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Season 1 of Korra wasn't terrible at all. The same people bitching about it are the ones who were still gushing its praises six or seven episodes in.DrSunshine posted:Yes, embracing fundamental differences and rising above mining iconic imagery indeed, as evinced by: metalbending, Katara, Iroh, Zuko, bloodbending, combustionbending, chi-blockers... What I'd consider "mining iconic imagery" would be stuff like putting Leia's recognizable double donut hairstyle on Padme at multiple points because like, Padme's her mother so clearly she has the same hairstyle at some point right? Nevermind that those characters are nothing alike at all. Another example would be the ending celebration shot of Phantom Menace evoking the ending celebration shot of A New Hope despite nothing from either of those two situations being remotely comparable. It's just there because "HEY REMEMBER THE ORIGINAL SERIES???//"
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Aug 24, 2014 04:17
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The climax of season one was Korra learning how to learn airbending (which during the entire season prior to this instant, was emphasized as a flowing, agile style of combat that you do not learn by simple physical force) by punching the air real hard. The whole season was a build up to a giant contradiction. e: Just because the specificity of language was funny: BrianWilly posted:Season 1 of Korra wasn't terrible at all. The same people bitching about it are the ones who were still gushing its praises six or seven episodes in. TheModernAmerican posted:So I'm giving the show a chance after marathoning The Last Airbender in five days and I'm already about to quit after seven episodes. I'd rather not get into an argument that you guys have probably had a thousand times, let's just say my opinions are my own. The real question is, does the show get any better and if that's the case, how long does it take to ramp up and is it worth the wait? Seriously, season 1 is basically a waste of time, the whole story has as much impact as one of the background stories of prior avatars. It's just nothing.
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Aug 24, 2014 04:18
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Android Blues posted:I think you'd have to be kind of bonkers to call S1 of Korra "just terrible", but a lot of people have very strong opinions on it so it's possible I'm outvoted. I think at very worst it was an extremely strong and ambitious season with a couple of hiccups sticking the landing. People remember a bad ending really strongly, I honestly think if they had done that differently most of the other complaints would be nitpicking. That being said, the ending was really bad and even if you thought you only had one season you still could have done it better.
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Aug 24, 2014 04:21
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DrSunshine posted:Yes, embracing fundamental differences and rising above mining iconic imagery indeed, as evinced by: metalbending, Katara, Iroh, Zuko, bloodbending, combustionbending, chi-blockers... metalbending is cool in korra
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Aug 24, 2014 04:23
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Combed Thunderclap posted:By the way, if I want to get an friend who's an adult into ATLA, where should I have them begin? I've tried watching from ATLA Book 1 and Season 1 Episode 1 still definitely feels like a kid's show. Maybe I'm being stupid but I'd be kinda embarrassed to recommend it to someone starting at that point. I'd say the third episode of Book 1, if only because it's early enough that there's not much lost if you're starting from that point, plus all of the Avatar stuff that starts when Aang realizes the truth about what happened.
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Aug 24, 2014 04:35
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TheModernAmerican posted:The climax of season one was Korra learning how to learn airbending (which during the entire season prior to this instant, was emphasized as a flowing, agile style of combat that you do not learn by simple physical force) by punching the air real hard. The whole season was a build up to a giant contradiction. No it wasn't. You said this before and it still isn't true. Korra spent the entire season building up to it. Everyone goes "well just punched the air?!" and ignored the episode where she managed to successfully meditate or the episode where she showed an innate ability to use Airbending movements properly. It was a deus ex machina but anyone claiming she just punched the air real hard and it magically worked with no buildup is ignoring the rest of the season. And the "well, airbending has to be agile and flowing" is something that wasn't true even in the original Avatar where there was only one Airbender. Like all bending styles, the styles amplify the abilities, it does not grant them. There is nothing stopping people from airbending in all kinds of ways. (Heck, Season 3 heavily emphasized this with a guy capable of airbending without even trying.) Iroh was able to invent Lightning redirection by adapting watertribe techniques to firebending. The bending styles are not and have never been the source of the actual ability. They are the method through which it is controlled and expressed. Aang even uses the air-punch thing in the original Avatar! ImpAtom fucked around with this message at 04:45 on Aug 24, 2014 |
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Aug 24, 2014 04:39
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ShadowCatboy posted:Goddamn, tumblr. Just goddamn. I was really fond of this     
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Aug 24, 2014 04:45
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Despite the fact that a generous reading of the last seven minutes of Book 1 can lead to the ending being at least somewhat satisfactory, the simple fact is that the execution of said ending was rushed and botched. Pre-release hype about the greater implications of The Equalists (fueled partially by the creators) was probably the biggest reason Book 1 faces such harsh rejection in hindsight, but the fact is that, up until the last seven minutes, Korra is an exceptionally enjoyable and extremely well-made cartoon. The last seven minutes, unlike the last seven minutes of Books 2 and 3, are basically awful, storytelling wise.
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Aug 24, 2014 04:45
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Android Blues posted:I think you'd have to be kind of bonkers to call S1 of Korra "just terrible", but a lot of people have very strong opinions on it so it's possible I'm outvoted. I think at very worst it was an extremely strong and ambitious season with a couple of hiccups sticking the landing. You know, I actually really really enjoyed Season 1. I actually enjoyed it a lot more than season 1 of Avatar. And you know, I actually really liked Season 1's ending, too. I thought it was just fine. Season 2 I hated, however.
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Aug 24, 2014 04:45
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BrianWilly posted:Season 1 of Korra wasn't terrible at all. The same people bitching about it are the ones who were still gushing its praises six or seven episodes in.
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Aug 24, 2014 04:51
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ImpAtom posted:No it wasn't. You said this before and it still isn't true. Korra spent the entire season building up to it. Everyone goes "well just punched the air?!" and ignored the episode where she managed to successfully meditate or the episode where she showed an innate ability to use Airbending movements properly. It was a deus ex machina but anyone claiming she just punched the air real hard and it magically worked with no buildup is ignoring the rest of the season. That, and it perfectly matches Korra's combative approach. She's a jock who deals with things in terms of brute force, so of course her style of Airbending is going to be that crude, especially when it only just manifested. And remember the premiere of Season 2 riffed on precisely this. Tenzin: "Clearly you need more training to grasp the depths of your spiritual connections! Not to mention you're a looong way from mastering Airbending." Korra: *scoff* "I HAVE mastered Airbending! PUNCH-PUNCH-PUNCH!" (three air whooshes) "See? Mastered!"
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Aug 24, 2014 05:09
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Pomp posted:I was really fond of this Tumbler feminists are the worst. But I do like the game of trones reference ones... It'd be better as the one gif though.
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Aug 24, 2014 05:12
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Very good season, certainly the best so far. I liked seasons 1 and 2 a lot more than most, I think, but this one blew both out of the water. My thoughts on the season: As you probably recall, a lot of people were upset that Korra got her bending back at the end of season 1, since they wanted the next season to explore Korra trying to be an avatar with only airbending and have her struggle with feelings of inadequacy until ultimately regaining all four elements. I'm now glad they didn't do that, because now we get to see that idea done even better for the final season, where Korra has to deal with complete physical disability and likely be weaker than ever for a long time after she recovers. One of the earlier posts pointed out that everyone has been gunning for her in one way or another just because she's the Avatar, and this has all happened within the span of a year, or possibly even a few months. I feel like she's been able to keep her identity as a confident and happy person through all this trauma because she had (well-earned) confidence in her physical abilities and the support of her friends. Now that she can't even walk, she's clearly more depressed than she's ever been in her life. Keep in mind that she was at her "lowest point" and crying while standing over a cliff when Aang visited her and restored her bending, which is about as close to suicidal thoughts as any kid show can be expected to get. Now although the poison's effects may not be permanent, she no longer has her past lives to rely on and has to by physically cared for as she recovers. It's also quite possible that she may want to just end what she perceives as her suffering, and think that she's done enough as the avatar, the airbenders have the current situation covered, and it's time for someone new to take over. While I'm not expecting a suicide attempt or even discussion of suicide in S4 (though props to the Korra people if they decide to say "gently caress it" and do it anyway by rewriting a few episodes, now that it's online only), I don't think there's any question that the next season will begin with Korra either still in a wheelchair or barely able to walk and move on her own, and the series will examine depression and the issues that the disabled face in detail. My prediction is that this will be the focus of the first 4 episodes at minimum, and quite possibly the first half of the season. Ultimately, for Korra as a character and as an attempt to impart lessons to the tween/teen audience of Korra (for which depression is a fairly common issue), wheelchair Korra has too much rich material to not be covered. I'll end with my guess as to why Korra is crying at the end. One of Zahir's lectures to Korra was that the Avatar was no longer needed. She's just watched an airbending ceremony be performed that she doubtless would have loved to participate in, but cannot. Where she was once one of five airbenders on the planet, now she has created many new ones, making her that much less special. Tenzin's big speech about filling in for her makes her think two things: My sole purpose of bringing balance has been taken over, and I am no longer needed, just like Zahir said.
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Aug 24, 2014 05:13
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I dunno. I don't think there's any way they're gonna make us watch some emo angst for more than a couple episodes. There's already dozens of bad animes and japanese video games covering the broody emo teenager niche. No one really wants to watch that. You may think you want a kid's cartoon to explore the depths of depression and being a cripple or whatever but trust me, it'd suck. This is not that show. This is a show about superheroes with magic powers punching people, with fun dramatic characters and very very light social commentary thrown in.
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Aug 24, 2014 05:29
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that reminds me, now that it's online does that mean they don't have to censor themselves anymore
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Aug 24, 2014 05:31
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quite the fucker posted:that reminds me, now that it's online does that mean they don't have to censor themselves anymore It's still on Nick.com, so what do you think?
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Aug 24, 2014 05:47
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achillesforever6 posted:That and he was voiced by Mark Hamill and by the end he is basically doing the Joker voice/maniacal laughter I loved Mark Hamill as the Joker like everyone else, but thought his voice was way too cartoonish to play Ozai. Then again, I guess Ozai is written as the kind of nation-conquering Hitler that holds war meetings where he strokes his beard over a map of the Earth Kingdom and says "Yeees, yeeesss...we'll burn it all to the ground," so maybe Mark Hamill did the best he could with what he was given. Wildeyes fucked around with this message at 05:56 on Aug 24, 2014 |
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Aug 24, 2014 05:49
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That finale took balls.  Korra must be in pain every second of every day, like a sort of ancient chinese cancer patient. 
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Aug 24, 2014 05:53
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Pomp posted:I was really fond of this What is dead may never die, but rises again, harder and stronger. 
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Aug 24, 2014 05:56
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Read posted:Awesome post, thanks for making this Sure! One of the reasons I really love this show, and have stuck with it through the good and the bad, is the obvious care they put into depicting non-Western cultures and theologies, and in such variety. Someone who knows more about Taoism (which is a big part of the show, too, but mostly on the political end of the plotlines) can tag in on what's going on there, as Taoism and Buddhism are not interchangeable. The show just has a lot of both, though people mixed them up in the Raava/Vaatu plotline. The show also isn't afraid to ask really important questions, like whether worldly attachments prevent spiritual development or are necessary for a functioning society, whether the natural state of humans is warring, whether good and evil should be balanced or one should be destroyed utterly, etc etc. There's still no essential answer to the question of whether what Wan did by upsetting the world that existed before him was good or evil, and I don't think that question actually can be answered. I was initially disappointed to find out that the Red Lotus were just a bunch of anarchists, but later episodes showed that it was really a result of Zaheer twisting a path of personal spiritual development because he was lacking - well, grounding. PS I missed this on the first viewing, but Goonbender (who's apparently based on one of the Korean animators) is in the Airbending group in the final scene.
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Aug 24, 2014 06:14
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Is anyone else just opening the episodes on Nick and letting them run in the background while you go off to do other stuff? Just wanna give the episodes extra views to artificially boost their ad revenue. Not much of a contribution but hey, if it helps... Also, just ordered the first two DVD sets today.  EDIT: Was reading the wikia page and found a couple fun trivia facts: *Kya's favorite song is "Secret Tunnel." *Bumi noticeably gained weight between seasons 1 and 2, indicative of how he's been letting himself go after retiring from the United Forces. ShadowCatboy fucked around with this message at 07:20 on Aug 24, 2014 |
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Aug 24, 2014 07:06
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ShadowCatboy posted:Is anyone else just opening the episodes on Nick and letting them run in the background while you go off to do other stuff? Just wanna give the episodes extra views to artificially boost their ad revenue. Not much of a contribution but hey, if it helps... I did this all day Friday. 
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Aug 24, 2014 08:03
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dj_clawson posted:Goonbender He'll be the next person to achieve flight since he gives no poo poo about everything.
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Aug 24, 2014 08:34
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hiddenriverninja posted:I did this all day Friday. Just watching internet ads doesn't really work unless you click on them. And there are even ways after that to determine if it was a "legitimate" click instead of someone just accidentally clicking or trying to manipulate things. Anyways just watched it, that was a really, really good finale that can only be retrospectively ruined by how they approach the situation they've set-up for Season 4. I have no idea how to do it properly but I do know its going to take a fair bit of skill to write Korra properly as they've left her in Season 3. At this point it also feels useless to say how much better things could have been with more episodes in a season because who actually knows if it would be but if any season could have used more episodes it was 3. With the amount of characters they've created though this and previous seasons what I saw was probably the best I ever could have hoped for between a balance of character moments and plot. It having the best bending scenes in the entire series helps too. The fact that I wanted more than what we got is only a good thing. Also I'm so glad I got my strange wish and Jinora went and shaved her head. That was a such great moment of  combined with just general awesomeness (not only does a woman but a young girl get to shave her head by her own volition but the whole thing is treated as a giant positive) that the cut to Korra just hit that much harder.After the unevenness of the first two seasons, didn't hate them as much as some but still acknowledge their flaws, I didn't have huge hopes for Season 3 but now my anticipation for Season 4 (  ) can only be matched by the sinking feeling that it'll be the last piece of Avatar media for some time ( ).
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Aug 24, 2014 08:38
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Monsieur Mango posted:He'll be the next person to achieve flight since he gives no poo poo about everything. Whatever. I don't care. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHMPR7kXJak
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Aug 24, 2014 08:41
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dj_clawson posted:Buddhist observations: This was really interesting to read, thanks!
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Aug 24, 2014 08:46
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Combed Thunderclap posted:By the way, if I want to get an friend who's an adult into ATLA, where should I have them begin? I've tried watching from ATLA Book 1 and Season 1 Episode 1 still definitely feels like a kid's show. Maybe I'm being stupid but I'd be kinda embarrassed to recommend it to someone starting at that point. My husband and I started to watch Avatar when we saw it on Netflix, 'cause I was intrigued from two contextless 5-10min chunks of the show I'd seen while home early from work (whichever episode Zuko has Aang trapped on his fire nation boat, and then part of the drill episode). We gave up an episode and a half in and I definitely felt that embarrassment, very "Oh, uh. Yeah. Sorry, this is way more kid-stuff than I realized." A year or so later, when Korra S01 was wrapping up on TV, we decided to give that series a try due to one of my friends spamming me with fight sequence gifs. It looked a bit more mature, and the art was gorgeous. It helps certainly that we're both huge nerds and that I have an interest in animation. It's possible you just won't be able to hook your friend unless they're into fantasy-stuff or whatever. We ended up finding Korra S01 good enough to watch all the way through, and also good enough to send us back to watch ATLA afterwards, suffering through the weak start and all. Either our standards are super low or we just weren't as let down by Korra since we didn't have the high expectations that ATLA viewers had. Yeah, it has some eye-rolly teenager moments and weak plot, but it's still entertaining and visually interesting.  That's probably where I'd start another adult-friend too, even if you miss the full impact of some stuff like seeing the Gaang as adults and getting bloodbent and such.
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Aug 24, 2014 08:52
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I've gotten more than a few co-workers and acquaintances older than me (and I'm an incredibly goony 28 years old) watching The Last Airbender series simply with the "warning" that while it is a show primarily designed to appeal to just-about-teenagers at the same it's also like a Pixar movie in that there is plenty of things for an adult to appreciate. That might be an off-hand reference to something, the action scenes, some of the humour (which isn't the stereotypical "kids" humour), or whatever. Maybe I just choose well but not one has come back to me saying they couldn't stand it and thought they might as well be watching Spongebob or whatever, a few even outright loved it.
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Aug 24, 2014 09:08
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Spergatory posted:Jeremy Zuckerman posted the music from the final scene on his soundcloud. This is good
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Aug 24, 2014 09:32
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Spergatory posted:Jeremy Zuckerman posted the music from the final scene on his soundcloud. Give him every Emmy. 
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Aug 24, 2014 10:23
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Combed Thunderclap posted:By the way, if I want to get an friend who's an adult into ATLA, where should I have them begin? I've tried watching from ATLA Book 1 and Season 1 Episode 1 still definitely feels like a kid's show. Maybe I'm being stupid but I'd be kinda embarrassed to recommend it to someone starting at that point. I watched through the entirety of TLA with a friend just a few months ago for the first time. There are no two ways about it, that first season is mostly pretty crappy aside from the animation. You can't make someone watch it if they don't like it, but just make sure they know that it improves A LOT and it helps if they are into animation at all. You could also just watch Korra S1 (and I'd say the people calling it terrible are out of their loving minds, it's so much better than TLA S1 it's not even a contest) and then go back if they really like it.
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Aug 24, 2014 10:31
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I think a PTSD main character was a bad idea in Iron Man 3, and I hope Korra gets better within the first 2 episodes of season 4.
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Aug 24, 2014 11:55
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Who knows, maybe the wheel chair thing will teach her humility and let her become a more patient, less rushing into things avatar.. poo poo she has a lot of time now to practice meditation.. Or maybe she never gains her legs back and instead learns to fly
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Aug 24, 2014 12:19
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ImpAtom posted:No it wasn't. You said this before and it still isn't true. Korra spent the entire season building up to it. Everyone goes "well just punched the air?!" and ignored the episode where she managed to successfully meditate or the episode where she showed an innate ability to use Airbending movements properly. It was a deus ex machina but anyone claiming she just punched the air real hard and it magically worked with no buildup is ignoring the rest of the season. Her biggest previous breakthrough in regards to airbending was on the professional bending court, where she stopped, thought about it, and entered a zen state and began moving like an air bender. The scene we're talking about threw all those lessons away and had her learn airbending the "Korra" way, even though we were bashed over the head repeatedly that the Korra way is a complete failure throughout the season. I'm not attacking it from a logical consistency perspective, I'm attacking it from a storytelling perspective. I don't care about the fact that you can airbend in different ways or that lightning is fire+waterbending. The point is when you have a character learn that their techniques are a failure over and over and then they win anyway, they have learned nothing. The show spent the who season selling us on the point that Korra was wrong, she can't learn airbending this way and then suddenly in the very last second it just goes "oh wait no this time you're right good job". And that's just one way that season 1 is a wet fart of failed lessons. MatildaTheHun fucked around with this message at 13:14 on Aug 24, 2014 |
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Aug 24, 2014 13:09
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Binged the season today thanks to Nick providing it free on their website. Best season of Korra yet, namely because it hardly involved Korra actually doing anything, and that ending couldn't have been better for someone who can't stand her. Can't wait for Book 4!Raenir Salazar posted:Korra must be in pain every second of every day, like a sort of ancient chinese cancer patient. It's mercury, bro.
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Aug 24, 2014 14:11
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I hope Toph shows up in season 4 and teaches Korra how to use bending to cope with disabilities.
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Aug 24, 2014 14:58
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I wonder just what life in the Earth Kingdom was like that the people would revolt the moment their queen died and that wall was knocked down. Usually the death of a monarch does not cause this; the heir to the throne takes over and life goes on. As with the Equalist movement, there's a lot of important backstory that the show leaves unexplained.
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Aug 24, 2014 15:00
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Baron Bifford posted:I wonder just what life in the Earth Kingdom was like that the people would revolt the moment their queen died and that wall was knocked down. Usually the death of a monarch does not cause this; the heir to the throne takes over life goes on. As with the Equalist movement, there's a lot of important backstory that the show leaves unexplained. We already know there were small rebellions in regions that were outside of the immediate reach of the Earth Queen (i.e., the taxes Korra had to go get). Couple that with some literally free looting opportunities and it's no wonder that people started a riot.
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Aug 24, 2014 15:04
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Baron Bifford posted:I wonder just what life in the Earth Kingdom was like that the people would revolt the moment their queen died and that wall was knocked down. Usually the death of a monarch does not cause this; the heir to the throne takes over and life goes on. As with the Equalist movement, there's a lot of important backstory that the show leaves unexplained. Did you miss a few episodes? Because Book 3 showed government-enforced social stratification, with literal walls separating an oblivious aristocracy from soul-crushing poverty, secret police abducting and forcibly conscripting citizens for a private army, and outlying towns devolving into essentially Mad Max as they were taxed dry.
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Aug 24, 2014 15:08
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Korra should get metal limbs or some kind of exoskeleton just like Combustion Man and become an awesome bending cyborg. 
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Aug 24, 2014 15:12
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