Legend of Korra: Series Finale Review

The Legend of Korra's one hour series finale has arrived, and as sad as it is to see the series come to a close, the finale does not disappoint.

*Full Spoilers Ahead*

Team Avatar Assemble!

Wow, The Legend of Korra has finally come to an end. Even though the season as a whole has not been the best, the two-part series finale, titled "Day of the Colossus" and "The Last Stand," raises both the scale and the stakes to a entirely different level. Each season finale of Korra has gone bigger and more grand with each season finale, and nothing tops this final battle with Korra and everyone working together to defeat Kuvira's giant mecha, which the characters actually refer to as a "mecha." As stated in an insightful article on Forbes.com, which you can read here, , Korra's finales demonstrate a mastery of escalation, with each one having bigger stakes and a grander scale.

The first 20 minutes are, essentially, one giant action set piece that rivals most of Hollywood and even Japanese animation! Seeing everyone work together reminds me of The Avengers in scale, and it is truly amazing to witness. From the Airbenders attack to Korra using the four elements, the entire assault culminated with the most impression action sequence in the franchise’s history.

With so much going on, someone had to die, and even though it was not one of the main cast, killing off Asami's father, Hiroshi, aka Hayao Miyazaki, was a satisfying choice, after the series set up his possible redemption previously in the series. The emotional impact of Hiroshi’s death was relatively effective, although Mako’s death-experience should have ended with him actually dying, instead of Bolin saving him. Mako is a decent character, and he is the perfect character to kill off since the fandom will not rage over his death, but rather his noble sacrifice would have made up for his romantic troubles that the fandom still seems to hate him for. 

In the episode, there was only a small issue: Prince Wu. Yep, he has plagued the entire season, and while he has certainly had his moments, his singing was not necessary, or at least not so much of it. However, the use of Badgermoles did remind of the Avatar episode "The Cave of Two Lovers."

Varrick's proposal to Zhu Li's and their marriage towards the end of the episode is both a satisfying end to their relationship, and classic way to end a comedy play in old literature. However, I was a bit surprised that Bolin read them their vows, although there is nothing like a preacher in the Avatar. Also, Varrick asking Zhu Li to "do the thing" with him was a decidedly Varrick way to propose.

Kuvira's final scene with Korra is a relatively satisfying way to end her dictatorial reign, although her villainy was kind of undermined in that scene. As a whole, Kuvira has been an excellent antagonist in the series, who ranks among the best in the franchise. As Korra said, there are some similarities between Kuvira and Korra, but they took different paths to reach the same goal. An antagonist mirroring the hero is not uncommon, but it is executed well in this final episode.

To end the series, Korra and Asami's friendship concludes with them going on an adventure to the Spirit World. In a way, their friendship reminds me a lot of Frodo and Sam in the Lord of the Rings, especially the book version, in that have been through so much together in their adventures that they just want to take a vacation. You do not often see, what many like to call, a "bromance," or rather "sismance," with two female characters, especially in an action/fantasy franchise, so what The Legend of Korra has done is great. Generally, The Legend of Korra is a series that features a predominantly female cast, and yet it never feels as though it is trying to force a message or leaving out the male audience. 

Overall 10/10- The Legend of Korra concludes the series in epic fashion. While it does not throw in many twists, it provides a fitting send off to our favorite characters with themes that come full circle to a more than satisfying conclusion. In the end, The Legend of Korra had its flaws; however, when it delivered, it did so in spades, especially in the finales, and no finale is more epic and satisfying than this one. In fact, as far as series finales go, this might just be the best...

If you are a Legend of Korra fan that is looking for something to fill the void, I highly recommend that you watch Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, and you can read my review for that series by clicking here for part one, and here for part two.

WHY DOES IT HAVE TO BE OVER!

If you want to contact us or have any questions please send an e-mail to johnstarslayer@gmail.com.

Legend of Korra: Kuvira's Gambit Review

Kuvira begins her assault on Republic City in "Kuvira's Gambit." 

*Spoilers Ahead*

As before, since you should have already watched the episode, a recap of the story should be not necessary. With that said, most of Team Avatar is finally back together, except for Asami, who is still sidelined. However, with a larger focus on the Beifong family, I do not mind it all that much. I am not sure about the rest of you, but the Beifongs continue to be the highlight of whatever episode that they are featured in. Suyin is quickly becoming one of my favorite characters, and her interaction with her son is very well done, and it adds some good drama.

Prince Wu actually has another great moment when he addresses the city to help lead the evacuation. Throughout the season, Wu is shown to be an idiot, yet there is still some good in him. 

Korra and the Airbender's covert mission to capture Bataar, with the assistance of the other Airbenders, is a very fun scene. Finally, Tenzin is able to do something this season, along with his brother.

Finally, the episode ends with Kuvira using the Spirit Vine ray to attempt to kill Korra, at the cost of even her future husband, Bataar. Kuvira is a truly ruthless antagonist, and her willingness to sacrifice her lover is a great way to show her commitment to the cause. The episode also concludes with an implied possible death of certain characters. Since the series is still technically "family-friendly," they might not be able to kill off one of the characters. However, I am really hoping that since this is the final season, the creators are willing to kill off one of the main heroes, as unlikely as that is to happen.

In terms of animation, the long distance frames showing the city are superbly drawn. However, the episode also featured some oddly placed still frames. Throughout season four, there is a noticeable lack of either budget or time to complete the animation, with various parts that are clearly trying to save money. The average viewer might not notice the drop in budget throughout, but as an animation enthusiast, it is most definitely noticeable. At least the action sequences are great! 

Overall: 8.6/10- "Kuvira's Gambit" is yet another strong episode of The Legend of Korra. Please be sure to check back tomorrow for my review of the series finale.

If you want to contact us or have any questions please send an e-mail to johnstarslayer@gmail.com.

Legend of Korra: Operation Beifong Review

The Beifongs return in "Operation Beifong."

*Spoilers Ahead*

Yes! Toph is back! After her scenes earlier in the season with Korra, I never expected to see her again, but it was great for her to meet her daughters again, and it was especially awesome for her to team up with Lin and the others in a rescue mission. Bolin's reaction to Toph is one of the highlights of the episode in terms of humor, because he essentially expressed the fanbase's reaction to Toph. 

All of Toph's interaction, backstory, and character drama with Lin were easily the best part of the episode. After last season's Lin and Suyin drama being a highlight, the brief allusion to Toph's backstory was great. Continuing to be the mouthpiece of the fandom in the episode, Bolin asks the long awaited question: Who is Lin's father.... And the answer is..... Kanto, just a guy named Kanto. To my knowledge, he was never mentioned in anything Avatar related before, so he is really just a one-off name for the fans to write fanfic novels about, because you know that is going to happen. All Toph said about Kanto was, "Nice man, but it didn't really work out between us." It was not disappointing by any means, but at least we got something! 

Korra's short side-plot with the Spirits being unwilling to help the Republic City was a necessary plot point to further the story over on her end, although it was not all that interesting. 

Towards the later part of the episode, the action was definitely a strong point with some stunningly animated action sequences. Suyin's battle with Kuvira was superbly executed. Metalbending in general is just freaking awesome, but Suyin's elegant fighting-style is stunning to watch, especially her grabbing some metal and using it as armor. Conversely, Kuvira's style of bending is more visceral and aggressive, which fits perfectly with her militaristic personality.

Zhu Li turning out to be a double-agent is apparently not surprising for most of the fanbase, but I do wish she remained an antagonist. She had the motivation. Varrick was a jerk to her, and she was never overtly good either.

Lastly, after freeing her family, Toph returns to her swamp, because fighting wars is a young person's game. It would seem that this is the last that we are going to see of Toph, unfortunately. 

Overall: 8.7/10- "Operation Beifong" is a return to form for TLOK, being one of its best episodes in the last few weeks, thanks to the Beifong centered story, drama, and action.

If you want to contact us or have any questions please send an e-mail to johnstarslayer@gmail.com.

Legend of Korra: Beyond the Wilds Review

After the clipshow, aka plot-stalling, of the last episode, The Legend of Korra starts to move in the right direction with "Beyond the Wilds." 

*Spoilers Ahead*

Most of the episode focused on the Spirit Vines attacking the people of Republic city because of Kuvira's army cutting them to fuel her weapons. Well, I will keep this review short. A lot of the episode leading up to Korra's meeting with Zaheer was decent, and mostly well done. Although, as usual Prince Wu is often annoying, and Bolin is not as funny as the creators thinks he is. However, finally getting to see more of the leader of the Fire Nation was great. I suppose she is the daughter of Zuko. She does not do much, but it is interesting to hear more about the Fire Nation since very little has been revealed about them. 

As before, Varrick is surprisingly fun and entertaining to watch in all of his crazy antics, and having Varrick work with Asami was a fun idea as well, considering their history together.

However, the highlight of the episode was Korra trying to overcome her inner problems to connect with the Spirit World by confronting Zaheer. Zaheer is probably the best villain in TLOK, and having him reintroduced as a mentor of sorts to Korra is an excellent twist. What made Zaheer such an interesting antagonist is that his intentions are not entirely evil; misguided maybe, but not truly evil. Therefore, Zaheer helping Korra defeat Kuvira makes sense, and the scenes between the characters were excellent.

Overall: 8.4/10- Thanks to the scene between Korra and Zaheer, "Beyond the Wilds" is a solid episode for the series.

If you want to contact us or have any questions please send an e-mail to johnstarslayer@gmail.com.

Legend of Korra: Remembrance Review

With the Legend of Korra series coming to a close, the plot is going to move forward, right? Right!?

*Spoilers Ahead*

Unfortunately, no, "Remembrance" is a recap episode with only about five minutes of new footage. The previous episode, "Reunion," seemed to be stalling for time with its superfluous side plots, and "Remembrance" is a near complete waste of time. However, it is not completely without its merits.

For viewers who watched the Legend of Korra from the beginning, this recap episode probably helped remind viewers about the events of previous seasons, although having watched both Avatar and Korra series a few months ago, this was not all that necessary of a reminder. 

If you are familiar with anime, it is notorious for airing recap episodes to buy time for the production crew to make new episodes. However, those recap episodes are often labeled as episode "6.5" or something to that effect because it does not affect the overall number of episodes. Unfortunately, "Remembrance" is the eighth episode of the season in of twelve or thirteen episodes in total, which is disappointing. Apparently, creator, Bryan Konietzko posted on Tumblr that the series' budget was cut, so they either had to layoff some crew or make a "clip show," and obviously he went with the clip show. You can read his full post here.

With all of my disappointment and explanation out of the way, "Remembrance" was not a bad episode all things considered. The creators said that adding a bit of new footage and some narration by the characters in the context of the story was inspired by the anime, Samurai Champloo, an anime by Shinichirō Watanabe, the creator of Cowboy Bebop and Terror in Resonance.

"Remembrance" was split up into three parts following Mako's side of the story, Korra and Asami's one, and then Varrick and Bolin's amusing retelling.

Mako telling Prince Wu about his romantic shortcomings with Korra and Asami was surprisingly entertaining to watch. It is kind of surprisingly to be reminded by how much romantic action Mako had throughout the first two seasons, and all of the trouble that it caused. The commentary by Prince Wu and Mako's family was funny for the most part. 

Korra and Asami's part of the episode proved to be the most boring with a simple and straightforward narration of the series. It did not feature any fun commentary or humor, and Korra and Asami literally just told each other everything that they already knew for no reason.

Varrick and Bolin's part of the episode offered some amusing moments with Varrick hijacking the actual story in favor of his absurd retelling. By combining a lot of footage throughout the previous seasons, even if some altered editing, it managed to make fun of the series with some great metahumor like taking a shot at how boring of an antagonist season two had. 

One aspect of this episode stood out to me, the difference in animation between the previous seasons and season four. Even though season two is the weakest of the series in terms of animation, seasons one and three seem to be more refined and contain far better use of shadows than this current season. Season four appears to be more one note with its shading and use of color. Hopefully season four will improve in these final few episodes. 

What could have been TLOK's "Ember Island Players," had some of the fun commentary about the previous events, but it still did not deliver anything necessary in the overall story.

Overall: 6.5/10- As far as recap episodes go, "Remembrance" is one of the better ones. That being said, it is still a recap episode in the final season of an already short series, and regardless of the behind the scenes problems (screw Nickelodeon), "Remembrance" felt like a waste of precious time. 

If you want to contact us or have any questions please send an e-mail to johnstarslayer@gmail.com.

Legend of Korra: Reunion Review

"Reunion," an episode about, well, reunions....

*Spoilers Ahead*

Finally, after six episodes, the gang is back together again, for the most part at least. Korra, Asami, and Mako reunite over dinner, and they are unfortunately accompanied by the ever annoying Prince Wu. For the first few minutes of the reunion, the interaction between Asami and Korra was good to see again. Their friendship was one of the better aspects of the previous season, and with three years since seeing each other; the two do have a little conflict. Unfortunately, the character interaction is interrupted by Prince Wu being kidnapped for what would become a mostly unnecessary side plot. With the series winding down to its final episodes, it is this filler with Prince Wu all that necessary? Sure, Kuvira would want to capture Wu, but it does not seem to be all that important in the grand scheme of things by the resolution. The only relevant thing to come out of it is Korra showing off her spirit tracking power. On the plus side, the action is as entertaining as ever, and it ends with the three reminiscing about the adventure being like old times. 

The other part of the episode focused on Varrick and Bolin. Varrick has gone from a character that is occasionally annoying to surprisingly entertaining, and he has even had some development, so it was actually Bolin that delivered a few of the more annoying moments. Again, with the series coming to an end, their little side story seemed unnecessarily dragged out. Almost everything important in the episode with both storylines could have been covered in half the time if it was not for the superfluous sidequests. 

Overall: 7.7/10- While still fun and entertaining at times, "Reunion" could have either focused more on the characters or progressed the plot forward. Unfortunately, it still seems to be stalling until the finale. 

If you want to contact us or have any questions please send an e-mail to johnstarslayer@gmail.com.

Legend of Korra: Battle of Zaofu Review

After my hiatus from Legend of Korra reviews, I have returned with a review for "Battle of Zaofu."

*Spoilers Ahead*

After Kuvira threatens to take Zaofu by force, Suyin takes a strike team to eliminate Kuvira, and are then captured. Since it is difficult for me to write much and that this is a spoiler review, therefore you know what happened in the episode, I will not reiterate much about the plot in these following episode reviews. 

My initial impression of "Battle of Zaofu" is that is a very solid episode of the Legend of Korra. Finally, Kuvira and Korra face off in the best battle of the season. Season four has had some good fights, but none are even close to this one with Korra entering the Avatar State, yet still getting beaten down by Kuvira. Thus far, Kuvira is one bad*ss antagonist, yet she is not entirely evil either, so it makes her a little more complex. Her Bending style is unique and very interesting to watch in comparison to Korra's Bending style, but seeing an all out barrage of the four elements by Korra was great as well. Also, the music during the battle amplified the feeling of desperation after Korra's defeat to an excellent degree. 

The rest of the episode focused on Bolin and Varrick making an escape, and it proved to be Varrick's best episode by far. After being a coward a lot of the time when anything dangerous happened, Varrick was actually ready to die to stop Kuvira from creating the super weapon. That is a great character moment for him. Plus, his line "that gut Varrick-ed himself because some girl Zhu-Li-ed" was hilarious!

Also, the one scene with Suyin's emo son teaching the kids to paint was funny. 

Overall: 8.7/10- "Battle of Zaofu" is an entertaining and action heavy episode that is finally moving the plot forward, plus it gives Varrick some great character moments. 

Please check back tomorrow for my review of the next episode.

If you want to contact us or have any questions please send an e-mail to johnstarslayer@gmail.com.

Legend of Korra: Enemy at the Gates Review

Legend of Korra continues to progress the plot with "Enemy at the Gates."

*Spoilers Ahead*

With the Avatar back in action, the focus moves to Kuvira and her army moving on the city of Zaofu.

Much of the episode revolves around Bolin, and moving his character into place for the continuation of the plot. Bolin has always been dense, but for being three years older, he is still too gullible, even for him. How does Bolin not know at least some very basic information about what Kuvira is doing? He has been traveling with her for quite some time, yet he knows next to nothing? That is a bit farfetched, even for Bolin. Other than Bolin's comedy being hit and miss, the episode was mostly good. 

Kuvira declaring that Suyin hands over Zaofu or she will take it from her is a good way to setup the conflict for the next few episodes. What makes the conflict more interesting is that Kuvira is not entirely wrong. Like she said, she had to done some questionable things to bring peace, so from some a certain perspective, she is not all bad. But of course, that is what many militant dictators see themselves as at first. 

After several seasons of being pure comic relief, Varrick actually starts to show hints of character development. Of course, he still had his moments of humor, especially measuring weight in "Zhu Li's" and voltage in "Varrick's," but after the spirit vine exploded, Varrick actually reconsidered his alliance with Kuvira. Another great turn was Zhu Li's change of allegiance to Kuvira's side. If you remember the previous scene when Varrick saves Zhu Li, which makes her think for a second that Varrick actually cares about her. Of course, being the guy that Varrick is, he quickly tells her to get this mess cleaned up, which is probably the point where Zhu Li's respect of Varrick begins to wane, until she snaps later in the episode. Finally seeing Zhu Li and Varrick have some sort of conflict actually added some needed drama to the episode. 

Another plot intertwined in the episode is Asami's reunion with her father. After not seeing her last episode, this quick glimpse into her personal life is a bit familiar to other stories, but it is no less effective. 

Lavabending FTW!

Lastly in terms of plot, Korra finally makes her arrival in Zaofu. After a quick expository conversation with Suyin about Kuvira's past, which reveals that Suyin essentially raised Kuvira as her daughter and how Kuvira started her mission as the “Great Uniter." Suyin suggests that Korra use the Avatar State to destroy Kuvira's army, which is a surprising, albeit very reasonable, request consider Suyin's past. Instead, Korra states that the old Korra would likely attack, but she wants to negotiate.

In terms of production value, "Enemy at the Gates" is about typical by TLOK standards. However, the 3D rendered mecha suits are not really preferred, but not bad either. Personally, 3D animation should not mix with 2D, but with that being said, it blended a lot better than most. The action scene itself was fine. It was nothing special by Korra standards, but Bolin's Lava-bending looked fantastic visually. 

Overall: 8.0/10- Again, "Enemy at the Gates" is the type of episode that the pieces of the plot in motion, although, we are almost at the halfway point, so, hopefully, the next episode will begin to move the plot forward. 

If you want to contact us or have any questions please send an e-mail to johnstarslayer@gmail.com.

Legend of Korra: The Calling Review

Korra continues to find her way in "The Calling." 

*Spoilers Ahead*

After three strong episodes, "The Calling" is a bit of a letdown, yet still a lot of fun at times. With Korra out still overcoming her inner struggle with Toph in the swamp, Tenzin's kids, Jinora, Ikki and Meelo are sent out to find Korra and bring her home. 

As expected with an episode focusing on the kids, there is an unfortunate amount of juvenile humor. Considering that the Legend of Korra has been so mature in the last few episodes, the shift to a more child like tone, akin to the first season of The Last Airbender, is off putting. However, the kids' adventure did seem like a fun throwback to The Last Airbender as times, and Ikki's line, "Remember when he used to be so nice and sweet?" with Junora replying "No," did make me laugh. One small issue about Jinora's character design is that even though she is just as old as the characters in TLA, her character design still looks a little too young. Maybe I have just been watching too much anime, but shouldn't see look a little older?

Meelo is annoying as ever, although he did have a few good moments. The conflict between the siblings felt fittingly juvenile for kids their age, although not all that interesting. Ikki being captured by the Kuvira's soldiers again felt like a throwback to TLA's first season, but not necessarily in a good way. In many ways, a lot of the kids' scenes could have been cut to make room for more Korra and Toph. 

 

While 3/4 of the episode focused on the kids, we did get to see more of Toph and Korra, which is always welcome. Toph continued to be the Toph that we all know and love. At the end of the episode with Korra hugging Toph was both hilarious and satsifying, especially after last week's "Go hug a tree joke." The Korra scenes in general, ending with Korra removing the poison from body were satisfying, and provided an end to Korra’s character arc setup in the beginning of the season. If the series season lasted longer than 13 episodes, it would have been great to have another episode with Toph in the swamp, but the plot needs to move forward. One thing did strike me as odd, which was what Toph said about their old adventures from TLA series. How did Toph know about the giant turtle? Maybe Aang told her, otherwise she would not have known (unless I am forgetting something).

Now with Korra back in action and able to enter the Avatar State, Korra's battle against Kuvira's forces is likely to beginning soon.

Overall: 7.9/10- While a bit juvenile, "The Calling" is fun episode that is necessary to move the plot forward. 

If you want to contact us or have any questions please send an e-mail to johnstarslayer@gmail.com.

Legend of Korra: The Coronation Review

Legend of Korra continues its unraveling plot of political intrigue and Korra's attempt at redemption with "The Coronation."

"The Coronation" is an episode light on action and heavy on plot development, which is a good thing. 

*Spoilers Ahead*

As expected, Kuvira takes control of the Earth Kingdom during Prince Wu's coronation ceremony, and sets herself up to the antagonist of the season, although her actions are not all that unreasonable. Why exactly no one did anything when she took the stage during Prince Wu’s coronation? All of the world leaders and the police were right there!?

Prince Wu continues to be annoying, which is my only issue with the episode, although even he had some surprisingly character development moments. With Bolin working for Kuvira's forces and Mako protecting Prince Wu, seeing the brothers’ conflict on what is right is an interesting direction. In fact, I expected Bolin not to side with Mako and Republic City, although turning him against his brother is a better twist. I wonder how long it will take before Bolin and Mako are on the same side again. All of the events in Republic City continue to build upon the moral gray area of who is right and who is wrong in terms of Kuvira's takeover of the Earth Kingdom. Thus far, everything is working thematically, to the point where it almost reflexes some elements of season two of The Last Airbender. My only question about the scenes that take place in Republic City is where is Asami? 

In terms of animation, something seemed to be slightly off. Mako's face during the dialogue exchange below seemed a bit off. Other than that, the animation was solid.

Moving on to Korra and Toph's part of the story in the swamp. In many ways, an elderly Toph in the swamp training Korra is much like Yoda and Luke in the Empire Strikes Back, particularly last episode's parallel to the "The Cave." Seeing Toph again is just great! Anime dub veteran, Philece Sampler (Kill la Kill, Eureka Seven), voices this older version of Toph, and she did such a good job in the episode! She sounds exactly like how I imagined an older Toph sounding. The writers of Korra have made Toph exactly as I remembered her from The Last Airbender by bringing back her humor and wit. Basically, Toph steals every scene she is in. Towards the end of the episode, Toph tells Korra that she might not want to be healed and become the Avatar again, because that she is afraid to be hurt again. Thematically, this scene was the highlight of the episode.

Overall: 8.4/10- While not as poignant as last week's masterpiece, "The Coronation" continues to set the plot in motion in a political plot of moral ambiguity, as well as continuing Korra's struggle.

What did you think of the episode? Please comment below and let me know!

Best Toph scene!

If you want to contact us or have any questions please send an e-mail to johnstarslayer@gmail.com.

Legend of Korra: Korra Alone Review

With the first episode of the season catching the audience up on what has happened to all of the characters, except Korra, "Korra Alone" follows Korra during the three years after the events of last season. 

Before going into spoilers about the episode, "Korra Alone" is easily the best episode of television that I have seen from the fall TV season. It explores Korra's inner struggle and PSD after what happened in the season three finale. Much like "Zuko Alone," which is one of more notable episodes from the Avatar series, "Korra Alone" displays a similar degree of sophistication and character complexity that Korra's character needed. 

As always, the production value is top notch with its usual stunning animation. Korra's character design is my only small complaint about the episode in general because it does not seem different enough compared to the other characters. However, she did appear to be altered in a few ways.                                                                                                  What made "Korra Alone" different than some other episodes is how it was able to make the audience feel the emotional journey Korra went through in the three years in a mere 20 minutes. It is truly a masterpiece of storytelling, and one the best Legend of Korra episodes to date.

Overall 9.8/10- "Korra Alone" is a masterpiece of a character focused episode that explores Korra's inner struggle, as well as providing the audience is an unexpected cameo. 

*Spoilers for the episode are ahead*

 We finally get to see Toph! Even though Korra said something about Toph in the trailer, I actually forgot all about the trailer while watching the episode, so I was shocked when that old woman turned around to reveal that she is Toph. It even gave me chills! As a massive Toph fan, it is great to finally see another member of the original Avatar cast make appearances in the series. She was mentioned last season, so it was only a matter of time before she had at least a cameo. Fingerscrossed that we will get a flashback to the original Team Avatar as adults! Also, does anyone know how Avatar Aang died? He was younger than Zuko, yet he still lives.

Aside from Toph, Korra seeing the Avatar State version of herself is an intriguing idea. Watching Korra trying to recover from her paralysis and then having to battle her inner self provided a compelling conflict for the episode. However, what exactly is this other version of herself that is haunting her? The little spirit guy, who was mildly annoying, was able to see it, so it was not entirely in her head. A lot of the episode actually reminded me of the Cave from the Empire Strikes Back where Luke entered and saw the Darth Vader version of himself. 

Now that the series has set all of the pieces in motion, what direction will they take? I am excited to find out.

What did you think of the episode? Please comment below and let me know.

*Cue Massive Nerd Chills*

If you want to contact us or have any questions please send an e-mail to johnstarslayer@gmail.com.

Legend of Korra: Book 4 Premiere Review

Legend of Korra: Book 4 is off to a strong start with the season premiere. For those who have not seen the episode, the first part of my review will be spoiler free, and you can click here to watch the episode on the official website.

Taking place three years after the events of Book 3, the episode, "After All These Years," shows from the start that this season is going to feature some strong themes of political corruption, dictatorships, and the price of true freedom. Of the three main cast, the character models have been altered to show the difference in age with the characters now being around 20-ish. Asami's character model shows the larger change than the Bolin or Mako, and the jury is out for Korra, but it is definitely changed as well. 

Often times, time jumps leave the viewer annoyed and confused, but this time jump actually works and it provides enough information for the viewer to understand what is happening. A lot of the episode did serve as setup for what is to come by reintroducing the audience to the characters and where they are three years since the events of the previous season. For the most part, we know the status of the characters' relationships, current whereabouts, and a general sense of what has transpired in the last three years. The exposition was actually delivered with a surprisingly degree of organicality, so as to not seem forced. 

Tonally, Book 4 appears to be maintaining the fun yet mature tone that was present in Book 3. However, unlike the Book 3 premiere, Book 4's tone is decidedly darker and ominous, so as to make the viewer feel as though there is an impending war, which is likely. Prince Wu's scenes were the only parts that stood out as immature and unnecessary.

In terms of animation, the series is better than ever with Kuvira's action sequence being the highlight of the episode. The voice acting is as perfect as always with a few voices that seemed familiar, but unfortunately the information about who voiced who is currently unavailable. 

Overall: 8.3/10- Book 4 is off to an excellent start with the premiere episode putting all the pieces in place for what should be an exciting and intriguing conclusion to the Legend of Korra series. Of the series to premiere this fall, Legend of Korra probably had the strongest first episode, and if the series continues its high quality, it is going to be the best of the year.

Before moving on to the spoiler discussion, my current plan is to review Legend of Korra episodes on Saturdays or Sundays, since it is one of the most fun series to review.

*Warning, spoilers for the episode are ahead.*

Considering the events of Book 3 with Korra not even being able to walk, my anticipation of Korra's return to the series grew, and the reveal that she has been participating in underground an Earthbending Fight Club was a surprising revelation. However, showing Korra being beaten and bruised in a match clearly shows that Korra is far from being at the top of her game. It almost reminds me of the Dark Knight Rises, but let's hope that the season will turn far better than said film.

Kuvira appears to be a new foil for Korra and the gang, except, unlike the previous antagonists, Kuvira is not overtly evil or even antagonistic with her intentions at first (Bolin is even working for her!). Apparently, she has created her own army to unite the Earth Nation, and she is known across the land as "The Uniter." However, her tactics consist of strongarming the other cities with a "Join or Die" stance will result in some conflict later in the season. Actually, I would not be surprised if she ordered the bandit's attack on Kai and Opal to steal the supplies. 

Speaking Kai and Opal, they probably received the most screen time of anyone in the episode, and it actually worked excellently. Kai and Opal did well as the audience’s viewpoint to demonstrate the current state of the Earth Nation after the Queen’s assassination. Now, the Air Nomads are acting as Jedi-like peacekeepers, and their new outfits, despite first impressions, are very cool. The winged suit makes a lot of sense opposed to the staffs used by Aang. 

In terms of comedy, the episode was generally light on humor, which is a good thing. However, "Mello the boy, becoming Mello the man" was a hilariously animated scene with some strong anime influences.

My only problem with the episode is Prince Wu, who brings an unfortunate juvenile tone to the episode that detracts from the more serious political themes of the episode. Other than that, there was nothing bad about the episode. 

What did you think of the episode? Please comment below and let me know.

If you want to contact us or have any questions please send an e-mail to johnstarslayer@gmail.com.