The Legend of Korra preview: A masterpiece in the making

The day has finally arrived, everyone! Nickelodeon’s The Legend of Korra finally hit the world wide web yesterday with the early release of its premiere! That’s right, the first two episodes of the show have officially been released for your viewing pleasure. Haven’t seen them yet? Well then check them out HERE! And if the show itself isn’t enough to  convince you to watch it, then perhaps I’ll be able to in this blog…

You see, The Legend of Korra is technically the “sequel” to Nick’s hit television show Avatar: The Last Airbender. A show that followed the adventures and tribulations of a young boy named Aang who woke up after about a hundred years of sleep and found that his people, the airbenders, had been wiped out by the now warring and expansionist Fire Nation. Now Aang isn’t just an airbender, he’s the Avatar, a person who can bend all four elements (Earth, Air, Water, Fire) and is tasked with keeping the world at peace and in balance — a task that his hundred-year sleep pretty much ruined. So he sets off to stop the Fire Nation and restore the world to the way it’s supposed to be, a task that is fully fleshed out in the three seasons that Avatar: The Last Airbender takes up. The show is amazing folks, no joke. It’s on Netflix, GO WATCH IT.

Anyway…

Back to The Legend of Korra.

Series background

Korra takes place 70 years after the original Avatar series and follows the next Avatar, Korra, as she strikes out to master the one element that she has yet to master, Air. But in order to do this she must study with one of Aang‘s children, Tenzin, who is currently the only (as far as we know) airbending master of his time. Of course this doesn’t turn out to be as easy a task as you’d expect; Tenzin’s position of power in Republic City, a city founded by Aang to be a home to ALL benders and nations, keeps him from training Korra like he’s supposed to. And Korra, being the rather headstrong and determined young woman she is, isn’t willing to wait for things to settle down and heads out to Republic City to join Tenzin and continue her training. This is the basic premise of the show, as Korra is thrown into a one-of-a-kind city where she must not only continue on her path as the Avatar but also work to help deal with the problems plaguing the city, ranging from criminals and gangs to an anti-bender revolutionary movement devoted to tearing down everything the Avatar and the four nations stand for. As you can imagine, Korra is going to have quite a struggle on her hands.

But enough about the setup of the show, lets get down to why you need to watch it…

The world

From the art and beauty of sky-scrappers and sunsets to the jazzy tunes reminiscent of a 1920’s Shanghai, the world of The Legend of Korra is both busy and serene at the same time. Whereas Avatar: The Last Airbender took place in a world more reminiscent of a feudal China, Republic City is a perfect mix of Asian fantasy and steampunk, where it isn’t uncommon to see someone shooting fire from their hands while sporting a fedora and hanging out of the back of a supped up automobile. The Legend of Korra is both a natural and dramatic extension of the world fans grew to love in the original Avatar series. Only the steampunk vehicles and zeppelins that once belonged solely to the Fire Nation have now made their way into the hands of the average, everyday citezen. Which, along with technological innovations like electricity and radio, allows The Legend of Korra to tell some very different stories than what was once possible — and allows for such great scenes as when we see Korra eavesdropping on her guards as they listen, at the edge of their seats, to a radio broadcast of a Pro-Bending match. That kind of moment wouldn’t be possible in the old series, a fact that I’m hoping Korra will take advantage of as the show goes on.

The characters

Right off the bat we are introduced to Korra with the line, “I’m the Avatar, and you gotta deal with it!” I don’t know about you, but that’s an easy way to distinguish Korra, our new Avatar, to Aang, our Avatar of old. Whereas Aang is a pacifist who does everything he can to settle things peacefully and try to out-think his opponents, Korra is a blunt object who tackles things head on and full force. She doesn’t back down from a challenge and is always willing to fight, a HUGE change from Aang and the philosophy taught by the Air Nomads. A fact that soon becomes a thorn in Korra’s side as she discovers that the teachings of the Air Nomads don’t come easy to her. And since we know she needs to master airbending at some point, we can safely assume that Korra will grow and change along with her bending abilities.

Of course Korra isn’t the only character in the show; and luckily for us The Legend of Korra is stuffed full of awesome and hilarious characters. From the stoic and serious Tenzin, who ends up taking a few more deep breaths to calm his nerves then I think he ever planned on taking, to his children, who range from a bookworm to a hyper-talkative chatterbox. From the first moment that you meet Tenzin and his family you already feel like they’re characters you’re familiar with. Same with Chief Beifong, daughter of Avatar‘s Toph. She is exactly the stern and uncompromising person that you’d expect to run the toughest and most powerful police force in the world (an assumption on my part, but I mean come on, they’re metal benders in zeppelins for God’s sake)!

While this certainly isn’t all the characters we’ll be hanging out with this season (I didn’t even mention Mako and Bolin), the cast of Korra is already shaping up to be a strong and interesting cast that will hopefully provide us with the same growth and depth that we’ve come to expect from the Avatar series.

Everything else

Well choreographed fighting, epic set pieces, sarcastic wit, quirky humor… the list could go on. And while Korra seems to have matured as a show, both in the age of the characters and the content itself, it still serves as the kind of family-friendly show that kids and parents can both geek out over. Now I don’t know how many of you out there have kids (or have worked with any), but let me assure you that having something YOU can enjoy right alongside the budding young minds you’re watching over is an amazing thing. This is the kind of show that parents and children can bond over. I’m calling it now, this halloween expect to see a TON of Korra based costumes on both kids and their parents.

All in all, expect to hear more about Korra as the year rolls by. Because come April 15th, you can bet your behind that I, and millions of other fans, will be tuned in to what may very well be one of the best shows to hit television this generation. I hope you decide to join us! [UPDATE] Also! If you enjoyed this post be sure to check out my Monthly Korra Review, where I break down a month’s worth of episodes and pick them apart for all they’re worth!