The Legend of Korra: Welcome to Republic City
Korra Korra Korra! Yeah, I watched the first episode. There is was, on YouTube, just waiting for me to press the play button. How could I resist? I couldn't. So here are my thoughts on the first episode, Welcome to Republic City...
As I suspected, the animation is beautiful, and a huge upgrade from the previous series (which was gorgeous enough). I was surprised by how quickly this world has evolved, but I'll never say no to a steampunk environment in which there are skyscrapers and "setomobiles" and 1920s clothing and those old-time scratchy radios. Granted, it is a little disconcerting in a world that was predominantly influenced by Asian cultures to suddenly have an influx of European inventions and elements, (especially since Republic City looks like turn-of-the-century San Francisco) but the characters still seem very much a product of the old series, so we'll see how well this pans out as the show goes on - and I can't fault Bryke for wanting to do something a bit different.
Korra. Come here and let me hug you like you hugged Tenzin and the kids. I think we're going to get along just fine. As long-time lurkers may know, I've not exactly had a string of luck when it comes to female characters on shows that I enjoy, and so Korra comes like a cold glass of delicious cola-and-lemon after a long and tiring walk in the Desert of Representation. She's just so lovely and perfect on so many levels, I don't even know where to begin.
Obviously there's been some effort to separate her from Aang: whereas he was passive and evasive, Korra is take-charge and completely in-your-face. "I'm the Avatar; you gotta deal with it!" Said as a five-year old! And so it's interesting to see that despite this attitude, she's apparently been brought up in a compound in which she's been kept under very close monitering. No wonder she felt it was time to check out the world for herself - in fact, given what we've seen of her, I'm surprised she stayed there for that long.
Another nice touch was that despite her bravado, her upbringing has kept her quite naive. She had very little idea of what she was getting up to in Republic City, what with having no money and getting into trouble with the law; I like the idea that she's been thrust into the spotlight with a huge amount of raw power at her disposal, and clearly isn't prepared for it (despite her good intentions - aw, bless). With that in mind, it's interesting that despite it being established last series that the correct "order" of learning the elements goes air - water - earth - fire, Korra is going to learn the first element last. I wonder if this will have any impact on her development, or whether it's just an inevitable part of the storyline.
Also, I like the fact that whereas Aang was quite adapt in the spiritual side of things, Korra apparently struggles with it. I loved all the forays into the spirit world in the last series, and I'm hoping that there's going to be more of it this time around. Which is my way of saying PLEASE BRING BACK KOH THE FACE STEALER, THE COOLEST CHARACTER DESIGN IN THE HISTORY OF CHARACTER DESIGN. It'll also be interesting to see how the spirit world manifests in this updated setting: has it evolved as well, or are the spirits timeless creatures that remain the same as they always did?
Also Naga. Naga is love.
Tenzin was good, though didn't really leap out at me as a character that I had to get to know better. He seems to have some sort of issue with his mother, what with his youngest not recognising his own grandmother, and his reaction to Korra bringing up Katara's name at the end. Clearly not at all like his fun-loving father, but I liked that moment in which he looks up at Aang's statue and is clearly thinking: "what would my father do in this situation?" Pema fell a bit flat as well. I was hoping she would be a calm, stabilizing presence, but she's obviously had it up to HERE with airbending kids! (Who were adorable, and I loved the way they utilized Aang's trademark air-ball). I wonder if perhaps the bending/non-bending factions will put a strain on this family, or whether they'll be held up as an example that harmony between the factions is possible.
Harry Potter taught me that naming your children after dead people is a stupid idea, so I wasn't entirely thrilled to hear that Tenzin's siblings are called Kya and Bumi (why did Tenzin luck out and get an original name?) but I'll be looking out for them in future episodes; hopefully with little ones of their own. We need to start repopulating the Air Nomads, Kissing Cousins be damned!
As was to be expected from a first episode, it was a little exposition-heavy, sometimes in rather clumsy ways. For example, I can't quite grasp why Tenzin needed to bring ALL his family, including three very young children and one very pregnant wife, ALL the way to the Southern Water Tribe just to tell Korra that he wouldn't be teaching her air-bending. Why not come by himself, or send a messanger if his presence in Republic City was so important?
It was rather sad seeing Katara; not so much because she's now an old woman, but because she seems incredibly lonely. As she said, Sokka and her friends are gone, she doesn't seem particularly close to her son and grandchildren, and now Korra has left her as well. I'm not sure how exactly she'll be used his series, or whether we've seen the last of her, but it does make for a rather sad reminder that time doesn't stop once the story ends.
Speaking of Tenzin's mother-issues, it would appear that Lyn Beifong has them too. That's interesting, especially when you take into account her familiar demeanour with Tenzin. They obviously know each other via their parents' friendship (and I loved the sight of Toph's statue in the police headquarters, as well as the continued use of metalbending as a technique) but clearly the two of them are rather testy about their heritage. I'm getting the sense that they have trouble living in the shadow of their parents' fame. But for the record - she's as awesome as her mum, even though she hasn't actually done anything yet. But she will. And it'll be awesome.
The non-bending faction - which seem to be called the Equalists - are an intriguing new component to this world. The last show was obviously all about the four nations and the war between them, which touched on issues of privilege and supremacy, and the tension that must exist between super-powered people (who can effortlessly cause huge amounts of damage if they so wish) and average joes was a natural stepping stone from that conflict. It probably already existed throughout the course of Aang's story - we just didn't get to see it because so many other things were going on, but there is a natural arrogance to benders (including Korra) that easily opens itself up to trouble.
In typical Bryke fashion, I'm sure that this will be dealt with in a clever way, with plenty of shades of grey to go with it, and clearly it's a very serious situation if Tenzin is willing to put his duties in the city ahead of training the Avatar. It's not hard to see that the non-benders have a point, as well as a right to be afraid. I wonder how they plan on dealing with the Avatar and how this recognised leader and peacemaker fits into their worldview. Presumably, if they don't like benders, then a girl who can control all four elements isn't going to be high on their make-friends list. Amun looked suitably sinister and menacing - looking forward for the reasons behind that mask of his.
SO MUCH TO TALK ABOUT.
Some final thoughts:
Oh evil Bryke, cutting Jinora short just as she was asking about Zuko's mother. Fandom seems obsessed with the answering of this question, but to be honest, I'm not that fussed about it. I'd rather have it than not, but if not, I'm happy imagining a scenario of Zuko tracking her down and the two being reunited. It obviously happened, just not on-screen, and I'm surprisingly cool with that.
Their sense of humour is still intact: all those wonderful quirky details that make this world so rich and so human: the shield falling off the wall in Korra's parents' house, the sparkly bush that is clearly the homeless guy's pride and joy, and the little old lady in the police station waiting room with a platypus-bear by her side. Such wonderful, amusing, humanizing stuff.
Loved Lin Beifong's voice actress: "Cut the garbage, Tenzin!" Oh yeah, they're old drinking buddies.
Can't wait to see Zuko's legacy. Did he and Mai have kids? And did they name them after dead people? And who's in charge of the Fire Nation now? In fact, whose in charge of anything? Are there still fire lords and earth kings? Obviously not in Republic City, but what about elsewhere?
As I suspected, the animation is beautiful, and a huge upgrade from the previous series (which was gorgeous enough). I was surprised by how quickly this world has evolved, but I'll never say no to a steampunk environment in which there are skyscrapers and "setomobiles" and 1920s clothing and those old-time scratchy radios. Granted, it is a little disconcerting in a world that was predominantly influenced by Asian cultures to suddenly have an influx of European inventions and elements, (especially since Republic City looks like turn-of-the-century San Francisco) but the characters still seem very much a product of the old series, so we'll see how well this pans out as the show goes on - and I can't fault Bryke for wanting to do something a bit different.
Korra. Come here and let me hug you like you hugged Tenzin and the kids. I think we're going to get along just fine. As long-time lurkers may know, I've not exactly had a string of luck when it comes to female characters on shows that I enjoy, and so Korra comes like a cold glass of delicious cola-and-lemon after a long and tiring walk in the Desert of Representation. She's just so lovely and perfect on so many levels, I don't even know where to begin.
Obviously there's been some effort to separate her from Aang: whereas he was passive and evasive, Korra is take-charge and completely in-your-face. "I'm the Avatar; you gotta deal with it!" Said as a five-year old! And so it's interesting to see that despite this attitude, she's apparently been brought up in a compound in which she's been kept under very close monitering. No wonder she felt it was time to check out the world for herself - in fact, given what we've seen of her, I'm surprised she stayed there for that long.
Another nice touch was that despite her bravado, her upbringing has kept her quite naive. She had very little idea of what she was getting up to in Republic City, what with having no money and getting into trouble with the law; I like the idea that she's been thrust into the spotlight with a huge amount of raw power at her disposal, and clearly isn't prepared for it (despite her good intentions - aw, bless). With that in mind, it's interesting that despite it being established last series that the correct "order" of learning the elements goes air - water - earth - fire, Korra is going to learn the first element last. I wonder if this will have any impact on her development, or whether it's just an inevitable part of the storyline.
Also, I like the fact that whereas Aang was quite adapt in the spiritual side of things, Korra apparently struggles with it. I loved all the forays into the spirit world in the last series, and I'm hoping that there's going to be more of it this time around. Which is my way of saying PLEASE BRING BACK KOH THE FACE STEALER, THE COOLEST CHARACTER DESIGN IN THE HISTORY OF CHARACTER DESIGN. It'll also be interesting to see how the spirit world manifests in this updated setting: has it evolved as well, or are the spirits timeless creatures that remain the same as they always did?
Also Naga. Naga is love.
Tenzin was good, though didn't really leap out at me as a character that I had to get to know better. He seems to have some sort of issue with his mother, what with his youngest not recognising his own grandmother, and his reaction to Korra bringing up Katara's name at the end. Clearly not at all like his fun-loving father, but I liked that moment in which he looks up at Aang's statue and is clearly thinking: "what would my father do in this situation?" Pema fell a bit flat as well. I was hoping she would be a calm, stabilizing presence, but she's obviously had it up to HERE with airbending kids! (Who were adorable, and I loved the way they utilized Aang's trademark air-ball). I wonder if perhaps the bending/non-bending factions will put a strain on this family, or whether they'll be held up as an example that harmony between the factions is possible.
Harry Potter taught me that naming your children after dead people is a stupid idea, so I wasn't entirely thrilled to hear that Tenzin's siblings are called Kya and Bumi (why did Tenzin luck out and get an original name?) but I'll be looking out for them in future episodes; hopefully with little ones of their own. We need to start repopulating the Air Nomads, Kissing Cousins be damned!
As was to be expected from a first episode, it was a little exposition-heavy, sometimes in rather clumsy ways. For example, I can't quite grasp why Tenzin needed to bring ALL his family, including three very young children and one very pregnant wife, ALL the way to the Southern Water Tribe just to tell Korra that he wouldn't be teaching her air-bending. Why not come by himself, or send a messanger if his presence in Republic City was so important?
It was rather sad seeing Katara; not so much because she's now an old woman, but because she seems incredibly lonely. As she said, Sokka and her friends are gone, she doesn't seem particularly close to her son and grandchildren, and now Korra has left her as well. I'm not sure how exactly she'll be used his series, or whether we've seen the last of her, but it does make for a rather sad reminder that time doesn't stop once the story ends.
Speaking of Tenzin's mother-issues, it would appear that Lyn Beifong has them too. That's interesting, especially when you take into account her familiar demeanour with Tenzin. They obviously know each other via their parents' friendship (and I loved the sight of Toph's statue in the police headquarters, as well as the continued use of metalbending as a technique) but clearly the two of them are rather testy about their heritage. I'm getting the sense that they have trouble living in the shadow of their parents' fame. But for the record - she's as awesome as her mum, even though she hasn't actually done anything yet. But she will. And it'll be awesome.
The non-bending faction - which seem to be called the Equalists - are an intriguing new component to this world. The last show was obviously all about the four nations and the war between them, which touched on issues of privilege and supremacy, and the tension that must exist between super-powered people (who can effortlessly cause huge amounts of damage if they so wish) and average joes was a natural stepping stone from that conflict. It probably already existed throughout the course of Aang's story - we just didn't get to see it because so many other things were going on, but there is a natural arrogance to benders (including Korra) that easily opens itself up to trouble.
In typical Bryke fashion, I'm sure that this will be dealt with in a clever way, with plenty of shades of grey to go with it, and clearly it's a very serious situation if Tenzin is willing to put his duties in the city ahead of training the Avatar. It's not hard to see that the non-benders have a point, as well as a right to be afraid. I wonder how they plan on dealing with the Avatar and how this recognised leader and peacemaker fits into their worldview. Presumably, if they don't like benders, then a girl who can control all four elements isn't going to be high on their make-friends list. Amun looked suitably sinister and menacing - looking forward for the reasons behind that mask of his.
SO MUCH TO TALK ABOUT.
Some final thoughts:
Oh evil Bryke, cutting Jinora short just as she was asking about Zuko's mother. Fandom seems obsessed with the answering of this question, but to be honest, I'm not that fussed about it. I'd rather have it than not, but if not, I'm happy imagining a scenario of Zuko tracking her down and the two being reunited. It obviously happened, just not on-screen, and I'm surprisingly cool with that.
Their sense of humour is still intact: all those wonderful quirky details that make this world so rich and so human: the shield falling off the wall in Korra's parents' house, the sparkly bush that is clearly the homeless guy's pride and joy, and the little old lady in the police station waiting room with a platypus-bear by her side. Such wonderful, amusing, humanizing stuff.
Loved Lin Beifong's voice actress: "Cut the garbage, Tenzin!" Oh yeah, they're old drinking buddies.
Can't wait to see Zuko's legacy. Did he and Mai have kids? And did they name them after dead people? And who's in charge of the Fire Nation now? In fact, whose in charge of anything? Are there still fire lords and earth kings? Obviously not in Republic City, but what about elsewhere?