The Legend of Korra - Book One: Air

The Legend Of Korra - Book One: Air, is the follow up to Avatar: The Last Airbender. This story follows Korra, a female reincarnation of The Avatar, whose story already has her mastering Fire, Water, Earth, but is having some difficulties mastering Air.

To help her along is the son of Ang and Katara, Tenzin, also a master of air. Unfortunately Tenzin is tied up in Republic City, Ang’s dream where Benders and Non-Benders can live in peace side by side, a dream that seems to be coming apart at the seams.

Korra wants to master the elements badly, so in typical teenage fashion she runs away to Republic City. If the teacher won’t go to her, she’ll go to the teacher. A move that begins her adventure into a new world with Korra pummeling a group of hoodlums looking to collect safety money from innocent shopkeepers and then consequentially being arrested for her efforts.

Tenzin bails her out of jail and plans to send her home, but later decides to allow her to stay and train with him at his home. A task neither student nor master could fathom would generate so many problems.

I was more then excited when I found this first chapter of Korra in my workload. This series differs from Avatar by a lot. It’s set in the future, the Avatar is a teenage girl, which opens up a whole new set of interesting possibilities, and the design of Korra’s world is pretty awesome.

One of my favorite aspects of the show is the Bending Games. Three opponents battle atop a platform using their individual bending strengths to try and knock the other team out. It reminded me of Tron a bit, only you live if you lose. These games also open up some interesting avenues for Korra’s experiences. Sure, her first technique of being a leaf on the wind is a bit sudden, but the episode flows quite nicely allowing Korra to flesh out her personality that instantly sets this series apart from its predecessor.

Later on down the line there is some predictability when it comes to a romantic angle, loyalty and heart, but the show manages to go to dark places with issues that seem monumental such as prejudice, terrorism, sexism, and more. The issues are major but the show manages to handle them just beyond kid gloves but toned down enough where adults and kids can find a middle ground. Great conversation pieces for parents to have with their children without heading into dangerous territory.

All in all the show was great. I didn’t know weather or not they could successfully pull off a follow up to Avatar, one of the best cartoons Nickelodeon has ever put out, but Korra is a world all its own that manages to come off perfect while still leaving room to become even greater. I look forward to future seasons.

PICTURE QUALITY:
Pretty much amazing. There is some slight aliasing going on now and again. A few times early on when we meet Korra’s polar bear dog the line definition between the legs and body feature this discrepancy, but briefly. Other then those small, almost unnoticeable hiccups, the picture looks really good. Color is rich, definition is sharp.

BONUS FEATURES:

• ~The Legend of Puppetbender Present “The Making of a Legend: The Untold Story” (original short)
• ~Audio Commentaries from series creators, cast and crew for all twelve episodes (Blu-ray Exclusive Feature)
• ~Series Creators' Favorite Scenes: Eight Animatics (Blu-ray Exclusive Feature)