Quick Question for Avatar: The Last Airbender Fans:

[RJ 17]

Just finished up the series and I gotta say I really enjoyed it. Good characters, good character development, good storytelling, all that fun stuff. My question is whether The Legend of Korra is worth getting into or not. Is it a worthy sequel-series to Avatar? Or is it just a cash-in to try and catch lightning in a bottle twice and ride the coattails of the first series' success? I'd really like to see another story in that world, but if it's just a cash-in then I don't want it to drag the name of the first series through the mud.

 

[Little Woodsman]

Just finished up the series and I gotta say I really enjoyed it. Good characters, good character development, good storytelling, all that fun stuff. My question is whether The Legend of Korra is worth getting into or not. Is it a worthy sequel-series to Avatar? Or is it just a cash-in to try and catch lightning in a bottle twice and ride the coattails of the first series' success? I'd really like to see another story in that world, but if it's just a cash-in then I don't want it to drag the name of the first series through the mud.

Most everyone I know who's watched LoK has found it highly enjoyable. I felt that it didn't quite live up to it's potential, and that the first season ended rather abruptly, but I'm definitely glad I watched it. I'm also planning on getting the new season that's supposed to come out soon the same way I did the first season, episode by episode as they are released.

I feel the need to point out that I use a regular legal streaming service (Amazon Instant).

 

[Shadowstar38]

Definitely not a cash in. When I hear that phrase I associate it with effortless crap. Me and most of the people I talk to really enjoy it. The one nitpicky thing that comes up is the pacing is off.

 

[RJ 17]

Just finished up the series and I gotta say I really enjoyed it. Good characters, good character development, good storytelling, all that fun stuff. My question is whether The Legend of Korra is worth getting into or not. Is it a worthy sequel-series to Avatar? Or is it just a cash-in to try and catch lightning in a bottle twice and ride the coattails of the first series' success? I'd really like to see another story in that world, but if it's just a cash-in then I don't want it to drag the name of the first series through the mud.

Most everyone I know who's watched LoK has found it highly enjoyable. I felt that it didn't quite live up to it's potential, and that the first season ended rather abruptly, but I'm definitely glad I watched it. I'm also planning on getting the new season that's supposed to come out soon the same way I did the first season, episode by episode as they are released.

I feel the need to point out that I use a regular legal streaming service (Amazon Instant).

I borrowed the DVDs from a friend, would have bought them myself (and likely will sometime in the near future) buuuuut I'm kinda broke and out of a job at the moment. xP

Thanks for the response though, I appreciate it. Glad to hear that it's a worthy successor, I'll be checking it out.

Definitely not a cash in. When I hear that phrase I associate it with effortless crap. Me and most of the people I talk to really enjoy it. The one nitpicky thing that c.omes up is the pacing is off.

And that's exactly what I was talking about too, and what I was worried about Good to hear that's not the case though, so thanks for the response.

As for the pacing, I did a bit of digging on the subject after making this topic and apparently each season is supposed to be a self-contained story. That said, each season is only going to be 12-14 episodes...not quite the 20 episode seasons from the first series.

 

[Dirty Hipsters]

I really liked the first season of Legend of Korra, and so did all my friends who watched it. There's a universal criticism of the show, it's pacing, which is a totally valid criticism. The thing is, originally the show was only supposed to be a one off, a single season, which is why everything had to be wrapped up so quickly, and why the pacing was screwy. It was only later, once the show was already coming out that nickelodeon decided to make it a full 3 season run. So hopefully the second season (coming out this month if I remember correctly) will have better pacing. Definitely isn't a cash in though.

 

[FootloosePhoenix]

I didn't think Legend of Korra was very good...at least, not until the last handful of episodes, which were amazing and pretty much equal to the original series' first season finale. Other than that, the only bits I enjoyed were the flashbacks to the characters from the original series (especially when they involved Toph. I fucking love Toph). Hopefully it further follows in its predecessor's footsteps, as in it continues getting better and retains a consistently high level of quality in the coming seasons.

What I didn't enjoy at all was that there's a pretty big focus on "pro-bending" for several episodes and I just found it utterly dull. It feels like very, very little happens until midway through the season, then it gradually becomes better until the plot finally reaches the point where it's engaging (at least to me) and makes you want to keep watching. I haven't watched any of the episodes since they originally aired though, so my assessments might be a little off. Another major gripe I have with it is that most of the characters feel like much lesser versions of characters from The Last Airbender; Bolin is a retread of Sokka, Mako sucked up all of Zuko's angst, a female character whose name escapes me actually looks a lot like June and of course Naga and the "fire ferret" (which looks just like a red panda) are replacements for Appa and Momo, respectively. It's quite a shame, since the characters who do have their own distinct personalities are infinitely more appealing, including Korra herself. In fact every time Bolin's on-screen, it just makes me miss Sokka. Oh, and one more thing that bugs me: There are still sky bison. You might recall that Appa was the last one. Well, the creators just decided to repopulate them with absolutely no explanation. Now it was actually supposed to turn out that Appa was female and pregnant over the entire course of The Last Airbender, but they scrapped that idea and as far as I know Appa is still canonically male, so...that really bothers me for some reason.

Nevertheless, I'd say Legend of Korra is worth checking out. It's still a decent show and I've been excited for the second season to air since it picked up.

 

[Dirty Hipsters]

Oh, and one more thing that bugs me: There are still sky bison. You might recall that Appa was the last one. Well, the creators just decided to repopulate them with absolutely no explanation. Now it was actually supposed to turn out that Appa was female and pregnant over the entire course of The Last Airbender, but they scrapped that idea and as far as I know Appa is still canonically male, so...that really bothers me for some reason.

If I remember correctly, according to the canon after the events of Book 3 Aang found a colony of Sky Bison living at an air temple that wasn't visited in the show.

In the show they visited the Southern, Northern, and Western Air Temples, so after the show Aang went to the Eastern air temple and found a bunch of surviving Sky Bison there.

 

[Eddie the head]

I think the Nostalgia critic said it best. "It's alright but it's no avatar." It's good but it also has some flaws and not enough time to correct them if you ask me.

 

[The Funslinger]

Oh, and one more thing that bugs me: There are still sky bison. You might recall that Appa was the last one. Well, the creators just decided to repopulate them with absolutely no explanation. Now it was actually supposed to turn out that Appa was female and pregnant over the entire course of The Last Airbender, but they scrapped that idea and as far as I know Appa is still canonically male, so...that really bothers me for some reason.

If I remember correctly, according to the canon after the events of Book 3 Aang found a colony of Sky Bison living at a air temple that wasn't visited in the show.

In the show they visited the Southern, Northern, and Western Air Temples, so after the show Aang went to the Eastern air temple and found a bunch of surviving Sky Bison there.

Not to fanboy out too hard, but it begs the question, are those species of animals as spiritually important as the types of benders? (i.e. an airbender being saved and preserved just as the others were wiped out implies some stuff). Those bison were hidden from the world until they were needed again, and every avatar seems to need an animal guide.

We know there are two dragons left, so when the next firebending avatar comes along, would the dragons start repopulating?

It's all very interesting to me. Probably more than it should be.

 

[CpT_x_Killsteal]

Just finished up the series and I gotta say I really enjoyed it. Good characters, good character development, good storytelling, all that fun stuff. My question is whether The Legend of Korra is worth getting into or not. Is it a worthy sequel-series to Avatar? Or is it just a cash-in to try and catch lightning in a bottle twice and ride the coattails of the first series' success? I'd really like to see another story in that world, but if it's just a cash-in then I don't want it to drag the name of the first series through the mud.

It's great, and most people who enjoyed Avatar will enjoy Korra.

But just FYI, it may have the same humour etc, but it's story gets a little darker and more dramatic and possesses more... intrigue.

 

[DugMachine]

I enjoyed LoK. The pacing was pretty fast but I think they'll get it right in the next season. If you enjoyed Avatar then Korra won't disappoint.

 

[Winterbird]

The Legend of Korra has much more flaws compared to Avatar, but for some reason I found it almost equally enjoyable to watch. It's definitely not a cash-in and you should check it out.

 

[Scarim Coral]

It's definitely not a quick cash in as you can see the crew still put in effect/ love into the show when you are watching it.

 

[Latinidiot]

I don't think it's that good, it has problems. But I really liked it.

 

[TheYellowCellPhone]

Legend of Korra takes a different path than The Last Airbender. The Last Airbender was about a constant journey through a huge, diverse land full of different people and cultures in the midst of a war.

The Legend of Korra is a story of a revolution in one technologically advanced hub city filled with conflicting cultures, that plays out more like a mystery or gradually building idea than The Last Airbender's mostly linear story.

There is obviously some similarities though. It's still about the avatar learning bending techniques, there still is the badass characters (some character make a reappearance in The Legend of Korra), a lot of similar fight scenes, seeing a world shaped by bending, and beautiful art direction. The difference, I suppose, is if you're invested in the characters in one more than the other.

Personally, I loved The Legend of Korra, possibly more than The Last Airbender. I vastly preferred the decopunk city in the midst of a bender vs. nonbender clash than I preferred The Last Airbender's island hopping between skirmishes. Plus, the main characters in The Legend of Korra were complete badasses and got even more badass as their pasts were uncovered.

If you're not going to watch all of The Legend of Korra, at least watch the Bending Tournament. I believe it's in Episode 4.

 

[Gizmo1990]

Just finished up the series and I gotta say I really enjoyed it. Good characters, good character development, good storytelling, all that fun stuff. My question is whether The Legend of Korra is worth getting into or not. Is it a worthy sequel-series to Avatar? Or is it just a cash-in to try and catch lightning in a bottle twice and ride the coattails of the first series' success? I'd really like to see another story in that world, but if it's just a cash-in then I don't want it to drag the name of the first series through the mud.

I am very much in the minority here but I did not enjoy LoK. I did not like any of the characters anywhere near as much as the ones from TLA, one being a bad Soka rip off and one is just a complete super douche (mako). Also, while very well animated, I found the fight scenes to seem much smaller and overall they feel slower than TLA, most of the characters were ment to be masters in their respective elements (Korra already having mastered Water,fire and earth) yet they seem to get their arse kicked in every fight they get into and seem incapable of fighting with the same skill the old characters could despite being older than the original characters.

The only part of LoK I enjoyed was a episode that had a flashback of Aang as an adult and that lasted all of 5 mins.

But as I said I am in the minority, many other fans of the show seem to enjoy it so I say give the first few episodes a go.

 

[Gizmo1990]

Snip

I see your point but Tenzin and Lin Beifong got their arse handed to them plenty of times as well. The whole show just felt slower when it came to action, at least to me.