TV Avatar: The Legend of Korra

[The Spectacular Professor]

[quote name='chibi-master' timestamp='1336644806' post='711714']
Thisthisthis

One thing I've found is that the villain in this series seems genuinely more frightening than any in the first. Azula was pretty much the only antagonist in TLA that I ever thought was worthy of being called one, in my opinion. Maybe Zhao at some point, but not for long. Amon, however, creeps me the heck out every time he shows up and [spoiler]his powers scared me half to death when they were revealed.[/spoiler]

I've also noticed that things seem to be handled more realistically. [spoiler]Korra was caught by police, something that never really happened to Aang unless it was a plot device. Plays the Avatar Card? Toph's daughter doesn't care about your status, she just knows you wrecked a neighborhood. But on that note, it seems to me that Lin Beifong is being kind of overly-hostile toward Korra.[/spoiler]
[/quote]
[font=comic sans ms,cursive]Hama must have slipped your mind, then. Hot damn The Puppetmaster was a demented episode.[/font]

[font=comic sans ms,cursive]I think the biggest reason for the general attitude shift in this one is that there's no obvious need for the Avatar in the day and age of Republic City. The world is getting more advanced and people are starting to rely less on bending. The world isn't at war anymore, either, so there's no need for her as a soldier like there was for Aang. On top of all that, Korra has a nasty tendency to pick fights at the drop of a hat and she doesn't exactly clean up after herself. Besides having a city to run, Lin's old enough to have met Aang and remembered it, so I imagine she looks at Korra and just sees some snot-nosed, hotheaded little punk tarnishing the legacy of the man who saved her mother from a lifetime of house arrest.[/font]

[Magus]

Holy ####, the latest episode was amazing, at least for me anyway. So much fighting, fluid animation. The 1-on-1 part to see who won the 2nd round, what happened? I didn't see it all that clear even though it was replayed twice (? thrice?). This is probably the best thing on tv I've seen in a while.

Amon has bad## written all over him now, especially now that I figured out who he reminds me of. Dr. Doom (this is mainly because I've been playing Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3)

And don't worry, Sangome. I'm not exactly the biggest supporter of the parent series either. The way I view A:TLA now is that it's a good series with epic fights, but terrible characters. And while they annoyed me during my 1st viewing, it wasn't until my 2nd viewing where it started to affect how I felt about the series in general. Now I can only watch the last 2 episodes of Book 1, select few episodes of Book 2, and majority of Book 3 (Can't watch the first 2 episodes, and then that episode where they watch a play of themselves) Edited May 12, 2012 by Magus

[Japan]

[quote name='Magus' timestamp='1336840148' post='711728']'m not exactly the biggest supporter of the parent series either. The way I view A:TLA now is that it's a good series with epic fights, but terrible characters. And while they annoyed me during my 1st viewing, it wasn't until my 2nd viewing where it started to affect how I felt about the series in general. Now I can only watch the last 2 episodes of Book 1, select few episodes of Book 2, and majority of Book 3 (Can't watch the first 2 episodes, and then that episode where they watch a play of themselves)
[/quote]

It is similar to me. Well, more the fact that the series is boring until Toph comes along. I'm hooked on this series. It just sucks that the sources I'm watching from have poor quality and lag.

[Petie]

[quote name='Japan' timestamp='1338325670' post='711902']
It is similar to me. Well, more the fact that the series is boring until Toph comes along. I'm hooked on this series. It just sucks that the sources I'm watching from have poor quality and lag.
[/quote]

[color=#0000ff]I've been watching the ones I miss right from Nick's site and they are decent quality and stream well. Have you tried that out?[/color]

[Sangome]

[font=trebuchet ms,helvetica,sans-serif][color=#9900ff]Yeah, I was going to mention that Nick's site has all of the episodes up so far. If you have access to On Demand, they post the most recent episodes up for free as well, but there's usually a week's delay.[/color][/font]

[Japan]

Nickelodeon has a streaming site now? Goes to show how long ago I visited that site. I should check that out then when the next episode comes out.

[Magus]

How many episodes will this series have? Season finale already in 2 weeks.

Anyway, definately the best thing on tv right now. Uh, ever since the episode "The Winner Is" it hasn't slowed down much. I kinda have an idea on how this will turn out, but I'll hold that till the finale.

[chibi-master]

I really love how this series is being handled in terms of the events in the episodes! Every episode feels like something extremely important is going on!

My only complaint right now is that there seems to be a severe lack of earthbending in the series. I don't count metalbending, though I do love the cops and their cables. To me the fight scenes involving earthbending in A:TLA were much more impressive. They gave a sense of being [i]huge! [/i]The earthbending in the current series just looks like a bunch of rocks being tossed around, and it isn't used very often in comparison to the other elements.
I also would like for Bolin to have more development. He could be so much more than a comic relief character! And I'd rather have more of a spotlight on him than his brother. We've already [i]had [/i]a brooding firebender.

[spoiler]I can't wait to see more of General Iroh, though I don't really like that they gave him the same voice actor as Zuko.[/spoiler]

[The Spectacular Professor]

[font=comic sans ms,cursive]That finale just could have been so much better. Like, all of it.[/font] Edited June 24, 2012 by The Spectacular Professor

[Gavin]

[quote name='The Spectacular Professor' timestamp='1340565475' post='712085']
[font=comic sans ms,cursive]That finale just could have been so much better. Like, all of it.[/font]
[/quote]

[font=tahoma,geneva,sans-serif]Good to know I'm not alone in thinking it, they pretty much wasted every strand of possibility they had with that finale. [/font]

[Sangome]

[font=trebuchet ms,helvetica,sans-serif][color=#9900ff]What was good was really good, but overall it felt like they crammed six episodes worth of content into two.[/color][/font]

[font=trebuchet ms,helvetica,sans-serif][color=#9900FF][spoiler]Though I'm legitimately both impressed and horrified that they got away with [i]a murder-suicide[/i] on a Saturday morning cartoon.[/spoiler][/color][/font]

[Magus]

Finally getting a chance to talk about the finale.

While I liked what I saw, but considering this was a season finale, and comparing it to it's predecessor.. If there's one thing I liked about A:TLA, it's the finale's of each season because they delivered big time. Here in TLoK, it just felt underwhelming for a season finale. I didn't see the revelation about Amon coming at all, but everything else was just... good. It's like it took no chances or anything. I was kinda expecting more from Iroh considering Lin and Tenzin are beasts on the battlefield. I guess I wanted to see him in action against actual people instead of planes and whatnot.

I wanted more.

[Gavin]

[font=tahoma,geneva,sans-serif]I really didn't like the revelation of Amon's identity, it stripped away so much respect I had for the character.[/font]

[The Spectacular Professor]

[quote name='Gavin' timestamp='1341111983' post='712116']
[font=tahoma,geneva,sans-serif]I really didn't like the revelation of Amon's identity, it stripped away so much respect I had for the character.[/font]
[/quote]
[font=comic sans ms,cursive]Really the entire thing felt like it was a bunch of good ideas marred by terrible execution. I love the idea behind Amon's identity, but the way they pulled it off just drained him of his dignity as the Equalist figurehead.[/font]

[font=comic sans ms,cursive][spoiler]A self-loathing bender who understands the lengths to which bending can be abused to oppress the common folk makes perfect sense as the leader of the Equalist movement, but Noatak's motivation went right out the window the second he decided to rely on bloodbending so heavily in that final fight. That was when he became an outright, unsympathetic hypocrite. This is a shame because the Equalists have a damn good point and [i]that was never once acknowledged[/i].[/spoiler][/font]

[font=comic sans ms,cursive]The entirety of the finale just managed to leave a sour taste in my mouth because it left me completely and utterly aware of how much better it could have been. It's like every cool concept they dished out had to be immediately crippled by some intense need to play it safe.[/font]

[font=comic sans ms,cursive]Hell, I've spent the last month and a half hating the crap out of Mako, and I can actually envision a perfect way to pick up his character from as late as right before Aang hits the reset button and make him likeable and sympathetic right there.[/font]

[font=comic sans ms,cursive][spoiler]Speaking of Aang and his magical fix everything asspull, that's probably the single most infuriating thing this finale did. It's right up with that one Naruto arc where Nagato killed himself and magically brought back everyone he killed because Naruto had a name that resembled his. Before they did that, there were at least consequences for the events of the story. People suffered, we could relate to the loss the characters were experiencing, and it left open infinite possibilities for continuation. There was so much room to grow for Korra and everyone else with the concept of the Avatar herself losing her bending. It could have been amazing.[/font]

[font=comic sans ms,cursive]But no, all we get is Aang popping in and being all CONGRATULATIONS ON CONTEMPLATING SUICIDE KID HERE YOU WIN THE PRIIIIIZE. She just gets everything handed to her because she got sad for a few minutes. Aang had to willingly give up everything important to him to truly unlock the Avatar State. How was this even written by the same people?[/spoiler][/font]

[Gavin]

[font=tahoma,geneva,sans-serif][quote name='The Spectacular Professor' timestamp='1341116284' post='712117']
[font=comic sans ms,cursive]Really the entire thing felt like it was a bunch of good ideas marred by terrible execution. I love the idea behind Amon's identity, but the way they pulled it off just drained him of his dignity as the Equalist figurehead.

[spoiler]A self-loathing bender who understands the lengths to which bending can be abused to oppress the common folk makes perfect sense as the leader of the Equalist movement, but Noatak's motivation went right out the window the second he decided to rely on bloodbending so heavily in that final fight. That was when he became an outright, unsympathetic hypocrite. This is a shame because the Equalists have a damn good point and [i]that was never once acknowledged[/i].[/font][/spoiler][/quote]

I agree to an extent, the idea of [spoiler]a self-hating bender who sees the danger benders can represent to society when they don't look at themselves in the cold, hard light would've been a nice contrast to Korra's major sense of bending privilege and allow her to understand that being the Avatar is more than just being a bender. This could've been especially poignant if Korra hadn't just magically been able to airbend once Amon took her other bending forms and Aang hadn't magically asspulled her recovery with nothing learned. One of the things I really don't like about LoK is how 95% of the major bender characters in the series look upon losing their bending as a fate worse than death, as opposed to you know, just being like a normal nonbender who manage to live their lives. It's rather a gratingly superior attitude.

However, making Amon Yakone's second bloodbending son and using their sob-story upbringing to try to pull a Hail Mary justification of Tarrlok's actions (which apparently worked for a lot of people) stripped away huge amounts of believability and likeability from the character. It brings Avatar back to the "sins of the father/family disputes affect the whole world" tropes that I really, really despise as plot devices. When Amon's identity is revealed, rather that redouble his efforts to maintain the ideology which he's been pushing for, he decides "Screw it, I'll just rely on my bending and completely destroy my organisation's credibility and the hope its members had for changing a flawed society". The shot of all the poverty striken benders and nonbenders living together in perfect harmony is a very clear indication Bryke are just going to ignore the actual credible points the Equalists had with regard to society.

Personally I would've much preferred it if Amon had turned out to be the anonymous, burned, nonbender he claimed to be and that his abilities were just chi-blocking taken to its highest levels. Korra would've been forced to actually look at the Equalist ideology and how Republic City works (entirely bender composed governing body, all bender police which had no trouble violating civil rights, most popular sport restricted to benders, military seems bender exclusive or very heavily bender dominated) and come to terms with the fact she is the nonbenders Avatar as well rather than just "Amon is actually a Yakone's super bloodbending son, so all your grievances are somehow illegitimate".[/spoiler]

[quote name='The Spectacular Professor' timestamp='1341116284' post='712117']T[font=comic sans ms,cursive]he entirety of the finale just managed to leave a sour taste in my mouth because it left me completely and utterly aware of how much better it could have been. It's like every cool concept they dished out had to be immediately crippled by some intense need to play it safe.

Hell, I've spent the last month and a half hating the crap out of Mako, and I can actually envision a perfect way to pick up his character from as late as right before Aang hits the reset button and make him likeable and sympathetic right there.

[spoiler]Speaking of Aang and his magical fix everything asspull, that's probably the single most infuriating thing this finale did. It's right up with that one Naruto arc where Nagato killed himself and magically brought back everyone he killed because Naruto had a name that resembled his. Before they did that, there were at least consequences for the events of the story. People suffered, we could relate to the loss the characters were experiencing, and it left open infinite possibilities for continuation. There was so much room to grow for Korra and everyone else with the concept of the Avatar herself losing her bending. It could have been amazing.

But no, all we get is Aang popping in and being all CONGRATULATIONS ON CONTEMPLATING SUICIDE KID HERE YOU WIN THE PRIIIIIZE. She just gets everything handed to her because she got sad for a few minutes. Aang had to willingly give up everything important to him to truly unlock the Avatar State. How was this even written by the same people?[/font][/spoiler]
[/quote]

Yeah, head-canon is a terrible thing. The United Forces seem to have been introduced purely so IIroh could be added to the roster and shown to be a skilled Firebender, and to give the Equalists another military victory brought about by Hiroshi Da Vinci-Stark before they were all inexplicably defeated by Team Avatar, a group of untrained civilians. It would've been far better if the United Forces had been led by General Bumi with Commander Iroh serving under him, and Bumi actually verbally acknowledging how it feels to be a nonbender in a bender dominated world. Heck Bumi would've been the perfect mouthpiece for a moderated nonbender viewpoint seeing as he's the son of the damn Avatar. Also Dante Basco using Zuko's voice for IIroh felt really, really out of place to me.

I quite liked Mako at the start of the series but I'd have to agree, he's just a douche. I could sympathise with him up to a point, but when he didn't even bother to try to work things out with Asami and left her utterly in lurch, it was just a **** thing to do. It's a shame because if Amon [spoiler]really was a self-hating bender, then Mako, having lost his parents to another bender, being forced to look after his brother and compete in a bending sport just to make ends meet would've been the perfect character to attempt to sway to his viewpoint to the Equalist cause and give Korra an actual personal stake in looking at its ideology.[/spoiler]

I won't even speak of Korra's asspull ending with Aang, suffice to say I found it hilarious her Avatar state wouldn't trigger when [spoiler]she was about to lose her bending, seeing as you know, it's specifically described as a self-defence mechanism.[/spoiler][/font] Edited July 1, 2012 by Gavin

[Magus]

Just going to give my opinion about the main characters

Mako, ah, yes, I also liked him at the start of the series, and by the end I also grew to hate him. I mean, we all knew he was going to end up with Korra (and I have no issues with her whatsoever) by the end, I just hated how he was treating everyone in the process (Had Asami turned on team avatar, it would've been justified). Tenzin, the one who should be the most worried about Korra, is acting as rational as ever while Mako is making himself out to look like a fool. And while I'm the last person you'd probably hear talking about romance and whatnot, but, man, the creators seem to really like the idea of rushed love and whatnot. These folks only been together for about a month and they seem to think they love each other.... Yeah, right. They hardly even know each other. It probably would've been more believeable towards the series finale than trying to tie it up within 12 episodes.

Anyway, I don't think there's any secret now that Lin is by far my favorite character here with Tenzin and Korra following afterwards. That episode where she got her bending taken away from her was by far the best episode by far, and probably the best episode in the avatar databooks. I almost cried at the moment Amon took her bending. The Bei-fong characters some of the best and interesting characters in the series (Azula is still my favorite though).

Tenzin, is a great character. A serious character, but always seem to manage to be the receiving end of jokes and whatnot. And then to see him in action against the equalist was a treat. I enjoyed the way he was using airbending considering all Aang wanted to do was avoid fighting which is quite ironic because at the start of Book 3, he said he hated not being able to do anything... Anyway, Tenzin was great.

Korra took a couple of episodes to grow on me. Way better character/protagonist than Aang will ever be. There were some things that had me questioning her though. She risked throwing her friendship away over Asami's father. Had she'd been wrong that would've backfired so hard. I just wished she handled that better instead of going by "I can feel it". But other than that I like her character.

Bolin. I don't really have much to say about Bolin or Asami for that matter. Bolin was the comic relief I suppose, but I was never into characters who're there for that matter. Asami on the otherhand, I just felt sorry for because of the way Mako treated her.

[Wiffle]

I'm a huuuuge fan of this show! I finished the first season and I wish there was moooore already. Edited July 6, 2012 by Wiffle

[Claire]

Scattered thoughts:

 

1. I'm in love with Korra as a person

2. Mako is the worst thing ever

3. I got so invested in the series that after I watched the finale I pretty much threw my room apart and had to go eat away my emotions