The Legend of
Korra is an American television series set in the Avatar universe as a spin-off
of Avatar: The Legend of Aang. The premiere aired on Nickelodeon on April 14,
2012. However, the first two episodes were first released online on March
24–25, 2012 and were available in high-definition for free on iTunes. The
series is currently under production and is expected to run for two seasons and
a total of twenty-six episodes, with options for more. The co-creators of the
original series, Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, will personally
write all of the episodes to allow for a tighter storyline.
The new series
takes place seventy years after the end of the Avatar: The Legend of Aang story
arc with new characters and settings. The protagonist of the new series, Korra,
the Avatar after Aang, is a hot-headed and rebellious young woman from the
Southern Water Tribe who is "ready to take on the world". The series
will follow Korra as she faces an Anti-bending Revolution while mastering the
art of airbending from Aang and Katara's son, Tenzin.
After the
conclusion of the Hundred Year War, Aang and Zuko brought people from the four
nations together and founded the United Republic of Nations, with its capital
being Republic City, a large "metropolis powered by steampunk-type
technology" such as cars and motorcycles. Aang and Katara had three
children, the youngest of which was Tenzin, the only airbender of the three
siblings. Meanwhile, Toph Beifong traveled extensively to teach metalbending.
After Aang's death in 153 ASC, the next Avatar, Korra, was born in the Southern
Water Tribe.
At present time,
seventy years after the end of the Hundred Year War, Korra, a rebellious
seventeen year-old girl is set to complete her training and fulfill her role as
the Avatar. She has already mastered waterbending, earthbending, and
firebending by then. At the beginning of the series, Korra travels to Republic
City and starts her airbending training with Tenzin.
However,
Republic City is not what Korra imagined it to be. Anti-benders called
"Equalists", who oppose the arts of bending, utilize techniques such
as chi blocking to further their goals of revolution, led by Amon. Korra must
fight rampant crime and the Anti-bending Revolution, assisted by two brothers,
Mako, a firebender, and Bolin, an earthbender. She is also joined by her animal
guide, Naga, and the metalbending police force of Republic City, who are led by
Lin Beifong.
As a sequel
series to Avatar: The Legend of Aang, The Legend of Korra had some expectations
to fill. Its predecessor achieved a level of maturity and accessibility that
few series billed as "children's programming" have, and helped to
launch a successful franchise. It also has a captivating storytelling,
well-choreographed action, stellar acting, and engaging (and diverse)
characters.
The reason of me
to choose Avatar: The Legend of Korra is it has an engaging plot, full-packed
action and a wonderful setting, although the character developments is rather
shallow - as the story was rushed and packed into 12 episodes. However, my main
personal reason to choose it is Avatar: The Legend of Korra has a compelling
morale value in its tight story. So, I decided to choose Avatar: The Legend of
Korra to become my subject of Children Literature’s final exam essay.
As I stated in
the introduction, Avatar: The Legend of Korra is a direct sequel of Avatar: The
Legend of Aang. The expectations of the series’ fans are high and they eager to
watch something new in the Avatar universe. The Legend of Korra did deliver something
new. The story, setting and the theme are considered new, yet there are several
elements and influences from The Legend of Aang which make both story
connected.
The Legend of
Korra sets in Republic City. Republic City, the capital of the United Republic
of Nations, is a large metropolis located on the shores of Yue Bay. It is
located in the northwestern Earth Kingdom near the Mo Ce Sea. Once a colony of
the Fire Nation during the Hundred Year War, the city was founded by Fire Lord
Zuko and Avatar Aang after the conflict's conclusion as a settlement housing
citizens from all four nations. Being a modern urban center, Republic City
hosts significant high-rise development and widespread use of automobiles,
motorcycles, and airships. Republic City is home to a variety of iconic
landmarks. These include an island with a massive statue of Avatar Aang looking
out over the bay, a downtown station, a large and popular city park, many
suspension bridges, and skyscrapers. The police force utilizes metalbending for
civil law enforcement. The vast metropolis conducts pro-bending matches; the
city's number one form of sporting activity.
The rapid
urbanization and technological advances of the World of Avatar mirrors that of
the twentieth century in the real world, in which automobiles, towering
buildings, trolleys, and other great engineering feats came to be.
The concept of
Republic City is inspired by several real world past and present locations.
This includes Shanghai circa 1920s, Hong Kong, and Western cities such as New
York and Vancouver. In particular, the giant Aang statue, the huge park, and
the bridge are inspired by the Statue of Liberty, Central Park, and the
Brooklyn Bridge, respectively, in New York City. The
park in Republic City also resembles the Hyde Park in London, with its
"Speaker's Corner", where anyone can stand up and speak to the
public. In Republic City Park, a man is speaking to the public with a megaphone
about the Equalists' views against benders.
For the story of
The Legend of Korra, I found the Equalist revolution and its politics to be
well-executed and discussion-generating. The notion of bender-led oppression is
encouraged us to think about things critically.
Is it okay that
the ruling council is currently comprised entirely of benders? And what about
the police force that is entire made up of metalbenders (in a city that seems
designed to make use of both their metal and earthbending abilities)? While
it's not oppression, it's certainly not "equal” seeming either.
The season does
offer examples of the darker side of bending (the ugliest side of bending,
bloodbending, is critical to the story and the way Amon and Tarrlok develop,
Asami’s mother is killed by a bender, Mako and Bolin’s parents are also killed
by a bender) but it still feels like there is unexplored territory here. Surely
the seeds of thought that Amon planted in the city are just the start? How do
the citizens feel about the failure of the revolution and Amon being publicly
attacked by the Avatar? There was a physical war in the season, but there was
also a war of ideology, and I don’t think that has been settled yet.
While those
seeds took root in our minds, thanks to Amon's penchant for speechifying, when
Tarrlok began to mobilize the police force against non-benders, we started to
see how the series is carefully challenging those preconceived notions that we
may have come into the series with.
And seeing as it
is a "kids' show," Korra deserves credit for (hopefully) encouraging
its intended audience to think critically about what it means to have power,
who should have power, and what the justification for that power is. If the
intended audience isn't, I certainly hope thoughtful parents are maybe nudging
their kids to do so.
Now we go to the
characters. One thing that was odd about this first season is that Korra’s
companions, who she meets very early on (Mako and Bolin) aren’t particularly
interesting, nor do they receive much character development. I call this odd
because the original Avatar series thrived on the quality of its characters,
even in season one. Jet made me realise that Sokka was more than just comic
relief. The Storm made Aang much more interesting, and revealed another side to
his cheery personality. The Waterbending Master had me cheering for Katara even
while it revealed her intense stubbornness and temper.
In the first
season of The Legend of Korra, however, the big character moments don’t come
from Korra’s companions at all. Korra herself thankfully does get development
and character work (particularly in The Voice in the Night, one of the best
episodes of the season) but Bolin falls to the curse that Sokka avoided - he
feels like he is only there for comic relief, and his character thus feels
unimportant and flat. He’s definitely likable, and I do think that his humour
works, but that doesn’t make for an interesting, human character. There is one
moment, just a flash, where I took him seriously (in the episode where he dates
Korra there is a scene when he looks at her and his expression changes from something
casual to genuine caring) but it’s quickly gone, and there is no long term
reaction to Mako and Korra kissing. He is sorely in need of character
development in season two.
Mako is a little
less flat, but is unfortunately much less likable, and still doesn’t have
interesting character work or development. He basically only exists for the
romantic element of the series - the show sets up a love triangle between him,
Asami and Korra. It doesn’t work at all, mainly because Mako feels like a
character type rather than a person - he is simply the brooding, handsome,
talented guy that you often come across in shonen anime. The fact that he
essentially cheats on his girlfriend doesn’t help matters. Normally flaws will
make characters interesting for me, but in Mako’s case it doesn’t work. I think
the trick with ‘unlikable’ characters is to make them charismatic or charming
in some way, or perhaps make them sympathetic in a way that balances out their
more negative traits - this usually results in the audience disliking or even
hating some of their qualities, but still appreciating them for other
personality elements or the skilful writing behind their character. Zuko in the
latter part of season one (when he was still a threatening antagonist, but a
sympathetic and interesting one) is a good example.
To make matters
worse, Mako’s romance with Korra doesn’t have any real power or chemistry. They
make a dull combination and the buildup to the relationship feels too rushed
and forced. It’s not surprising that Mako, thus far, is receiving a lot of
dislike from fans. He may yet redeem himself in season two, but I hope the
romance is kept to a minimum, and they instead focus on something like his
sibling relationship with Bolin. (I did like seeing Mako’s determination against
Amon in the finale.)
Asami has the
potential to be a more interesting character than either Bolin or Mako, when
considering the elements to her story - the fact that she’s a non-bender
amongst benders, her troubled relationship with her father, and the way Mako
treated her in season one could all add up to her becoming one of the best
characters, depending on where the writers choose to take her. At the end of
season one she was unfortunately pushed into the background, but I think she
still ended up being one of the better characters out of Korra’s gang. The
disintegration of her relationship with Mako is actually a good thing from my
perspective, because it gives her character room to grow rather than simply
serving as an obstruction for Korra and Mako’s romance.
The real stars
of this show so far are the older characters. Tenzin brings a likable mix of
seriousness and awkwardness (his son Meelo is also good fun) while Lin is a
blunt, hardened fighter but also warm and highly focused on the welfare of
others. Amon, for most of the series, is intimidating and mysterious in all the
right ways. He moves like a dancer, defeating benders with ease, and his
philosophical and political perspective provides a very interesting theme for
the series - equality in regard to the dynamic between benders and non-benders.
The only issues
I have with Amon arose in the finale; when it was revealed that he was taking
bending away via bloodbending, it was a little underwhelming. We were never
even told exactly how he achieved this. His past being revealed was definitely
interesting, but it felt like there was a missing piece - how did Amon develop
between the flashbacks we saw and the masked man he became? Why did he want to
lead a revolution against benders when he is happy to use bloodbending on
others? The only reason I can see is that his father’s harsh conditioning
poisoned the young Amon against bending for the rest of his life, but it still
feels a bit shaky, considering how he was more comfortable doing the training
than the softer Tarrlok. His fake justification (the story about the firebender
who killed his family and burned his face) actually makes more sense. Amon’s
contradictory character - the powerful bender who seeks to rid the world of
bending - is interesting, but his motivations ultimately feel underdeveloped
due to the missing transition from his boyhood to adulthood.
The best
character of the season, however, was Tarrlok. He caught my eye in his first
appearance, and I liked the realism of his character - he came across like a
man who sought political power, and wasn’t above manipulating situations to
destroy his rivals or potential threats, but also a man who genuinely cared
about the welfare of the citizens in the city, and one who fervently opposed Amon’s
revolution. He used extremism to combat extremism, and while it was hard to
sympathise with some of his actions early in the series, he always felt like a
believable, engaging character. His confrontation and discussion with Korra in
his office was one of the best scenes in the series, as he highlighted Korra’s
tendency toward using violence as a way of solving her problems, and her
willingness to use direct, extreme methods to achieve her goals - the line
between the ‘hero’ and ‘antagonist’ began to blur. His story/flashback was also
the most powerful part of the finale, and gave the character a softer, more
sympathetic layer.
I’m not sure how
I feel about the resolution of his story, though - while the suicide was oddly
touching, I’m not sure if it was necessary. Why did Tarrlok feel the need to
kill himself? He was a bloodbender, so maybe he felt guilt over possessing and
using such a power, but Katara also had the ability. I assume that he wanted to
kill Amon for his crimes and dangerous temperament, and decided that (as his
brother) he would take responsibility and kill himself at the same time. I have
to wonder if Amon deserved such a fate, though - he did lead a revolution that
must have resulted in people dying or suffering from mental scars, but Amon
mainly just took bending away. He wasn’t interested in killing people. The
removal of bending is certainly serious (actually removing part of someone’s
very being) but does it warrant Amon’s death?
On the whole,
the first season feels lacking in the character department, mainly due to
Korra’s companions. I think some of this is due to the length - the first
season of The Legend of Korra only had 12 episodes, while the first season of
The Legend of Aang had 20. The original series had much more time to breathe
and stretch its legs, and the characters benefited from this. In The Legend of
Korra, the characters are often prisoners to the quick pace and plotting -
everything is stuffed into a small frame. This eliminates filler, and it also
means that almost every episode is exciting, but the downside is that it leaves
the heart and spirit of the series (the human element) in the dust at times.
There are still some good, impacting character moments, but not enough of them
for Korra’s avatar team.
The main theme
of Avatar: The Legend of Korra is a clash of ideology between the Equalist and
the benders. The Equalist thinks that benders oppress the non-bender people. Benders, through their own actions or as a result of
unrelated social change, have lost the public trust, and the suggestion that
technology is edging out the need for bending. The show also suggest that benders are hated and feared not because of what they've
done, but because of what they could do, and resentment of them is a prejudice
that blames an entire group for the actions of some of its members.
We can take
several moral messages from Avatar: The Legend of Korra. The first message is
we cannot abuse the power we have to satisfy our need. The abuse of power tends
to create a conflict. In the Legend of Korra, the Equalist movements happens
because there is misuse of power done by several benders that create a
stereotype in the non-bender people, thus make them hate the benders at
general.
In the different
context regarding the power, we can also learn that physical power is not the
answer of every problem. Throughout the show, we learn Korra was unable to
airbending due to her lack of spiritual calmness. However, in the last episode,
when she fought Amon and he removed her ability to bend other three elements,
she came to the state when her spiritual side awaken, thus made her able to air
bend.
Another message
is we may have some sense of justice, but we cannot use it to justify terror
and violence. Amon is an antagonist who thinks that everyone should be equal.
However, he assume that the equality only able to achieve if every bender
stripped their bending ability. What he thinks is not wrong, but his action is evil.
In general,
Avatar: The Legend of Korra is one of the best
cartoon shows in 2012. It have shown us that it is capable of delivering a
rich, powerful story, so Korra always had a lot to live up to.
Season 1 did not quite meet the high expectations I had, but it was still
enjoyable and often exciting, while offering us interesting themes and ideas.
Let’s see if they can take things up a gear in season two.
Although Avatar:
The Legend of Korra is considered as a children show, but the tone and theme of
the show is mostly suit for teenager. However, the younger audiences still able
to enjoy watching the show, without too much worries about the story. It is
recommended for the parents to accompany their children when they watch the show,
as they can provide an explanation about the story and the content of the show.
