The Legend of Korra S01E11 & E12

By: Michael Dante DiMartino & Bryan Konietzko

The Story: It may come as a shock to you that Amon is not a family man.

The Review: I’m a regular reader of Wired, the ostensible boutique magazine for geeks, and I find it, just like whatever that’s “boutique” anything, is a little prone to making broad, definitive judgment calls with no support.  Take Scott Thrill’s take on The Legend of Korra, in his eyes the “Smartest Cartoon on TV.”  Now, I didn’t quite do a spit-take on reading that headline, but I must say, with no offense to Thrill, that I respectfully disagree.

The last couple episodes have been solid enough to make me eager for the season finale, but halfway through, right around the point where Tarrlok spills the beans on every revelation you ever needed, I found myself turned cold.  Be forewarned, this next chunk of review will contain quite a few spoilers, so shut your eyes and move on if you’re not into that kind of thing.

The Legend of Korra Episodes 1 & 2 – Review

By: Michael Dante DiMartino & Bryan Konietzko (writers)

The Story: Just your classic tale of an ice-country girl in the big, magic-weaving city.

The Review: Cartoons and comics have a lot in common, particularly in how they’re often dismissed by mainstream audiences, rarely appreciated for the merits of their mediums.  While anime has long established itself as an art form, people are only just now beginning to recognize the storytelling potential of American animation.  We may not be ready for straight-up dramas with no sci-fi/fantasy frills attached, but at least we know cartoons aren’t all action and slapstick.

Among the great animated series that embody this evolution, you almost have to name Avatar: The Last Airbender as one of the majors.  It may have started out as a bright, polished cartoon geared toward kids, but over the course of three seasons, it offered thoughtful socio-political commentary, complex plotting, credible character work, and even some rather disturbing psychological and moral issues.  Quite simply, it radically reinvented itself, to great success.

For that reason, I had to take a step back after watching The Legend of Korra and consider what it might become from what it is now.  The show has a similar tone to Avatar during its “middle” period, when it began to become more than a kids’ action-adventure cartoon, but hadn’t quite reached the mature heights it would achieve in its third season.  Korra and her supporting characters start out older than Aang, Zuko, or Katara ended up, and the very intro shows that culture, society, and politics will play major parts in the series’ thematic developments.