With Season Four almost halfway done and most of the fandom crying about how only a couple of weeks are left and compounded by the release of the last Naruto chapter which concludes the decade running series, I decided to publish this post.
It sounds simple enough, I try convincing you to watch The Legend of Korra and, depending on your perspective, you start watching it! But here's where two things about this post stand out. First off- GIF spam. I love GIF files and tumblr has a mega database for Korra GIFS. Second off, I'm going to sit down and be realistic- there are some negatives to this show and I will tell you what I think about them. However, good things first! Let's talk about why you should watch "The Legend of Korra", starting with an introduction.
The Legend of Korra is an animated television show (later shifted to internet releases) hosted on Nickelodeon and created by the same team that produced Avatar: The Last Airbender. It takes place after ATLA and focuses on the next Avatar, a waterbender girl (named Korra) who is technically from the country and moves in to Republic City to do her Avatar business! Oh- and check this out. The world is already introduced to cars and radios! So it's pretty interesting seeing old fashioned technology in this alternate universe. (Usually you have no technology at all or extremely high tech stuff in animated series).
Now, why should you watch the Legend of Korra?
Realistic and Individual Characters
Varrick- the mad scientist and rich investor guy who is actually the smartest person in the entire series but seems really whimsical and selfish- until you find out what he's been doing to contribute to the ending. Also, when I mean selfish, he is REALLY selfish- but manages to get people to support him. Also, he's starting to develop a conscious (Season 4 spoiler xD)
This is Bolin. He's comedic relief but often turns out to be doing EXACTLY what you want to do or makes happen what you want happen. One such example is his display of fangirling over Lord Zuko (yeah, the Zuko from the first Avatar The Last Airbender).
This is ice princess Eska (Season 2) who is... literally made of ice. She's also super awkward (along with her twin ish brother, Desna) but seems to have no idea about it or doesn't care at all (I think it's the latter). Also an interesting character.
The Importance of Family
Both series, Avatar The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra focus on the importance of family relationships- and a wide variety too.
There's Mako and Bolin, the two brothers who manage to get along pretty well and find their distant family from their dad's side, including a lovely grandmother who adores them.
Then there's Asami and her father who was one of the villains in the first season- who try patching up their relationship in season four while portraying the journey towards that goal (Asami trying to hurt her father by saying how she hates him but her father still loves her and it's sincere).
Korra's relationship with her parents is also explored in depth in season two where she finds out a lot of things she hadn't known about her father, her original anger and sense of betrayal followed by acceptance, understanding and further strengthening of bonds.
The relationships between Aang's children and Tenzin's children is also explored quite a bit- each ending with the conclusion that no matter how different your family is or how weird they are or how much they annoy you, they're the ones who will always have your back and stick with it.
I think the messages given from this aspect are amazing and are definitely a major reason to watch the Legend of Korra for!
Amazing Animation and Battle Sequence
The best animation- ever. I haven't seen anything that is on par with the beauty that is in each and every Legend of Korra fight. You will not a find sketchy details and characters twisted during the fight the way you have in animes like Naruto (*cough* Pain arc *cough*). Each scene is detailed and the characters are portrayed realistically- they DO get tired and exhausted- they're not war machines rampaging till someone's dead.
The Strong Female Cast
Most hit cartoons and animes have leads that are male, for example animated Marvel and DC shows like Batman and Spiderman or animes, like One Piece or Bleach, and yet shows like these manage to target both, the male and female audience. Although these shows target 50% of viewers that are male, you'll find more than that watching without being judged for it.
If they happen to be female, they are usually used to target the female audience and dismissed by the male audience as girly or stupid. An example of a show like that would be The Powerpuff Girls- where the three main characters are strong, female, individual and pass on worthy messages to the audience. However, the show is dismissed by the male viewers and this tends to affect the female viewers as well. (Oh so you like PPG! That kids show! You need to grow up!) (Excuse me, Teen Titans is a kids show too)
There are exceptions to these two cases though. We have shows like Teen Titans which has two female heroines, both strong, independent and have a fleshed out character. Then there's anime like Attack on Titan which also has a strong female cast- not as thoroughly developed- but individual and self standing.
If the female lead is in a show aimed at both genders, it's probably a shoujo anime with lots of romance and stuff- where you'll have the lead sexualized, stereotyped, unrealistic and filled with fan service.
(This point is open to discussion, If you can present to me a show or anime with a female lead who is strong, individual and presenting a worthy role model and not reduced to fanservice, comment below and please don't write something like Asuna because she is not the main lead, Kirito is and plus, that anime borders the harem genre also don't say Sakura because tbh it's all about Sasuke and Naruto- ONLY)
The Legend of Korra is basically the Legend of Korra. This is all about Korra. She is the character who runs the show and the show manages to have a balanced audience of male and female viewers. Korra has been built in a way that appeals to both genders- she is strong, aggressive and powerful while being feminine, individual and realistic. But she's not the only female character here!
You'll find that there are more female characters in the show without you even noticing. And they can be on both sides, good and bad. None of them have been portrayed as weak or dependent on a male character. Every single one of them is self-standing and has more than one dimension. There is no gender stereotype or fan service or anything causing it to fall into a category other than it's own.
Strong Fandom
It sounds simple enough, I try convincing you to watch The Legend of Korra and, depending on your perspective, you start watching it! But here's where two things about this post stand out. First off- GIF spam. I love GIF files and tumblr has a mega database for Korra GIFS. Second off, I'm going to sit down and be realistic- there are some negatives to this show and I will tell you what I think about them. However, good things first! Let's talk about why you should watch "The Legend of Korra", starting with an introduction.
The Legend of Korra is an animated television show (later shifted to internet releases) hosted on Nickelodeon and created by the same team that produced Avatar: The Last Airbender. It takes place after ATLA and focuses on the next Avatar, a waterbender girl (named Korra) who is technically from the country and moves in to Republic City to do her Avatar business! Oh- and check this out. The world is already introduced to cars and radios! So it's pretty interesting seeing old fashioned technology in this alternate universe. (Usually you have no technology at all or extremely high tech stuff in animated series).
Now, why should you watch the Legend of Korra?
Realistic and Individual Characters
Example #1
Example #2
Example #3
Example #4
Say hello to Asami Sato- beautiful rich girl who is also super smart and business-savy. She runs an entire tech company which produces cars and robots but that doesn't stop her from getting into business with Korra and lending a hand during fights (whether it's in a plane or on ground). And yes, her father is a diabolical genius (more on that below).
The Importance of Family
Both series, Avatar The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra focus on the importance of family relationships- and a wide variety too.
There's Mako and Bolin, the two brothers who manage to get along pretty well and find their distant family from their dad's side, including a lovely grandmother who adores them.
Then there's Asami and her father who was one of the villains in the first season- who try patching up their relationship in season four while portraying the journey towards that goal (Asami trying to hurt her father by saying how she hates him but her father still loves her and it's sincere).
Korra's relationship with her parents is also explored in depth in season two where she finds out a lot of things she hadn't known about her father, her original anger and sense of betrayal followed by acceptance, understanding and further strengthening of bonds.
The relationships between Aang's children and Tenzin's children is also explored quite a bit- each ending with the conclusion that no matter how different your family is or how weird they are or how much they annoy you, they're the ones who will always have your back and stick with it.
I think the messages given from this aspect are amazing and are definitely a major reason to watch the Legend of Korra for!
Amazing Animation and Battle Sequence
Example 1
Example 2
I
I love how they included the little detail of sand falling off the rock as she brings it over.
The best animation- ever. I haven't seen anything that is on par with the beauty that is in each and every Legend of Korra fight. You will not a find sketchy details and characters twisted during the fight the way you have in animes like Naruto (*cough* Pain arc *cough*). Each scene is detailed and the characters are portrayed realistically- they DO get tired and exhausted- they're not war machines rampaging till someone's dead.
The Strong Female Cast
Most hit cartoons and animes have leads that are male, for example animated Marvel and DC shows like Batman and Spiderman or animes, like One Piece or Bleach, and yet shows like these manage to target both, the male and female audience. Although these shows target 50% of viewers that are male, you'll find more than that watching without being judged for it.
If they happen to be female, they are usually used to target the female audience and dismissed by the male audience as girly or stupid. An example of a show like that would be The Powerpuff Girls- where the three main characters are strong, female, individual and pass on worthy messages to the audience. However, the show is dismissed by the male viewers and this tends to affect the female viewers as well. (Oh so you like PPG! That kids show! You need to grow up!) (Excuse me, Teen Titans is a kids show too)
There are exceptions to these two cases though. We have shows like Teen Titans which has two female heroines, both strong, independent and have a fleshed out character. Then there's anime like Attack on Titan which also has a strong female cast- not as thoroughly developed- but individual and self standing.
If the female lead is in a show aimed at both genders, it's probably a shoujo anime with lots of romance and stuff- where you'll have the lead sexualized, stereotyped, unrealistic and filled with fan service.
(This point is open to discussion, If you can present to me a show or anime with a female lead who is strong, individual and presenting a worthy role model and not reduced to fanservice, comment below and please don't write something like Asuna because she is not the main lead, Kirito is and plus, that anime borders the harem genre also don't say Sakura because tbh it's all about Sasuke and Naruto- ONLY)
The Legend of Korra is basically the Legend of Korra. This is all about Korra. She is the character who runs the show and the show manages to have a balanced audience of male and female viewers. Korra has been built in a way that appeals to both genders- she is strong, aggressive and powerful while being feminine, individual and realistic. But she's not the only female character here!
You'll find that there are more female characters in the show without you even noticing. And they can be on both sides, good and bad. None of them have been portrayed as weak or dependent on a male character. Every single one of them is self-standing and has more than one dimension. There is no gender stereotype or fan service or anything causing it to fall into a category other than it's own.
Strong Fandom
And you know what strong fandom means?! It means LOADS of beautiful art, lots of discussions, GIFS and you'll definitely find lots of little tid bits you wouldn't have noticed in the episode if you hadn't met this fandom. (Plus, someone who's going to ship your ships with you).
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Now- why SHOULDN'T you watch The Legend of Korra?
The only reason I found to put in this section was that THERE'S ONLY FOUR SEASONS.
Okay, but in all honesty, I did find some things lacking. For example, the romance in the first season was awkward and difficult to watch but thankfully, it got better afterwards. Then some people complained about Korra seemed to lack developement as a character- she kept on charging into battle first and thinking later- but in my opinion, this was something she had been doing right from the beginning and it's begun to change in the fourth season, so all you Korra haters, calm down!
Mako was frankly a really annoying sort of guy but he has his moments and he has also vastly improved in Season Three.
So, what are you waiting for? The first three seasons are available online- as well as the fourth season episodes which are being released every Friday. Sit down with some coffee and enjoy your winter evenings with some Legend of Korra. ^^
Powerpuff Girls was awesome :P
ReplyDeleteNeal Kind
Daily Diaries
^-^ You know, I've heard a lot of good things about this show, but I especially like that you gave reasoning for why you recommend it instead of just saying, "It's sooo good, you should totally watch it!" Now that you explain it a bit, it sounds like something I would like! Thanks for the recommendation! :D
ReplyDeleteI've heard so many things on Tumblr about Legend of Korra. I cant wait until I have time to sit down and watch all of it.
ReplyDeletexDaisy
Where do you find these amazing gifs? Is there some secret library of them I don't know about?? :P
ReplyDelete