Things I Loved about Legend of Korra
Well, now that I've got the shipping stuff out of the way, let me jot down the other things about this show I loved...
I preface this with the fact that when the show was announced I was both happy and extremely skeptical they could make anything to match the brilliance of the original.
1) Korra herself. I liked Aang a lot, but I love Korra already. Her introduction is amazing; 5 years old, proclaims herself the Avatar and tells the White Lotus Order to just DEAL. WITH. IT. Self esteem issues, she doesn't have them.
Which is just a brilliant piece of characterization just there. I've seen a minority of people dislike that she's a little cocky and too confident. But really, consider her background. Most Avatars don't learn they ARE the avatar until they are in their teens. Korra grows up with that knowledge RIGHT. AWAY. She's good and she knows it.
2) I love that the Order of the White Lotus exists. I love that in attempting to fix the previous problem, they created a new one. Aang probably wanted to make sure the the next Avatar could never be hunted down in the same manner; if he hadn't run away that night, he may very well have died. So he naturally instructs the Order and likely Katara to keep Korra safe. Which they did. Only it led to her isolation from the rest of the world.
3) I find I prefer that the old Gaang is dead than to meet them in their twilight years, because I don't want the old characters to overshadow the new ones. Katara is the perfect one to keep alive to pass the torch, but I'm glad that there is very little reliance on the old characters in this new story. And I love that there are no Version 2.0 characters here.
3) I love that in certain shots, I can see Aang's face and reactions in Korra.
4) In Tenzin and Korra, we are going to witness a more traditional Master and student relationship for the first time. Aang's training mostly came from other kids, and while I appreciate the reasons that there were for that to happen, it really is not the best method. (I'll grant that Toph was probably the best earth bending teacher because she was an earthbender unlike any that had gone before her, but I'll never stop face palming at the Katara is now a Master after a couple months of training and should take over the training of the Avatar! thing they pulled). And I like that Tenzin has as much to learn from Korra and Korra has to learn from him.
5) The new maturity of the series. Yes, it's still a kid's show. But the old show was very much your 'save the world' plotline. Keeping that peace? A lot harder story to tell.
6) The updated world; I generally dislike asian serials in this timeframe. I don't know how, but the Avatar world version of the 1920s is so much more exciting.
7) The updated bending. This part impresses me more than anything else; the level of thought that has gone into the show. Because of course, with the world at peace, there's less need for the fighting styles of bending, so it's evolved into a sport. And, like it's real world counterparts, how you would fight in a real fight and how you fight in a sporting game are different. The fact that the creators have thought about this? Blows my mind.
8) Pro bending; it's a made up magic game that actually makes sense! (Quidditch does not make sense as a sport for the record). The rules are extremely well thought out.
9) Animation; I don't know who upped the budget, but I LIKE.
10) The little details of this show; how the metal benders stopped to help their own back up, how Bolin slicked his air back before meeting Korra. How Korra rolls up the sleeves of her airbending outfit, water-style. They add so much life and dimension to the characters.
11) CHIEF LIN BEI FONG. I love that Toph left such a mark on the world with the new generation of metal bending cops (That statue! That statue!). And how, Lin, like her mother doesn't care about rank/titles. And the exchange with Tenzin! I would love to get a look at their childhood!
12) I'm torn between who I think Lin's dad is. Did Toph adopt her, hence the same last name? Part of me wonders if they would ever be able to create a guy worthy of Toph to marry, the other half wants them to try.
I preface this with the fact that when the show was announced I was both happy and extremely skeptical they could make anything to match the brilliance of the original.
1) Korra herself. I liked Aang a lot, but I love Korra already. Her introduction is amazing; 5 years old, proclaims herself the Avatar and tells the White Lotus Order to just DEAL. WITH. IT. Self esteem issues, she doesn't have them.
Which is just a brilliant piece of characterization just there. I've seen a minority of people dislike that she's a little cocky and too confident. But really, consider her background. Most Avatars don't learn they ARE the avatar until they are in their teens. Korra grows up with that knowledge RIGHT. AWAY. She's good and she knows it.
2) I love that the Order of the White Lotus exists. I love that in attempting to fix the previous problem, they created a new one. Aang probably wanted to make sure the the next Avatar could never be hunted down in the same manner; if he hadn't run away that night, he may very well have died. So he naturally instructs the Order and likely Katara to keep Korra safe. Which they did. Only it led to her isolation from the rest of the world.
3) I find I prefer that the old Gaang is dead than to meet them in their twilight years, because I don't want the old characters to overshadow the new ones. Katara is the perfect one to keep alive to pass the torch, but I'm glad that there is very little reliance on the old characters in this new story. And I love that there are no Version 2.0 characters here.
3) I love that in certain shots, I can see Aang's face and reactions in Korra.
4) In Tenzin and Korra, we are going to witness a more traditional Master and student relationship for the first time. Aang's training mostly came from other kids, and while I appreciate the reasons that there were for that to happen, it really is not the best method. (I'll grant that Toph was probably the best earth bending teacher because she was an earthbender unlike any that had gone before her, but I'll never stop face palming at the Katara is now a Master after a couple months of training and should take over the training of the Avatar! thing they pulled). And I like that Tenzin has as much to learn from Korra and Korra has to learn from him.
5) The new maturity of the series. Yes, it's still a kid's show. But the old show was very much your 'save the world' plotline. Keeping that peace? A lot harder story to tell.
6) The updated world; I generally dislike asian serials in this timeframe. I don't know how, but the Avatar world version of the 1920s is so much more exciting.
7) The updated bending. This part impresses me more than anything else; the level of thought that has gone into the show. Because of course, with the world at peace, there's less need for the fighting styles of bending, so it's evolved into a sport. And, like it's real world counterparts, how you would fight in a real fight and how you fight in a sporting game are different. The fact that the creators have thought about this? Blows my mind.
8) Pro bending; it's a made up magic game that actually makes sense! (Quidditch does not make sense as a sport for the record). The rules are extremely well thought out.
9) Animation; I don't know who upped the budget, but I LIKE.
10) The little details of this show; how the metal benders stopped to help their own back up, how Bolin slicked his air back before meeting Korra. How Korra rolls up the sleeves of her airbending outfit, water-style. They add so much life and dimension to the characters.
11) CHIEF LIN BEI FONG. I love that Toph left such a mark on the world with the new generation of metal bending cops (That statue! That statue!). And how, Lin, like her mother doesn't care about rank/titles. And the exchange with Tenzin! I would love to get a look at their childhood!
12) I'm torn between who I think Lin's dad is. Did Toph adopt her, hence the same last name? Part of me wonders if they would ever be able to create a guy worthy of Toph to marry, the other half wants them to try.