The Legend Of Korra is a good follow-up to Avatar: The Last Airbender despite its far more numerous flaws. Gladly great animation, interesting expansion of the world and a clear sense of identity keep it from sliding into mediocrity.
The most notable thing about Korra is its nearly feature film-level animation. This show rivals the best anime series out there in terms of animation, and no expense has been spared. The martial-arts styled bending is even more energetic and dynamic and sometimes you can just wonder at the choreography and smoothness of the animation.
Another point in Korra's favor is that it dares to separate itself clearly from its predecessor. The feeling and atmosphere resemble more that of a 1920's urban story than the high-fantasy affectations of The Last Airbender. Much darker and more complex themes like civil unrest, segregation, revolution and betrayal are introduced and reinforce the show's more grown up feel. The series also never feels like a rehash or retread of TLA, but rather develops its own stories without cheap gimmicks or tricks
The characters are mostly good, with some sour apples thrown in the middle. In the second season the writing can seem downright poor at times in making some baffling characterization decisions. Gladly those are mostly balanced out by some greatly entertaining additions like Varrick, who has cemented himself as a clear fan favorite. Korra herself strengthens the show's sense of being its own thing while also being a hair-pullingly irritating character at times. Unlike Aang, who was calm, contemplative and pacifist, Korra is hot-headed, eager and active, and this doesn't always work in her favor.
By far the biggest issues in the series are the writing and pacing. With so many different writers it can sometimes feel as if the show is trying to go into two opposite directions at once, with some episodes being great and some being downright terrible. Characterization hasn't so far been entirely consistent with some characters doing some absolutely idiotic decisions during the second season. The pacing ranges from airtight to completely meandering, which makes the show feel inconsistent. The result is a show which when works, works excellently, but when it doesn't, you can clearly see why.
Korra feels like a show that has yet to find its greatest strengths. It has a very solid foundation and moments of absolute brilliance, but has yet to grasp them in full. With the third season, "Change", waiting yet to be released, I'm curious to see where this show is going next.
Recommendation: If you're an Avatar fan and on the fence about watching this, do it. The ride is still very thrilling, despite the occasional bumps.
The most notable thing about Korra is its nearly feature film-level animation. This show rivals the best anime series out there in terms of animation, and no expense has been spared. The martial-arts styled bending is even more energetic and dynamic and sometimes you can just wonder at the choreography and smoothness of the animation.
Another point in Korra's favor is that it dares to separate itself clearly from its predecessor. The feeling and atmosphere resemble more that of a 1920's urban story than the high-fantasy affectations of The Last Airbender. Much darker and more complex themes like civil unrest, segregation, revolution and betrayal are introduced and reinforce the show's more grown up feel. The series also never feels like a rehash or retread of TLA, but rather develops its own stories without cheap gimmicks or tricks
The characters are mostly good, with some sour apples thrown in the middle. In the second season the writing can seem downright poor at times in making some baffling characterization decisions. Gladly those are mostly balanced out by some greatly entertaining additions like Varrick, who has cemented himself as a clear fan favorite. Korra herself strengthens the show's sense of being its own thing while also being a hair-pullingly irritating character at times. Unlike Aang, who was calm, contemplative and pacifist, Korra is hot-headed, eager and active, and this doesn't always work in her favor.
By far the biggest issues in the series are the writing and pacing. With so many different writers it can sometimes feel as if the show is trying to go into two opposite directions at once, with some episodes being great and some being downright terrible. Characterization hasn't so far been entirely consistent with some characters doing some absolutely idiotic decisions during the second season. The pacing ranges from airtight to completely meandering, which makes the show feel inconsistent. The result is a show which when works, works excellently, but when it doesn't, you can clearly see why.
Korra feels like a show that has yet to find its greatest strengths. It has a very solid foundation and moments of absolute brilliance, but has yet to grasp them in full. With the third season, "Change", waiting yet to be released, I'm curious to see where this show is going next.
Recommendation: If you're an Avatar fan and on the fence about watching this, do it. The ride is still very thrilling, despite the occasional bumps.