Far and away one of the most popular series with fans of animation in the past few years, it deserves it.
Anyone else looking forward to the spin-off?
Legend Of Korra>>>Sym-Bionic Titan
Korra will be one of 3 "sequels" I will be excited about more than anything else. The next Batman film and Mass Effect 3 are the other 2.
Anyway, I was thinking about the episode Southern Raiders this week. One of the great 3 episodes where my favorite character, Zuko, goes on an adventure with one of the original 3. Katara is my most hated character in the show. Her and Azula that is, due to both being too one dimensional, in my opinion. As I was saying, while thinking about Southern Raiders, I thought about how that was the only episode I can stand Katara. No nagging or bothering in this episode. Katara is quiet for most of the episode (YAY!) and well..cold heh heh Her being on a mission with someone she hates was interesting. I liked the scene where she uses blood bending for the final time. No other creative team would have done that. Everyone else would have had her whip it out in the final battle. Not only that but how she used it was kind of a disturbing sight. IIRK, we learn what happened to her mother some time after that. I forgot when so I will just mention it now. Definitely the darkest Avatar episode. Now here's the part that made this episode come back to me and have me see it in another light. When Katara confronts the man who killed her mother, she considers killing him. That's not the part that made me think about this episode again nor is when the guy said his mother should take his place and be killed instead of him. It was after Katara and Zuko left and Katara said she that she forgives Zuko for his past wrongdoings - but would never forgive the man who killed her mother. I know you are saying, "Of course she wouldn't" and I obviously think she shouldn't but to me it seems pretty shocking that a cartoon that's for all ages these days would have a character that wouldn't forgive another and still has a rotten opinion of them. Maybe I am looking into it to much or the fact that parents are so soft these days that they wouldn't even want kids to think that about a murderer but that stuck out to me.
I just thought I'd say this right out.
Katara got way too overpowered too quick, and Sokka was way too underpowered for too long. It was kind of annoying considering how much better of a character Sokka is, but Katara was a Mary Sue most of the time who pretty much won all of her fights with relative ease.
But anyway, that was probably one of the more annoying aspects of the show for me.
Sokka had such a small part in that show compared to Katara. At least we got Boiling Rock which is so freaking good. I may have replayed those episodes more than any other.
Quote from: Desensitized on July 02, 2011, 01:44:14 AM
I just thought I'd say this right out.
Katara got way too overpowered too quick, and Sokka was way too underpowered for too long. It was kind of annoying considering how much better of a character Sokka is, but Katara was a Mary Sue most of the time who pretty much won all of her fights with relative ease.
But anyway, that was probably one of the more annoying aspects of the show for me.
I agree. Katara... hell, any female character in this show were always OP. It felt like if you were a woman in the world of Avatar, you're pretty much a force to be reckoned with, like Saxton Hale!
I do wish that Sokka got more focus as well. He was always my favorite character in the show since Book 1. Shame that in the final season, he got this awesome sword that he rarely used.
Also, since I mentioned Book 3, what was AR's general opinion of it? I personally thought that it was rushed and had some unneeded episodes. I didn't really care for the Beach, and I thought that the Bloodbending was pointless. If Bloodbending appears in Korra, I might take that back, but right now I don't.
Yeah, the women were overpowered in the show. It's still funny that they were, but they still didn't get represented at all in the action figures. One of the reasons the toyline bombed.
As for Book 3, weak start, but it picks up with "Day of Black Sun". The show was never very good in filler, and making the first half of the season feel so slow didn't help it out. I also didn't really like Zuko when he joined the Gaang, since he lost what little edge he had left, but that's another thing entirely.
Too much filler that really adds nothing is my biggest issue with Avatar as a whole. But these are my issues:
Sokka should have gotten his bad ass sword in the first or second season and trained with it a lot longer than when he got it. Toph should have actually lost at least once. Bloodbending went nowhere (would have been interesting against Azula, for instance). Zuko's betrayal at the end of season 2 still makes no sense, I'm sorry. Way too much of the first half of season 3 consists of filler. Not enough non-Bender focus, more Ty Lee Vs. Sokka, for instance, would have been sweet.
But it's still a great show, despite having its problems.
Quote from: Desensitized on July 02, 2011, 09:44:21 PM
Zuko's betrayal at the end of season 2 still makes no sense, I'm sorry.
This. I still feel like that was a waste of character development, especially since his part of the first half of Book 3 went nowhere we haven't been to with him before.
Quote from: Avaitor on July 02, 2011, 09:47:05 PM
Quote from: Desensitized on July 02, 2011, 09:44:21 PM
Zuko's betrayal at the end of season 2 still makes no sense, I'm sorry.
This. I still feel like that was a waste of character development, especially since his part of the first half of Book 3 went nowhere we haven't been to with him before.
It kind of killed one of the best episodes in the series with it, too. Zuko Alone. It's like that never happened here, because that episode pretty much sealed the deal with his character accepting what he is meant to do and the path he sets on for the rest of the season before it is pointlessly derailed for issues that he has already gotten over.
Then he putzes around for half of season 3 being OOC before getting back to the exact place we left him at when he finally joins the good guys.
I know you guys wanted us to rank Avatar higher, but we just couldn't. There's too many of these little annoyances to look past, but it is a great show where it counts.
Yeah, I was actually the one who vouched to rank it higher, which is probably surprising to some of you. I think after the list is done, I'll post a couple of facts from all the time we spent on it, and I'll get more into that.
Yeah, after I posted it.... I did remember Season 3 sucking for the most part. I felt that probably played a factor into it's ranking. That and I wasn't a fan of Zuko turning evil again near the end of Book 2. I thought that came from nowhere and that he finally found peace within himself and was willing to fight for what he thought would be best for him, and not what others expect from him.
DLA.... WOW! I did not expect that from you. I thought you would have tried to put it lower.
Quote from: Daxdiv on July 02, 2011, 09:28:00 PM
Quote from: Desensitized on July 02, 2011, 01:44:14 AM
I just thought I'd say this right out.
Katara got way too overpowered too quick, and Sokka was way too underpowered for too long. It was kind of annoying considering how much better of a character Sokka is, but Katara was a Mary Sue most of the time who pretty much won all of her fights with relative ease.
But anyway, that was probably one of the more annoying aspects of the show for me.
I agree. Katara... hell, any female character in this show were always OP. It felt like if you were a woman in the world of Avatar, you're pretty much a force to be reckoned with, like Saxton Hale!
I do wish that Sokka got more focus as well. He was always my favorite character in the show since Book 1. Shame that in the final season, he got this awesome sword that he rarely used.
Also, since I mentioned Book 3, what was AR's general opinion of it? I personally thought that it was rushed and had some unneeded episodes. I didn't really care for the Beach, and I thought that the Bloodbending was pointless. If Bloodbending appears in Korra, I might take that back, but right now I don't.
Book 3 hit the mark. The action was better. The comedy was better. The drama was better. The...erm romance was better. Uh it was good on a kids level or whatever. Anyway, I think the amount of fillers got way overexaggerated by fans in Book 3. Book 1 was almost nothing but filler. Seriously, it was mostly filler. Book 2 had that horrible slow down in Ba Sing Se. sp? Book 3 had like no more than 4 filler episodes at the start of the season and than we got tons of great episodes like Day Of The Black Sun, Boiling Rock, Southern Raiders and of course Sozin's Comet. My only complaints about the last season was too many characters from earlier seasons got little to no screen time and Toph got neglected. The only good female character in the show
Quote from: Desensitized on July 02, 2011, 09:44:21 PM
Too much filler that really adds nothing is my biggest issue with Avatar as a whole. But these are my issues:
Sokka should have gotten his bad ass sword in the first or second season and trained with it a lot longer than when he got it. Toph should have actually lost at least once. Bloodbending went nowhere (would have been interesting against Azula, for instance). Zuko's betrayal at the end of season 2 still makes no sense, I'm sorry. Way too much of the first half of season 3 consists of filler. Not enough non-Bender focus, more Ty Lee Vs. Sokka, for instance, would have been sweet.
But it's still a great show, despite having its problems.
Ty Lee fought Sokka. Using bloodbending more than twice would have been terrible. Both times it was used, it was well used. It would have made the Azula fight useless anyway. Katara would have won in a heartbeat and using it at the end would have shown that Katara still wouldn't have gotten over using a nasty move like that. More taking water out of the air would have been nice though.
Quote from: gunswordfist on July 02, 2011, 10:31:07 PM
Quote from: Desensitized on July 02, 2011, 09:44:21 PM
Too much filler that really adds nothing is my biggest issue with Avatar as a whole. But these are my issues:
Sokka should have gotten his bad ass sword in the first or second season and trained with it a lot longer than when he got it. Toph should have actually lost at least once. Bloodbending went nowhere (would have been interesting against Azula, for instance). Zuko's betrayal at the end of season 2 still makes no sense, I'm sorry. Way too much of the first half of season 3 consists of filler. Not enough non-Bender focus, more Ty Lee Vs. Sokka, for instance, would have been sweet.
But it's still a great show, despite having its problems.
Ty Lee fought Sokka. Using bloodbending more than twice would have been terrible. Both times it was used, it was well used. It would have made the Azula fight useless anyway. Katara would have won in a heartbeat and using it at the end would have shown that Katara still wouldn't have gotten over using a nasty move like that. More taking water out of the air would have been nice though.
I know Ty Lee fought Sokka, I was saying that we should have had more fights like that.
Also, the bloodbending was a cool idea that wasn't explored much at all. If it gets used in Korra more, I might retract that complaint, but as it is it was a dead end plot thread that really didn't do anything for anyone. It would have been nice for Katara to use it on Azula and stop before it was too late, both to scare the shit out of Azula (who needed it) and to make Katara actually seem like she has flaws and makes mistakes. Which she rarely ever did in the show. The Bloodbending being negated so fast is proof of that.
Glad to see I'm not the only one who found Katara annoying. Especially when no one would call her out on her self-righteous bitchy self in the later episodes. I don't mind the other females being overpowered, (except maybe Azula) because they were at least likable and flawed.
Zuko going back to the fire nation at the end of season 2 could have been good if he did it with the intent to turn against his father from the start, rather than go on about "regaining his honor" which had already been resolved.
Quote from: Desensitized on July 02, 2011, 10:47:17 PM
Quote from: gunswordfist on July 02, 2011, 10:31:07 PM
Quote from: Desensitized on July 02, 2011, 09:44:21 PM
Too much filler that really adds nothing is my biggest issue with Avatar as a whole. But these are my issues:
Sokka should have gotten his bad ass sword in the first or second season and trained with it a lot longer than when he got it. Toph should have actually lost at least once. Bloodbending went nowhere (would have been interesting against Azula, for instance). Zuko's betrayal at the end of season 2 still makes no sense, I'm sorry. Way too much of the first half of season 3 consists of filler. Not enough non-Bender focus, more Ty Lee Vs. Sokka, for instance, would have been sweet.
But it's still a great show, despite having its problems.
Ty Lee fought Sokka. Using bloodbending more than twice would have been terrible. Both times it was used, it was well used. It would have made the Azula fight useless anyway. Katara would have won in a heartbeat and using it at the end would have shown that Katara still wouldn't have gotten over using a nasty move like that. More taking water out of the air would have been nice though.
I know Ty Lee fought Sokka, I was saying that we should have had more fights like that.
Also, the bloodbending was a cool idea that wasn't explored much at all. If it gets used in Korra more, I might retract that complaint, but as it is it was a dead end plot thread that really didn't do anything for anyone. It would have been nice for Katara to use it on Azula and stop before it was too late, both to scare the shit out of Azula (who needed it) and to make Katara actually seem like she has flaws and makes mistakes. Which she rarely ever did in the show. The Bloodbending being negated so fast is proof of that.
Bloodbending goes against what her dull character is about, so instead they tucked it away. Katara just couldn't do it again because it damn near traumatizes her. They didn't want to have her use it at the end and then throw in some cheap, quick excuse as to why she's suddenly okay with doing it without being devastated and her being rattled would have of course ruined the happy ending. It sucks and I also wanted to see more of it but that's how Katara operates.
Quote from: Rynnec on July 03, 2011, 01:53:30 AM
Glad to see I'm not the only one who found Katara annoying. Especially when no one would call her out on her self-righteous bitchy self in the later episodes. I don't mind the other females being overpowered, (except maybe Azula) because they were at least likable and flawed.
Zuko going back to the fire nation at the end of season 2 could have been good if he did it with the intent to turn against his father from the start, rather than go on about "regaining his honor" which had already been resolved.
Toph is the only female character I like in the show. It's sad that I only liked one because they did try to do the 'women can have power too' angle but you already mentioned how that fell flat on its face. I have faith in Korra being done right but any other female character, not so much. I'll wait and see though
Quote from: gunswordfist on July 03, 2011, 08:41:50 AM
Quote from: Desensitized on July 02, 2011, 10:47:17 PM
Quote from: gunswordfist on July 02, 2011, 10:31:07 PM
Quote from: Desensitized on July 02, 2011, 09:44:21 PM
Too much filler that really adds nothing is my biggest issue with Avatar as a whole. But these are my issues:
Sokka should have gotten his bad ass sword in the first or second season and trained with it a lot longer than when he got it. Toph should have actually lost at least once. Bloodbending went nowhere (would have been interesting against Azula, for instance). Zuko's betrayal at the end of season 2 still makes no sense, I'm sorry. Way too much of the first half of season 3 consists of filler. Not enough non-Bender focus, more Ty Lee Vs. Sokka, for instance, would have been sweet.
But it's still a great show, despite having its problems.
Ty Lee fought Sokka. Using bloodbending more than twice would have been terrible. Both times it was used, it was well used. It would have made the Azula fight useless anyway. Katara would have won in a heartbeat and using it at the end would have shown that Katara still wouldn't have gotten over using a nasty move like that. More taking water out of the air would have been nice though.
I know Ty Lee fought Sokka, I was saying that we should have had more fights like that.
Also, the bloodbending was a cool idea that wasn't explored much at all. If it gets used in Korra more, I might retract that complaint, but as it is it was a dead end plot thread that really didn't do anything for anyone. It would have been nice for Katara to use it on Azula and stop before it was too late, both to scare the shit out of Azula (who needed it) and to make Katara actually seem like she has flaws and makes mistakes. Which she rarely ever did in the show. The Bloodbending being negated so fast is proof of that.
Bloodbending goes against what her dull character is about, so instead they tucked it away. Katara just couldn't do it again because it damn near traumatizes her. They didn't want to have her use it at the end and then throw in some cheap, quick excuse as to why she's suddenly okay with doing it without being devastated and her being rattled would have of course ruined the happy ending. It sucks and I also wanted to see more of it but that's how Katara operates.
I agree 100%, but it would have been better if they didn't resolve that thread so fast, and instead make it linger on as a possibility down the road to where she almost succumbs to it, but instead rises above using it. It just seemed like such a waste to introduce and throw it away as quickly as they did, but early season 3 did a lot of that.
Quote from: Desensitized on July 03, 2011, 04:15:16 PM
Quote from: gunswordfist on July 03, 2011, 08:41:50 AM
Quote from: Desensitized on July 02, 2011, 10:47:17 PM
Quote from: gunswordfist on July 02, 2011, 10:31:07 PM
Quote from: Desensitized on July 02, 2011, 09:44:21 PM
Too much filler that really adds nothing is my biggest issue with Avatar as a whole. But these are my issues:
Sokka should have gotten his bad ass sword in the first or second season and trained with it a lot longer than when he got it. Toph should have actually lost at least once. Bloodbending went nowhere (would have been interesting against Azula, for instance). Zuko's betrayal at the end of season 2 still makes no sense, I'm sorry. Way too much of the first half of season 3 consists of filler. Not enough non-Bender focus, more Ty Lee Vs. Sokka, for instance, would have been sweet.
But it's still a great show, despite having its problems.
Ty Lee fought Sokka. Using bloodbending more than twice would have been terrible. Both times it was used, it was well used. It would have made the Azula fight useless anyway. Katara would have won in a heartbeat and using it at the end would have shown that Katara still wouldn't have gotten over using a nasty move like that. More taking water out of the air would have been nice though.
I know Ty Lee fought Sokka, I was saying that we should have had more fights like that.
Also, the bloodbending was a cool idea that wasn't explored much at all. If it gets used in Korra more, I might retract that complaint, but as it is it was a dead end plot thread that really didn't do anything for anyone. It would have been nice for Katara to use it on Azula and stop before it was too late, both to scare the shit out of Azula (who needed it) and to make Katara actually seem like she has flaws and makes mistakes. Which she rarely ever did in the show. The Bloodbending being negated so fast is proof of that.
Bloodbending goes against what her dull character is about, so instead they tucked it away. Katara just couldn't do it again because it damn near traumatizes her. They didn't want to have her use it at the end and then throw in some cheap, quick excuse as to why she's suddenly okay with doing it without being devastated and her being rattled would have of course ruined the happy ending. It sucks and I also wanted to see more of it but that's how Katara operates.
I agree 100%, but it would have been better if they didn't resolve that thread so fast, and instead make it linger on as a possibility down the road to where she almost succumbs to it, but instead rises above using it. It just seemed like such a waste to introduce and throw it away as quickly as they did, but early season 3 did a lot of that.
Maybe, but that would have meant even more focus on Katara. Fuck that
I watched Boiling Rock pt 1 and 2 yesterday on Nicktoons Network. I love these episodes even more now. Part 1 had so much good set up and of course part 2 had the pay off. I don't care for Sokka but if he had more episodes like this, I would be a fan.
Season 2 overall is the strongest, but if it wasn't for all the filler like most of the first half of the season, season 3 might be the best one. Season 1 is pretty good, but it doesn't quite have the same highs as the other seasons and some episodes are just boring.
I hope they manage to get the balance right with the new show.
Quote from: Desensitized on July 22, 2011, 02:02:11 PM
Season 2 overall is the strongest, but if it wasn't for all the filler like most of the first half of the season, season 3 might be the best one. Season 1 is pretty good, but it doesn't quite have the same highs as the other seasons and some episodes are just boring.
I hope they manage to get the balance right with the new show.
Still think the amount of filler in Season 3 gets overexaggerated and all aspects of the previous seasons are overrated (except the animation and fighting, of course) but Season 3 does it just right.
Anyway, I just got done watching Siege Of The North. Just like I've always thought, it's much better than the extremely overrated Season 2 finale, which is the series weakest finale. Season 1 finale is great on all levels. That black snow scene gets me every time
The season 2 finale is overrated? I thought it sucked and was the single worst part of this whole show that wasn't pointless filler. As a result it derailed the show for half of season 3 where little to nothing that mattered occurred, and destroyed pretty much all character development of one of the show's most important characters.
Quote from: Desensitized on July 22, 2011, 06:21:14 PM
The season 2 finale is overrated? I thought it sucked and was the single worst part of this whole show that wasn't pointless filler. As a result it derailed the show for half of season 3 where little to nothing that mattered occurred, and destroyed pretty much all character development of one of the show's most important characters.
Teh fans love it though! But yeah, it lead to massive derailment. I personally thought Katara getting captured was much worse than what Zuko did. Sokka didn't get to go to battle with his Dad (What's this?! Katara is taking screentime away from Sokka again?!) and Aang skips out on mastering the Avatar State. All because Katara becomes the damsel in distress because she tried to stop an invasion with a canteen.
Yep, people loved that ending, even though looking back the one part that still doesn't settle for me is Zuko betraying Iroh and everyone else for the family honor. I thought he was over that, unless it was a facade, which is still a bullshit excuse due to the information that the audience was given.
Quote from: Daxdiv on July 22, 2011, 07:33:47 PM
Yep, people loved that ending, even though looking back the one part that still doesn't settle for me is Zuko betraying Iroh and everyone else for the family honor. I thought he was over that, unless it was a facade, which is still a bullshit excuse due to the information that the audience was given.
It wasn't bullshit, He did change. Once he joined the group mid-season 3 his character arc resumed where it was right before the betrayal making the entire ordeal pointless. Now ask yourselves this-
Zuko DOESN'T betray Iroh and helps Aang and they
still lose. He finds the same conviction in himself but still gets crushed, leading him to question himself and his strength further. He's now a part of the group, but because of what he did is unable to fit in right with them.
Would that not have been a better character arc in season 3 than the one we got... which lead back to square one?
Looking at the character models for Korra remind me just how much I hate the designs of Avatar.
They look like fucking monkeys.
Trailer (http://on.nick.com/XJQ)
It's looking pretty good, though I still wonder what the main plot is going to amount to being about beyond learning the Air element.
Quote from: Desensitized on July 23, 2011, 09:28:33 PM
It's looking pretty good, though I still wonder what the main plot is going to amount to being about beyond learning the Air element.
I expect Nature vs Technology to be a plot point, for one. It seems to fit, maybe the Avatar status will be looked down upon due to the evolving culture and stuff, but still have it's fair share of followers and fans as shown at the end of the trailer. Still, I can't help but wonder how the Fire Nation has come along with a tyrant like Ozai and having a king like Zuko. I have to imagine that there were probably a fair share of FN people that were unhappy at Zuko being declared King of the Fire Nation.
....
Just a suggestion.
EDIT: Here's some information about Korra that was posted on toonzone
- New Trailer
- New Gaang: Two brothers, one firebender, one earthbender
- One of the brothers is named Mako, the firebender.
- Bolin is earthbending brother. Kind of like the original idea for Toph's character.
- Naga is the polar bear dog that Korra rides. She is her best friend!
- Pabu: red panda and a black-footed ferret. Bolin's buddy. A fire ferret!
- Flying bison and lemurs are back
- Aang and Katara have three kids
- Toph's daughter is the head of police in the city
- Metalbender cops. Toph traveled world to teach earthbenders how to bend metal.
- New group of anti-benders: the Chi-Blockers. Seems to be setting up conflict between benders and non-benders.
- Introducing the revolutionist characters called The Equalists.
- Two seasons of 12 eps each. That seems to be what they hinted at.
Whoa, great info. I thought Korra was just going to travel with Tenzin. I didn't know Korra had two brothers and Aang had two kids besides Tenzin.
I thought the show was going to have a total of 12 episodes. Glad to see there will be 2 seasons. I hope they use that to their advantage. I hear they want absolutely no filler.
I think someone mentioned that it's 12 episodes for the first season and 14 for the second. So 26 episodes total.
I'm excited to learn where they're going to go with this, they must have learned a lot from the original Avatar series.
Uh huh. Filler is Avatar's greatest flaw. Dull female characters is second. Hopefully both will be fixed
With a purposefully short run and great focus on a female lead, that seems like the case.
It sure does which is why I am excited
I watched Sozin's Comet twice yesterday on NTN. Love it. I have been noticing that Zuko and the gang never fought together, just him with one or two of them. Seeing the beginning of The Earth King last week makes me wish we got to see Zuko fight in the group like that.I also want to talk more about what I want to see in Korra. Ihope they focus more on form. They focused a little bit too much on doing crazy moves instead of showing real martial arts being incorporated into fights in the later episodes of TLA. Zuko vs Zhao and Toph vs that last guy in The Blind Bandit are good examples of them doing it right. Since Korra will likely be fighting mostly nonbenders, that seems likely.I also hope the fight music is more like the first one used in season 1. That was perfect while I didn't like the fight music that used for most fights after that.
So, I just watched the trailer for Korra and god damn that was awesome. I seriously can't remember the last time I was this excited about a new show. The "1920's" setting looks really interesting and while I liked some of the female characters in The Last Airbender such as Toph and Azula (the latter, albeit in a "love to hate" way), there's little doubt in my mind that Korra will eclipse them.
Speaking of which, I wonder if Korra is going to end up interacting with her previous incarnations the way Aang did with his?
Finally, I hope that Tenzin will end up being just as great an older, wise mentor-figure as Iroh was.
I've been liking Iroh more and more after watching the last few episodes of Book 2 and 3.
Two days ago, I watched the first two episodes for the first time in years two days ago during the two times Nicktoons Network showed them. I am not sure if I have ever seen the unedited intro. It's interesting but I of course like the one they usually use more.
I forgot how serious Sokka was in these episodes. I actually like Katara in them. She stood up for Aang whenever the rest of the village acted like dicks towards him.
It was nice to hear the first fight music again. It's the best in the series. I got to pay attention to the first time Aang went went into the Avatar State and how the temples didn't light up. I missed it when Katara called Zuko by his name even though she's never seen him before.
So here it is, my top 10 Avatar episodes. (I like to count two parters as a single story, so no individual parts here)
The Boiling Rock
City Of Walls & Secrets
Lake Laogai
Day Of The Black Sun
Siege Of The North
Zuko Alone
The Blue Spirit
Jet
The Blind Bandit
The Desert
Honestly, those ten episodes are enough for me to consider Avatar a great series, but they are some of the best episodes that Nick has ever aired. While the show as a whole has weaknesses, these episodes prove that when it wants to be, Avatar is easily comparable to the classics in its own way.
Really good. I might switch "Jet" with "The Storm" and maybe "The Desert" with either "The Chase", but that looks pretty similar to my list.
I'd say that "Zuko Alone" would be my top choice overall. It really contains all the best qualities of the character, and shows just why he's the most interesting on the show.
Yeah, I was kind of hopping around the series and watching episodes out of order, and those episodes managed to hold up the strongest to me and had the most meat to them. I also really like The Storm and The Chase, (most of season 2 and the second half of 3 have a lot of winners), and The Library almost made my list, too.
The only episodes I dislike are Crossroads Of Destiny (too much deus ex machina involving characters and plot that doesn't really amount to anything), The Great Divide, The Avatar State (too many annoying aspects), and The Beach. I also didn't really like that most of the beginning of season 3 should have occurred much earlier like in season 1 or early season 2, but they weren't anything bad.
Those are pretty much the only ones I really dislike too. Season 1 I don't think picks up until they make it to the Water Nation, and season 3 is slow as molasses until "Day of Black Sun".
Everything else is fair game.
You're right about Zuko's character arc. From season 1's premiere up to the Guru, he changed from outright villain to anti-hero and was about to turn into a hero until it was pointlessly derailed until Day Of The Black Sun. Even though I say 'villain', he was never really a 'bad guy' just a soldier doing terrible thing on order without realizing it.
I liked the contrast they made with him and Jet who both came from the same place but from opposite sides of the coin. In many ways, though, Jet was what would have became of Zuko if he continued down the same path and continued to be consumed by his own selfish goals. It was a good story arc in season 2 and ended really well in Lake Laogai and CoW&S when we really learned just how far Jet had fallen and how much Zuko had changed.
That's pretty much why I don't like the finale, to hammer a tired point one last time, which while plot wise felt too convenient how literally nothing went wrong for Azula despite how much she couldn't possibly call, the capper was turning Zuko back into where he was in the first episode as if nothing that happened to this point mattered. Then the first half of season 3 does nothing with him until Day Of The Black Sun (the speech he gave should have been what he said in Crossroads) brings him back to where we left off suddenly.
I also thought his relationship with Mai was really forced considering how he acted so weird around females in season 2, but that actually lead to something in the show's best episode, so I let it slide.
Zuko had the right intentions, for the most part, but had a tendency to use the wrong methods to achieve them. Even when he turned "good", that's still true. He could be a really clever guy in some instances, like "The Boiling Rock", but that's few and far in between.
I think all of the times Zuko screwed up, like in "Crossroads of Destiny", can be traced back to his social awkwardness, which in turn can be traced back to his family issues. Those get addressed pretty well throughout, but I felt like by the time he joins the group full time, his character gets white-washed.
Yeah, that's why my suggestion of him actually changing sides in Crossroads and still losing would have been far more in character with him. It also would have prevented his "White washing" (I still think he was pretty good in Boiling Rock and Southern Raiders, but he was definitely a bit bland in the finale) and his development into full hero as part of the group would have felt more natural and keeping with the themes. I feel like by season 2's end through him rejoining felt only like a cheap ploy at drama to keep the stakes high, which is only evidenced by how little is done with him after that point until he does join like he should have.
So yeah, squandered opportunity, but at least things end up well for him.
Other than Day of Black Sun, I agree with your list Desen. (Something about DoBS just doesn't feel right. The events in and of themselves are good, but I think it's the pacing that kills it for me. Not too sure.)
Yeah, it's a bit disjointed plot wise, but I mostly picked it for all the great character moments in it.
Quote from: Desensitized on August 02, 2011, 09:02:12 PM
So here it is, my top 10 Avatar episodes. (I like to count two parters as a single story, so no individual parts here)
The Boiling Rock
City Of Walls & Secrets
Lake Laogai
Day Of The Black Sun
Siege Of The North
Zuko Alone
The Blue Spirit
Jet
The Blind Bandit
The Desert
Honestly, those ten episodes are enough for me to consider Avatar a great series, but they are some of the best episodes that Nick has ever aired. While the show as a whole has weaknesses, these episodes prove that when it wants to be, Avatar is easily comparable to the classics in its own way.
Ties up with what I'm about to post.
Last week Nicktoons Network showed Zuko Alone, The Blue Spirit, The Storm and Avatar and The Firelord. I unfortunately I only saw half of Avatar and The Firelord. I wanted to see it after seeing the first 3 said episodes. The Zuko/Aang episodes are so incredible (and Zuko Alone is in there too). Speaking of Zuko Alone, the "Azula always lies." part got to me. Scary thing...she never lied in that episode despite every horrible thing she said.
Anyway, like I said, I like the episodes that are both Aang and Zuko's. Zuko is the type of villain I've been waiting to see for a long time. Well I saw a similar one in Saiyuki but that shows sucks. Erm, I've been sick of heartless villains for a long time. Yes I know Zuko isn't a villain for most of the show but he played the part the way I've always wanted to see it. He's obviously my favorite Avatar character.
What else? Yeesterday they showed The Boiling Rock and Sozin's Comet back to back in movie form (!!!) I DVRed both. Fuck yes. I noticed even more little things about The Boiling Rock (Did Sokka always have his sword, which no other guard has, the whole time? I paid it no attention until the riot. I rewatch to check. How the hell where they going to get out of the boiling water?) Despite what I just said, I thoroughly love The Boiling Rock. Probably my favorite multiparter now if not favorite episodes.
What else? I'm loving the first season even more now. It's not as filler ridden as I remembered. They go on some pretty good adventures. Once I think about it, it's clearly the most adventure heavy season. Season 2 had Losing Appa and Ba Sing Se slow it down and Book Fire was about character episodes. I'll try to do my favorite episodes, in no order
The Boiling Rock
The Avatar & The Firelord
Zuko Alone (This has to be an award winning episode.)
The Blue Spirit (Archers, underused)
The Storm (The only episode where Zuko shows leadership qualities. His jump to Firelord seems kind of strange because of this. Just saying.)
Siege Of The North
Sozin's Comet
Day Of The Black Sun
Jet (Terrorism...holy crap!)
Lake Laogai (Dai Li, underused)
I took about how Zuko at the end of season 2 should have been handled later.
Quote from: Avaitor on August 02, 2011, 09:06:45 PM
Really good. I might switch "Jet" with "The Storm" and maybe "The Desert" with either "The Chase", but that looks pretty similar to my list.
I'd say that "Zuko Alone" would be my top choice overall. It really contains all the best qualities of the character, and shows just why he's the most interesting on the show.
The Chase? Hmmm, the only time the entire team fights together. I am not sure if Katara being a complete bitch was a plus or a minus. But yeah, The Storm MUST go in there. Wasn't that the first time Zuko did something kind? I wish he got his crew back....or did Aang kill them in Siege Of The North?
Quote from: Desensitized on August 02, 2011, 09:39:26 PM
You're right about Zuko's character arc. From season 1's premiere up to the Guru, he changed from outright villain to anti-hero and was about to turn into a hero until it was pointlessly derailed until Day Of The Black Sun. Even though I say 'villain', he was never really a 'bad guy' just a soldier doing terrible thing on order without realizing it.
I liked the contrast they made with him and Jet who both came from the same place but from opposite sides of the coin. In many ways, though, Jet was what would have became of Zuko if he continued down the same path and continued to be consumed by his own selfish goals. It was a good story arc in season 2 and ended really well in Lake Laogai and CoW&S when we really learned just how far Jet had fallen and how much Zuko had changed.
That's pretty much why I don't like the finale, to hammer a tired point one last time, which while plot wise felt too convenient how literally nothing went wrong for Azula despite how much she couldn't possibly call, the capper was turning Zuko back into where he was in the first episode as if nothing that happened to this point mattered. Then the first half of season 3 does nothing with him until Day Of The Black Sun (the speech he gave should have been what he said in Crossroads) brings him back to where we left off suddenly.
I also thought his relationship with Mai was really forced considering how he acted so weird around females in season 2, but that actually lead to something in the show's best episode, so I let it slide.
So The Boiling Rock is your favorite? ;D During I believe the last two times I watched the episode, I loved the look Mai gave Zuko through the door when he ran away. Pretty intense.
Quote from: Rynnec on August 02, 2011, 11:22:59 PM
Other than Day of Black Sun, I agree with your list Desen. (Something about DoBS just doesn't feel right. The events in and of themselves are good, but I think it's the pacing that kills it for me. Not too sure.)
Those episodes are a bit off for me as well. I think they'd be at the bottom of the list and I'm thinking about replacing it with The Blind Bandit.
See, for me there's a difference of smart pacing. Season 1's flow felt very stilted to me since it was basically episodic with random story progression throughout (not so much filler, though that is there) but it had some excellent episodes by the end and easily the best season finale in the show.
Season 2 has great pacing. Just check out the episodes:
"The Avatar State" (Filler and very season 1-ish, one of my least favorite episodes)
"The Cave of Two Lovers" (Character development leading up to:)
"Return to Omashu" (Great episode)
"The Swamp" (Too slow for my tastes, but this does have stuff that comes into play later, so it isn't really filler)
"Avatar Day" (Filler)
"The Blind Bandit" (This is when season 2 gets awesome and basically stays that way)
"Zuko Alone" (Yep)
"The Chase" (Same)
"Bitter Work" (Nice character development)
"The Library" (Great world building and plot progression)
"The Desert" (Fantastic)
"The Serpent's Pass" (Great adventure episode)
"The Drill" (Great action episode)
"City of Walls and Secrets" (Fantastic build up)
"Tales of Ba Sing Se" (Perfect use of character development and world building)
"Appa's Lost Days" (Smart idea for world building and plot progression)
"Lake Laogai" (Basically part two of Walls & Secrets which wouldn't work without the world building we just saw)
"The Earth King" (This is when it starts to slide for me a bit, the Dai Li as a group is simply too cut throat to be trusted as much as they are and that annoyance comes back in a big way in the finale)
"The Guru" (This has a lot of good build up)
"The Crossroads of Destiny" (Such a miss. The Dai Li and Long Feng are fucking wasted purely to prop up Azula, Aang losing the Avatar State was forced, Zuko's progression derailed, the fights are all boring, it just doesn't stack up to anything else in the season)
Yep, Boiling Rock is my favorite episode. It had literally everything I like about Avatar, oddly enough without Aang, who I really like.
But season 2 definitely is the peak of the show. Season 3 in comparison takes too long to get going and has a lot of stuff that could have happened a lot earlier, and probably should have considering all that happened in season 2. On the plus side, everything after Day Of The Black Sun pretty much stays awesome.
Ever notice that Avatar is the one action show where the premiere episodes never seem all that exciting? I mean the premiere of season 1 was, it kind of had to be, but season 2 and 3 seem to get off to a rolling start.
Quote from: Desensitized on August 13, 2011, 08:44:54 PM
See, for me there's a difference of smart pacing. Season 1's flow felt very stilted to me since it was basically episodic with random story progression throughout (not so much filler, though that is there) but it had some excellent episodes by the end and easily the best season finale in the show.
Season 2 has great pacing. Just check out the episodes:
"The Avatar State" (Filler and very season 1-ish, one of my least favorite episodes)
"The Cave of Two Lovers" (Character development leading up to:)
"Return to Omashu" (Great episode)
"The Swamp" (Too slow for my tastes, but this does have stuff that comes into play later, so it isn't really filler)
"Avatar Day" (Filler)
"The Blind Bandit" (This is when season 2 gets awesome and basically stays that way)
"Zuko Alone" (Yep)
"The Chase" (Same)
"Bitter Work" (Nice character development)
"The Library" (Great world building and plot progression)
"The Desert" (Fantastic)
"The Serpent's Pass" (Great adventure episode)
"The Drill" (Great action episode)
"City of Walls and Secrets" (Fantastic build up)
"Tales of Ba Sing Se" (Perfect use of character development and world building)
"Appa's Lost Days" (Smart idea for world building and plot progression)
"Lake Laogai" (Basically part two of Walls & Secrets which wouldn't work without the world building we just saw)
"The Earth King" (This is when it starts to slide for me a bit, the Dai Li as a group is simply too cut throat to be trusted as much as they are and that annoyance comes back in a big way in the finale)
"The Guru" (This has a lot of good build up)
"The Crossroads of Destiny" (Such a miss. The Dai Li and Long Feng are fucking wasted purely to prop up Azula, Aang losing the Avatar State was forced, Zuko's progression derailed, the fights are all boring, it just doesn't stack up to anything else in the season)
Yep, Boiling Rock is my favorite episode. It had literally everything I like about Avatar, oddly enough without Aang, who I really like.
But season 2 definitely is the peak of the show. Season 3 in comparison takes too long to get going and has a lot of stuff that could have happened a lot earlier, and probably should have considering all that happened in season 2. On the plus side, everything after Day Of The Black Sun pretty much stays awesome.
Ever notice that Avatar is the one action show where the premiere episodes never seem all that exciting? I mean the premiere of season 1 was, it kind of had to be, but season 2 and 3 seem to get off to a rolling start.
Sounds like I need to rewatch The Avatar State. I haven't seen it in awhile and it's one of the episodes I've seen the least amount of times so I never really got to forming an opinion about it. I hate Cave Of Two Lovers. Burn baby burn.
I completely forgot what Bitter Work was about.
I actually don't care for the desert episodes and every Ba Sing Se episode that's not LL or Appa's unexpected episode. I thought they were too slow for me. The gang being halted after finally reaching BSS didn't go well with me.
I no longer have a favorite out of Season 1 and 2. Used to easily be Season 2 but I am loving the adventure episodes in season one, even though they are disjointed and imo, Zuko is at his best in season one. Besides Zuko Alone and The Boiling Rock, it's kind of a landslide for me.
Crap, I remember Bitter Work now. Nice episode. Katara saw that not being a bitch to Toph has it advantages.
Speaking of world building, uh Whaletail Island...what was there again? I remember something important was there and I loved how they did that. I forgot what it was.
The Earth King had no reason not to trust the Dai Li. Not sure why that was a complaint. Coverups is how they have all that power. I remember it being a slow episode after arguably the best action sequence in Nick history. I believe NTN is on The Drill now so I'll get to reevaluate everything about Ba Sing Se starting Monday, I believe.
No, I mean everyone just sort of forgives the Dai Li including the gang after they arrest Long Feng. That seems pretty out of character for both Sokka and Toph to just let them wander free again without any sort of objections. The king forgiving them makes sense since he's ignorant to the whole thing, but you'd figure the gang (other than Aang since he forgives everyone) would be a little bit more inquisitive about them.
Then they basically betray the Earth Kingdom, the land they were born to protect, and their city to the Fire Nation because macguffin. I just don't like how the Dai Li were used plotwise despite really liking them in the episodes where they were actually used effectively since after season 2 they basically disappear.
I think Aang mentioned Whaletail island in one of the early episodes when he was pointing out places on the map.
Quote from: Desensitized on August 13, 2011, 09:29:37 PM
No, I mean everyone just sort of forgives the Dai Li including the gang after they arrest Long Feng. That seems pretty out of character for both Sokka and Toph to just let them wander free again without any sort of objections. The king forgiving them makes sense since he's ignorant to the whole thing, but you'd figure the gang (other than Aang since he forgives everyone) would be a little bit more inquisitive about them.
Then they basically betray the Earth Kingdom, the land they were born to protect, and their city to the Fire Nation because macguffin. I just don't like how the Dai Li were used plotwise despite really liking them in the episodes where they were actually used effectively since after season 2 they basically disappear.
I think Aang mentioned Whaletail island in one of the early episodes when he was pointing out places on the map.
I was talking about when the Dai Li made them think Appa was at Whaletail island and iirc, they actually went there later on. I forgot why.
Anyway, I have to watch The Earth King again. I don't remember that.
I watched City Of Walls & Secrets earlier today. Good episode even though it sets up how freaking slow BSS is.
We get to see Zuko's very last sword fight. I wish he got to do more of that (and the flame daggers (not the whips) and his breakdance kicks). I love how completely stupid Aang and Sokka are in CoWAS. It's so hilarious.
They just showed The Boiling Rock again and I watched it again.
I liked the preview for part one where they showed Sokka talking to Azula about Suki and telling his Dad bye which I just watched when I watched the end of DOTBS before that. How the hell did Chet Zang (sp?) get his girlfriend and best buddy out of there. I wish Hakoda got to fight.
Anyway, I've been thinking for awhile....they just let some giant prisoner who got incarcerated for an unknown crime in Chet Zang stay with them because....???? Don't know how Mai and Ty Lee got captured by those guards. Ty Lee took down an army of earth benders by herslef and I checked and Mai just beat the very same guards a couple of minutes ago.
I think they just let him stay with them because they helped each other out and most of the criminals in the Boiling Rock were wrongfully incarcerated in the first place and its not like if he was a real bad guy he could do much against all of them.
As for Mai and Ty Lee, well they were trapped. They could have fought back and beat a lot of the guards, but they still had no where to go as the gondola was already on the other side. Ty Lee also didn't hit Azula hard enough as she was back on her feet pretty fast, and I don't think they could have taken on the entire guard and Azula at the same time anyway.
I still think the whole BSS arc is the best part of the show, but Boiling Rock is still the best episode.
Quote from: Desensitized on August 15, 2011, 06:11:10 PM
I think they just let him stay with them because they helped each other out and most of the criminals in the Boiling Rock were wrongfully incarcerated in the first place and its not like if he was a real bad guy he could do much against all of them.
As for Mai and Ty Lee, well they were trapped. They could have fought back and beat a lot of the guards, but they still had no where to go as the gondola was already on the other side. Ty Lee also didn't hit Azula hard enough as she was back on her feet pretty fast, and I don't think they could have taken on the entire guard and Azula at the same time anyway.
I still think the whole BSS arc is the best part of the show, but Boiling Rock is still the best episode.
I believe Azula was helped back up and no way her bending was back. I know they could have beaten everyone up and ran on the gondola wire (well okay maybe not Mai). They obviously got easily captured to set up Azula's fall. And yeah I was thinking the same thing about Chet Zang. Just a thought.
I don't like Aang vs bureaucracy...erm I mean the Ba Sing Se arc that much. Annoying roadblock.
One thing I've been noticing: This show is RUTHLESS when it comes to blind jokes. Especially the insult Azula and Katara said about Toph's blindness. That was cruel. I like how Toph says endless jokes about her being blind. That makes up for all those Godawful rock n roll jokes.
"Too bad you can't see it, Toph!"
That scene sealed the deal in my hatred for Katara.
:D Good man
Right now there is a rumor going around that Korra will premiere in the Spring. Nick's official website set up a message board for Korra recently saying that the series will premiere in Spring. This is the forum description that is right above the board.
QuoteWith the Hundred Year War long over, benders live harmoniously with non-benders in a bustling steampunk paradise called Republic City. Meanwhile, a bull-headed but incredibly talented 17-year-old Avatar named Korra is growing into her powers in Southern Water country. But how long can the peace really last, and what will happen when Korra escapes to the city and these worlds collide? You'll find out when Korra comes to Nick this Spring, but until then, keep on top of all the Avatar: Legend Of Korra gossip, right here!
If anything, people are getting their hopes up that it might premiere after the Kids Choice Awards which would follow a tradition of having a premiere after the KCA.
So then the 2013 rumor turned out to be bunk? Well, good, because Nick doesn't really have anything else interesting going for it now and probably won't until this airs.
THIS Spring? Rumors are saying shit like it's coming out in 2013
Normally, I would go with the 2013 rumors as well, but seeing as how Nick's official message boards have a place to talk about Korra, it could be airing soon.
http://www.nick.com/mynick/messageboards/viewboard.jhtml?bID=106921
I mean really, why would Nick make a message board like this for a series they probably wouldn't air next year? It makes more sense to have the series premiere this year with stuff like this and all the leaks I've been seeing on places like Tumblr,
Spring eh? That's a much better time table then what we heard a few months ago.
Bracing myself for shitty Nick scheduling though. I swear, they decide when and what to air by shooting their piss at a chart.
I'm not expecting them to give Korra the Friday Night slot they gave the first series. I just know that I should expect the first 10 episodes or so, then Nick will play roulette with deciding when to air the next episodes in the batch. That's my only complaint with Nick's airing of episodes. They have these episodes they sit on, while other international markets air them first. I remember when I was young and looked up info on other Nicktoons, I noticed that other countries aired episodes way before we got them.
Isn't the first season around 12 episodes or so? They'll probably burn all those off and take a break again. They didn't do a very good job with the original show when it comes to airings.
I'm fairly confident it'll have a slot on the Saturday morning block. I remember last year they had this huge slate of stuff they wanted to have for a Saturday line up, and they seemed determined to make it their destination for premieres and stuff.
Is anyone else following their Tumblr account? They posted a clip of the show recently on that and it's pretty neat to boot. This is first official clip of the show that hit the internet.
http://korranation.tumblr.com/post/18820128707/the-white-lotus-travel-to-a-distant-village-to
"I'm the Avatar, you gotta deal with it!"
I hope they nail this one.
Me too. I'm expecting this show to be filler free.
Might as well post this. Looks like there's a new sport in the world of the Avatar. (http://korranation.tumblr.com/post/18902720728/korra-and-her-team-the-fire-ferrets-hit-the0) If anything you get to see more bending in this. Somewhere, there is a video game tie-in to be made here.
I bring good news. Korra's first episode will air on April 14th at 11 AM EST. (http://korranation.tumblr.com/post/19303984552/what-youve-all-been-waiting-for) That and if you didn't know, they're going to call the series "The Legend of Korra" and just that. Kind of glad they didn't add the Last Airbender to the title since that would have made zero sense. Well that and Avatar was called "The Legend of Aang" overseas.
............of this year? Funny, the last post I made on this site was me not giving a damn about Nick. Now I want the channel back. Will they be showing the episodes weekly, dicking around and having unnecessary breaks between them again or is it one of those damn show previews where they show the first episode and don't continue the show for some months?
Also, any chance of the show be available legally online?
April 11th? Sweet! I'm glad to see that the 2013 rumors were totally bunk after all.
Quote from: gunswordfist on March 14, 2012, 06:22:38 PM
............of this year? Funny, the last post I made on this site was me not giving a damn about Nick. Now I want the channel back. Will they be showing the episodes weekly, dicking around and having unnecessary breaks between them again or is it one of those damn show previews where they show the first episode and don't continue the show for some months?
Also, any chance of the show be available legally online?
From the looks of it, I think it's the former where we'll probably get a boatload of episodes, then the show will go on a break and Nick will somehow run the few episodes they have aired to the ground before the new batch of episodes can air.
As for legally online, maybe Nick's website will probably stream the episode later. Not sure how later since I don't follow their uploading schedule.
Looks like the first episode has been leaked. Oops!
Saw it, was very impressed with the art direction. I'll miss the natural environments, but holy shit the city they live in is huge. The premiere felt a little rushed though, introducing a crapload of new elements into the series topped off by a very abrupt end. Would've preferred a 2 parter but its just a minor pacing issue.
Also, I love that meta joke about Zuko's mom. That's some maximum trolling right there.
It leaked? I only saw the opening and the clip Dax posted.
The opening is really nice. Familiar, yet new.
http://www.nickpress-thelegendofkorra.com/a/screeningroom.html
Type "nickpress" for username and password.
EDIT: You guys aren't gonna get all Huntsman-y (http://www.toonzone.net/forums/showthread.php?266534-quot-The-Legend-of-Korra-quot-News-amp-Discussion-Thread&p=3977620#post3977620) on me for posting this, are you? Especially since this info is being posted on just about every other message board out there, except TZ it seems.
Eh, we won't unless we actually get contacted by people telling us to take it down.
Still, I want to save the episode for my birthday, so no spoilers.
Yeah, we're pretty low on the radar for all the big companies, so I'm not too worried about links like this being posted here.
But I also want to wait for it to air, since I'm a good boy like that.
I plan on watching it again when it airs, but I really wanted to see how they handled all the new elements.
Without spoiling anything, the music is pretty amazing, the direction is superb, and the story feels like the next chapter. The themes are surprisingly effective, the characters instantly likable, and the plot engaging. It still feels like Avatar, but everything feels bigger and better.
I can't wait for this to really start. If this isn't popular, I'll be really disappointed.
I love the music in Korra, Kind of reminds me of Baccano! in a way. Really love the city setting as well, it's nice looking and huge and I do hope we see more of it. As for the character, I'm really liking Tenzin and Korra the most and I do wonder how the Anti-Bending movement will play into the story.
I'm still kind of taking it all in, but I do really enjoy how you watch in and the first thing that pops into your mind is how there isn't anything like it currently on TV- not even the previous show, really. I hope people are able to appreciate adventure shows with characters (well, most characters) that are not young kids these days.
Huntsman is such a douche.
Anyway, I just got done watching it. It certainly feels different than the first show. Like Spark said, everything is bigger and more epic looking, which really helps. Unfortunately, I have my doubts as to whether the animation quality will hold up.
The bad guys seem pretty lame, but I'm confident they won't stay the main villains for very long.
Great first episode and yes, I too got a definite Baccano vibe from the music. As for The Equalists, I admit that I like Amon's design, but than I've always had a weakness for masked mastermind villains. I just hope that his organization won't be presented as a group of strawmen, but that at least some of them will be just misguided or at least have actual reasons for distrusting benders beyond "I'm jealous of their abilities" or "they're different, so I hate them".
Come to think of it, that last one wouldn't make much sense, since I never got the impression that benders were in the minority in the Avatar world.
That video does load for me so I had to watch it here: http://dubhappy.com/the-legend-of-korra-episode-1/ (http://dubhappy.com/the-legend-of-korra-episode-1/)
I just got finished. My notes:
Didn't know Katara would be shown right off the bat. Thought they'd do the old have them show at a later episode gimmick.
Sokka's dead?
Didn't know this series would have cars and radios.
Love how much better the show looks. To me, the first series' animation looked a bit off at times.
Korra is nothing like Katara, well except she can be defiant but not in an annoying nagging way like Katara which is the best thing you can say about a heroine.
Quote from: GaryPotter on March 17, 2012, 08:14:42 PM
Huntsman is such a douche.
Anyway, I just got done watching it. It certainly feels different than the first show. Like Spark said, everything is bigger and more epic looking, which really helps. Unfortunately, I have my doubts as to whether the animation quality will hold up.
The bad guys seem pretty lame, but I'm confident they won't stay the main villains for very long.
We haven't even seen them in action. The main villain are the non-benders, not those triad guys. By all means those guys could just be second class villains.
Anyway, I hope they make the conflict between the non-benders and the benders interesting as some of the better mutants vs humans X-Men storylines. That may sound like a weird comparison but it's the only similar thing I know of.
The first 2 episodes of Korra are on Nick's Korra Nation site and this is legit. If you want to catch part 2, skip to the video 23:20 to get to episode 2 if you already viewed episode 1.
EDIT: Nevermind, I found it in the comments.
Great episode again. Bolin is a bit more grounded than I was expecting and Mako isn't angsty like I was expecting, both make good additions to the story. Now that the characters are all established, I hope we get to see the plot move soon.
Legend of Korra started airing this weekend O0
...and I missed it. :wth:
Guess I'll get caught up online, then. I didn't watch the original series until a bit after the fact, so this one, I want to stay on top of.
Anyone else catch the new episode? Things are heating up fast.
Though I think Amon is related to Aang. Aang was the only one who knew that move and used it on the Fire Lord, and who else would he teach it to?
Katara did mention that she had kids other than Tenzin, so it's probably one of them.
We'll definitely know for sure when she talks to Aang finally. But I have a feeling that won't be for a while.
Still, the pacing on this show is fantastic.
Regarding the latest episode: One thing I like about The Equalists as antagonists is the fact that they do have a point. Sure, their methods are questionable and their leader is incredibly shady, but they do have a point: It is incredibly easy for Benders to use their powers in order to force the non-benders into doing whatever they want. Sure, there's the police, but they can't be anywhere all the time. Plus, there's no guarantee that the firebender - gangleader that just got arrested doesn't have associates that will set fire to your house when you're still in it.
So, I can sort of understand where Amon and his gang's coming from and that makes them all the more frightening.
Who knows, maybe that was some advanced form of Chi Blocking Amon did.... or.... I got this theory when reading GregX's blog recently, he did remember that Aang learned that ability from the Lion Turtle, so maybe he learned it from some spirit like that. He did theorize that it was probably Koh the Face Stealer, saying that the reason he wears the mask is because he has no face. But I'm not sure about that. I might be sticking with the Advance Chi Blocking technique.
Still, what a great episode. It does show how far the world has come. I guess Lightning Bending is also a new form of sub-bending that has become popular, seeing as how we have a factory workers using it and that gangster that Amon used as an example. My my, how advance this world has become, not only for technology, but for bending as well.
Quote from: Pharass on April 23, 2012, 11:14:36 AM
Regarding the latest episode: One thing I like about The Equalists as antagonists is the fact that they do have a point. Sure, their methods are questionable and their leader is incredibly shady, but they do have a point: It is incredibly easy for Benders to use their powers in order to force the non-benders into doing whatever they want. Sure, there's the police, but they can't be anywhere all the time. Plus, there's no guarantee that the firebender - gangleader that just got arrested doesn't have associates that will set fire to your house when you're still in it.
So, I can sort of understand where Amon and his gang's coming from and that makes them all the more frightening.
Yes, like a lot of extremists the fundamental argument as some weight to it. We saw this in the old show, the benders pretty much ruled all while the non-benders either had to fight twice as hard to match up, or get killed (like Jet's family) while huddling in terror. He's right that they didn't always get equal treatment, which they undoubtedly deserve.
Of course, that gets lost with the extremist view of killing off anyone who doesn't think like him. But I am sure there are some who merely just don't want to be oppressed by the likes of the Triad.
But I do wonder... There's a skill to take away bending from anyone (except most likely the Avatar), but I wonder if there's a skill that does the opposite?
Quote from: Spark Of Spirit on April 23, 2012, 04:49:09 PM
But I do wonder... There's a skill to take away bending from anyone (except most likely the Avatar), but I wonder if there's a skill that does the opposite?
You mean an ability that can restore bending and/or giving someone the power of bending? The latter sounds like an interesting idea. It would be interesting to see what bending skill one would get depending on their heritage. Hell, reading the comics that bridge the gap between Aang and Korra did show off a married Firebender and Earthbender with a kid, along with Aang and Katara also having at least one Airbender and Waterbender child.
Quote from: Daxdiv on April 23, 2012, 06:29:55 PM
Quote from: Spark Of Spirit on April 23, 2012, 04:49:09 PM
But I do wonder... There's a skill to take away bending from anyone (except most likely the Avatar), but I wonder if there's a skill that does the opposite?
You mean an ability that can restore bending and/or giving someone the power of bending? The latter sounds like an interesting idea. It would be interesting to see what bending skill one would get depending on their heritage. Hell, reading the comics that bridge the gap between Aang and Korra did show off a married Firebender and Earthbender with a kid, along with Aang and Katara also having at least one Airbender and Waterbender child.
Yeah, the latter.
Avatar's world is all about balance, so if there's one skill that can take away, surely there must be one that gives.
The Legend of Korra is an awesome series right now. I agree that it has good pacing. Plus there's the fact that they've been able to have Korra, Mako, and Bolin have complete personalities that are individual both from each other as well as from The Gaang in the previous series. Tenzin is really cool too. I'm also really loving the steampunk atmosphere and how modern the present age is in Korra. It's like the events in Avatar: The Last Airbender were their universe's World War Two.
Quote from: Spark Of Spirit on April 23, 2012, 08:31:13 PM
But I do wonder... There's a skill to take away bending from anyone (except most likely the Avatar), but I wonder if there's a skill that does the opposite?
Avatar's world is all about balance, so if there's one skill that can take away, surely there must be one that gives.
I have to say I like this theory. Though, probably they'll just have the former where Korra tries to restore everyone's bending because someone she knows will get it taken by Amon.
Ahh, Angus is watching Avatar too.
Yesterday I watched the 2nd episode, within the last hour, I watched the 3rd. Notes:
Probending is a really good idea.
I like how Korra (and the brothers) are almost always challenged in their fights. The only pushovers so far have been those 2 or 3 Triad guys in episode one. Including the Probending matches, she has lost to a decent amaount of people already. I expected her to just blow through everyone until like the first season finale. Pleasant surprise.
The Earthbending brother (forget his name every time it's said) is slowly becoming my favorite.
Ohhh, a hot rod and motorcycles. And the Avatar staff does another good job at making good henchmen/non-benders. Those non-benders used fire bending by using a suit, right?
Yes, none of the main characters are overpowered. Even Korra, who is the Avatar, struggles in fights in some cases.
As for the story, it's really enjoyable so far, and I too am enjoying Bolin as a character. He isn't as dumped on as Sokka was when it comes to comic relief and fighting, and he has a unique style to him.
So far there isn't anything I don't like about this show.
Just finished episode 4.
-God do I hate the shortened intro. UGH!
- That has definitely got to be Steven Jay Blum's voice
-And from the credits, I actually know that Tom Kenny is the radio voice/narrator (someone's been watching Powerpuff Girls on the Avatar staff)
-Oh cool! Adult Toph and Adult Sokka!
-I suspect that the automobile company daughter and father set up Mako. I wouldn't be surprised if that water tribe representative told that girl to run into Mako and then end up having her Dad sponsor the team and threaten to take their money away if Korra doesn't do what ponytails water tribe guy wants her to. I got all of this just because the two showed up to that Korra gettogether.
-Korra gets her ass beat again. Never seen a star in anything get their ass whipped so much since Outlaw Star or Metal Gear Solid 3.
I just got finished with episode 5:
-Yep, Bolin is easily my favorite. Looks like they got comedy right early this time while I thought The Last Airbender wasn't actually funny until Book 3.
-Did I mention that I hate the shortened intro yet? I like how they cut away or whatever the elements like they are on the same stage together but the fact they shortened their moves (I loved Air's intro moves the most so that's the most painful edit to watch) and the voiceover and terrible change of music and how they threw in Korra doing the Aang's Captain Morgan stance was...terrible.
-Whoa, the announcer said "The Big Kabosh". Someone on the Avatar staff is a Michael Schiavello fan.
-Was one of the members in the team they got 3 fast consecutive knockouts on named Bumi?
-And I liked how much screentime Bolin got.
Quote from: Pharass on April 23, 2012, 11:14:36 AM
Regarding the latest episode: One thing I like about The Equalists as antagonists is the fact that they do have a point. Sure, their methods are questionable and their leader is incredibly shady, but they do have a point: It is incredibly easy for Benders to use their powers in order to force the non-benders into doing whatever they want. Sure, there's the police, but they can't be anywhere all the time. Plus, there's no guarantee that the firebender - gangleader that just got arrested doesn't have associates that will set fire to your house when you're still in it.
So, I can sort of understand where Amon and his gang's coming from and that makes them all the more frightening.
This sounds very X-Men.
I just remembered that when I first heard that the main villains would be Chi Blockers, I thought that circus girl, whatshername, from Azula's trio had something to do...ah, I also remember that at the end of the show, she said she was teaching the Kyoshi warriors Chi Blockers. I wouldn't be surprised if The Equalists have something to do with her and/or them. What? IDK. I don't know about circus freak's chances of being alive either. She could either help give Korra info or be involved with the bad guys if she's still around though.
Quote from: gunswordfist on May 07, 2012, 11:59:32 AM
Quote from: Pharass on April 23, 2012, 11:14:36 AM
Regarding the latest episode: One thing I like about The Equalists as antagonists is the fact that they do have a point. Sure, their methods are questionable and their leader is incredibly shady, but they do have a point: It is incredibly easy for Benders to use their powers in order to force the non-benders into doing whatever they want. Sure, there's the police, but they can't be anywhere all the time. Plus, there's no guarantee that the firebender - gangleader that just got arrested doesn't have associates that will set fire to your house when you're still in it.
So, I can sort of understand where Amon and his gang's coming from and that makes them all the more frightening.
This sounds very X-Men.
I just remembered that when I first heard that the main villains would be Chi Blockers, I thought that circus girl, whatshername, from Azula's trio had something to do...ah, I also remember that at the end of the show, she said she was teaching the Kyoshi warriors Chi Blockers. I wouldn't be surprised if The Equalists have something to do with her and/or them. What? IDK. I don't know about circus freak's chances of being alive either. She could either help give Korra info or be involved with the bad guys if she's still around though.
I believe they answered this specifically. Ty Lee had nothing to do with the rise of the Equalists, nor did she create the chi-blocking technique. It was an ancient skill that was not used all that much at the time, that she just happened to learn herself.
Quote from: Spark Of Spirit on May 07, 2012, 06:47:31 PM
Quote from: gunswordfist on May 07, 2012, 11:59:32 AM
Quote from: Pharass on April 23, 2012, 11:14:36 AM
Regarding the latest episode: One thing I like about The Equalists as antagonists is the fact that they do have a point. Sure, their methods are questionable and their leader is incredibly shady, but they do have a point: It is incredibly easy for Benders to use their powers in order to force the non-benders into doing whatever they want. Sure, there's the police, but they can't be anywhere all the time. Plus, there's no guarantee that the firebender - gangleader that just got arrested doesn't have associates that will set fire to your house when you're still in it.
So, I can sort of understand where Amon and his gang's coming from and that makes them all the more frightening.
This sounds very X-Men.
I just remembered that when I first heard that the main villains would be Chi Blockers, I thought that circus girl, whatshername, from Azula's trio had something to do...ah, I also remember that at the end of the show, she said she was teaching the Kyoshi warriors Chi Blockers. I wouldn't be surprised if The Equalists have something to do with her and/or them. What? IDK. I don't know about circus freak's chances of being alive either. She could either help give Korra info or be involved with the bad guys if she's still around though.
I believe they answered this specifically. Ty Lee had nothing to do with the rise of the Equalists, nor did she create the chi-blocking technique. It was an ancient skill that was not used all that much at the time, that she just happened to learn herself.
They did? I didn't mean she created chi-blocking, I meant did she had anything to do with them learning it.
Quote from: gunswordfist on May 07, 2012, 07:29:55 PM
Quote from: Spark Of Spirit on May 07, 2012, 06:47:31 PM
Quote from: gunswordfist on May 07, 2012, 11:59:32 AM
Quote from: Pharass on April 23, 2012, 11:14:36 AM
Regarding the latest episode: One thing I like about The Equalists as antagonists is the fact that they do have a point. Sure, their methods are questionable and their leader is incredibly shady, but they do have a point: It is incredibly easy for Benders to use their powers in order to force the non-benders into doing whatever they want. Sure, there's the police, but they can't be anywhere all the time. Plus, there's no guarantee that the firebender - gangleader that just got arrested doesn't have associates that will set fire to your house when you're still in it.
So, I can sort of understand where Amon and his gang's coming from and that makes them all the more frightening.
This sounds very X-Men.
I just remembered that when I first heard that the main villains would be Chi Blockers, I thought that circus girl, whatshername, from Azula's trio had something to do...ah, I also remember that at the end of the show, she said she was teaching the Kyoshi warriors Chi Blockers. I wouldn't be surprised if The Equalists have something to do with her and/or them. What? IDK. I don't know about circus freak's chances of being alive either. She could either help give Korra info or be involved with the bad guys if she's still around though.
I believe they answered this specifically. Ty Lee had nothing to do with the rise of the Equalists, nor did she create the chi-blocking technique. It was an ancient skill that was not used all that much at the time, that she just happened to learn herself.
They did? I didn't mean she created chi-blocking, I meant did she had anything to do with them learning it.
Yeah, there was a Q&A and someone asked about that, IIRC. The creators confirmed that she had nothing to do with the Equalists.
Link? :thinkin:
Sorry, I'm going off of memory. I'm sure it's floating around out there somewhere. :??:
Things I've been wanting to say since like last year:
Avatar The Last Airbender seemed to imply that Ursa tortured Azulon. What made me think this was because they said that Azulon changed his will to make Ozai the next Firelord if he died and I'm guessing Ursa tortured him to make him change his will. I also actually thought she forced him to kill himself because no one was suspicious of him being murdered, but that seems too far fetched once I think about it. She probably just did it herself.
I think I said this before but I hope Korra has scenes like my favorite part in ATLA: http://nicktoons.nick.com/videos/clip/NTV_ava_earthking_clip.html (http://nicktoons.nick.com/videos/clip/NTV_ava_earthking_clip.html) *replaced stupid video
Meant to comment sooner, but I did like the recent episodes as well.
Korra isn't as much as a Mary Sue as Katara was in her youth, really her being OPed as hell was the only minor gripe I had, well that and how Sokka was treated. I did like how Amon overpowered her after she was trying to not act scared. Tenzin as a mentor for me is really working.
As for the rest focusing on the Fire Ferrets team. I still enjoy this little sport they added. I did like the time Bolin and Korra spent together, while Mako had Asami. Poor Bolin being heartbroken like that. Don't worry, there are plenty of fishes in the sea.
So who saw last week's episode. What a show with that one and we got some development on Tenzin's past and how he used to date Lin. Though from the looks of it, Lin's relationship with Korra might start to cool off a bit with both of them realizing how much they need each other. Though Amon and the Equalist get more and more powerful with every episode. Stuff likes this makes this more enjoyable than the first two season of Avatar combined. It's like we have Season 2 epicness done right.
Tenzin is the best character, and that episode solidified it for me. There was a lot of really good action, fun, and character moments in this episode. But this still feels like the beginning of the story, I hope it gets rolling soon.
So the championship match, it was obviously fixed. The question out there so far is... who fixed it? Was it Amon trying to make an example out of them or was it the Wolfbats trying to preserve their streak?
Personally, I feel that the WolfBats probably did it. Amon doesn't strike me as the kind of person that would bribe the officials, considering how he goes on about honesty and doesn't like benders that abuse their power and push around other people. He did make an example of them after their flagrant cheating. Even the Shiro Shinobi was calling them out when announcing the match.
Well, at least one of the rich people were good. XD That battle sequence against the mechs was great.
Another game-changing episode with good fight choreography and character development. The first season of Korra is really firing on all cylinders so far. If this were any other show, no one would believe the hero about a friend of theirs or their relative was evil, and the villain in question would dodge suspicion and not be revealed to viewers until the end of the episode or much later. Not Korra, this show cuts the bull and has very smart characters.
I look forward to next week. Chances are that it'll be a side-story next time.
I actually didn't see that coming. I legitimately thought he was telling the truth.
Now I feel sorry for the Metalbender cops.
I'm curious to know how those people that thought that Asami was an equalist were feeling like after this episode aired. Anyone that thought that was kind of dumb in my book. I never even expected her to be one since that would have been lame. That fight with the mechs was pretty impressive. Still didn't see the dad being an equalist. That I do agree that I liked how Tenzin and Lin trusted Korra's intuition about Mr. Sato having secret intentions.
I didn't see him being an equalist at all. I didn't think Asami was one, but I genuinely thought this was going to be one of those "mistaken impression" plots until I got the rug pulled out from under me.
Let it be said that it's hilarious how everybody's parents are getting killed by Firebenders.
Quote from: Dr. Insomniac on May 24, 2012, 01:59:57 PM
Let it be said that it's hilarious how everybody's parents are getting killed by Firebenders.
I think it's because of the implications.
Firebender = Burned to death or... burned to death
Earthbender = Crushed to death or broken body (like Jet)
Waterbender = Drowned to death or Impaled
Airbender = Suffocated to death or a gruesome death drop
Burned doesn't sound nearly as horrific in comparison, IMO.
I'm just going by the theory that ever since Ozai lost to Aang, that there were a lot of disgruntled Fire Nation people and those people told their kids the story about how strong they were and decide to take their rage out on people. That and fire is pretty much consider the bully element with how much destruction it can cause.
I'm going by my joke theory that it's the same Firebender who's been killing all these people, and he'll end up being the main bad guy of Season 1.
Quote from: Dr. Insomniac on May 24, 2012, 10:38:17 PM
I'm going by my joke theory that it's the same Firebender who's been killing all these people, and he'll end up being the main bad guy of Season 1.
It's Combustion Man.
He's a cyborg now.
Quote from: Spark Of Spirit on May 24, 2012, 10:40:44 PM
Quote from: Dr. Insomniac on May 24, 2012, 10:38:17 PM
I'm going by my joke theory that it's the same Firebender who's been killing all these people, and he'll end up being the main bad guy of Season 1.
It's Combustion Man.
He's a cyborg now.
No, it's clearly Zhao. Instead of getting killed by the Ocean Spirit, he escaped and became immortal.
Awww, repeats? Really? :-\
I wish we could have got the first 12 episodes before repeats.
"Aw, shit!" - My reaction to this week's episode.
Things are not looking good for our heroes!
I really hope there's a new episode next week. This is too brutal to leave off on.
Happy 1800th post for me.
I just watched the 6th episode:And The Winner Is... The one with the Probending Championship. I'm surprised it was this early. Fasted paced of the show.
I know ponytails had to have something to do with the Equalists embarassing the Metalbending cops. And possibly rigging the Wolfbats match. I loved their water/earth combo attack.
I knew Toph's Daughter (forget her name) was the one that used to be Tenzin before Korra figured it out just from their arguing.
I wonder if the man in Korra's 2nd knocked out induced Aang memory that was in front of Aang was the guy that ponytails said attacked or whatever the city. I hope he's not related to Amon at all. Just had/has similar beliefs. I hate it when everyone is related to everyone.
Good to see Toph's Daughter in action. The show isn't kind to benders at all so it wasn't smooth for her even though it was her first time showing off. Very nice.
I was :o during the battle at the end. I'm more hooked than ever now. I wonder if that guy with the electric sticks was the one who easily beat Bolin and Mako.
You know, I'm really hoping this Saturday isn't a repeat. That would be a terrible place for a hiatus and cliffhanger.
This episode did not dissapoint. We got to see more of the Gaang as adults, and none of them have really changed all that much in terms of personality. Tarrlok's backstory is also revealed, and he gets taken out by Amon too (I had actually thought Amon had killed him at first). After seeing this episode, I have a feeling that I know who Amon is. Speaking of which, it's official; Amon is a cooler villain than Ozai and Azula ever were.
And as per Avatar tradition, the finale will air as an hour-long episode.
Watched episode 7 yesterday:
I like how Korra accused Asami (sp??) of being a girly girl and then she proved Korra wrong. Great little bit about women being more than just their appearance. The kind of thing I was expecting from this show.
So Asami's dsd is a bad guy, but he doesn't work for ponytails like I originally suspected.
Interesting how many people from this show firebenders killed. Amon's parents, the brother's parents, Asami's mother are among the victims. You can feel that they are keeping a bit of TLA's theme about how much damage firebenders have done.
I geeked out when Tenzin did his variation of the air scooter. Good to finally really see him in action.
Mechs...didn't see that coming.
Saw Asami going to the heroes side a mile away. Only Zuko takes thay long to betray heroes. Didn't even think about a non-bender joining the crew.
I'm really impressive with how fast the no. of heroes in the group has potentially grown. The brothers have moved on the island and Asami and BA Fong are possibly going to regularly be on missions with them. It would have taken the first series almost 3 seasons for this, not 7 episodes. Bravo.
Quote from: Rynnec on June 09, 2012, 03:19:13 PMAfter seeing this episode, I have a feeling that I know who Amon is.
Random news reporter guy? :awesome:
Well, my bad sleeping habits have fucked me over yet again. Do episodes go up on the main site after a period of time? I keep missing them.
I believe episodes are released on the Nick's online video portal sometime after it airs, I'm not sure when exactly.
Wow, blood-bending didn't work? This guy must be messed up beyond repair underneath that mask...
Another great episode, and it looks like we're getting a two-parter in a few weeks to wrap the season up. I'm guessing that will be episode 12?
Tarrlok is one good liar that even I believed what he said for a minute. Must have gotten some good evidence from the new chief of police to make it look like that. It was also nice to see an Adult Aang in action, even if it was in a flashback. I'm actually curious to know how many times he took away someone bending.
Still, Amon must have something else to him. After all, Bloodbending did jack shit to him, he just shook it off then disabled Tarrlok like it was nothing.
I have to give them props for taking a dead ending in the original series (bloodbending) and actually making it relevant in the new one.
So far, this show is pretty impressive.
Yep, considering they touched upon the other advanced forms of bending, I'm surprised at how Bloodbending went from being a very situational ability to being pretty bad ass to the point that it could be used outside of a Full Moon, that only Avatar State Aang was able to be immune to it, and whatever Amon is on that made him immune to it.
Maybe some kind of mechanical limbs, so he can still move those? Though I suppose that would just leave open further questions for how he's taking the bending.
My current theory is that he's either the homeless dude from the park in episode 1 or the dude who told them to go to Sato's underground factory. Just a theory for the hell of it.
I still think it's a possibility that he's related to Aang. But I really don't have any theories on who it could be, Blood-bending would have worked on any of the other characters since it even works on the Avatar.
About 10 or 15 minutes ago, I finished watching episode 8.
The part where ponytails made Korra sad about bringing up her Airbending training and the whole "New Team Avatar" friendship cheerup part seemed forced.
Damn little girl. Let me guess: Asami becomes jealous of Korra and then joins her father.
I was "UGH!" when Korra went into ponytails office. When will she learn?
I was surprised when he attacked her. Good to see some waterbending vs waterbender action (kind of)
I had a feeling he was a bloodbender. I wouldn't be surprised if he was related to that old lady from the first series, especially after that extremist talk he had with Korra.
Loved that Aang flashback, just like the other two. I love that idea that Aang had a challenge as an (middle aged?) adult. Pretty much the highlight of the episode for me.
I'm having a hard time believe a van can hold the Avatar. They should have just kept Korra unconscious while ponytails mentions that she will never go back to Republic City while she is snoozing.
OK, so I just finished episode 9 seconds before starting this post.
I had no clue I was caught up. I thought I had like two episodes left, but that's apparently that's the season finale, ironically enough.
So much to say, so much happened and that's something since the characters actually didn't go too many places this episode. I might forget a few things I was going to say but here I go.
Peeing...whoa, didn't think I'd see someone take a piss on this show. Just getting that out of the way.
Nice little adventure the non-Korra heroes went on. I like it when others get the spotlight in shows.
Flashback goodness. That was great. Except how Aang broke out of the bloodbending so quick out the end with the Avatar State. That was kind of cheesy. I wonder where the hell Katara was. I was expecting her to come in and have a bloodbending battle. Hell, even Aang bloodbending back or something. Anyway, good to see 40 something Sokka, Aang and Toph speak. Heh, trusty boomerang. Speaking of Sokka, I thought that might have been the part where he was killed, assuming he survived...
Hmmm...just thinking about this. I guess some kind of genetics lets Tarloc (sp?) bloodbend whenever he wants. I wonder if they were hinting that he couldn't bloodbend on the full moon when they said his father was seen bloodbending every time except on a full moon. Oh and he had a nice framing plan about Korra. Too bad that didn't work out well for him. :>
It was ironic that the Equalists of all people freed Korra.
OK, Amon theory of the week:...theories. I'm willing to bet that he's related to Tenzin's wife. I'm only going by her saying that she wished she had some non-bending kids, which means this is a pretty baseless theory. :D I'm really willing to bet that Amon is powered by some spirit beast that wants to take over the world after Amon (theoretically) takes bending away from most/all benders thus weakening the world. I got that from some anime I can't remember at the moment. Once I think about it, since I seriously doubt some turtle lion is behind this, it must be some other creature that was around "before the time of bending" when whatever the hell was around spirit bending. I'm guessing it wasn't just turtle lions. And whatever this is is in the spirit world, which Korra will visit...theoretically. I've been thinking about this for a few weeks or so, except for all the parts about the turtle lions.
EDIT:
Quote from: Daxdiv on April 23, 2012, 06:29:55 PM
Quote from: Spark Of Spirit on April 23, 2012, 04:49:09 PM
But I do wonder... There's a skill to take away bending from anyone (except most likely the Avatar), but I wonder if there's a skill that does the opposite?
You mean an ability that can restore bending and/or giving someone the power of bending? The latter sounds like an interesting idea. It would be interesting to see what bending skill one would get depending on their heritage. Hell, reading the comics that bridge the gap between Aang and Korra did show off a married Firebender and Earthbender with a kid, along with Aang and Katara also having at least one Airbender and Waterbender child.
Whoops, forgot to mention something on this. I think Sokka's ex-girlfriend turned goddess will have something to do with restoring bending, if the writers decide to not just let everyone permanently lose their bending.
Is there a new episode this Saturday? Because this season is 12 episodes long, and we've only seen 9...
I don't think Amon is anyone from the old series. He's way too strong and agile to be someone over 100. I'm just not sure where he comes from.
Quote from: Spark Of Spirit on June 11, 2012, 07:27:54 PM
Is there a new episode this Saturday? Because this season is 12 episodes long, and we've only seen 9...
Yes.
The what now?! Weird ass promoting. Why did they advertise the June 23rd finale then? I was actually just speculating that the finale would be 1 hour and 30 minues (3 episodes in one. I believe Sozin's Comet was just like that.
And who the hell though Amon was someone from the first series? :wth:
Quote from: Daxdiv on May 24, 2012, 01:46:01 PM
I'm curious to know how those people that thought that Asami was an equalist were feeling like after this episode aired. Anyone that thought that was kind of dumb in my book. I never even expected her to be one since that would have been lame. That fight with the mechs was pretty impressive. Still didn't see the dad being an equalist. That I do agree that I liked how Tenzin and Lin trusted Korra's intuition about Mr. Sato having secret intentions.
:burn: HEY!!! I do say she can't be trusted still. More in an Anakin Skywalker way right now.
Quote from: gunswordfist on June 11, 2012, 07:49:23 PMAnd who the hell though Amon was someone from the first series? :wth:
People have all kinds of theories. One thing we learned from this episode was that it wasn't any of the main characters (as they were all searching for Korra at the same time), and everyone else was at the pro-bending match when he attacked the last time.
All this means is that Amon is someone we haven't met yet. It's the only way it makes sense.
My theory is that Amon is either Tarrlok's brother, who hates both his father and brother because the way they use their bending. Or Yakon himself. And he learned Energy Bending by making a deal with Koh in exchange for his face (this deal would also make him resistant to Bloodbending).
Good theories! I didn't think about those at all.
I think you're on to something, though. Amon is probably someone who had his bending taken away by Aang and this is his revenge.
Quote from: Rynnec on June 11, 2012, 08:12:46 PM
My theory is that Amon is either Tarrlok's brother, who hates both his father and brother because the way they use their bending. Or Yakon himself. And he learned Energy Bending by making a deal with Koh in exchange for his face (this deal would also make him resistant to Bloodbending).
I was about to say "But a firebender mess up his face?!" but then again he could be lying. So far I think Amon told nothing but the truth at the rally Mako and Korra attended. I just think that whatever spirit he talked to lied to him.
Koh fits into the theory I gave pretty well, with how long I believe he's been around and all. In fact he's probably the most knowledgable character in the known Avatar universe, likely even more than that snake owl spirit from the library. Don't know how he compares to the turtle lion though.
Quote from: Spark Of Spirit on June 11, 2012, 08:17:07 PM
Good theories! I didn't think about those at all.
I think you're on to something, though. Amon is probably someone who had his bending taken away by Aang and this is his revenge.
I have a hard time believing Tarrlok's father took away his own son's bending. I also assume Amon's a bit younger than that. Even though it may be a lie, I might have to look up his rally speech to see if it gives away any kind of timeline.
I'm starting to believe it'll be like V For Vendetta where Amon dies without us knowing who the hell he was. And by the second season, there'll be tons of people dressed up as Amon to fuck with Korra.
:D Well someone may take his place if he gets destroyed or whatever.
I'm more than sure that Amon won't be the main villain for season 2. I'm just going off of what happened in TLA but the Avatar staff seems to love switching up main villains. (Zuko/Zhao season 1, Azula season 2, Ozai/Azula season 3) I expect Amon to lose somehow, then someone who was pulling his strings comes up and takes his place.
Amon probably is a puppet or a distraction, I'm sure. But for who?
Koh sounds like the best theory right now.
I pray it's not one of Aang's other two sons or someone from the previous series that feels like throwing a hissy fit. Hmm, what if Amon is Ozai. :shit:
Bunch 'o random thoughts before episode 10 (mostly so I can say "I CALLED IT!!!")
-I still wonder if Ty Lee teaching the Kyoshi warriors chi blockers has any influence on this series events.
-I wonder when they'll talk about how Sokka died.
-Wouldn't be surprised about Korra's trip to the Spirit World (oh it will happen) will focus on her not being able to bend there.
-I hope some kind of terrible event sets back the Avatar world's technology back a few centuries. I'd rather see earth bending trains over motorcycles any day. I wish bending used as transportation was a bigger focus than "We're in the 19th century now." It's getting to close to modern times for me. If they make another series and someone says "The Twitter" then I'm done.
-Where's Zuko's Mom? Will they ever detail what "horrible, treacherous" acts she did to Azulon.
-Will they ever detail Iroh's trip to the Spirit World and how he could see the spirit of Roku's dragon (meaning he's one of the few people who can see spirits)? I wonder if he went to the Spirit World to try and get his son back.
-Did they ever explain how he died? I guess his son got crushed by rocks so Desen's theory on way they usually just say firebenders killed so many due to implication probably holds up here.
-I wonder what happened to the librarian and that spirit snake owl. I actually wonder be surprised if the librarian became some kind of knowledgable spirit. I'm guessing the owl snake died and went back to the Spirit World. He could go back and forth between the living and Spirit world so who knows if he didn't just sit there and died.
-I want to see some more bending animals/monsters. Very underused.
-I wonder what the Sun Warriors are doing, including the master dragons.
-Hopefully Bolin doesn't get the Toph treatment. Ba Fong got seriously ignored in Book 3. I'm not even sure if they even showed her teaching Aang Earthbending anymore, she died get a Zuko side quest like Katara, Sokka and Aang did. I think I was looking forward to that but instead we just got a joke about it. And they never settled what happened with her parents. The end of that in TLA was when she was tricked into thinking that her mother understood her in Ba Sing Se, which was many of the dead ends in that damn season finale. I hope they actually show her parents again in this series...erm uh, anyway, Bolin seems to be just comic relief now. While Mako is attached to both Korra and Asami (and will of course be apart of Asami predictably joining the Equalists.) Bolin is not even a special kind of bender. This is like a recipe for being ignored in the show.
You also have to remember than Republic City is the only "modern" hub in the Avatar world. The rest of it is pretty much exactly like it was in TLA, just probably a bit more advanced.
But most of the series takes place in the city, so it seems like the whole world is like that.
Quote from: Spark Of Spirit on June 16, 2012, 12:45:03 AM
You also have to remember than Republic City is the only "modern" hub in the Avatar world. The rest of it is pretty much exactly like it was in TLA, just probably a bit more advanced.
But most of the series takes place in the city, so it seems like the whole world is like that.
Was this revealed in supplementary material or something? Because we've only seen one other location so far.
Quote from: Rynnec on June 16, 2012, 12:54:16 AM
Quote from: Spark Of Spirit on June 16, 2012, 12:45:03 AM
You also have to remember than Republic City is the only "modern" hub in the Avatar world. The rest of it is pretty much exactly like it was in TLA, just probably a bit more advanced.
But most of the series takes place in the city, so it seems like the whole world is like that.
Was this revealed in supplementary material or something? Because we've only seen one other location so far.
I believe it was during a panel discussion or something. Republic City is a hub where everyone from all over the world gathered together and basically became their own country separated from everything else.
I'd guess that's why everyone is so surprised the first time they arrive there because it's the only place like it in the world.
I sure hope so.
So who else was surprised when Iroh appeared?
Quote from: Dr. Insomniac on June 16, 2012, 01:50:43 PM
So who else was surprised when Iroh appeared?
I was more surprised by Dante Basco appearing. :blush:
This episode shows how effective Airbending is against The Equalists. I love how much the style is appreciated. Korra would be so much better with it instead of just using her roughneck style (and 12 year old Aang would kick her ass)
Good to see more of Tenzin fighting. So he can detect shifts in the air?
Jeez, Lin just can't catch any breaks.
Asami is going to be an Equalist next week. So damn obvious.
Quote from: gunswordfist on June 17, 2012, 01:32:20 AM
Asami is going to be an Equalist next week. So damn obvious.
If that happens, I will pin the blame entirely on Mako.
That was pretty intense. I'm excited to see what the conclusion will bring. I do think this two-parter will be the end of Amon, though.
Quote from: Rynnec on June 17, 2012, 01:43:38 AM
Quote from: gunswordfist on June 17, 2012, 01:32:20 AM
Asami is going to be an Equalist next week. So damn obvious.
If that happens, I will pin the blame entirely on Mako.
She would have to be pretty shallow to change sides over something as silly as that. I don't think Bolin, or Tenzin and his family deserve extinction because her boyfriend is wishy-washy. Not to mention Lin's sacrifice.
She will do it anyway. And it will go down in history as Legend Of Korra's only flaw and the show's Zuko moment. I'm not even joking.
Quote from: gunswordfist on June 17, 2012, 04:10:31 PM
She will do it anyway. And it will go down in history as Legend Of Korra's only flaw and the show's Zuko moment. I'm not even joking.
It's a possibility, but I really hope if anything it turns out to be a red herring similar to how the first confrontation with her father went where she tricks them into letting her infiltrate their plans.
Otherwise that would be lame.
I was thinking about that but seeing more and more episodes makes me think there's no way she's double agent or whatever.
Season finale just aired, and it felt...kinda dissapointing actually, can't pin down why though.
Looks like I was partly right about Amon. But sadly, no Spirits were involved.
How did the Equalists capture Tenzin and his family?
Hiroshi really is a bad father.
Amon's downfall felt pretty weak, to be quite honest. I would've rather he go down from Korra's Avatar State.
Is it me, or did Iroh II not really do much?
Bumi II only appeared for 5-seconds and already he's the best character on the show. ;D
Talk about a Deus Ex Machina.
Makorra end. :bleh:
I loved the incredibly dark boat scene, but yeah, this was alright, though insanely flawed and missing something from making it as good as the first series finales. The final "battle" with Amon was just really underwhelming.
I liked it, but it did feel a bit rushed. I'm glad there were no cheap twists like the season 2 finale, but I wouldn't quite put it up there with season 1 or 3.
Nonetheless, I really liked it. Amon just being another power hungry bender, the type he supposedly detested, made a lot of sense. He was just like his father, obsessed with it until the end. And to be honest, that was the best way for him to go, while he still held a semblance of humanity in him.
I really liked Korra connecting with Aang properly for the first time, and finally becoming a complete Avatar. It's not a Deus Ex Machina at all if you follow the themes in the series from the first episode. It was the only proper way for Korra to connect with the spirits.
All in all, the first season was pretty great. I'm eager to see what's next.
Just finished with the season finale. It was kind of all over the place.
That death scene still disturbs me.
I actually thought Amon used plastic surgery on himself and used some on some unwilling civilians that he made look like the Airbenders because of the hankerchiefs they had over their mouths.
I knew he was going to say he was his brother. That would have been too much of a coincidence.
After he stood their for a second, I had a feeling that was Aang.
OK, so what does this season amount to? Amon is apparently dead. No villain was set up (unless it's actually going to be Asami, lol) Seems like this was just all about Korra getting all 4 elements. I wonder if there's going to be a time skip. Seems like the only way they could really do anything.
Quote from: Rynnec on June 23, 2012, 03:59:46 PM
Season finale just aired, and it felt...kinda dissapointing actually, can't pin down why though.
Looks like I was partly right about Amon. But sadly, no Spirits were involved.
How did the Equalists capture Tenzin and his family?
Hiroshi really is a bad father.
Amon's downfall felt pretty weak, to be quite honest. I would've rather he go down from Korra's Avatar State.
Is it me, or did Iroh II not really do much?
Bumi II only appeared for 5-seconds and already he's the best character on the show. ;D
Talk about a Deus Ex Machina.
Makorra end. :bleh:
Yeah, that's why I thought Amon had some substitutes or whatever in their place so he could bait Korra.
And yeah, Aang stepping out of nowhere..felt cheap. The hell..
All in all I found the finale enjoyable, my favorite part being easily the flashback focusing on Amon's and Tarrlok's childhood. It really made me feel for both of the antagonists, despite them being pretty horrible people. It's interesting to note that in both The Last Airbender and Korra, the two main antagonists are dominated by their respective fathers. Of course, Zuko eventually managed to break free from his father's hold over him. Azula, Amon and Tarrlok were not quite so lucky.
Damn, that scene on the boat was dark.
I'm a bit disappointed that Mako and Korra ended up together, but I suppose it was inevitable. Normally, I consider shipping to be silly and pointless, but I rather liked the Mako/Asami pairing when it was first presented because it broke the mold that the male and female lead of a series has to fall in love simply because they're the male and female lead. Alas, it was not to be.
In the next season I hope we get to see more of Bumi, not to mention Aang and Katara's oldest child (I forgot her name, but she's a waterbender) who we didn't get to see at all.
Finally, I'd like to present Hiroshi Sato with the Gendo Ikari Award for "Outstanding" Parenthood. You've earned it my friend.
I was thinking the same thing about how sad the flashback was, how it was the best part, fathers being the influence on their sons's bad actions in both shows and how we got to see the antagonists in a different light.
Anyone have any freaking clue what'll happen next? Maybe some evil spirit snatches up Tarlokk and Amon and has them come back. Hell, I don't know.
There was really no way for Korra to meet Aang any other way. Because she had hit an all time low in her life both spiritually and physically, her mind was clear and accepting which is what lead her to finally understand how to tap into the spiritual side of herself. There was no other way it was ever going to happen, guys. Any other way would have been nonsensical.
Though I'm not sure what's going to happen next season, though I suppose we could learn where the Equalists spawned from leading us to a whole new issue.
The whole setup to her meeting Aang seemed to fast and forced to me.
I'm more interested in seeing how bender and non-benders relations are after everything that happened in season 1. I'd especially love to see them play an angle about how much damage Tarlokk did when he rounded and arrested all of those non-benders. I think it would be stupid if all those problems were already solved. They should be like "So what if Korra brought back bending to those benders, what about us?"
So is Yakone voiced by the guy that does Yugi's voice or Clancy Brown? I still can't put my finger on it.
Still wonder if he killed Sokka.
I was impressed that they showed the episodes week after week. Anyone know when season 2 will be here? Are they still animating it?
According to the Avatar wiki, he's voiced by Clancy Brown.
If they have plastic-surgery in the Avatar-world, why didn't Amon simply use that to make it look like his face had been burned, thus lending credibility to his story? Touch of vanity?
I suspected it was him after watching the flashback video of Yakone on be. It's pretty fucking boss that Avatar has Steve Blum and Clancy Brown play as villains and have their characters be related.
Also, it's funny that adult Tarlokk look like Yakone after Yakone got surgery.
So apparently the reason for the rushed ending that resolved all angles is the show was supposed to be a mini-series with just one season. Season 2 is supposed to be in 2013.
Quote from: gunswordfist on June 28, 2012, 05:51:17 PM
So apparently the reason for the rushed ending that resolved all angles is the show was supposed to be a mini-series with just one season. Season 2 is supposed to be in 2013.
I thought that was common knowledge that Legend of Korra was intended to be a 12 episode mini-series. I was actually happy that they decided to give them another season. Hopefully they will do more about the anti-bending movement since Amon didn't start this shit, that shit was already there if Mr. Sato resentment towards FireBenders is anything to go by. I hope with Tarrlok gone, they might add a non-bender to the council, to make it a bit more equal.
Yeah, it was only supposed to be 12 but they were renewed for 14 more episodes during production.
The better question is whether there will be more after that.
Quote from: Spark Of Spirit on June 28, 2012, 06:40:19 PM
Yeah, it was only supposed to be 12 but they were renewed for 14 more episodes during production.
The better question is whether there will be more after that.
I just got from a page where they said they have ideas for beyond season 2.
And as for what I meant, I thought they were going to originally have 2 seasons - it sounds like they first planned for just 12 episodes. IDK, sounds like they may have been waiting for seasons to get greenlit. Like how it sounds like they are waiting for the fans and Nick to determine whether the show goes past 2 seasons.
According to their Facebook, they just got 26 more episodes after book 2! Awwww yeah! :shakeshakeshake:
Quote from: Nel on July 11, 2012, 09:38:30 PM
According to their Facebook, they just got 26 more episodes after book 2! Awwww yeah! :shakeshakeshake:
Whoa! That's crazy!
HOLY SHIT! That is just awesome.
Quote from: Nel on July 11, 2012, 09:38:30 PM
According to their Facebook, they just got 26 more episodes after book 2! Awwww yeah! :shakeshakeshake:
That's fucking nuts!!!
They said season 2 would be more out of the city, I wonder what season 3 could be like. Any clue if they'll be one season that's 26 episodes or will it be multiple seasons. I'm praying for an around the world adventure like TLA season 1, minus the filler, which I think would be the perfect Avatar Book.
I love learning from Avatar TLA Extras:
Master Piandao is the son of two Firebending Masters.
Piandao once defeated 100 warriors at the same time.
The Dai Li are Earthbending masters that have been trained since the age of 13.
Katara can turn water into steam.
Iroh, Azula and Ozai are the only 3 lightning benders in the world.
Rumor: Combustion Man was a former Fire Nation soldier who became injured in battle and later on learned who to firebend through his forehead.
Of course a few of those are widely known by fans but some of these tidbits are things I didn't really pay attention to.
I know I'm late finding this out and even later saying this, but Book 2 of Korra is going to be called Spirit. :o
Since Book 2 is going to come either this month or in April, I decided to share some of the info that's out so far.
Quote from: News
Book 2 takes place six months after Book 1: Air
The Book begins with a festival in the Southern Water Tribe
The Southern Water Tribe has been rebuilt just like the Northern One
Each member the group gets polar outfits.
The Southern Air Temple and other ancient Air Temple sites WILL be visited.
Asami has taken over Future Industries, and has a business outfit.
More info on Kya, whose favorite song is "Secret Tunnel". She's a bit of a hippie and has a special bond with Jinora
We will meet Unalaq, Korra's uncle, who is the Chief of the Northern Water Tribe.
We will meet Unalaq's twins, a boy and a girl.
We'll find out more about Korra's family, and about the history of the different tribes.
There's no shortage of spirits this season.
Mako becomes a cop.
Bolin will get a love interest, and has a bizarre love story.
Unlike Mako and Korra, Bolin still plays for the Fire Ferrets' pro-bending team
We will meet Verick, a captain industry residing in the Southern Water Tribe and a friend of Bolin's.
Quote from: hypable.comA few crumbs of new information about The Legend of Korra season 2 have come out of this past weekend?s Emerald City Comic-Con. Voice actress Grey DeLisle (the memorable voice behind Avatar: The Last Airbender?s Princess Azula) attended Emerald City Comic-Con, and mentioned to a lucky fan that she would be voicing three characters in The Legend of Korra season 2. In addition to her role as the still-mysterious ?Dark Spirit,? DeLisle will provide the voice of ?the younger version of an established character? who was the victim of a traumatic event. (No information was given as to the identity of DeLisle?s third character.)
I'm going to be casually optimistic about this season as I am about most things, but if the writing doesn't seriously improve, I may drop the show all together.
I feel stupid for not noticing the Zuko statues until I started my 3rd viewing of Korra this week.
Anyway, I was thinking about how Korra is supposed to be a mouthpiece for the audience's ignorance. For example, the first of two instances that made me think this, Korra freaking out about Mako being a former Triad member, is one of them. The other would be how she was surprised that Asami wasn't "girly girly" just because she was beautiful.
Quote from: gunswordfist on May 24, 2013, 04:23:24 PM
Anyway, I was thinking about how Korra is supposed to be a mouthpiece for the audience's ignorance. For example, the first of two instances that made me think this, Korra freaking out about Mako being a former Triad member, is one of them. The other would be how she was surprised that Asami wasn't "girly girly" just because she was beautiful.
The Triads are criminals that she beat up herself. I think that's a pretty normal response.
And with Asami, she apologized for thinking she was just a "prissy girly-girl", which meant she was obviously unworthy of Korra's respect. /sarcasm
Yesterday, I finished my 3rd playthrough of Korra with my baby brother(2nd time watching it with him), starting with episode 6, "And The Winner Is..." I have so much to say.
I don't sympathize with the Equalists at all. The closest I came to doing that was when Tarlokk arrested all those non-benders...who weren't Equalists. The Equalists come off bullies who are sad that the power isn't on their side.
Right now, my 3 favorite episodes are And The Winner Is, the 2nd to last episode and the one where everyone searches for Korra while she has those great flashbacks. I love 40 year old Aang's voice.
I've been thinking how much Tarlokk is a pleasant surprise in the show. I thought he was going to be some ignorable character in the show but he ended up being one of the most important.
How underused Asami was has become even more apparent to me. She's the team's only driver, she can operate a mech and once I think about it, she's the only team member who has never lost to an Equalist and is probably better than any non-Amon individual in that group, seeing how she quickly defeated the Lieutenant (electric sticks guy) She could have really shined as another strong heroine on the show but they tossed her further and further in the background for Mako and Korra's stupid relationship.
And Bolin is a victim of this too. Except he became "guy who throws rocks here and there" right after the finals. He's still my favorite character but his corny loud interruptions are kind of bad at that point in the show. His quieter ones like when he brought up that Korra could still airbend in the last episode are still funny though.
Korra reminds me a bit of what I don't like about Azula with how she gets what she wants no matter what. The last episode (which is my least favorite due to how rushed it feels) she gets Mako and her bending back by doing pretty much nothing and she powered her way through beating Amon by looking like she was firebending...but with air, completely ignoring everything Tenzin taught her about airbending. I do like Korra though. She's my 3rd favorite character and I'm proud that the Avatar staff showed that a girl can be a strong superhero in the main lead of a big show.
Tenzin is my 2nd favorite now. I like how funny the parts where he gets flustered is. I like how from a mentor point of view, he's like Korra's Uncle Iroh. How they treat his fights are certainly like Iroh's, short but a treat to watch. My favorite Tenzin fights are his first encounter with the mechs, his very very short fight with Amon and the ambush when his buzzing beard saved him, in that order. Watching Tenzin's airbending in the mech fight was almost orgasmic. I like his variation of the Air Scooter (Air Wheel?). Seeing Amon slomo flip dodge one of Mako's fireballs and then Tenzin blow him away with a spin kick was also great. That fight and seeing his kids blow through the Equalists shows how good Airbending is against them. I think kid Aang would easily beat all the Equalist Korra fought.
Quote from: gunswordfist on May 29, 2013, 02:18:21 PM
I don't sympathize with the Equalists at all. The closest I came to doing that was when Tarlokk arrested all those non-benders...who weren't Equalists. The Equalists come off bullies who are sad that the power isn't on their side.
Yeah, that's the thing. They could have been set up in a sympathetic light to create an interesting dynamic, but ended up just being run-of-the-mill terrorists.
QuoteHow underused Asami was has become even more apparent to me. She's the team's only driver, she can operate a mech and once I think about it, she's the only team member who has never lost to an Equalist and is probably better than any non-Amon individual in that group, seeing how she quickly defeated the Lieutenant (electric sticks guy) She could have really shined as another strong heroine on the show but they tossed her further and further in the background for Mako and Korra's stupid relationship.
Completely agreed. Asami is the first female Avatar I ever really cared about, but of course she had to be shoved aside for Mako and Korra's horrendous "romance".
QuoteAnd Bolin is a victim of this too. Except he became "guy who throws rocks here and there" right after the finals. He's still my favorite character but his corny loud interruptions are kind of bad at that point in the show. His quieter ones like when he brought up that Korra could still airbend in the last episode are still funny though.
Bolin was my character right off the bat, so I wasn't very happy about him be shoved aside for the Makorra tumor.
QuoteKorra reminds me a bit of what I don't like about Azula with how she gets what she wants no matter what. The last episode (which is my least favorite due to how rushed it feels) she gets Mako and her bending back by doing pretty much nothing and she powered her way through beating Amon by looking like she was firebending...but with air, completely ignoring everything Tenzin taught her about airbending. I do like Korra though. She's my 3rd favorite character and I'm proud that the Avatar staff showed that a girl can be a strong superhero in the main lead of a big show.
Korra herself is one of my biggest problems with the show so far. Not only does she have everything handed to her, but she doesn't learn anything and never thinks anything out.
QuoteThat fight and seeing his kids blow through the Equalists shows how good Airbending is against them.
I fucking hated that seen. And anything with Meelo.
It was sort of annoying how often Tenzin was jobbed, actually. 12 year old Aang lasted longer in fights than he did and he also didn't have any other bending at the time.
Heh, I can see how the AB kids could annoy you.
Yeah, Korra really didn't learn anything. In the 1st finale episode, she was talking about knocking heads and she went on to get her way by saying she wants to go after Amon, got her way and then goes on to muscle her way through him.
Quote from: Spark Of Spirit on May 29, 2013, 03:27:04 PM
It was sort of annoying how often Tenzin was jobbed, actually. 12 year old Aang lasted longer in fights than he did and he also didn't have any other bending at the time.
I think Aang is flat out better than Tenzin. Airbending has a lot to do with dodging and Aang was much faster.
Quote from: gunswordfist on May 29, 2013, 03:50:51 PM
Yeah, Korra really didn't learn anything. In the 1st finale episode, she was talking about knocking heads and she went on to get her way by saying she wants to go after Amon, got her way and then goes on to muscle her way through him.
(https://animationrevelation.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2F24.media.tumblr.com%2F14a94b3888d89885f322b44cfa0c761d%2Ftumblr_mgbtwnrICp1qijtn7o1_500.gif&hash=cb823ca7fefc72d5e6bc10677c8672dd0408fda7)
(https://animationrevelation.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2F24.media.tumblr.com%2F515da48c00fdcb994628fc936df27288%2Ftumblr_mgbtwnrICp1qijtn7o2_500.gif&hash=8d9ad966ca0c956489663e2bd5e900d2dc20e9b0)
(https://animationrevelation.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2F24.media.tumblr.com%2F910b7350c76a127b89b6a396281c0b82%2Ftumblr_mgbtwnrICp1qijtn7o3_r1_500.gif&hash=7b8ea9a75a104df0382de56b9e24bf13ebc8b6ee)
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Indeed.
QuoteQuote from: Spark Of Spirit on May 29, 2013, 03:27:04 PM
It was sort of annoying how often Tenzin was jobbed, actually. 12 year old Aang lasted longer in fights than he did and he also didn't have any other bending at the time.
I think Aang is flat out better than Tenzin. Airbending has a lot to do with dodging and Aang was much faster.
To be fair, it seemed Tezin was using more out right attaches then dodging.
:D Looks like Tumblr caught on to that too.
Attaches? Also, Tenzin only got knocked out from a sneak attack and a mech group large enough for Korra to need help as well (and she lost during the first mech battle as well)
I honestly don't really remember the fights very well. I've got to rewatch it sometime...
The fights in this show were bloody fantastic. Presentation and animation wise I thought the show was incredible. Story wise... :oo:
Quote from: Cartoon X on May 30, 2013, 01:46:30 PM
The fights in this show were bloddy fantastic. Presentation and animation wise I thought the show was incredible. Story wise... :oo:
Korra is Nick's
Young Justice.
Kinda.
No, Young Justice is directionless. Korra didn't add to many characters and lose focus.
I meant that they both had stellar animation and production, but mediocre writing.
I've been thinking, I think Skeletons In The Closet is on par with Zuko Alone due to Tarlokk's flashback.
Quote from: gunswordfist on May 30, 2013, 10:11:19 PM
I've been thinking, I think Skeletons In The Closet is on par with Zuko Alone due to Tarlokk's flashback.
(https://animationrevelation.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Foi42.tinypic.com%2F2h6d7wj.jpg&hash=d354ab5567c9bd21c49bbe661345bea7de2d2b37)
Despite it's rushed factor I actually like Legend of Korra. The visuals were the draw factor for me, but outside of Mako (especially when he started flip flopping) I actually like the characters whereas in A:TLA, I only liked Toph and Azula (I couldn't stand Aang and don't get me started with Zuko), and even then the fights and the visuals are the reasons I kept watching TLA. I just wish book 1 of LoK was 24/26 episodes instead of 12/13 (I can't remember the number of episodes off the top of my head) because I think it's a huge gamble if you try to cover so much in a matter of 12/13 episodes, especially if said show is not an hour long.
With that said though, I see people with a lot of issues with Korra, and when the series started it took a little bit for Korra to grow onto me. With her having the attitude of a boy just felt kind of awkward for some reason, so it took a bit to get used to (I'm used to seeing boys stupidly rush into situations). Bolin came off as corny to me, but then again I never liked characters who're there for comic relief (I blame that on the short amount of episodes). I had no issues with Tenzin, but I felt like Iroh could've been better, but fighting against airplanes instead of people don't do much for me which is why I think Lin is the best character in the series with Asami following after her.
The only Avatar characters I really care about are Aang (pacifists always get me), Sokka, Zuko, Bolin, and Asami. I never really understood why Toph and Lin were so amazing, but that's just me.
Quote from: Grave on June 01, 2013, 12:40:02 AM
I just wish book 1 of LoK was 24/26 episodes instead of 12/13 (I can't remember the number of episodes off the top of my head) because I think it's a huge gamble if you try to cover so much in a matter of 12/13 episodes, especially if said show is not an hour long.
The amount of episodes wasn't the problem. They just tried to do to much and didn't balance everything very well.
That's not the problem either. They could have resolved the conflict in a less rushed manner if they didn't keep putting Korra back at square one. Like we've been talking about, her impatience remained the same and they tried to make her Airbending such a last minute big deal but the payoff was terrible
Quote from: gunswordfist on June 01, 2013, 11:01:22 AM
That's not the problem either. They could have resolved the conflict in a less rushed manner if they didn't keep putting Korra back at square one. Like we've been talking about, her impatience remained the same and they tried to make her Airbending such a last minute big deal but the payoff was terrible
And they could have shown her grow as a character if they didn't waste so much time with the "love" triangle.
Let's no show Korra learning to be patient and deal with complex problems non-violently, or some the relationship between benders and non-benders in this new environment. No, let's focus on Mako being a two-timer.
Doug is doing a mini vlog on every single episode. (http://thatguywiththeglasses.com/videolinks/thatguywiththeglasses/specials/39420-the-last-airbender-vlogs)
So, with Doug Walker finally doing a run-through of the series, I figured its probably time for me to finally just run through the entire thing from start to finish, as well. I never finished the series from before, but as you all know, I thought what I saw was good, but not as great as everyone else said. Of course, keep in mind that I stopped watching early on in season 2, so I haven't really seen much passed that. I thought season 1 was pretty solid from what I remember, and 3 episodes in again I can confirm that its generally good stuff, but not necessarily great. Of course the animation is amazing, but that kind of goes without saying in a show that clearly had a nice budget to work with. Now, my problems with the series were probably in season 2 (or Book 2, if you want to be anal about it). I just remember that the episodes didn't interest me as much, but once again, I only checked out the first few before I stopped watching the show. This is also yet another one of those shows where the rabid fan-base turned me off for a while, mostly because of the annoying implications they made that it put all anime to shame and shit like that. I mean, I'd probably agree that it easily puts most shonen-anime to shame, but I guess a lot of people who watched this show and claimed it was better than anime in general probably hadn't watched much beyond DBZ, Naruto, and Bleach.
But, putting all that stuff aside, I'm going back into this series wit ha fresh and un-biased mind, and just looking for a very entertaining show with maybe more depth to it than what you'd expect to find in any other typical Nickelodeon show. I think I'll enjoy it just fine, and if I like it enough upon completion, I'll probably go ahead and check out Korra next.
Quote from: Ensatsu-ken on June 03, 2013, 07:59:42 PM
But, putting all that stuff aside, I'm going back into this series wit ha fresh and un-biased mind, and just looking for a very entertaining show with maybe more depth to it than what you'd expect to find in any other typical Nickelodeon show.
I might to this too. I've seen every episode more than thrice, but I've never gone through the series consecutively beginning to end before, and actually watching the show in order might help cement my final opinion on the series (it's mixed right now).
Season 2 gets MUCH better as it goes along. Barring the finale as that is far too contrived for my liking. I think season 3 is the best season despite the filler.
I expect you to enjoy it more than you did before.
Season 1 is the most flawed imo due to the filler. Season 2 does get better (except for the fact that it's season finale is the worst in the show BUT The Earth King and the episode before it (withheld the name on purpose) has the best Team Avatar battles in the entire series imo, are some of the best episodes in the show (not necessarily among the very best but not toi far away) and are right before the finale so there's that. Season 3 is my personal favorite due to having the best episodes for Sokka and Katara respectively (I HATE Katara but her episode is great) and does a good job at being character focused overall.
Quote from: Spark Of Spirit on June 03, 2013, 08:29:44 PM
Season 2 gets MUCH better as it goes along. Barring the finale as that is far too contrived for my liking. I think season 3 is the best season despite the filler.
I expect you to enjoy it more than you did before.
tl;dr What he said.
Wait, what was wrong with the Season 2 finale? ??? I'd get why some would feel that way about the season three finale. Is it because of Zuko not really turning yet?
Quote from: Peanutbutter on June 03, 2013, 10:47:32 PM
Wait, what was wrong with the Season 2 finale? ??? I'd get why some would feel that way about the season three finale. Is it because of Zuko not really turning yet?
Spoiler
Azula's plan shouldn't really have worked. A war going on in a city for decades that Iroh (the smartest character in the series) couldn't crack was felled because a highly paranoid control-state didn't background check three girls? The Dai Li betrayed the Earth Kingdom for... the chance to be enslaved? She manages to beat the Avatar because she somehow knew that Zuko would help her (which she could not have possibly known) because of a decision that literally makes no sense given his character arc. A potentially incredible villain is written out and the final battle is anti-climactic since Aang had to be jobbed for it to make sense.
The whole finale feels like it was concocted because they wanted it to be the way it came out, not because it fit for it to be that way. It's a hard feeling to explain, but I've never shaken that feeling since first watching the episode.
Though Gunswordfist might feel differently.
Quote from: Spark Of Spirit on June 03, 2013, 11:43:39 PM
Quote from: Peanutbutter on June 03, 2013, 10:47:32 PM
Wait, what was wrong with the Season 2 finale? ??? I'd get why some would feel that way about the season three finale. Is it because of Zuko not really turning yet?
Spoiler
Azula's plan shouldn't really have worked. A war going on in a city for decades that Iroh (the smartest character in the series) couldn't crack was felled because a highly paranoid control-state didn't background check three girls? The Dai Li betrayed the Earth Kingdom for... the chance to be enslaved? She manages to beat the Avatar because she somehow knew that Zuko would help her (which she could not have possibly known) because of a decision that literally makes no sense given his character arc. A potentially incredible villain is written out and the final battle is anti-climactic since Aang had to be jobbed for it to make sense.
The whole finale feels like it was concocted because they wanted it to be the way it came out, not because it fit for it to be that way. It's a hard feeling to explain, but I've never shaken that feeling since first watching the episode.
No, I have agreed with most of what you said before, if not multiple times before. I actually agree with all of it, it's just that I don't remember talking about how magically well a certain character's plan worked. I was just thinking about how silly it was. It basically consisted of this character saying a few sentences, then voila! Only for Batman in JL's Injustice For All episodes would I find that to be acceptable.
Quote from: gunswordfist on June 04, 2013, 09:16:32 AM
Quote from: Spark Of Spirit on June 03, 2013, 11:43:39 PM
Quote from: Peanutbutter on June 03, 2013, 10:47:32 PM
Wait, what was wrong with the Season 2 finale? ??? I'd get why some would feel that way about the season three finale. Is it because of Zuko not really turning yet?
Spoiler
Azula's plan shouldn't really have worked. A war going on in a city for decades that Iroh (the smartest character in the series) couldn't crack was felled because a highly paranoid control-state didn't background check three girls? The Dai Li betrayed the Earth Kingdom for... the chance to be enslaved? She manages to beat the Avatar because she somehow knew that Zuko would help her (which she could not have possibly known) because of a decision that literally makes no sense given his character arc. A potentially incredible villain is written out and the final battle is anti-climactic since Aang had to be jobbed for it to make sense.
The whole finale feels like it was concocted because they wanted it to be the way it came out, not because it fit for it to be that way. It's a hard feeling to explain, but I've never shaken that feeling since first watching the episode.
No, I have agreed with most of what you said before, if not multiple times before. I actually agree with all of it, it's just that I don't remember talking about how magically well a certain character's plan worked. I was just thinking about how silly it was. It basically consisted of this character saying a few sentences, then voila! Only for Batman in JL's Injustice For All episodes would I find that to be acceptable.
Spoiler
So basically, the season 2 final is exhibit A on why Azula is not all that great.
Anyway, I think I'll watch through Avatar again too, but probably just season 2 and 3. I'm already trying to get through Monster, the Simpsons, and Superman:TAS, so I probably only go slightly faster than Doug.
Quote from: ShadowGentleman on June 04, 2013, 09:21:26 AM
Quote from: gunswordfist on June 04, 2013, 09:16:32 AM
Quote from: Spark Of Spirit on June 03, 2013, 11:43:39 PM
Quote from: Peanutbutter on June 03, 2013, 10:47:32 PM
Wait, what was wrong with the Season 2 finale? ??? I'd get why some would feel that way about the season three finale. Is it because of Zuko not really turning yet?
Spoiler
Azula's plan shouldn't really have worked. A war going on in a city for decades that Iroh (the smartest character in the series) couldn't crack was felled because a highly paranoid control-state didn't background check three girls? The Dai Li betrayed the Earth Kingdom for... the chance to be enslaved? She manages to beat the Avatar because she somehow knew that Zuko would help her (which she could not have possibly known) because of a decision that literally makes no sense given his character arc. A potentially incredible villain is written out and the final battle is anti-climactic since Aang had to be jobbed for it to make sense.
The whole finale feels like it was concocted because they wanted it to be the way it came out, not because it fit for it to be that way. It's a hard feeling to explain, but I've never shaken that feeling since first watching the episode.
No, I have agreed with most of what you said before, if not multiple times before. I actually agree with all of it, it's just that I don't remember talking about how magically well a certain character's plan worked. I was just thinking about how silly it was. It basically consisted of this character saying a few sentences, then voila! Only for Batman in JL's Injustice For All episodes would I find that to be acceptable.
Spoiler
So basically, the season 2 final is exhibit A on why Azula is not all that great.
Anyway, I think I'll watch through Avatar again too, but probably just season 2 and 3. I'm already trying to get through Monster, the Simpsons, and Superman:TAS, so I probably only go slightly faster than Doug.
Spoiler
Also, Aang having to drop everything to save Katara because they turned her into a damsel in distress also sucked.
Quote from: gunswordfist on June 04, 2013, 07:11:18 PM
Quote from: ShadowGentleman on June 04, 2013, 09:21:26 AM
Quote from: gunswordfist on June 04, 2013, 09:16:32 AM
Quote from: Spark Of Spirit on June 03, 2013, 11:43:39 PM
Quote from: Peanutbutter on June 03, 2013, 10:47:32 PM
Wait, what was wrong with the Season 2 finale? ??? I'd get why some would feel that way about the season three finale. Is it because of Zuko not really turning yet?
Spoiler
Azula's plan shouldn't really have worked. A war going on in a city for decades that Iroh (the smartest character in the series) couldn't crack was felled because a highly paranoid control-state didn't background check three girls? The Dai Li betrayed the Earth Kingdom for... the chance to be enslaved? She manages to beat the Avatar because she somehow knew that Zuko would help her (which she could not have possibly known) because of a decision that literally makes no sense given his character arc. A potentially incredible villain is written out and the final battle is anti-climactic since Aang had to be jobbed for it to make sense.
The whole finale feels like it was concocted because they wanted it to be the way it came out, not because it fit for it to be that way. It's a hard feeling to explain, but I've never shaken that feeling since first watching the episode.
No, I have agreed with most of what you said before, if not multiple times before. I actually agree with all of it, it's just that I don't remember talking about how magically well a certain character's plan worked. I was just thinking about how silly it was. It basically consisted of this character saying a few sentences, then voila! Only for Batman in JL's Injustice For All episodes would I find that to be acceptable.
Spoiler
So basically, the season 2 final is exhibit A on why Azula is not all that great.
Anyway, I think I'll watch through Avatar again too, but probably just season 2 and 3. I'm already trying to get through Monster, the Simpsons, and Superman:TAS, so I probably only go slightly faster than Doug.
Spoiler
Also, Aang having to drop everything to save Katara because they turned her into a damsel in distress also sucked.
Spoiler
I also think it's the only time in the series where that happened. It makes it feel even more out of character.
I mean I've tried to give the finale a chance multiple times even knowing how the show ends and I still can't quite accept it. The thing still doesn't feel right to me.
I didn't like it ever since the first time I ever saw it. It was an hour of them receiving a pointless setback.
Speaking of setbacks, today I've been thinking of how the season 3 sun warriors episode may have been a pointless setback. It's not like Aang or Zuko learned extra strong firebending, Zuko still couldn't even come close to beating Azula and of course Aang was still way behind (and he should have been but still). There was no payoff for Zuko losing his bending, nor did he become a better person, despite what was said at the end.
I'm almost done watching season 1 (or Book 1, if you're a nerd), and overall the way I see it is that the material itself is stuff that has been done before many times in various shows, whether they are anime or not, but the actual execution of the episodes is done very well. Of course, having a budget clearly helps with the good animation and art design, but to be fair, the series doesn't seem to just use that as a crutch, and it has dome genuinely good moments. Its just that as far as the first season goes, a majority of those good moments are stuff that I've seen done well before, as well. And, yeah, I know everything is a little unoriginal in some way, but with the 1st season of Avatar, it seems a little bit too focused on paying homage to a lot of classic shows and whatnot to the point of kind of relying too much on episodes with predictable formulas. As it stands, I'm OK with that since, like I said, the show executes that stuff pretty well, for the most part. Having said that, in order for me to see the series as great, I'll need to see it kind of branch out and be its own thing in the later seasons. Based on what I've heard, I'm sure it will, but I'm just assessing what my initial problem was with the show back when I watched the first season when it was airing as new episodes on Nick.
I think you'll like the next seasons better since they stand out of the shadow more and it becomes its own thing. The first few eps of season 2 and 3 are a bit slow, though.
Yeah, I'm definitely willing to give the rest of the series a fair shake at this point.
I'm 5 episodes into season 2 so far, which I thought I should mention is officially where I left off with the series back when I was watching it years ago. So, everything past this point should all be new to me.
As for how season 2 has been so far, the first 3 episodes were pretty decent for what they were, which was to set up Azula's character and the new role of Zuko and Iroh as fugitives. Episodes 4 and 5 were mostly just filler, and kind of boring. Hopefully this season drops the filler soon and gets back to the good stuff. I can see the potential for a really nice story arc in here, but the series still hasn't quite reached that pedestal of "greatness" for me, just yet.
Quote from: Ensatsu-ken on June 10, 2013, 09:09:58 PM
I'm 5 episodes into season 2 so far, which I thought I should mention is officially where I left off with the series back when I was watching it years ago. So, everything past this point should all be new to me.
As for how season 2 has been so far, the first 3 episodes were pretty decent for what they were, which was to set up Azula's character and the new role of Zuko and Iroh as fugitives. Episodes 4 and 5 were mostly just filler, and kind of boring. Hopefully this season drops the filler soon and gets back to the good stuff. I can see the potential for a really nice story arc in here, but the series still hasn't quite reached that pedestal of "greatness" for me, just yet.
You are
literally right before it starts getting great. The Blind Bandit is a great episode and Zuko Alone is one of the series peaks. I don't think it lets up steam for the rest of the season after those episodes until the season finale.
EDIT: Actually The Chase could be considered filler, but other than that it doesn't really let up.
I just finished watching season 2 tonight. Overall, I definitely think that it was a huge improvement over the first season. I enjoy how this season felt more like its own thing rather than the heavy anime-imitation vibe that I got from the first season. I will say that I found season 1's climax to be better, though. I like that season 2 actually ended on a triumphant note for the villains to keep things interesting for the next season, but for whatever reason I just found the actual execution of the 1st season's climax to be a lot more exciting. In general, though, I do really enjoy how the 2nd season delved rather deep into the politics of Ba Sing Se, as I enjoy those kinds of elements being added into a story that presents its own unique world.
I'm also glad that I decided to re-watch this series now instead of trying to watch through the whole thing originally. I was way more biased of a viewer back then so I probably wouldn't have been very fair to the series at all even with the improvements, but as it stands now I think its really good. I could do without some of the filler, but on the whole I find that the series has managed to keep getting better as it goes on.
Glad to hear you stuck with it. Avatar unfortunately has a problem every season of having a few filler episodes before things finally get rolling. But season 2 and 3 get really good once you get over their humps.
Any particular favorites from season 2?
Yeah, I actually meant to mention it in my last post, but it slipped my mind. There are 3 particular episodes that come to mind:
Zuko Alone- I'd say that I find Zuko to be the most compelling character to follow (not to be confused with favorite) in this series. Sure, he makes a lot of stupid decisions, but I can sort of understand where he's coming from when he makes them because he is by nature a very emotional character, and very honor-bound to a fault, but thankfully the show acknowledges his faults through his Uncle, who is probably my favorite character of the show. Anyways, why I like this episode is because it really sheds a lot of light on Zuko's motivation as a character, and its pretty cool to see the character act like a bad-ass for someone else's sake rather than his own sense of pride and honor.
The Drill- Its just one of those episodes in which all of the heroes in the series work together and use their unique abilities in very clever and strategic ways to stop a seemingly indomitable enemy (in this case a large drilling machine). I'm just a sucker for those kinds of team-work episodes in which it really feels like the team work their asses off in despiration to accomplish a victory, which feels all the more rewarding.
Tales of Ba Sing Se- Because I liked all of the short-stories in this episode.
Yeah, season 3 was pretty great. It was very predictable, but what matters most is that the execution and writing were top-notch, and the characterization was at its best here. I think that this is one of those series that just got better as it went along. Season 1 was mostly solid but was full of story cliches (not just from anime), and felt like a good set-up for things to come but ultimately had a bit of an identity crisis until the finale as it didn't seem to be too sure what type of series it wanted to be yet. With season 2, the series really rooted out into its own direction, and to me season 2 had the most interesting premise of them all. As for season 3, like I said, it had a predictable and kind of cliche plot sort of like season 1, but much like season 2 it carried over the superb writing, humor, and characterization, which basically made it the most exciting season to watch.
If there's one thing that I kind of wish was done a bit differently, its that I kind of wish Zuko had joined the team a bit earlier and got to have more episodes with them. He only joined them close to the end of the show, but his dynamic with the team was just so much fun and really interesting to the point that I wish we got to see more episodes with him interacting with them. That kind of makes me wish that he did actually turn good at the end of season 2, but to be fair I also enjoyed his struggle of coming to terms with who he really was, and the part where he announces to his father that he will no longer follow him was a great scene that we never would have gotten had Zuko become a good guy at the end of the 2nd season.
At any rate, I'm glad I waited to watch this series to go into it with a fresh mind after getting over the initial hype, which has a tendency to spoil the experience for me. It was the same thing for GTO, as even if many people might not remember it, that anime was pretty damn popular at one point in time among all the people who got their anime through torrents (which was a lot), and at one point it got so much praise that it turned me off from trying that series, but when I did finally see it when its popularity had died down quite a bit, I really loved it.
With Avatar, I don't know if I'd consider it one of my favorite series (I'd need to re-watch the whole thing at least once before it could become anything like that), but I did find it to be a generally great series on the whole. I suppose I should try Legend of Korra next.
You have to watch Korra now.
I wish Zuko did join the team earlier too. Him confronting Ozai was one good thing about it though.
I think Season 1 had the best premise. There's not too many good action adventure cartoons. Action shows these days tend to almost be sitcom-like with how they stick to have the heroes stay around one location. I know Season 2 isn't really like that but they do stay grounded for awhile and I love those adventures with Appa and those Fire Bender ship battles that stand out. I don't think cliches were season 1's problem, the filler was.
Well, to be fair, every season had filler, but it is true that season 1 had the most of it. My main reason for liking season 2's premise the best is just because I like how it really got into the politics of Ba Sing Se and how its government functioned, and I also liked the whole sub-plot with Zuko and Iroh being fugitives of the Fire Nation and how Zuko was going through an internal struggle throughout that entire season (as well as the first half of season 3, for that matter).
This is probably a stupid question, but is the character named Mako in The Legend of Korra supposed to be a nod/tribute to Iroh's original voice actor from the first series?
Quote from: Ensatsu-ken on June 15, 2013, 03:11:25 PM
This is probably a stupid question, but is the character named Mako in The Legend of Korra supposed to be a nod/tribute to Iroh's original voice actor from the first series?
Yes, yes it is. ;D Did you start on the series?
As for ATLA, while I do like Zuko dealing with his internal struggle, which is basically what his character is all about, I liked his role more in season 1 because I thought he and Iroh got pushed a bit too far in the background in Season 2, while in season 1 he was the heroes most frequent foe. And I liked BSS' political angle at first, until it slowed down the buildup to them trying to get an army to help fight the Fire Nation
I honestly didn't mind that it slowed down the plot, though. There was a lot of good characterization taking place in those episodes, and for me I'm a guy who likes characters over anything else, even if that means stalling the story from progressing a bit. At the very least, I still felt that the story was very character-driven.
And, yes, I have watched the first 4 episodes of The Legend of Korra. So far I like it. It is a bit slow, but this is the beginning of an all new story so that's to be expected, as the first season is primarily going to be all about setting the stage for the rest of the series. In that regard, season 1 of the original series was even slower because of all of the damn filler.
Also, I should mention that I sort of get an FMA-vibe from the steam-punk setting of Republic City, but maybe that was one of the influences for this show, and if it were I wouldn't be too surprised. I also noticed that thanks to the Avatar Universe being well-established at this point, this show has started out with a more serious tone than the original series, which originally had to probably have a lot of silliness and filler thrown in to make it come off as a bit more kid-friendly, until it got a strong enough fan-base to risk going into a bit more serious of a tone. That said, the humor got better in the original series as it went along, and I feel that the humor element is kind of lacking in Korra from what I've seen at this point, so hopefully that picks up again later on. Overall, though, considering that I just came into this series hot off the heels of the original show's climax, its doing a pretty good job of holding my interest so far.
I actually thought those episodes were fast the first time I watched them but that was probably do to me having memories of ATLA's filler fresh in my head. And Korra is definitely more serious than ATLA.
The first four episodes of Korra really show some of the promise the show had. Then...well, I'll let you decide for yourself.
Since only 12 episodes are out so far, I decided to just marathon through the whole season today being that I really don't have that much to do as I have the entire weekend off.
I don't know, I haven't found anything I significantly dislike about the series yet, and I'm already 9 episodes in. I don't think its on par with seasons 2 and 3 of The Last Airbender, but personally I'd rate it higher than the original's first season, myself (unless the last 3 episodes just suck major balls). From what I've heard you say about the show earlier, it sounded like it had some problems akin to Young Justice or something, but I haven't noticed anything like that, myself. I do still think that the story can rely on one too many cliches at a time, but it still feels like its own thing on the whole, and I also like that it has a very different feel to it than the original Avatar, as otherwise I wouldn't know what the point of making this series was in the first place.
At any rate, I'm just trying to say that, while season 1 of Korra isn't what I would call great, it is what I would call very good, but maybe I'm missing something negative that would make me think otherwise. As it stands now, though, I am fully enjoying it. Perhaps it may just be one of those series that is more enjoyable when you watch the episodes back-to-back, though.
Surely you agree with me that the best Avatar episode is "The Boiling Rock", right? ;)
Korra's okay, but I think the characters kind of hold the story back from its full potential. Season 2 should be better!
Quote from: Spark Of Spirit on June 15, 2013, 06:55:05 PM
Surely you agree with me that the best Avatar episode is "The Boiling Rock", right? ;)
My favorite part of that episode was Mai fighting to buy time for Zuko and the others to escape at the end. That was one of those rare instances in which the character did something that I didn't expect, but when I stopped to think about it that was something that made sense for her character to do, and its stuff like that which makes the characters feel all the more 3-dimensional to me.
QuoteKorra's okay, but I think the characters kind of hold the story back from its full potential. Season 2 should be better!
I agree with this (though by okay, I mean that I found it solid and entertaining), but I would also like to point out that I found season 1 of The Last Airbender to be a bit weaker on the characterization aspect of things as well. I think that a big part of that is because these first seasons have a lot to do in terms of setting up all of the main characters in the first place, as well as the main conflict of the story.
Looking at it in that regard, I think Korra has a better "start" than what The Last Airbender had, but whether Korra really holds any merit as a series or not will depend on if it improves in its upcoming seasons. I hope it does, because I think its still very promising from what I've seen of it so far. I have 2 episodes of this season left, but I am actually already genuinely interested in seeing the next season whenever that comes out.
Eh, I still think the first season of Korra is the weakest Avatar season. Granted, I probably need to rewatch it, but the romance and Korra herself really get on my nerves.
On a lighter note, glad to see your enjoying the show, EK!
The romance sub-plot in this show is probably its weakest aspect, its pretty by-the-numbers and can get kind of stupid at times. That said, I still think its a better start than The Last Airbender. The first season of that show really didn't exactly make me a fan of it, what with all of the filler and kind of mediocre characterization. I think the writing in that show received a huge upgrade in its later seasons, which is what really hooked me. As far as Korra as a character goes, I don't really have any problems with her other than the romance stuff. That said, I do think that they haven't done much to make her that interesting. What I mean is that, unlike Aang, I don't really get what her character arc is supposed to be about, yet (assuming she even has one). But, nothing about her as a character really gets on my nerves, either.
I don't know, I think the show is pretty good, but maybe that's just me.
Quote from: Ensatsu-ken on June 15, 2013, 07:04:00 PM
Quote from: Spark Of Spirit on June 15, 2013, 06:55:05 PM
Surely you agree with me that the best Avatar episode is "The Boiling Rock", right? ;)
My favorite part of that episode was Mai fighting to buy time for Zuko and the others to escape at the end. That was one of those rare instances in which the character did something that I didn't expect, but when I stopped to think about it that was something that made sense for her character to do, and its stuff like that which makes the characters feel all the more 3-dimensional to me.
I liked just about everything about it from Sokka finally having a chance to shine to Zuko at his best as a good guy and how the whole rescue attempt hedges on them. It helped make Mai a more rounded character as well as Ty Lee to an extent and we even met some colorful characters like the prisoners, guards, and the warden. Then there were the escape plans. Honestly, the episode had everything for me.
Also, seeing Azula getting her just desserts is always great to see.
It may not have had Aang, but I really do feel it is the series best. ;D
Quote from: Spark Of Spirit on June 15, 2013, 07:43:20 PM
Quote from: Ensatsu-ken on June 15, 2013, 07:04:00 PM
Quote from: Spark Of Spirit on June 15, 2013, 06:55:05 PM
Surely you agree with me that the best Avatar episode is "The Boiling Rock", right? ;)
My favorite part of that episode was Mai fighting to buy time for Zuko and the others to escape at the end. That was one of those rare instances in which the character did something that I didn't expect, but when I stopped to think about it that was something that made sense for her character to do, and its stuff like that which makes the characters feel all the more 3-dimensional to me.
I liked just about everything about it from Sokka finally having a chance to shine to Zuko at his best as a good guy and how the whole rescue attempt hedges on them. It helped make Mai a more rounded character as well as Ty Lee to an extent and we even met some colorful characters like the prisoners, guards, and the warden. Then there were the escape plans. Honestly, the episode had everything for me.
Also, seeing Azula getting her just desserts is always great to see.
It may not have had Aang, but I really do feel it is the series best. ;D
It might be my favorite too. I love how I came in blind on this episode because I was away from any forums that would have praised it and watched it on DVD after the show is over. It's a lot of fun and I probably watched it more than any other ATLA episode.
Honestly, like I've said before, I don't care for Sokka but if they gave him a role as close to being as big as he got in The Boiling Rock, he would have been my favorite. But he's really just there to crack jokes, throw a boomerang and occasionally form a plan.
Well, I just finished the season, and overall I still stand by my opinion that its pretty solid, all things considered. That said, I have a real pet-peeve with that ending. So, Korra loses her bending abilities except for Airbending which she just unlocks the power to do after losing her ability to bend the other elements. I was fine with that. As for her other stuff, I figured it was a good way to keep her from mastering her abilities so early on, and maybe she'd have to partake in some difficult tasks to get her other abilities back again, and I'd be OK with that. But after all of this talk about patience and whatnot, Aang's spirit just suddenly gives her all of her powers back and then she even has the power to restore other people's abilities. In that case, this whole season might as well have not taken place, because that pretty much means that there were no consequences or repercussions for anyone except the bad guys. That just gets on my nerves, personally.
Having said that, though, while I'm in the minority I found the rest of the season to be a lot better than what you guys made it out to be. Maybe I'm being too easy on it, but it told an interesting and coherent story without feeling the need to get overly-convoluted or to throw in extremely stupid plot-twist (the actual main plot-twist that we got, while not clever, didn't really bother me either). Its nowhere near as good as The Last Airbender's 2nd and 3rd seasons, of course, but I can't exactly say that I found it to be a bad watch, either. I would really like to see the next season, but I just hope that they flesh out the characters much more this time around. I got a good sense of who each character was and their personalities in this season, but nobody actually got any meaningful development yet. After seeing how well Zuko's character was handled in the previous series, I know that these writers can do good characterization, so I'm still holding out hope for a real improvement in that department in the future.
Quote from: Ensatsu-ken on June 15, 2013, 09:20:43 PM
Well, I just finished the season, and overall I still stand by my opinion that its pretty solid, all things considered. That said, I have a real pet-peeve with that ending. So, Korra loses her bending abilities except for Airbending which she just unlocks the power to do after losing her ability to bend the other elements. I was fine with that. As for her other stuff, I figured it was a good way to keep her from mastering her abilities so early on, and maybe she'd have to partake in some difficult tasks to get her other abilities back again, and I'd be OK with that. But after all of this talk about patience and whatnot, Aang's spirit just suddenly gives her all of her powers back and then she even has the power to restore other people's abilities. In that case, this whole season might as well have not taken place, because that pretty much means that there were no consequences or repercussions for anyone except the bad guys. That just gets on my nerves, personally.
Having said that, though, while I'm in the minority I found the rest of the season to be a lot better than what you guys made it out to be. Maybe I'm being too easy on it, but it told an interesting and coherent story without feeling the need to get overly-convoluted or to throw in extremely stupid plot-twist (the actual main plot-twist that we got, while not clever, didn't really bother me either). Its nowhere near as good as The Last Airbender's 2nd and 3rd seasons, of course, but I can't exactly say that I found it to be a bad watch, either. I would really like to see the next season, but I just hope that they flesh out the characters much more this time around. I got a good sense of who each character was and their personalities in this season, but nobody actually got any meaningful development yet. After seeing how well Zuko's character was handled in the previous series, I know that these writers can do good characterization, so I'm still holding out hope for a real improvement in that department in the future.
I agree with the first paragraph. I hate how everything got magically fixed and it's like Korra learned nothing. The last episode is honestly my least favorite.
What wete your favorite episodes/moments?
Quote from: Ensatsu-ken on June 15, 2013, 09:20:43 PM
Well, I just finished the season, and overall I still stand by my opinion that its pretty solid, all things considered. That said, I have a real pet-peeve with that ending. So, Korra loses her bending abilities except for Airbending which she just unlocks the power to do after losing her ability to bend the other elements. I was fine with that. As for her other stuff, I figured it was a good way to keep her from mastering her abilities so early on, and maybe she'd have to partake in some difficult tasks to get her other abilities back again, and I'd be OK with that. But after all of this talk about patience and whatnot, Aang's spirit just suddenly gives her all of her powers back and then she even has the power to restore other people's abilities. In that case, this whole season might as well have not taken place, because that pretty much means that there were no consequences or repercussions for anyone except the bad guys. That just gets on my nerves, personally.
Having said that, though, while I'm in the minority I found the rest of the season to be a lot better than what you guys made it out to be. Maybe I'm being too easy on it, but it told an interesting and coherent story without feeling the need to get overly-convoluted or to throw in extremely stupid plot-twist (the actual main plot-twist that we got, while not clever, didn't really bother me either). Its nowhere near as good as The Last Airbender's 2nd and 3rd seasons, of course, but I can't exactly say that I found it to be a bad watch, either. I would really like to see the next season, but I just hope that they flesh out the characters much more this time around. I got a good sense of who each character was and their personalities in this season, but nobody actually got any meaningful development yet. After seeing how well Zuko's character was handled in the previous series, I know that these writers can do good characterization, so I'm still holding out hope for a real improvement in that department in the future.
Just about everybody had the same problem with the way Korra ended.
With that said though, I'm probably the only one that preferred The Legend of Korra over The Last Airbender.
I do. Or at least I did because my last rewatching of Korra and me really seeing the show's flaws and the recent discussion that reminded me how great ATLA is is making me think otherwise.
Yeah, I'm never a fan of the "everything gets set back to status-quo no matter what" kind of ending. It just makes it hard to take everything that happened up to that point seriously at all.
As for the show itself, yeah, it has some flaws, and I never thought it was as good as The Last Airbender on the whole, but I also think that some people are too harsh on it. For what it is, its still probably one of the better animated series that I have seen in recent years. And its like people forget that there are still future seasons of this show being produced, so who's to say that it can't improve from its mistakes in future episodes?
Quote from: gunswordfist on June 16, 2013, 10:17:49 AM
I do. Or at least I did because my last rewatching of Korra and me really seeing the show's flaws and the recent discussion that reminded me how great ATLA is is making me think otherwise.
This. I was really loving Korra up until the last episode, which really got me to rethink everything.
Quote from: gunswordfist on June 16, 2013, 09:35:01 AM
Quote from: Ensatsu-ken on June 15, 2013, 09:20:43 PM
Well, I just finished the season, and overall I still stand by my opinion that its pretty solid, all things considered. That said, I have a real pet-peeve with that ending. So, Korra loses her bending abilities except for Airbending which she just unlocks the power to do after losing her ability to bend the other elements. I was fine with that. As for her other stuff, I figured it was a good way to keep her from mastering her abilities so early on, and maybe she'd have to partake in some difficult tasks to get her other abilities back again, and I'd be OK with that. But after all of this talk about patience and whatnot, Aang's spirit just suddenly gives her all of her powers back and then she even has the power to restore other people's abilities. In that case, this whole season might as well have not taken place, because that pretty much means that there were no consequences or repercussions for anyone except the bad guys. That just gets on my nerves, personally.
Having said that, though, while I'm in the minority I found the rest of the season to be a lot better than what you guys made it out to be. Maybe I'm being too easy on it, but it told an interesting and coherent story without feeling the need to get overly-convoluted or to throw in extremely stupid plot-twist (the actual main plot-twist that we got, while not clever, didn't really bother me either). Its nowhere near as good as The Last Airbender's 2nd and 3rd seasons, of course, but I can't exactly say that I found it to be a bad watch, either. I would really like to see the next season, but I just hope that they flesh out the characters much more this time around. I got a good sense of who each character was and their personalities in this season, but nobody actually got any meaningful development yet. After seeing how well Zuko's character was handled in the previous series, I know that these writers can do good characterization, so I'm still holding out hope for a real improvement in that department in the future.
I agree with the first paragraph. I hate how everything got magically fixed and it's like Korra learned nothing. The last episode is honestly my least favorite.
Especially since the first season was supposed to be about here growing and becoming more patient, which in turn would help her learn airbending. Then she doesn't change at all and gets her airbending anyway. The fact that the seasons are supposed to be largely self contained stories doesn't help.
And while there's still no news on when the second season two is coming out, some footage has been released (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C9QGYOJHi84), and it looks really awesome.
Actually, maybe the seasons being more self-contained could work in Korra's favor. It'd make it much easier to look past the flaws of the first season, whereas if it was heavily continuity-based, then those said flaws could drag down the quality of future stories unless they were addressed in clever ways.
As for me, I think the best possible thing to do is just look at what made The Last Airbender work so well in terms of the characters (not the story, because recycling that would be the worst thing that Korra could do as a series), and incorporate some of those elements into how the characters are handled in this series. When it comes down to it, ending aside, the characters were the weakest part of Korra. I mean, they were likable and competent for the most part, but nothing made any of them stand-out in the least, IMO. In The Last Airbender, every character just felt so distinct and memorable, and each of them had character arcs that were handled well. Actually, I can't believe I'm saying this, but I think Korra could actually stand to use some "filler" episodes. But really, its not filler in the sense of not getting anything accomplished, but more-so in progressing the characters rather than the plot. I feel that season 3 of Avatar did that the best, in which it had plenty of episodes that didn't progress the plot, but did actually give a lot more development to the various individual characters in the story. Hell, all of the "filler" episodes with Zuko interacting with different members of the team were some of my favorite episodes in the show, personally. I think that Korra could stand to use more episodes like those.
Korra did feel like a more plot driven show then a character driven one. I would really love a "Tales of Ba Sing Se"-type episode.
Yeah, that was a great episode. This show could also stand to use some more humor. Maybe I'm the only one, but while the humor started out kind of weak and even occasionally annoying in The Last Airbender, I found that it got a much needed improvement in seasons 2 and 3, with a lot more legitimately funny jokes and moments thrown into the mix, which also helped give a bit more variety to the tone of the series. Ironically most of that humor came from characters OTHER than Sokka (I actually never found Sokka that funny, even though he was clearly intended to be the show's comic relief), more-so from the likes of characters like Toph and Zuko, with the former just being entertaining because of how much she clashed with everyone else in terms of personality, and the latter being in how he was a serious character but found himself in many awkward situations in which he didn't know the proper way to act.
Quote from: ShadowGentleman on June 16, 2013, 11:57:12 AM
Quote from: gunswordfist on June 16, 2013, 10:17:49 AM
I do. Or at least I did because my last rewatching of Korra and me really seeing the show's flaws and the recent discussion that reminded me how great ATLA is is making me think otherwise.
This. I was really loving Korra up until the last episode, which really got me to rethink everything.
Yeah, I was really loving Korra and thought the show didn't really have any problems until the first time I saw the deus ex machina finale
Quote from: Ensatsu-ken on June 16, 2013, 01:32:25 PM
Yeah, that was a great episode. This show could also stand to use some more humor. Maybe I'm the only one, but while the humor started out kind of weak and even occasionally annoying in The Last Airbender, I found that it got a much needed improvement in seasons 2 and 3, with a lot more legitimately funny jokes and moments thrown into the mix, which also helped give a bit more variety to the tone of the series. Ironically most of that humor came from characters OTHER than Sokka (I actually never found Sokka that funny, even though he was clearly intended to be the show's comic relief), more-so from the likes of characters like Toph and Zuko, with the former just being entertaining because of how much she clashed with everyone else in terms of personality, and the latter being in how he was a serious character but found himself in many awkward situations in which he didn't know the proper way to act.
I actually thought the show's humor was overrated until Season 3. I was impressed.
And yeah, Sokka barely made me laugh too. Like I said before, he's an underused and misused character
Well, I've never been one of those people where I find that a bad ending ruins everything for me. I was aware of Korra's flaws and strengths while watching the show, and I went into it with my expectations in check, so as it stands I liked the majority of what it had to offer. That said, if you are one of those people where a bad ending ruins everything for you, then I can certainly understand why Korra may have fallen completely flat for you.
Quote from: Ensatsu-ken on June 16, 2013, 07:15:53 PM
Well, I've never been one of those people where I find that a bad ending ruins everything for me. I was aware of Korra's flaws and strengths while watching the show, and I went into it with my expectations in check, so as it stands I liked the majority of what it had to offer. That said, if you are one of those people where a bad ending ruins everything for you, then I can certainly understand why Korra may have fallen completely flat for you.
No, I still liked it more than ATLA even after the ending. It did effect how much I liked the show overall though. And I didn't really start to question the shows quality until I starting really paying attention to flaws it had throughout all of its episodes during my last viewing of the show
Yeah, I really do like the concept, feel, and ideas of Korra more than TLA, but I'm a sucker for 20s inspired stuff as it is.
I'm just glad that they showed us that the world of Avatar does actually change and evolve over time. I always got the sense that there was no real technological progression of major significance made over the 100 year war based on the flash-backs of the time period before Aang froze himself and Apa in ice and after he awakened and started his journey and training to master the rest of the bending elements. It makes sense that after 70+ years from the end of TLA that there would be some major changes to the point of actually developing a 1920's style city. At the same time, there's just enough stuff that resembles the original series that makes this one not feel out of place in terms of being in the same Universe.
What do y'all think of Amon?
Quote from: gunswordfist on June 17, 2013, 02:25:53 PM
What do y'all think of Amon?
I honestly thought that he was the best thing in Korra. Shame they swept his message under the rug, since I always thought that he kind of had a few points to them, like how there isn't a non-bender on the council and benders using their ability to oppress non-benders, especially when Tarrlok came into power.
Personally, I thought it would have been cool if Amon's identity was never revealed, and he took all his secrets to the grave. It would have been at least been better then giving him the same back story as 75% of the people in the series.
Speaking of Amon, you know something that bugs me about him? Remember when he could have taken Korra's bending abilities away from her in the middle of the series but said that he was saving her for last because he had a plan? Well, maybe I'm just slow, but what was his plan in that regard, exactly? I still never got by the end why he had to wait to take Korra's bending away other than for plot convenience. That's something I still don't get no matter how much I try to think it through.
I think he said something about not wanting Korra to be seen as a martyr. Which is why he waited until she confronted him in the finale, where it would more or less be seen as Amon defending himself from someone "abusing their power".
Yeah, but the thing is, I never bought that excuse. He already had enough people convinced that benders were a work of the devil (which of course includes the Avatar), and Korra publicly challenged him so its not like she wouldn't have been prepared for him (in the eyes of the public, of course, as Korra herself was too knuckle-headed to come up with a proper plan for if he did show up and ambush her....which he did), which basically means that he really had no reason to spare her at that point. I mean, if anything it should have made him look worse when he decided to actually take her powers away, since everyone (including his own followers) knew that he was the one behind the major attack on Republic City, and in this instance it was clear that Korra and co. were trying to defend the city at all costs, so if anything would make her look more heroic, it would be losing to Aman in that instance.
Either way, I found Aman to be a nice idea for a villain that just wasn't executed as well as he could've been. For that reason, it might just be better that he got killed off at the end of the season, so that way the writers can make room for a potentially more interesting villain without having to bring Aman up anymore.
Quote from: ShadowGentleman on June 18, 2013, 03:09:51 PM
Personally, I thought it would have been cool if Amon's identity was never revealed, and he took all his secrets to the grave. It would have been at least been better then giving him the same back story as 75% of the people in the series.
The fuck you talking about? :whuh:
Quote from: Ensatsu-ken on June 18, 2013, 08:20:07 PM
Yeah, but the thing is, I never bought that excuse. He already had enough people convinced that benders were a work of the devil (which of course includes the Avatar), and Korra publicly challenged him so its not like she wouldn't have been prepared for him (in the eyes of the public, of course, as Korra herself was too knuckle-headed to come up with a proper plan for if he did show up and ambush her....which he did), which basically means that he really had no reason to spare her at that point. I mean, if anything it should have made him look worse when he decided to actually take her powers away, since everyone (including his own followers) knew that he was the one behind the major attack on Republic City, and in this instance it was clear that Korra and co. were trying to defend the city at all costs, so if anything would make her look more heroic, it would be losing to Aman in that instance.
Either way, I found Aman to be a nice idea for a villain that just wasn't executed as well as he could've been. For that reason, it might just be better that he got killed off at the end of the season, so that way the writers can make room for a potentially more interesting villain without having to bring Aman up anymore.
You got a point about the challenge. They clearly did that to make him seem intimidating. On that note, they did a pretty good job imo. I was convinced he could beat just about any bender even before the bloodbending reveal. I had no problem with him being a bender. My problem was already stated. I don't sympathize with him or any Equalist. If the show convinced me that he actually thought bending made the world a worse place then I'd have no problem with Amon at all.
Also, did anyone else think he was based off of Hitler. I personally think it's very obvious. I wonder if the show's staff can even say they have a villain influenced by him
Quote from: gunswordfist on June 20, 2013, 05:31:38 PM
Quote from: ShadowGentleman on June 18, 2013, 03:09:51 PM
Personally, I thought it would have been cool if Amon's identity was never revealed, and he took all his secrets to the grave. It would have been at least been better then giving him the same back story as 75% of the people in the series.
The fuck you talking about? :whuh:
Sorry, a bit of cosmetic exaggeration. I'm referring to the fact that
Spoiler
Amon had problems with a parent, kind of like Zuko, Azula, Mai, and Toph. The way several major characters act is the result of the way their parents acted, either through abuse or neglect.
So, Doug just finished V-logging through all of season 1 of Avatar. Its funny, since I'm really only a casual fan of the show at this point (I did like it quite a bit, mostly for seasons 2 and 3, but I wouldn't say its one of my favorite shows by any stretch, either), but even I was able to notice a lot more stuff just watching through the series (or even this season) once that Doug seems to miss (and I'm talking about stuff that's pretty hard to miss). I mean, the part where he questioned how waterbenders draw their power from the moon, and then said something along the lines...."because the moon makes the water....colder?" I mean, seriously? Even if you missed the explanation in the episode, is it that hard to make the connection that the moon controls the tides, and therefore can be seen as a symbolic "waterbender?"
That said, I still find these videos amusing if only because its entertaining and kind of funny to see Doug try and pick apart this series and its morals. While that kind of applies to season 1, season 2 has a lot of intertwined episodes that just tell a grander story and don't really have as many individual morals, so I'm not sure how he's going to go about looking through that season.
One thing I will say that actually bothers me is the comments below Doug's videos. That right there explains why I can't stand about 90% of any given fan-base. OK, Doug misses a lot of obvious shit, so people want to point that out. I get it. But at the same time, people go bat-shit insane over the some of the dumbest details. Its like you're expected to watch an episode multiple times and take extensive notes on it and treat every V-log like an in-depth freaking review for it to be worth putting up. The dude's just watching the series casually and giving his brief thoughts on it like how any normal person would do if they only had a limited amount of time on their hands (or even cared).
Yeah, I honestly think Avatar has one of the most rapid fan bases outside of anime. I mean, it's a good show, but sometimes I feel like it's put on a pedestal and gets more attention then other equally good shows.
(https://animationrevelation.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Ffc06.deviantart.net%2Ffs71%2Fi%2F2012%2F251%2Ff%2F6%2Fparent_killing_8__privilege_by_ryokosanbrasil-d5dyxhy.jpg&hash=78f569e28ac07b70ff53cb2277e9ea4413edda7f)
I do have to say that I actually find it kind of refreshing that there's actually at least ONE freaking kid/teenager who's parents aren't dead (the parents almost every character in the entire series) or missing (Zuko's mom) or completely evil (Zuko's dad) or overprotective ass-holes (Toph's parents) or just a plain regular ass-hole (Asami's dad). Seriously, this show should kind of learn to stop relying on that trope quite so much.
That's a good point. Until you guys brought it up I didn't even realize it but yeah it's kind of overdone.
It is pretty overused. I was actually legitimately surprised to learn Korra actually had normal parents.
:D
Quote from: ShadowGentleman on June 27, 2013, 09:57:44 PM
It is pretty overused. I was actually legitimately surprised to learn Korra actually had normal parents.
Don't jinx it, guys. I'm already half-expecting to see Korra learn that her parents were tragically killed off-screen by [insert evil bender here] at some point during Book 2's run, just to give her a reason to be miserable.
Quote from: Ensatsu-ken on June 27, 2013, 11:31:29 PM
Don't jinx it, guys. I'm already half-expecting to see Korra learn that her parents were tragically killed off-screen by [insert evil bender here] at some point during Book 2's run, just to give her a reason to be miserable.
Spoiler
(https://animationrevelation.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fth06.deviantart.net%2Ffs71%2FPRE%2Fi%2F2012%2F168%2F4%2Ff%2Fparent_killing_3_by_ryokosanbrasil-d53tucm.jpg&hash=a4696eebeb8a78c88c12ce1cd308ab6003e4cd66)
I don't know if its either funny or sad that somebody came up with that idea way before I did....:whuh:
Quote from: ShadowGentleman on June 27, 2013, 11:34:58 PM
Quote from: Ensatsu-ken on June 27, 2013, 11:31:29 PM
Don't jinx it, guys. I'm already half-expecting to see Korra learn that her parents were tragically killed off-screen by [insert evil bender here] at some point during Book 2's run, just to give her a reason to be miserable.
Spoiler
(https://animationrevelation.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fth06.deviantart.net%2Ffs71%2FPRE%2Fi%2F2012%2F168%2F4%2Ff%2Fparent_killing_3_by_ryokosanbrasil-d53tucm.jpg&hash=a4696eebeb8a78c88c12ce1cd308ab6003e4cd66)
I would have given it a 10/10 if it was the same firebender that killed Jet's parents.
The "firebenders kill everyone's parents" joke predates you even liking this show, young one.
Quote from: Spark Of Spirit on June 27, 2013, 11:38:02 PM
Quote from: ShadowGentleman on June 27, 2013, 11:34:58 PM
Quote from: Ensatsu-ken on June 27, 2013, 11:31:29 PM
Don't jinx it, guys. I'm already half-expecting to see Korra learn that her parents were tragically killed off-screen by [insert evil bender here] at some point during Book 2's run, just to give her a reason to be miserable.
Spoiler
(https://animationrevelation.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fth06.deviantart.net%2Ffs71%2FPRE%2Fi%2F2012%2F168%2F4%2Ff%2Fparent_killing_3_by_ryokosanbrasil-d53tucm.jpg&hash=a4696eebeb8a78c88c12ce1cd308ab6003e4cd66)
I would have given it a 10/10 if it was the same firebender that killed Jet's parents.
How do you know it wasn't.
Just this one guy, running around for well over a century involuntarily shooting fire out of his hand and screaming while accidentally burning down anyone who walks in his way. :lol:
Maybe the Cabbage guy was a fire bender after all.
Quote from: Nel_Annette on June 28, 2013, 12:53:56 AM
Just this one guy, running around for well over a century involuntarily shooting fire out of his hand and screaming while accidentally burning down anyone who walks in his way. :lol:
Except the parents of Republic City. They were killed by a waterbender named A. Firebender. :>
Quote from: Ensatsu-ken on June 27, 2013, 11:31:29 PM
Don't jinx it, guys. I'm already half-expecting to see Korra learn that her parents were tragically killed off-screen by [insert fire bender here] at some point during Book 2's run, just to give her a reason to be miserable.
*Fixed ;)
:D The jokes in this thread are killing me.
So some more info about the next season was released, and a character by the name of Varrick (http://avatar.wikia.com/wiki/Varrick) is being voiced by Mentok the Mindtaker (http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=4DjiaHpxlA4)
For some reason I felt the need to share that.
So in the vlog for Crossroads of Destiny (http://blip.tv/nostalgiacritic/the-last-airbender-vlogs-crossroads-of-destiny-6616877%5B/url), Rob Walker said that he thinks Zuko was trying to convince himself he wants to be a villager and deep down never really wanted that kind of life and when Azula tempts him, it was kind of similar to an alcoholic going back to an addiction. Thoughts?
I just don't buy it. The problem was that he expressed no doubts about his situation whatsoever since he arrived in Ba Sing Se and after Zuko Alone he came to terms with the fact that what he was doing was wrong. There was no foreshadowing, character clues, or plot advances that gave any indication that Zuko was still unsure of his direction. Look, I get that sometimes people make the wrong decisions but they don't do it 180 degrees on top of betraying someone close to them at the possible expense of said person's life out of the blue.
The impression that I get is they just wanted to 'shock' fans and pull the story in the way they wanted to instead of the way it should have naturally gone.
Also, it's clear he wasn't convincing himself of anything considering how much he whines about doing the wrong thing until Aang's group finally accepts him and he goes right back to where he was before the season 2 finale. It was character derailment, plain and simple.
Yeah, that's pretty much how I see it. Honestly, Zuko should have switched sides earlier. I think it would have been a lot more interesting that way.
I can sort of agree with Rob. I don't necessarily see it as an addiction as he put it. But I think its more of what he said before that point, of how it felt like Zuko was really only settling for living out his life with his Uncle in their tea shop because he had to convince himself to like it since it was the only option he really had at the time. When Azula gave him the immediate offer to redeem himself by helping her defeat the Avatar, it was enough temptation to immediately snap him out of his delusion of what he thought he wanted.
Keep in mind that it doesn't undo all of the transformation that Zuko had undergone before like so many people think. He did get sick in the process of his change, and he DID change, its just that the change was never about accepting his new life in the Earth Kingdom. Zuko was a character who was always destined for more than that, and deep down he knew he wanted to achieve more than that. He WANTED to be accepted back into the Fire Nation and have his honor restored in the eyes of his people, and he realized that much. What he didn't realize is that its not really his father's acceptance which he needed to restore his honor, but at the time its what he thought, so when Azula made the offer he just couldn't refuse. He still hadn't undergone one last major change, which was realizing that his father was a dick and that he needed to stand up for himself, and that's what his turn allowed him to see in the first half of Book 3, so in that regard I see it as justified.
Quote from: Spark Of Spirit on July 16, 2013, 08:49:16 PM
I just don't buy it. The problem was that he expressed no doubts about his situation whatsoever since he arrived in Ba Sing Se and after Zuko Alone he came to terms with the fact that what he was doing was wrong. There was no foreshadowing, character clues, or plot advances that gave any indication that Zuko was still unsure of his direction. Look, I get that sometimes people make the wrong decisions but they don't do it 180 degrees on top of betraying someone close to them at the possible expense of said person's life out of the blue.
The impression that I get is they just wanted to 'shock' fans and pull the story in the way they wanted to instead of the way it should have naturally gone.
No its not a shock, and it never came out that way to me. Rob does have a point about how Zuko acted when he "accepted" his new life. He didn't really want that. You say that its just the writers taking the story in the way that they want, but that's a moot point because I could just as easily argue that its not a way that you wanted the story to go in. Either way, it still makes sense. The foreshadowing to me was there in just how strong Zuko's prophecies were. I mean, if you think about what you were saying, and he didn't turn, then his character arc would have just ended there and he wouldn't really decide to join up with the Avatar, but instead just go right back to living a peaceful life with his Uncle after the conflict was over, and try not to involve himself in the war at all. That's not who Zuko is as a character.
Also, you forget that Zuko still held some respect for his father by that point. It was "false" respect, but he didn't really realize that yet. He still believed at that point that his father cared for him in some way and that his banishment was just a way to toughen him up and have him learn form his past "mistakes" in life.
QuoteAlso, it's clear he wasn't convincing himself of anything considering how much he whines about doing the wrong thing until Aang's group finally accepts him and he goes right back to where he was before the season 2 finale. It was character derailment, plain and simple.
This is such a narrow-minded view of things the way you express it. If you see it that way, then fine, but don't act like your interpretation is the only one. Plain-and-simple it is not. I don't buy you just brushing off Rob's points because he brings up legitimate ones. It annoys me more than anything else when someone acts like their opinion is fact, so the way you prhased this part really bothers me more than your actual difference in opinion from mine.
It doesn't bother me so much anymore since the series is over and done and Zuko's confrontation with Ozai and his relationship with Mai had some good pay-offs to the story, but I still think the story would have been more interesting if he switched sides then and there. No use crying over what isn't, though.
But it's not the worst part of the season 2 finale. That would be Azula's plan which goes off far too well and requires an Agatha Christie-level of events to be believable. Throwing in Zuko on top of her plans makes them seem even more incredulous. There's no way she could plan something that well.
It doesn't really matter anymore, but it still doesn't feel right to me even years later. That's the only way I can really explain it.
Quote from: Ensatsu-ken on July 16, 2013, 09:01:45 PMQuoteAlso, it's clear he wasn't convincing himself of anything considering how much he whines about doing the wrong thing until Aang's group finally accepts him and he goes right back to where he was before the season 2 finale. It was character derailment, plain and simple.
This is such a narrow-minded view of things the way you express it. If you see it that way, then fine, but don't act like your interpretation is the only one. Plain-and-simple it is not. I don't buy you just brushing off Rob's points because he brings up legitimate ones. It annoys me more than anything else when someone acts like their opinion is fact, so the way you prhased this part really bothers me more than your actual difference in opinion from mine.
My interpretation is the one I put more stock into because it's mine... that's kind of why I have it in the first place. ;)
Can't do much about the way you see my comments, though.
I didn't have that much of a problem with Azula's plan working out just the way she wanted. The only part I personally disliked, which I'm surprised is the one thing that Desensitized didn't mention, is specifically how Zuko was so willing to trust Azula on a dime, when she had previously been out to kill him without remorse. THAT's the part of his turn that didn't make sense to me. I could buy it more if it was somehow Zuko's own father in that position who was making him the offer. Having it come from Azula just didn't make sense to me. Well, it made sense that Azula needed Zuko on her side at that point, otherwise she risked a 3-on-1 confrontation, but still, for Zuko to not expect Azula to immediately double-cross him after the confrontation was over just struck me as idiotic of him, even if she did stay true to her word and got him back in good standing with Ozai.
Quote from: Ensatsu-ken on July 16, 2013, 09:07:23 PM
I didn't have that much of a problem with Azula's plan working out just the way she wanted. The only part I personally disliked, which I'm surprised is the one thing that Desensitized didn't mention, is specifically how Zuko was so willing to trust Azula on a dime, when she had previously been out to kill him without remorse. THAT's the part of his turn that didn't make sense to me. I could buy it more if it was somehow Zuko's own father in that position who was making him the offer. Having it come from Azula just didn't make sense to me. Well, it made sense that Azula needed Zuko on her side at that point, otherwise she risked a 3-on-1 confrontation, but still, for Zuko to not expect Azula to immediately double-cross him after the confrontation was over just struck me as idiotic of him, even if she did stay true to her word and got him back in good standing with Ozai.
Well, she knew the Dai-Li would betray the earth kingdom, that a highly paranoid state wouldn't background-check a couple of girls (before the earth king even saw them, mind you), that Zuko would betray Iroh, and knew how to beat an avatar state Aang. All of these play out in masterful execution as if she knew how all the events would play out.
One or two of them, fine. But throw in them all and it just makes me think that she got incredibly lucky.
Quote from: Spark Of Spirit on July 16, 2013, 09:05:34 PM
My interpretation is the one I put more stock into because it's mine... that's kind of why I have it in the first place. ;)
Can't do much about the way you see my comments, though.
No, I wasn't talking about your interpretation. I was talking about how you basically made it sound like what is basically YOUR interpretation of that part of the series was the ONLY way to interpret it. When you said "plain-and-simple," that sounds me to me like you are saying your take on that segment is fact, and that any other interpretation of it is wrong. That's my beef with what you said there. I don't actually have a problem with you having a different take on the segment and not liking it, as that itself is perfectly understandable based on your reasons.
Quote from: Ensatsu-ken on July 16, 2013, 09:11:01 PM
Quote from: Spark Of Spirit on July 16, 2013, 09:05:34 PM
My interpretation is the one I put more stock into because it's mine... that's kind of why I have it in the first place. ;)
Can't do much about the way you see my comments, though.
No, I wasn't talking about your interpretation. I was talking about how you basically made it sound like what is basically YOUR interpretation of that part of the series was the ONLY way to interpret it. When you said "plain-and-simple," that sounds me to me like you are saying your take on that segment is fact, and that any other interpretation of it is wrong. That's my beef with what you said there. I don't actually have a problem with you having a different take on the segment and not liking it, as that itself is perfectly understandable based on your reasons.
Plain and simple means that's the straightforward why I see it, plain and simple. ;)
I'm sorry if I offended you with my tact. :(
Quote from: Spark Of Spirit on July 16, 2013, 09:10:50 PM
Well, she knew the Dai-Li would betray the earth kingdom, that a highly paranoid state wouldn't background-check a couple of girls (before the earth king even saw them, mind you), that Zuko would betray Iroh, and knew how to beat an avatar state Aang. All of these play out in masterful execution as if she knew how all the events would play out.
Well, I already pointed out how Zuko siding with Azula of all people doesn't make much sense.
That said, the whole Dai-Li thing makes sense to me. She knew she was stronger than the general and if she needed to would be powerful enough to escape if worst came to worst. Remember, she's a prodigy and the general even had to acknowledge that he couldn't possibly beat her. As for the Kyoshi Warrior thing, first off, nobody but Aang and friends knew what they looked like. Secondly, its not like the world of Avatar had any Internet or any fast-travel method of spreading information by that point, so it would be kind of hard to do a background check on people from other areas outside of Ba Sing Se. In this case, the king had to take the Avatar's word for it that the Kyoshi Warriors were their allies, and being the naive guy he is he made Azula's job easier, of course. Now keep in mind, she hadn't even planned on the Earth King being naive, so it was just a bit of luck she used on her part to her advantage (like when he let slip the plan to attack the fire nation during a solar eclipse). That said, it was clear to me how her plan would have worked even with a more stern leader, as she was able to outwit the general that way. If you think about it, all of her risks were calculated, in the sense that I don't believe she knew for certain that everything would work out in her favor, but even if they didn't she could get out of the situation and re-strategize if she wanted to, just like how she lost the battle involving the drill.
As for killing Aang in the Avatar state, I think you may be reading too much into that. Who's to say that she ever planned for that to happen? To me it always just seemed like she saw an opening when Aang was emerging from the crystal barrier he created and took that opportunity to attack when his guard was down. That's not something you plan for. That's just her own battle skill and experience being put to work.
I wish we got to see Zuko act as a leader in some form when he got accepted back by his father and namely before he became Firelord. The only time he acted as a good leader during the entire show was during The Storm
I think this is one we're going to have to agree to disagree about (and I'm usually the last to say that) because for the amount of times I've watched the series through the season 2 finale still doesn't sit right with me. I've tried looking at it from multiple angles, but no matter how hard I try to see it from another perspective it just pushes me back towards my initial feelings about it not feeling right regardless. There's not really much to discuss beyond the way we think is better because the season 2 finale is still one of the most controversial elements of the series (beyond the whole 'Zuko is still a bad guy? NO' shippers or whatever they're called) and is one I've tried to like. But I'm sorry to say that it just isn't happening for me.
Quote from: gunswordfist on July 16, 2013, 09:32:07 PM
I wish we got to see Zuko act as a leader in some form when he got accepted back by his father and namely before he became Firelord. The only time he acted as a good leader during the entire show was during The Storm
IIRC, didn't he try to and was sent away? His family treated him more as a war prize than anything else.
That's fine, but I still think that the ending was fine. I'd also argue that its BECAUSE of the set-up of Book 2's ending that Book 3 had so much great character and story material to work with in the first place, so either way, good stuff came out of that ending in some form.
Oh yeah, he was banished...because he cared about his people. This reminds me why I originally wanted to see Zuko show more good leadership. Since as long as I can remember, I've been waiting to see a villain in an animated series that actually cares about their underlings and isn't just a heartless asshole to them.
So I got done rewatching Korra for the first time over a year later. I've warmed up to the finale, because the positive points really do shine, but there are still parts that I just really don't enjoy. Ah well. Enjoyable first season at any rate. Almost every episode up to that point is a 10/10 to me.
Via TZ:
Quote from: The TalonMike DiMartino has confirmed on his Tumblr that the first episode of The Legend of Korra: Book 2 will be screened at the Nick Comic-Con panel this friday.
Sweetness
TRAILER!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ftLm52V1y0
Quote from: Nel_Annette on July 19, 2013, 03:31:14 PM
TRAILER!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ftLm52V1y0
:shakeshakeshake:
So, according to Doug Walker, this is now his new favorite show ever (even above Daria). I'm glad to see that he liked it so much. As for me, my favorite show ever to this day is still Yu Yu Hakusho, followed closely behind by Gargoyles, and while Avatar isn't necessarily a personal favorite of mine, I can definitely see it as standing toe-to-toe with the best shows out there, animated or otherwise.
Whoa, really? Damn! Well, while
Avatar: The Last Airbender is only my 49th favorite show (and yes, I'm being exact), it's certainty one of the greatest shows to come out in recent years, and definitely a worthy favorite show for anybody.
Personally, my own top ten favorite shows ever (at this moment) are:
Spoiler
10. Yu Yu Hakusho
9. Maison Ikkoku
8. Monster
7. Futurama
6. American Dad
5. King of the Hill
4. The Simpsons
3. Trigun
2. South Park
1. Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo
And yes, they all just happen to be animated. :P
It's just outside my top 25 series for me. Great show, not as involved in it as I used to be, though.
Wow, really his favorite? I have no idea where this would rank.
It would probably make my top 15. I am glad to see he likes it. I'm extremely curious for when he gets to the Korra finale. See if he loves that bullshit or not. :lol:
Avatar probably is in my top 20, if not 10. Though I really need to think that shit out more.
Anyone else catch the premiere?
What was the deal with the statue in the Air Temple?
I'm guessing it's connected to that whole "First Avatar" thing happening this season.
I had to work. :shit:
You didn't really miss much. Not a lot actually happened.
I wouldn't say not a lot happened; I mean, it's not like you could continue watching the rest of the season without these first 2 episodes. The first episode seemed to be more about establishing the new status quo of the characters, so not a lot of plot was covered, there. I do like that we are getting to learn a lot about the history of the Southern and Northern Water Tribes in these episodes, as anything to help with world-building is pretty interesting to me. I think Korra was a bit annoying with her usual hot-head attitude, though. Maybe I've watched too much fiction, but Korra was acting so text-book predictable in these 2 episodes. Its so obvious that her father and Tenzin mean well for her, yet she turns her back on them for her uncle just because she's tired of the other 2 being strict with her (essentially), while its pretty clear to the viewer that the uncle has ulterior motives, whether his actual intentions are good or not.
I also like that we are getting to see Tenzin's relationship with his siblings. So far, he's been the most interesting character in this series to me since Book 1, so I hope he continues to get more focus as the series progresses.
I thought last nights premiere was pretty good. I'm interested to find out what the hell was going on with that statue in the air temple and how its going to relate to the main story.
I actually laughed when Korra punched the spirit portal thingy. :D
And I agree with Tenzin being the most interesting character. I just wish Bolin was used for more then comic relief.
Speaking of Bolin, I always thought he would have been a better fit than Mako in trying to become a member of the police. I figured that since he's an earthbender, Lin could have been both a good commanding officer and mentor to him, and she probably could have helped him learn metal bending as well, to further enhance his own skills. It seems, though, like the writers of this show are pretty much determined to keep Bolin as a pure comic relief character.
I'm currently watching the premiere and I'm liking what I see. I can certainly see why there's an issue with Korra turning her back on Tenzin and siding with her uncle, but at the same time I understand it from her and her uncle's side as well, however, Korra talking with her father the way she is doing, that's where my problem lies.
And with this 2nd episode, she's turning into a brat and it's becoming an annoyance. This is the exact reason why Ed (FMA) got on my nerves in the 2003 series. And I usually like Korra's fiery attitude, but this bratty-ness is making her worst than Aang, and we know how much I hate Aang. If I were to compare this to how I was brought up, and I talked to my father the way she did, I'd be picking myself up off the floor (sucks that it's considered child abuse now, because a lot of these folks need it)
What's even more crazy is that I'm liking Mako a lot more than Korra at the moment and I couldn't stand him by the time Book 1 ended.
As far as interesting goes, Tenzin's daughter in what she is seeing is probably the thing I'm mostly curious about and I want to see how she develops because she could prove to be even wiser/greater than everyone in this show.
Overall, this was rather decent, but I am tired of the family rivalries. I mean, how many times will this angle be used before it gets dug so far in the ground. You got Iroh and Ozai, Zuko and Azula, Amon and I can't remember the brother's name, and now we have Korra's father and uncle, which clearly looks like he's the mastermind behind everything.
Her uselessly punching the ground was pretty funny. I would have thought she would have learned better by now. :>
The premiere was okay, but being that this is the third water tribe villain I was hoping for something a bit more from the antagonist. Because let's face it, we're going to learn that he summoned the spirits to attack in order to "make them see, MAKE THEM ALL SEE" which barring a twist would be fairly boring.
I'm hoping for better, though.
Except for some of Bolin's jokes falling flat with me, and Asami's scenes being a bit too short, I enjoyed the premiere episodes. I didn't have a problem with Korra's attitude because it made sense that she'd have a bit of a swelled head from besting Amon and his minions. The way I saw it, neither her or her father and Tenzin were shown to be right or wrong. They had some good points on their sides, but how they went about them was a mistake. Korra was brash, but she's not an irredeemable brat. Thankfully, the third episode was proof of this. She apologized to her father, and no doubt will do so with Tenzin the next time she sees him.
I have to say, I really love Kya and Bumi. I don't know for sure where they'll ultimately go with their childhood memories in contrast to Tenzin, but at least they're both very fun and different characters among the cast. Varrick and the twins are hilarious. With Unalaq, he may be revealed as a villain, but I'm not so sure he's going to the main villain this season. Maybe I'm the only one, but he feels like a red herring or being set up to be overshadowed by a bigger threat. Last season did have two villains, after all.
I feel like I'm begrudgingly watching this show at this point. Besides Varrick, everything is so... underwhelming. Unalaq makes for a boring villain, Korra's annoying, Bolin's subplot with Eska might be the stupidest thing this show has done, and I haven't even like Tenzin's side story with his siblings. Hopefully the next few episodes takes us away from this water tribe stuff for a while.
Quote from: Nel_Annette on September 27, 2013, 08:34:10 PMUnalaq makes for a boring villain
So were Ozai and Amon, for that matter.
QuoteKorra's annoying
Agreed.
QuoteBolin's subplot with Eska might be the stupidest thing this show has done
Disagree on this bit, here. I actually find it legitimately funny. Bolin was WAY worse in season 1, while we're on the subject. I mean, on top of not being funny, he had no other purpose besides being the comic relief (and one who wasn't even very funny, at that). At least in this season he has a legitimate role, by being the main group's connection to Varrick.
Quoteand I haven't even like Tenzin's side story with his siblings. Hopefully the next few episodes takes us away from this water tribe stuff for a while.
I really like Tenzin's story, myself. Perhaps that's because I can kind of relate to his dilemma with his siblings in some way, though. I also like how his side of the story this season is centered around family. I like that theme. Not everything has to be some big epic adventure or set-piece story to be good. I think some good ever-day values should be explored as well, which is why I like how Tenzin's side of the story has a fair amount of focus in this story besides just Korra's antics.
As far as this season goes, I think it's OK. I was never the biggest Avatar fan to begin with, and even when I did finally warm up to the original show, I still wouldn't call it one of the best animated shows of all time, even if everyone else believes it is. I do think that books 2 and 3 of The Last Airbender were really good stuff for the most part, though, so compared to that Korra is definitely lacking, but I also do still find it to be an enjoyable show on its own terms, while not ignoring that it has some pretty big flaws.
I don't know, maybe that comes off as me having low standards, but it's not like I'm calling this show great. I just naturally look for what I like in something rather than what I don't like, so I guess that's the difference between how I'm viewing this season and how most other people are. I would critique its flaws myself, but everyone else has already done a good job of that. So, naturally I just like to be the odd one out and stick up for the things that I personally think that it does right.
Quote from: Ensatsu-ken on September 28, 2013, 12:00:54 PM
Quote from: Nel_Annette on September 27, 2013, 08:34:10 PM
Bolin's subplot with Eska might be the stupidest thing this show has done
Disagree on this bit, here. I actually find it legitimately funny. Bolin was WAY worse in season 1, while we're on the subject. I mean, on top of not being funny, he had no other purpose besides being the comic relief (and one who wasn't even very funny, at that). At least in this season he has a legitimate role, by being the main group's connection to Varrick.
While I thinks it's been funny at times, the abusive nature of it is kind of offsetting.
QuoteI really like Tenzin's story, myself. Perhaps that's because I can kind of relate to his dilemma with his siblings in some way, though. I also like how his side of the story this season is centered around family. I like that theme. Not everything has to be some big epic adventure or set-piece story to be good. I think some good ever-day values should be explored as well, which is why I like how Tenzin's side of the story has a fair amount of focus in this story besides just Korra's antics.
Agreed. It's really been the best handled part of the season thus far.
Quote from: ShadowGentleman on September 28, 2013, 12:51:00 PMWhile I thinks it's been funny at times, the abusive nature of it is kind of offsetting.
I don't really see it as abusive (that's a pretty strong word, and I've seen some of it first-hand, so I wouldn't use it for a situation like in this series). The humor is just that Eska is a control freak with a superiority complex, so Bolin unwittingly screwed himself by getting involved with her to begin with. I see it less as Eska abusing Bolin and more as it being Bolin's own nature to get himself in these kinds of situations in the first place. It's just like how he got himself involved with the gangsters in Republic City early on in the first season.
QuoteAgreed. It's really been the best handled part of the season thus far.
Maybe instead of making the next two seasons Book 3 and 4 for Korra, they should just rename the show The Legend of Tenzin and make it about him. He's not only the best part of this season, IMO, but he's easily the most interesting thing about the show in general.
Quote from: Ensatsu-ken on September 28, 2013, 01:45:58 PM
Quote from: ShadowGentleman on September 28, 2013, 12:51:00 PMWhile I thinks it's been funny at times, the abusive nature of it is kind of offsetting.
I don't really see it as abusive (that's a pretty strong word, and I've seen some of it first-hand, so I wouldn't use it for a situation like in this series). The humor is just that Eska is a control freak with a superiority complex, so Bolin unwittingly screwed himself by getting involved with her to begin with. I see it less as Eska abusing Bolin and more as it being Bolin's own nature to get himself in these kinds of situations in the first place. It's just like how he got himself involved with the gangsters in Republic City early on in the first season.
It probably is a strong term, but it still doesn't sit well with me. I mean, the guy didn't know what she was really like until it was to late, and she (supposedly) threatened to do some nasty stuff to him when he tried to break up with her. I guess I just can't stand how they're keeping Bolin stuck as the comedy relief who never gets to have a serious moment. It seems like a waste of some perfectly good character development.
But I have to admit, Eska's face at the end was hilarious. :D
Quote from: ShadowGentleman on September 28, 2013, 02:36:44 PMIt probably is a strong term, but it still doesn't sit well with me. I mean, the guy didn't know what she was really like until it was to late, and she (supposedly) threatened to do some nasty stuff to him when he tried to break up with her. I guess I just can't stand how they're keeping Bolin stuck as the comedy relief who never gets to have a serious moment. It seems like a waste of some perfectly good character development.
It would annoy me if they made it like Bolin was just taking the abuse and doing nothing about it, and we were supposed to find that funny. But, clearly he's trying to get away from her, and he does in this episode (at least for now), so it's not like his character is really being demeaned here. And as for having no role but comic relief, that's what Bolin was in season one. At least in this season he has an actual role of some importance, as he is the character with the strongest connection to Varrick, who himself has actually proven to be an important element of this season's plot. Thanks to Bolin, Varrick is now helping Korra and company escape to the United Republic, so Bolin does definitely have some use in this season so far.
QuoteBut I have to admit, Eska's face at the end was hilarious. :D
I have a feeling that her character is going to change when she realizes that she can't control Bolin, anymore. At least, I hope that's the route they go with, this season.
Quote from: Ensatsu-ken on September 28, 2013, 02:47:51 PM
It would annoy me if they made it like Bolin was just taking the abuse and doing nothing about it, and we were supposed to find that funny. But, clearly he's trying to get away from her, and he does in this episode (at least for now), so it's not like his character is really being demeaned here.
Good point. For me, it comes done to personal taste. I tend to only find this kind of situation funny when it happens to someone who's kind of a jerk (comedic karma, so to speak). But a lot of Avatar's jokes always fell flat to me anyway.
QuoteAnd as for having no role but comic relief, that's what Bolin was in season one.
There does seem to be a trend in this show were the characters I have the most interest in following get the shaft in some way (the exception being Tenzin).
QuoteAt least in this season he has an actual role of some importance, as he is the character with the strongest connection to Varrick, who himself has actually proven to be an important element of this season's plot. Thanks to Bolin, Varrick is now helping Korra and company escape to the United Republic, so Bolin does definitely have some use in this season so far.
True, his relationship with Varrick (who's my favorite new character, btw) has been something I've enjoyed. I wonder if it will lead to a career change...
QuoteI have a feeling that her character is going to change when she realizes that she can't control Bolin, anymore. At least, I hope that's the route they go with, this season.
I'm hoping for that as well.
I think we can all agree that Tenzin is the best part of the show.
Quote from: Spark Of Spirit on September 29, 2013, 09:06:31 PM
I think we can all agree that Tenzin is the best part of the show.
(https://animationrevelation.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2F24.media.tumblr.com%2Faab3ee1def81c0f5376db8e8b1660224%2Ftumblr_mttb0441w61ruu897o1_500.gif&hash=7f791cf3b6c3f084875052ee79b9fbbd33e8d1c8)
This is something I can get behind.
Also an interesting thing I've been hearing is that some episodes of Season 2 of Korra will air on Nicktoons first. On October 9th and 10th at 8:30 PM, a new episode will air after a Digimon rerun. Not sure what this says about Nick's faith in Korra or if this is an error.
Tenzin is indeed the best character, last episode was exactly why itself. That said, I still think some people are a bit harsh on Korra. I get her attitude being a problem in the first two episodes, but she's redeemed herself in the third and fourth episode with me. She's still a bit reckless, like with that judge, but to be fair that judge was very suspicious and considering how some people complain that she should have somehow know right off the bat that her uncle was evil, I think she had enough reason to suspect the judge was crooked.
Oh, look. The suspected evil bad guy was evil and a bad guy all along. Who saw that coming?
For god's sake, Korra. Grow a brain!
I'm more annoyed that Korra couldn't figure it out herself than that they went that cliche route in the first place. On the other hand, though, I agree with Rob Walker that it's good that they at least got that stuff out of the way early one. I mean, since everyone saw it coming to begin with, did anyone really want them dragging that out through the whole season?
Hopefully the rest of the season manages to be less conventional than the first few episodes of this one have. But, like I said, I didn't have that big of a problem with the cliche plot to begin with, if only because Avatar: The Last Airbender was always fairly predictable with its plotting, to begin with. I think where this series falters in comparison to the original is in the writing for its characters, but once again I think that they got Tenzin and the adults in the series down pretty well. It's ironically the younger crowd (or at least Korra and her friends) where a majority of this show's writing problems arise.
Well, Avatar's adult characters always seemed more interesting than the younger characters, so that's nothing new. On the other hand, the younger characters of TLA weren't as bland and one-dimensional as Korra's.
Mako is bland at his best, despicable at his worst (and the Bryke doesn't intend for us to think that). Bolin isn't funny, he's just stupid... I'm beginning to wonder how he even wipes himself... and his sort of humor is out of place in the show. Both of them are horrible characters who need to be taken out back and shot.
Quote from: Daikun on October 01, 2013, 01:20:24 AM
Oh, look. The suspected evil bad guy was evil and a bad guy all along. Who saw that coming?
For god's sake, Korra. Grow a brain!
Quote from: Ensatsu-ken on October 01, 2013, 02:30:44 PM
I'm more annoyed that Korra couldn't figure it out herself than that they went that cliche route in the first place. On the other hand, though, I agree with Rob Walker that it's good that they at least got that stuff out of the way early one. I mean, since everyone saw it coming to begin with, did anyone really want them dragging that out through the whole season?
Hopefully the rest of the season manages to be less conventional than the first few episodes of this one have. But, like I said, I didn't have that big of a problem with the cliche plot to begin with, if only because Avatar: The Last Airbender was always fairly predictable with its plotting, to begin with. I think where this series falters in comparison to the original is in the writing for its characters, but once again I think that they got Tenzin and the adults in the series down pretty well. It's ironically the younger crowd (or at least Korra and her friends) where a majority of this show's writing problems arise.
The guy may have seemed evil to viewers, but the guy is her uncle. Of course she was going to trust him. That makes her naive, not stupid. She guessed correctly about that judge. I don't Unalaq was supposed to be a secret, hence why he's been revealed already. There's plenty of episodes left this season, I'd rather wait and see what his plans are and how they involve the spirits before judging this season as being "too cliche".
So they're moving Korra to 8:30 PM. You think this will help Korra with it's rating problem or is this something else?
"The Northern Water tribe is really acting aggressive."
"I saw a firebender walking away from the blast. It might not be the Northern Water tribe."
"Of course it's the Northern Water tribe, who else could it be?"
Really, Korra? :D
I actually kind of liked this episode. Korra's ever increasing stupidity aside.
Yeah, it was okay. Head-slapping moments involving Korra are just too much. :D
You know... I'm starting to think that Mako is the only character from Season 1 that isn't in Tenzin's family that isn't pants-on-head stupid. Of course, Korra is probably helping with that.
Also, Varrick is still one of the best characters, if he turns out to be evil in the end, I will root for him.
Varrick is awesome, and should have been on this show sooner. As for Korra, she's still being hot-tempered and brash, but I don't consider her terrible. She's betrayed by her uncle and her parents' lives are still on the line. Another reason I don't hate Korra is because Tenzin, her father, that council leader, and now even Mako have called her out on her actions. We're not supposed to be on her side with her approach to the civil war. I think possibly as indicated by the ending tonight, Korra's finally diving into the Spirit World where she'll learn about the Avatar State and gain some needed development.
This episode did feel a bit too cluttered with all of the plot points going on, but on the other hand, it's good to see it finally moving at a faster pace. I think breaking up with Korra is easily the least bland thing that Mako has done in this series, so far.
On the whole, I'm actually liking where the story of this season is going. As usual, the one thing constantly getting worse is Korra herself. I can maybe forgive the writing IF it ultimately builds up to something tragic happening to Korra or her family in order to give her a huge sense of regret from failing to live up to her responsibilities as the Avatar, and a tough experience that she must learn from. Unless they actually go that route, though, I really can't stand this character anymore.
Also, did anyone catch General Iroh mentioning that the current Fire Lord is his grandfather? Given his age, it would make sense if a certain character fit the bill for that role. So does this mean that Zuko is still alive and kicking in Korra's time?
For a change of pace, I'll put the episode blog on this thread. (http://animationrevelation.com/readables/?p=1734)
Quote from: Ensatsu-ken on October 05, 2013, 01:02:47 AM
Also, did anyone catch General Iroh mentioning that the current Fire Lord is his grandfather? Given his age, it would make sense if a certain character fit the bill for that role. So does this mean that Zuko is still alive and kicking in Korra's time?
Yeah, Konieztko and DiMartino have said Zuko's still alive, but he retired from being the Fire Lord, let his daughter take the mantle, and now travels around the world as an ambassador for peace. I'm hoping we'll see him again one of these days.
Varrick is by far my favorite new character of the season and I really hope it doesn't turn out that he had something to do with the bombing.
All in all, I quite enjoyed the latest episode, it was great seeing Lin and Iroh again and I loved Lin's deadpan "thanks for starting a war" line.
Add me to the list of people who hope we get to see Zuko make an appearance in the show.
Tonight's episode was mostly good. I didn't quite want Varrick to be a villain, but if that was a taste of things to come from him, I may be in favor of it. I'm guessing he might have been the one to frame Korra's parents after all. Korra has amnesia, that may be a bit of a cliche but no way that lasts after she goes into the Spirit World.
I'm liking what they've done with Mako in the last two episodes. He's finally gotten his own arc that isn't tethered to Korra. As for the kiss, I'm not taking any stock into that kiss with Asami yet. Its been a while since I watched the first season, I don't even know if we saw which one of them ended it last season. If they have them get back together but don't make it a love triangle with Korra, I'm okay with it. But it would be unnecessary to pull that all over again. That was the one part of last season's ending I won't defend.
Mako is a cop, and Asami's mother was killed my Triads, so why are they hiring them?
Desperate times, desperate measures. I don't know if they were actually going to give the Triads what they wanted.
Going straight from your brother to known criminals is a bit of a stretch, though.
Still, a pretty okay episode. I'm interested to see where they'll go with Korra's amnesia, since I think the next episode is where they're supposted to introduce that whole "First Avatar" thing.
It may be, but he did try with the Police first, at least. Like I said, I'm glad they're doing something with his character finally. I like him as a detective, I hope it sticks even if he gets thrown off the force. I'm glad that only Asami sided with him too. I don't hate or love Mako, but his character has needed to be taken down a few pegs so I liked that he was opposed by those two cops as well as Baifong. Asami got to look awesome in this episode as well.
Bolin, while pushy this week, I'll take him as an arrogant actor than an abused boyfriend. They could still do even better with him, but at least his acting scenes were hilarious.
Hopefully, I"m right about Korra getting serious development soon. I'm sorry that GregX isn't enjoying this season anymore, it is understandable with her attitude up to now. I honestly don't think Korra is a lost cause though, I honestly think her getting called by so many different people suggest to me that the creators and or writers don't want us to side with her because they're planning a notable change in her. A change that may be realized after next week. Here's hoping for it at least.
Yeah, I've been holding out hope that Korra's attitude isn't bad writing so much as it is the writer's setting her up for a big fall and some character development. Problem is they've been dragging it out a bit long. I'm a bit iffy on the amnesia thing, but we'll see.
I love that Mako's actually becoming interesting, and I love that Varrick's a villain as well. Everyone keeps complaining about it but I think a villain character with his personality is really cool.
^ I agree. I wasn't down with Varrick being evil, but his being coy won me over. And now I'm hoping he'll be the main villain somehow. Unalaq could still turn out better than he seems depending on what his motives are, but at least we have one great villain to fall back on. :thumbup:
As for Korra, on any other show most people would be on her side and anyone speaking out against her would be portrayed as wrong, but that isn't what's happened. A major reason why I haven't minded her temper (other than its justified to an extent) is because she's been given consequences for it. She's not with Mako anymore, she doesn't have Tenzin to give her guidance, her attempt to go behind the president's back failed; and she is alone now on some monastery island without her memory for the moment. I would be irritated myself if Korra were fighting it out with the Northern Tribe whole-hog right now, but the exact opposite has happened. Which is why I think for at least right now Bryan and Mike deserve the benefit of the doubt.
As someone who's actually been defending this season because I don't think it's really as bad as people say, this is the first episode that really didn't do anything for me. Yes, Mako was in the right, here, but it felt like they made Lin and Asami dumber just to make Mako seem "relatively" smart. I'm also REALLY starting to hate Bolin (again). I mean, really, you're going to take him in THAT overused cartoon show cliche angle?
On the (possible) bright side, Korra losing her memory could represent giving her a fresh, clean new slate to start from. Maybe her character can actually finally LEARN something now.
Really, there are actually many potentially awesome directions that this season could go in even from this point, but the writers seem to be dodging those possibilities at every turn in order to go the more predictable route. I really hope that this builds up to something that's a worthy pay-off, but now I'm really starting to doubt it more and more.
I really don't see how Lin or Asami were being dumb. From Lin's perspective, there wasn't enough evidence for her to side with Mako.
Lin would normally be much sharper and realize that those other two cops are clearly corrupt, and were most likely bought off. Not only that, but even if Mako didn't have direct evidence, he had a clear lead that made sense, especially since if they did look into it and found evidence, it would have made sense given the witness's description of how they were attacked.
As for Asami, being that she was raised as the daughter of someone heavily involved in the business world, she should have been able to put the pieces together herself and see that Varrick's offer to invest in her company at precisely the right time (after she had pretty much lost everything) was incredibly suspicious. There's also the fact that pretty much everyone (especially Korra) have completely ignored Mako's claim that it was firebenders that were behind the attack in the previous episode. Sure, he doesn't have hard evidence, but do these people seriously think Mako would just make all of this shit up for no reason? You would think that one of them would at least want to look into it.
The good doctor brought up a good point in the blog. Why was like nobody guarding Asami's wares? Like literally nobody.
Anybody could have just strolled in.
Quote from: Spark Of Spirit on October 14, 2013, 03:57:04 PM
The good doctor brought up a good point in the blog. Why was like nobody guarding Asami's wares? Like literally nobody.
Anybody could have just strolled in.
]
I see the people who were in charge of PS3's security found a new job.
This episode, I like.
Damn, I forgot this was a two parter.
Quote from: Spark Of Spirit on October 18, 2013, 08:05:09 PM
That was easily the best episode(s) of Korra so far. It isn't even a contest.
Surprise shock face
No really, I don't have any complaints about this
Wan one.
This episode would have made for a great movie. Seriously, I felt that this episode was pretty much Korra's "A" game that was on par with the original series.
I thought I made a post, did it get deleted? :wth:
Quote from: Peanutbutter on October 18, 2013, 09:31:14 PM
I thought I made a post, did it get deleted? :wth:
This has happened to me once or twice before. Might be a glitch (or maybe I didn't actually press "post").
Now THIS was an episode on the level of quality of the original series. The fact that it is really a stand-alone story that only thematically relates to this season of Korra probably has a lot to do with that.
The Insomniac's latest: http://animationrevelation.com/readables/?p=1974
Just watched it on Nick's site. Absolutely best episodes of the season. Maybe now Korra will get her ass in gear.
I watched Beginnings tonight. I had no clue there would be there'd be an animation style change. I like how Wan's life mirrored Korra's current situation because both Wan and Korra are/were responsible for creating a serious conflict despite both meaning well. I also liked how it looked like it was going to be all sunshine and rainbows for Wan and then they fast forward to him dying.
Hopefully Korra stops being a jackass and I wonder if Unalaq knows what he's really doing.
That was a great two-part episode. The art and storyboards were wonderful. I didn't like Rava at first, but she grew on me. That spirit voiced by Jason Marsden was fun. And Wan himself was a tremedous character. In just two episodes we got to see a whole range to his personality. The final battle with Vattu was nicely done. It just sucks we won't get to see what kind of impact this while thing had on Korra until next week. I still don't hate Korra, but she can't be the same short-tempered teenager she's been all season. Hopefully things will be different like this for the rest of the season. If she doesn't change at all, then I'M going to get angry.
Shame that GregX gave up just before this, I really think he'd have enjoyed both parts. But he's already been pestered enough by people asking about Korra so I'm not going to bug him.
...Jason Marsden....small world! Over the last two days I was wondering if he voiced Speedy from Batman TBATB since I recognized his name from Static Shock. (he did)
Quote from: Spark Of Spirit on September 13, 2013, 07:31:00 PM
What was the deal with the statue in the Air Temple?
I thought that would lead to Ikki helping Korra meet the First Avatar, like Shadow said, but I guess not...
Quote from: Ensatsu-ken on September 28, 2013, 12:00:54 PM
Quote from: Nel_Annette on September 27, 2013, 08:34:10 PMUnalaq makes for a boring villain
So were Ozai and Amon, for that matter.
QuoteKorra's annoying
Agreed.
QuoteBolin's subplot with Eska might be the stupidest thing this show has done
Disagree on this bit, here. I actually find it legitimately funny. Bolin was WAY worse in season 1, while we're on the subject. I mean, on top of not being funny, he had no other purpose besides being the comic relief (and one who wasn't even very funny, at that). At least in this season he has a legitimate role, by being the main group's connection to Varrick.
Ozai was not a boring villain. Mark Hamill played the hell out of that role. Amon and Unalaq are boring but in Amon's defense, how he was made sense. He was supposed to be a serious character and a very intimidating main villain for Korra. It would be kind of hard to take a villain that is probably based off of Hitler seriously if he started cracking jokes at his rallies.
Unalaq has no excuse though. His role could range from being very goofy if they did it right. Instead he is as dry as a rock.
Bolin WAS funny in season 1. What the hell are you talking about? He was not funny when whatshername pushed him around. All her scenes are the opposite of funny. Bolin wasn't funny this season until he started doing those propaganda films. Before that he was either being bullied by Eska or running from her. Again, not funny.
Like someone said before (Shadow?), I wish Bolin became a cop instead of Mako. When his voice actor said Bolin would get some development this season I assumed he would become a metalbending cop under Lin's wing.
The biggest problem with Bolin is that he has no proper place in the story. It's like they just want a jokey character that has no chance of development so they have a dedicated comedy machine. It's funny too, because the "jokey" character in the first series was actually at his best when he wasn't a punching bag for jokes.
Mako just has no real character. No one to fault there except the writers.
Quote from: Spark Of Spirit on October 25, 2013, 06:11:23 PM
The biggest problem with Bolin is that he has no proper place in the story. It's like they just want a jokey character that has no chance of development so they have a dedicated comedy machine. It's funny too, because the "jokey" character in the first series was actually at his best when he wasn't a punching bag for jokes.
Mako just has no real character. No one to fault there except the writers.
Mako actually
has developed recently. He's become a detective, but unfortunately for him, his leads haven't been enough to convince Lin.
I just went back to the beginning of the thread and- wow, a lot of opinions were different back then.
Quote from: Peanutbutter on October 25, 2013, 08:41:22 PM
Quote from: Spark Of Spirit on October 25, 2013, 06:11:23 PM
The biggest problem with Bolin is that he has no proper place in the story. It's like they just want a jokey character that has no chance of development so they have a dedicated comedy machine. It's funny too, because the "jokey" character in the first series was actually at his best when he wasn't a punching bag for jokes.
Mako just has no real character. No one to fault there except the writers.
Mako actually has developed recently. He's become a detective, but unfortunately for him, his leads haven't been enough to convince Lin.
I honestly don't think having a job is enough. He doesn't really act any different and is still very bland. He's not on the level of KORRA SMASH but I think they could do more with him.
Do you guys think we should change the title? We haven't been talking about TLA itself for a while now.
Like title it the general Avatar series thread? I'm fine with that.
Done :)
Quote from: Spark Of Spirit on October 25, 2013, 06:11:23 PM
The biggest problem with Bolin is that he has no proper place in the story. It's like they just want a jokey character that has no chance of development so they have a dedicated comedy machine. It's funny too, because the "jokey" character in the first series was actually at his best when he wasn't a punching bag for jokes.
Sokka got good development and contributed to the team as well. Bolin's...just kind of there.
QuoteMako just has no real character. No one to fault there except the writers.
To be fair, he did kind of have something going on in the first few episodes of Book 1 with his "whole grew-up-on-the-streets-raising-his-brother" thing. Now he's just the Avatars boyfriend and the only intelligent cop in the city.
Quote from: gunswordfist on October 25, 2013, 05:44:11 PMOzai was not a boring villain. Mark Hamill played the hell out of that role.
That's not even a counter-argument at all. Just because Mark Hamil did the voice for a role doesn't make the character any better written. His motives are as 1-diemensional as you can get, and the guy doesn't even have much personality to him. There are no layers to his character and he is literally only there to be the big bad guy for Aang to face. If you disagree with this, offer up examples as to why, instead of just hiding behind the fact that he had a celebrity doing his voice.
I've never agreed with your judgement of villains, anyways, though. I remember you said that Shishio from RK was just a power-hungry villain, yet you never even stopped to analyze the finer-points of his character and what he represented. Like, the fact that he was written as an extreme Darwinist-type figure in his attitude towards life, and the whole theme of his character was a guy who was really a relic of the past. He represented the resistance to change when things were shifting into the more peaceful Meiji era, and while he hid behind his ideals, Watsuki was also smart enough to add in the subtlety that the guy was also just really pissed off that the government used him for their own personal interests and then tossed him aside when they were done with him....by burning him alive. So that right there gives him way more than enough motive to want revenge and to overthrow the current government of that era.
What can you say about Ozai other than the fact that his motive is basically nothing more than: He's the fire lord; two fire lords before him set out to conquer the other nations and basically rule the world; so, he's just doing the same thing that they were. They don't even go into how he related to his own father or grandfather, and how much he was influenced by them or not. He's a boring villain, in my book.
QuoteAmon and Unalaq are boring but in Amon's defense, how he was made sense. He was supposed to be a serious character and a very intimidating main villain for Korra. It would be kind of hard to take a villain that is probably based off of Hitler seriously if he started cracking jokes at his rallies.
Unalaq has no excuse though. His role could range from being very goofy if they did it right. Instead he is as dry as a rock.
I never argued that either of them were good villains. I merely pointed out that people are using some awkward double-standards by pretending that Ozai was any better, and I clearly stated my reasons why. Even though I don't find her likable (which is kind of the point), Azula is basically the best-written Avatar villain. You actually find that her motive makes more sense since the show actually makes it clear that she took a lot of influence from her father since she felt so distant from her mother (who she believes loved Zuko more, while hating her). She's also shown to not just be powerful, but also clever, and uses her wit to her advantage just as much as her talent in firebending. That's a villain that I'd expect you to argue in favor of if you were trying to explain why TLA is better than LoK. I would actually agree with that point.
QuoteBolin WAS funny in season 1. What the hell are you talking about?
He just acted stupid, got himself in trouble, and was barely of any use to the rest of the group. Is being an idiot all it takes for you to find a character funny?....Actually, on second thought, I think I just answered my own question there. :srs:
QuoteHe was not funny when whatshername pushed him around. All her scenes are the opposite of funny.
Yeah....brilliant argument there, GSF. Just say that something is the opposite of something else to make your point.
Anyways, I already explained why I thought his scenes with Eska were funny in an earlier post, so just go read that if you want to know my opinion on the matter. I'm not going to really argue about something as subjective as comedy, but I do stand by my opinion that Bolin in season 1 was the worst character in the history of Avatar. Actually, I still stand by the opinion that he's the worst character in the entire series. I just found his scenes slightly more tolerable in the beginning of this season. He got horrible in episode 6 when he was being a dick to Mako for no reason other than soaking up his current pseudo-fame and glory.
QuoteBefore that he was either being bullied by Eska or running from her. Again, not funny.
Because getting pushed around and bullied by gangsters is so much funnier.
QuoteLike someone said before (Shadow?), I wish Bolin became a cop instead of Mako.
I believe I said that. I even once suggested to ShadowGentleman in a PM, IIRC, that it would be great for his character if he joined the police and learned metal-ending from Lin; and I said that prior to the start of this season.
And that spinoff comic The Search gives Ozai no layers. He psychologically abuses Ursa while threatening to murder his children, neither for any decent reason. Any time he's in that comic is just a reminder of how evil is he instead of portraying him as a human being. It really made that "Ozai shouldn't be killed because he's human like us" thing in Sozin's Comet feel a bit hollow in retrospect.
Quote from: Dr. Insomniac on October 26, 2013, 12:16:50 AMAnd that spinoff comic The Search gives Ozai no layers. He psychologically abuses Ursa while threatening to murder his children, neither for any decent reason. Any time he's in that comic is just a reminder of how evil is he instead of portraying him as a human being. It really made that "Ozai shouldn't be killed because he's human like us" thing in Sozin's Comet feel a bit hollow in retrospect.
Well, more specifically he only threatens to murder Zuko (which is kind of explained, at least), but while a motive is presented, there is no exploration on how Ozai deals with that motive. There is no insight into his character about whether he's conflicted with what he learns about Zuko and his mother. It gives him a "potential" reason to hate Zuko, but we learn nothing about the psychology of his character other than that he'll just jump at the opportunity to be the biggest ass-hole that he can possibly be (and this time he has no Mark Hamil to back him up). Ozai is very much a villain for the sake of being a villain. For the show, it works well enough, and we have Azula to really fill in the spot of being the legitimately threatening villain who's also interesting to analyze psychologically (while Ozai is just the less interesting "final boss" character to have an epic battle with in the finale). In the comics, when they strip that stuff away and focus on just Ozai alone, the only thing we understand better about him is just how shallow of a character he really is.
And it just came off as a huge letdown, since I remember reading an interview where the creators talked about how Ozai's good point was that he genuinely loved Ursa. Then the comic comes along, and it was like, "No, forced unhappy marriage for the sake of eugenics." In the wake of villains who had personalities and pieces that made you understand where they were coming from, that was jarring seeing Ozai be so one-note. He wasn't a villain you loved to hate like Xanatos or something, he was someone you simply hated because he was hogging screentime from more interesting characters.
How exactly or why is Mako bland? Bland would be if he were meandering about like Bolin earlier this season. Now his actions affect the plot. I'd say he has changed a bit since last season.
Quote from: Peanutbutter on October 26, 2013, 11:55:17 AM
How exactly or why is Mako bland? Bland would be if he were meandering about like Bolin earlier this season. Now his actions affect the plot. I'd say he has changed a bit since last season.
Affecting the plot doesnt equate a developed personality, which is something Mako (and Bolin) kind of lacks at the moment.
1-Dimensional doesn't equal boring. Now THAT'S not a counter-argument. When I see Ozai onscreen, I don't fall asleep. Hearing Ozai say lines like "...in this world, MY WORLD!" cracks me up. :D The whole dilemma with Ozai being an unimaginably evil guy that Aang had pretty much no reason not to kill ended up working out well anyway.
Stick to reading Naruto chapters and thinking Gauron smiling in a prison makes him a good villain. And I never said Ozai was a good villain, just not a boring one.
I never disagreed about Amon and Unalaq. I just shared my thoughts on them there. And Azula is a TERRIBLE villain. She is pretty much a robot until she talks about her mom in the beach fire in Book 3. She relies on her vast resources and extremely powerful bending more than her wit. Even Zhao is a better villain than her. And somehow you forgot Zuko was an ATLA for the 2nd time within a month. :D
And yes being pushed around by gangsters is funnier. Only a complete fool would think a textbook non-physically abusive relationship is funny. Even freaking wikipedia can teach you that's what Bolin was in with Eska, ya maroon. :>
Quote from: ShadowGentleman on October 26, 2013, 12:38:33 PM
Quote from: Peanutbutter on October 26, 2013, 11:55:17 AM
How exactly or why is Mako bland? Bland would be if he were meandering about like Bolin earlier this season. Now his actions affect the plot. I'd say he has changed a bit since last season.
Affecting the plot doesnt equate a developed personality, which something Mako (and Bolin) kind of lacks at the moment.
BINGO!
Anyway, who else think Mako looks like Wan?
It's confusing how they changed the first benders getting bending from lion turtles instead of from watching moles/bison/dragons/tides.
How did Wan's or anyone from the past's bending hurt spirits but Kora can't?
Quote from: gunswordfist on October 26, 2013, 07:36:09 PM
Anyway, who else think Mako looks like Wan?
:unimpressed:
QuoteIt's confusing how they changed the first benders getting bending from lion turtles instead of from watching moles/bison/dragons/tides.
I understood it to mean the Lion Turtles gave them the
ability to bend, but they mastered it by observing the animals that already had it.
No, Mako and Wan did have pretty similar faces. It's something I noticed almost immediately watching the episode.
Oh god, I hope it doesn't turn out that Mako is a descendant of Wan.... :srs:
Well, 10,000 years down the line, I suppose a good chunk of the population could be descendants of Wan's, you know?
Quote from: gunswordfist on October 26, 2013, 07:28:03 PM1-Dimensional doesn't equal boring. Now THAT'S not a counter-argument. When I see Ozai onscreen, I don't fall asleep. Hearing Ozai say lines like "...in this world, MY WORLD!" cracks me up. :D The whole dilemma with Ozai being an unimaginably evil guy that Aang had pretty much no reason not to kill ended up working out well anyway.
That's supposed to be an argument? So basically you're saying that the lazy writing for Ozai's character makes him a good villain? Like, that's literally your evidence for backing up your claim? My god, GSF, you idiocy is beyond words. :srs:
QuoteStick to reading Naruto chapters and thinking Gauron smiling in a prison makes him a good villain. And I never said Ozai was a good villain, just not a boring one.
You also suck when it comes to insults. First of all, I HATE Naruto, and haven't even been reading it for weeks, now (so insulting the series doesn't really bother me in the least). And unlike you, I was never fooled into thinking that Gauron was more than he actually was. He was always presented as a psychotic mercenary, and the series played it up to intentionally campy delivery. It worked because the series was self-aware that he was not a complex villain, and his scenes were just plain entertaining as hell. THAT's an example of how you do a 1-dimensional villain right (also I know for a fact that you've never actually watched FMP). The creators and writers of Avatar obviously took Ozai pretty seriously, yet didn't give him the same amount of character depth and attention to detail that they gave almost every other character in the show (including supporting characters).
QuoteI never disagreed about Amon and Unalaq. I just shared my thoughts on them there. And Azula is a TERRIBLE villain. She is pretty much a robot until she talks about her mom in the beach fire in Book 3. She relies on her vast resources and extremely powerful bending more than her wit. Even Zhao is a better villain than her. And somehow you forgot Zuko was an ATLA for the 2nd time within a month. :D
Azula is an unlikable and despicable villain, but she is still well-written. Something an action-hungry dumb-ass such as yourself can't seem to discern. The problems that Azula had with her mother were displayed as early on as Book 2, in the episode Zuko Alone. Just because it wasn't outright explained through exposition doesn't mean it wasn't there. The scenes clearly displayed that Azula was not on good terms with her mother, and that her mother showed a lot more affection towards Zuko. I suppose you've watched a bit too much DBZ to understand something like that unless the show explains it right to your face, though.
And as for saying that she relies on her bending more than her wit, I can pretty much prove you factually wrong through EVIDENCE:
-She conquers the Earth Kingdom through strategy and deception, not bending
-When she is cornered by Aang and Katara, she manipulates Zuko to her side, rather than relying on her own brute force
-She thwarts The Day of Black Sun invasion through trickery, and actually flat-out could NOT bend during that time
Those are 3 HUGE occurrences in the show where she would not have prevailed with bending alone. If you think that's wrong, show me evidence of how much she accomplished (and I mean, actual BIG things in the series that she was behind), where she relied on her bending talent alone, or at least more so than any sort of sound strategies.
GSF, Here's your problem: You are just a sore-loser. You can't admire when someone has clearly proven you wrong, so you just resort to childish mud-slinging and try to counter someone else by saying that they are wrong and that the obvious right opinion is the opposite of what they think. You almost never actually offer up any evidence to support your claims, and when you do, it's usually pretty weak. Yet, like a true hypocrite, whenever someone corners you with reasonable evidence, you just brush it off in an attempt to save face, not realizing that it makes you look like even more of an idiot to everyone else.
QuoteAnd yes being pushed around by gangsters is funnier. Only a complete fool would think a textbook non-physically abusive relationship is funny. Even freaking wikipedia can teach you that's what Bolin was in with Eska, ya maroon. :>
And....Here's my case in point.
Being pushed around by gangsters who can get you killed at any moment is funny, in your opinion? How? Explain to me just how that is funny? Getting bullied by an obnoxious girlfriend type character is a staple that has existed in many comedies for a long time, now. Avatar was far from the first series to do it, and obviously that's a formula that has been repeated because some people find it amusing.
Also....Wikipedia....really?
Quote from: Ensatsu-ken on October 26, 2013, 09:22:00 PM
Quote from: gunswordfist on October 26, 2013, 07:28:03 PM1-Dimensional doesn't equal boring. Now THAT'S not a counter-argument. When I see Ozai onscreen, I don't fall asleep. Hearing Ozai say lines like "...in this world, MY WORLD!" cracks me up. :D The whole dilemma with Ozai being an unimaginably evil guy that Aang had pretty much no reason not to kill ended up working out well anyway.
That's supposed to be an argument? So basically you're saying that the lazy writing for Ozai's character makes him a good villain? Like, that's literally your evidence for backing up your claim? My god, GSF, you idiocy is beyond words. :srs:
QuoteStick to reading Naruto chapters and thinking Gauron smiling in a prison makes him a good villain. And I never said Ozai was a good villain, just not a boring one.
You also suck when it comes to insults. First of all, I HATE Naruto, and haven't even been reading it for weeks, now (so insulting the series doesn't really bother me in the least). And unlike you, I was never fooled into thinking that Gauron was more than he actually was. He was always presented as a psychotic mercenary, and the series played it up to intentionally campy delivery. It worked because the series was self-aware that he was not a complex villain, and his scenes were just plain entertaining as hell. THAT's an example of how you do a 1-dimensional villain right (also I know for a fact that you've never actually watched FMP). The creators and writers of Avatar obviously took Ozai pretty seriously, yet didn't give him the same amount of character depth and attention to detail that they gave almost every other character in the show (including supporting characters).
QuoteI never disagreed about Amon and Unalaq. I just shared my thoughts on them there. And Azula is a TERRIBLE villain. She is pretty much a robot until she talks about her mom in the beach fire in Book 3. She relies on her vast resources and extremely powerful bending more than her wit. Even Zhao is a better villain than her. And somehow you forgot Zuko was an ATLA for the 2nd time within a month. :D
Azula is an unlikable and despicable villain, but she is still well-written. Something an action-hungry dumb-ass such as yourself can't seem to discern. The problems that Azula had with her mother were displayed as early on as Book 2, in the episode Zuko Alone. Just because it wasn't outright explained through exposition doesn't mean it wasn't there. The scenes clearly displayed that Azula was not on good terms with her mother, and that her mother showed a lot more affection towards Zuko. I suppose you've watched a bit too much DBZ to understand something like that unless the show explains it right to your face, though.
And as for saying that she relies on her bending more than her wit, I can pretty much prove you factually wrong through EVIDENCE:
-She conquers the Earth Kingdom through strategy and deception, not bending
-When she is cornered by Aang and Katara, she manipulates Zuko to her side, rather than relying on her own brute force
-She thwarts The Day of Black Sun invasion through trickery, and actually flat-out could NOT bend during that time
Those are 3 HUGE occurrences in the show where she would not have prevailed with bending alone. If you think that's wrong, show me evidence of how much she accomplished (and I mean, actual BIG things in the series that she was behind), where she relied on her bending talent alone, or at least more so than any sort of sound strategies.
GSF, Here's your problem: You are just a sore-loser. You can't admire when someone has clearly proven you wrong, so you just resort to childish mud-slinging and try to counter someone else by saying that they are wrong and that the obvious right opinion is the opposite of what they think. You almost never actually offer up any evidence to support your claims, and when you do, it's usually pretty weak. Yet, like a true hypocrite, whenever someone corners you with reasonable evidence, you just brush it off in an attempt to save face, not realizing that it makes you look like even more of an idiot to everyone else.
QuoteAnd yes being pushed around by gangsters is funnier. Only a complete fool would think a textbook non-physically abusive relationship is funny. Even freaking wikipedia can teach you that's what Bolin was in with Eska, ya maroon. :>
And....Here's my case in point.
Being pushed around by gangsters who can get you killed at any moment is funny, in your opinion? How? Explain to me just how that is funny? Getting bullied by an obnoxious girlfriend type character is a staple that has existed in many comedies for a long time, now. Avatar was far from the first series to do it, and obviously that's a formula that has been repeated because some people find it amusing.
Also....Wikipedia....really?
You dumbfuck, I said Ozai was not a good villain right below that. Do you even know how to read?
Yes I know about Zuko Alone. You failed to mention how Azula doesn't come off as more than a flat, cold character in all of Book 2 though. She is the same throughout that entire season.
And I said more through bending and RESOURCES. Please actually read my posts.
Azula didn't fully conquer Ba Sing Se until she killed Aang with her BENDING and then The Earth King left with them.
You also forgot to mention how Eska threatened to kill Bolin. You left that detail out just like how you left out mentioning Zuko AGAIN! I expect gangsters to try and kill a hero but when your gf threatens to, then that's just fucked up. :D
Quote from: gunswordfist on October 26, 2013, 10:05:49 PMYou dumbfuck, I said Ozai was not a good villain right below that. Do you even know how to read?
You said he's not a boring villain. He is. There is literally nothing interesting about his character. He's just the villain. End of story.
QuoteYes I know about Zuko Alone. You failed to mention how Azula doesn't come off as more than a flat, cold character in all of Book 2 though. She is the same throughout that entire season.
I said that she's unlikable and despicable. That's the fucking point, dumb-shit. She's that way in Book 3 as well, in case you didn't notice. The whole point of her character is that she was never mentally stable and grew increasingly out of control as time went on.
QuoteAnd I said more through bending and RESOURCES. Please actually read my posts.
I did read your dumb-ass post. Now you're just playing around with wording. What you were intending to say is that she was a bad villain just because she was powerful, and you insinuated that she relied more on her power than her wit, which I pretty much just proved wrong by pointing out how all of her big accomplishments in the series had more to do with her planning than just her being good at bending.
QuoteAzula didn't fully conquer Ba Sing Se until she killed Aang with her BENDING and then The Earth King left with them.
This is yet another example of how you try to brush off a clear point I made and ignore my presenting evidence. She killed Aang with bending, sure. Now, I know this is hard for you, GSF, but just try to wrack your brains for a moment and consider just how the fuck she even cornered Aang in the first place and forced his hand to make him resort to the Avatar State. She conquered the Dai Li (WITHOUT bending) and turned Zuko to her side (WITHOUT bending), leaving Aang and Katara at a huge disadvantage. She also had the sense to strike Aang when he was defenseless for a moment as he entered the Avatar State, so even in that case she used quick thinking in addition to bending. There's no way she would have even infiltrated the city in the first place without using careful planning, and thus never could have confronted Aang in the first place if she just relied on bending. So, you are just flat-out ignoring a legitimate point I made because you are wrong about it. Typical GSF.
QuoteYou also forgot to mention how Eska threatened to kill Bolin. You left that detail out just like how you left out mentioning Zuko AGAIN! I expect gangsters to try and kill a hero but when your gf threatens to, then that's just fucked up. :D
Eska threatening to kill Bolin came AFTER he broke up with her, dumb-fuck. I didn't leave anything out. The humor of their relationship was just for the brief period of time that Bolin was basically under Eska's control. Any threats she made to him during that time obviously weren't meant to be taken seriously, but of course you're the only idiot who takes everything seriously.
As for the gangsters, I still have no explanation from you about how gangsters potentially killing a guy is FUNNY? You insinuated that it was more acceptable for some reason, but the thing is, the show didn't actually even play that part of Book 1 up for laughs, at all. That part was actually played straight and seriously in the show, so I have no idea how you even think that's what Bolin's humor in Book 1 consisted of. Now, him crying like a little girl because Korra kissed Mako in front of him was played up for laughs. It was an idiotic scene, so I'd like an explanation of how you find that funny as well, because that was essentially Book 1's brand of humor for Bolin.
Quote from: ShadowGentleman on October 26, 2013, 07:51:15 PM
Quote from: gunswordfist on October 26, 2013, 07:36:09 PM
Anyway, who else think Mako looks like Wan?
:unimpressed:
QuoteIt's confusing how they changed the first benders getting bending from lion turtles instead of from watching moles/bison/dragons/tides.
I understood it to mean the Lion Turtles gave them the ability to bend, but they mastered it by observing the animals that already had it.
My theory is that more people later on gained the power to bend by observing animals/the tides.
GSF, Do you have any purpose on this board other than to start arguments?
I deleted your last post because all you did was recycle the same arguments you already made, yet once again failed to actually elaborate on or provide evidence for any of your points.
It's ok if your heart can't take these arguments or your too scared to admit that you may think Azula is a better villain than Zuko but don't want to say it out loud because it's an unpopular opinion. You always start deleting people's posts out of nowhere when you fear backlash. I personally never give a fuck when my opinion doesn't line up with others but textbook ek is incapable of doing such. ;)
OK, Varrick. I am guessing he'll threaten to blackmail Asami and Mako if they try to impede his plans and/or Asami and Bolin's lives to keep Mako in check. I hope Bolin realizes that he's been starring in propaganda films. I have a feeling that the writers want to try everyone into thinking the Nuktuk (sp?) are harmless fun but in reality, pretty much just like Varrick said, he's using them to try to get the President to change his mind about the war and a war will of course line Varrick's pockets.
I wonder if Korra will (with words and not fists) try to convince Varrick that a war with be the end of the world as they know it since the negative emotions of both sides of the war will make Vatu and the dark spirits stronger...and they'll kill everyone. I bet that would be a hard sell. In fact, does Varrick even believe there are dark spirits? Has he even seen any? I am willing to bet that he thinks Unalaq made them up.
GSF, Do everyone a favor and grow the fuck up. You do nothing on this board but argue with people like a 10-year old.
I'm tired of dealing with your bull-shit.
I come in peace, brothee.
I think Korra will try to talk to Unalaq as well. I am guessing Korra will try to go the peaceful route and FINALLY show some character development after that spiritual journey she took. I actually hope they don't make her too boring. :D They should find some healthy median between a peace seeking and skull cracking Korra. :P
Really ticks me off having had to wait an extra week just to see if anything from Wan's story sinks into Korra. I think they've been setting her up for some signifigant changes, but I want the episode to come on already so I know for sure. :butbut:
I'm going to be disappointed if I'm wrong.
So will I.
Looking back to my previous message, I'm annoyed at how Aang sees it as impossible to kill Ozai simply because he's another human. Throughout the show, he kills countless soldiers during the Siege of the North and the Day of Black Sun. The former can be justified by the Avatar state, but to think he didn't just kill someone when smashing a Fire Nation tank is ludicrous. And those people were soldiers who were just in the line of fire. As that "I can't believe the Captain remembered my birthday!" line showed, they were regular people. So why would Aang feel bad for almost murdering a man who is the direct reason for countless bloodshed (and as the show constantly reminds us, is an awful man who none of his family besides possibly Azula will miss) while not showing emotions for any of those people?
I am pretty sure Aang has no confirmed/official kills. It looks like he killed some people at best.
Quote from: Dr. Insomniac on October 31, 2013, 02:05:41 AMLooking back to my previous message, I'm annoyed at how Aang sees it as impossible to kill Ozai simply because he's another human. Throughout the show, he kills countless soldiers during the Siege of the North and the Day of Black Sun. The former can be justified by the Avatar state, but to think he didn't just kill someone when smashing a Fire Nation tank is ludicrous. And those people were soldiers who were just in the line of fire. As that "I can't believe the Captain remembered my birthday!" line showed, they were regular people. So why would Aang feel bad for almost murdering a man who is the direct reason for countless bloodshed (and as the show constantly reminds us, is an awful man who none of his family besides possibly Azula will miss) while not showing emotions for any of those people?
As you already said, in the Siege of the North, he was in the Avatar State. As for the rest of the show, as ridiculous as it might be that Aang's destructive power didn't at least kill a few people, the fact is that there really are no confirmed kills that were by his hands (or bending, in this case). It's a cartoon, so I can give the physics a bit of slack, myself.
I am glad we didnt have to see the Avatar equivalent of pilots parachuting out of destroyed planes. Ugh.
Jsut a quick heads-up because I only now found this out, but Korra is coming on at 8:00/7:00c, not 8:30. Yeah, another stupid schedule change. Cartoon Network has nothing on Nikelodeon when it comes to schedule blunders. :unimpressed:
A good episode tonight, though aside from Mako being arrested not too much happened. Korra did make up with Tenzin though, and she went with the more subtle approaches this time. I hope she'll be more like this for the rest of the season. I am glad I was vindicated with her development in this episode, but I hope that doesn't change in the season finale.
The last episode was kind of frustrating. Every teen, except ironically, Korra, was kind of incompetent in this episode. Asami and Bolin didn't even try to believe Mako and Mako talked about Varrick.....at a place Varrick owned. Then his goons took him away right afterwards and Mako seemed to not understand that Varrick was threatening to kill Asami and Bolin. The major adult characters didn't come off as too much better. Unalaq pretty much confirmed he was a dick when he ignored his son getting badly injured. Lin has just been a typical stern action movie cop boss. Why she completely ignores everything Mako says to her and just acts like an ass to him despite what they been through in Season 1 is beyond me. Maybe she's trying hard to not treat him like he's special. Hopefully she is just pretending while keeping an eye on those mustaches assholes and perhaps Varrick too. And Tenzin...This one bugs me the most. He came off badly when he repeatedly said that Jadora didn't know what she was doing because he was the "expert". They could have made him be frustrated about never going to The Spirit World and not being able to help Korra get there without that. Even then, I wish Tenzin got to go instead of Jadora. Korra FINALLY listen to him...and then he gets left behind. For how long, who knows? And I think it has been made clear that Tenzin won't question Jadora's abilities again.
The episode certainly wasn't all bad. We got to see present day Vatu and that Unalaq is in fact working with him. He also told Unalaq to go after Korra since they are both in The Spirit World. I suspect Unalaq will reveal if he knows Vatu wants to wipe out all life and what his true goals for the world are.
I might have missed it, but did Bolin ever ask his brother why he was in jail? It wouldn't surprise me if he didn't since he barely seemed to care about it.
Wasn't he there when Mako was arrested?
Quote from: ShadowGentleman on November 15, 2013, 07:30:48 PM
Wasn't he there when Mako was arrested?
Yes, both him and Asami.
I only remember Asami being there, but I guess that's one confusion gone.
Last week's episode was great. It was nice to see Iroh again.
This week's two part episode was good, but there were some rocky moments.
Well, for the curious they do have the final 2 episodes of Book 2 on the Nick Website. International viewers, you might need a proxy of some sort to get around this.
I will say the finale sure was something. Kind of interested in seeing how Book 3 will handle thing. Yes, I am confident that we're at least getting those 2 other seasons. I mean, what else does Nick have to lose by funding more Korra? They're already losing in the ratings.
They wouldn't have lost ratings as much if they had left it on Saturday morning where it aired last time. Or if they didn't keep shuffling it around Friday nights. :srs:
But at least it seems there are some interesting things that could come into play in the next season. :thumbup:
I liked the finale to this season. It neatly wrapped up this story arc and also left an interesting opening up for future seasons. For all of the flak that this season got, I didn't think the first half was that bad, as it had elements to it which I enjoyed, and I thought that the 2nd half was some solidly good stuff backed up by well-written material. It's easily the most flawed season of the show, so far, but I think it still holds plenty of its own merit to justify its existence. I'll definitely be watching Book 3 when it comes out next year.
These last few episodes where the first time since the series began that I've really enjoyed the it. Glad see Korra finally got some good development and realized an identity outside of being the Avatar. I really loved her talk with Tenzin.
I'm hoping some of the characters that didn't have much focus this season get some in the next. And Varrick needs to come back.
Outside of episodes 3-6 I finally got a chance to catch up. I also went ahead and looked at the finale as well. Definitely some good stuff there, and I believe I last left off on episode 2, where I had a problem with Korra's attitude. Obviously I was kinda dumbfounded when I saw Asami and Mako back together.
Bolin, for the first time got a chuckle out of me. It's no secret that I don't care for him, but to actually see him shine for once, while I won't say it was a treat, but it was decent. However, before any of that I was definitely getting a bit annoyed (mainly because I don't know how Mako ended up in jail, and to see Bolin acting like that rubbed me the wrong way. Then again, I don't care for the brothers at all at this point)
Jinora was probably the better character in this season to me seeing how Lin (or was it Liz? I feel so outta touch here) from what I saw, seemed to have been brushed aside.
Overall, outside of missing episodes 3-6, I thought this season was good. Better ending than Book 1's ending. However, I am a little concerned now. A dark avatar, sounds like something that should go towards a series finale instead of a season finale, but I guess this is why I don't write or tell stories. I guess in my mind, I don't see how they can improve upon Korra's story any further (unless somehow the dark avatar goes through it's own cycle, but, well considering how it ended, I don't see that happening) without coming off as weak. If there is a book 3, I hope they find some way to make it a strong one.
Awesome stuff though, considering I was almost ready to call it quits after the 2nd episode.
I actually hope they don't just brush aside the idea of the Dark Avatar with the ending of this season. There is so much potential greatness with that concept, to have a permanent nemesis for the Avatar that also goes through its own reincarnation cycle. The way things were left off, it felt open enough for that possibility. Remember, Korra didn't actually seal Vaatu back in the tree again. She just weirdly kind of dissolved him and Unalaq into particles. So, I wouldn't think it'd be too hard for the writersto find him a way to gain another human host.
You have a point. I'm still not sure how that technique Unalaq taught to Korra works. It's purifying right? So maybe they can still go on that idea, at least I hope, because any other way might just come off as weak to me.
Quote from: Ensatsu-ken on November 16, 2013, 12:07:29 PMI actually hope they don't just brush aside the idea of the Dark Avatar with the ending of this season. There is so much potential greatness with that concept, to have a permanent nemesis for the Avatar that also goes through its own reincarnation cycle. The way things were left off, it felt open enough for that possibility.
There's a bit of a problem with that. The first Avatar had obtained all four elements before fusing with Rava. Unalak only had waterbending. So would the Dark Avatar be all waterbenders?
Quote from: Daikun on November 16, 2013, 08:01:46 PMThere's a bit of a problem with that. The first Avatar had obtained all four elements before fusing with Rava. Unalak only had waterbending. So would the Dark Avatar be all waterbenders?
I was referring more to the fact that Korra hadn't sealed away Vaatu like Wan did. Since Vaatu cannot be destroyed in the same way that Rava cannot be destroyed, it wouldn't be implausible for his spirit to still be lingering about in some form. If he was able to come back at some point, then he could just pick a new host, who could be any bender. The real problem would be in that he'd have to somehow find Lion Turtles to give him the powers of the other elements to hold until he could imbue a single bender with the ability to control all 4 of them. The idea is of course pretty improbable, I admit, but not quite impossible.
Just watched the finale about 10 minutes ago. I liked the first half hour more than the last half hour. Bumi, Kya and Tenzin's adventure in the Spirit World was so much better than Korra and Jinora's. One thing that really impressed me about this season is Tenzin actually got some character development. I thought he would be beyond that. His character arc was a pleasant surprise.
So what I am happy about is Korra finally got it together, Tenzin in general, Varrick in general, Jinora gotsome development, Korra/Mako should be dead for good, so should Ursa/Bolin. What I don't like is Asami pretty much disappeared and I now hate the light spirits as much as the dark...and they decided to leave the Spirit portals open so I am going to have to see them a lot of future seasons. Ugh, I HATE the way light and dark spirits look and I like none of them. I do like some of the "animal" spirits like Koi and the James Marsden one from Beginnings so potentially seeing them again is a plus.
EDIT: Also, I think this is the weakest Avatar season ever. Basically it was a bunch of 6/10 and 7/10 episodes with a few 8s and the obvious two 10s. Mostly because Korra spent about half the season being a hardheaded idiot, Asami and Bolin came off as clueless with the whole Mako situation, Mako shows that he still sucks at relationships and all of that was painful to watch, Lin became a lame archetype, Unalaq is dry and Vaatu of course took his mind over and his plans for merging the two worlds ceased to exist once he became a giant. And yes, I like season 1 of ATLA more than Book 2 of Korra.
Here's how I rank them, myself:
TLA Book 2 = TLA Book 3 > Korra Book 1 > TLA Book 1 > Korra Book 2
I still liked Korra Book 2 despite its flaws, though.
For me it'd probably be Korra 1, TLA 3, Korra 2, TLA 2, TLA 1
Marathoned everything after Beginnings tonight, since I missed everything after. Overall, a big step up from the putrid first half, but to have an event this big be done by a villain as boring as Unalaq. It just... bugs the living fuck out of me.
Quote from: Grave on November 24, 2013, 02:43:17 AMFor me it'd probably be Korra 1, TLA 3, Korra 2, TLA 2, TLA 1
Interesting ranking. I actually found TLA 2 to arguably be the best season of the entire franchise. I tied it with Book 3, though, since that had my favorite Zuko moments, and it finally gave us Avatar Roku's back-story. Also, it had The Boiling Rock, which was awesome. That said, I'd say that the Ba Sing Se arc was honestly my favorite part of Avatar. I also didn't mind Zuko going heel at the ending, since unlike everyone else, I wasn't convinced that he had really even made a full face turn, yet.
Quote from: Ensatsu-ken on November 24, 2013, 02:01:28 AM
Here's how I rank them, myself:
TLA Book 2 = TLA Book 3 > Korra Book 1 > TLA Book 1 > Korra Book 2
I still liked Korra Book 2 despite its flaws, though.
I have it Aang Book 3>Aang Book 2>Korra Book 1>Aang Book 1>Korra Book 2.
I like Korra Book 2 myself too but not as much as you for reasons I stated above. I of course like ATLA Book 1 more than probably anyone here though. I like whole adventure premise, it's just that they made so many mistakes BUT I actually kind of like The Divide so that really shows how much I like the season overall.
I've never really cared much for TLA 2. To be honest I would've dropped it Avatar if it weren't for Azula (and her crew) and Toph, because I didn't care for the majority of the cast (I like Iroh, so you can imagine my reaction at the season finale). The fighting also kept me coming back as well.
To me, Book 2 had some of the strongest writing and best character moments for the entire series. Tales of Ba Sing Se was also one of the best episodes in the show IMO. I think Book 3 was about as good. They were both far above the quality of Book 1 as well as both seasons of Korra, IMO.
While I did really enjoy Korra Book 1, the plotting wasn't anything impressive compared to Books 2 and 3 of TLA, and while it was tightly written, the ending was abysmal. Korra Book 2 was ambitious, but it was easily the most sloppily written season of the bunch, and the first half felt all over the place, despite that I still liked Tenzin's part of the story and didn't hate the characters quite as much as everyone else did. The second half picked up the quality from there, but the damage was already done by that point.
Korra 1 had so much promise. I LOVED the pacing...and then the ending happened and I realized Korra learned nothing that season. She stayed the same. And season 2 happened and I thought they would get it together like I really believed they would in the first Korra Book...and half of the season Korra stayed the same and we got average/below average episodes. I don't really hate any of those episodes but they had a little bit too many flaws.
Also, it seems like people like Wan more than Korra. Seeing Beginnings and how annoying Korra could be up to those episodes created some backlash. I don't think they wanted people to hate Korra but seeing a competent Avatar in her own season did not help...
I think it's more the fact that Wan essentially had the same sort of character arc as Korra, except Wan was able to convincingly progress through his arc in just 2 episodes, whereas Korra took 2 whole seasons to go through the same damn character arc twice. It was aggravating for people because everyone knew where it was going, but nobody wanted to put up with Korra's bitchy-ness for so many episodes before her character finally went anywhere.
I was more forgiving of her character in Book 1 because that was the first season and I understood that they wanted her to grow from being a spoiled, sheltered person into learning her responsibilities and dropping her ego. That was the point of the first season, to me, which is why I didn't agree with ShadowGentleman and others that Korra was a badly written character at that point since to me she was supposed to be somewhat unlikable initially until she developed into a better Avatar, and I still kind of stick by that opinion as far as Book 1 goes, barring the terrible ending in which everything is resolved via Deus Ex Machina and everything that Korra should've learned was immediately thrown out the window. Now with Book 2, the writers really had no excuses. They should have just started Korra as having learned some humility from her past experiences. I'd understand if she was still a bit hot-headed, but there was no reason to repeat her entire character arc from scratch. I think what ticked people off the most about Korra in Book 2 is that she acted as if Book 1 had never happened, and it might as well not have if the writers were basically going to throw out any character development that she or anyone else had in that season (I'm also referring to how both Asami and Lin somehow got dumber between seasons).
At least the ending to Book 2 is too big a change to be ignored. I mean, the title of the next Book is even "Change" (http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2013/11/20/the-legend-of-korra-book-three-will-be-titled-change)
Quote from: Ensatsu-ken on November 24, 2013, 02:01:28 AM
TLA Book 2 = TLA Book 3 > Korra Book 1 > TLA Book 1 > Korra Book 2
I can get behind this.
Quote from: Grave on November 24, 2013, 11:05:10 AM
I've never really cared much for TLA 2. To be honest I would've dropped it Avatar if it weren't for Azula (and her crew) and Toph, because I didn't care for the majority of the cast (I like Iroh, so you can imagine my reaction at the season finale). The fighting also kept me coming back as well.
Book 2's main strength is the Zuko/Iroh/Fire Nation plot. For me that part of the series was always a lot more interesting and engaging then the Gaang, especially when the latter is engadged in pointless filler shenanigans.
Quote from: Ensatsu-ken on November 24, 2013, 12:26:54 PM
I think it's more the fact that Wan essentially had the same sort of character arc as Korra, except Wan was able to convincingly progress through his arc in just 2 episodes, whereas Korra took 2 whole seasons to go through the same damn character arc twice. It was aggravating for people because everyone knew where it was going, but nobody wanted to put up with Korra's bitchy-ness for so many episodes before her character finally went anywhere.
I was more forgiving of her character in Book 1 because that was the first season and I understood that they wanted her to grow from being a spoiled, sheltered person into learning her responsibilities and dropping her ego. That was the point of the first season, to me, which is why I didn't agree with ShadowGentleman and others that Korra was a badly written character at that point since to me she was supposed to be somewhat unlikable initially until she developed into a better Avatar, and I still kind of stick by that opinion as far as Book 1 goes, barring the terrible ending in which everything is resolved via Deus Ex Machina and everything that Korra should've learned was immediately thrown out the window. Now with Book 2, the writers really had no excuses. They should have just started Korra as having learned some humility from her past experiences. I'd understand if she was still a bit hot-headed, but there was no reason to repeat her entire character arc from scratch. I think what ticked people off the most about Korra in Book 2 is that she acted as if Book 1 had never happened, and it might as well not have if the writers were basically going to throw out any character development that she or anyone else had in that season (I'm also referring to how both Asami and Lin somehow got dumber between seasons).
I was actually wondering if Korra would actually change. It just took so long. I couldn't stand the fact that all of her development was ignored from Season 1. Characters like Yusuke and movie Thor (based off of Avengers, haven't seen 2 yet) are good hotheaded/fullofthemselves characters that had some development but retained some of their flaws. The Avatar staff just decided that to make Korra stand out, they decided to not make her change until the last second. Watching her be impulsive is entertaining...but only for so long.
That makes me think about what I've been wondering...how much personality will Korra have in the next season. Ever since the Wan flashbacks straightened her out, she's either been determined or sad/worried. I wonder if she'll have any charisma left. They seemed to rely too much of her being "in-your-face" or whatever, which makes me wonder if they held off of her development because they were afraid that she'd become...kind of boring. I am not saying she is right now, I have to wait to see her in some down time because Korra knuckling down for the last few episodes makes sense, I am just curious what she's be like now.
I also think that people often forget that being a hothead doesn't necessarily have to mean you're an idiot, and Korra was unfortunately both. Someone like Yusuke is the perfect shining example of how to do that type of character the right way. He's rash and irrational in the beginning, understandably, but he gains experience, and more importantly LEARNS from his experience (mainly his past mistakes). He also ends up becoming quite clever while still never losing any of his charismatic personality. Like, when he get's all pissed off when Bakken beats the crap out of an unconscious Kurama, Yusuke may be infuriated, but he doesn't let that turn him into a complete moron. He threatens Bakken with by aiming a Spirit Gun at him, forcing Bakken to finally throw Kurama out of the ring. Then he tries to fight Yusuke by creating a mist around the entire arena, but Yusuke actually thinks for a second and rather than blindly attacking, he just blasts a small spirit gun into the ground to create enough of a force to clear up some of the mist (it's not exactly what I'd call scientifically sound, but at least it's something he tried that just happened to work out, rather than literally trying to throw his fists blindly). And what do you know, he kicks Bakken's ass and still manages to keep his bad-ass attitude while doing it.
Korra is the type of character who wouldn't think to use her abilities in a clever way when anger was clouding her judgement. I don't mind that so much early on in the series, but it does get aggravating when you see the same character repeatedly make the same kinds of mistakes and foolish judgement over and over again.
Quote from: ShadowGentleman on November 24, 2013, 01:18:30 PM
Quote from: Grave on November 24, 2013, 11:05:10 AM
I've never really cared much for TLA 2. To be honest I would've dropped it Avatar if it weren't for Azula (and her crew) and Toph, because I didn't care for the majority of the cast (I like Iroh, so you can imagine my reaction at the season finale). The fighting also kept me coming back as well.
Book 2's main strength is the Zuko/Iroh/Fire Nation plot. For me that part of the series was always a lot more interesting and engaging then the Gaang, especially when the latter is engadged in pointless filler shenanigans.
Agreed, and I was engaged throughout that whole side of the story (like I said, mainly because of Azula and Toph) until the season finale. And to be fair I am over exaggerating quite a bit because it wouldn't be fair for me to dismiss the entire season because of the stupidity of Zuko (forehead smacking for me when he betrayed Iroh), but at the same time, like I said, I only like Azula, Toph, and Iroh.
And don't get me wrong, Book 3 is not without it's faults either (hated the 1st 2 episodes, as well as the Beach), but because I can be satisfied very easy (although I am overly picky at the same time), I felt that from Boiling Rock on up made up for everything else.
I dig Korra more simply because (outside of Bolin and Mako) I enjoy the cast even though they can come off as overly bland at times.
Since Korra has had 4 important Waterbending villains in two seasons, among other things, I can say that my appreciation for Waterbending has really grown. It used to be my least favorite Bending but seeing as Waterbending can Cloud, Blood, Mud, Plantbend, heat up or freeze any source of water into steam/ice and pull water out of plants and air, I now really love it. I wish Korra,or anybody would pull water out of the air or plants. We only got to see it from that old Bloodbending lady in ATLA once.
I wonder what the Book 3 villain will be like. I am guessing that Korra is actually weaker than she used to be so I expect a villain that's weaker as well. In fact, that would seem kind of forced if he or she was stronger than Vatu. They'd have to send a straight up God or something after Korra. Anyway, I hope we get to see the return of emphasis on technique and footwork. Watching Zuko vs. Zhao and Toph vs. Xin Fu were beautiful. I don't want the show to go the "bigger is better" route. That giant spirit battle was ridiculous. Kind of reminds me why I like Sensui's first personality the most. He's slower and weaker than Yusuke but could beat him with superior technique and he was just flat out smarter than him.
It will be Korra's long lost brother.
Who is a water bender.
And who has a tragic past.
I'm thinking and hoping that it's Varrick. He's the most awesome villain in Korra, he deserves to take over as the main villain.
Quote from: Spark Of Spirit on December 03, 2013, 06:44:24 PM
It will be Korra's long lost brother.
Who is a fire bender.
And who has a tragic past.
Sounds likely now.
Quote from: Peanutbutter on December 03, 2013, 09:11:08 PM
I'm thinking and hoping that it's Varrick. He's the most awesome villain in Korra, he deserves to take over as the main villain.
That would be interesting. He is the best Korra villain so far.
Quote from: Spark Of Spirit on December 03, 2013, 06:44:24 PM
It will be Korra's long lost brother.
Who is a water bender.
And who has a tragic past.
And daddy issues.
(https://animationrevelation.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi1.kym-cdn.com%2Fphotos%2Fimages%2Fnewsfeed%2F000%2F656%2F301%2F00e.jpg&hash=e3a2bdb83d1ddddf1c1010916aeb650e121b71a1)
:D
Which characters do you hope will get better treatment in season 3? I hope Asami stops being stupid, Lin is like she was in Season 1, Bolin becomes a detective like Mako (Lin did say there were two positions open and this should have happened a long time ago. It could be great for bolin's character development) and General Iroh gets more more screen time.
Pretty much everything you just said, plus Varrik to return. And Korra to not suddenly become stupid. Again.
One thing thing I do want is some more down to earth episodes to let the characters catch a break.
How'd I forget about Varrick? I doubt they'd make Korra a jackass again. I just hope she retains her personality without having to be one.
(https://animationrevelation.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2Fghndwoe.png&hash=1bb0a89313cd61603ab4b1d0651e68cadc64ef36)
Micki drew something special.
^Nice. :thumbup:
When I first saw Korra Book 1. I loved it. I actually liked it more than any other Avatar season. I thought it was fast paced in comparison and having no filler really helped. I thought the Avatar staff finally did it and made a series without the problems ATLA had. But then after the first or second rewatch, I started to see all the problems with the same, especially the worst one, Korra has no development. Combined that with the fact that I never liked the Deus Ex Machina ending and you have Korra 1's quality drop down severely for me.
With Book 2, I thought, "OK, there's no way they can get it wrong now. I believe they will get it right this time."...and Korra is still pointlessly hotheaded as ever, had no character development after/in between series and doesn't get any until after the incredible Beginnings episodes. The first half was mostly just frustrating for me. The 2nd half was better...but Bolin, Lin and Asami all acted incompetent and Mako decided to get back with Asami which made both him and her look stupid. Also, Unalaq is the most boring Avatar villain ever and I didn't care for the giant spirit battle. Korra Book 2 is of course my least favorite Avatar season.
So I don't believe they can do a series without glaring issues. I'm coming into season 3 with lower expectations.
Book 3 is finally complete (http://www.latintimes.com/legend-korra-season-3-release-date-co-creator-michael-dimartino-reveals-book-3-change-178187) and the release date will hopefully be revealed at Comic-Con.
Also, episodes have been leaked early. (http://www.hypable.com/2014/06/08/early-episodes-of-the-legend-of-korra-season-3-leak-online) (They're in Spanish, though.)
Book 1 was a flawed season but it had its strong points and I still liked it.
Book 2 was REALLY uneven, and while it did have the great stand-alone 2-parter about Wan, the rest of the season just had too many baffling character and plot moments due to weak writing.
Book 3....Well, let's all hope that the third time's the charm.
I hope the writers are back in shape again. Their work on Book 2 was fairly lackluster compared to any other season and held every other aspect of the show up.
I hope Book 3 has more Varrick.
Quote from: Daikun on June 09, 2014, 05:27:19 PM
I hope Book 3 has more Varrick.
Best part of season 2 that wasn't the Wan two-parter.
Quote from: Spark Of Spirit on June 09, 2014, 05:29:09 PM
Quote from: Daikun on June 09, 2014, 05:27:19 PM
I hope Book 3 has more Varrick.
Best part of season 2 that wasn't the Wan two-parter.
That and Tenzin having character development. Such a pleasant surprise.
First official trailer for season 3 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A0UBbzeFc74)
Think I'll do like Season 2 and continue to avoid all footage of the upcoming Book.
That trailer didn't give away much, but those action cuts do look great. It'll also be cool to see Zuko again.
Thanks to Mexican leaks, I have seen the future. It is not pretty.
From what I've heard, there'll be more political and family drama.
You guys are killing my remaining interest in this.
Book 3 premieres June 27. (http://www.ign.com/articles/2014/06/20/exclusive-the-legend-of-korra-book-three-premiere-date-announcement-and-clip)
Well, that was short notice.
The commentary (http://avatarthelegendofkorraonline.com/the-legend-of-korra-book-2-spirits-audio-commentary-notes/6054/) for Book 2, in which the creators explain a few things.
Korra's getting a video game made by Platinum games & published by Activision. (http://www.ign.com/articles/2014/06/25/platinum-games-the-legend-of-korra-coming-in-2014) I don't know what's real anymore.
Quote from: The Shadow Gentleman on June 25, 2014, 08:19:43 AM
The commentary (http://avatarthelegendofkorraonline.com/the-legend-of-korra-book-2-spirits-audio-commentary-notes/6054/) for Book 2, in which the creators explain a few things.
I hate how they say that the final battle isn't supposed to make sense from a physical/practical standpoint and that it's just supposed to be a symbolic/spiritual thing. Fuck that shit, that's just a haphazard way of resolving things just so you can get the ending you want and is not good storytelling. It also bothers me that even they don't know what the hell Jinora did in the final battle. :srs:
Makorra being dead is great and all, but unless both of them become better characters next season, it's not really going to mean much. Just the fact they were in a relationship was not the problem, rather, it was how they behaved and the circumstances and actions that led to them getting together and led them to falling out being obnoxious and making them really annoying, unsympathetic jerks. I'd hope they learned this and write them better next season, but I'm not getting my hopes up.
So we're getting a Korra action game made by the best action game developer on the planet? If this is true, then expect the story to suck and the gameplay mechanics to be amazing.
Quote from: Dr. Ensatsu-ken on June 25, 2014, 03:36:44 PM
So we're getting a Korra action game made by the best action game developer on the planet? If this is true, then expect the story to suck and the gameplay mechanics to be amazing.
We just watched season two a few months ago.
We're used to it.
Yes, but the improvement is that season 2 in fact didn't have any gameplay mechanics at all. By tacking on something good to a bad story, it automatically makes I better than a bad story by itself.[/logic]
Just saw the first two episodes of the new season. The villains being a group of criminals as well being benders of every element is different, the armless Waterbending one is really cool so far. The leader seems like he has quite the backstory. While Bolin had some bad luck, Mako seemed to get quite the abuse at times too. I liked Korra's interactions with Asami in this.
A pretty good beginning, we'll see how the rest of the season goes.
The first three episodes of season 3 were pretty good. Korra is finally acting sensibly, they've given Asami stuff to do, and Mako and Bolin have become more tolerable characters again and they had some great moments in the third episode. Zuko is back and awesome and I'm happy about that, and the main plot for this season looks to be very interesting. This is a much stronger start than Book 2 had and I hope that it can keep being entertaining throughout the season, though since this is Korra, I'm keeping my expectations for the season moderate.
I just got done watching the first 3 episodes. It looks like the writers finally got their act together. This is looking much more focused than the previous 2 seasons. I hope they can stay on track this time.
Wait, so how can Korra use the Avatar State? Didn't she have her connection the the previous Avatars severed in Book 2?
As for the first 3 episodes, while I do find some of the execution to be lacking, it definitely seems like a step up from Book 2, so far. I also like how the main group of villains are benders of each different element.
And of course Zuko being back is a welcome sight.
Quote from: Dr. Ensatsu-ken on June 28, 2014, 01:15:17 AMWait, so how can Korra use the Avatar State? Didn't she have her connection the the previous Avatars severed in Book 2?
Raava came back at the season finale. Yes, the previous Avatars are gone, but her connection to Raava lets her use the Avatar State.
Season 3 premieres to lackluster ratings. (http://www.nickandmore.com/2014/06/30/the-legend-of-korra-premieres-to-horrible-ratings/)
Of course, Nick only announced the show's return a week in advance and barely promoted it, so what else would you expect?
I didn't even remember it was on.
Good Job Nick, you didn't even put the episodes on your website or your On Demand service either. You really want people to watch this show.
Yeah, I had no idea the premiere was on when it was. And we can't even catch it online? Lame.
The third season has been doing well so far, and Nick's slipshod scheduling has been going on since the second season started. So at least we can say it's not because of the writing quality.
It's really stupid of Nick to do this, considering how it was globally popular. I hate to say this, but I think the reason why they're burying Korra is because they still resent that it's main character is female. I don't know how Korra's toys have been selling, but I could see them doing this just so they can prove themselves right about "girls not buying toys".
There are toys of Korra?
How can you blame the writing quality on the ratings if it's only been on for a week, anyway?
It looks like Korra will air two new episodes a week for the entirety of the season. (http://republiccitydispatch.com/post/90657916178/korra-schedule-revealed-korra-will-air-2)
Wow. Nick really wants to burn this show out quickly, huh?
Probably it's the last season and that might be the justification. Still really stupid though.
Korra was renewed through season 4 way back when the first season was still airing, so we've still got one more coming up. I am betting the show will end after that one airs, though.
OMG, Book 3 already premiered weeks ago?! Me avoiding this thread due to avoiding leaked episode info and me avoiding Nick made me being oblivious possible.
What's the name of the first episode?
"A Breath of Fresh Air"
Thanks, homie. (Hopefully) I am about to start catching up now so I can watch the new episodes tonight. How many episodes have been shown so far?
The first three episodes have already aired. From this week forward there will be two new episodes every week until the season is finished.
I just figured out that, except for the two new episodes every week from now on so thanks. ;D
I just finished episode 3. Looks like they are getting it right finally. Episode 1 really was a fresh breath of air. Korra is concerned, funny, has her attitude back and has clearly developed. Almost like Yusuke after Dark Tournament where he realized that he shouldn't be stuck in his old ways. Basically, what I've been wanting Korra to be like. I also like what they have been doing with Asami. Korra and Asami finally came clean with each other so it finally makes sense that Asami can stand to be around her. Asami has also been more than "blah, fly/supply stuff and have Mako turn to you" girl. Her trying to teach Korra to drive also showed her getting out of her being just a driver for everyone and I was so happy to see her actually fight again. She literally fought no one in Book 2 and with Bumi becoming an Airbender, she could be the good non-bender character like she should have been last season.
Speaking of Bumi, I am glad he became an Airbender. I loved that part. I thought he actually was justa late bloomer at first but that's obviously not true.
The new big bad already has more personality than Amon and the evil Unalaq combined and that made me love his reveal scene. I hope his motivations aren't too clinched. Oh and he's an Airbender! I believe Grave was talking about having a villain be one here. Also, having a Combustion Woman sounds interesting. They are covering a lot of possibilities.
Finally, Zuko, finally.
Bolin gave me my first big laugh of the season. That grandma impersonation was hilarious. I am happy he has actually has a good goal this season.
Korra going on an adventure is what I've been asking for. If they also reach ALTA Book 1's potential, this will be my favorite season. I love adventure more than probably anything in an action show.
It became kind of obvious that their quest for Airbenders would not be as optimistic as they were putting it from the start seeing as the first stranger Airbender they found almost fell off of a freaking bridge. The farmer put it perfectly, he's just a man with Airbender. That showed how silly the optimism the gang showed and in what can be found in similar shows can be when it comes to situations like this. I thought the scenes where they where looking for Airbenders when on too long. I already knew only a few special characters would join by then. That's my only complaint so far.
I don't know what to make of Ky except he reminds me of a cross between Aang and Yahiko...ok, thathas a lot of potential once I think about it. I like the Dai Li's return and how they are villains ago. After seeing them hover by the brothers, that's what I had hoped for. I do hope this visit to BOSS doesn't last too long though. I want to see some different places. Anyway, the bros being united with their family was a great surprise. Even though Mako is still blah, it's good that they both finally have been written a good place in the show.
This...improvement may be two seasons too late but my faith is being restored in the Avatar staff.
Here's a recent interview with Korra's actress Janet Varney:
http://www.followingthenerd.com/tv/the-big-interview-ftn-interviews-korra-herself-janet-varney/
According to her, the reason the schedule has been screwy is because of how complicated the production on the show is. I'd like to believe she's right, but I think that was just an excuse she was given. The fact that Korra isn't even repeating on Nick.com or OnDemand or any of the other cable venues speaks volumes about what Nick thinks of this show.
You mean not repeating? Yeah, that sounds shady.
^Yeah, I forgot to say "isn't" instead of "is", my bad.
Anyway, five episodes in now and I can now safely say the beginning of this season is way better than how last season started. They've done a much better job with Asami, Bolin, AND Mako's roles this go-around. Kai seems okay so far, I don't mind them apparently shipping him with Jinorra. I am glad they've still dropped Mako/Korra though. Even Bolin's relationship with Opal seems like it's going to be way better than the ice princess (whom thankfully has been sticking to what her character does better: deadpan snarking and awesome ive-bending with her brother).
I could have done without Lin's attitude in the last episode though, if they had at least showed what happened with her sister it might be more tolerable. But right now, yeesh. :imnothappy: At least it's obvious they're going to have flashback or something very soon.
Finally on the villains' side, not only do we meet Combustion Woman and Zaheer being awesomely clever; VARRICK IS BACK!!! WHOOHOO!!!! :worship: :worship: :worship:
Quote from: Peanutbutter on July 11, 2014, 08:35:44 PMVARRICK IS BACK!!! WHOOHOO!!!! :worship: :worship: :worship:
:joy:
I'm wondering if the rest of this season will focus on the Zaheer thing and the plot of Book 4 will be the Earth Queen going to war with the Republic with Varrick trying to profit from war again.
Episode 4: I watched it early this morning. My favorite episode so far. I love that Yaanghiko is showing good development and that he's multi-dimensional. I also loved the Dai Li action (and seeing Lake Laogai). I fanboyed pretty hard during all of that. I think I'm underappreciating the fact that they have a small army of Airbenders now. That was pretty awesome.
Lord Zuko has his first Korra fight..and gets his butt kicked. This series is kind to no hero. I suspected as much because when top villains show up near the beginning, benevolent asses get whipped. Only Bumi and Asami are undefeated in the show now and Bumi barely counts.
I wonder if they were comparing Earth Queen forcing people in her army to how Korra and Tenzin tried to get Airbenders to join them..ok, it's kind of obvious they were seeing how nice they were afterwards
Episode 5: I finished this about ten minutes ago. I like how this was a slower character and world building episode. And that Varrick showed up out of nowhere. That was a great surprise. I also loved everything about the metal city. Seeing that metal bending elevator made me feel better about Ba Sing Se replacing their Earthbending train...with a train.
Korra shows that she's still heavy handed with other people's personal problems. She honestly had no busy saying anything about that. I wonder what Ba Fong's sister did to her.
At first I thought bald dude was someone Zaheer sent then I figured it was him and was right...yeah, this what happens when you take in strangers in your home. Oh and Kya faces her first human in the show and gets her butt kicked. Again, show not kind.
Also, Zaheer reminds me of something I thought of about a few episodes ago - this Book seems to have a running theme of things not being what they seem.
Also, I like how this season directly ties into the last. Especially with how Book 2 never ever referenced Book 1 outside of talking about Probending, Mako/Korra and Tenzin training Korra. I was genuinely surprised when Bolin mentioned the Book 1 revolution since it was never talked about in Book 2.
I think Zaheer is trying to use Korra to reach enlightenment.
Remember the Swamp in ATLA that created a tornado? I think they implied that the planet has a spirit and it might be responsible for creating new Airbenders.
Hopefully they show a flashback of Sokka helping fight this season's villain. Especially if he is shown finally using his boomerang and sword together, Link style. Especially if he hits Combustion Woman in the forehead. I suspect that the villains won't have anyone else working with them and they decided to try and give them a lot of personality because of that.
Now they just got to have benders who can use neutral ging, bend water out of air and have multi-colored flames like those master dragons had.
Did anyone else watch episodes 6 and 7?
As for my thoughts:
-Eh, I understand Lin's beef with her sister, but after seeing the flash-back....yeah, I kind of have to side with her sister a bit. It was a long time ago and it wasn't so horrendous a thing that Lin had to be as much of a bitch as she was about it. It really didn't justify her taking it out on Opal in the previous episodes. At one point I was wondering if her aggression was really directed more towards Toph than her sister, but she seems to be fine after they had that fight, so I guess not. What we do see that's interesting is the moral gray-ness of the situation, and how Toph, much like Aang, wasn't necessarily an ideal parent.
-So it looks like Tenzin's ways of tradition just won't help him connect with his new disciples. It's nothing new, really, as he had the same problem while trying to train Korra, but at least it looks like he's finally accepted the fact that his methods might not be the most ideal.
This week's episodes were kind of slow, but I do see how the airbender episode helps to set up the rebirth of the air nation, and for the sake of this plot, it'll give them a mini-army of capable benders who they will no doubt have to use against Zaheer in some way by the end of this season.
I think all the pent up anger wasn't jut the thing that happened but the fact that she followed her mother's footsteps, thinking it would make her proud, but it didn't, and Su went off on her own after being a brat, and got the happy family, the city, the togetherness and all that bullshit.
The airbender episode was alright, and a nice change of pace, but we're about halfway through the season now and Korra still hasn't even seen Zaheer and his crew.
This seasons pretty solid so far. I like the idea of the Air Nation being rebuilt, and the Zaheer confrontation looks like it will be good.
Needs more Varrick though.
Quote from: Dr. Ensatsu-ken on July 19, 2014, 08:58:44 PM
Did anyone else watch episodes 6 and 7?
As for my thoughts:
-Eh, I understand Lin's beef with her sister, but after seeing the flash-back....yeah, I kind of have to side with her sister a bit. It was a long time ago and it wasn't so horrendous a thing that Lin had to be as much of a bitch as she was about it. It really didn't justify her taking it out on Opal in the previous episodes. At one point I was wondering if her aggression was really directed more towards Toph than her sister, but she seems to be fine after they had that fight, so I guess not. What we do see that's interesting is the moral gray-ness of the situation, and how Toph, much like Aang, wasn't necessarily an ideal parent.
-So it looks like Tenzin's ways of tradition just won't help him connect with his new disciples. It's nothing new, really, as he had the same problem while trying to train Korra, but at least it looks like he's finally accepted the fact that his methods might not be the most ideal.
This week's episodes were kind of slow, but I do see how the airbender episode helps to set up the rebirth of the air nation, and for the sake of this plot, it'll give them a mini-army of capable benders who they will no doubt have to use against Zaheer in some way by the end of this season.
Yeah, this just made Lin look bad. I almost thought her sister killed somebody or something. Most of the time I thought she stole a man or something but it ended up being something even smaller than that. Hopefully Lin doesn't get as much backlash as Korra did in the first half of season 2..and people start liking her sister and not her, like how so many people loved Wan and turned on Korra (and called her a bitch)
And yep, episode 7 was a decent slow episode. It had some key development and Kai clearly actually cares about Jinora (and the bison, that was a nice touch) At first it seemed like he would just use her.
Also, not a fan of Korra becoming a metal bender. I liked the idea of the Avatar never becoming a specialist in any element(Lightning, Blood, Metal). I think it kind of makes the others even less useful. Hell, Mako and Bolin have been kind of good for nothing when it comes to fights already.
Quote from: Nel_Annette on July 19, 2014, 09:29:08 PM
I think all the pent up anger wasn't jut the thing that happened but the fact that she followed her mother's footsteps, thinking it would make her proud, but it didn't, and Su went off on her own after being a brat, and got the happy family, the city, the togetherness and all that bullshit.
The airbender episode was alright, and a nice change of pace, but we're about halfway through the season now and Korra still hasn't even seen Zaheer and his crew.
Um, so? Korra's doing her own thing and developing even more and we are learning a tiny bit more about Zaheer's motivations and skills (He wants to kill the president and he can spiritually sense Korra's and possibly others' locations) Them meeting near the end would not be a problem at all.
Because we're halfway through the season. Them not meeting until the end would be a problem when they've built up him and his crew as these complete badasses and we haven't even gotten to see them face off against the heroes yet. There needs to be an ass-kicking so Korra knows what she's dealing with and I don't want it to be on a cliffhanger.
I've been enjoying Zaheer and crew slowly tracking down Korra as build-up to the confrontation, myself. As far as I'm concerned they've shown they are badasses plenty already through their actions thus far. In any case, now that Zaheer knows where Korra is, they're likely to be face to face in next week's episodes.
And it's not like this is the first time that an Avatar doesn't encounter the main villain until the end. I mean, in The Last Airbender, Aang never met face to face with Ozai until literally the second to last episode, and they didn't start fighting until the final episode itself. You don't need to have the hero meet the villain to establish how serious and powerful the villain is (Hunter X Hunter is a series that does this quite a lot, and pretty much proves that point).
Quote from: Nel_Annette on July 20, 2014, 10:20:57 AM
Because we're halfway through the season. Them not meeting until the end would be a problem when they've built up him and his crew as these complete badasses and we haven't even gotten to see them face off against the heroes yet. There needs to be an ass-kicking so Korra knows what she's dealing with and I don't want it to be on a cliffhanger.
I disagree on two parts. 1. Them continuing to build them up before a fight would not be a problem. 2. Did you forget that they stomped Zuko, Kya, Korra's Dad and cousins? They already have faced heroes. We don't need to see them against Korra personally. We get the point already. They are badasses. I'm more interested in what drives the group right now.
Speaking of Hunter X Hunter, Gon and Killua never even see Mereum in person.
Quote from: gunswordfist on July 20, 2014, 02:51:38 PM
Speaking of Hunter X Hunter, Gon and Killua never even see Mereum in person.
Gon did see Meruem. He passed by him, Netero, and Zeno while he was heading to confront Pitou.
Oh right. The human stenographer would know. :bleh:
...as opposed to a non-human stenographer? :D
I swear some of them seem like machines. :srs:
Quote from: Cartoon X on July 20, 2014, 02:55:00 PM
Quote from: gunswordfist on July 20, 2014, 02:51:38 PM
Speaking of Hunter X Hunter, Gon and Killua never even see Mereum in person.
Gon did see Meruem. He passed by him, Netero, and Zeno while he was heading to confront Pitou.
To be fair, I think the point was that Gon and Killua never actually "met" with Meruem.
Maybe, but he said "see," not "met," so I just felt like pointing out that, technically, Gon did see him. :P
Quote from: Dr. Ensatsu-ken on July 20, 2014, 03:09:19 PM
Quote from: Cartoon X on July 20, 2014, 02:55:00 PM
Quote from: gunswordfist on July 20, 2014, 02:51:38 PM
Speaking of Hunter X Hunter, Gon and Killua never even see Mereum in person.
Gon did see Meruem. He passed by him, Netero, and Zeno while he was heading to confront Pitou.
To be fair, I think the point was that Gon and Killua never actually "met" with Meruem.
I actually did also mean that they've never even seen him.
Konietzko confirms Korra will be ending after it's fourth season. (http://www.salon.com/2014/07/18/you_gotta_deal_with_it_the_tv_writers_behind_the_powerful_female_character_no_one_is_talking_about/)
I've been watching bits of it, and it's definitely an improvement over season 2. I do wonder where it's heading, which is a bit more than I can say for that season.
Quote from: Cartoon X on July 21, 2014, 11:53:50 AM
Konietzko confirms Korra will be ending after it's fourth season. (http://www.salon.com/2014/07/18/you_gotta_deal_with_it_the_tv_writers_behind_the_powerful_female_character_no_one_is_talking_about/)
Gasp and shock.
Quote from: Cartoon X on July 21, 2014, 11:53:50 AM
Konietzko confirms Korra will be ending after it's fourth season. (http://www.salon.com/2014/07/18/you_gotta_deal_with_it_the_tv_writers_behind_the_powerful_female_character_no_one_is_talking_about/)
Hmm, it sounds like they want it to end in season 4 and it's not because of network pressure. I could be wrong.
If Season 3 continues to be as good as it is (or even better) and season 4 is as good (or better) than I won't be too sad to see it go. The show seems to be reaching its potential.
Provided things end well in the fourth season, I'm fine with them wrapping up. I wonder though if they won't try to convince Nick to greenlight another Avatar series in the "modern day".
They could also try a prequel for an Avatar from several generations before Aang's era. The Universe of the franchise would really benefit from having its history and mythos enriched and expanded (something that has worked out terrifically for the ASOIAF series).
What's ASOIAF?
I would not want to see a modern day Avatar. It would seem like too many other shows. I want them to animate all the good comics. They can put some of them into movies.
Also, I haven't heard too much to suggest that a series for another new Avatar wouldn't be possible.
Quote from: gunswordfist on July 21, 2014, 03:31:58 PM
What's ASOIAF?
I would not want to see a modern day Avatar. It would seem like too many other shows. I want them to animate all the good comics. They can put some of them into movies.
Also, I haven't heard too much to suggest that a series for another new Avatar wouldn't be possible.
Aryan Sluts Ovulating In A Freezer
Sounds like something on my hard drive.
Everybody, if you have Xbox Silver (or Gold), you can download the first episode of every Avatar and Korra season, excluding Book 3, off of Xbox Video right now! Since it'd take up too much space, I deleted enough space for at least one video so I can hit download, then delete it and just redownload the video whenever I can.
Abysmal Shit-wads Orchestrating Incest And Fucking
Sounds like a shock plot device from an 80s comic.
Arya Slices Off Ilyn's Ass. Finally.
Able Sluts Offer Igloo Anal Frappes
Nick has pulled the premieres of the last five episodes of Book 3. (http://www.nickandmore.com/2014/07/23/nickelodeon-pulls-five-legend-of-korra-premieres/) Episode 8 of the season will air as planned this friday, but the remaining episodes are no longer scheduled to air as planned. It is unknown when they will actually air at this point in time, but maybe they'll be clarification at it's Comic Con panel on Friday.
Things are not looking good for Korra. I wouldn't be surprised if they burn off season 4 on Nicktoons, at this point.
To be replaced with nothing, I'm sure.
Nick is just dropping the ball with everything.
So apparently the remaining episodes will be "moving to digital," (http://bryankonietzko.tumblr.com/post/92677924067) which I'm assuming just means they'll be uploaded on Nick's website without airing on tv at all.
....Fuck you, Nickelodeon. :anger:
Whoever runs Nick is a moron. It'd be bad enough if it was only Korra, but you combine that with the Sam and Cat debacle and it's obvious a serious change-up is needed. How can Nick be this stupid?! :wth:
What Talon said over at Toon Zone summed it all perfectly:
Quote'know what? Ladies and gentlemen, to truly understand how badly Nickelodeon has screwed up The Legend of Korra, we have to go back a little bit, to see how exactly we got here:
Mike & Bryan decide to announce a sequel series to their animated hit, Avatar: The Last Airbender, this time named "The Legend of Korra". Thanks to the worst movie ever made, Nick decides to pick it up as a 12-episode mini-series rather than as an actual series.
But wait! The ratings of LoK showed people want more of it! So Nick renews the series after they finished making the 12 episodes, meaning that now they have to spend more than a year to make 12 all new episodes which put the series in an unbearable hiatus.
The series comes back from a hell of a hiatus! To little fanfare and a new spot on television's deathslot: friday nights!
After a season of plummeting ratings, 3 episodes of LOK's 3rd book gets leaked. Instead of doing the rational thing, Nick premiered Book 3 in the same deathslot with absolutely no promotion and not even putting the episodes online time!
But now it is online! ALL the premiering episodes are now only available online! Thank you so much for your ineptitude, Nickelodeon! Thank you so much!
This isn't dropping the ball, this is like dropping the ball while crossing a plank that could break any second over lava and that ball just happened to contain the medicine you needed to give someone to live. Good Job Nick.
They haven't treated Korra very well since the beginning. I guess they just hope something will give them good ratings without any effort on their part. As if everything works like Spongebob.
Of course, its an approach that isn't working for them at all.
Now more than ever, I'm glad their ratings across the board are tanking. I love Korra and hate that it didn't do better, but at least she's taking down all of Nick's garbage with her. :bleh:
http://cowboybebop2000.tumblr.com/post/92684158365/to-nickelodeon
The final episodes of the third season will be released weekly on Nick.com starting August 1st, (http://korranation.tumblr.com/post/92735712934/book-3-moving-to-digital-release) as well as Amazon, Google Play, Xbox, and Hulu.
Well, it was fun while it lasted. Let me know how it ends.
Poor Little Canadian.
which xbox app will it be on?
And now that I'm used to the whole hour thing, they give us one episode and in the second Korra's slot... a fucking Spongebob repeat.
Fuck you, Nickelodeon. So, sooooo much.
What a surprise, a Spongebob repeat.
According to this (http://youtu.be/yomd3_C0UO0) Comic Con panel, the creators claimed that Nick decided to pull the show off air because it did so well in terms of streaming and digital downloads, while it's TV ratings were less than exceptional.
Needless to say, I don't buy it in the least, and since the creators obviously can't bad mouth Nick in front of everyone in public, they clearly just made up an excuse.
There are, in fact, 2 very specific reasons why the explanation given (probably) can't hold true:
1. If Nick wanted to support digital streaming for the show so much, then why the hell did they see fit to NOT make the show available for either streaming or download ANYWHERE online? Meanwhile they burned through the first half of the season on TV in less than a month (in the Friday death slot that worked "so well" for Book 2).
2. Why have they made absolutely no official statement themselves explaining the situation and how they would justify only airing Korra digitally? And on top of that, they hardly even advertised the show, either on TV or online.
What''s really funny is just last week during the new episodes, they were putting up commercials for the new episodes saying "Only on Nickelodeon!" and "Available nowhere online!". The cruel, cruel irony.
Quote from: Dr. Ensatsu-ken on July 26, 2014, 12:46:53 PM
According to this (http://youtu.be/yomd3_C0UO0) Comic Con panel, the creators claimed that Nick decided to pull the show off air because it did so well in terms of streaming and digital downloads, while it's TV ratings were less than exceptional.
Needless to say, I don't buy it in the least, and since the creators obviously can't bad mouth Nick in front of everyone in public, they clearly just made up an excuse.
There are, in fact, 2 very specific reasons why the explanation given (probably) can't hold true:
1. If Nick wanted to support digital streaming for the show so much, then why the hell did they see fit to NOT make the show available for either streaming or download ANYWHERE online? Meanwhile they burned through the first half of the season on TV in less than a month (in the Friday death slot that worked "so well" for Book 2).
2. Why have they made absolutely no official statement themselves explaining the situation and how they would justify only airing Korra digitally? And on top of that, they hardly even advertised the show, either on TV or online.
My thoughts on the whole thing are long-winded, and I'm contractually-obligated to write about at least 6,000 words about
The Legend of Korra for this site before September, so here is the Cliff's Notes version:
- Nickelodeon obviously panicked in light of the Nick Mundo leak of episodes three through six of Book Three. This caused them to discard any plans they had for airing the season and scrap them for ones. This is inferred from the fact that a licensed video game from a high-quality developer is being released this Fall and how much the channel loves it's cross-marketing tie-ins.
- One thing that was mentioned was that such a move has been in talks since Book Two, and when pushed about it, the creators said that it wasn't the move itself that shocked them, but WHEN the move was made and how it was announced that pissed the hell out of them. Frankly, I can believe that the show has been doing well-enough online and that such a thing in combination with the show's subpar rating would make Nick do such a thing because...
- If you haven't noticed, the climate of television has been changing a lot due to the introduction of Hulu, Amazon Instant Video, Netflix, and other similar services. Cable networks have been trying to take advantage of this recently and a nice example in children's television that I can think of off-the-top of my head is Cartoon Network's Always On initiative. What that, you ask? It's an on-demand video service that allows you not only to watch their on-air programming, but also exclusive content such as Detentionaire and Angelo Rules. Exclusive content makes people want to use something, after all. That's why the term "killer application" exists. The point being that Nickelodeon has their own app at the moment, and they'd want to push that with something big as well. What better than a series that's already doing well online and doesn't happen fit their on-air personality.
- Finally, and this is the biggest point: If Nickelodeon truly wanted to kill Korra...why would they continue financing the fourth season? Why not just pull the plug and tell the creators to screw themselves ala Invader Zim. Nickelodeon continuing to make a fourth season means that the channel legitimately wants The Legend of Korra to be a flagship series for their digital services and wants to see it continue to succeed online. If they really were throwing the show under the bus, why not just quietly move it to a death slot like Disney would, or just stop talking about it like Cartoon Network?
All this talk about
The Legend of Korra getting treated like crap bugs me because it is far from the worst show that Nickelodeon themselves have treated poorly, much less some travesty on the level of
Young Justice or
Motorcity. To sum it all up in a single image. (http://37.media.tumblr.com/c4703e60ad355418d99205c4c2075347/tumblr_n9apcnseDu1rhuguao1_1280.png)
Yet you completely ignored the point that I made about Nickelodeon NOT making the show available online ANYWHERE for the first several weeks of this show's run, and in fact doubled the amount of usual content for the show released each week and burned through the first half of the season in under a month. If Nick was really pushing for this online movement as you say, then it would be nice if you could explain to me the logic in not actually making it available online anywhere.
Quote from: Dr. Ensatsu-ken on July 26, 2014, 10:53:36 PM
Yet you completely ignored the point that I made about Nickelodeon NOT making the show available online ANYWHERE for the first several weeks of this show's run, and in fact doubled the amount of usual content for the show released each week and burned through the first half of the season in under a month. If Nick was really pushing for this online movement as you say, then it would be nice if you could explain to me the logic in not actually making it available online anywhere.
Panic mode + Nickelodeon's poor treatment of even A-rank properties such as
Spongebob Squarepants + Inability to break news to a fanbase easily = The whole situation Korra has been going through recently. Yes, I know all of this is stupid, but Nickelodeon is kinda stupid with how it treats its stuff. I think Nickelodeon is serious about this if only because they're funding a fourth season of an action series. Action animation is expensive as hell, which is why network usually push merchandise to help offset the costs a little bit. The fact that Korra doesn't have that and they're STILL letting the crew finish the story they want to tell speaks leagues about their well-intentional idiocy. Nickelodeon isn't in a place where they can afford to take risks like this and come up okay; they're seriously losing viewership to Disney Channel and even Cartoon Network to a lesser extent. Doing this is a gamble and Nickelodeon knows it.
First online episode is up! Go watch now! (http://www.nick.com/videos/clip/legend-of-korra-209-full-episode.html)
*Waits for impressions*
Pretty good stuff. I was surprised at the connection between Zaheer and Unalaq, and I like Zaheer's misguided anti-government ideology, which I find nice since the season went out of it's way to show inept/corrupt government leaders in this season, and as we've seen from this series in the past. It should be fun seeing the Red Lotus go up against the Earth Queen's forces with Korra and co. caught in the middle, next episode.
We finally learn the antagonist's motivation! Go watch this one, people! (http://www.nick.com/videos/clip/legend-of-korra-209-full-episode.html)
Welp, Aiwei got fucked. So is he just going to rot in the physical world in a meditative pose for the rest of his body's life? I also liked how it tied into the events of last season, and how Zaheer, while misguided, does have a point when compared to what we've seen of corrupt leadership in the franchise. And I am curious as to how many more members of the Red Lotus there actually are. I also felt so bad for Bolin and Mako. They were clearly outmatched during that fight, and it was hard to watch them hang on while slowly losing.
The ending did surprise me with who captured Korra though. Looks like Ba Sing Se is going to become a war zone once the Red Lotus shows up. The Dai Lee have always come across as way more competent than the average White Lotus soldiers.
Thanks to the voice actor, I think Zaheer is what happens when Mad Stan converts to Buddhism.
Quote from: Dr. Insomniac on August 02, 2014, 08:15:50 PM
Thanks to the voice actor, I think Zaheer is what happens when Mad Stan converts to Buddhism.
Doesn't help either that both of them look exactly like Rollins.
Watched the new one. Jeez, airbending can be downright devastating when a bad guy's using it. And I can't believe they showed that death on screen. Provided they don't wuss out and Zaheer really did just go the whole way with that.
Wow. The prison guard is a dumbass.
i watched episode 8 again since i missed the first 6 or so minutes before the guards spotted the red lotus so i saw opal getting sent away and bolin still sucking at metalbending. episode 9 and 10: so zaheer sends iwai (sp?), a guy on his side, basically to hell and he captured most of team avatar and i am supposed to take him seriously when he talks about freeing the world? the whole anarchy thing sounded stupid too. i do wish the earth queen didnt get killed due to the potential 3 sided war you could swear they were setting up (and rl's fight with the dai li wasn't that good since they clinchedily blew through them) but it was interesting watching the queen get brutally murdered. so that's why they always have firebenders kill people! and zuko is finally back. i hope they do this team up right. oh and asami got some good screentime. her and korra kind of had their version of atla's the storm. all in all, things have been less exciting since they first left ba sing se. they made lin look bad, even after she attacked her sister, with how she barked about iwai questioning her. zaheer's motives look stupid. they kill off iwai, the franchise's first metalbending villain, just to make zaheer look badass. iwai seemed pretty interesting (the guy was a human lie detector. that reminds me of how togashi has made a few interesting battle of wits with characters like that) and he becomes even moreso when it's revealed that he can and has gone to the spirit world...then zaheer tosses his soul. on the plus side, i liked the scene when bolin casually chats with water arms and lava bender. quiet water arms alone has more personality than unalaq and his kids put together. lava bender might be my favorite red lotus member soon.
I'm not sure if the Earth Queen is dead if only because I find it hard to believe that Nickelodeon would allow such a disturbing (by kids show standards) on-screen death in any of their shows, even if it was just online only, but I guess we'll see.
I don't think that Zaheer's motives seem stupid. He just wants anarchy as he doesn't believe any form of government is valid, and that it restricts people's freedom. It's just that the way he goes about it is clearly bad. In a way he kind of reminds me of Sensui from Yu Yu Hakusho, in that he believes what he is doing is right, but he clearly uses villainous tactics to get what he wants which makes him feel a bit more shallow than he should be. The difference is that Sensui, who believed that humanity as a whole was just an evil species and who's goal was to wipe them out at least knew and fully acknowledged that he was no better than anyone else and that he must be subject to the same punishment as those he condemned, once the deed was done. Basically, he didn't have double-standards, whereas I feel that Zaheer, who supposedly has only good intentions, is using his abilities in ways contrary to how someone do his viewpoint really should. He may speak up for freedom, but his idea of a free world certainly wouldn't make for a peaceful one.
Well... today's episode was probably one of the most tense in the entire franchise. Holy shit. But at least I got the airbender vs. airbender battle I wanted.
Spoiler
Tenzin seemed to be beating Zaheer until P'li came in.
I have to admit, I was almost convinced that they would kill off Tenzin in this episode with the way that things were playing out. It's still possible, but man was that an amazing fight. We finally got to see 2 airbenders clash, and it was absolutely spectacular.
Wow... they, uh, managed to wrap that up in two episodes. I'm... impressed, actually. So many people thought the Zaheer thing would continue into Book Four, but I guess the Red Lotus members we haven't met yet will be the focus of that.
As for these:
Spoiler
YOU CAN FLY, YOU CAN FLY, YOU CAN FLLLLYYYYYY!!! But seriously, I like that as the Guru Lahima payoff. Let go of all worldly possessions (i.e., your girlfriend who just blew up her own head thanks to the Beifongs), and Zaheer can fly. I'm glad that his ultimate downfall was the other airbenders. Yeah, they have powers too buddy.
And I totally called Bolin lavabending instead of metalbending. I actually clapped when he did that. And Mako finally using that lightning power to take out Ming Hua. Or kill her. Since Ghazan collapsed that whole place, I'm assuming those three are dead and only Zaheer is back in prison.
Next time, on Korra Ball Z....[sorry, I couldn't resist] :sweat:
Those action scenes were amazing. I mean, more so than this show's usual standards, which is really impressive.
In a way I kind of wished that the plot would carry over into Book 4, as just like with the MCU movies, I'm tired of the formula of the big bad losing in each season of Korra and some completely new conflict happening next. On that end, as exciting as this finale was, it did feel incredibly rushed to wrap things up into a neat little bow. Granted that, at least it has left Korra with both physical and mental damage to overcome, so I expect that to be a focal point of the next season. Overall, though, I'd say that, while still not TLA levels of quality, this has been the best and most enjoyable Korra season, so far.
Quote from: Dr. Ensatsu-ken on August 22, 2014, 05:37:40 PMOn that end, as exciting as this finale was, it did feel incredibly rushed to wrap things up into a neat little bow.
Not quite. The Earth Kingdom is still in disarray, and Republic City is still dealing with a spirit problem.
I'm not talking about the after-effects, though. I mean how they just manage to stop the Zaheer and the Red Lotus's plans so quickly. They were giving them so much trouble before, but it only took a 2-parter to turn things around and wipe out the main members. It's a shame because they seemed like interesting enough villains that would have been nice to learn more about their history. As it is, nothing was really revealed about any of them outside of their motivations, and since 3 of the 4 are pretty much dead, we probably won't get to learn more about them at all. Of course, since Zaheer is still alive, it's completely possible that he will appear again in book 4, but I have a feeling that the focus will be completely different.
I think that Gazan, the Lavabender is still alive. The two women are definitely dead though. Looks like Korra will be traumatized for a while. Hope that doesn't get swept under the rug when the fourth season starts. Overall, this season may have had a few hangups, but it was way better than the second season.
I just watched the last 3 episodes of this season.
Episode 11: Finally, Zaheer vs. Tenzin. I would have ragequitted the show if Zaheer would have beat Tenzin alone. Especially after he called him a true Master. Tenzin beat Amon, dammit. I don't care if that battle was and changed nothing. He blew him away. lol Anyway, this episode was the start of a lot of good battles. That were really going all out. Also, I think this episode made me like Tenzin even more. It's going to be hard to pick between him and Korra as to who will be my favorite character this Book.
Episode 12: Sheesh, Combustion Lady got fucked up. That was kind of gruesome.
I love watching Korra fight with chains on (with her Dad). That looked pretty damn cool. I'm guessing we are supposed to give a damn about that metal bending captain. Speaking of giving a damn, can't say I cared about Combustion Lady when the show tried to make me when she met of with Zaheer since she just got done trying to blow up a bunch of kids.
It's good to see Bolin get some kind of development. Mostly just a knew ability and I was going to harp on it just being that be he did clearly gain some confidence once I think about it.
Episode 13: ...hmm, I had to figure out why they wanted to kill Korra just now from thinking about it since Zaheer's speech made no fucking sense. (I watched the speech twice trying do). The Avatar can't restore balance if the Avatar is no more, yadda yadda. And more good battles ensued. Unlike at the end of Book 2 and everyone wasn't useless at the end (they literally couldn't hurt any of the bad guys which were the dark spirits. Just..awful.). During Mako's battle with the water arms lady, right before he did it, I was thinking, "Why don't you use your fricking lightning?". He should have did that a long time ago. I like how Bolin didn't beat lava bender guy by himself. He just held his own until Mako came and since Bolin wasn't just mostly freaking out and running this time, they did good. Also, I think lava guy is my favorite villain this season.
Korra vs. Zaheer was a decent fight. Except the first half of the Dark Avatar fight, which was fucking beautiful and before the stupid giant spirit part, this was Korra's best fight against a season's main villain. I liked how it was clear that he wouldn't have been a match for a non-poisoned Avatar State Korra. Then Zaheer went on to look like a dumbass when he talked to her instead of just skipping to the part where he literally takes her breath out. It was good to see the others help either way though. And I still think Zaheer's motives are dumb ass hell. Congratulations, you wanted the entire planet to look like The Purge. Fucking genius. Also, why didn't he just have water arms lady just carry around the poison? Could have saved a lot of trouble. I like Zaheer but..dumbass.
At least we did get something out of the season, which is the Air Nomads fully reforming. I hope those Red Lotus dumbasses are a side problem and another villain group is the main attraction.
Edit: Also, this was the best season of Korra (yet?)
Quote from: Daikun on August 22, 2014, 07:52:34 PM
Quote from: Dr. Ensatsu-ken on August 22, 2014, 05:37:40 PMOn that end, as exciting as this finale was, it did feel incredibly rushed to wrap things up into a neat little bow.
Not quite. The Earth Kingdom is still in disarray, and Republic City is still dealing with a spirit problem.
Exactly. Ba Sing Se was on fire and tearing itself apart. A neat bow, my ass and it did not feel rushed. They made it clear they still had a lot to do and that the conflict will indeed go into Book 4.
Quote from: Dr. Ensatsu-ken on August 22, 2014, 09:28:28 PM
I'm not talking about the after-effects, though. I mean how they just manage to stop the Zaheer and the Red Lotus's plans so quickly. They were giving them so much trouble before, but it only took a 2-parter to turn things around and wipe out the main members. It's a shame because they seemed like interesting enough villains that would have been nice to learn more about their history. As it is, nothing was really revealed about any of them outside of their motivations, and since 3 of the 4 are pretty much dead, we probably won't get to learn more about them at all. Of course, since Zaheer is still alive, it's completely possible that he will appear again in book 4, but I have a feeling that the focus will be completely different.
There were only a few Red Lotus members. They literally said they only had 4 extra guys available. Combustion Lady was what was stopping them from just ganging up on them and saving the day and when they finally took her out, it was downhill from there. Also, they spent 3 episodes in a row trying to take them down, not two. It wasn't over too quickly at all.
Edit: Not to mention that the metal bending guards stopped the 4 before and they brought them with them this time, plus they had all of the Air Nomads, so yeah, not too much of a surprise that the Red Lotus lost.
Quicker than what we're used to, the Book 3 DVD/Blu-ray will be out December 2.
(https://animationrevelation.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.tvshowsondvd.com%2Fgraphics%2Fnews3%2FLegendOfKorra_Bk3Changes.jpg&hash=1af832f318e82eccb8743975881f1b86f380c2d6)
Quote from: gunswordfist on September 02, 2014, 04:03:39 AMAlso, they spent 3 episodes in a row trying to take them down, not two. It wasn't over too quickly at all.
It was 2 episodes. The episode before that were the Air Nomads defending themselves from the Red Lotus's take-over, which I would hardly count as "taking them down" (in regard to the Red Lotus), especially considering that they had the upper hand. The third to last episode literally ended with them beating the crap out of Tenzin, of all things. Then in the second to last episode they even managed to take Korra captive, so even counting that one as part of "taking them down" is a stretch.
Quote from: Dr. Ensatsu-ken on September 03, 2014, 03:21:08 PM
Quote from: gunswordfist on September 02, 2014, 04:03:39 AMAlso, they spent 3 episodes in a row trying to take them down, not two. It wasn't over too quickly at all.
It was 2 episodes. The episode before that were the Air Nomads defending themselves from the Red Lotus's take-over, which I would hardly count as "taking them down" (in regard to the Red Lotus), especially considering that they had the upper hand. The third to last episode literally ended with them beating the crap out of Tenzin, of all things. Then in the second to last episode they even managed to take Korra captive, so even counting that one as part of "taking them down" is a stretch.
I clearly said trying. Oh and in the episode where the Red Lotus captured Korra, they killed Combustion Lady, which I would count as actually part of taking them down. Nothing was rushed.
Season rankings!
6. Korra Book Spirit
5. Korra Book Air
4. Korra Book Change
3. The Last Airbender Book Water
2. The Last Airbender Book Earth
1. The Last Airbender Book Fire
It's hard for me to choose between Fire and Earth. They are both about as good, in my eyes. The difference maker is Book 2's finale. ensatsu-ken convinced me that Zuko wasn't ready to go against his family yet in the argument he had with Spark, which makes the finale a bit more bearable in my eyes. But then again, I loved it when he attacked Aang when I saw the world premiere because I felt like Zuko has been too wishy washy. :awesome: Anyway, my real problem is it seemed so...anticlimatic? Idk. What I mean is Sokka was going to go to battle alongside his father, it looked like Toph was going to meet with her mother, which would have been great since she just "the Earth fighter/master" on the team and Aang was going to gain full control over the Avatar State. That never happened because...they decided to make Katara a damsel in distress. Well, for Aang and Sokka, anyway. Toph was going to get nothing either way. I think Book Fire only had two episodes I didn't like (the stupid dream filler and Katara's filler at the beginning), plus episodes like The Avatar and The Firelord and The Boiling Rock.
Another tough pick was between Change and Air. I admitted really like Air and haven't seen it in years so I need to do that to be completely fair. As for Change, the metal city episodes, mostly with how bad they made Lin look and how I think they slowed down the show a bit too much (until Red Lotus attacked, of course) took out a lot of the steam from the season for me, which I was loving. I think I may have been unfair there too so I have to watch this season quickly in a few sittings one day. Also, I think it even effected how much I like the last 3 episodes, which were pretty good.
1. Fire
2. Earth
3. Change
4. Air
5. Water
6. Spirits
Fire>Earth>Change>Water>Air>>>Spirits
Earth>Change>Fire>Air>Water>Spirits>The comics>The movie
1. Fire
2. Earth
3. Change
4. Water/Air
6. Spirits
I thought more than one person here liked Earth more than Fire.
Book 4: Balance is coming out on October 3rd. (http://www.hypable.com/2014/09/10/the-legend-of-korra-season-4-release-date-announced/)
They really want to get done with this series as soon as they can, huh?
It was nice knowing you Legend of Korra.
Well, it's been a ride, that's for sure.
Quote from: Cartoon X on September 10, 2014, 08:01:35 PM
Book 4: Balance is coming out on October 3rd. (http://www.hypable.com/2014/09/10/the-legend-of-korra-season-4-release-date-announced/)
They really want to get done with this series as soon as they can, huh?
QuoteThough many felt the animated series had stumbled a bit in its ambitious second season, Book 3: Change offered up some of the show?s most powerful drama, sharpest humor, and strongest character development.
The problem with me was that it didn't feel very
ambitious at all outside of the two parter.
Quote from: Spark Of Spirit on September 10, 2014, 08:24:27 PM
Well, it's been a ride, that's for sure.
Quote from: Cartoon X on September 10, 2014, 08:01:35 PM
Book 4: Balance is coming out on October 3rd. (http://www.hypable.com/2014/09/10/the-legend-of-korra-season-4-release-date-announced/)
They really want to get done with this series as soon as they can, huh?
QuoteThough many felt the animated series had stumbled a bit in its ambitious second season, Book 3: Change offered up some of the show?s most powerful drama, sharpest humor, and strongest character development.
The problem with me was that it didn't feel very ambitious at all outside of the two parter.
Obviously they're talking about hiring Studio Pierrot to animate for them for the first half. :>
So, less than a month from now? That was fast.
On the one hand, it could be damage control due to the backlash they got on Facebook and other social media. As well as cutting off any potential leaks in Mexico like last season. But on the other, the way Avatar has been treated by Nick between how they aired ATLA's third season, not bothering whatsoever to do any quality control over Shymalan when the movie was made, and now how short notice this and last season's schedule was; I'm sure Nick is ready to be done with it.
You know what, Nick? That's fine, that's perfectly fine. If I had a whole channel that barely had more than three cartoons and a bunch of bland sitcoms, I suppose I wouldn't want a critically acclaimed series making my channel look bad either. :thinkin:
Wasn't that why people were surprised Korra even got greenlit in the first place? Avatar has never been treated particularly well there and season 3 (Fire) was handled pretty poorly as well.
I have no idea why you would go through the trouble of funding a series to just let it die. Talk about horrible business. But, then-- Nickelodeon, right?
both excitement and skepticism has hit me.
From what I've heard, Nickelodeon has always been confused as to what to do with the Avatar franchise. They're very happy with the older fanbase it has, but kids just aren't interested in action cartoons anymore, and while TLA and Korra did get some strong ratings at their heights, the show still isn't really an exception.
Of course, the shows would have done better if Nick actually dedicated time to repeats for them, since not everyone can afford the DVDs or has Nicktoons. But I guess that'd take time away from endless SpongeBob and their flavor of the year LA shows. Present-day Nickelodeon isn't very business savvy these days, as you can see.
First clip of the new season. (http://www.themarysue.com/legend-of-korra-book-4-clip)
Season 4 trailer. (http://www.nick.com/videos/clip/korra-book-4-trailer-89471257.html)
Quote from: Daikun on September 26, 2014, 02:08:28 PMSeason 4 trailer. (http://www.nick.com/videos/clip/korra-book-4-trailer-89471257.html)
:swoon:
The Book 4 premiere was great, IMO. Oddly enough it didn't show Korra until the very end of the episode, but maybe that's a good thing, in this case. :sweat:
Anyways, I'm really liking Kuvira as the big bad of this season, so use. She seems to have a good sense of tact. For instance, she got the leader of that village to sign the contract not via direct force (which would of course ruin her image), but instead through clever manipulation, in that I totally suspect that she engineered that bandit attack on Kai and Opal to steal their supplies, using the bandits that she had already gotten to swear to her cause earlier in the episode; it just makes the most sense to me. Honestly, if they keep her up as one of those villains that continues to act this way believing that she's doing good, I may end up liking her more than any other villains from either Avatar series, and certainly more than Azula, who I did like for her intelligence, but found her spoiled attitude to be a major downside to her character, even if it was intentional.
I also liked how Bolin finally seems to be acting a little but more mature this season. It feels convincing in that he's still the upbeat character that he always was, but he's legitimately trying to help out, while now questioning whether he should really be supporting Kuvira or not.
(https://animationrevelation.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi0.kym-cdn.com%2Fphotos%2Fimages%2Fnewsfeed%2F000%2F844%2F179%2F862.gif&hash=e8b4adb81e5c89adfbe5e27e7dee778a9633219f)
It just like my live action movie! Except it's done by one guy rather than five.
Check out the new episode. (http://www.nick.com/videos/clip/the-legend-of-korra-215-full-episode-k3d2.html)
Spoiler
Toph's back.
Another great episode. I like how it let the pace flow naturally, and didn't feel rushed. Korra in this "down" state could've easily been a bummer and might have made her unlikable again if the writing wasn't up to snuff, but thankfully her character arc here is interesting, and it's easier to sympathize with her than it has been in past seasons.
And yeah, the reveal at the end of the episode, even if spoiled by some of the teasers, was amazing.
Just finished episode 1 of Season 4. So far there's a few red flags. If either the Great Uniter or the Earth Kingdom Prince are going to be the main villain, than I am very underwhelmed. I can't even bother to remember their real names. Korra going down the old "loner who gets themself beat up" route is not interesting either. At best, she'll typically snap back when something big happens. Korra moving backwards is just a bad idea. Nice female MMA influence though.
On a lesser note, the Air Nomads new costumes are pretty horrible. The only costume I've ever hated in the entire Avatar universe. They look like X-Men First Class rejects.
Anyway, I'll catch up before I start to pass any real judgment. Hopefully Korra and the entire Avatar universe ends with a good season. I did like that they did a time skip. Me coming in blind made that a good surprise.
I actually like Kuvira as a villain. She feels a lot less 1-Dimensional than many Avatar villains from the past, like Ozai and Unalaq, who really just felt evil for the sake of being evil. She's more of a political type villain along the lines of Amon, who at least have some reasonable motivations for being the antagonists, in that they aren't antagonists in their eyes.
As for Korra, I don't consider it moving her character back just because she's in a down state. The only time her character moved back was in Book 2, which basically just ignored her character development from the first season. The character arc that she's going through now is completely different from before. After the events of Book 3, she is having post-traumatic mental damage that's holding her back from being 100%, and furthermore it was established that she hasn't felt like she was needed as the Avatar once they took down the Red Lotus. So she's going through a new character arc to overcome all of that.
Honestly, I'm liking these first couple of episodes a lot more than the premieres in previous Korra seasons. It's taking its time to set things up in an interesting way. Kuvira may just be a dictator in essence, but the important thing is that she's rallying the Earth Kingdom to her side, as evidenced by how the common people of the village cheered for her when she took over. All they see is that she's giving them food and protection, not what's really happening behind the scenes. So, when Korra inevitably opposes her, she'll most likely be seen as the bad guy in their eyes, at least initially, which I find to be an interesting angle for this season.
In terms of being underwhelming, I'd say that as far as Korra goes, it's about as large in scale as any other season of the show (you could probably argue that Book 2's conflict was the largest in scale, though). It's not nearly as grandiose as anything in TLA, but it was never meant to be. This show wasn't originally planned as a big epic. They were only going to do one season at first, and then when Nick gave then 3 more, it became a series of smaller, but still interconnected stories that each lasted a single season. Personally I'm fine with that, because to me, bigger doesn't always mean better, and many of my favorite stories are smaller scale, anyways.
Also, looking back at episode 2, Korra's character arc sort of reminds me of Joe's from The Fall of Joe Yabuki arc in AnJ. Of course, while I don't consider Korra to be nearly as endearing of a character, it's still interesting to see that period where she's overcoming a state of depression, which I consider to be really heavy stuff for a kids show.
Just finished episode 2. I did a double take when the episode title "Korra Alone" came up. That was a good shock.
Ok, so the excuse for Korra to not go to Republic City was, cut her hair, change her clothes, lose contact with her loved ones, live like a bum, etc. was because..she saw an evil version of herself...I get the need for something for her to go on this adventure but they could have just showed Rava in the other direction instead. lol But no big deal. I'm just hoping this quest leads to something good.
I wonder what exactly they are trying to harness out of that spirit vine? I suppose it'll be a weapon of some sort. As for Korra, it looks like she still has remaining metal stuck in her body, but her issues are still psychological more than physical. Seeing Toph kick Korra's ass in training was a ton of fun, though, and all of her mocking comments about Korra being the "worst Avatar ever" are clearly a nod from the writers as to all the shit people have given them for this series and how many haters Korra has. Meanwhile, Bolin still seems to support Kuvira, but it's obvious that he'll turn on her soon enough when she gets too out of line.
Overall, I really like where this season is going, personally. It feels like a more personal and character driven story than past seasons, which I'm more of a fan of than just grand scale plots that are just big for the sake of being big.
I like to think I am above mocking the pun in the episode title. (http://animationrevelation.com/readables/?p=3382) I am clearly wrong.
So, I finally watched The Coronation today (I'm playing catch-up), and I think I might have found a plot hole.
Korra has had that poison in her for THREE YEARS?!? ??? Shouldn't she be dead by now?
I believe it was a trace amount of poison that was stuck in her body. Not enough to kill her, but enough to keep her with a physical handicap.
I really like the picture I chose for this article. (http://animationrevelation.com/readables/?p=3428)
Katfight. (http://animationrevelation.com/readables/?p=3444)
Feel free to skip this week's episode. It's dreck.
Yeah, it's just a recap episode. And not a clever one like The Ember Island Players. It's literally just a recap episode. Pretty disappointing and lazy for a high-budget show like this one, really.
That said, this episode aside, I've still been enjoying this season, so far.
I didn't like this episode because it had Napoleon Dynamite and film references tickle me silly. (http://animationrevelation.com/readables/?p=3499)
It was nice to see Zaheer again. I did like how he got that little "aw, crap" look on his face when Korra told him Kuvira was basically his fault.
I can't stand this series anymore. I'm just looking forward to it ending. This entire book is disappointing. Much more disappointing than Book 2.
Spoiler
After the initial shock wore off I am SO meh on Kuvira's final weapon. It's awesomeness is nulled by how absolutely hokey it looks.
Eh, I can't say that I agree. Flaws aside, I've enjoyed this season for the most part, and unlike Book 2, it doesn't feel completely directionless, and the character development actually makes sense. I don't like how Bolin has been handled (though the entire series has basically made him a butchered version of Sokka), but I'm pretty satisfied with mostly everyone else. For one thing, it doesn't completely disregard all of Korra's previous development like Book 2 did, and Kuvira at least has an understandable motivation, whereas Unalaq was so badly underdeveloped that he just came off as being evil for the sake of it. All of that talk about wanting to merge the spirit and human worlds for some unexplained greater good fell completely flat.
Also, I love the giant mecha. It's completely absurd, but that's what makes it stand out so much. Sometimes I like things being over the top, as it's what the anime style of animation excels at.
Yeah, I've been loving this season as well. I still think 3 is the best, but this one is up there. Those republic city soldiers got fucked by the spirit cannon, and I actually love the mech, especially since Kuvira controls it through metalbending. One thing someone somewhere else pointed out that I didn't connect the dots on, but makes sense, is that the mech is made out of the removed domes of Zaofu.
I just loved that whole scene. I was honestly expecting some zeppelin to replace the train or something, but once I saw the gargantuan legs fade it, I literally said "noooo..." at the computer screen. 'Twan awesome.
Can't wait for the finale. Seeing how much this show has improved over season two makes it a little bittersweet. I just hope the finale delivers.
They uploaded the finale early. Go watch it! (http://www.nick.com/videos/clip/the-legend-of-korra-991-full-episode.html)
Done with watching the finale. For all my trepidation this season it all turned out much better than I expected. And that last scene... It's nice. Nothing more.
I liked it. Was hoping for a bit more hand to hand combat between Korra and Kuvira but I liked all the ways they slowed down the mech. Pretty much everything was on point, Sato's death, Mako's lightning scene, Varrick and whatsherface.
But yeah, the elephant in the room...
They're lesbians, right? That's what I took away from this season. That or really, really good friends.
I'm sure if Nick allowed them, they would've kissed then and there.
I like to imagine that they're having sex in the Spirit World right now. Either that or sharing a passionate kiss.
MY SHIP WINS! YES! YES! YES! (https://animationrevelation.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2F8fKLZMj.gif&hash=dd99b04643281800b714330f939cec9af8912ac7)
And Korrasami shippers everywhere fainted in delight.
Anyways, as a seasons finale I liked it, for the most part. As an overall series finale, it felt a tad bit disappointing if only because I felt like there was more that they could've done with some characters, and it did feel a bit rushed in that regard, but overall I can't complain.
As for the series as a whole, I'll need to re-watch it one day to properly evaluate it, but I'd say that while nowhere near as good as ATLA (except for maybe Book 1 of ATLA), it was still a solid show in its own right, Book 2 aside.
Overall a decent finale that ended the series on a good note. I kind of felt they tried too hard to cram in things for all the major characters to do, but I can't say there was any part of it I particularly disliked. The season overall was alright. Some missed potential with some characters and a few plot elements that seemed crammed in and/or under-developed, but overall solid entertainment. Not as strong as Book 3, but still but pretty good. As for the series as a whole, these last two seasons have given me a fairly favorable opinion on it as a whole, though I still have mixed feelings on the first season and hate the second season. This series never reached the heights A:TLA did at it's best, and that's a shame, but in it's last two seasons I do think it became pretty good television that I enjoyed watching, and it's ending is bittersweet in the fact that with it gone, there'll basically no more american action cartoons for the considerable future (like, until that new Transformers show comes out). Hopefully Mike and Bryan can move on to better things now with a Network that actually knows what the fuck they are doing. Even with the misteeps of this series, I'm still interested in seeing a new, non-Avatar series come from them.
(https://animationrevelation.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2F1TydBfa.jpg&hash=7df746484ac8601daec6b18c5f8d4487e96c0363)
(https://animationrevelation.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FxWg5JPR.gif&hash=e3a8905c88552c40b9183a2fac9d660a67b5b896)
Caught up to the last episodes. The action throughout the finale was great. I can see some people argue that Korra and Asami are still only friends, but the way they held hands pretty much seals it. Interesting that they chose to end things there.
Overall, it may not have been as good as it's predecessor, but I still think Korra was a good series. If Nick had handled it better, it probably would have surpassed A:TLA. Now with this show gone, the only thing left is TMNT unless by some miracle Nick picks up another action series. Or at least air some of the stuff they dumped on Toon Nick on Nick proper.
I believe Bryke (https://pbs.twimg.com/media/B5UXQtMCQAAUrj_.png) has confirmed Korra and Asami having the gayz for each other.
Going to rewatch Book 4 probably within the next week or so I can process this a bit more.
Quote from: Nel_Annette on December 19, 2014, 01:02:11 AM
They're lesbians, right? That's what I took away from this season. That or really, really good friends.
The creators have came out and said that... Yes, Korrasami (http://michaeldantedimartino.tumblr.com/post/105916326500/korrasami-confirmed-now-that-korra-and-asamis) is CANON! (http://bryankonietzko.tumblr.com/post/105916338157/korrasami-is-canon-you-can-celebrate-it-embrace)
Wouldn't that technically make them bi, or even pansexual?
Quote from: Avaitor on December 22, 2014, 07:57:53 PM
Wouldn't that technically make them bi, or even pansexual?
Maybe. At least the bisexual part from Bryan's words on the matter. Since he did go out of his way to say that "...bisexual people are real!" So they're at least Bi, if not lesbians. Since, after all, it's not unheard of gay people dating other gendered people before coming out the closet, so that is one argument that people could make towards them being lesbians. Pansexual is up to what your definition of that word is.
Rest assured, my friend has already scolded me on not differentiating between the lesbian and bisexual distinction. I already know the difference, but I was just trying to make as humorously blunt a quick-reaction post as possible.
I figured. :P
I still haven't seen beyond Korra's pilot, but didn't both of them date the same person at one point or another? I find that pretty funny, actually.
Yes, the same boring, boring (with about two really awesome scenes imo) man. ;D
I wonder if Mako would feel salty about that at all.
Finally wrote the finale article after almost a week of being lazy over it. (http://animationrevelation.com/readables/?p=3579)
Now that I've had a bit of time to reflect on my opinions about the franchise, here's how I'd rate each season, personally:
Avatar: The Last Airbender
Book One: Water (7/10)- A decent start, but you could tell that they were really in their experimental stage at this point, and hence we had some rather awkward episodes in the mix. I do think that they got their act together by the final episodes of the season, but the lopsided quality of the beginning is what initially turned me away from this show before I gave it another chance.
Book Two: Earth (10/10)- A huge step-up from the first season, IMO. By this point they knew what they were doing, and really managed to make the narrative flow smoothly the entire way through.
Book Three: Fire (10/10)- It continues the momentum of the second season and also gives perfect closure to all of the major characters.
The Legend of Korra
Book One: Air (8/10)- Personally, I found this season to be really solid and entertaining, minus the ending which was far too convenient for the characters and undid any sense of struggle that Korra might have had to endure.
Book Two: Spirits (5/10)- Way too all-over-the place. The plot was a mess, the character development felt weak at best and completely forced at worst, and the only real saving grace here was the "Beginnings" two-parter, which was admittedly excellent.
Book Three: Change (8/10)- While I don't quite love it as much as others do, I found this to be another really solid and entertaining season. Zaheer was a good villain, and narrative went back to having a nice flow. It also helped that the characters stopped acting like idiots like in Book Two (minus Bolin, who always manages to suck, somehow).
Book Four: Balance (7/10)- A really strong start to the first half of the season, but the wrap-up did feel too rushed to me, personally, hence why I don't feel that certain characters, relationships, and plot points got quite as much time for development as they needed. Still, what we got was very entertaining, and mostly well-written.
Legend of Korra comics are coming June 2017. (http://www.toonzone.net/dark-horse-announces-release-date-legend-korra-comic-series)
I can only pray the contain the same level of stupid bullshit as the Avatar comics.
Which considering they're about Korra, is probably a given.
(https://animationrevelation.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2Fij7hGFR.jpg&hash=ca92fd3fadb32826b11044bb1c402b5b5a93513d)
Kora as a series has a ton of problems, but even with its flaws I still think that it's an OK show for what it is.
The post-TV show Avatar comics, on the other hand, are some of the most laughably bad pieces of writing that I've seen from a comic book in recent years. They range anywhere from painfully predictable to ridiculously stupid, the latter of which at least makes them kind of entertaining to read through, though.
The Korra comics are available for pre-order on Amazon.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1506700152
After all these years, I wrote another Korra article. (http://animationrevelation.com/readables/?p=6582) This time for Turf Wars.
I was concerned that the Korra/Asami relationship would feel forced and too on-the-nose. Many people I know who otherwise wouldn't care about Korra are showing interest in this comic solely because it's presenting an openly gay relationship in a kids comic, but I had a feeling it would just be very self-congratulatory about the fact and not actually be a believable, enjoyable romance. I liked their friendship in the show, but I never bought that Korra and Asami were actually in love from the final scene despite what Bryke claimed, and if they have to beat us over the head with the idea in the comic then it feels like they knew they didn't do enough in the series to establish it and had to double back to justify it.
More gay and bi characters revealed. (http://nickalive.blogspot.com/2017/08/korrasami-shares-first-kiss-in-legend.html)
Okay, they're going a bit overboard with this.
Two more characters turning out to be gay and bisexual doesn't seem particularly extreme to me. If anything, it would make sense if there were more. But I hope they introduce new characters who are LGBT from the beginning rather than continue to re-characterize preexisting ones.
Turf War Part 2 came out, and so little happens in this issue. Tokuga takes control of all the triads and kidnaps Asami, which should sound like it moves the plot forward, but it doesn't feel as suspenseful as it should be. Just same old, same old. I guess it's not as bad as some of the ATLA comics, but it was a bore. But on the other hand, it did give us this.
(https://i.imgur.com/buc1dtO.png)
TLA Complete Series Blu-Ray coming. (http://www.ign.com/articles/2018/02/23/avatar-the-last-airbender-complete-series-coming-to-blu-ray-this-summer)
It will be sold exclusively at Best Buy on May 1, then available nationally on June 5. It will retail for $45.
A third series is coming. (https://deadline.com/2018/09/avatar-the-last-airbender-live-action-series-netflix-1202467089)
It'll be live-action and on Netflix.
I would rather DiMartino and Konietzko make a new Avatar story than a live-action remake. I'm sure it'll be well-made, but I don't see how live-action will enhance a story that was already told perfectly in animation and tailored to the medium.
I have the same problem with the remake as I do with Disney's remakes, and to a lesser extent the Netflix anime live-action movies- these only seem to insinuate that the only way for animated works can be taken seriously is if they're made in real life. Which doesn't even make sense for a lot of these, since they're going to still be CG-heavy. I wouldn't call A:TLA perfect, but I don't see what adapting it to live-action will do to fix it.
Yeah, which makes it even more disappointing that DiMartino and Konietzko would choose to make a live-action version of their show rather than make a new animated series. I feel like live-action remakes are being seen as a prestige thing, when they're really just derivative and perpetuating this idea that stories told in comics and animation will reach a wider audience in live-action, instead of getting audiences to respect and take animation seriously in the first place.
It's not just the case with cartoons. I had non-English speaking relatives who thought Wonder Woman was a brand new character when she showed up in the DCEU.
Quote from: LumRanmaYasha on October 04, 2018, 11:56:09 PMYeah, which makes it even more disappointing that DiMartino and Konietzko would choose to make a live-action version of their show rather than make a new animated series. I feel like live-action remakes are being seen as a prestige thing, when they're really just derivative and perpetuating this idea that stories told in comics and animation will reach a wider audience in live-action, instead of getting audiences to respect and take animation seriously in the first place.
I can sort of see the appeal of live-action adaptations of comics or animation, as it can help expose a new crowd of people to great source material. However, there is a fine line between something adapting a work out of respect for that material versus flat-out trying to replace the original material with the updated live-action version. Part of the reason stuff like the MCU movies are so successful, regardless of whether they're you're cup of tea or not, is because they really are just loose adaptations of the source material at best, caring far more about accurately portraying the characters and the spirit of those stories while telling their own unique stories that are more well-suited to live-action. A lot of bad adaptations that I see tend to try way too hard to outright carbon-copy the source material as much as possible in order to make some new kind of concrete, definitive version of that story, and in every such attempt these things always tend to fall flat on their asses. Part of the biggest problem with Zack Snyder's Watchmen for example (outside of his obvious Snyder-ism's) is that he tries to make a panel-by-panel recreation of the comic book, but doesn't even understand that a lot of the story beats that he's trying to replicate were specifically designed to work in the context of that medium, whereas they don't carry the same kind of meaning or even flow nearly as well in a narrative-sense when adapted to film. His adaptation of John's "flashback" scene is the biggest proof of his misunderstanding of the material, because that's what he presents it as, a flashback. In the comic, the whole point of that segment is that it's not a flashback, but showing that John views the concept of time very differently from normal people, as everything happening at once, which works when you can display several panels together on the same page showcasing that all of those moments in essence exist simultaneously together. The idea of a linear continuum is presented as an illusion in this case, so the fact that the film shows this as everything happening as a series of chronological events shows that Snyder believed merely lifting the words and images from panels to the movie screen would automatically yield a better (or at least equal) product, while unintentionally sending the opposite message as the source material in that particular instance (as well as several others).
Anyways, that was a long tangent for just one example, but my point being that all of these live-action remakes of fan-beloved properties seem to want to try and double-down and capitalize on the most popular aspects of their sources to make general audiences see what fans of those "silly kids cartoons and comic books" see in those works, yet very little thought is actually put into the process of translating those elements to film in regard to actually understanding why those things worked in the first place. I believe that the best kinds of adaptations would do something that makes them stand on their own to both fans and general audiences alike, while also successfully drumming up interest in much of that general audience to want to go back and check out that source material that they initially passed up in the first place. Stuff like The Dark Knight or the first few seasons of Game of Thrones managed to do this for me really well, whereas failed attempts like Ghost in the Shell or Fant4stic just leave me scratching my head.
Also, I know that this is technically a thread for Avatar, and I just kind of went way off-topic there, but the less said about The Last Airbender, the better.
Honestly, I just don't see the new series bringing in any new fans, the same way the Netflix anime adaptations are just bringing in disgruntled fans. There's only a particular sect interested in these works, and while it's not a tiny sect, I don't see much expansion.
Best case scenario would be if they did the adaptation in the style of Bryan Fuller. Something that knows the source material in and out but unravels it and turns it into something new. But that idea is such a long shot that I don't expect it to happen. At most, it will be a scene for scene version of the show that will leave viewers wondering why they spent all this money just to make something people could already watch on their Avatar DVDs. Or one that unwisely tries to shove in topical political allegories the way the Korra comics are doing right now.
Viacom is suing Netflix. (https://variety.com/2018/tv/news/viacom-netflix-employee-poaching-suit-1202981609)
Well, so much for that. :>
Crisis averted!
Come to think about it, I'm surprised Netflix was able to greenlight a live-action Avatar in the first place considering Viacom's had a beef with them for a while and pulled their shows from there years ago. So I wonder if Konzietzko and DiMartino might have some creator privileges to be able to shop around and create a live-action Avatar themselves with only limited approvals needed by Viacom. Otherwise, I'd imagine they'd want to keep a live-action Avatar on a Viacom network or affiliated streaming service. Which is to say, depending on how involved Viacom actually is in the show, I'm not sure if this suit'll definitely halt its development...
Part of their problem is that Viacom are still slow adapters in streaming, so they don't really have much of an outlet to put this on yet.
Quote from: Avaitor on October 19, 2018, 12:20:45 AMPart of their problem is that Viacom are still slow adapters in streaming, so they don't really have much of an outlet to put this on yet.
That's the problem, though--they HAVE streaming already readily available. Nickelodeon has their own freaking website where they can put all their content, yet they're not fully utilizing it like CN and Disney. That's what bothers me about the whole situation.
CN uploads episodes far ahead of time. Disney uploads episodes the same day as their TV premieres. Nick...you have to freaking
wait.The way they handled
Korra shows that they're more than capable of setting up a streaming empire, yet they've barely budged since then.
Quote from: Daikun on October 19, 2018, 06:04:10 AMQuote from: Avaitor on October 19, 2018, 12:20:45 AMPart of their problem is that Viacom are still slow adapters in streaming, so they don't really have much of an outlet to put this on yet.
That's the problem, though--they HAVE streaming already readily available. Nickelodeon has their own freaking website where they can put all their content, yet they're not fully utilizing it like CN and Disney. That's what bothers me about the whole situation.
CN uploads episodes far ahead of time. Disney uploads episodes the same day as their TV premieres. Nick...you have to freaking wait.
The way they handled Korra shows that they're more than capable of setting up a streaming empire, yet they've barely budged since then.
Now this post is funny in hindsight. As of yesterday, Nick has effectively killed their website. You can't play games or stream episodes anymore; all the functionality is gone.
Cyma being gone is still having ripple effects it seems.
The Last Airbender could have had a 4th season. (https://animesuperhero.com/forums/threads/avatar-nearly-had-a-fourth-season.5734181)
Why are people treating old information as new? I thought this was something we knew about during aftermath of the movie.
Bryke have left the live-action project. (https://www.instagram.com/p/CDy5Fp4H7Fw/)
EDIT: debunked lol
Quote from: Daikun on August 13, 2020, 11:28:58 PM
Turns out Netflix doesn't get Avatar at all. (https://twitter.com/aangvengers/status/1294092832085544963)
They want a more "mature" version with sex and blood. :whuh:
Good thing they bailed.
And that tweet turned out to be clickbait published by Andy Signore. (https://twitter.com/CanipaShow/status/1294272539602989056) I could believe budget issues were at play, but shoving in sex? Doubt it.
Yeah, it sounded pretty suspect to me. Avatar's a kids show at the end of the day, and it's not like Netflix doesn't know how to have success with staying PG-13 at the heaviest. Stranger Things is right there.
Viacom's CEO hints at a new series for Paramount+ (http://nickalive.blogspot.com/2020/11/viacomcbs-ceo-hints-that-paramount.html)
Nick has launched a new studio for Avatar projects. (https://www.theverge.com/2021/2/24/22297512/avatar-last-airbender-korra-studios-paramount-plus-streaming-netflix)
Well, Netflix's adaptation is a disaster...even more than usual.
Sokka's actor is a white supremacist (https://holding-hands-on-the-wii.tumblr.com/post/673635887625715712) and Avatar News is blocking anyone who brings it up. (https://twitter.com/7genvoices/status/1483322722797031424)
Comic-Con revealed that the first of the animated Avatar movies will instead star a more aged up group of the Gaang rather than Kiyoshi. (https://twitter.com/Nickelodeon/status/1550611031390576640) Gonna be pretty interesting to see what adventure they're gonna come up with. Please be better than the comics.
I've been doing a rewatch of the series again and I'm about halfway through season 2. I think it speaks for itself, the show still slaps. A couple of things I've noted from the first season:
-The only episodes that I'd consider misfires are "The Great Divide" and "The Fortuneteller". Their themes work well enough, but I think the former is a little too heavy handed and don't love the end reveal, while the latter isn't really worth the trip IMO.
-Zuko and Iroh are still my favorite characters, and I usually look forward to their scenes. Zuko's attitude can get a little tiresome, but hell, I was an angsty teen too, and luckily Dante Basco does a terrific job playing him. No notes on Iroh, though. Could listen to Mako play him all day.
-Although I also appreciate Sokka a bit this time. I think he works best in Walter White mode, when he's funniest when he doesn't try to be funny. His attempts at comic relief are hit or miss, but he's also a little less irritating than I remembered, and is right more often than not. If anything, he may be the least selfish of the Gaang.
-The animation tends to be a little too showy sometimes, almost Don Bluthy to the point of distraction. I think the show cuts back on this as it goes along and is much more delightfully fluid.
I'll share notes on season 2 when I finish it. I wanted to post this earlier, but I was busy over the past few days, especially with my mom in town.
It's been ages since I watched through all of Book 1, but I remember it took a while for Sokka to go from the blatant stunt cast because Nick thought this show needed that firefighter kid from All That to a genuinely worthwhile member of the team. Some of the lore takes time to set in too, like how Aang needs to use the Winter Solstice to talk to Roku, but then he can basically talk to him whenever after that episode.
And the thing about Iroh I don't often see talked about is how he implicitly still has faith in the idea that Zuko winning his father's respect is a worthwhile endeavor. Even after the episode where we find out Iroh was right there in the front row watching Ozai burn his son's face, it takes until next season and a few Azula skirmishes for him to decide maybe this isn't worth it. Didn't Book 2 or 3 reveal he was a White Lotus member too? So what was he gonna do if Zuko succeeded in capturing or killing Aang?
Oh yeah, I forgot to talk about it, but I did finish my rewatch a week or two ago, and it's still a very good show. I think that I've seen the reception change to the third season being the best, but I'm still in favor of the second. I feel like it takes too much time to get back into the story until we hit the Day of Black Sun, and the first half is largely a little too slow for my liking, although I think every episode is at least good.
And I do enjoy "The Beach". It's a fun diversion that offers us more time to explore Mai and Ty Lee than previously, and I really like the attempts it does to humanize Azula without making her too sympathetic. Who knows, maybe a well-adjusted boyfriend would have been good for her. Honestly, in terms of the "lighter" season 3 episodes, I think I even prefer it to "The Ember Island Players".
But honestly, I think the second season has the most worthwhile action and pacing of the series. It's also when it feels complete compared to the first season. Toph and Azula were the missing pieces that the show needed.
It's funny. I remember the hiatuses between episodes in Book 3 being a lot longer than they really were. Probably because of how much a slow burn Book 3's first half is, filled with too many standalone episodes that are fine and a few of them are pretty good, but they get in the way of the "Oh yeah, the world's screwed" feeling Book 2's ending gave.
New series announced for 2025. (https://twitter.com/AvatarNews_/status/1606095528650907650)
Wonder what era this one will be emulating? The 1960s? Modern era?
Here's hoping they have someone like Aaron Ehatz in charge of the story this time. Korra was okay overall, but season 2 was a HUGE blunder while season 4 was mediocre.
George Harrison came back to life to tell us about Avatar's production history.
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Fy2_to_aIAEUfC4?format=jpg&name=4096x4096)
I wasn't expecting much, but I was picturing something more like the Hound from Game of Thrones instead of a birthmark that Zuko could easily solve with some makeup.
Photos from the upcoming Netflix adaptation. (https://fxtwitter.com/netflix/status/1714355629123416562)
Obviously, keeping Ozai in the shadows until the final season would never work since Daniel Dae Kim's been a household face for a while, but looking at him here, I just see his character from The Good Doctor but in cosplay.
The live-action series premieres February 22. (https://twitter.com/avatarnetflix/status/1749824394514575798)
Saw the trailer, and I don't know how to feel. What annoys me is how in a couple ways, it almost looks cheaper than the Shyamalan movie.
So... yeah, some of the interviews this week regarding removing Sokka's character arc and changing up Aang's stances (https://twitter.com/dailykataang/status/1753193537007747530) are concerning. Hoping for the crew's sake that it's just bad wording, even if nothing so far has gotten me hyped in particular and I'm just waiting to see what they'll screw up. The thing is I wouldn't want a 1:1 adaptation since if that was the case, I already have the cartoon for that, but none of the changes so far sound like they're for the better.
At least the cast seem to be having fun. (https://ew.com/watch-avatar-the-last-airbender-cast-sing-secret-tunnel-8551845)
Yeah, I'm not a fan of book report adaptations either, but I'm also not a fan of overcorrecting to this extent for a story that doesn't need that many changes to begin with. Although I'll be honest, I don't see why we need a live-action version of the series to begin with aside to wash away the aftertaste of Shyamalan.
I admit, there are parts of ATLA I wish could have been spruced up, taken out, or explored more. Hell, a couple days ago, I was ranting on Discord on how lame Ozai was as a villain and how little Fire Nation nobility resembles real-life royal families either now or in the ancient times. Which ironically means that the tweets promising this version of ATLA will be "more like Game of Thrones" is meant to appeal to blowhards like me.
Though it is highly concerning that morality tales from the cartoon, morality tales that were meant to be digestible for 8-year-olds, apparently flew over the heads of the execs if they're interpreting it that way.
But we'll see when it premieres.
Tney're finally making an animated movie...a trilogy, in fact. (https://www.ign.com/articles/avatar-the-last-airbender-animated-movie-adds-dave-bautista-eric-nam-to-voice-cast)
They should've just done this instead of wasting their time with M. Night and Netflix.
And no, this won't be another recap of the series. These will be set between the timeline of TLA and Korra.