I was so excited when Legend of Korra was announced and angry that it couldn’t be called Avatar because of the movie. Still the idea of a water bender being the new Avatar seemed great, I was ready to explore the world building done by The Last Airbender. I never liked the idea of the steampunk setting, to me a fantasy world needs to stay in fantasy forever, i mean we saw hundreds of avatars that had similar technology but now we would be in a more modern world? Regardless this cartoon is not as well regarded and I can see why, it is a weaker show when compared to the adventures of Aang and doesn’t take advantage of the world it’s set in but even on its own it is a strong show.
Book 1: Air
At leas they start where the original show left off. IN general it feels less epic and even the intro is a bit lackluster. The arc is good but Capital City takes some getting used to with having cars and planes. Too much steampunk technology that doesn’t fit the world. The new characters aren’t as likeable, at least not as quickly as the original cast. Near the end of the season it gets much better and makes you wish the season had been a bit longer to get to know the world and cast better.
Book 2: Spirits
In general the spirits idea is great, there are some slower and boring episodes but some great episodes here as well. The cast here is getting much better and having it not all take place in Capital City was nice. The ending is satisfying as well. It also makes me wish it had been combined with season 1 with both arcs happening and it would’ve felt like a much stronger start for the show.
Book 3: Change
These individual stories instead of a big one is not entirely a bad idea, and these smaller arcs are fun with Korra so I can appreciate that. What I don’t get is why set up a world with some of the original cast still being alive only to barely ever use them, or to give them any real meaning from them existing there. Might as well have made it take place after the old cast was all deadl. In general it’s a lackluster season, while not horrible, it’s just too stretched and “meh”. IT doesn’t have many highs even if it’s an interesting take and has some neat ideas. At least it was set up last season.
Book 4: Balance
This one is definitely more of a sequel to the previous season and it’s an even smaller scale stakes here than the last one which is good. I don’t think it shoudl’ve been the last season. Toph here is wasted though Iroh goes tos how he’s more interesting than most of the new cast. It also sucks that we got a clip show here, they should’ve just not had that epsiode. As a final season well the characters had potential but even with 4 season it was never done well enough. Mechas in a final fight? Such a outlandish idea yet I don’t hate it for some reason. I also think the relationships could’ve been handled beter, the chemistry was there but not enough. They should’ve exploited that more to make it a more interesting show.
Legend of Korra just isn’t an amazing show and limited to where the franchise could go in the future. It had some neat ideas here and there and it’s a strong enough show to be able to watch. It’s just such a waste of the world it takes place in.