Steven's Reviews of Ultimate Awesomeness!: 2016

Intro

During the 2000’s, I was out of touch with many modern cartoons except comic book based cartoons because they were the only cartoons that provided deep plot, great character development and fitted my adult demographic at the time. This is why ignored Avatar: The Last Airbender for most of its time. I assumed since it was coming from Nick that it was an edgy action cartoon filled with stupid humor and no story plot. That’s what most cartoons were in that specific era. But as the seasons past it got harder to ignore because my youngest brother became a big fan of Avatar. He pretty much had everything from action figures to posters, etc. So, when my brother was watching the final episode of the series I got distracted from the internet to the vivid animation coming from the TV screen and I decided to join my brother watching the show. And boy was I wrong; I really enjoyed what I saw. I fell in love with the fluid animation and intense action. I also liked how the characters were a lot older that I remembered which is very rare in many cartoons in general and what was more interesting was seeing Aang’s struggles with the world’s weigh behind him and the people depending on him like a god. After I watched every episode of the series I honestly thought it was unique show that was very different from many cartoons in this era especially from the network itself and I was amazed that an animated series that wasn’t based on any franchise can be so well written and be able to hold on its own to become its own franchise. Avatar: The Last Airbender was definitely one of the best cartoons I’ve seen from that time. So, when I heard about the Legend of Korra series, I was fondly excited because I wanted to see how much of the old cast and the world has grown. But as this show has come and gone I really fell in love with it. It definitely is one of my favorite animated series of all time and it is just as good as its predecessor. Legend of Korra dealt with a lot of great topics that is relevant to today’s world like religion, civil war, chaos, self-governing and lastly dictatorship. It was a very political show and I feel not many animated shows don’t do which is pretty amazing. It also has a lot of ground breaking moments like Asami and Korra’s relationship, Korra finding herself through deep depression and the world no longer “needing her” and it also gave moments of understanding each villains’ different perspective in so many levels. This is the reason why I have chosen this title in the review itself.

Story

As the destruction of Republic City continues on, Korra and her friends are finding ways to take Kuvira and her colossal army down.

The Good

The Legend of Korra is a true masterpiece that ended so well. Even though, it wasn’t a perfect finale I still found many great things about it. The battle between Kuvira and Korra was an amazing battle. It was nice to see both characters struggle to defeat each other. It didn’t look like neither one them was overpowered than the other. They were both fighting in equal terms of skill and not many animated series can do it as well as they can. Another great moment was with Mako. It was a great emotional moment to see him take down the machine. The scene even created a great emotional bond between him and his brother, Bolin. It really made me felt for them even after everything they went throughout the series. I know a lot of people didn’t like the way it turned out at the end of this battle. But I was okay with it because maybe the writers needed to determine Mako’s strength and it could have overshined another characters great moment. I also loved the closure Asami had with her father. It was great to see him decided to have a moment of redemption and made me truly forgive him after everything he did in the first season. It really conveys that a bad man can truly change by seeing the effects of what his actions caused to many people even his daughter. The animations in this episode were very solid too. The colors were very vibrant and the motions of the characters were smooth and fluid especially when it came to the battle of Kuvira and Korra. It was visually well done and one of the best battles I ever seen in this series. I also like the electrical powers that were shown when Mako was fighting the machine. Overall the animations really demonstrated the power each character had in them.

The Bad

The Most difficult thing in this season is truly understanding Kuvira and seeing if her actions were justifiable. There are often contradictions even in the season finale. They made it more evident to contradict her actions further. Over the season she seemed like a Dr. Doom-esque character even despite the green colors. She wanted world peace and she felt the only way could happen is if under her/one rule. But it started coming into question if she truly wanted peace by enslaving people to build weapons for her and she was willing to kill people for not wanting her loyalty. It made her a bit different than Dr. Doom because he never went that far to get through his goals. Anyways, it seemed like the writers were trying to make us sympathize with her when it came to her answering why she wanted her ideals was because she didn’t want “her people” or people in general to go through being orphaned and disowned by their parents because of their talents and not to live in fear or vulnerability. It felt like the writers tried to make us care especially how Korra looked at her and tries to understand her “good reasoning or intentions”. But I could not feel sorry for her the minute she said didn’t want her people to be feared or vulnerable because she did made her people be feared by enslaving them and forcing them to obey her loyalty which in this made them vulnerable. This reasoning is why her actions can contradict her beliefs. I honestly think they should’ve focused on her being contradicting in nature and seeing some of her past. So, that in some way we can see her mind being demented thus makes us feel sorry for her that she is unable to see why she acts towards her people. I think the best example of this is like Kingpin in the Daredevil TV series. It’s a great example of how we can feel sorry in some level with a man but at the same time not feel totally sorry because they are so demented that their actions contradict their morals or ideals. The contradiction isn’t really the problem with Kuvira. In essence, her contradictions are what makes her more human. I just wish they had time to explain that flaw in detail and make us understand the character a bit more. Another failed attempt in this series finale is the battle with the colossus. I honestly felt the characters went through an unnecessary way to defeat the colossus. It really didn’t make sense to dramatize all this cool stuff if it ended up causing a lot of destruction or death in the end. Instead they could have one team distract the front and another to distract the back, then let Korra freeze the colossus and use the robots or make bombs to blow the thing inside. The reason why I thought of this is because the colossus was way too slow to turn itself around. So, the distraction could make it a very easy target without much destruction. It seems like they just wanted the battle to look elaborate instead of being tactical. I also think Kuvira should’ve built something more maneuverable and fast moving so it can actually be more difficult to defeat. There’s one more thing that always bothered me a lot in this series is that Asami was really undeveloped in terms of her tech skills. It’s like we never seen her at her full potential on what she can do. It seems is if she was an obsolete version of Sokka and they failed the chance to exploit her skills especially during the colossus fight. They could’ve showed what she learned from her father and see why she was able to lead the company after her father. Don’t get me wrong Asami had wonderful character development especially this season with Korra’s relationship. But I felt they never gave her a chance to shine or hold her own when it came to skill. She often times felt very amateurish even when it comes to other characters and maybe this would have been the reason to make her more compatible with Korra.

Thoughts on “Korra/Asami”

Over the course of the series, when I heard of people shipping Korra/Asami as a relationship I always had mixed feelings about and sometimes till this day I still feel funny about it. Mainly because the way it was perceived in the show. It really looked like it was embracing an intimacy level in the value of a best friend. Something we rarely see on TV because American culture likes to perceive it as taboo or “gay” to see a friend of the same sex hold hands, hug, or share feelings with each other. When I saw this happen in Legend of Korra I saw the total opposite. I saw two friends only understanding each other as best friends and never thought of crossing that boundary of kissing or having sex because they know they are not meant for each other It’s the boundaries that set best friends or lover apart from each other. It’s very much like my friendship for instance we’re both gay and are males. We have hold hands or hug/share feelings, etc. But we never crossed that boundary because we know our likes and dislikes that makes us incompatible with each other. We really don’t have much in common when it comes to what of kind activities we like. That’s how we know we can’t give each other what other man can give. The main problem with this message is that it gives Americans the false idea of friendship on having an intimacy level without being gay about it. But overall, I’ve grown to accept the idea and loved it because it brings us another message. It allows the chance for gays like me to have a place in American animation someday in the future and finally get rid of the false idea that it will influence children to be gay. Let’s just face it people can’t be influenced to be gay because of TV. In all honestly, for a man and woman to already have gay thoughts is automatically gay, there’s no way around it and this is coming from a gay man himself. You have to be either born or develop being gay naturally without environmental influences. Hello, it’s the main reason why a small population is gay instead of everyone because it isn’t something that’s easily gained by looking at it.

Theme

The theme of this season I feel is “understanding” because we or the characters themselves go throughout the entire season of trying understand people through many different perspectives. We all see what is like to be under their shoes and try to sympathize with them or see the justifiable reasons why they go through these dark paths. Like for example, with Korra we see her being physically and mentally or emotionally handicapped by the end of season 3. But once season 4 begins we see her distancing herself from her friends and the onset trauma of the fear what Zaheer put her through. It really made me understand that because I went through the same thing going through depression. We distance ourselves from the people we care about and at times we can’t feel or can’t move psychically and mentally or sometimes become emotionless. But eventually when see a friend that actually cares and be there for us we change our perspectives and make better for ourselves which is what happened to Korra when she kept running to Asami. Asami never gave up on her and made her realized that her friends and family still needed her or cared for her no matter what. Other examples is seeing the relationship between Lin and Suyin, when we see how many times Suyin was never there for her family even when they needed her thus it separated Lin to never see her again. But eventually we see them try to talk to each other and Suyin tells her she was young and naïve and didn’t realize her being a delinquent affected her family but when she did she changed herself to being a better person. So once Lin realized she has become a better person they finally got along and put the past behind them (I realized this was a season 3 but the two characters reconcile their relationship with their mother Toph in season 4, so I guess you get my point). When it came to Asami and her father we see them understanding each other on why their relationship fell apart and Asami talking to her father every day in prison. Once they truly forgave and understood each other it leads to a path of redemption and sacrificing himself to defeat the colossus. This theme even tested our limits even when it wasn’t clear when we see how Korra and Kuvira come to terms on how they were very similar to each other and Kuvira being opened about her past made Korra understand her which led to forgiving and giving her a second chance. This is why I chose understanding as the theme. Because it’s the understanding that truly leads the changes between these characters and I felt it was the main focus of these relationships. I also feel they were testing us to see us if we understand these and many other relationships as well in this season.

Verdict

Overall, I give this finale a 4/9 out of 5/10 stars. It’s an amazing finale that brings character development, action and beautiful imagery into one place/episode. It truly makes this American animation into a masterpiece. I can go on and on, on how much I love this series. But I just want to say I loved the great rivalry between Kuvira and Korra. They really proved how similar they are when it comes to determination. They never want to stop what they are doing until they achieve their goal. That’s what makes these two characters great. We also got to see the redemption of Sato which for me made the greatest villain of all time because he finally saw through all his faults to make himself the hero. It always amazes me to see villains go through that light because it shows a true potential of what a human can go through. I also loved seeing the buildup throughout the whole season of Mako and Bolin; they truly show their brotherly love with each other. They really pull through in helping each other out no matter what obstacles tries to overcome them. Finally, it’s great to see depending how you viewed it the friendship and love for Korra and Asami to go through many hardships and still find ways to understand each other. This series had a great ending delivered great art and animation. But it had downsides as well like making Kuvira into an unsympathetic villain, character development based on skill for Asami and a not so good tactical battle against the colossus. But still this finale is amazing for anyone to enjoy it’s really enrich and powerful in every way.

Overall Series

The overall score of the entire series as a whole would be a 4.7/9.7 out of 5/10 stars. Legend of Korra has been a great series especially with the final season. The character development is so amazing because we see all the characters change and grow. This series is one of the very few that makes the supporting characters just as important as the main character. None of them depend solely on Korra to achieve at anything and that’s what I like the most about this series. Bolin is my all-time favorite character mainly because he’s very much like me, very funny, charming and shy kind of a guy. But in time, he grows into a very confident guy with the ability to do lava-bending which is something unique of its own and it makes him a very strong skill set for the team. There are others like Mako, who’s terrible with woman, but has an unbreakable bond with his brother and becomes a great leader and detective for the police force. We also get to see great character development and sisterly bond between Lin and Suyin who grew from hating each other to understanding and loving each other. We also see another brother and sister bond grow from Tenzin and his siblings as well. Even for characters like Asami we see her growing from being a vulnerable person who loved Mako very much but eventually she became strong and giving good advice for Korra which lead into a strong romantic relationship. There’s another great relationship dynamic with Vartick as well he went from being an obnoxious jerk who orders Julie around to do dirty work into a very charming guy who actually loved Juile. Once she was gone he finally realizes the faults of his action and changed himself which was one of best things about the character. And most of all we see Korra get beaten over and over again emotionally and physically by the end of Season 3. But she eventually manages to build enough strength and will to rise to top and beat the villains in any civilized way she can. But even though there was many great characters getting developed there was others who were left in the gutter and trashed to the side. For like an example, we see Jinora learn her spiritual abilities and getting along with her father in season 3, but when once we get to season 4 she gets tossed aside and never get the chance to see the full extent of her abilities in battle. Even Kai goes through this too, he eventually learned from being a thief to being a good kid who likes to help out others. But after that he becomes a character that’s just behind the scenes and doesn’t really do much. That’s what happened to a lot of characters in the 4^th season. There were too many newly introduced characters especially with the airbenders to flourish or get anywhere with them. I honestly feel like 13 episodes each season certainly wasn’t enough to show’s ever growing characters with their skills and personalities. Maybe if they got 22 episodes like the pervious Avatar series these characters would have gotten developed at least a little more. We also didn’t to learn more of the old characters past like Zuko, Kitara or even Sokka who we have no history as to what happened to him. Many of the old characters had no involvement in the main story and were very much left to dust as cameo like roles. That’s why I’m hoping more and more great stories come from the Dark Horse comics because sometimes I feel Nickelodeon limits them on how much character development or story they can expand on. But for a show to have so much character development than many other shows is a rarity. So, it’s really a minor issue with this series. Another great thing is how each season had a political theme that relates to human history and the types of governments. Each villain had something worth fighting for like for example Amon wanted equality and banned all people from any type of bending because it was unfair to anyone who couldn’t bend. Unalaq had examples of the civil war times because he wanted the spirit world and the real world to live together. But people were split with two sides on why the spirits should live with them and Korra had to find a way for people to accept them. Zaheer had a theme of having total freedom with chaos because he was tired of having order from the government and he felt without government there would be a chance of having peace. Kuvira’s theme was dictatorship. She wanted the entire world controlled under one rule and enforcing peace throughout the world. But she had a strong contradiction by enslaving people to do the dirty work for her. This is why I feel this is one of the best animated series on TV because they focused on things that many series doesn’t focus on that can relate to the real world. The political themes were a very strong point here and they really go on hand on what are people’s opinions about the government and how we should live and having equal rights. It really works on what’s happening currently in this world. One more thing I would like to add is the animation and the fighting scene of this show. Many influences of the art styles and fighting were very anime-ish. They even had a comedy based episode that focuses on many of chibi tropes that anime uses on the 4^th season. It wasn’t my favorite episode because it was a recap. But the anime-style humor made it more entertaining that I didn’t mind it much. The characters are even drawn with anime-looking eyes as well from both series alone. One thing I love about the animation in the series was the high quality of the graphics and colors use. It really demonstrated the true “art” of animation. The fighting scenes were anime influences mixed in with comic book style fighting as well. Many of scenes had Kung Fu or martial arts fighting and were kind of over the top but in a good way at times that felt like watching Dragon Ball Z but better. For example, when Zaheer was fighting Korra, there were a lot of rocks being thrown around, charging and rapid punching. It’s one of the many reasons why I consider this series an Anime. There are many things I can go on about this series and it always leaves you wanting more. It’s why I’m happy they are having more Dark Horse comics continuing both series which is pretty good so far. I suggest you read the books that are already out if you’re a big fan. You will really enjoy them. Also, if you’re one of those who haven’t tune into Legend of Korra I strongly suggest you should because this world so enrich with great stuff. It really is a world worth investing in.

Video Review

Steven's Reviews of Ultimate Awesomeness!

Tuesday, April 5, 2016

Checkout my new Youtube channel: Ultimate Awesomeness

Legend of Korra Series Finale Review – “The Testament of Understanding.”

Ultimate TV-Verse Podcast Episode 5 - Firefly Episode 9 (Ariel) & Episode 10 (War Stories)

Report Abuse