Following the success of the Nickelodeon animated series Avatar: The Last Airbender, showrunners Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko created a follow-up series titled The Legend of Korra which is set 70 years after its predecessor. The series, which ran for 4 seasons, was well-received for its narrative and character sketches.
The story follows the central protagonist Korra who is the next Avatar after Aang, and her journey towards conquering the elements. A unique feature of every new Avatar, as analyzed by ardent fans, was their ability to fix the so-called failures or regrets of their earlier incarnations. In this regard, Korra too was able to bring Aang’s incomplete mission that involved the spirit and the human world, a full circle.
How Aang’s Successor Fulfilled His Dream And Continued This Trend
The Legend of Korra, which followed the popular Avatar: The Last Airbender, found a steady fan base thanks to a solid narrative that traced the journey of the titular protagonist’s quest to become the next Avatar after Aang. One of the interesting features of every new Avatar who took over, was the fact that he or she managed to complete an unfinished mission which their predecessor could not.
A hawk-eyed fan on Reddit pointed this out succinctly through various examples that elaborated on every Avatar who took over from the previous incarnations. For example, Roku’s biggest regret in the show was his inability to quell the threat of the Fire Nation, which eventually started the 100 year war. This was overcome by his successor Aang who defeated the Fire Lord Ozai and brought peace to the four nations.
Similarly, one of Aang’s biggest regrets was not being able to find a peaceful compromise between the spirit and human world which resulted in the spirits wanting to have nothing to do with him. In keeping with the aforementioned trend, the next Avatar, Korra, succeeded in finding this balance between the two forces that Aang was so desperate to achieve.
Meanwhile, another user alluded to Aang’s long absence from the world when he ran away and used the Avatar State to freeze himself in ice for a century. During this period, the Fire Nation wiped out the Air Nomads and conquered most of the world. Though Aang ultimately made up for this by defeating the Fire Nation upon awakening, the user hinted that this could be what haunted him the most.
I always thought Aang’s biggest regret is not being there for his people.
A fellow Redditor who concurred with this assessment, linked this to the original discussion about each Avatar completing the earlier incarnation’s unfinished desires. They stated that Aang’s inability to be physically present during this crucial time made Korra all the more persistent to stand up for her people.
The Legend Of Korra Creators Took Inspiration From This Studio Ghibli Film
The Legend of Korra which followed the popular animated series Avatar: The Last Airbender, was praised for its solid narrative that continued the legacy of the airbenders after Aang through the journey of Korra. Despite a benchmark already being set by its predecessor, the show received critical acclaim for continuing to push the narrative forward with a fresh spin.
One of the defining factors that worked for the script, was the portrayal of the antagonists that Korra faces during her quest to become the Avatar. While the tendency in many instances is to paint villains in one tone only, The Legend of Korra applied various grey shades to the characters as well.
The antagonist, Zaheer, is considered one of the most versatile villains of the story. As someone with a mysterious and painful past, his brutal actions have reasons that echo strongly with a lot of human sentiments. Despite being a negative character, many of his opinions regarding a lot of issues that plague the society made a deep impact with audiences.
Showrunner Bryan Konietzko spoke to Polygon about these intricate nuances to the character and how he felt that even a villain could make people contemplate the truths of life. The creator revealed that the inspiration to bring humanity to a negative character came from the popular Studio Ghibli film Princess Mononoke.
If a character is simply ‘evil’ and aware of it, then that’s really static for me. It is far more dynamic and realistic if that character believes they are on the right side. One of the things that resonated with me so deeply about Princess Mononoke was how there weren’t any villains, but rather people with competing interests.
This unique way of depicting differences touched a chord with Konietzko and fellow writer Michael Dante DiMartino, who were then inspired to write characters in these shades for the series. Their efforts were rewarded, with audiences and critics lauding the way these roles were depicted.
All 4 seasons of The Legend of Korra can be streamed on Netflix.
