Finally, after four years of anticipation, Legend of Korra, the sequel to Avatar: The Last Airbender, premiered today.

The Last Airbender was an amazing show that blended humor and life-lessons in the lovable way of the cartoons of old, yet was also somehow still a show adults could enjoy. I can clearly remember laughing AND crying while watching the series and the ending broke my heart because I wanted to stay in this unique world of  compelling characters. I’ve been waiting anxiously for the Legend of Korra ever since.

So how does the series add up so far? I’ve only seen two episodes and I’m already immensely impressed. They’ve managed to keep a lot of the details we all loved about the first Avatar, while establishing a completely new show and an amazing new protagonist.

The Breakdown

The Same

• A lovable, over-sized pet returns in the form of Naga
• Katara returns
• Events that happened in the first series are mentioned and teased about
• We run into children of the original cast
• The music: Oh my the music
• The comedic timing is an impeccable as ever
• Although voice actor Mako has passed on, his name continues in the form of Mako the pro-bender

  

Different

• The show is set in one city: Republic City, instead of all over the world.
• The animosity between benders and non-benders has grown
• Pro-bending is a new sport involving bending and teammates
• Most of the original cast have passed away
• The world seems to have evolved into the 1920s. There are radios, cars and blimps
• The Order of the White Lotus seem more like mean adults than the liberating, fun adults they were in the first series

Korra

Where to start? How about a quote from the child version of Korra “I’m the avatar! You gotta deal with it!” Korra is almost the polar opposite of Aang. She is a few years older than Aang and comes to us with all of the bending elements mastered except for Air. She’s feisty, headstrong, brave and impatient.

As a woman with young nieces, I am so thrilled that she is who she is. Nickelodeon likes to mention that she is a tomboy, but unlike most kiddie shows, no mention has been made IN SHOW (so far… I’m only two episodes in) about this fact.  She fights, she wears pants, her skin is brown and she breaks all the rules. And no one tells her she shouldn’t do any of that because she is a girl. I could not have made a better protagonist myself.

However, if there is anything negative I can say about the show so far, it would be that I worry about them being able to make Korra grow any more awesome, and thus, she runs the risk of becoming an uninteresting character. Hopefully their handling of her having weaknesses and overcoming them can bypass this issue.

Should You Watch This Series?

Yes, yes, a thousand times: yes. Judging by the first two episodes, I have no concern that The Legend of Korra will be as fun to watch as Avatar: The Last Airbender. I watched the episodes again prior to writing this, and I have to say the fights were just as thrilling, the music was just as perfect, and the characters were just as loveable. I look forward to meeting more interesting young people in this world and in discovering how Korra finally manages to tap into her spiritual side.

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