So, I´ve just finished Book 1 of Korra, and I´m not really sure about how I feel about it.
! First of all, I liked the whole 30´s New York setting thing. Usually the stories about prophecy children like Avatar are set in almost medieval (in terms of technology and such) times, so accepting the influence of such an all-might being is easy: You just assume he has it.
I enjoyed the shift of trying to establish the Avatar´s role in the middle of an evolving civilization, where the influence of such being can be seen as "outdated", especially considering the booming advances that are currently happening.
I guess in a way, the Avatar struggles to find a way to exert it´s influence in such a different era, where it isn´t enough to threat a king or an emperor in order to spot a war, but where such behaviour might actually be seen as "unfair", or even "tyrannical".
! But unfortunately, the show wasn´t really about this, and I found that Korra´s failed attempts to solve the problem by proclaiming to be the Avatar were more a failure of her, and not a failure of the Avatar status.
Still, I liked the show´s setting, so I´m not going to go on a "it´s bad because it´s different" rant. I´m not like that.
I also enjoyed/am enjoying the animation, soundtrack and Korra herself.
! Here are my problems with this show:
- The main cast is insufferable. Take Korra and Tenzen out of this.
Mako, Bo Lin and Assumi are just bad.
Mako is a piece of shit. Every scene with Korra and Mako (you piece of shit) are the worst moments of the episode. There isn´t one piece of dialogue between these two that feels fresh, funny, emotional, anything else other than clichéd love drama.
! Bo Lin is your typical comic relief character, and I guess usually I would find him "tolerable", but I have one huge problem: I´ve seen TLA. And TLA had one character that could pull this role miles better than Bo Lin.
Sakka was the wisecracking guy, full of one liners and such, but he was also a warrior. He was proud, but knew his limitations. He sometimes exaggerated but knew when he overstepped his boundaries. He knew when he had to assume a commanding role and was willing to embrace his responsibilities. He was amazing.
If, let´s say, during a "filler"episode, a secondary character that bound with the main cast died, Sakka would be the first one to lament his death. Bo Lin would be the guy that would make an uncomfortable joke. In the scene were Mako (you piece of shit) kissed Korra, he could have showed some anger or something. Instead he started crying. And not a sadness cry, but a funny "Haha, that guy got his heart broken" cry. He´s just a clown. There is nothing more to this character than being the group´s buffoon.
! Assumi… was just there? Does she have anything else to give the show other than serving has a love triangle plot? She has the blandest personality out of the three, and that´s hard considering Mako (you piece of shit) is on the group.
! - Korra´s track record.
Is it just me or is Korra always getting beaten up? Tied with ropes? Trapped in a cage? KI blocked?
I get it. She´s an Avatar in training, but so was Aang.
Part of why Aang´s defeats were so crushing was because he had established himself has a powerful Airbender and fighter. Crap, he was only 12 and could only use one element.
Korra is 17 and can use 3! JESUS, DO SOMETHING FOR ONCE! YOU´RE THE AVATAR!
! - Bending... in general.
Yeah, it seems like a broad complaint, but while bending felt like absolutely central in TLA, it feels so secondary in TLK.
I feel like there were certain episodes where it barely was featured at all. It seemed more like a gimmick than anything else.
In TLA there weren´t a lot of benders, but whenever they showed, you would always see them using it in some way.
In Bomi´s city by moving the mailing carts, by fueling ships by using firebending, just using waterbending to make certain tasks simpler, and even the simple act of Aang´s using it to have some fun or Toph to get some comedy moments made it seem a lot more natural, like it was something that people had incorporated in their daily lifes.
! Another thing, and this might seem very nit picking, is that the fighting styles were totally forgotten.
In TLA the moment you saw some dude starting to perform a movement, you instantly knew what was coming.
Waterbender acted like their bodies were part of the flow of the water so the water would follow their lead.
Earthbenders had to be strong and decisive so they could order their elements around.
Firebenders had to be disciplined so that their element wouldn´t get out of ontrol, that´s why they always use martial art like movements.
And Aang allowed his body to get carried by Air, in order to feel it and redirect it.
! Here, all I see is punches and kicks, with water and fire coming out. Even earthbenders barely stomp the floor anymore.
The only characters that seem to run away from this are Tenzen and Lin Beifong when she uses earthbend instead of Metal.
! I know it just seems like I´m bitching, especially about this last point, but it really gave a distinctive feel to the Avatar Universe that I feel that got lost in this one.
! Anyway, for the positives, besides the ones I´ve stated above:
- Amon and Tarlok.
Even before their bond was revealed, they were already season MVP´s for me.
They both provide a different feeling of danger to the main character, and the bloodbending revelation was very well done.
Amon especially was a very good villain. Tarlok´s endgame has the guy that wants to take control over the city by corrupting its system was a bit obvious, but I still enjoyed the character a lot.
! - Tenzen.
I love his paternal instincts and commitment to his duty, and I can see how such a man was raised by Aang.
So this is it I guess, or at least all I can remember or now. Am I being unfair to the series somehow?