http://www.nick.com/videos/clip/digital-short-legend-of-korra-uploader-special-announcement.html

Nick burning this series off in record time.

I mean......

I'm happy but I don't want it to end tho.

Also, how the fuck they get that kinda turn around in animation?

so s4 was basically done already

hope my computer is repaired by then
~~~~
When you are born, you cry, and the world rejoices. Live so that when you die, you rejoice, and the world cries.
~~~~
You cannot hate people for their own good.

omg i'm excited!
~~~~
When you are born, you cry, and the world rejoices. Live so that when you die, you rejoice, and the world cries.
~~~~
You cannot hate people for their own good.

http://www.nick.com/videos/clip/korra-book-4-trailer-89471257.html?xid=korranation

there is a lot going on here.

gonna be so bummed when this series is over.

V.

But if they want to make the claim that online content quality rivals broadcast, this is one way to do it.

So Kuvira is HBIC. I didn't like that they mentioned Toph's name right at the end. But, we don't know what Korra is looking at. I can't wait for next Friday.

.

Dude's hilarious!

in a lawless country. While the prince lollygags and bandits run amuck.

.

yknow, making shit worse so she can step in and make it better therefore further solidifying her position as a new power?

V.

NONE!

you can't deny that.

Happy I can watch on the flat screen instead of the ipad this time
~~~~
When you are born, you cry, and the world rejoices. Live so that when you die, you rejoice, and the world cries.
~~~~
You cannot hate people for their own good.

can't see too many cartoons doing that.

can we plz just give it up for Aang's awesome celeb shot at that guy's shop wall? lol. i srsly cackled wen i saw that. CACKLED.
loved Katara & Korra's 'moment' during the healing sesh, where she wisely gives her some perspective based on her life with Aang.
and then TOPH.
goddammit she said "twinkle toes".
3 of the OG Team Avatars all in one ep?
this can only get better.

ive probly asked this before but...have we yet learned HOW Aang died? and what the fucking hell happened to Sokka? i feel like im a pretty attentive guy when it comes to these things but i don't think either one has been properly addressed yet.

V.

>goddammit she said "twinkle toes".

OG Avatar had the same effect.

V.

Omg toph
~~~~
When you are born, you cry, and the world rejoices. Live so that when you die, you rejoice, and the world cries.
~~~~
You cannot hate people for their own good.

is called "BALANCE": https://soundcloud.com/confessionsofacurlymind/vahe_balance.

samples the outro credits music from "Korra", and some dialogue from the original Avatar where Iroh is dropping wisdom on Zuko.
is neither here nor there but just thought yous might get a kick out of it.

V.

At first I thought she might be a little more mellowed out, since she went searching for enlightenment. But she's just the same ole G. And old lady moxie looks good on her. Just saying whatever she wants; eff Korra's feelings. I have to say, this ep kinda changed my thoughts on Korra's trauma. I thought she disowned her avatar duties, but she's still very much attached to the title. She's trying to convince Toph to help cause she's the avatar and the world needs her. Korra seems traumatized because she is now a subpar fighter who can't face down "losers". She's still got a lot to learn. I'm sure Toph can fix sense of entitlement.

I wonder if Toph will be drawn into the fighting when Kuvira tries to come for the Daughters. I don't think "the original bei fong" will stand for that. Also, Toph is The Lord of snark! So many quotables.

which i guess makes sense. old ppl can be cranky. n she was already cranky. kinda awesome how god-like her powers are tho. not many in the entire world can handle Toph. even the Avatar has difficulty keeping up. good to have her in the mix.

Kuvira's turn was well telegraphed, but the division b/w her camp and the rest of the world is understandable. as usual, both make a strong case for their respective opinions. this show has been better at balancing two sides of any argument than most live action adult dramas. and that's all in the top notch writing.

lookin forward to Korra goin "full Avatar".

V.

yeah i have the feeling that toph is going to beat down kuvira something awful if she dare injure her daughters

When they found Korra, I felt emotions. It had been 3 years and I felt it.
Meelo is awesome!
As I was watching, I was mad that this is ending while so much bullshit exists on TV.

Meelo and Toph have my heart and now I must see some fan art of them as buddy cops.

Anyway, I loved that korra acknowledged her spiritual connection with Jinora. Usually, we only see jinora seeking her out. Toph put Korra thru one of her most important lessons. I hope she gets to work things out with both of her daughters, cause Bei Fong needs a damn hug, too. I want more Toph, and I hope to see her kickin ass soon. Now I'm thinking Kuvira and co. might try to tap the swamp for spiritual energy, which will really piss that old lady off. Also, the avatar state is back!!

Honestly, I'm watching this show every fri morning, like old school Saturday morning cartoons. Every week is bittersweet for me, because I wanna see what happens next, but I know I'm getting closer to the end.

~~~~
When you are born, you cry, and the world rejoices. Live so that when you die, you rejoice, and the world cries.
~~~~
You cannot hate people for their own good.

i think my SO is startin to notice i kinda tilt my head away and raise my arm to block my face during emotional/uplifting Avatar moments lol.

im so gonna miss this shit.

V.

It had me thinking, "is that the swamp where Aang first had visions of Toph?"

That place was interesting because it only showed up that once, was clearly more powerful than they really explained. It's curious that Toph ended up there. I wonder how aware she is of the history.

If one were inclined: http://animehaven.org/western-cartoons/avatar-the-last-airbender-episode-24

in the "avatar day" ep, there was a scene where Aang was supposed to be trapped in a pillory but easily gets himself out of it while talking to fellow prisoners. Just like Ikki getting herself out of the rope when tied up by kuvira's guards.

because on this show, none of them had "evil" goals, but the way they went about it was all wrong...that said, i hope the prince matures while with mako, and Kuvera (sp), makes peace with th rest of the world and stops the heavy handed tactics....i think the earth lindom prince should be a Royal in the same way prince charles is a royal...

anyway, glad to see toph, and i love those kids

this show doesn't dissapoint, so i'm gonna just enjoy the ride....has it or the OG Avatar ever been nominated for an Emmy??

wouldn't doubt if we see Toph come back into play with her story line

...probably as support like the other OG's have, but back at least for a visit...

and to back up her daughters.

V.

kicked her butt
~~~~
When you are born, you cry, and the world rejoices. Live so that when you die, you rejoice, and the world cries.
~~~~
You cannot hate people for their own good.

and how many L's they took...Zuko's sister alone was whooping them up something awful til the very last fight....

and one on one at that.

She str8 countered the SHIT out of Korra.

this week's LOK was just aight.

When they pulled out to which tree, I was kind of shocked.
The nerve of this bitch!

So Korra and Asami are into each other right?
I don't ask that in a "two women can't just be friends" way. This has been subtly/not so subtly building, right?
Basically S3 is solidifying this as the most pro-woman cartoon ever?
Female hero, female antagonist, female mentor, female love interest and Zhu Li, the most subservient, will soon assert herself & become Varrick's equal.

pretty sure zhuli's shit is gonna go wrong somehow. plus these last 2 eps have shown that varrick is legit.

Zhu Li and Varrick will be together in the end.
She will transition from his servant to his lady.

my first thought was "toph is gonna bring hell"

I really wanna see Toph let loose on them fools, but I will be pissed if she meets her end during this series. She could take down more than a few soldiers by herself, tho. I want her to have some closure with her fam, too.

...can't wat to see what she does...

Zaheer is such a good, well rounded character. And I love how he is still frequenting the spirit world. Korra has learned so. Ugh and come so far, but she still needs things spelled out for her. But the scenes between her and zaheer were great. I love the lesson flowing thru this ep, too. Accept the past and how it changes you. And Korra has been told this before, but she's truly learned it now. And props to Mako for being so supportive, even though he didn't know/ understand it all. The friendship themes in this show are amazing.

Jinora has one of the most unique and incredibly useful abilities I've ever seen. Her and zaheer could have learned a lot from each other if he wasn't an anarchist.

The snippet for next week has me feeling faint. I love Bolin forever. That is all.

how badass was that suyin kuvira fight???

and that fight was so fucking dope.

Me too lol



Making metal benders look bad is right!
~~~~
When you are born, you cry, and the world rejoices. Live so that when you die, you rejoice, and the world cries.
~~~~
You cannot hate people for their own good.

...in like two seconds!!!!


that ep was awesome....

http://static.zikes.me/Legend%20of%20Korra%20-%20End%20Credits%20%281%20hour%29.mp3

She racked up more on screen bodies than probably any other villain on the show. She just straight didn't give a fuck. Her strategy and tactics were fucking viciously methodical and methodically vicious. It was like watching Shaq in his prime.

The decisiveness with which she told homeboy to lock on to that signal was like the cherry on top, because I thought she was just gonna send in squad and we'd have a nice little battle to cap off the episode. She said, "Fuck that comic book villain shit, I've got a world to run."


"All the world's a stage
And all the men and women merely players:
They have their exits and their entrances;
And one man in his time plays many parts..." -The Bard

~~~~
When you are born, you cry, and the world rejoices. Live so that when you die, you rejoice, and the world cries.
~~~~
You cannot hate people for their own good.

I fel like they feel they never fully explained what is driving her. I feel like I missed an episode along the way (I havnt). This especially stands out as it felt like Korra was going to look at exploring. All the motivation of her past villains and some how come out more enlightened because of it. That theme kinda fell away, I am guessing it will come back but Kuvira is so one dimensional at this point.

Is there just one episode left?

Mako's been such a bit player this season

and yours too"

I like that's she's unabashedly evil and single-minded in pursuit of that goal.

Yeah, her motivation is basically the archetypical, Chinese emperor, the world must be one and unified (see: Yimou Zhang's Hero among many other stories). She fits the pattern of the show, though. Pretty much all the major villain's true motivations have been a big late season reveals. This has been about Korra and the bad guys are just her boogie-men for most of the show.

The difference for me with Kuvera, and the reason why she feels flatter as a character--though she's still exciting--is that given what we know about her so far without the big reveal (if there is going to be one), she is so unsympathetic. Amon was nasty, but you could ride with his fight for equality. Unalaq was batshit but his desire to unite the people of the water tribes felt genuine and familial (even as he used and abused his own family). And Zaheer's charisma, eloquence righteousness, and nobility made you not just understand him, but want to follow him (100% the best of Korra's adversaries). Kuvera, though, just seems like a cruel despot. Her desire to see the Earth Empire unified doesn't feel righteous or for the people. It seems selfish.

Perhaps its because I've seen the unify China tale played out in a way where I totally understood the villainous means to a righteous end, that I can't help but see Kuvera as lacking by comparison, especially when given a whole season to develop her.

In the comics, after the Fire Lord conquered the Earth Kingdom, Aang and Zuko split up the Earth Kingdom with the Fire Nation and the Earth Nation. Earth Kingdom residents felt a way about it for obvious reasons and the Fire Nation residents were felt like the Earth Kingdom was their home too.

Fast forward to now, Ba Sing Se was in disarray. Gangs were out running rampant and shit was all over the place. Prince Wu obviously wasn't in a position to take control of that shit.

Suyin didn't want to get involved because she didn't want to be seen as a conqueror, but chaos was going to go on regardless. So why not go down there and get shit in order? Why are we up here chilling while the greatest city in the Earth Kindgom is all fucked up?

Kuvira wants the rest of the Earth Kingdom to be as advanced as Zaofu, while everyone else could give a fuck about it. So Bataar and Suyin go down and clean up Ba Sing Se, do a bang up job, rally up the people and decide to do what they did with Ba Sing Se to the rest of the Earth Kingdom. And it's always a sentiment of Earth Kingdom residents feeling like we're going to take back what was taken from us from the Fire Nation.

Started off w/good, if misguided intentions then got a whiff of her own scent and got to smelling herself.

I can't wait 'til Korra stops holding back and straight mollywhops her ass.

she was sent in to set things in order in the Earth kingdom...she did that, but it kinda turned into "by any means neccessary" type thing...then she decided not to turn it over cause, well, why should she?? Wu clearly wasn't the right man to lead...then, cause she's already drunk with power and going more crazy by the second, decides to take back the old earth kindom properties too...

her thinking is deluded, but i get where it came from...plus, she managed to beat the Avatar in single combat and has the most pwerful weapon anyone's ever seen, or course she's feeling on top of the world...

the staff must be fans of Attack on Titan. all that mecha-Titan shit was great.

shame that this is probably the last avatar stuff we'll ever see.

Shit Quantum Leap stayed on the air for YEARS behind viewer petitions.

Is this conclusive or open to interpretation ?

Damn, tho. Shit was real.

That shit was mad romantic to me too. This cartoon is EVERYTHING. I'm fucking heartbroken it ain't coming back.

:(

I was sceptical and thought it was a reach at the time.
I see it now.

~~~~
When you are born, you cry, and the world rejoices. Live so that when you die, you rejoice, and the world cries.
~~~~
You cannot hate people for their own good.

This shit is WAY too good. Can't netflix pick this up or something?!

So much shit on the air and this goes.
The world is a mystery.

I'm down for that. Lets get it popping. So much more to this world too, there are so many places it can go.

this franchise has real goldmine potential. it's beyond Nick's comprehension.

i am done with this storyline though

~~~~
When you are born, you cry, and the world rejoices. Live so that when you die, you rejoice, and the world cries.
~~~~
You cannot hate people for their own good.

Legend of Kyoshi

the first time we saw her at the beginning of the season? In an octagon, going to toe-to-toe with a female bender that ain't fucking around?



"All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women merely players:
They have their exits and their entrances;
And one man in his time plays many parts..." -The Bard

...fantastic finale....they even explained a little of why Kurvira (sp) was the way she was....

It couldn't have been ratings, was it?

online was a good move
but we're still in the era where the metrics don't add up yet

At it's inception, it was conceived as one book, 12 episodes. Once work got started, Nick liked it so much that they expanded that to 52 episodes that the creators divided into 4 books. That's why book 1 seems a bit more neatly (hastily) wrapped up whereas the rest flow into one another.

Once it began airing (particularly on Friday at 8 rather than Saturday mornings) it turned out that the on-air ratings weren't spectacular but the online views (and piracy) were strong. So Nick pushed it fully digital (rather abruptly) where the second half of book 3 and all of book 4 aired.

Korra had it's full, intended run (moreso even than originally planned), so it was never canceled. There were never formal plans for anything more than book 4.


The disheartening thing for me is that the ratings performance doesn't bode well for future trips into the World of Avatar.

korrasamiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii




awesome
=)
~~~~
When you are born, you cry, and the world rejoices. Live so that when you die, you rejoice, and the world cries.
~~~~
You cannot hate people for their own good.

you should click for gifs though
but in case you can't


http://www.vanityfair.com/vf-hollywood/2014/12/korra-series-finale-recap-gay-asami


How a Nickelodeon Cartoon Became One of the Most Powerful, Subversive Shows of 2014

A show for kids that aired its final season entirely online may not only be the most subversive television event of the year, but it could have the power to change children’s TV forever. Yes, really.

Last night Nickelodeon aired the finale of the animated spin-off series The Legend of Korra, bringing a nine-year journey that started with Avatar: The Last Airbender to a close. But perhaps “aired” is the wrong word. Because, in an unprecedented move, Nickelodeon pulled The Legend of Korra off TV earlier this year and screened almost the entire last two seasons online only. That’s right, something called The Legend of Korra, an adventure show about teenagers with the supernatural ability to manipulate the elements, pushed the envelope so far it got yanked from TV. And last night, during the finale, creators Bryan Konietzko and Michael Dante DiMartino shoved that envelope even further. And they shoved it hard. Kids TV may never be the same again.

Here’s how The Legend of Korra, by breaking racial, sexual, and political ground, became the most badass, subversive show of 2014. (Clearly-marked spoilers for the finale at the bottom of the page.)

The Influence of Avatar: Before they took major risks with their teenage characters on The Legend of Korra, Konietzko and DiMartino created a modern animated classic in Avatar: The Last Airbender. (Not to be confused with the M. Night Shyamalan film The Last Airbender, which, everyone agrees, did a fairly clumsy job of capturing the magic of the original series.) The show, which aired from 2005-2008 on Nickelodeon, was a bona fide hit pulling in huge ratings for the network. The spiritual aspect of the show (mixed in with the adventure of its young characters and borrowing directly from Eastern influences) made it tremendously influential with its young (and old) audience. Not only that, but the success of the first series bought creators Konietzko and DiMartino a lot of leeway when it came to their spin-off, which premiered in 2010. It turns out they would need every ounce of it.

Censorship: It’s always tempting to watch something you’re not supposed to, but this week in particular, with its Sony hacks and cinematic censorship, the notion of watching something forbidden feels like an especially political move. The Legend of Korra was never quite forbidden, never completely canceled, perhaps due to that lingering Avatar goodwill. However, during the show’s first season, it aired in a coveted Saturday-morning slot. After killing off a character on-screen in the Season 1 finale, Korra was considered too risqué and adult for the Saturday-morning crowd and was moved to Friday nights. But Korra continued to air dark material. That, coupled with less-than-stellar ratings, an ill-timed leak of episodes, and any number of mysterious behind-the-scenes factors, resulted in the surprising move to online-only Korra. In its final seasons, Korra became too dangerous, too risky for Nick to air. But that outsider status made it downright irresistible to certain viewers. Especially teens.

Racial Representation: The show doesn’t take place in our world, but, as I mentioned before, it has an undeniable Eastern influence. That’s why the mostly white casting in the Shyamalan movie was so controversial. Listen, whatever Korra is, she’s not lily white. And, despite the fact that children’s television is becoming increasingly diverse, a brave, strong heroine who is not Caucasian is still an important factor.


Body Image and Badass Women: It may surprise you to know that, despite the cachet Konietzko and DiMartino had coming off of Avatar (which featured several strong women like Katara and Toph), Korra, with its tough, brash female lead, wasn’t an easy sell. Remember, this may have been a post–Buffy the Vampire Slayer world, but it still pre-dates Katniss fever. Konietzko told NPR:

Some Nickelodeon executives were worried about backing an animated action show with a female lead character. Conventional TV wisdom has it that girls will watch shows about boys, but boys won’t watch shows about girls. During test screenings, though, boys said they didn’t care that Korra was a girl. They just said she was awesome. . . She’s muscular and we like that.


But Korra isn’t the only strong, nuanced female in this world. The show is packed with them and, significantly, many of them are mothers or even grandmothers. Heck, some of them are little children. This is a show that celebrates women of all ages.


Women are allowed to be good, women are allowed to be evil, and the final confrontation of the series last night came down to women who were not unlike each other. Two sides of the same coin. In the end, Korra was about struggling with, accepting, and embracing the sides of yourself that make you uncomfortable. (More on that later.) Pretty heavy for a kids show, yeah?


Without Agenda: For all I know, Konietzko and DiMartino are working with some kind of agenda. But if that’s the case, it doesn’t come through in their storytelling, this isn’t some “girls rule, boys drool” story. The men get their time to shine just as much as the women. In fact, Mako, the stereotypical heroic-type lead (he looks like a slender Clark Kent), did get his Big Damn Hero Moment in the finale.


And Bolin, my personal favorite, was ever the beating heart of the series.

Politics and Religion: These aren’t subjects you bring up at a dinner party, let alone in a kids show. But Korra never shied away from modern parallels, and, in fact, leaned into allegories about W.M.D.s (hello Spirit Weapon!), fascism (hello Kuvira!), P.T.S.D., Hitler, George W. Bush, etc. etc. And that’s just the politics. The spirituality, a key element of the show, is even more distinctive. As I said before, this isn’t a show with an agenda. Korra isn’t pushing any specific religion or creed. But it does advocate vague Eastern tenets of balance and mindfulness. Once again, pretty unusual for a kids show.


The Final Envelope: The finale of Korra went further than the show has ever gone before. What follows are some significant spoilers for the very end of the series so leave if you want, but, trust me, you’ll want to stick around for this.


“It’s true what they say” a Korra fan tweeted to me this morning, ”the hero does always get the girl.” The Legend of Korra wrapped up with a big, fat, great wedding between two fan favorites: Varrick and Zhu Li. To use the parlance of the show: they did The Thing.


But the real Thing came in the final moments of the series when our hero, Korra, walked off into the sunset (well, technically, a spirit portal) not with the ever-heroic Mako or the recently-heroic Prince Wu, but with Asami, her close friend. But if you think this final shot was denoting mere friendship, you’re kidding yourself.


The significance of this closing image (a mirror of the kiss between Aang and Katara that closed out Avatar: The Last Airbender) is made all the more important because of how Korra and Asami met. In Season 1 Korra, a bona fide superhero, met Asami, a rich and powerful businesswoman/inventor (think Bruce Wayne), when the two were fighting over a boy. (That would be the Clark Kent-ish Mako.) Bascially, the women were a walking, talking, bending failure of the Bechdel Test.


But over the seasons, a true friendship blossomed between the two characters. And though Konietzko and DiMartino will almost certainly be accused of fan service for pairing Korra off with Asami (their passionate devotees call them Korrasami), you can’t say you didn’t see this coming. The bond between the two women, which overwhelmed their previous attachment to Mako, has been seeded for seasons now.


Konietzko and DiMartino took a tired dynamic between two women and turned it into something fresh and exciting. But just how important can this final shot be? The didn’t even kiss for chrissakes! Well, pretty important. First of all, as I mentioned earlier, a generation of kids have grown up with the world of Konietzko and DiMartino. Someone who is 18 now was 9 when Avatar: The Last Airbender premiered. This series is enormously influential. And, sure, there are shows that are more explicit and progressive when depicting same-sex couples. But those are adult shows.

When it comes to children’s entertainment, that envelope still needs pushing. After-the-fact concessions like Dumbledore was gay, or Ren and Stimpy were gay, have limited value. Adventure Time certainly makes an effort, and two female lovers from the Japanese show Sailor Moon, who were changed to “cousins” in the Americanized version, are finally coming out of the closet. But American kids’ shows have a long way to go before L.G.B.T. story lines are considered a matter of course. And none of those examples above quite match Korra and Asami’s climactic spirit portal moment.

So that’s how The Legend of Korra, a Nickelodeon cartoon, changed the face of TV last night. Call it groundbreaking, call it earth-bending, call it whatever you like. It was great television.




~~~~
When you are born, you cry, and the world rejoices. Live so that when you die, you rejoice, and the world cries.
~~~~
You cannot hate people for their own good.

http://bryankonietzko.tumblr.com/post/105916338157/korrasami-is-canon-you-can-celebrate-it-embrace
Korrasami is canon.

You can celebrate it, embrace it, accept it, get over it, or whatever you feel the need to do, but there is no denying it. That is the official story. We received some wonderful press in the wake of the series finale at the end of last week, and just about every piece I read got it right: Korra and Asami fell in love. Were they friends? Yes, and they still are, but they also grew to have romantic feelings for each other.

Was Korrasami “endgame,” meaning, did we plan it from the start of the series? No, but nothing other than Korra’s spiritual arc was. Asami was a duplicitous spy when Mike and I first conceived her character. Then we liked her too much so we reworked the story to keep her in the dark regarding her father’s villainous activities. Varrick and Zhu Li weren’t originally planned to end up as a couple either, but that’s where we took the story/where the story took us. That’s how writing works the vast majority of the time. You give these characters life and then they tell you what they want to do.

I have bragging rights as the first Korrasami shipper (I win!). As we wrote Book 1, before the audience had ever laid eyes on Korra and Asami, it was an idea I would kick around the writers’ room. At first we didn’t give it much weight, not because we think same-sex relationships are a joke, but because we never assumed it was something we would ever get away with depicting on an animated show for a kids network in this day and age, or at least in 2010.

Makorra was only “endgame” as far as the end of Book 1. Once we got into Book 2 we knew we were going to have them break up, and we never planned on getting them back together. Sorry, friends. I like Mako too, and I am sure he will be just fine in the romance department. He grew up and learned about himself through his relationships with Asami and Korra, and he’s a better person for it, and he’ll be a better partner for whomever he ends up with.

Once Mako and Korra were through, we focused on developing Korra and Asami’s relationship. Originally, it was primarily intended to be a strong friendship. Frankly, we wanted to set most of the romance business aside for the last two seasons. Personally, at that point I didn’t want Korra to have to end up with someone at the end of series. We obviously did it in Avatar, but even that felt a bit forced to me. I’m usually rolling my eyes when that happens in virtually every action film, “Here we go again…” It was probably around that time that I came across this quote from Hayao Miyazaki:

“I’ve become skeptical of the unwritten rule that just because a boy and girl appear in the same feature, a romance must ensue. Rather, I want to portray a slightly different relationship, one where the two mutually inspire each other to live - if I’m able to, then perhaps I’ll be closer to portraying a true expression of love.”

I agree with him wholeheartedly, especially since the majority of the examples in media portray a female character that is little more than a trophy to be won by the male lead for his derring-do. So Mako and Korra break the typical pattern and end up respecting, admiring, and inspiring each other. That is a resolution I am proud of.

However, I think there needs to be a counterpart to Miyazaki’s sentiment: Just because two characters of the same sex appear in the same story, it should not preclude the possibility of a romance between them. No, not everyone is queer, but the other side of that coin is that not everyone is straight. The more Korra and Asami’s relationship progressed, the more the idea of a romance between them organically blossomed for us. However, we still operated under this notion, another “unwritten rule,” that we would not be allowed to depict that in our show. So we alluded to it throughout the second half of the series, working in the idea that their trajectory could be heading towards a romance.

But as we got close to finishing the finale, the thought struck me: How do I know we can’t openly depict that? No one ever explicitly said so. It was just another assumption based on a paradigm that marginalizes non-heterosexual people. If we want to see that paradigm evolve, we need to take a stand against it. And I didn’t want to look back in 20 years and think, “Man, we could have fought harder for that.” Mike and I talked it over and decided it was important to be unambiguous about the intended relationship.

We approached the network and while they were supportive there was a limit to how far we could go with it, as just about every article I read accurately deduced. It was originally written in the script over a year ago that Korra and Asami held hands as they walked into the spirit portal. We went back and forth on it in the storyboards, but later in the retake process I staged a revision where they turned towards each other, clasping both hands in a reverential manner, in a direct reference to Varrick and Zhu Li’s nuptial pose from a few minutes prior. We asked Jeremy Zuckerman to make the music tender and romantic, and he fulfilled the assignment with a sublime score. I think the entire last two-minute sequence with Korra and Asami turned out beautiful, and again, it is a resolution of which I am very proud. I love how their relationship arc took its time, through kindness and caring. If it seems out of the blue to you, I think a second viewing of the last two seasons would show that perhaps you were looking at it only through a hetero lens.

Was it a slam-dunk victory for queer representation? I think it falls short of that, but hopefully it is a somewhat significant inching forward. It has been encouraging how well the media and the bulk of the fans have embraced it. Sadly and unsurprisingly, there are also plenty of people who have lashed out with homophobic vitriol and nonsense. It has been my experience that by and large this kind of mindset is a result of a lack of exposure to people whose lives and struggles are different from one’s own, and due to a deficiency in empathy––the latter being a key theme in Book 4. (Despite what you might have heard, bisexual people are real!) I have held plenty of stupid notions throughout my life that were planted there in any number of ways, or even grown out of my own ignorance and flawed personality. Yet through getting to know people from all walks of life, listening to the stories of their experiences, and employing some empathy to try to imagine what it might be like to walk in their shoes, I have been able to shed many hurtful mindsets. I still have a long way to go, and I still have a lot to learn. It is a humbling process and hard work, but nothing on the scale of what anyone who has been marginalized has experienced. It is a worthwhile, lifelong endeavor to try to understand where people are coming from.

There is the inevitable reaction, “Mike and Bryan just caved in to the fans.” Well, which fans? There were plenty of Makorra shippers out there, so if we had gone back on our decision and gotten those characters back together, would that have meant we caved in to those fans instead? Either direction we went, there would inevitably be a faction that was elated and another that was devastated. Trust me, I remember Kataang vs. Zutara. But one of those directions is going to be the one that feels right to us, and Mike and I have always made both Avatar and Korra for us, first and foremost. We are lucky that so many other people around the world connect with these series as well. Tahno playing trombone––now that was us caving in to the fans!

But this particular decision wasn’t only done for us. We did it for all our queer friends, family, and colleagues. It is long over due that our media (including children’s media) stops treating non-heterosexual people as nonexistent, or as something merely to be mocked. I’m only sorry it took us so long to have this kind of representation in one of our stories.

I’ll wrap this up with some incredible words that Mike and I received in a message from a former Korra crew member. He is a deeply religious person who devotes much of his time and energy not only to his faith, but also to helping young people. He and I may have starkly different belief systems, but it is heartwarming and encouraging that on this issue we are aligned in a positive, progressive direction:

“I’ve read enough reviews to get a sense of how it affected people. One very well-written article in Vanity Fair called it subversive (in a good way, of course)… I would say a better word might be “healing.” I think your finale was healing for a lot of people who feel outside or on the fringes, or that their love and their journey is somehow less real or valuable than someone else’s… That it’s somehow less valid. I know quite a few people in that position, who have a lifetime of that on their shoulders, and in one episode of television you both relieved and validated them. That’s healing in my book.”

Love,

Bryan

The Last Airbender vs Legend of Korra
I'll concede that TLA was better written. But LOK solves the problem I've always had w/ TLA in that I really didn't love any of the characters aside from Zuko, Iroh, Azula and her flunkies. LOK had a better main cast and faaaar better villains. And that is why I place LOK higher

On Korrasami
It was a neat close to the show. It's as confirmed as you can get w/o them kissing considering every other major pairing ended on that same hand in hand pose. I think some of the fanbase is stuck on the pairing because they think it came out of left field. But the little hints of the level they connect on have always been prevalent. It was actually nice to see that Bryke could let a relationship naturally develop instead of forcing it on us like Season 1 and 2 of LOK.

Korra's development
It was cool to see Korra finally come full circle. In the beginning she was the headstrong, physical avatar that often got in over her head and needed saving. Now she's older and wiser. It really showed in that fight vs the mecha titan where she was the last line of defense while everyone else was getting bodied left and right.

Bolin development
Talk about started from the bottom now we here. Dude's a natural leader and he was out there putting in equal work to the best earthbenders in the game at the end.

Series regrets?
Nick's treatment of the show caused a lot of the problems with the storyline so I wish that wasn't an issue. Would've liked to see Mako have some sort of personal goal other than just tagging along w/ Korra and Bolin. He was just there in the background and to lightning bend when necessary. Maybe more of Zuko, his family and the modern fire nation? Maybe a flashback episode about the Red Lotus?

Future of the series
As long as it stayed entertaining I'd love to watch it. Korra's Avatar resume is already too thick. Seriously think about all the shit she's done over the course of the show. So they need to move it forward a bit and pick a new avatar if they ever did it.

Final Series Rankings
Korra S3 = Airbender S2 (some of the finest work in action animation out there)
Korra S1 (crazy good until that false finale the creators got stuck with)
Airbender S3 (great conclusion)
Korra S4 (solid all the way through)
Korra S2 (a difficult but i loved it)
Airbender S1 (decent start to the franchise, ended strong)

TLA v LOK
Wow. I’m surprised. I guess I thought everyone thought TLA was the hands down superior.
I like LOK, but there were elements that I didn’t care about for a long stretch (the spirit world).
LOK was definitely more mature and I appreciate that, but IMO, TLA > LOK

Korrasami
I’m especially glad (no pun intended) the triangle wasn’t run into the ground over the whole show.
If anything, Mako was used to show what Korra being into someone looked like.

Korra
I did need to see Korra powerful again. I never wanted to ask why she didn’t go full Avatar against Kuvirabot, as it would be akin to my not keeping up with the threads/plot points that didn’t sustain my interest.

Bolin
Bolin and Meelo. Tenzin ennem is cool doh.

Regrets?
I liked how Bolin rose up than being more than comic relief. Mako kind of disappeared. I thought he might have bought it in the end due to being such a non-presence. I thought by playing him down, it would be less traumatic for kids if he died and kind of a push to get Korra with Asami. I’d probably bet that that discussion was had in the writer’s room, but not the direction ultimately taken. I would have liked to see more of Red Lotus history also. I thought that would have been one of the one-off episodes, maybe even some White/Red Lotus history, but oh well.

Future Seasons
I agree every series should be with a new Avatar.

those were just the things on my mind at the time of the post.

im sure im in the minority preferring LOK over TLA.

Korrasami Confirmed
Michael Dante DiMartino
http://michaeldantedimartino.tumblr.com/post/105916326500/korrasami-confirmed-now-that-korra-and-asamis

Now that Korra and Asami’s final moment is out in the world, it seems like an appropriate time to express how I feel about it. I didn’t want to say anything right away so the audience could experience the finale for themselves.

The main themes of the Avatar universe have always revolved around equality, justice, acceptance, tolerance, and balancing differing worldviews. In subtle and maybe not so subtle ways, Avatar and Legend of Korra have dealt with difficult subjects such as genocide, child abuse, deaths of loved ones, and post traumatic stress. I took it as a complement when Joanna Robinson of Vanity Fair called the show subversive. There were times even I was surprised we were able to delve into the really tough stuff on a children’s TV network. While the episodes were never designed to “make a statement”, Bryan and I always strove to treat the more difficult subject matter with the respect and gravity it deserved.

And over the years we’ve heard from numerous fans, in person and online, how Avatar and Korra have influenced their lives for the better or helped them overcome a life struggle or setback. I am always humbled when people share their personal stories with us and I am grateful that my love for telling stories has been able to help people in some small way. So while Avatar and Korra were always meant to be entertaining and engaging tales, this universe and its characters also speak to the deeper humanity in all of us, regardless of age, gender, race, religion, culture, nationality, or sexual orientation.

Our intention with the last scene was to make it as clear as possible that yes, Korra and Asami have romantic feelings for each other. The moment where they enter the spirit portal symbolizes their evolution from being friends to being a couple. Many news outlets, bloggers, and fans picked up on this and didn’t find it ambiguous. For the most part, it seems like the point of the scene was understood and additional commentary wasn’t really needed from Bryan or me. But in case people were still questioning what happened in the last scene, I wanted to make a clear verbal statement to complement the show’s visual one. I get that not everyone will be happy with the way that the show ended. Rarely does a series finale of any show satisfy that show’s fans, so I’ve been pleasantly surprised with the positive articles and posts I’ve seen about Korra’s finale.

I’ve already read some heartwarming and incredible posts about how this moment means so much for the LGBT community. Once again, the incredible outpouring of support for the show humbles me. As Tenzin says, “Life is one big bumpy ride.” And if, by Korra and Asami being a couple, we are able to help smooth out that ride even a tiny bit for some people, I’m proud to do my part, however small it might be. Thanks for reading.



Korrasami is canon.
bryan konietzko
http://tmblr.co/ZMz7zv1Yf6m-j

You can celebrate it, embrace it, accept it, get over it, or whatever you feel the need to do, but there is no denying it. That is the official story. We received some wonderful press in the wake of the series finale at the end of last week, and just about every piece I read got it right: Korra and Asami fell in love. Were they friends? Yes, and they still are, but they also grew to have romantic feelings for each other.

Was Korrasami “endgame,” meaning, did we plan it from the start of the series? No, but nothing other than Korra’s spiritual arc was. Asami was a duplicitous spy when Mike and I first conceived her character. Then we liked her too much so we reworked the story to keep her in the dark regarding her father’s villainous activities. Varrick and Zhu Li weren’t originally planned to end up as a couple either, but that’s where we took the story/where the story took us. That’s how writing works the vast majority of the time. You give these characters life and then they tell you what they want to do.

I have bragging rights as the first Korrasami shipper (I win!). As we wrote Book 1, before the audience had ever laid eyes on Korra and Asami, it was an idea I would kick around the writers’ room. At first we didn’t give it much weight, not because we think same-sex relationships are a joke, but because we never assumed it was something we would ever get away with depicting on an animated show for a kids network in this day and age, or at least in 2010.

Makorra was only “endgame” as far as the end of Book 1. Once we got into Book 2 we knew we were going to have them break up, and we never planned on getting them back together. Sorry, friends. I like Mako too, and I am sure he will be just fine in the romance department. He grew up and learned about himself through his relationships with Asami and Korra, and he’s a better person for it, and he’ll be a better partner for whomever he ends up with.

Once Mako and Korra were through, we focused on developing Korra and Asami’s relationship. Originally, it was primarily intended to be a strong friendship. Frankly, we wanted to set most of the romance business aside for the last two seasons. Personally, at that point I didn’t want Korra to have to end up with someone at the end of series. We obviously did it in Avatar, but even that felt a bit forced to me. I’m usually rolling my eyes when that happens in virtually every action film, “Here we go again…” It was probably around that time that I came across this quote from Hayao Miyazaki:

“I’ve become skeptical of the unwritten rule that just because a boy and girl appear in the same feature, a romance must ensue. Rather, I want to portray a slightly different relationship, one where the two mutually inspire each other to live - if I’m able to, then perhaps I’ll be closer to portraying a true expression of love.”

I agree with him wholeheartedly, especially since the majority of the examples in media portray a female character that is little more than a trophy to be won by the male lead for his derring-do. So Mako and Korra break the typical pattern and end up respecting, admiring, and inspiring each other. That is a resolution I am proud of.

However, I think there needs to be a counterpart to Miyazaki’s sentiment: Just because two characters of the same sex appear in the same story, it should not preclude the possibility of a romance between them. No, not everyone is queer, but the other side of that coin is that not everyone is straight. The more Korra and Asami’s relationship progressed, the more the idea of a romance between them organically blossomed for us. However, we still operated under this notion, another “unwritten rule,” that we would not be allowed to depict that in our show. So we alluded to it throughout the second half of the series, working in the idea that their trajectory could be heading towards a romance.

But as we got close to finishing the finale, the thought struck me: How do I know we can’t openly depict that? No one ever explicitly said so. It was just another assumption based on a paradigm that marginalizes non-heterosexual people. If we want to see that paradigm evolve, we need to take a stand against it. And I didn’t want to look back in 20 years and think, “Man, we could have fought harder for that.” Mike and I talked it over and decided it was important to be unambiguous about the intended relationship.

We approached the network and while they were supportive there was a limit to how far we could go with it, as just about every article I read accurately deduced. It was originally written in the script over a year ago that Korra and Asami held hands as they walked into the spirit portal. We went back and forth on it in the storyboards, but later in the retake process I staged a revision where they turned towards each other, clasping both hands in a reverential manner, in a direct reference to Varrick and Zhu Li’s nuptial pose from a few minutes prior. We asked Jeremy Zuckerman to make the music tender and romantic, and he fulfilled the assignment with a sublime score. I think the entire last two-minute sequence with Korra and Asami turned out beautiful, and again, it is a resolution of which I am very proud. I love how their relationship arc took its time, through kindness and caring. If it seems out of the blue to you, I think a second viewing of the last two seasons would show that perhaps you were looking at it only through a hetero lens.

Was it a slam-dunk victory for queer representation? I think it falls short of that, but hopefully it is a somewhat significant inching forward. It has been encouraging how well the media and the bulk of the fans have embraced it. Sadly and unsurprisingly, there are also plenty of people who have lashed out with homophobic vitriol and nonsense. It has been my experience that by and large this kind of mindset is a result of a lack of exposure to people whose lives and struggles are different from one’s own, and due to a deficiency in empathy––the latter being a key theme in Book 4. (Despite what you might have heard, bisexual people are real!) I have held plenty of stupid notions throughout my life that were planted there in any number of ways, or even grown out of my own ignorance and flawed personality. Yet through getting to know people from all walks of life, listening to the stories of their experiences, and employing some empathy to try to imagine what it might be like to walk in their shoes, I have been able to shed many hurtful mindsets. I still have a long way to go, and I still have a lot to learn. It is a humbling process and hard work, but nothing on the scale of what anyone who has been marginalized has experienced. It is a worthwhile, lifelong endeavor to try to understand where people are coming from.

There is the inevitable reaction, “Mike and Bryan just caved in to the fans.” Well, which fans? There were plenty of Makorra shippers out there, so if we had gone back on our decision and gotten those characters back together, would that have meant we caved in to those fans instead? Either direction we went, there would inevitably be a faction that was elated and another that was devastated. Trust me, I remember Kataang vs. Zutara. But one of those directions is going to be the one that feels right to us, and Mike and I have always made both Avatar and Korra for us, first and foremost. We are lucky that so many other people around the world connect with these series as well. Tahno playing trombone––now that was us caving in to the fans!

But this particular decision wasn’t only done for us. We did it for all our queer friends, family, and colleagues. It is long over due that our media (including children’s media) stops treating non-heterosexual people as nonexistent, or as something merely to be mocked. I’m only sorry it took us so long to have this kind of representation in one of our stories.

I’ll wrap this up with some incredible words that Mike and I received in a message from a former Korra crew member. He is a deeply religious person who devotes much of his time and energy not only to his faith, but also to helping young people. He and I may have starkly different belief systems, but it is heartwarming and encouraging that on this issue we are aligned in a positive, progressive direction:

“I’ve read enough reviews to get a sense of how it affected people. One very well-written article in Vanity Fair called it subversive (in a good way, of course)… I would say a better word might be “healing.” I think your finale was healing for a lot of people who feel outside or on the fringes, or that their love and their journey is somehow less real or valuable than someone else’s… That it’s somehow less valid. I know quite a few people in that position, who have a lifetime of that on their shoulders, and in one episode of television you both relieved and validated them. That’s healing in my book.”

Love,

Bryan

from TLA all the way til now.
just a beautiful and unabashedly emotional ride.
Korra and Asami at the end was a great way to finish, as the VF article says, a subversive 'toon.

wanna get deeper with my thoughts but for now just wanted to say i thought s2 of Korra was EPIC. a lotta ppl thought it got too dark or too weird with the spirit world stuff but i frign loved it.
highlights still remain the UnaVaatu/Blue Spirit Korra smackdown and the Korra/Zaheer fight over the mountain ranges.

not sure if we'll get something of this quality again. the whole Avatar team from writers to animators to voice talent need to stand up and take a looooongass bow.

V.