatar state. If she can't access the power and knowledge more than superfluously, without also losing her grip, then she clearly isn't as developed of an Avatar as she believes. One wonders why/if she can't simply request the relevant knowledge needed for the situation (like Spirit-Mending).

Who says she believes that? Seriously, Korra has never once claimed to be a fully-fledged Avatar during this season. She wanted Unalaq to teach her because she KNOWS that she sucks at the spiritual side of bending and Tenzin's methods weren't working for her anymore. Ready or not however, this is a crisis and she NEEDS to make the kind of decisions an Avatar is supposed to make NOW. The only ones who say that Korra thinks she already knows everything she needs to know are the haters who use it to paint her as an immature brat.

She is an immature brat, and a cartoonishly (fitting) genre-blind one. I can agree that her control over the Avatar-State might be far from perfect, or that her power-access might somehow be lacking, but it doesn't excuse the idiot-ball she's almost constantly holding.

Then again, maybe she's supposed to be that way. Which is fine, if we at least got some balance. Not all flash and fury.

I'm not going to bother with this one since already explained why I think Korra's actions are justified from a character perspective. Summed up it amounts to: She isn't stupid, she is desperate. Big difference.

Allowing Northen forces to take over the South for 'protection', not seeing that is was just a power-grab and acting only after the trial got out of control?
Not seeming to realize that maybe, just maybe, the guy who possesses Spirit-Bending can ALSO cause the spirits to become angry and attack? That is idiot-ball.

Officially the Northern and Southern Water Tribe are 1 nation with Unalaq being the only chief. He didn't break any laws by moving troops from 1 part of his nation to another, and protecting the portal was a sound enough reason to have troops come in. Especially when he had already been nothing but helpful until that point and thus earned a fair bit of trust.

So what if perhaps, maybe he COULD do that when she had no reason whatsoever to believe he WOULD? Even Tonraq admitted that it was HIS fault the spirits attacked the North, and technically that is still true. Unalaq arranged for the bandits to attack and then hide in the sacred forest, but it was still Tonraq who pissed off the spirits by destroying the forest. Unalaq never used his influence over spirits to MAKE them attack, and at no point was there ever any indication that he did.

This is the problem with a lot of would-be critics (and some real ones too). They confuse what is obvious to the AUDIENCE with what SHOULD be obvious to the characters. WE figured out that Unalaq was a bad guy early because we have the meta-knowledge of understanding that when a character in a TV-show is seen sitting alone in a throne-room covered in shadow, it usually means that they are evil. But to a character IN that TV-show that would just seem like a sign that someone should fix the lights. You can't expect character to figure out the roles they will play from the tropes and clichés WE see. Korra is not an idiot for not figuring out that Unalaq was a bad guy earlier. He kept it very smooth most of the time by playing humble in the beginning and proving himself to be a capable spirit-handler who would make a good teacher. Then when he had earned her trust he moved in his troops, and while that DID send up a few warning flags he did provide a good reason for it. Then after the rebels attacked HIM in his palace he showed Korra that he would still be fair by listening to her and giving them a trial, an "unfortunate" consequence of which was that Korra's parents got dragged in because technically there was a lot of evidence against them. She had good REASONS for trusting him almost all the way through so no, that is not "idiot-ball".

 

[Lorien077]

*snip* (Though I 100% agree with you here)

and the creator's douche-y response to fan criticism

The creators responded? Link/source/what did they say??

Here's what I was talking about: http://bryankonietzko.tumblr.com/post/24721131897/my-first-web-comic-hope-you-trolls-like-it (Sorry for the off site link, its on Bryan Konietzko's tumblr) Final nail in the casket for me.

 

[Yuuki]

*snip* (Though I 100% agree with you here)

and the creator's douche-y response to fan criticism

The creators responded? Link/source/what did they say??

Here's what I was talking about: http://bryankonietzko.tumblr.com/post/24721131897/my-first-web-comic-hope-you-trolls-like-it (Sorry for the off site link, its on Bryan Konietzko's tumblr) Final nail in the casket for me.

*sigh*
Yeah that wasn't too clever of him.

 

[FinalHeart95]

I loved the first season, rolled through it in a few days.
I've watched the first two episodes of the second season, and Korra really got on my nerves. It was to the point that, to me, her father and Uncle became the spectacle of the show. I found their relationship far more interesting than her refusing help from Tenzin or her father even though, as Mako said, they're only trying to do what they thing is best for her.
I think that's the worst part. All these people are at least TRYING to care for her, and she gets angry at them for doing so. My friend was actually in the room as someone else was watching and he said "wow, she sounds like a *****."
So yeah, I'm all for Korra having flaws, but she's straight up unlikable from where I'm at.