• Hey Guest. Check out your NeoGAF Wrapped 2025 results here!

Legend of Korra Book 4: Balance |OT| A Feast of Crows

Status
Not open for further replies.
Greyface said:
LoK is better than ATLA
Click to expand...
Like hell it is. Clearly you haven't seen ATLA lately.

I went back and watched it about a month ago and Korra is shit by comparison. I enjoy the show, but it doesn't hold a candle to the original series. I put the blame squarely on Nickelodeon for this because, since the beginning of the show, the showrunners never knew when the hammer was going to come down, preventing them from spending any time doing any actual story or character development.
 
360pages said:
To be fair there isn't a lot of flavor dialog situations and other things for the characters. We barely understand their likes and dislikes. We don't know what kind of food Korra likes...which might not see important but it's helpful for painting the characters as real.

Of course they don't have enough time for that like the first series, at least that what I thought. Yet we have two episodes in season 1 devoted to shipping. 5 In season 2 devoted to garbage and 4 had completely wasted episodes.

As a result the characters just feel like piece moving the plot to the conclusion. There isn't enough slow moments, but far too many absolutely dull or boring moments instead. Then again they only had 13 episodes, which would be fine if it was one giant story. But each season is self contained with a new villain. Making it very hard for characterization.
Click to expand...

I honestly think Prince Wu was conceived solely for tumblr gifs. He brings zero plot to the story.
 
Jedi2016 said:
Like hell it is. Clearly you haven't seen ATLA lately.

I went back and watched it about a month ago and Korra is shit by comparison. I enjoy the show, but it doesn't hold a candle to the original series. I put the blame squarely on Nickelodeon for this because, since the beginning of the show, the showrunners never knew when the hammer was going to come down, preventing them from spending any time doing any actual story or character development.
Click to expand...

Honestly, I would put Legend of Korra below a lot of series. Hell, it's barely above a below average Shonen yet it has more episodes than a lot of non-long runners.

Characters are flat, motivations are weak and often times I'm left wondering why I'm watching it since nothing really has a good conclusion or build up.

What choice Zuko Made at the end of Season 2 of the original, what I thought he was going to do and what I was thinking his decision would reflect was stronger than anything Korra could do with all its seasons put together.
 
360pages said:
Honestly, I would put Legend of Korra below a lot of series. Hell, it's barely above a below average Shonen yet it has more episodes than a lot of non-long runners.

Characters are flat, motivations are weak and often times I'm left wondering why I'm watching it since nothing really has a good conclusion or build up.
Click to expand...
tumblr_neykl7CIuv1qcsd3co1_500.gif
 
Toa TAK said:
Kuvira next episode, just watch.
Click to expand...
We'll see. If they do do it they better not stuff it up like what happened with Amon.

Jedi2016 said:
Like hell it is. Clearly you haven't seen ATLA lately.

I went back and watched it about a month ago and Korra is shit by comparison. I enjoy the show, but it doesn't hold a candle to the original series. I put the blame squarely on Nickelodeon for this because, since the beginning of the show, the showrunners never knew when the hammer was going to come down, preventing them from spending any time doing any actual story or character development.
Click to expand...

See I can understand blaming Book 1 on Nick due to Nick telling Bryke it would just be a one off thing, hence rushed ending to resolve everything. But Nick gave them three seasons in advance to do what they wanted. Sure their treatment of the show has been pretty shitty with nonexistent marketing and slashing the Book 4 budget but they still gave all of the seasons they had ordered to finish the series off. Whereas if this was on Cartoon Network they would have most likely cancelled it and scrapped production after the ratings it received back for Book 2 (RIP Young Justice).
I still really love the show but as Mike and Bryan have done more interviews recently it's become apparent a lot of the issues the show have are due to some of their decisions and not Nick.
 
I have my well documented issues with Korra, but lets not go overboard here. LoK was a series tripping and falling on it's face. Naruto part 2 is a series participating in the pain olympics.

And for those upset about fanfiction being better than the original source, I'd just like to remind you that this is not unique or unusual. Any series that gets popular enough gets a massive fanbase of artists who build on it. Any fanbase that gets that gets several hundred thousand hacks writing about it....and a few dozen super talented people that make fan art and fan fiction that matches or even surpasses the original. I've seen fanfiction that surpasses even TLA in quality. It's no surprise that it happens with Korra.

That said, I don't know if I'd call a few slides of fanart a 'better fanfiction than the original'. Keep in mind that you are specifically seeking more personal connections with the characters, which provides a bias and the stuff there is infodumpy to explain why characters are doing basic things. They make good components to the overall story, but lets give LoK some credit here and not say that a tiny scene alone is better like the Bataar Jr comic is immediately better than everything shown in Korra. It's a bit hyperbolic and such statements can be saved for work that really is legitimately grander than what we're getting.
 
I feel like TLA was a show that a person was creating, building for years and years until he/she brought it up to Nick executives. LoK feels like a show where executives snapped their fingers and got a script within a month.
 
I know...but I just feel Part 2 of Naruto has so much stupid shit in it, it folds in on itself due to characters acting stupid. Though despite how overall shit Part 2 of Naruto is, the few gems to tug on my heart.

Overall Part 2 of Naruto is way worse than Korra, but Korra is so okay that it feels empty while Part 2 of Naruto is so bad that it gets imprinted into your brain,
 
I mean at least with Naruto part 2 you can make a fun drinking game out of it or something. Korra is just boring in every form this season.
 
Out of curiousity, I went to the TV tropes page for LoK and checked out what it's fanfic recs are.

There is a loooooot of sexual Amon/Korra or Tarloq/Korra fics out there. This fanbase sometimes, I swear...

On the other hand, there is one called The Night Spirit. I haven't read it, so I can't vouch for it, but it has Asami putting on (a presumably Blue Spirit-esque) mask and doing vigilante work .

It's fucking Asami as Batman.

Batsami Begins.

Oh my god. That's so....I can't...I just can't
AU7Amsc.gif
 
I don't have any desire to rewatch any episode of Korra, I think after it's finished I'll just pretend Korra never happened and move on.
 
TacticalFox88 said:
LoK as bad as some shounen?

Holy fucking hyperbole people.
Click to expand...

Well, not all Shounen are bad. Despite running for years, I find One Piece rather well written. Hell Dragon Ball. (Not Z) Was also a fun ride that fully explored the world.

I think it's more about concepts, if a story just wants to be a fun ride with fun characters and it succeeds then it's well written. Not every story needs to have a deep message, and honestly if Legend of Korra was more of a fun ride showing off the world instead of the constant shoehorning in messages that have no weight and meaning it probably would be better off.
 
I think what pisses me off the most was that after Episode 1 of this Book I though Korra had been wandering the world, incognito, trying to live a normal life as a street rat, fighting regularily in the bending ring. But nope, turns out she was fine most of the timeskip and the underground fighting was only for that 1 bout and it was because she saw Shadow Korra in there, not because she needed the money or was trying to recapture her old fighting prowness.
 
『Inaba Resident』;142606843 said:
Ehh not really. Not all Shounen is bad.
I'd easily put HxH way above Korra
Click to expand...
In terms of moment to moment storytelling? Yeah, maybe. Togashi is insanely good at coming up with really interesting ideas and cool scenerio's.

Overall, HxH's plot structure is a complete mess. He basically stops writing something if he gets bored with it as a concept, so there is rarely any satisfying arc resolution. They got the ball rolling on the phantom trope plot, but it got halted and put on hold. The ant king arc is also clear to see when he decided "welp, I don't really want to write this anymore". And now this whole 'dark continent' nonsense when we haven't finished half the shit in the first place.

Even LoK is a more complete series than HxH, which is more like a compilation of random but really, really cool ideas and characters just doing cool shit. But I don't think that necessarily makes it a better story, even if it might be a better show.
 
JadedWriter said:
I've never watched HxH, only YYH, which I would put above Korra, but not everybody would agree with that.
Click to expand...

YYH pulled the same shit later on. The Dark Tournament arc ended great, but the later arcs just smelled of "Okay, I'm done with this, here's a quick ending because fuck working"
 
Xpike said:
I don't have any desire to rewatch any episode of Korra, I think after it's finished I'll just pretend Korra never happened and move on.
Click to expand...

Really not a single episode. I wouldn't say its that bad. Episodes like “And The Winner Is…” and “Venom Of The Red Lotus” are both highly re watchable for me with its great combination of music and fight choreography throughout the episodes and just being fantastic episodes all round.
The music for the Book 3 finale is so good.
 
Veelk said:
YYH pulled the same shit later on. The Dark Tournament arc ended great, but the later arcs just smelled of "Okay, I'm done with this, here's a quick ending because fuck working"
Click to expand...
As weird as the last two arcs are at least the characters grew as people. Chapter Black is probably more divisive than the Spirit Tournament arc I think.
TacticalFox88 said:
I'd say Rurouni Kenshin would be in the upper tier of Shounen.
Click to expand...
It is for the second season alone. I really do need to rewatch the first season and actually see the last season. Once I heard it was off canon I pretty much just left it alone.
 
Loofy said:
I feel like TLA was a show that a person was creating, building for years and years until he/she brought it up to Nick executives. LoK feels like a show where executives snapped their fingers and got a script within a month.
Click to expand...
im not sure, Korra has its flaws, but i applaud them for trying to make something new on the same universe instead of just using the same old characters, and with a new modern setting, new menacing, interesting villain and a female protagonist.
The series had potential, thats for sure.
 
Sub Boss said:
im not sure, Korra has its flaws, but i applaud them for trying to make something new on the same universe instead of just using the old characters, and with a new modern setting, new menacing, interesting villain and a female protagonist.
The series had potential, thats for sure.
Click to expand...

Korra is a cool design, at least.

So was Merida, tangentially.

Someday we'll get the combo of great design and great character.
 
My Legend of Korra rewatch list:

Pretty much the entire first season aside from The Spirit of Competition (shame the rest of the episode is so bad, considering the Bolin and Korra date was actually cute), and Endgame of course.

Voice in the Night, And the Winner Is..., When Extremes Meet and Turning the Tides are legitimately great episodes.

I don't have a burning desire rewatch anything from season 2 outside Beginnings, A New Spiritual Age, and Light in the Dark.

I can rewatch all of season 3, but I don't need to see the airbender episode or the Metal City. Neither are bad episodes though.

Season 4 I don't even know. It's so tasteless, but there are moments I'd watch again. Snippets. It's still ongoing so we'll see how I feel after december 19th.
 
JadedWriter said:
As weird as the last two arcs are at least the characters grew as people. Chapter Black is probably more divisive than the Spirit Tournament arc I think.
Click to expand...

Yeah, that's what I mean that Togashi is good at moment to moment storytelling. He doesn't forget about shit like character development, motivations, whats going on, etc.

It's just that the man cannot commit to an over arching plot to save his life, and it really anticlimaxes a lot of his series.
 
Trey said:
Everything I see about HxH tells me it ain't the kind of show I need to watch.
Click to expand...

So you haven't seen anything?

Veelk said:
YYH pulled the same shit later on. The Dark Tournament arc ended great, but the later arcs just smelled of "Okay, I'm done with this, here's a quick ending because fuck working"
Click to expand...

What? Chapter Black was an amazing arc in terms of character development and world building. Korra wishes it had a villain as good as Sensui
 
Veelk said:
Yeah, that's what I mean that Togashi is good at moment to moment storytelling. He doesn't forget about shit like character development, motivations, whats going on, etc.

It's just that the man cannot commit to an over arching plot to save his life, and it really anticlimaxes a lot of his series.
Click to expand...
Man you know your shit. At least the show followed more of a narrative than DBZ. It maybe less popular than DBZ, but YYH had better characters in my opinion...better dub too. Too bad Asami and Korra will never be like Kirika Yuumura and Mireille Bouquet from Noir.
BeatResetsTheWorld said:
What? Chapter Black was an amazing arc in terms of character development and world building. Korra wishes it had a villain as good as Sensui
Click to expand...
Sensui is a proper mirrored version of Yusuke. Great complex character, but I think a lot of the weirdness and split personalities of Sensui was too much for some to handle. I appreciate him a lot now, but when I first saw it I might have been a bit turned off or surprised by it. It definitely worked a lot better on the second go around though.
 
Next Avatar series should be developed by Shinjiro Watanabe, that's the only way I'll watch if Aaron is not back.
 
Do you guys and gals think we'll look back on Korra fondly? Or will it sour with age? Or has that already happened?

Season 2 soured me for sure, Book 3 gave me hope again, and now season 4 as a whole has been not that great. I think 90% of book one was good though (the 10% being romance and the ending). As Trey mentioned there were some legitimately good episodes in there. With only 3 episodes left of Korra I don't know if this season will redeem itself in time.
 
Regardless of Korra's quality, I've had some good times here, doing write ups and talking to you guys. That makes the series more than just the narrative it presents to me, so its valuable in other ways. But no, I don't think the shows going to get magically better in retrospect any time soon.
 
Veelk said:
Regardless of Korra's quality, I've had some good times here, doing write ups and talking to you guys. That makes the series more than just the narrative it presents to me, so its valuable in other ways. But no, I don't think the shows going to get magically better in retrospect any time soon.
Click to expand...

Absolutely. It's been a bummer seeing the quality of the series decline - I honestly think I was denial until about halfway through season 2, but it's been great chatting with you all along the ride.
 
Admiral Woofington said:
she has a weird way of showing love to a supposed daughter then.

What the writers say and what the show is telling me are wildly different things. Actions speak louder than words.
Click to expand...

"I tried to kill my cousin. It happens."

Family members in Avatar are surprisingly quick to murder each other.
 
Joeytj said:
While I get that a lot of you are frustrated with how fanfiction seems to draw a much more compelling backstory for some of the characters, or at least show it more clearly than the show, I think it's unfair to bash the writers for "failing to tell their character's stories", since most of this fanfiction exist because the show has also hinted or flat out said many of these things. And possibly will continue to do so more.

I mean, the majority of these artist aren't drawing their Kuvira and Baatar Jr. fanart out of spite for how LoK doesn't tell their story. A lot of you guys make it seem like there's nothing but disappointment out there for the show, when just the opposite is true, in general. Yeah it has it's flaws and most fans themselves aren't blind to them, but it's not as bad as some of you make it out to be.

That's not to say the villains can't be better, duh. I'm with Veeik that all that needs to happen for Kuvira to be a much better character is some simply flashbacks or exposition, and hope there's no stupid twist like "she's Su's illegitimate daughter" or that she got plastic surgery and is actually Azula or something.
Click to expand...

Also found the comment a few pages back that people dropping into this thread to counter negativity must be from reddit to be interesting... In my experience, there has been plenty of criticism for the show outside of NeoGAF. I follow discussions of this show elsewhere (not reddit, though) and have found a pretty mixed reception.

I hope they give Kuvira some backstory next episode. If they don't, then that's unfortunate, but at this point I'm just here for the ride. I'm sure the finale will be entertaining either way. And as you said, there's fanfiction and fanart for any part of the story I may feel to be lacking. I like how fans are always willing to fill in gaps with their own theories.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

The Legend of Korra and Last Airbender Sequel First Look
News 
11
1K
lifa-cobex replied
‘Avatar’ Sequel Series ‘Seven Havens’ Ordered at Nickelodeon, Set After ‘Legend of Korra’
News 
33
2K
Lambogenie replied
Soul legend of RDR2 fame D'Angelo dead at 51
1
280
Toots replied
Invincible Season 4 | Official Trailer
10
466
KyoZz replied
Movies You’ve Watched Lately | OT | - 2026
|OT| Social  4 5 6 7 8
391
3K
Stafford replied
Top Bottom