The suffering builds character thing with what happened to Korra gets worse when you remember Zuko's character arc about his abusive upbringing. Ozai had that kind of mindset and literally said suffering would be his teacher when scarring his own son and banishing him. Zuko's big breakthrough was realizing that no, that's just abusive and really messed him up for years.
One thing to point out: “The Dragon Prince” has ATLA head writer Aaron Ehasz; TLoK has Bryke. Neither have both… and I think that’s a core reason that neither series hits the equilibrium of their shared predecessor. Well, that and the “lightning-in-a-bottle” of the timing and all the stars aligning for ATLA… But really, the number of esteemed creators who eventually don’t hit the same heights later, and when you realise how much circumstances, not having all the same people as before, working WITHIN limitations of their older shows… Yeah.
Personally, I never understood why the show didn't explore what Bolin and Mako's identities are outside of each other more, and have them struggle with that. It would've been really compelling to, as you said, have Bolin struggle with his romantic pursuits because he looks up to his brother so much that he tries to imitate him in that area of his life and perhaps others too. At the same time, having Mako try and figure out who he is besides Bolin's older brother would've been pretty cool to see, especially if it led to very understandable conflict between them, and later on, heartfelt conversations that “sold” their brotherly bond even further as they tried to work all of this out. Instead, Mako is left as an a-hole of a blank slate with unexplained motivations while Bolin is treated like a joke and considering both of their potential, that's really annoying.
I would love they explored their upbringing since their parent demise. Multicultural sons from both Earth and Fire origin, they had a harsh childhood in a city afflicted by the blight of communautarism, I speculated they were rejected by both the Earth Kingdom folk (due to their Fire Nation heritage) AND the Fire Nation folk (due to their Earth Kingdom heritage). Not a single community accepted those boys being part of them, since a Fire Bender didn't hesitate to unlive both their parent. Those multicultural boys, is reminiscent of the treatment of the mixed people (or half-breed) in the US history, seen as abominations. The show seems to tell us that neighborhood are segregated by origin. Most notably: Tenzin and the Air Acolyte having their own island. The Councilmen themselves are designated by the community they represent: Earth Kingdom, Fire Nation, Air Nomad (Tenzin), Northern Tribe (Tarrlok) and Southern Tribe. Even the Triads are sorted by community. Yet, the show is telling us that communautarism isn't that good of thing, but instead Unity beyond origin is Strength. The Triple Threat Triad, the only Triad that disregard the origin of their member quickly became the most powerful in the city. Pro-bending is also a clear demonstration of that principle. The non-bender revolution lead by Amon also came from the resentment that the Council only consisted of benders, meaning the non-representation of non-bender in a city named Republic City. Sadly, the political change from an Oligarchy of Bender to a presidential system (which lead to the election of the non-bender Raiko) should have been more explicite than being a one-liner at the beginning of Season 2. It would have put in light that "Amon wasn't wrong, just too extreme", which was the theme of the whole Legend of Korra anime: _"Good ideas lead to the extreme are deleterious."_
The thing is with Korra's crew they clearly weren't as well thought out as ATLA crew. Bolin isn't always given focus, Mako is badly used by writers and it feels like they didn't know what to do with Asami it feels like they didn't know what to do with especially outside her father.
They actually *didn't* know what to do with Asami until her censored romance plot with Korra! In the art book, it's explained that Asami was initially supposed to be an equalist like her father, but that the writers just... liked her too much and wanted her to be good (good call imo cuz her and Korra are like, my actual favorite ship in all of media, but I digress). They also didn't know they'd be given more seasons, so her not being an equalist and fighting her father was pretty much the end of her arc, giving her.... not much to do until they figured that out
@@LexCirillo618 I have heard wonder if the writers regret that choice granted I understand why they made it at the time. Even in the comics though you can tell they still struggle with giving Asami something to do as she still talks about her father from time to time. In the relationship with Korra they even repeated a similar thing where Asami was in trouble and Korra had to save her so they are giving Korra all the big scenes in the relationship.
@@Sophiex9i I noticed that too and it's one of the many valid criticisms I've seen. I'm pretty sure that they had no idea what to actually *do* with her post season 1, since they didn't know they were getting any more. It is disappointing though, given how expertly they handled nonbenders in ATLA and it makes you wonder what happened. I'm probably a little biased from all the fanart/fanfics I see where they *do* give asami more to do and fill in some of the gaps in the show 😅 She (and the rest of the cast) had so much potential for subplots and I like reading what the community think happened or should have happened
@@LexCirillo618 I know while I don't dislike Asami or any of the other main characters of Korra. It's in my opinion tricky to talk about Asami as a character because of her lack of development and focus that's why I personally think she's the weakest of the main characters.
Don't really know how it could happen but I kinda like the concept of Mako with Firelord Izumi's daughter. Could be a plot point of him connecting with his Fire Nation side and perhaps explore his (potential complex) view on firebending. Also rags to riches type of story.
Okay I agree with absolutely everything (I love the show so much despite this) except for Korrasami coming out of nowhere and the changes being proposed here. I have a lot of feelings about this so I apologize. I don't think it can be stressed enough how censored Korra and Asami's relationship was because of Nickelodeon. Nick had a hard time even just greenlighting the show to begin with because they didn't think that a WOC main character would resonate with male audiences! The show ended in 2014, before gay marriage was even federally legalized in the US. LGBTQ+ relationships were *not* a part of children's media at that time, and even *still* are fought against due to stigma. The producers wanted to include more explicit representation, but weren't allowed to, and that's not their fault. Yes, they should've made Korra and Asami better friends in the first two seasons, but to expect Nickelodeon to air a queer kiss in the middle of a season with lots of explicit build up and then give them time to explore their relationship after.... in 2014? Not happening lol. Steven Universe, the show with like a majority queer cast, and that came out after the Legend of Korra, had to fight tooth and nail in order to get the lesbian wedding and kiss and they were CANCELLED FOR IT! The Legend of Korra would have had to come out (pun intended) in a world where queer representation in children's media was *already* normalized in order for Korrasami to get the romance they deserved.... but it didn't. And their relationship is still beautiful despite all of the hoops they had to jump through. Anyways. I love them. They definitely deserved better in writing but I have to correct anyone who says it was entirely the writer's fault because it wasn't. There was no way that we were going to get the love story proposed here, with all the complicated queer feelings laid out in detail, in 2014 on Nickelodeon before there was any other LGBT+ representation in children's media at all. We can mourn what could have been if the social culture permitted it but still recognize how well done Korrasami was despite all that.
I have talked about how much I love their relationship progression before but I want to say it here. Their friendship, even starting in season 1, is very overlooked (partly because, yeah, Bryke didn't know how to include Asami). They never had a "rivalry" which is a common trope for women in a love triangle and they were supportive of each other, even despite their jealousy over Mako. Their friendship develops more fully in season 3, of course, and it is my belief that any good romance starts with a foundation of *actual friendship* (cough cough Mako with both of them). They may not have had romantic feelings for each other, but their friendship is what allowed them to get closer in that way later on. And again, heavily censored by Nick. When Korra is poisoned, they do the bit where they mellow everyone else's feelings (ugh) to highlight Asami looking the most concerned. During Korra's 3 year recovery, Asami regularly visits Avatar Korra Park, and Korra only responds to Asami's letters. They both blush when seeing each other again in season 4, and their friendship/romance continues to grow. It's also highlighted *why* Korra and Asami work well together while Korra and Mako do not. In the car chase scene, Mako's protective nature (from having grown up on the streets raising Bolin) comes into conflict again with Korra's more headstrong personality and drive for autonomy. In contrast to this, Asami leans into Korra's nature and works with her, highlighting that she trusts Korra to protect *herself*, which was a conflict point in Makkorra. Korra and Asami continue to work together as one of the most solid pairs in the series because of this, and Asami is often the one to comfort Korra when she's feeling down on herself (There was no way a waterbender from the southern water tribe was "cold" -- Asami just wanted to talk to Korra). Them going into the spirit world together may seem to come out of nowhere, but I take that to be the time where they are able to explore whatever feelings they have. As much as I want an animated Korrasami kiss... I'm glad they didn't in that moment? It wouldn't make sense for them to kiss at that point in their relationship since it hasn't been built up enough (another gripe I have with Makorra). Instead, they hold hands and spend the next few days exploring their feelings in the comics. They end their few day trip with an *earned* kiss, but still don't say I love you. It is only after more exploration, a few surprised friends, and some shenanigans that they say "I love you" at the end of the 3 part comic, Turf Wars. This slow progression from allies to friends to crush to lovers is actually super realistic imo and is the best they could do given the censorship. And then Ruins of the Empire explores their relationship more and both comics portray them super sweet and I personally love it. I have so many emotions about them, obviously, and I want people to recognize them for how good they are together even as the show is right now.
Do I desperately want the love story outlined in this video? Absolutely. It's such a cute premise and I wish with every atom in my body we could have had this Owl House tier queer ship. But will I accept anyone saying it wasn't explicitly romantic enough? ... Nope.
Korra’s team has been one of the weakest part of LOK. With most being the antagonists and conflict themes. It was obvious that the writers had no clue where to take Bolin, Mako and Asami after Book 1. They can feel like side characters at times who got lucky to hang out with the Avatar. But we know this is due to the production of the seasons. Due to how plot driven an arc is, characters are not fully flesh out or developed organically. Honestly, Bolin doesn’t feel like a real character to me. I can’t take him seriously when his character barely takes anything serious. All because of how short the arcs are. Overall, the series needed more episodes like TLA to flesh out the new setting and characters more. Especially the primary main characters.
A lot of the characters' weaknesses come down to the fact that Bryke just weren't interested in exploring them any deeper, which would have mostly been fine if the show had stayed the one season miniseries, but just doesn't work for an extended series like this. The show had ample time to flesh the characters out, it just never really took the opportunity to buckle down and put in the work.
This stems from the fact that LOK was only supposed to be a single season. Which is evident in how easily things wrap up in season one. There had to be at least three if not four seasons worth of content crammed into thirteen episodes. Korra running away to Republic City and mastering her avatar power; the pro-bending stuff; the civil unrest with the bending gangs: AND Amon and all the equalists stuff. There was simply too much going on for there to be any real focus on the story or the characters. Then Nickelodeon ordered more seasons and Bryke had to scramble to think up new stories. This is why LOK feels like a huge mess. There was no real planning put into the show.
@@Xanegoh exactly. And the plot overshadows the characters with the short seasons. The bender-non bender conflict could have been more complex if Mako and Bolin story was more part of it. They can show that not all benders can have high paying jobs while some of the elite of Republic City are non-bender. There can be criticism against Amon about how he might up creating a society that discriminates against bender which would end up like the mutants in X-men. Which would emphasize the importance of balance between benders and non-benders. Something like that too. But unfortunately, it couldn’t be further explored.
The first time I watched LoK, I sat there in the last episode really loving what appeared to be the choice to send a young female protagonist into the sunset romatically unattached. "You never see that," I thought, "How great to show that a young woman can be content without a love interest, that her character doesn’t have to have all the boxes ticked to feel whole at the conclusion of her story." And then boom, Korrasami out of nowhere. I had friends at the time arguing that the groundwork was laid, it was just super subtle because Nick was squeamish about a same sex coupling. I'm sure that last is true, but I always felt like you, that there was no proper development of the relationship, and that people were so starved for representation that they were willing to accept literal crumbs. I didn’t know that the creative team didn’t plan for it at all and just threw it in as literal fan service though. It explains a lot, but man, I expect better from this team. On a different note, could you tell me the songs you used for transitions in this video? I liked several of them, but I'm not familiar. I enjoyed your work on this whole thing a lot!
sure, though for future reference I put all of the songs in the credits at the end of my videos. They're all by the band "Good Kid:" Bolin is "First rate town" Mako is "Slingshot" Asami is "From the start" Korra is "Tell me you now" I'm glad you liked it ^_^
Its soooooo refreshing too see sombody talk possitive of korra and not just trash it & compare it to the last airbender (one of the greatest shows ever) I loved korra!
@@twizms7362 true, but I do try to minimize them where I can. It's impossible to completely avoid them, but my priority is judging the show by its own merits.
21:40 Holy sh**. They could have had a whole plotline of Mako hunting his parents killer. That would have been so much more compelling and really worked for this archetype of character.
Sad this video isn't getting too much love from the algorithm, thought it was really good! And I don't even know what this show is about, so I'm sure the demographic for this kinda thing would really enjoy it haha. Always happy to have another writin video to add to my excessively long playlist of video essays :) (P.S. Also, I think you mentioned a Karlach video in the works at one point, am I remembering right? Always starving for more BG3 content lol)
Yeah, it's currently going through the content ID dispute process, because apparently the legend of korra content is blocked basically everywhere but canada. If all goes well, it should be available for everyone to view by this coming tuesday morning. Also yes! I'm actually planning on a doing a video on most of the BG3 companions, with Karlach being the first! I'll probably get around to it late next month, because my patrons voted on a different video for september. It's definitely coming though, and I'm gathering some footage for it in my spare time.
Very good video btw. People often laser focus on Korra being bad whenever they say the show itself is bad when she’s easily the best member of the gang and the other ones being underbaked is one of the things that contribute to the show falling short of being great. Also subscribing just because toxtricity is my fav pokemon
I do wonder if the writers regret the choice of not having Asami start off as an antagonist like what she was initially meant to have done. While we don't know for sure how that would have gone it would have at least opened the door of doing more with her after season 1 as she's probably the character they struggle the most with to give an arc unless it involved her father.
I think if they'd either made her realize she was wrong and defect to team avatar or worked her relationship with her dad into more of the plot it could have worked better, but as is it's just a lot of "what ifs"
@@WritinRealSlow I know it's a shame to this day they seem to struggle with Asami as a character. Even in the comics they repeated the same thing with her talking about her father a small bit and having her being in trouble having to be saved by Korra
That was a really interesting and well structured essay. I agree with anything you said, especially the Asami and Korrasami part. I enjoy Korra and Asami together in season 3 (love the car scene) but it ever felt romantically. And I'm mad that we were robbed of a Bolin and Asami friendship, their dynamic had a lot of potential. Btw, I love Toxtricity. It's my favorite pokémon of gen 8!
I'm going to rewatch this video every time someone shits on Korra for not being perfect and for getting beaten up every ten minutes cuz goddamn those last like 10 minutes were *so* cathartic. You hear that, Korra slanderers? Every time you say a f*cking word, this person gets more views on their video where they say that Korra is awesome just as a little treat to me.
@@WritinRealSlow No way mine too! I *thought* I avoided pronouns altogether since I didn't know yours and I just now caught it :(. It was 2 am for me and I missed it when commenting, I'm sorry. Have since edited it. I did love the video though and wanna check out more stuff when I'm not doing homework 😄
Personally most of my problems with the show and Korra in general is funny enough the love triangle and book two made her really unlikeable, she not only regressed but she kind of became insufferable. Book 3 and 4 are definitely a step up, with very few complaints except I wish there was more Red Lotus, but I guess you could say Zaheer's defeat discouraged them from doing anything else.
I mean, the other members of the red lotus either got arrested or died. Of the 4 named members, zaheer was the only one left alive at the end of book 3. And as for korra... well, bryke very clearly don't know how to write ongoing relationships very well, and they were seemingly married to the idea of the love triangle, so they made her a complete jerk to mako for no reason so they could keep it up. And because nobody liked the love triangle, they just dropped it for the rest of the show.
Mako loves bad puns/one-liners. What I would change? Bolin: Double down on him being a ray of sunshine, no thoughts, head empty. A lot of his behavior would be him trying to brighten his brothers mood and doing that with other people which gets him into trouble, but he is undeterred and continues to try brightening peoples days. Possible endgame: School teacher, Orphanage headmaster, spokesperson for the downtrodden. Mako: Make him a former gangster with gang tattoos hidden by the scarf. His former gang ties prevent him from finding stable legit work. Make him less a stick in the mud, kind of touchy about criminal past, but a total sweetheart like his brother deep down, he's just not good at verbalizing it. Make him more conflicted about the Korrasami situation, to be clear not the two girl thing but the playing with their emotions thing. Make him more resolute in his decision making like breaking it off with Korra, staying loyal, and integrity in his work. Endgame: Soldier, Sheriff, Social worker for ex-cons, definite motivational speaker. Asami: Keep her as a Chi-blocker but she comes around on benders after getting to know the Krew. Maybe take some of Amon's minions with her after splitting from the group because she realized how much hate she had been fed in her youth. Let her participate in battles by showcasing Ty-Lee levels of agility and nonviolent takedowns. Her being a non bender and having property throughout the city should factor into her trying to prevent massive fights in the street. Endgame: President, Diplomat, or advocate for working class regardless of bending. (Equal opportunity employer) Korra: Let her be punished for her mistakes not her existence as the Avatar. Kissing Mako, breaking Tensions stuff, cheating in the scooter race, blowing up at Mako. All of those are character flaws that go unaddressed but apparently some nut-job trying to kidnap her means she should be isolated from the world. The same nut job tortures her and apparently that's because she didn't know suffering? Because she has too much power over other people? I mean suffering does build character but only if there is a chance to heal and learn. Existing as the avatar and a woman are not flaws her short temper is. Jumping to the defense of those weaker than you is not a flaw exposing the world to spirits they have no knowledge or safeguards from is. Endgame: Avatar no caveats
Hey! Just had this video pop up in my algorithm it’s really good, it’s a shame it’s not more popular. It reminds me a lot of supereyepatchwolf’s content
Thank you! He's actually one of the people that inspired me to try my hand at youtube, so I take that as a huge compliment! I'm glad you liked the video ^_^
I'm gonna start off by saying this was a very well made video! I gotta agree the LOK cast is pretty weak, I believe Bolin is the strongest written within the main cast (which isn't that high of a bar) as far as character arc, motivation, technical prowess (with earthbending) and ethical consistency but sadly he's still bad 😞 when compared to the standards of character writing in ATLA
Yeah, that's why I didn't compare the shows past the intro, because I wanted to judge the show and characters on their own merits. For what it's worth though, bolin feels like he was written to be a side character in an episode of ATLA.
3:01 This is why I believe Opal didn’t deserve Bolin in the end, which is a shame since I genuinely liked her in Book 3 but she became the COMPLETE opposite by Book 4 (& in the Ruins of an Empire comic 😤). She treated him far harsher than she needed to since, once he realised he was fighting on the wrong side, he IMMEDIATELY risked everything (including his own safety!) to get back to the others & warn them of Kuvira’s plan - he SHOWED he was remorseful & wanted to make up for his mistakes. All the Krew forgave him immediately & yeah, I get Opal’s family being captured would make it more of a sore spot between her & Bolin but it wasn’t his fault her family got captured - THAT was on Opal’s mother Su for trying to take out Kuvira vigilante style, yet she implied she blamed him for that too. And don’t get me STARTED on her making him risk his LIFE to ‘win her back’ 😒 Bolin would do it even without the conditions Opal attached cos he’s just that good of a person (unlike his girlfriend) but even if you’re mad at your significant other & are willing to put yourself through the same risks, you do NOT put them in mortal peril to prove their love for you. If they choose to do it on their own initiative, that’s different but it says a LOT about how conditional your love is if you’re willing to put your partner in danger to prove their commitment to you & I found this absolutely disgusting of Opal to do. Honestly, I wish Bolin had instead broken up with Opal after helping save her family, saying he couldn’t be with someone who holds people’s mistakes over their heads so harshly, even when they try to make things right. Because we know if the roles had been reversed, Bolin would’ve forgiven her without hesitation. And yeah, I know everyone forgives differently but I STILL say Opal was unfair to Bolin & him breaking up with her could’ve done a lot for his growth in valuing his self worth & standing up for himself.
I’m going to play devil’s advocate for Asami’s reaction to Mako’s handling of Korra’s disappearance: she lost her mom when she was young, she just lost her father (or rather, who she thought he was) and her home and all of the comforts and privileges she always enjoyed. Her whole world has been taken away, and just as she’s adapting to her new life, she learns that the one person she has left has been keeping a secret from her (his kiss with Korra, whom she’s also just learned has a crush on him). So under these circumstances, I don’t blame Asami for being afraid of losing the one thing that’s probably keeping her going, her relationship.
I don't want to soundd like I'm saying Korrasami isn't without criticism, but I think you may be underestimating just how hard it was to have *any* kind of queer rep back when the show was airing. You'd be hard pressed to find anything remotely similar in mainstream media back then.
Oh no, I understand perfectly well. But it being a different time doesn't exempt it from criticism, nor does it mean it can't be learned from or improved upon. Besides, regardless of sexuality, pairing characters up without any pretense or work put in is just a poor writing decision.
Crazy to me Zaheer used to be this crazy nonbender terrorist and Asami and him have like no scenes. I do wish Zaheer did mix in more of his non-bending martial arts, I get the writers wanted to show what violent airbending would be and they do say his airbending is adapting marital arts into airbending, (also they can't really show punches and violence like that due to the rating) but like come on man I want to see him actually be the badass marital arts master he was.
YES. I will die on this hill, Bolin x Korra should've been endgame, i don't care how much people like korrasami the nothing burger that it is, borra is just so genuine and wholesome and it makes so much sense.
Also, Bolin/Opal is there as well as Korrasami… On that note, while I personally like the canon pairings I certainly get why a lot of people don’t feel they work or weren’t executed well.
Good thing Lumity exists to show off how LGBT representation in Western animation is done; in fact that romance puts practically all romance in other shows to shame.
It's honestly a shame he wasn't allowed to be more of his own character, I think he had a lot of potential. He's also just more likeable overall when he's not in a relationship.
Mako yelling at Bolin: You never think these things through! I'm always saving your ass! And another thing, stop leaving your dirty socks on the floor! Bolin: Mako, settle down! (A gas fed furnace behind them explodes.) Bolin earth bends shielding walls around them. Mako: Did I do that? Bolin: Yep, congratulations.
As someone who watched a fair amount of LoK when it first aired, and have seen a lot of the discussion surrounding the show at the time, I remember a lot people calling Korra a quote unquote "Mary Sue" due to the fact that she already was able to bend three of the four elements as a toddler before she started proper training. And the fact that she managed to unlock airbending during her fight with Amon.Which was a pretty common complaint about her character (And about the show itself to a lesser extent.). So I wouldn't be surprised if that played a part in how her character is treated post Book 1.
I would actually prefer if thru kept the mole thing and just made her a reddeemed villain If we have a Malcom X we need an MLK Asami could be that for the Equalists
I don’t really know how to put my full feelings into amazing words like some others have, but this video was amazing!!! I full heartedly agreed on every point you made.
I saw this video before I wanted to go to bed and contemplated… should I watch it or sleep or save it for later because I like Korra talk and so on… in the end as you see in the comment here I watched it before sleeping and it was a good choice cause I like your takes and stuff. Only the Eska and Bolin situation I found ok as is… sometimes a show needs a bit more ridiculous shit but if it where to be gone I‘d be fine with it too, nothing needed in the end. Anyway I agree with everything else and I am a fan of Korra more than I‘m of Aang cause that girl needs all the support she can get as you said in the video🤣. Also another reason why I stayed to watch is cause of your channel avatar… Toxtricity is just such a good Mon and any art of it is appreciated, but also yours looks cool too😅 Would love to see your analysis on stuff like Legends of Arcadia, Kipo or Voltron or other stuff if games are in the mix like Xenoblade, Fire Emblem Three Houses, etc. but those are just personal things I engaged with perhaps some of it you as well.
I haven't played legend of arcadia, I love kipo, haven't watched voltron, haven't played xenoblade, I love 3 houses and have been considering doing something on it for a while. Also toxtricity is one of my very favorite pokemon. I hope you sleep well.
@@WritinRealSlowoh no sorry I should have been more specific with Legend of Arcadia. It’s a set of 3 series who all play in the same small town: Trollhunters, 3Above and Wizards and then wrapped up with a movie. I liked them all 3 and how they interacted and came together in the beautifully animated movie, just the ending was… very questionable. And yeah I love the. One of the view plushes I own is a Toxtricity. Along with Galar Moltres, Mega Rayquaza, Mega Charizard XY and normal, Ash Greninja, Mega Sceptile and Koraidon…
Another amazing video. I lost track of you a little after your q&a but I'm catching up now. And I have to say I agree with you on all points, I especially liked the Korra part. I've never shipped Marco and Woo but in your version I kind of ship them I wish it was real. And another fellow Bolin lover he is simply the best character in the series and can we please appreciate Pabu too he is so incredibly cute I love him so much (which could also be because he is based on red pandas and they are my favorite animals.) I would just like to add that while on-screen representation is the most effective, I don't want to speak too bad of off-screen representation. In most cases, it is the fault of the publisher and not the creator themselves that we have so little on-screen representation, and even what little there is is hard-won, such as in The Owl House, Gravity Falls, Infinity Train, or Life is Strange as the most recent example. And I don't want to belittle the effort
Apparently several people have been missing my videos, I wonder what's up with that? I'm not belittling the representation though, Bryke straight-up admitted that it was a last minute decision. I'm glad we got korrasami, but it's still important to recognize when things should have been done better. Apparently the comics gave them more time to be cute together, which is great! I just wish we could have gotten that in the show itself.
@@WritinRealSlow I think we're on the same page here, but it's also important that the criticism should go to the right people, but in this case I was just misinformed and it got to the right person, my bad. And not only did we get more Korrosami in the comics, we also learned how the 4 nations feel about homosexuality, which was also very interesting, the Earth Nation for example was the most conservative among the 4 nations when it comes to this topic, which would also makes the shipping between Marco and Wu more interesting. But anyway, I'm looking forward to your next video
@@Tetraphobe49 I actually didn't know that part, that's really cool. I should see if I can find the comic somewhere, all I know about it is from the avatar wiki.
@@WritinRealSlow The comic is called Turf Wars. It is also about Korra's coming out, and Kya said to her and Asami when Korra told Kya about her parents' reaction, "Thats Water Tribe tradition for you. People like to keep family matters private. No one will disown you for coming out, but our culture prefers to keep it to yourself" "Remember, my father grew up in the Air Temples, where men and women did not hide from how they loved. The Air Nomads were accepting differences and embraced everyone, no matter their orientation." "Fore most of its history, the Fire Nation was also tolerant, but Fire Lord Sozin took power. He decreed that same-sex relationships were criminal." Even Avatar Kyoshi, who by all accounts loved men and women, was unable to effect any kind of real progress. After all, the Earth Kingdom was the slowest to accept change and the most militarily repressive.
That's the trouble with sequel series, they're inevitably compared to the original. Which is fair, but that's generally the only lens it's looked at through, which is why shows like korra and castlevania nocturne get trashed by people so much, because it's not just more of the first series. I do my best to judge a piece of media on its own merits wherever I can, though comparisons are impossible to fully avoid.
Yeah honestly I have also rewatched Korra recently and yeah The show is still great and can feel like kind of a slog to get through at first until episode 6 And the Winner is..." But usually it's the antagonists of the season and Korra herself with her reacting kept me inv Honestly my 2nd least favorite Antagonist is Kuvira, While I liked her enough as a Character in the first half of Book 4 but she kinda lost me in the second half with the Metalbending Ozai robot Stuff.
I'm surprised that you liked Lily Orchard's video on this cause Ive seen some thumbnails on youtube about videos critizing her and personally I don't know anything about her or her content. I'll watch her video on the legend of korra next thanks to your recommendation.
I feel like those videos are too focused on disagreeing with her rather than trying to understand where she's actually coming from. I tried watching some of those videos that criticize her, and I couldn't really like any of them. And it has nothing to do with it being about Lily, it's just that it got too ridiculous in their ways of disagreeing with the videos that I ended up really hating them. Like that one that disagreed with the Steven Universe video. Ugh😒
An OK video for the most part. I pretty much enjoyed anything that didn't have to do with you complaining about Bryke and that last bit about Lily Orchard.
It only seems natural to critique a writer when critiquing their writing. I don't see why you'd take issue with that, it's not as though he ever insulted them as individuals.
@@BeyondTrash-xe1vs Critiquing them (Bryke is short for Bryan and Michael) is fine. I just didn't think any of the insults (or whatever you wanna call them) in the video were actually constructive.
Why couldn’t Bolin work with the earthbender police instead of it being Mako. That could have also gave him more development as well to tap in with his bending. Also really wish that their family wasn’t just in the next city over. I mean if they found one surviving family member and for reasons couldn’t contact Bolin and Mako, that could have been fine. In the show that the family knew they were probenders through listening on the radio and I assume they were probenders for years. Why didn’t they call sooner. Also where’s the firebender survivor side of the family?
cuz the police werent earth benders they were metal benders also being a cop/detective fits mako's personality more also republic city to ba sing se is not the next city over thats like saying paris is right next to tokyo they are literally in opposite sides of the continent also there is going to be a comic about their moms side
@@WritinRealSlow That doesn't necessarily mean that Kuvira and Bataar grew up as siblings or considered each other as such. None of Su's children ever express any kind of sibling relationship to her.
@@b.h.4249 She was adopted at the age of 8, and whether or not they express how they feel about that relationship, that relationship still exists and should be taken into account when writing the characters. The fact that Bryke just leave it on the table and don't do anything with it apart from bataar jr saying that him marrying her will make her a true part of the family is negligent at best and also pretty gross overall. Adopted siblings are still siblings, and people acting like they only exist as some kind of hanger-on to the real family is a real life problem that actual adoptees face. If the writers had cared to explore this part of her character, it could have been really interesting, but instead we're left with this.
@@WritinRealSlow kind of makes Kuvira more sympathetic and puts Su in a negative light. Kuvira would have spent her formative years feeling unwanted by her biological parents just to be adopted into a family that didn’t see her as a “real” sister/daughter.
@@hilgigas09 Actually, and I only recently found this out, they made a comic depicting the thing, and the surprise is that Su is actually very welcoming, but little opal is insistent that kuvira isn't and will never be her sister. It's definitely something they should have explored in the actual show, though. I'm going to talk about it when I make the villains video, but the adoption thing really just feels tacked on to give her a more sympathetic backstory without really thinking through the ramifications.
Ehhhh I agree with everything said about bolin but the whole abuse angel things is a bit much bro people need to learn to laugh at bad situations if they had addressed it as a something serious even minutely then I can see the point but it’s a cartoon at the end of the day. But I agree with everything else said
I hate when people try to defend a character by blaming the writer instead of critiquing the character. So if the creator of korra is a bad writer wouldn’t that means he writes bad characters I.e korra. You didn’t touch on the problem with korra at all and what you said could be boiled down for every character. The character not the problem the writer is etc. korra has major flaws in her character which you can call being a fully realized character if the showed actual gave her consequences for her action. But no the show kinda bend over backwards to erase her mistake instead of actually facing them until her ptsd arc which was kinda handle poorly looking back at it. You claim that her teacher are incompetent but completely forget that she intruded on tenzin life cause problem off the rip. which is fine but then she clearly disrespected his teaching and rules he set up for her to stay at his home. If she was so eager to learn she would have listen to him for the get go but she insisted on doing her own thing. And then ignored the line in which she state that she tried to learn but spiritual side but it just not her forte. The writing as a whole in korra is questionable but I simple didn’t like how you went about her character mostly praising her but basically saying the writing around his her bad and not her. It semantics but I just find as a cop out when critiquing a character.
So you don't think I should criticize a writer for inconsistent characterization or lazy conflict resolution? Because I'm mainly critiquing the writing issues of the show and how they failed the characters, but it sounds like you're pointing to personality traits she has that make you not like her and then getting angry that I didn't find her as unlikable. As far as the show bending over backwards thing goes, I'm not sure what you're specifically referring to, but that also sounds like a problem with how it's written and not with the character. And as far as the tenzin thing goes, I'll actually be getting into that in the video on the supporting cast, because I'm not going to write out a character dissertation in a youtube comment. Watch that video when it gets done or don't, whatever makes you happy.
Eska and Bolin was hilarious and I don’t think that it was all that abusive. The issue was that he wouldn’t tell her no, not that he COULDN’T. It was great. It was a good foil to his character traits and is a good exploration of his flaws. He is nice. He wants to be nice. The same issue happened with Kuviera. Both times, Mako told him exactly what was up. 13:00 none of the things that you listed were actually forced. He could have said no to any of it but he didn’t. It is absurd and it’s unrealistic and it’s hilarious. No man is letting a woman put a collar on them (which in universe is a betrothal necklace but was played as a collar for the joke) and get impressed into marriage. That’s ridiculous and your haughty, holier than thou attitude over the creators is also ridiculous. I got secondhand embarrassment from listening to the the Pearl clutching and the superiority complex on display.
Goodness, your grasp on abuse is rather tenuous, isn't it? Don't worry, the video is over, it can't hurt your fragile sensibilities anymore. Have a cookie and a sit-down, me and my superiority complex will stay out of your way, you poor dear.
Bolin is the star of the series. The himbo that was the light. He was a Mover Star and the Lava master. We need more himbos like him. He feels like an Earth Bender Sokka.
53:34 THAT WAS LITERALLY A POINT IN ATLA With Ozai telling Zuko "You must learn respect and suffering will be your teacher!" right before PERMANENTLY SCARRING HIM Dammit Korra writers how'd you fuck up this badly!
21:13 gotta disagree here. Since season 1, Mako has shown an affinity towards investigation and detective work. It started with the search for Bolin. Sure it’s his brother and of course he was going to try, but it was also obvious he was tapping into detective skills while doing so. Same is true when he solved Varrick’s scheme in book 2, or when he figured out it was Aiwei that let the Red Lotus in in book 3.
Does he enjoy pro-bending? Because he never voices any opinion on it and seems wholly miserable no matter what. Bolin shows an actual enjoyment of the sport, mako just seems to be doing it because it makes him money and his brother does it, neither of which keep him involved in the sport at all after season 2, and we're never given a reason, at least not on-screen, for his career change. As far as the other two go, he never expresses a like or dislike of either one, they're just things he does. This hasn't proven me wrong, this has just been a list of things he does in the series. You could argue he enjoys arresting criminals, since he gets to do the one-liner and excitedly recounts it to korra (as excited as he's capable of being, at least), but that's basically the only time he seems to enjoy doing any of the things mentioned.
The suffering builds character thing with what happened to Korra gets worse when you remember Zuko's character arc about his abusive upbringing. Ozai had that kind of mindset and literally said suffering would be his teacher when scarring his own son and banishing him. Zuko's big breakthrough was realizing that no, that's just abusive and really messed him up for years.
oh shit, I hadn't even thought of that. I have no idea how how the same writers failed to take their own message to heart.
One thing to point out: “The Dragon Prince” has ATLA head writer Aaron Ehasz; TLoK has Bryke. Neither have both… and I think that’s a core reason that neither series hits the equilibrium of their shared predecessor.
Well, that and the “lightning-in-a-bottle” of the timing and all the stars aligning for ATLA… But really, the number of esteemed creators who eventually don’t hit the same heights later, and when you realise how much circumstances, not having all the same people as before, working WITHIN limitations of their older shows… Yeah.
Personally, I never understood why the show didn't explore what Bolin and Mako's identities are outside of each other more, and have them struggle with that. It would've been really compelling to, as you said, have Bolin struggle with his romantic pursuits because he looks up to his brother so much that he tries to imitate him in that area of his life and perhaps others too. At the same time, having Mako try and figure out who he is besides Bolin's older brother would've been pretty cool to see, especially if it led to very understandable conflict between them, and later on, heartfelt conversations that “sold” their brotherly bond even further as they tried to work all of this out. Instead, Mako is left as an a-hole of a blank slate with unexplained motivations while Bolin is treated like a joke and considering both of their potential, that's really annoying.
That's what I'm saying!
I would love they explored their upbringing since their parent demise. Multicultural sons from both Earth and Fire origin, they had a harsh childhood in a city afflicted by the blight of communautarism, I speculated they were rejected by both the Earth Kingdom folk (due to their Fire Nation heritage) AND the Fire Nation folk (due to their Earth Kingdom heritage). Not a single community accepted those boys being part of them, since a Fire Bender didn't hesitate to unlive both their parent. Those multicultural boys, is reminiscent of the treatment of the mixed people (or half-breed) in the US history, seen as abominations. The show seems to tell us that neighborhood are segregated by origin. Most notably: Tenzin and the Air Acolyte having their own island. The Councilmen themselves are designated by the community they represent: Earth Kingdom, Fire Nation, Air Nomad (Tenzin), Northern Tribe (Tarrlok) and Southern Tribe. Even the Triads are sorted by community.
Yet, the show is telling us that communautarism isn't that good of thing, but instead Unity beyond origin is Strength. The Triple Threat Triad, the only Triad that disregard the origin of their member quickly became the most powerful in the city. Pro-bending is also a clear demonstration of that principle.
The non-bender revolution lead by Amon also came from the resentment that the Council only consisted of benders, meaning the non-representation of non-bender in a city named Republic City. Sadly, the political change from an Oligarchy of Bender to a presidential system (which lead to the election of the non-bender Raiko) should have been more explicite than being a one-liner at the beginning of Season 2. It would have put in light that "Amon wasn't wrong, just too extreme", which was the theme of the whole Legend of Korra anime: _"Good ideas lead to the extreme are deleterious."_
The thing is with Korra's crew they clearly weren't as well thought out as ATLA crew. Bolin isn't always given focus, Mako is badly used by writers and it feels like they didn't know what to do with Asami it feels like they didn't know what to do with especially outside her father.
those are some of the things I said, yes.
They actually *didn't* know what to do with Asami until her censored romance plot with Korra! In the art book, it's explained that Asami was initially supposed to be an equalist like her father, but that the writers just... liked her too much and wanted her to be good (good call imo cuz her and Korra are like, my actual favorite ship in all of media, but I digress). They also didn't know they'd be given more seasons, so her not being an equalist and fighting her father was pretty much the end of her arc, giving her.... not much to do until they figured that out
@@LexCirillo618 I have heard wonder if the writers regret that choice granted I understand why they made it at the time. Even in the comics though you can tell they still struggle with giving Asami something to do as she still talks about her father from time to time. In the relationship with Korra they even repeated a similar thing where Asami was in trouble and Korra had to save her so they are giving Korra all the big scenes in the relationship.
@@Sophiex9i I noticed that too and it's one of the many valid criticisms I've seen. I'm pretty sure that they had no idea what to actually *do* with her post season 1, since they didn't know they were getting any more. It is disappointing though, given how expertly they handled nonbenders in ATLA and it makes you wonder what happened. I'm probably a little biased from all the fanart/fanfics I see where they *do* give asami more to do and fill in some of the gaps in the show 😅 She (and the rest of the cast) had so much potential for subplots and I like reading what the community think happened or should have happened
@@LexCirillo618 I know while I don't dislike Asami or any of the other main characters of Korra. It's in my opinion tricky to talk about Asami as a character because of her lack of development and focus that's why I personally think she's the weakest of the main characters.
Bolin was basically turned into dollar store Sokka huh….
They were like let's take sokka and zuko and take one trait from each to make shallow characters
Don't really know how it could happen but I kinda like the concept of Mako with Firelord Izumi's daughter. Could be a plot point of him connecting with his Fire Nation side and perhaps explore his (potential complex) view on firebending. Also rags to riches type of story.
could be interesting
Okay I agree with absolutely everything (I love the show so much despite this) except for Korrasami coming out of nowhere and the changes being proposed here. I have a lot of feelings about this so I apologize.
I don't think it can be stressed enough how censored Korra and Asami's relationship was because of Nickelodeon. Nick had a hard time even just greenlighting the show to begin with because they didn't think that a WOC main character would resonate with male audiences! The show ended in 2014, before gay marriage was even federally legalized in the US. LGBTQ+ relationships were *not* a part of children's media at that time, and even *still* are fought against due to stigma. The producers wanted to include more explicit representation, but weren't allowed to, and that's not their fault. Yes, they should've made Korra and Asami better friends in the first two seasons, but to expect Nickelodeon to air a queer kiss in the middle of a season with lots of explicit build up and then give them time to explore their relationship after.... in 2014? Not happening lol. Steven Universe, the show with like a majority queer cast, and that came out after the Legend of Korra, had to fight tooth and nail in order to get the lesbian wedding and kiss and they were CANCELLED FOR IT! The Legend of Korra would have had to come out (pun intended) in a world where queer representation in children's media was *already* normalized in order for Korrasami to get the romance they deserved.... but it didn't. And their relationship is still beautiful despite all of the hoops they had to jump through.
Anyways. I love them. They definitely deserved better in writing but I have to correct anyone who says it was entirely the writer's fault because it wasn't. There was no way that we were going to get the love story proposed here, with all the complicated queer feelings laid out in detail, in 2014 on Nickelodeon before there was any other LGBT+ representation in children's media at all. We can mourn what could have been if the social culture permitted it but still recognize how well done Korrasami was despite all that.
I have talked about how much I love their relationship progression before but I want to say it here. Their friendship, even starting in season 1, is very overlooked (partly because, yeah, Bryke didn't know how to include Asami). They never had a "rivalry" which is a common trope for women in a love triangle and they were supportive of each other, even despite their jealousy over Mako. Their friendship develops more fully in season 3, of course, and it is my belief that any good romance starts with a foundation of *actual friendship* (cough cough Mako with both of them). They may not have had romantic feelings for each other, but their friendship is what allowed them to get closer in that way later on. And again, heavily censored by Nick. When Korra is poisoned, they do the bit where they mellow everyone else's feelings (ugh) to highlight Asami looking the most concerned. During Korra's 3 year recovery, Asami regularly visits Avatar Korra Park, and Korra only responds to Asami's letters. They both blush when seeing each other again in season 4, and their friendship/romance continues to grow. It's also highlighted *why* Korra and Asami work well together while Korra and Mako do not. In the car chase scene, Mako's protective nature (from having grown up on the streets raising Bolin) comes into conflict again with Korra's more headstrong personality and drive for autonomy. In contrast to this, Asami leans into Korra's nature and works with her, highlighting that she trusts Korra to protect *herself*, which was a conflict point in Makkorra. Korra and Asami continue to work together as one of the most solid pairs in the series because of this, and Asami is often the one to comfort Korra when she's feeling down on herself (There was no way a waterbender from the southern water tribe was "cold" -- Asami just wanted to talk to Korra). Them going into the spirit world together may seem to come out of nowhere, but I take that to be the time where they are able to explore whatever feelings they have. As much as I want an animated Korrasami kiss... I'm glad they didn't in that moment? It wouldn't make sense for them to kiss at that point in their relationship since it hasn't been built up enough (another gripe I have with Makorra). Instead, they hold hands and spend the next few days exploring their feelings in the comics. They end their few day trip with an *earned* kiss, but still don't say I love you. It is only after more exploration, a few surprised friends, and some shenanigans that they say "I love you" at the end of the 3 part comic, Turf Wars. This slow progression from allies to friends to crush to lovers is actually super realistic imo and is the best they could do given the censorship. And then Ruins of the Empire explores their relationship more and both comics portray them super sweet and I personally love it. I have so many emotions about them, obviously, and I want people to recognize them for how good they are together even as the show is right now.
Do I desperately want the love story outlined in this video? Absolutely. It's such a cute premise and I wish with every atom in my body we could have had this Owl House tier queer ship. But will I accept anyone saying it wasn't explicitly romantic enough? ... Nope.
as a fellow bolin enjoyer, i have no choice but to sub
mwa hahaaaa, yes! Just as planned!
Korra’s team has been one of the weakest part of LOK. With most being the antagonists and conflict themes. It was obvious that the writers had no clue where to take Bolin, Mako and Asami after Book 1. They can feel like side characters at times who got lucky to hang out with the Avatar. But we know this is due to the production of the seasons. Due to how plot driven an arc is, characters are not fully flesh out or developed organically. Honestly, Bolin doesn’t feel like a real character to me. I can’t take him seriously when his character barely takes anything serious. All because of how short the arcs are. Overall, the series needed more episodes like TLA to flesh out the new setting and characters more. Especially the primary main characters.
A lot of the characters' weaknesses come down to the fact that Bryke just weren't interested in exploring them any deeper, which would have mostly been fine if the show had stayed the one season miniseries, but just doesn't work for an extended series like this. The show had ample time to flesh the characters out, it just never really took the opportunity to buckle down and put in the work.
@@WritinRealSlow yeah it wasn’t planned out very well. It could have been a lot better if it was made to be longer from the beginning.
This stems from the fact that LOK was only supposed to be a single season. Which is evident in how easily things wrap up in season one. There had to be at least three if not four seasons worth of content crammed into thirteen episodes. Korra running away to Republic City and mastering her avatar power; the pro-bending stuff; the civil unrest with the bending gangs: AND Amon and all the equalists stuff. There was simply too much going on for there to be any real focus on the story or the characters.
Then Nickelodeon ordered more seasons and Bryke had to scramble to think up new stories. This is why LOK feels like a huge mess. There was no real planning put into the show.
@@Xanegoh exactly. And the plot overshadows the characters with the short seasons. The bender-non bender conflict could have been more complex if Mako and Bolin story was more part of it. They can show that not all benders can have high paying jobs while some of the elite of Republic City are non-bender. There can be criticism against Amon about how he might up creating a society that discriminates against bender which would end up like the mutants in X-men. Which would emphasize the importance of balance between benders and non-benders. Something like that too. But unfortunately, it couldn’t be further explored.
The first time I watched LoK, I sat there in the last episode really loving what appeared to be the choice to send a young female protagonist into the sunset romatically unattached. "You never see that," I thought, "How great to show that a young woman can be content without a love interest, that her character doesn’t have to have all the boxes ticked to feel whole at the conclusion of her story." And then boom, Korrasami out of nowhere. I had friends at the time arguing that the groundwork was laid, it was just super subtle because Nick was squeamish about a same sex coupling. I'm sure that last is true, but I always felt like you, that there was no proper development of the relationship, and that people were so starved for representation that they were willing to accept literal crumbs. I didn’t know that the creative team didn’t plan for it at all and just threw it in as literal fan service though. It explains a lot, but man, I expect better from this team.
On a different note, could you tell me the songs you used for transitions in this video? I liked several of them, but I'm not familiar. I enjoyed your work on this whole thing a lot!
sure, though for future reference I put all of the songs in the credits at the end of my videos.
They're all by the band "Good Kid:"
Bolin is "First rate town"
Mako is "Slingshot"
Asami is "From the start"
Korra is "Tell me you now"
I'm glad you liked it ^_^
Its soooooo refreshing too see sombody talk possitive of korra and not just trash it & compare it to the last airbender (one of the greatest shows ever) I loved korra!
I like to judge a piece of media on its own merits for the most part.
To be fair it's a direct sequel so the comparisons are inevitable
@@twizms7362 true, but I do try to minimize them where I can. It's impossible to completely avoid them, but my priority is judging the show by its own merits.
21:40 Holy sh**. They could have had a whole plotline of Mako hunting his parents killer. That would have been so much more compelling and really worked for this archetype of character.
Right? there was so much potential here, they just didn't USE any of it.
Sad this video isn't getting too much love from the algorithm, thought it was really good! And I don't even know what this show is about, so I'm sure the demographic for this kinda thing would really enjoy it haha. Always happy to have another writin video to add to my excessively long playlist of video essays :) (P.S. Also, I think you mentioned a Karlach video in the works at one point, am I remembering right? Always starving for more BG3 content lol)
Yeah, it's currently going through the content ID dispute process, because apparently the legend of korra content is blocked basically everywhere but canada. If all goes well, it should be available for everyone to view by this coming tuesday morning.
Also yes! I'm actually planning on a doing a video on most of the BG3 companions, with Karlach being the first! I'll probably get around to it late next month, because my patrons voted on a different video for september. It's definitely coming though, and I'm gathering some footage for it in my spare time.
Ah, makes sense! Excited to see what you come up with :)
If the title said something like Korra sucks and here's how it could have been better! It would get views faster
@@FreshZCORD Probably, but that would be dishonest of me, because I don't think it sucks.
@@FreshZCORD Depends how much of your soul you're willing to sell to the clickbait gods, lol
Very good video btw. People often laser focus on Korra being bad whenever they say the show itself is bad when she’s easily the best member of the gang and the other ones being underbaked is one of the things that contribute to the show falling short of being great. Also subscribing just because toxtricity is my fav pokemon
I'm glad you liked it. Also, you're like the 4th person to say that about toxtricity. Y'all have good taste.
I do wonder if the writers regret the choice of not having Asami start off as an antagonist like what she was initially meant to have done. While we don't know for sure how that would have gone it would have at least opened the door of doing more with her after season 1 as she's probably the character they struggle the most with to give an arc unless it involved her father.
I think if they'd either made her realize she was wrong and defect to team avatar or worked her relationship with her dad into more of the plot it could have worked better, but as is it's just a lot of "what ifs"
@@WritinRealSlow I know it's a shame to this day they seem to struggle with Asami as a character. Even in the comics they repeated the same thing with her talking about her father a small bit and having her being in trouble having to be saved by Korra
a sin of the Korra show is that the main crew were seperated a lot after season 1 and doing their own things
Yeah, bolin really seemed like the only one invested in the idea of "Team avatar" at times.
This was my biggest criticism! I also hated that Korra barely spent any time with her polarbeardog
@@aquafractalyne1764 justice for naga!
That was a really interesting and well structured essay. I agree with anything you said, especially the Asami and Korrasami part. I enjoy Korra and Asami together in season 3 (love the car scene) but it ever felt romantically. And I'm mad that we were robbed of a Bolin and Asami friendship, their dynamic had a lot of potential.
Btw, I love Toxtricity. It's my favorite pokémon of gen 8!
Thank you, it's always great to hear people enjoyed my work!
It's my favorite of Gen 8 too ^_^
I'm going to rewatch this video every time someone shits on Korra for not being perfect and for getting beaten up every ten minutes cuz goddamn those last like 10 minutes were *so* cathartic. You hear that, Korra slanderers? Every time you say a f*cking word, this person gets more views on their video where they say that Korra is awesome just as a little treat to me.
My pronouns are they/them, but otherwise thank you, I'm glad you liked it.
@@WritinRealSlow No way mine too! I *thought* I avoided pronouns altogether since I didn't know yours and I just now caught it :(. It was 2 am for me and I missed it when commenting, I'm sorry. Have since edited it. I did love the video though and wanna check out more stuff when I'm not doing homework 😄
@@LexCirillo618 no worries, I just wanted to be sure you knew. I appreciate you being understanding about it.
@@WritinRealSlow Of course!
Personally most of my problems with the show and Korra in general is funny enough the love triangle and book two made her really unlikeable, she not only regressed but she kind of became insufferable. Book 3 and 4 are definitely a step up, with very few complaints except I wish there was more Red Lotus, but I guess you could say Zaheer's defeat discouraged them from doing anything else.
I mean, the other members of the red lotus either got arrested or died. Of the 4 named members, zaheer was the only one left alive at the end of book 3. And as for korra... well, bryke very clearly don't know how to write ongoing relationships very well, and they were seemingly married to the idea of the love triangle, so they made her a complete jerk to mako for no reason so they could keep it up. And because nobody liked the love triangle, they just dropped it for the rest of the show.
Mako loves bad puns/one-liners. What I would change?
Bolin: Double down on him being a ray of sunshine, no thoughts, head empty. A lot of his behavior would be him trying to brighten his brothers mood and doing that with other people which gets him into trouble, but he is undeterred and continues to try brightening peoples days. Possible endgame: School teacher, Orphanage headmaster, spokesperson for the downtrodden.
Mako: Make him a former gangster with gang tattoos hidden by the scarf. His former gang ties prevent him from finding stable legit work. Make him less a stick in the mud, kind of touchy about criminal past, but a total sweetheart like his brother deep down, he's just not good at verbalizing it. Make him more conflicted about the Korrasami situation, to be clear not the two girl thing but the playing with their emotions thing. Make him more resolute in his decision making like breaking it off with Korra, staying loyal, and integrity in his work.
Endgame: Soldier, Sheriff, Social worker for ex-cons, definite motivational speaker.
Asami: Keep her as a Chi-blocker but she comes around on benders after getting to know the Krew. Maybe take some of Amon's minions with her after splitting from the group because she realized how much hate she had been fed in her youth. Let her participate in battles by showcasing Ty-Lee levels of agility and nonviolent takedowns. Her being a non bender and having property throughout the city should factor into her trying to prevent massive fights in the street.
Endgame: President, Diplomat, or advocate for working class regardless of bending. (Equal opportunity employer)
Korra: Let her be punished for her mistakes not her existence as the Avatar. Kissing Mako, breaking Tensions stuff, cheating in the scooter race, blowing up at Mako. All of those are character flaws that go unaddressed but apparently some nut-job trying to kidnap her means she should be isolated from the world. The same nut job tortures her and apparently that's because she didn't know suffering? Because she has too much power over other people? I mean suffering does build character but only if there is a chance to heal and learn. Existing as the avatar and a woman are not flaws her short temper is. Jumping to the defense of those weaker than you is not a flaw exposing the world to spirits they have no knowledge or safeguards from is.
Endgame: Avatar no caveats
All interesting points, thank you for sharing ^_^
Watching Korra get beaten so badly and suffering all the time always made me angry when rewatching the show. I’m glad you touched on that
It's seriously worrying.
Hey! Just had this video pop up in my algorithm it’s really good, it’s a shame it’s not more popular. It reminds me a lot of supereyepatchwolf’s content
Thank you! He's actually one of the people that inspired me to try my hand at youtube, so I take that as a huge compliment! I'm glad you liked the video ^_^
Gald the algorithm randomly showed me this. You deserve far more subscribers and views!
thank you, I'm glad you liked it! ^_^
INCREDIBLE VIDEO! With its quality I thought it came from a much bigger channel - well, you're one more subscriber to being there!
I'm so glad you liked it!
I'm gonna start off by saying this was a very well made video!
I gotta agree the LOK cast is pretty weak, I believe Bolin is the strongest written within the main cast (which isn't that high of a bar) as far as character arc, motivation, technical prowess (with earthbending) and ethical consistency but sadly he's still bad 😞 when compared to the standards of character writing in ATLA
Yeah, that's why I didn't compare the shows past the intro, because I wanted to judge the show and characters on their own merits. For what it's worth though, bolin feels like he was written to be a side character in an episode of ATLA.
@WritinRealSlow Completely agree!
Nickelodeon really halted this show’s growth to the point it definitely should’ve been way more than what it was
3:01 This is why I believe Opal didn’t deserve Bolin in the end, which is a shame since I genuinely liked her in Book 3 but she became the COMPLETE opposite by Book 4 (& in the Ruins of an Empire comic 😤).
She treated him far harsher than she needed to since, once he realised he was fighting on the wrong side, he IMMEDIATELY risked everything (including his own safety!) to get back to the others & warn them of Kuvira’s plan - he SHOWED he was remorseful & wanted to make up for his mistakes. All the Krew forgave him immediately & yeah, I get Opal’s family being captured would make it more of a sore spot between her & Bolin but it wasn’t his fault her family got captured - THAT was on Opal’s mother Su for trying to take out Kuvira vigilante style, yet she implied she blamed him for that too. And don’t get me STARTED on her making him risk his LIFE to ‘win her back’ 😒
Bolin would do it even without the conditions Opal attached cos he’s just that good of a person (unlike his girlfriend) but even if you’re mad at your significant other & are willing to put yourself through the same risks, you do NOT put them in mortal peril to prove their love for you. If they choose to do it on their own initiative, that’s different but it says a LOT about how conditional your love is if you’re willing to put your partner in danger to prove their commitment to you & I found this absolutely disgusting of Opal to do.
Honestly, I wish Bolin had instead broken up with Opal after helping save her family, saying he couldn’t be with someone who holds people’s mistakes over their heads so harshly, even when they try to make things right. Because we know if the roles had been reversed, Bolin would’ve forgiven her without hesitation.
And yeah, I know everyone forgives differently but I STILL say Opal was unfair to Bolin & him breaking up with her could’ve done a lot for his growth in valuing his self worth & standing up for himself.
That's an interesting take, I hadn't thought of it like that.
Great video! This is some 120k subscribers shit, UA-cam seems to be recommending great small creators lately
Thanks, that means a lot to hear ^_^
I’m going to play devil’s advocate for Asami’s reaction to Mako’s handling of Korra’s disappearance: she lost her mom when she was young, she just lost her father (or rather, who she thought he was) and her home and all of the comforts and privileges she always enjoyed.
Her whole world has been taken away, and just as she’s adapting to her new life, she learns that the one person she has left has been keeping a secret from her (his kiss with Korra, whom she’s also just learned has a crush on him).
So under these circumstances, I don’t blame Asami for being afraid of losing the one thing that’s probably keeping her going, her relationship.
I don't want to soundd like I'm saying Korrasami isn't without criticism, but I think you may be underestimating just how hard it was to have *any* kind of queer rep back when the show was airing. You'd be hard pressed to find anything remotely similar in mainstream media back then.
Oh no, I understand perfectly well. But it being a different time doesn't exempt it from criticism, nor does it mean it can't be learned from or improved upon.
Besides, regardless of sexuality, pairing characters up without any pretense or work put in is just a poor writing decision.
Crazy to me Zaheer used to be this crazy nonbender terrorist and Asami and him have like no scenes. I do wish Zaheer did mix in more of his non-bending martial arts, I get the writers wanted to show what violent airbending would be and they do say his airbending is adapting marital arts into airbending, (also they can't really show punches and violence like that due to the rating) but like come on man I want to see him actually be the badass marital arts master he was.
YES. I will die on this hill, Bolin x Korra should've been endgame, i don't care how much people like korrasami the nothing burger that it is, borra is just so genuine and wholesome and it makes so much sense.
Also, Bolin/Opal is there as well as Korrasami… On that note, while I personally like the canon pairings I certainly get why a lot of people don’t feel they work or weren’t executed well.
I agree
@@borjankosarac3645 i don't really like bopal all that much. it's still good, but i would prefer borra.
Good thing Lumity exists to show off how LGBT representation in Western animation is done; in fact that romance puts practically all romance in other shows to shame.
@@mcthetoonster1415 that’s not good either it’s just reach the mark
I kind of liked maki the most after season 3 because I hc that that he is slowly becoming more emotional after becoming a dad for bolin.
It's honestly a shame he wasn't allowed to be more of his own character, I think he had a lot of potential. He's also just more likeable overall when he's not in a relationship.
You know it's gonna be a great video when they use Good Kid music for transitions 👏👏👏
Mako yelling at Bolin: You never think these things through! I'm always saving your ass! And another thing, stop leaving your dirty socks on the floor!
Bolin: Mako, settle down!
(A gas fed furnace behind them explodes.)
Bolin earth bends shielding walls around them.
Mako: Did I do that?
Bolin: Yep, congratulations.
As someone who watched a fair amount of LoK when it first aired, and have seen a lot of the discussion surrounding the show at the time, I remember a lot people calling Korra a quote unquote "Mary Sue" due to the fact that she already was able to bend three of the four elements as a toddler before she started proper training. And the fact that she managed to unlock airbending during her fight with Amon.Which was a pretty common complaint about her character (And about the show itself to a lesser extent.). So I wouldn't be surprised if that played a part in how her character is treated post Book 1.
I would actually prefer if thru kept the mole thing and just made her a reddeemed villain
If we have a Malcom X we need an MLK
Asami could be that for the Equalists
I don’t really know how to put my full feelings into amazing words like some others have, but this video was amazing!!! I full heartedly agreed on every point you made.
I appreciate your kind words all the same! I'm so glad you liked it ^_^
I saw this video before I wanted to go to bed and contemplated… should I watch it or sleep or save it for later because I like Korra talk and so on… in the end as you see in the comment here I watched it before sleeping and it was a good choice cause I like your takes and stuff. Only the Eska and Bolin situation I found ok as is… sometimes a show needs a bit more ridiculous shit but if it where to be gone I‘d be fine with it too, nothing needed in the end. Anyway I agree with everything else and I am a fan of Korra more than I‘m of Aang cause that girl needs all the support she can get as you said in the video🤣.
Also another reason why I stayed to watch is cause of your channel avatar… Toxtricity is just such a good Mon and any art of it is appreciated, but also yours looks cool too😅
Would love to see your analysis on stuff like Legends of Arcadia, Kipo or Voltron or other stuff if games are in the mix like Xenoblade, Fire Emblem Three Houses, etc. but those are just personal things I engaged with perhaps some of it you as well.
I haven't played legend of arcadia, I love kipo, haven't watched voltron, haven't played xenoblade, I love 3 houses and have been considering doing something on it for a while.
Also toxtricity is one of my very favorite pokemon.
I hope you sleep well.
@@WritinRealSlowoh no sorry I should have been more specific with Legend of Arcadia. It’s a set of 3 series who all play in the same small town: Trollhunters, 3Above and Wizards and then wrapped up with a movie. I liked them all 3 and how they interacted and came together in the beautifully animated movie, just the ending was… very questionable.
And yeah I love the. One of the view plushes I own is a Toxtricity. Along with Galar Moltres, Mega Rayquaza, Mega Charizard XY and normal, Ash Greninja, Mega Sceptile and Koraidon…
oh right, trollhunters. You know, that's been on my list for a while now, I just never got around to watching it.
I just wanna say i think your toxitricity pfp is cool its why i clicked this video ngl and its the first of your vids i watched .
Why thank you! I hope you liked the video too ^_^
Ayyy fellow good kid enjoyer
ayy
Another amazing video. I lost track of you a little after your q&a but I'm catching up now. And I have to say I agree with you on all points, I especially liked the Korra part. I've never shipped Marco and Woo but in your version I kind of ship them I wish it was real. And another fellow Bolin lover he is simply the best character in the series and can we please appreciate Pabu too he is so incredibly cute I love him so much (which could also be because he is based on red pandas and they are my favorite animals.) I would just like to add that while on-screen representation is the most effective, I don't want to speak too bad of off-screen representation. In most cases, it is the fault of the publisher and not the creator themselves that we have so little on-screen representation, and even what little there is is hard-won, such as in The Owl House, Gravity Falls, Infinity Train, or Life is Strange as the most recent example. And I don't want to belittle the effort
Apparently several people have been missing my videos, I wonder what's up with that?
I'm not belittling the representation though, Bryke straight-up admitted that it was a last minute decision. I'm glad we got korrasami, but it's still important to recognize when things should have been done better.
Apparently the comics gave them more time to be cute together, which is great! I just wish we could have gotten that in the show itself.
@@WritinRealSlow I think we're on the same page here, but it's also important that the criticism should go to the right people, but in this case I was just misinformed and it got to the right person, my bad. And not only did we get more Korrosami in the comics, we also learned how the 4 nations feel about homosexuality, which was also very interesting, the Earth Nation for example was the most conservative among the 4 nations when it comes to this topic, which would also makes the shipping between Marco and Wu more interesting. But anyway, I'm looking forward to your next video
@@Tetraphobe49 I actually didn't know that part, that's really cool. I should see if I can find the comic somewhere, all I know about it is from the avatar wiki.
@@WritinRealSlow The comic is called Turf Wars. It is also about Korra's coming out, and Kya said to her and Asami when Korra told Kya about her parents' reaction, "Thats Water Tribe tradition for you. People like to keep family matters private. No one will disown you for coming out, but our culture prefers to keep it to yourself" "Remember, my father grew up in the Air Temples, where men and women did not hide from how they loved. The Air Nomads were accepting differences and embraced everyone, no matter their orientation." "Fore most of its history, the Fire Nation was also tolerant, but Fire Lord Sozin took power. He decreed that same-sex relationships were criminal." Even Avatar Kyoshi, who by all accounts loved men and women, was unable to effect any kind of real progress. After all, the Earth Kingdom was the slowest to accept change and the most militarily repressive.
@@Tetraphobe49 I appreciate the summary
finally, an unbiased video that actually gives valid criticism. Korra isn’t perfect but Korra haters make it seem like it’s the worst.
That's the trouble with sequel series, they're inevitably compared to the original. Which is fair, but that's generally the only lens it's looked at through, which is why shows like korra and castlevania nocturne get trashed by people so much, because it's not just more of the first series.
I do my best to judge a piece of media on its own merits wherever I can, though comparisons are impossible to fully avoid.
Your accent is wild😅 good video😊 thanks for calling out Eska!! I hated that she was just laughed off
What accent?
@@WritinRealSlowexactly 😅 it's so mixed, it's like every Irish accent mixed together in a bowl 😊 no hate, I just can't place it
@@bekkimcgrath that's weird, I could swear I don't have one
i love the krew ❤
Me too
Yeah honestly I have also rewatched Korra recently and yeah The show is still great and can feel like kind of a slog to get through at first until episode 6 And the Winner is..." But usually it's the antagonists of the season and Korra herself with her reacting kept me inv
Honestly my 2nd least favorite Antagonist is Kuvira, While I liked her enough as a Character in the first half of Book 4 but she kinda lost me in the second half with the Metalbending Ozai robot Stuff.
I'm surprised that you liked Lily Orchard's video on this cause Ive seen some thumbnails on youtube about videos critizing her and personally I don't know anything about her or her content. I'll watch her video on the legend of korra next thanks to your recommendation.
I recommend the 10-year anniversary one, it's a bit better and less angry overall.
To be frank she has a nuance issue, on a rare occasion she makes valid points but most of her points are a bit weird.
I feel like those videos are too focused on disagreeing with her rather than trying to understand where she's actually coming from. I tried watching some of those videos that criticize her, and I couldn't really like any of them. And it has nothing to do with it being about Lily, it's just that it got too ridiculous in their ways of disagreeing with the videos that I ended up really hating them. Like that one that disagreed with the Steven Universe video. Ugh😒
@@WritinRealSlow Okay thanks for the recommendation.
@@krys9463 Fair. I disagreed with some of her points.
An OK video for the most part. I pretty much enjoyed anything that didn't have to do with you complaining about Bryke and that last bit about Lily Orchard.
It only seems natural to critique a writer when critiquing their writing. I don't see why you'd take issue with that, it's not as though he ever insulted them as individuals.
@@BeyondTrash-xe1vs Critiquing them (Bryke is short for Bryan and Michael) is fine. I just didn't think any of the insults (or whatever you wanna call them) in the video were actually constructive.
Love how the writers just shut on Msko no other reason other than to fuel shipping wars
Why couldn’t Bolin work with the earthbender police instead of it being Mako. That could have also gave him more development as well to tap in with his bending. Also really wish that their family wasn’t just in the next city over. I mean if they found one surviving family member and for reasons couldn’t contact Bolin and Mako, that could have been fine. In the show that the family knew they were probenders through listening on the radio and I assume they were probenders for years. Why didn’t they call sooner. Also where’s the firebender survivor side of the family?
cuz the police werent earth benders they were metal benders also being a cop/detective fits mako's personality more
also republic city to ba sing se is not the next city over thats like saying paris is right next to tokyo they are literally in opposite sides of the continent also there is going to be a comic about their moms side
Hot take Opal and wu should have been krew members in the book 3 and introduced in 2
that's a take all right
I don't really have any notes other that Kuvira and Bataar aren't related. At all. Don't know where you got that from
Kuvira was adopted into the bei fong family.
@@WritinRealSlow That doesn't necessarily mean that Kuvira and Bataar grew up as siblings or considered each other as such. None of Su's children ever express any kind of sibling relationship to her.
@@b.h.4249 She was adopted at the age of 8, and whether or not they express how they feel about that relationship, that relationship still exists and should be taken into account when writing the characters. The fact that Bryke just leave it on the table and don't do anything with it apart from bataar jr saying that him marrying her will make her a true part of the family is negligent at best and also pretty gross overall.
Adopted siblings are still siblings, and people acting like they only exist as some kind of hanger-on to the real family is a real life problem that actual adoptees face. If the writers had cared to explore this part of her character, it could have been really interesting, but instead we're left with this.
@@WritinRealSlow kind of makes Kuvira more sympathetic and puts Su in a negative light. Kuvira would have spent her formative years feeling unwanted by her biological parents just to be adopted into a family that didn’t see her as a “real” sister/daughter.
@@hilgigas09 Actually, and I only recently found this out, they made a comic depicting the thing, and the surprise is that Su is actually very welcoming, but little opal is insistent that kuvira isn't and will never be her sister.
It's definitely something they should have explored in the actual show, though. I'm going to talk about it when I make the villains video, but the adoption thing really just feels tacked on to give her a more sympathetic backstory without really thinking through the ramifications.
People who want more ATLA and then don't watch a shonen are so weird just watch shonen you will like it!
Uhhh if I were you I would not mention Lily Orchard's channel. Not while she's involved in all the drama
Ehhhh I agree with everything said about bolin but the whole abuse angel things is a bit much bro people need to learn to laugh at bad situations if they had addressed it as a something serious even minutely then I can see the point but it’s a cartoon at the end of the day. But I agree with everything else said
Yeah see, the problem is that they DIDN'T treat it as something serious.
I hate when people try to defend a character by blaming the writer instead of critiquing the character. So if the creator of korra is a bad writer wouldn’t that means he writes bad characters I.e korra. You didn’t touch on the problem with korra at all and what you said could be boiled down for every character. The character not the problem the writer is etc. korra has major flaws in her character which you can call being a fully realized character if the showed actual gave her consequences for her action. But no the show kinda bend over backwards to erase her mistake instead of actually facing them until her ptsd arc which was kinda handle poorly looking back at it. You claim that her teacher are incompetent but completely forget that she intruded on tenzin life cause problem off the rip. which is fine but then she clearly disrespected his teaching and rules he set up for her to stay at his home. If she was so eager to learn she would have listen to him for the get go but she insisted on doing her own thing. And then ignored the line in which she state that she tried to learn but spiritual side but it just not her forte. The writing as a whole in korra is questionable but I simple didn’t like how you went about her character mostly praising her but basically saying the writing around his her bad and not her. It semantics but I just find as a cop out when critiquing a character.
So you don't think I should criticize a writer for inconsistent characterization or lazy conflict resolution? Because I'm mainly critiquing the writing issues of the show and how they failed the characters, but it sounds like you're pointing to personality traits she has that make you not like her and then getting angry that I didn't find her as unlikable.
As far as the show bending over backwards thing goes, I'm not sure what you're specifically referring to, but that also sounds like a problem with how it's written and not with the character.
And as far as the tenzin thing goes, I'll actually be getting into that in the video on the supporting cast, because I'm not going to write out a character dissertation in a youtube comment. Watch that video when it gets done or don't, whatever makes you happy.
Eska and Bolin was hilarious and I don’t think that it was all that abusive. The issue was that he wouldn’t tell her no, not that he COULDN’T. It was great. It was a good foil to his character traits and is a good exploration of his flaws. He is nice. He wants to be nice. The same issue happened with Kuviera. Both times, Mako told him exactly what was up.
13:00 none of the things that you listed were actually forced. He could have said no to any of it but he didn’t. It is absurd and it’s unrealistic and it’s hilarious. No man is letting a woman put a collar on them (which in universe is a betrothal necklace but was played as a collar for the joke) and get impressed into marriage. That’s ridiculous and your haughty, holier than thou attitude over the creators is also ridiculous. I got secondhand embarrassment from listening to the the Pearl clutching and the superiority complex on display.
Goodness, your grasp on abuse is rather tenuous, isn't it? Don't worry, the video is over, it can't hurt your fragile sensibilities anymore. Have a cookie and a sit-down, me and my superiority complex will stay out of your way, you poor dear.
Bolin is the star of the series. The himbo that was the light.
He was a Mover Star and the Lava master.
We need more himbos like him.
He feels like an Earth Bender Sokka.
He is my beloved
I prefer korrasami.
congrats on your canon ship
53:34 THAT WAS LITERALLY A POINT IN ATLA
With Ozai telling Zuko "You must learn respect and suffering will be your teacher!" right before PERMANENTLY SCARRING HIM
Dammit Korra writers how'd you fuck up this badly!
You're the second person to point that out. How did the writers fail to learn their own lesson?
@@WritinRealSlow I know right?
My brain HURT watching this until about 1:33 when i FINALLY recognized you were playing 8-bit Good Kid in the background
If you're ever confused, I list all the music I use in the credits.
47:13 That’s because she act like one.
21:13 gotta disagree here. Since season 1, Mako has shown an affinity towards investigation and detective work. It started with the search for Bolin. Sure it’s his brother and of course he was going to try, but it was also obvious he was tapping into detective skills while doing so. Same is true when he solved Varrick’s scheme in book 2, or when he figured out it was Aiwei that let the Red Lotus in in book 3.
Having skill in something isn't the same as having a motivation.
29:00 you could say the same for the male characters. I don’t think this a gendered problem at all.
So your argument is that Bryke are just bad at writing characters in general and not just female characters?
17:38 he likes investigating.
He likes protecting others.
He enjoys pro bending.
Does he enjoy pro-bending? Because he never voices any opinion on it and seems wholly miserable no matter what. Bolin shows an actual enjoyment of the sport, mako just seems to be doing it because it makes him money and his brother does it, neither of which keep him involved in the sport at all after season 2, and we're never given a reason, at least not on-screen, for his career change.
As far as the other two go, he never expresses a like or dislike of either one, they're just things he does. This hasn't proven me wrong, this has just been a list of things he does in the series. You could argue he enjoys arresting criminals, since he gets to do the one-liner and excitedly recounts it to korra (as excited as he's capable of being, at least), but that's basically the only time he seems to enjoy doing any of the things mentioned.