Review: The Legends of Korra

Nickelodeon has hosted some great shows on their channel and with being a cartoon fan I give most of their shows a chance.   Most of the time I’ll just watch the show on TV and be ok with it, but there was one show that held my attention so much that I even went out and bought the DVDs.  That was Avatar: The Last Airbender.  The best cartoon series I’ve seen besides for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, since Gargoyles.

I am very fussy about what shows I see as great.  There are a handful of things that the series needs in order for me to find it to be a great show.  A strong plot that goes through each season with a beginning, middle and end to the plots.  Character growth, some comedic moments in each episode, good character design and backgrounds, and let’s not forget music put together just right can really bring a story to life and make a show so much more enjoyable.  Sadly, it feels lately that a lot of cartoon shows rely more on simple lines than details.  So while they’re ok to watch, I could never see those shows as greats.  Having good art brings you more into the world that you’re watching and just gets a stronger hold on you.

Avatar : The Last Airbender did all of these things to make it great.   When I first saw it, I did not realize just how much this was going to be a series that I could be so hooked too.  Though I found myself watching it all the time, buying the DVDs, and even getting a few of the toys.  The characters were great with strong growth and comedic aspects.  Different types of comedy too, so it could hit more people.  There was even really touching times where you felt for the character for the dilemmas they were facing.  They were so believable.  The funny part about this is I would watch the show upstairs in my room, and then one day I came downstairs and found my folks were watching it, as well.  They were hooked already and was surprised I knew of this cartoon.  So it became a family show in which everyone in my family was able to enjoy.

Unfortunately, though Avatar: The Last Airbender only lasted 3 seasons.  And what a powerful three seasons it was.  We watched as these characters went through a very strong story line, which you learn about right away, with a ton of shorter story lines that helped with the character growth.  The art in each episode was amazing with backgrounds that could blow your mind.  This was no normal cartoon series.  And when it ended, the fans cried out for more.

The first thing we got after the series ended was a movie.  For anyone who doesn’t know the cartoon series, it’s an okay movie, but if you know the series at all you know that movie is rotten.  Names were changed, the comedy was removed, big plot points was taken out and switched around.  The movie was a total mess up, because the director/writer saw something different.  But all he did was piss off the fans of the series.  This is a movie I saw at the midnight showing and never watched again.  It’s an insult to a great cartoon series.  The lead character was the best cast choice they made, if only they gave him the correct lines and personality from the cartoon.

Now a few years later we’re all holding our breaths as a new cartoon is coming out for Avatar. This one takes place 70 years after the original cartoon.  It’s called “The Legends of Korra”.   Korra is the new Avatar. She’s strong with all of her bending skills besides for air bending.  She’s very talented though she’s been locked at a base most of her life to be trained.  When her air bending teacher shows up and tells her that he can not stay to teach her. Korra takes things into her own hands and runs off to where he lives;  convincing him to teach her, while she stays in his city.  Though there’s trouble going down here, as non-benders are wanting to fight back against the benders.  Korra came to this city at a very dangerous time.

A few weeks ago I joined a group on Facebook, called Korra Nation. This awesome group gives sneak peeks of stuff going on for Korra and by sharing those sneak peeks you get points to earn prizes.  I think this has been a totally cool group and enjoy seeing the daily updates that they do.  Though the best sneak peek of all is the first two episodes of Korra.  The show will not air until next month on Nickelodeon, though as of now, those in Korra Nation have been able to watch the first few episodes and they’re great!

It sounds as if this series will even answer the questions of the past Avatar series, with “What happened to so and so”  and did you “find so and so”. There’s even at least one character so far in the show, who was a lead character in the original cartoon.  I went into the series knowing that the creators were working at giving us an all new adventure, with the world that we came to love in the original cartoon and some new twists.   I was not disappointed.

This series has the comedy already starting up, ideas of who the lead characters are and character growth.  The art is just as amazing as the first series of Avatar: The Last Airbender.  What an amazing show.  2012 is turning into a great year for Nickelodeon, with this series starting up in April and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles coming out this Fall.  Nickelodeon is fastly becoming my favorite TV station, just as it was when I was a little kid!

Are you a fan of Avatar: The Last Airbender?  Have you watched the first two episodes of Korra that is online for this week only?  What are your thoughts about Korra?  Share your thoughts, comments and questions below.  Please remember that all email addresses are kept private.