Avatar: The Last Airbender vs. The Legend of Korra
Hallo friends, and welcome back to another episode of Critically Compared. This time, I will compare my two favorite cartoons in recent memory: Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra.
In case you don’t know, Korra is the sequel series to Avatar. It is set 70 years after Avatar and features a new cast of characters.
The final season of The Legend of Korra just ended, so I thought this would be the perfect time to compare the two series.
So who will win? The children’s cartoon that an entire generation fell in love with, or its successor, another fantastic show directed towards an older audience.
Round 1: Characters
Team Avatar will never die.
In both shows, the Avatar is surrounded by friends who each have unique personalities. Still, both teams follow a certain archetype that was established by the first series.
Both shows have the goofy character, the serious one, the avatar (duh), and an animal companion. Not to say that those describe every character, but for the most part, everyone in each series has a doppelganger in the other series.
Think about it!
Mako = Zuko.
Bolin = Sokka.
There are connections and similarities between all the characters in both of the series, but in the end, I just don’t think anyone can beat the chemistry of the original Team Avatar.
Round Winner: Avatar
Round 2: Conflict
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| Anarchism is not a word. |
Both of these series created intricate plots by using interesting and large conflicts. In Avatar, Aang’s task is to learn and master all four elements before Sozin’s Comet comes into the world’s orbit and the Firelord takes over the world.
Heavy stuff.
But I always felt like Korra’s issues were more advanced. Even though Korra tackles a different villain every season (or book), the themes that The Legend of Korra deals with are more mature and… better.
For example, in Book 1, Korra goes up against a bad guy named Amon, a man who is dedicated to achieving equality between benders and non-benders. Amon’s philosophy is very communist, but his intentions are good. The only thing Korra doesn’t like is his methods.
This pattern continues with almost all of Korra’s enemies. Each one has an opinion that is easy to agree with. They’re motives are often just, but Korra must face them because they pose a threat to either her or the rest of the world.
Korra touches on some pretty heavy themes. It is for this reason that I think this series deserves to win this category.
Round Winner: Korra
Round 3: Story
See, story and conflict are two different things. So just see this category as an overall evaluation of the series.
So I may have just ranted about the intricacies and brilliance of The Legend of Korra’s themes, but now I must side with Avatar.
First let me state that the first and third seasons of The Legend of Korra are amazing. I loved them. But as an overarching series, I think Avatar holds up better.
Why? Because every book of Avatar: The Last Airbender leads directly into the next! All the twists and turns and highs and lows lead to one final conclusion, which I like. Plus, the character arcs in Avatar are more natural. Just sayin.
Round Winner: Avatar
Round 4: Bending (aka Action & Fighting)
If you haven’t seen these shows then you wouldn’t be reading this article. So I don’t have to explain that “bending” is the fighting style utilized in this show in which people called benders control the elements (i.e. earth, fire, water, air).
Bending was impressive in Avatar, but The Legend of Korra took it up a notch. With additions to the canon like widespread metal-bending, lava-bending, and flight (!), Korra’s fight scenes are definitely something(s) worth watching.
Round Winner: Korra
Round 5: World
This category revolves around the lore and settings of each show. Although both shows take place in the same world/universe, I am attempting to decide which show creates and explores the world best.
Based on that, you should probably be able to predict the result. (Spoiler: It’s Avatar).
After all, Avatar CREATED the universe, and most of The Legend of Korra takes place in a select few location. Meanwhile, the entire series Avatar is one big road trip across the amazing world that the creators have… created...
So there…
Round Winner: Avatar
Result
The Legend of Korra: 2
Avatar: The Last Airbender: 3
Winner: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Obviously, all of this is just my opinion. If you agree or disagree with this post, let me know in the comments!
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