Constructive Criticism for Mike and Bryan
Hi everyone! Quick programming note: the speculation post is coming tomorrow, probably in the early afternoon EST/evening here in Europe, and will be a regular Wednesday thing hereafter, unless the community decides otherwise. Hopefully we'll get some clips before next Wednesday so there will be new stuff to speculate about!
All right, so we're seven episodes into a twelve-episode season, and while we certainly don't have the whole picture storywise yet, we do have a feel for the series' writing, pacing, and direction. This is a post for you to give Mike and Bryan (and the rest of the production team, including directors Joaquim and Ryu) some constructive criticism. What are some of your biggest likes and dislikes so far? What do you have to say about characterization, storytelling, and vision/scope? Are comparisons to ATLA relevant or fair? How can Mike and Bryan improve on the weak points? Is there something they've been doing well that you think has been under-used? Don't forget to give them kudos for what they've done right! Also feel free to include constructive criticism for the voice actors, animators, Track Team, etc.
Things to keep in mind:
- Mike and Bryan wrote every episode of Book One themselves, unlike in ATLA, where they had a writing team headed by Aaron Ehasz (who, to my knowledge, is not returning for Korra).
- Joaquim and Ryu directed every episode of Book One themselves.
- There will be multiple writers and directors for Book Two.
- Book One was originally conceived as a miniseries. We don't know at what point in the production Nickelodeon asked for more episodes, but I think it's important to remember that Book One was once intended to be self-contained.
EDIT:
- This quotation from an interview with Toonzone News (emphasis mine):
TOONZONE NEWS: The series was originally announced as something shorter before it was expanded to a 20+ episode season. How did the expansion affect the development of the show and your plans for the first story arc?
MICHAEL DIMARTINO: Book 1 was always going to be 12 episodes. When we started writing, we didn't know if we would do more beyond that. Unlike the original series which had a three season arc, we designed "Korra" so that each season had its own villain and clear resolution, so they are more stand-alone seasons. Although there are definitely arcs that carry over from Book 1 to Book 2.
While it's not super conclusive, I think we can say with some confidence that Book One will wrap up the Amon arc.
Positive: I'd like to give Mike and Bryan some major credit for their handling of Korra herself so far. I think they've done a good job of distinguishing her from Aang and giving her her own voice without making her too one-note or overpowered. I love her confidence and drive, but I appreciate that she also has very human flaws and vulnerabilities. I'm especially pleased with her character development; she's not the same girl she was when she arrived in Republic City, and I like that we see her learning from her mistakes and showing some real maturity and grace in difficult situations. Props to Janet Varney for her mostly excellent voice work as well!
Negative: While I want to reserve full judgment until the season is over, I think pacing is one of the series' biggest problems. Some of the episodes have flowed pretty well ("A Leaf in the Wind," "And the Winner Is..."), but others have been so frenetic I could feel the whiplash ("The Aftermath," and to a lesser extent "The Revelation" and "Welcome to Republic City"). I realize that with the scale of the story and the time constraints involved, pacing issues were pretty much inevitable, but the series is suffering from not being able to breathe and establish itself. This leads to some other problems, like telling instead of showing (I know many of us, even hardcore Makorra shippers like myself, were taken aback by Mako's admission of feelings for Korra in episode 5), and not being able to get a proper sense of some of the characters or plot points (once again, Mako seems to be bearing the brunt of this; I'd also like to see some more examples of bender oppression or non-benders being disadvantaged to better understand their grievances). This is not a new problem (the first half of Book Three of ATLA had pacing issues), and while it may not be as noticeable once we're able to watch all the episodes at once, it is something that needs to be acknowledged.
I have some more ideas, but I'd like to see what you guys come up with! Let's get started.
All right, so we're seven episodes into a twelve-episode season, and while we certainly don't have the whole picture storywise yet, we do have a feel for the series' writing, pacing, and direction. This is a post for you to give Mike and Bryan (and the rest of the production team, including directors Joaquim and Ryu) some constructive criticism. What are some of your biggest likes and dislikes so far? What do you have to say about characterization, storytelling, and vision/scope? Are comparisons to ATLA relevant or fair? How can Mike and Bryan improve on the weak points? Is there something they've been doing well that you think has been under-used? Don't forget to give them kudos for what they've done right! Also feel free to include constructive criticism for the voice actors, animators, Track Team, etc.
Things to keep in mind:
- Mike and Bryan wrote every episode of Book One themselves, unlike in ATLA, where they had a writing team headed by Aaron Ehasz (who, to my knowledge, is not returning for Korra).
- Joaquim and Ryu directed every episode of Book One themselves.
- There will be multiple writers and directors for Book Two.
- Book One was originally conceived as a miniseries. We don't know at what point in the production Nickelodeon asked for more episodes, but I think it's important to remember that Book One was once intended to be self-contained.
EDIT:
- This quotation from an interview with Toonzone News (emphasis mine):
TOONZONE NEWS: The series was originally announced as something shorter before it was expanded to a 20+ episode season. How did the expansion affect the development of the show and your plans for the first story arc?
MICHAEL DIMARTINO: Book 1 was always going to be 12 episodes. When we started writing, we didn't know if we would do more beyond that. Unlike the original series which had a three season arc, we designed "Korra" so that each season had its own villain and clear resolution, so they are more stand-alone seasons. Although there are definitely arcs that carry over from Book 1 to Book 2.
While it's not super conclusive, I think we can say with some confidence that Book One will wrap up the Amon arc.
Positive: I'd like to give Mike and Bryan some major credit for their handling of Korra herself so far. I think they've done a good job of distinguishing her from Aang and giving her her own voice without making her too one-note or overpowered. I love her confidence and drive, but I appreciate that she also has very human flaws and vulnerabilities. I'm especially pleased with her character development; she's not the same girl she was when she arrived in Republic City, and I like that we see her learning from her mistakes and showing some real maturity and grace in difficult situations. Props to Janet Varney for her mostly excellent voice work as well!
Negative: While I want to reserve full judgment until the season is over, I think pacing is one of the series' biggest problems. Some of the episodes have flowed pretty well ("A Leaf in the Wind," "And the Winner Is..."), but others have been so frenetic I could feel the whiplash ("The Aftermath," and to a lesser extent "The Revelation" and "Welcome to Republic City"). I realize that with the scale of the story and the time constraints involved, pacing issues were pretty much inevitable, but the series is suffering from not being able to breathe and establish itself. This leads to some other problems, like telling instead of showing (I know many of us, even hardcore Makorra shippers like myself, were taken aback by Mako's admission of feelings for Korra in episode 5), and not being able to get a proper sense of some of the characters or plot points (once again, Mako seems to be bearing the brunt of this; I'd also like to see some more examples of bender oppression or non-benders being disadvantaged to better understand their grievances). This is not a new problem (the first half of Book Three of ATLA had pacing issues), and while it may not be as noticeable once we're able to watch all the episodes at once, it is something that needs to be acknowledged.
I have some more ideas, but I'd like to see what you guys come up with! Let's get started.