Avatar: The Last Airbender has been celebrated for its incredible storytelling, but the sequel series, The Legend of Korra, has received a much more divisive response ever since it debuted in 2012. ATLA first released on Nickelodeon in 2005, and in total, the series consisted of only three seasons, which saw Avatar Aang travel to the Four Nations and hone his mastery of the elements.
Despite being a show developed and aimed at younger viewers, ATLA remains a series that audiences describe as being incredibly well-designed and capable of approaching topics that felt more evolved and mature than other shows in its category, while still being a fun and engaging animated show that transported audiences to a magical fantasy world.
However, while ATLA has been widely accepted as one of the best shows for younger viewers ever made, the sequel series, The Legend of Korra, has failed to garner anywhere close to the same level of devotion and reverence.
The Legend Of Korra Is A Better Show Than It Ever Got Credit For
Set in the future, after the passing of Aang, and with a new community built that was designed to bring the Four Nations together, The Legend of Korra had to take the story of ATLA into the future to properly explore Korra and her mission. Korra is destined to be the next Avatar, and since the lore of the franchise is that only one Avatar is alive at any time, Aang is already deceased by the time the show starts.
Despite this, Korra provides a similarly energetic and wild performance that makes her feel like a true successor and helps to maintain some of the same style and voice for the show, even with a brand-new cast and world to engage with. However, audiences constantly compared the show and the characters to what came before, and many never gave the show a chance to stand on its own feet.
Why The Avatar: The Last Airbender Spinoff’s Reviews Are Still So Divisive
One of the biggest issues likely stems from the fact that The Legend of Korra came out seven years after ATLA. This means that many people who enjoyed the previous series, and may have even frequently returned to it, were older than the target audience when The Legend of Korra came out.
Now, while The Legend of Korra makes an even greater effort to age up the stories somewhat and deal with issues similar to those that ATLA handled, it was still being released on a channel largely aimed at kids and young teenagers. As much as nostalgia kept ATLA in the hearts of its audience, Korra was not afforded that same level of acceptance.
On top of that, the death of almost all the characters who appeared in the original series meant that this had to be a very different story, and audiences may have been yearning to see more of Aang as the Avatar and how he brought the Four Nations together. However, the most engaging and innovative stories had to be set after Aang’s death, or else risk dampening his legacy after the original series.
14 Years Later, The Legend Of Korra’s Legacy Has Only Improved
Regardless of the challenges The Legend of Korra faced, the series has continued to gain more admiration and respect in the years since it was released. The reason for this is likely due to the fact that it’s now reaching the right audience and being viewed in association with ATLA rather than as a replacement.
In a lot of ways, The Legend of Korra was more willing to approach topics that were taboo in 2005, and it made greater efforts to explore mature themes in a way that connected with its young audience. It also reinvented the world of the franchise and innovated in ways that hadn’t been seen in all of ATLA.
Sure, it had its flaws, and it may not have been wrapped up quite as neatly as ATLA, but The Legend of Korra’s story, characters, and themes are all equally impressive and deserve more love. Thankfully, it appears that the show is being viewed in a much better light today, 14 years after it debuted.
- Release Date
-
2012 – 2014
- Network
-
Nickelodeon
- Showrunner
-
Bryan Konietzko, Michael Dante DiMartino
- Directors
-
Colin Heck, Joaquim Dos Santos, Ki Hyun Ryu, Melchior Zwyer
- Writers
-
Joshua Hamilton, Tim Hedrick
-
Janet Varney
Korra (voice)
-
David Faustino
Mako (voice)