One of the best animated series of last year is returning for a second stab at greatness, as The Legend of Korra: Book Two is almost upon us. While the first season was meant to be a single series with a very clear beginning, middle and end, fan reaction and critical acclaim was so strong, that Nicklelodeon just had to order not one, but three more seasons/books of the adventures of the new Avatar.
And after saving the day in the first season, Korra is about to get all spiritual yo.
That looks like a whole new tone and direction for Korra and co so far. Although I’m still keeping my eyes peeled for another cameo from the Cabbage salesman. Book two kicks off in September, and will see new characters introduced such as Tenzin’s older waterbending sister Kya,Tenzin’s non-bending brother Bumi, Korra’s paternal uncle Unalaq and her first cousins, Desna and Eska.
Expect Korra to travel further in book two, while the origin of the first avatar himself will also be revealed.
Last Updated: July 23, 2013
James Francis
July 23, 2013 at 12:09
Awesome, I’m a fan of the series – even the movie wasn’t all that awful (esp. when compared to DBZ or Mario Bros) and I’d really have liked to see the other two parts made.
Tracy Benson
July 23, 2013 at 19:14
*ahem* the movie wasn’t that awful? The M. Night movie? I’m going to have to disagree with you there, it had no redeeming features for me.
James Francis
July 23, 2013 at 20:01
I’ve long heard of its awfulness, but when I finally got to see it, the reputation didn’t hold up. It wasn’t good, but it didn’t deserve ll the hate that it got. Sure, it had to make cuts in terms of the story, but if a popular comic book film does that, nobody complains. And it was not remotely as bad as DBZ, Mario Bros, the Dead Or Alive films or that Street Fighter spin-off.
Tracy Benson
July 24, 2013 at 10:44
It wasn’t just cuts in terms of the story, it completely changed the story. There was nothing he didn’t screw up, the lore was changed, the names were changed, hell even the races were changed. Very often I can understand why sub-plots are left out or characters changed if the medium changes, like the Game of Thrones books vs. the series. But there was no reason to change the fire-benders from Chinese/Asian ancestry to Indian except to pander to M. Night’s ridiculous ego so he could have a part in the movie. Also, why change the water-benders from darker skinned to light skinned, must protagonists always be white? Why make the fire-benders need a source? Why neuter the earth-bender’s strength so that it takes seven of them to throw a freaking pebble? Like I said, no redeeming features for me, the only thing I can be thankful for is that the movie tanked so hard that there’s no chance of ever having sequels.
Also, I haven’t seen the DBZ or Mario Bros movies, so I can’t comment on how bad they were.
James Francis
July 24, 2013 at 11:23
The thing is, those are all fan complaints and nitpicks. If you step outside of that, it’s not a terrible movie. It is well-structured and executed. It also does a fair job of adapting the first season, which was written for young kids and contains a huge amount of filler. The third season, for example, was a lot tighter and would have translated to film more easily. Yes, some changes were made and some mistakes could have been avoided. But it didn’t abuse its source material at remotely the same level as Judge Dredd or Mario Bros. If Airbender had another hour to play with, it could have been exceptional.
Tracy Benson
July 25, 2013 at 08:14
You’re right, they are fan nitpicks, but I don’t think I can step outside of my fandom to view it objectively, I loved the show too much to see it so badly abused. Can we agree to disagree on The Last Airbender’s level of shittiness?
James Francis
July 25, 2013 at 08:51
Not really. If I start conceding to fans about this, then the other two films will never be made. I want to see that final battle in glorious, CG-overblown 3D! Not to mention iron bending and Yue going all Sith ninja with her lightning. That is probably my main reason for supporting an Avatar movie franchise: we have the technology! Who cares if they screw it up? I can always rewatch the series if I want context. The movies are for eye candy.
Tracy Benson
July 25, 2013 at 09:32
Who cares if they screw it up? The fans of the show care! I would freaking love to see a live action version where they at least get it half way right. You said yourself, it wasn’t good by any means, just not as awful as people said.
I don’t want to it to seem like I’m behaving like a petty, self-entitled fangirl. I know the movie owes me nothing, the show owes me nothing. They can do whatever they want with their story, they are not my bitch. But likewise, I am allowed to be saddened and disappointed when they don’t, in my mind, get it right.
If my arguments as to why The Last Airbender was terrible mean that they know what not to do next time, then great. If it inspires them to do it better, fantastic. If it means they are too scared to do the sequels for fear of the backlash, then maybe that’s for the best.
James Francis
July 25, 2013 at 09:44
Perhaps, but it wasn’t a bad film. It fell short of fan expectations. Yet ironically it did a much better job at sticking to the series than many other films even bothered to. I don’t think M Night Shyamalan get enough credit for how much he managed to translate from the series. Things like Avengers, Batman and The Hobbit played fast and loose with their material, but very few fans cried foul. The criticism against Airbender is neither consistent nor fair. It is utterly biased, so you are completely right in pointing to fan self-entitlement. Airbender wasn’t a terrible movie – instead Avatar fans showed they suffer from the same zealous geek-blinkers as other ‘fans’, which just ruins it for the rest of us.
Tracy Benson
July 23, 2013 at 19:13
Okay this showed practically nothing but it was amazing and I’m still going to geek out about it. I loved the first series, even if the ending felt very rushed. Hopefully now that they know it will go on for three more seasons, they can plan it and pace it better.