What are your thoughts on The Legend Of Korra?

[Waffles's iconWaffles]

Like many other people, I was beyond excited when a sequel to ATLA was announced -- that show had been my favorite thing in the world throughout the duration of its run and I just couldn't get enough of it...

... But then I took a look at the Steampunk-like world the story took place in and my hopes began to shatter because it was such a departure from the original formula as to feel utterly disconnected.

NOW, granted, the world was going to change a lot after the Hundred-Year War and I'm not necessarily putting it as a strike against the show itself, but Republic City (ugggh!) was supposed to be the result of Fire Nation colonization of the Earth Kingdom and mix heritage between the two groups, so the Americanization of the whole thing feels really off. No building on there looks either Fire Nation or Earth Kingdom and neither do the citizens -- whatever took place there in the last couple of decades didn't feel like it belonged to the same universe as either Yu Dao or Ba Sing Se (hell, it doesn't even look like it could belong to rather obscure outposts like Ember Island or even that one town where Zuko Alone took place).

That would have been a pathetic nitpick IF they didn't DOUBLE shove it in your face: first by making such a big deal out of it being the brainchild of both Avatar Aang and Firelord Zuko and then by having high-ranking Earth Kingdom officials commenting on the whole thing being placed on usurped territory, making the look and feel of RC come across as a desperate attempt to mask how unlawful the fucking thing is.

My biggest gripe, however, is with Korra herself.

It is true that she got screwed before the show was even written because we already had full-fledged Earth, Wind and Fire (hah!) avatars, but I don't understand how they could make her that bland. She's really unpleasant to be around and so is her group.

I get that she's supposed to be the "modern woman", unbound by any of the cultural and social norms befalling previous avatars, but she really is insufferable... Like angry cardboard.

I really did like a few things about the show (like them calling out so much of their own BS later into the series and some VERY creative uses of bending), but the whole package felt lacking in all counts: didn't feel rich in either culture, spirituality or martial arts the way the original was and it turned into a bit of a chore as a result -- I couldn't watch it either during its original TV release, through Netflix or even as a review: the pieces were there, but they weren't clicking (at least for me).

I have heard the show being described as "Corporate Vandalization Of A Legend" in a now famous article and yeah, you can really tell a creative vision was being compromised somewhere down the production pipeline... So many things come and go on a whim and it never once feels like the story finds its footing as a result, with the probable exceptions of the Kuvira and Civil War arcs (but even those feel rushed).

I really, REALLY wanted to love this show... But just couldn't. Ironically, though, I truly believe that it'd have worked a lot better as an Avatar knockoff rather than a sequel -- the stakes set up by ATLA were too high for LOK to tackle on its current form.

I could go on forever (and believe me, I was tempted to do so after the whole "Let's undo a genocide" bit), but I'll finish it here... Mercifully.

Thoughts?

 

[TheMinuMaster]

Honestly, I also forced myself to like it from the beginning, but I just couldn’t. I’m way too attached to the world and the ideas presented in ATLA, and TLOK never really won me over. Not to mention that, overall, the characters in TLOK are pretty annoying — and Korra herself is especially hard to like. Some works, like ATLA, are so good that they simply don’t need a continuation, and TLOK ends up proving that.

 

[breremarer]

I liked it... alright? I think the biggest difference between it and ATLA is that while ATLA is pretty airtight in its storytelling end to end, Korra is messy end to end. Between the specter of cancellation hanging over it, being relegated to Nickelodion's weird streaming site (instead of airing on the channel), and the writing trying to course-correct for all of this, it just ends up being unsatisfying. It suffers mightily in comparison to the original show.

That being said, there are things about the show I really like and admire. I actually do like Korra as a character. I like the idea of the Avatar needing to really struggle to be a good person and not really feeling as though she's up to the mantle. I think the animation is pretty gorgeous throughout, and the steampunk elements are really fun. The newsreel recaps always put a smile on my face.

I finished the series, and I'm not unhappy I did. Unlike ATLA, I don't think I'll revisit it, though.

 

[Zerohour2k12]

It was ok to me but I'd still prefer The Last Airbender

 

[Bakuma1997]

Wanted to give it a shot, but ATLA was so good as a self contained story, so i feared the "Shoes too big" syndrome would kick, gave it a shot and... while not as bad as 99 percent of Internet made it to be, it is in fact watered down ATLA, with flaws independent of "Not being Aang's series", cool if you simply want more Avatar but don't care for the comics, but far from fully good while also being far from truly bad

At least Korra was kind of cute

 

[Tonberry]

I didn't grow up with Avatar and never really cared super much from what little I watched aside from that it was always very pretty, from character designs to environments and so on, so this show flew right under my radar.

The only thing I do know is that Korra herself is Very Cute.