The sequel to
Avatar: The Last Airbender is finally here! Though with a new Avatar comes a new world, problems, and issues.
Credits & Solicit Info:
Review:
Taking place seventy years after the finale of
Avatar: The Last Airbender Chapter Three: Fire, the world has a new Avatar in Korra. Like the numerous Avatars before her, she has trained in all save one of the four elements, air. To finish her training she'll have to travel to Republic City, a place built on the hopes and dreams of the late Avatar Aang and Firelord Zuko.
Watching this episode. it felt like slipping on something you're very comfortable with. The world of
Avatar: The Last Airbender was a grand one full of so many wonderful things. The only problem was there were too MANY ripe story opportunities to be told. Enter this series, which instantly gives you the connections of the previous series but now with an all new batch of characters (save one: an elderly Katara). All the things that made the previous series well loved are still here. The writing, animation, and music are just something to behold.
With the new Avatar, we get completely new characters and I'll start with Korra. The moment we see her, we can already tell the big difference between her and the previous Avatar, Aang. Korra is, well, very physical in her acts and isn't very good on the spiritual side, a complete one-eighty flip of what Aang was. So we already know what her great flaws and motivations for the early parts of this series will be.
The other batch of new characters are also compelling, showcasing that even though it's been seventy years, the effects of the previous series are still felt. There is only one Airbending Master in the world and that is Tenzin, Aang's youngest son. Metal bending is now an elite style of earth bending, all thanks to Toph's teachings. Of course, the biggest effect appears to be the final technique learned in the previous series, spirit bending, and it has fallen into the hands of the series villain, Amon and his Equalists.
Speaking of Amon, his reasons for being the antagonist in the series is an intriguing idea. I always wondered when the show would handle the subject of the prejudices of normal folk against the other class of benders. Here, the ideas are all laid out with the Equalists thinking the time of bending is a thing of the past.
The other ongoing subplots introduced are also fascinating. The head of the metal bending police (who just so happens to be Toph's daughter) isn't exactly on friendly terms with Aang's family. I'm curious to know why. Regardless the instead rivalry sparked in this episode between Korra and Chief Beifong should be interesting when it's expanded in future episodes. Also, to have Katara be asked what happened to Zuko's mother and "her answer" made me bust a gut.
As with the past series, everything is top of the line with
Legend of Korra. The fluid equal nature of the fighting, art, characters, music, and story are all there. With this first episode, we get an amazing re-introduction to this world and just like the previous, it's so darn amazing to behold. The episode did a fantastic job introducing all the small and larger plots for the show. I can't really find any true flaws because this episode did a perfect job reintroducing and showing all the new ideas at play here.
5 out of 5
Review by: Zechs
http://www.theouthousers.com/index.php/reviews/entertainment-reviews/18994-legend-of-korra-101-welcome-to-republic-city.html/
by LOLtron » Thu Apr 12, 2012 3:30 pm 
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