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Legend of Korra |OT| - Saturday Mornings Just Got Better

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Z

Zen

Banned
Its not at all clear if she gained full control of the avatar state or not. Did her going into it really seem intentional? It is clear that she now can access it (something Aang could having only learned Air, as he's much more spiritual). Aang restored her bending pathways and unlocked energy bending for Korra akin to what the Sea turtle did to him.

The logistics of her air-bending don't make sense on its face, unless the chi pathways are all distinct in a way that Amon didn't blood bend her Air pathway simply because he couldn't detected it. I guess it could be argued that having all of her other pathways closed so suddenly, and then trying to bend, might have helped activate her air bending, but it was a little odd. It's pretty clear throughout the series that her inability to Airbend is psychological, as was her inability to be in touch with her spirituality. If Aang can suddenly spirit bend at such a level to take away another's powers, I don't think Korra suddenly being able to air bend under very complex circumstances is that big of an issue.

As an aside (and being on topic) Book 2 is apparently called
Spirit
. I can't wait to see them explore more of that, since it was always engaging and also relatively under exposed in AtlA. This will also continue nicely from book 1 regardless of if she attained full control of the Avatar state or not, because of how the Avatar is effectively powerless when she has crossed over. Korra would be far less defenseless than Aang was, which opens up a lot of flexibility for Book 2.
 
O

Omikaru

Member
Jarmel said:
We still don't have an airdate?
Click to expand...

When it's done. The last we got was a photograph of a colour test or something earlier this month. Looks like they're still working with the animators in Korea to add the finishing touches. But not long now, I assume; probably some time over the summer, unless the network delays it to Fall for better ratings.

On a related but more general note...

Regarding that thing with Janet Varney talking about the airdate, I wouldn't trust voice actors for that sort of thing, as the voice cast is about to begin Book 3 recording soon according to Seychelle Gabriel. That is how far in advance this sort of thing is done, and their role in it is pretty early in the process.

It's also why they couldn't change Book One's ending, as some people have suggested, to give the series a better sense of continuity or whatever. I don't want to think about how long ago that ending was set in stone; probably before a second season was even ordered...
 
D

diaspora

Member
Crewnh said:
This isn't just about Mako. This is more about her airbending showing up completely out of nowhere and her receiving full control of the Avatar State without any of the introspective gauntlet that Aang had to go through. I'll address the rest later since I'm on my phone.
Click to expand...

This is easily what makes LoK a huge disappointment for me.
 
M

maharg

idspispopd
Omikaru said:
It's also why they couldn't change Book One's ending, as some people have suggested, to give the series a better sense of continuity or whatever. I don't want to think about how long ago that ending was set in stone; probably before a second season was even ordered...
Click to expand...

I don't think anyone's suggesting they should have changed the ending last minute. If anything, the ending seems like it was tacked on or added last minute as it is.

The ending is bad whether there was going to be a second season or not.

Zen said:
Deserving doesn't mean that they're different characters at the end; Zukko is, Aang isn't in my opinion. Honestly Aang and Korra are about on par for personal growth in terms of overall maturity.
Click to expand...

I, personally, find this a baffling opinion to the degree that I'm not even sure where to begin arguing it, so I guess I'll leave it at agree to disagree.
 
O

Omikaru

Member
maharg said:
I don't think anyone's suggesting they should have changed the ending last minute. If anything, the ending seems like it was tacked on or added last minute as it is.

The ending is bad whether there was going to be a second season or not.
Click to expand...

Agreed with the bolded. As for above that, that was aimed squarely at someone (I forget who) who argued the toss with me in this very thread that they should've (and could've!!) changed the ending at the last minute, and refused to accept that these kind of shows have stuff written in stone a very long time before it airs.

I still maintain that, whilst bad, the ending was definitely made for Korra as a miniseries rather than a show with bigger character arcs spanning multiple seasons. And I strongly believe that Bryke would've made the transition between seasons better if they could.

If I'm wrong about that, then I worry for future seasons.
 
Z

Zen

Banned
I doubt you're wrong about that. I do wish they hadn't rushed the epilogue, but everything up that point is good enough for me to give it a pass. Overall I'd give this season a no bullshit 8.5/10. It's really good in my opinion, let down only slightly by the second half and the forced ending notes, otherwise I'd 10 it.
 
W

W_Dreamer

Member
Zen said:
I doubt you're wrong about that. I do wish they hadn't rushed the epilogue, but everything up that point is good enough for me to give it a pass. Overall I'd give this season a no bullshit 8.5/10. It's really good in my opinion, let down only slightly by the second half and the forced ending notes, otherwise I'd 10 it.

So all that said, the show is amazing baring one or two examples of over reaching in the finale, and I can't comprehend an argument that it isn't a worthy successor to the original. It was so refreshing to see them really take risks and show their versatility as a studio. It's a very different world, with a more mature characters and tone all presented with largely a smaller focus than the original. Narrative ties to the original series aside, it's basically an entirely different anime when you compare it to the original, and that takes both balls and skill.
Click to expand...

Agreed. The series overall was great and while having some hastened conclusions at the very end, I still rate the season much higher than Avatar S3.
 
M

MidnightCowboy

Member
I agree with the last two comments, most of my problems stem from the ending. Some of the side characters are tragically underutilized, but I thought Asami and Lin were awesome. And I know it's more of a style over substance thing, but I just can't get over how much I prefer the world and art in Korra over TLA (except the lion turtle, that thing was magnificent).
 
W

W_Dreamer

Member
Zen said:
How do you define maturity beyond 'I like these characters more, ergo'?

Because I'm struggling to see it. AtlA relied on the tired trope of having a character acting out like a child for the most immature of reasons (not that we can blame them completely, they were like 12). Then of course the rest of the group would ostracize them for a completely obvious misunderstanding and there would be a forced and predictable reconciliation.

This was like, at least, -a third- of the entire series and it got really old by the end. I certainly wouldn't call that maturity.

And how refreshing was it to see Asami Sato not wring her hands or monologue or spend episodes being excessive moody over her father? It was great when she simply said 'I love you dad' and defied the trope all the way through despite her problems with Mako (that were likewise not over emphasized). That's maturity. Bolin and the group quickly getting over their love triangle and coming together as a team? That's maturity.
Click to expand...

I don't think anyone in this thread has acknowledged this and instead compared the love lines to Twilight or such concepts. Where as you said, its more realistic than the love lines in Avatar, and not overplayed due to the maturity of the characters.
 
M

maharg

idspispopd
W_Dreamer said:
I don't think anyone in this thread has acknowledged this and instead compared the love lines to Twilight or such concepts. Where as you said, its more realistic than the love lines in Avatar, and not overplayed due to the maturity of the characters.
Click to expand...

More a reply to the post you're quoting than to your post, but I think there's two different concepts of maturity at play here. I think AtLA is a more mature story in that I think it has a more cohesive narrative arc, stronger and more realistic character development (especially when taking into account the ages of the characters), and higher stakes on both the personal and world levels. I think it's a story that will endure long past its shelf-life as a TV show and will find new audiences of all ages for a long time due to its quality and its consistency.

I won't dispute that Korra targets as its primary audience older kids, but I dispute strongly that it achieves a broader audience than its target in the way that AtLA did. I think it meets the needs of an adolescent audience and not much else.
 
Z

Zen

Banned
maharg said:
More a reply to the post you're quoting than to your post, but I think there's two different concepts of maturity at play here. I think AtLA is a more mature story in that I think it has a more cohesive narrative arc, stronger and more realistic character development (especially when taking into account the ages of the characters), and higher stakes on both the personal and world levels. I think it's a story that will endure long past its shelf-life as a TV show and will find new audiences of all ages for a long time due to its quality and its consistency.
Click to expand...

I can't help but feel that in reading your post it speaks more to describing TLA in terms of the scope and your preferences than it is an argument against Korra. A lot of your points are either the function of having watched a series over 3 years that was planned out from the start, or something arguably subjective. When you're citing things like higher world stakes, I don't think it speaks to much beyond how people could then find Korra to be so much a refreshing change in comparison.

We still have 2 seasons or Korra to go on that front, and this ties into your next few comments no matter what, or my opinion on them. I doubt we'll ever see an arc like Zukko had, but that's only because there is no Zukko equivalent.

I won't dispute that Korra targets as its primary audience older kids, but I dispute strongly that it achieves a broader audience than its target in the way that AtLA did. I think it meets the needs of an adolescent audience and not much else.
Click to expand...

You say in a thread dominated by people above the target demographic. ;) It's virtually impossible for Korra to achieve the same level of broad impact that Avatar has if only because it is a very recent follow up series and it doesn't have the benefit of being planned from the start to run over a 3 season timespan like Avatar did. TLA would always be, almost no matter what, the more remembered one of the two but that doesn't make Korra a remotely unworthy sequel or anything that could reasonably be called bad. I could absolutely agree with someone preferring it over TLA for any number of reasons.
 
M

maharg

idspispopd
I'm not sure where the premise that AtLA was planned out from the start is coming from (and I think S1 is winding enough to suggest otherwise). I've never heard anything of the sort, and it would be a remarkable thing if it were true. There have been maybe only a couple of multi-season TV shows that have ever been able to claim it in any strong sense.

Either way, the fact that it might even appear to be the case just elevates AtLA even higher so I'm not sure what you're hoping to argue by claiming it. ;)

And some segment of adults is obviously always engaged by adolescent things, that's not really the kind of thing I meant.

Oh, and of course this is mostly subjective. It will never be anything else. But when you make excuses for Korra (its format, its length, etc) it doesn't really help any attempt to paint them as on an even playing field. They chose Korra's scope and they wrote it kind of half-assed compared to AtLA. It's fine if you think that's ok, but to me it's disappointing and always will be.
 
Z

Zen

Banned
maharg said:
I'm not sure where the premise that AtLA was planned out from the start is coming from (and I think S1 is winding enough to suggest otherwise). I've never heard anything of the sort, and it would be a remarkable thing if it were true. There have been maybe only a couple of multi-season TV shows that have ever been able to claim it in any strong sense.
Click to expand...

If the series had been not nearly as successful season 2 could have wrapped things up but They had 3 seasons worth of points and were able to plan everything out along the way; each book was intended to cover each element, in order, with Aang having already learned air, and they knew the major points of where they were going from the start.

This is so different than working within a 12 episode mini series that, when the ink hit the page, was not even intended to be an ongoing series and is now becoming one. Rushed ending or not.

And some segment of adults is obviously always engaged by adolescent things, that's not really the kind of thing I meant.
Click to expand...

And not what I was getting at either.

Had you stopped short of saying 'I think it meets the needs of an adolescent audience and not much else', you might not be misunderstanding my meaning there. Korra absolutely has large appeal beyond the adolescent market, and they probably would't have chosen to make LoK more mature otherwise. More and more it is the post adolescent market that is driving the revenue streams for these shows and it's probably the post adolescent market that's the happiest with the bumped up maturity, superficial or not which is beside the point. How many 'post adolescents' do you think took a look at Avatar in passing and wrote it off as 'too young for them' or are we only counting the post adolescents for Korra that we deem to attach adjectives to like 'open minded' or 'sophisticated'? This is why your statement is over reaching.

Oh, and of course this is mostly subjective. It will never be anything else. But when you make excuses for Korra (its format, its length, etc) it doesn't really help any attempt to paint them as on an even playing field. They chose Korra's scope and they wrote it kind of half-assed compared to AtLA. It's fine if you think that's ok, but to me it's disappointing and always will be.
Click to expand...

When I talk about why Korra can't have the same amount of broad impact, these are mostly things that are external to the content itself and circumstantial.

It's impossible to compare them both on an even playing field because they aren't. They're at very different stages of completion and had very different genesis. That doesn't in any way stop someone from having a perfectly valid preference for LoK over TLA so far, even if I do think that your statement 'any 12 episode stretch of TLA > LOK' is insanity.

I'm not ok with the idea that they chose a smaller scope and half-assed it because I reject that notion out of hand, I loved it; and it's silly to start discussing the approach of the narrative, tie that to a negative statement on effort/quality, and then try to pigeon hole the person you're responding to. :p

EDIT: Made some minor changes so it would be easier to read.
 
Z

Zen

Banned
Some data I never knew about Korra had higher ratings than either seasons 1, 2, and the first half of season 3 of TLA.

all data (including TLA numbers) can be found at
http://dongbufeng.net/site1/content/view/775/188/

Oct 21, 2007 at 09:13 AM
The following The Legend of Korra ratings are from TVByTheNumbers:

The Legend of Korra

101/102 - 4.548 million; 1.01 adults 18-49 rating
103 - 3.546 million; .9 adults 18-49 rating
104 - 4.079 million; 1.13 adults 18-49 rating
105- 3.784 million; .95 adults 18-49 rating
106- 3.876 million; .91 adults 18-49 rating
107- 3.452 million; .89 adults 18-49 rating
108- 2.976 million; .62 adults 18-49 rating
109- 3.580 million; .98 adults 18-49 rating
110- 3.536 million; .95 adults 18-49 rating
111/112- 3.681 million; 1.07 adults 18-49 rating

The Last Airbender

Season 1- Most episodes under 3 and maybe even 2 million. Sporadic episodes hit over 3 million while the series premier and season finale scored about 3.4 million each.
Seaon 2- The beginning of the season scored largely under 3 million while the end averaged over 3 million.
Season 3- The first half of Season 3 was under 3 million while the midway Day of Black Sun special took home 3.8 million. The week stretch of the final episodes of Avatar scored Avatar's highest ratings ever cumulating with 5.6 million for the series finale.
 
L

LuffyZoro

Member
Sneak peek from season 2, according to the Facebook page.

970926_669142159769047_496933547_n.jpg


EDIT: Oh, sorry, hadn't seen that thread.
 
S

Schadenfreude

Member
Guys, holy shit: http://bryankonietzko.tumblr.com/post/52880228969/mike-and-i-are-excited-elated-proud-relieved The one thing I absolutely love without question about Korra and ATLA is the amazing soundtrack. I normally don't buy complete soundtracks or albums of any kind (just individual songs and whatnot) but I will definitely be buying this in its entirety. Hopefully it sells well enough that they release an ATLA soundtrack. Guys, please to buy as well. I want that ATLA in my life.
 
J

jtb

Banned
Schadenfreude said:
Guys, holy shit: http://bryankonietzko.tumblr.com/post/52880228969/mike-and-i-are-excited-elated-proud-relieved The one thing I absolutely love without question about Korra and ATLA is the amazing soundtrack. I normally don't buy complete soundtracks or albums of any kind (just individual songs and whatnot) but I will definitely be buying this in its entirety. Hopefully it sells well enough that they release an ATLA soundtrack. Guys, please to buy as well. I want that ATLA in my life.
Click to expand...

TLA never got an official soundtrack release? baffling; it was incredible. will probably pick this one up.
 
F

farisr

Member
Received the bluray for Book One in the mail. So cool.

Actually preordered it a while ago at $19 with an unconfirmed release date of may 21st (or something like that). Release date was adjusted to July (the proper one) afterwards and the price was increased to $30, but amazon pre-order price guarantee saved me.

Received a package in the mail that I wasn't expecting and was pleasantly surprised at what I got. The shipping notification email came after I had already received it, LOL. Love amazon.

But yeah, this is amazon.ca. No idea if people in the US or elsewhere have started receiving them early yet or not.
 
C

corn_fest

Member
Schadenfreude said:
Guys, holy shit: http://bryankonietzko.tumblr.com/post/52880228969/mike-and-i-are-excited-elated-proud-relieved The one thing I absolutely love without question about Korra and ATLA is the amazing soundtrack. I normally don't buy complete soundtracks or albums of any kind (just individual songs and whatnot) but I will definitely be buying this in its entirety. Hopefully it sells well enough that they release an ATLA soundtrack. Guys, please to buy as well. I want that ATLA in my life.
Click to expand...

Will buy, but basically just so that they hopefully release a TLA soundtrack. None of the music in Korra stuck out to me as particularly memorable.
 
C

corn_fest

Member
Shaanyboi said:
what+the+what.gif
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Maybe just because there haven't been many episodes to get accustomed to any recurring themes? I dunno. I'm not saying it was bad, just that if you asked me if there was a particular scene with notable music, I couldn't tell you anything.
With TLA, I could say the last Agni Kai, entering the northern Water Tribe, the fight music, etc.
 
S

Shaanyboi

Banned
corn_fest said:
Maybe just because there haven't been many episodes to get accustomed to any recurring themes? I dunno. I'm not saying it was bad, just that if you asked me if there was a particular scene with notable music, I couldn't tell you anything.
With TLA, I could say the last Agni Kai, entering the northern Water Tribe, the fight music, etc.
Click to expand...

Fair, but I still completely disagree.

I think even in the first episode. when the gates open and Korra takes Naga out for a ride, the music immediately sets a tone so apart yet so similar to the original series. It immediately feels like a more matured show, trying to do something grander.

And when Amon is leaving the arena and Korra goes after him, with the whole fight afterwards... one of the shows best moments.
 
Shrennin

Shrennin

Didn't get the memo regarding the 14th Amendment
So a more important question - can I get Avatar: The Last Airbender on Blu-Ray yet?
 
A

AniHawk

Member
corn_fest said:
Will buy, but basically just so that they hopefully release a TLA soundtrack. None of the music in Korra stuck out to me as particularly memorable.
Click to expand...

the rally is the best.

i haven't watched the show since it aired and i still knew what to look up.

it always made scenes it appeared in so much better.
 
T

TangerineCloud

Banned
Shrinnan said:
Are they at least planning to? Because the original series is still far, far, far better than Korra (even though I do think Korra is good).
Click to expand...
I've been looking for answers to this question for a long time (I would kill a man for Avatar: The Last Airbender in HD) but I haven't been able to find a definitive answer. Some say that ATLA wasn't produced in HD, so it won't get a Blu-Ray release. Others say that it will, but it's just very low on the list of priorities. So who knows? It could come, but there doesn't seem to be concrete plans for it. I've basically given up hope at this point. :/

An unrealistic part of me hopes they're just forgoing Blu-Ray and doing a Rebuild of Avatar thing with LoK's insane production values.

Book 1.11: You Can (Not) Run
Book 2.22: You Can (Not) Control
Book 3.33: You Can (Not) Spare
 
T

TangerineCloud

Banned
So, I've been watching the Blu-Ray today... Ho. Lee. Shit. LoK looks absolutely stunning in 1080p. I was stuck watching the episodes in 720p on iTunes before, so this is a huge improvement. Haven't checked out the commentaries or other extra features yet, but I'm already really pleased with the Blu-Ray release.
 
S

Schadenfreude

Member
Aww yiss. Entertainment Weekly has revealed some new cast members for Book 2.

Aubrey Plaza is playing Korra's cousin Eska.

Aaron Himelstein will be playing Korra's other cousin Desna.

Adrian LaTourelle will voice Korra's uncle Unalaq.

Tonraq, Korra's dad, will be played by James Remar.

Lisa Edelstein is playing Tenzin's sister Kya.

And finally, John Michael Higgins will be playing the businessman Varrick.

In my opinion, they really nailed it with Varrick and Eska. I'll have to wait and see how the others do.

Link: http://insidetv.ew.com/2013/07/10/legend-of-korra-book-2-aubrey-plaza-james-remar-lisa-edelstein/
 
C

Cwarrior

Member
I hope korra s2 never airs, scrap the whole thing pretend it never existed and try again.

Do

Aang the last airbender:the After years

or

Keep doing prequels like the legend of zelda of previous incarnation of Avatars(preferably original one or even kyoshi,roku, the one that lost his face)

Second option would be the best.

Korra isn't really bad but I just wish it was even one tenth as great as the last air bender.
 
T

Telaso

Banned
Kyledk05 said:
So, I've been watching the Blu-Ray today... Ho. Lee. Shit. LoK looks absolutely stunning in 1080p. I was stuck watching the episodes in 720p on iTunes before, so this is a huge improvement. Haven't checked out the commentaries or other extra features yet, but I'm already really pleased with the Blu-Ray release.
Click to expand...

How does it sound? I'm kind of a snob for sound. I'm talking full DTS-HD MA if you've got the setup for it.
 
T

Telaso

Banned
Kyledk05 said:
Sorry, I'm actually a complete noob when it comes to audio/sound, so I wouldn't know what to look for. :/
Click to expand...

Ah no worries. I spent a stupid amount of money on my speakers by getting a lower quality projector. It took watching a few movies in DTS HD for me to truly realize that high quality sound is better for me than the minor video quality differences are.

What I enjoy the most is being able to turn something up really loud, and listen for static. If there is no static, especially during background music, its basically ear porn for me :)
 
M

maharg

idspispopd
Kyledk05 said:
An unrealistic part of me hopes they're just forgoing Blu-Ray and doing a Rebuild of Avatar thing with LoK's insane production values.
Click to expand...

:/ No thank you. Avatar's animation and production values are fantastic as is and don't need any updating.

Why is it so hard to just let a thing be what it is?
 
E

EloquentM

aka Mannny
maharg said:
:/ No thank you. Avatar's animation and production values are fantastic as is and don't need any updating.

Why is it so hard to just let a thing be what it is?
Click to expand...
I was about to say the same damn thing at another post up there. C'mon people move on! The avatar team has!
 
T

Transhuman

Unconfirmed Member
maharg said:
:/ No thank you. Avatar's animation and production values are fantastic as is and don't need any updating.

Why is it so hard to just let a thing be what it is?
Click to expand...

I agree, I just wish that the Book 1 DVD disc 1 didn't have that weird double image problem that makes everything look blurry.

maharg said:
I'm not sure where the premise that AtLA was planned out from the start is coming from (and I think S1 is winding enough to suggest otherwise). I've never heard anything of the sort, and it would be a remarkable thing if it were true. There have been maybe only a couple of multi-season TV shows that have ever been able to claim it in any strong sense.
Click to expand...

In The Day of Black Sun: Part 1 commentary they mention they came up with that episode/ storyline during development. I wouldn't be surprised if they had nailed out all the arcs and plot points in advance.
 
K

KimiNewt

Scored 3/100 on an Exam
About the music, my favourite track was a short bit when Korra was fighting the Chi Blockers in one of the first episodes.
Unfortunately, this is the best video I could find of it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=65G5ynm1d0Q

Hopefully, that's the "Chi Blocker" track on the soundtrack -- because I really need more than those 20 seconds.
 
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