Whenever one thinks of a protagonist of an animated series, one starts picturing a character who does no wrong and is always humble, down to earth, and always trying to help others. However, this image is far from the character sketch of Korra, the protagonist of The Legend of Korra, the series that served as a sequel to Avatar: The Last Airbender.
The creators of Avatar: The Last Airbender talks about the character of Korra
Avatar: The Last Airbender was an animated series created by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko that aired from 2005 to 2008. The series revolved around the story of Avatar Aang, the last Airbender who would bring an end to 100 years of war and establish an era of peace.
After the end of Avatar: The Last Airbender, Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko decided to make a sequel to the series. The Legend of Korra revolves around the story of Avatar Korra, a reincarnation of Aang who is now responsible for establishing and maintaining peace after the death of her predecessor.
However, the character of Kora wasn’t like her predecessor at all. Unlike Avatar Aang who was very humble and kind, Avatar Kora was very stubborn, rude, and even hot-headed at times. As a result, the fans did not connect to The Legend of Korra as well as they did with Avatar: The Last Airbender.
The creators of the show, Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko once even appeared for an interview with Polygon and opened up about how the character of Korra was deliberately made different from Aang. Konietzko said,
“It was a deliberate choice to make Korra a very different character from Aang in multiple ways. That provided so many new opportunities with the stories and character dynamics. And it would have only served to water down what was great about Aang’s character if we just made a carbon copy of him with the next Avatar.
He’s such a goofy, affable, optimistic kid, so making his successor a stubborn, pugnacious, angsty teenager was bound to put off a lot of people, and I remember plenty of fan reactions to that effect. If I was surprised at anything, it may have been that it seemed like people were less willing to let her make mistakes than they were with Aang.”
Although the character traits of Korra were very different from those of Aang’s, she also gathered a huge fan following by the end of The Legend of Korra as she matured throughout the series.
A lot of fans also resonated with the character of Korra
Not all fans of animated series look at the world through a frame of flowers and sunshine all the time, and these fans were definitely able to resonate with the character of Korra at times.
Bryan Konietzko also opened up about the same in an interview with Polygon and talked about how many fans including himself were able to relate more to the story of Korra than they did with Aang’s. He said,
“On the flipside, there are also plenty of people who related to and connected deeply with Korra, and I am one of them. Our main characters aren’t just fictional storytelling devices to me. After the years spent toiling to manifest their stories, they become very real people in my heart and mind.
And by the end of that grueling production I felt very close to Korra. I definitely have much more in common with her personality than I do with Aang’s, and her personal struggles and growth felt very real to me.”
The Legend of Korra was a massive critical success when the series premiered first back in April 2012. However, due to multiple reasons including a change in the show’s timings and multiple download services on the internet, the show saw a significant decline in its ratings and viewership.
All seasons of The Legend of Korra are currently streaming on Netflix.
