Korra Vs Aang as characters

[BlackInk]

Why do you feel LoK will be less epic visually? We have yet to see that magic but I don't think it falls short in any regards.

This is why:

He had a war to stop. Korra has a political party to combat.

I'm not saying it'll be worse because of it, just smaller in scope.

[Archsage]

But ultimately, I don't see the same struggle Aang had to go through. Aang was younger, with a heavier burden. He had a war to stop. Korra has a political party to combat. But the depth of that has yet to be revealed. I'm sure the plot thickens.

I think this is important to note. Keep in mind that Korra hasn't had any real interaction with the Equalists besides megaphone guy. And thinking back to Aang, his character had pretty much no depth at all until he had some real interaction with the Fire Nation, particularly, not until he say Gyatso's bones. Until Korra has a real grasp on her enemy, we shouldn't expect much sorrow or typical "my life sucks" cliche that you guys seem to want. I'm sure that once she finds herself utterly helpless against Amon, or even just the Equalist militants in general, we'll see the useless angry/sad side of her. Besides, we haven't even seen the Avatar state with her, as opposed to Aang which we've seen had it earlier on in his series.

is why...
I'm not saying it'll be worse because of it, just smaller in scope.

I wonder about this though. The worst enemy to fight is an intellectual one. And intellectual warfare is what fuels epic fights. If Avatar goes the direction of major cultural revolution, you'll see a scale of "epic" that would be impossible to create in TLA. If the direction is an intellectual warfare, the severity of the task will be hardest for Korra to combat, and the way I think they're going with Amon, it will be epic to a level of depth, rather than with "Im gonna punch you!", and give the final battle against Amon much better impact than Aang's final battle with the Fire Lord (which ended very, very, strangely).

I think they can make a very big revolution happen, and have it in a scale much deeper than TLA's. Or they can go intellectually and have a grand cultural revolution that spreads across globally like wildfire. I'm not sure how familiar you are with modern events, but things like the Arab Spring, cultural revolutions in Africa and revolutions in Asia (tianamen square) are all things I can see LoK exploring into. Just having a scene with these revolutions breaking out all over the world with Korra unable to prevent it all is already much more epic that TLA.

If the show goes that route, we'll have a much more epic show than TLA. Because Aang had a set enemy just to fight. Korra will have an insurgent force popping up out of the common man around the globe. Aang missed the start of his war. Korra will, unfortunately, be forced to witness it. Again, I don't know if they're going that route with LoK, but if they do, I can see it being much more epic that in TLA.

[QiBreezy]

I wonder about this though. The worst enemy to fight is an intellectual one. And intellectual warfare is what fuels epic fights. If Avatar goes the direction of major cultural revolution, you'll see a scale of "epic" that would be impossible to create in TLA. If the direction is an intellectual warfare, the severity of the task will be hardest for Korra to combat, and the way I think they're going with Amon, it will be epic to a level of depth, rather than with "Im gonna punch you!", and give the final battle against Amon much better impact than Aang's final battle with the Fire Lord (which ended very, very, strangely).

I think they can make a very big revolution happen, and have it in a scale much deeper than TLA's. Or they can go intellectually and have a grand cultural revolution that spreads across globally like wildfire. I'm not sure how familiar you are with modern events, but things like the Arab Spring, cultural revolutions in Africa and revolutions in Asia (tianamen square) are all things I can see LoK exploring into. Just having a scene with these revolutions breaking out all over the world with Korra unable to prevent it all is already much more epic that TLA.

I'm very much familiar with modern history and contemporary news - and I would more than love to watch LoK dive into the political/philosophical values inherent in the struggle to define freedom and what it means to establish a successful republic - which in turn can echo Plato's ideas juxataposed with Machiavellian concepts - placed within the context of a newly formed sovereign state trying to find itself in a world where monarchy is believed to be a divine/spiritual mandate. Oh what a beautiful struggle it would be for Korra and her friends.

BUT THIS is us getting ahead of ourselves. We have to remember that this is essentially Nickeloadean - And as much as I have faith in Konietzko and DiMartino - images of self-immolating monks and bloody uprisings is asking too much from a children's channel.

This doesn't mean that these ideas can't be explored in LoK, but to make it VISUALLY mirror what we see in today's news is asking too much.

But Yes I do agree with you whole-heartedly, Archsage, that if this is the direction LoK is headed towards, then the emotional depth of Korra's character can only develop to match that of Aang's (or even more). We will have to wait and see.

Why do you feel LoK will be less epic visually? We have yet to see that magic but I don't think it falls short in any regards.

This is why:

He had a war to stop. Korra has a political party to combat.

I'm not saying it'll be worse because of it, just smaller in scope.

I see what you mean in regards to this because, as of now, it seems the scale of the impending battle between benders and equalist is to be miniscule - but we've forgotten to take into account the presence of nations and tribes and kingdoms that still exist in this world which are lead by benders. The Firenation, Earth Kingdom, and Northern Water Tribe will all have a say in what the equalists fight for.Seems to me like an opportunity to be visually epic. But this is all speculation - we have absolutely no idea how things will play out, but I'm not ready just yet to rule out the visual epicry (just made that word up) that LoK can bring us.

[Ataru]

Korra needs to lose someone. We need some loss up in heeyah. Korra will always be crippled as a character until she has some kind of real deep dilemma/life problem like death or witnessing actual human suffering to deal with like Aang did. As she is now she's just too shallow. Her problems and concerns seem really petty next to those brought up in the first series. She needs to serious up, real quick-like.

[Archsage]

Korra needs to lose someone. We need some loss up in heeyah. Korra will always be crippled as a character until she has some kind of real deep dilemma/life problem like death or witnessing actual human suffering to deal with like Aang did. As she is now she's just too shallow. Her problems and concerns seem really petty next to those brought up in the first series. She needs to serious up, real quick-like.

I don't think so. And I'm always curious why people like to have "broken" characters. Most people in real life aren't even like that. Perhaps that's why -- they like the fantastical nature of the hero who comes out of a dark past? I for one just want to see a hero who comes out of a normal, everyday life. Not the typical "I lost my mother/father" (Sokka, Katara). Or the "I was rich but someone didn't understand/like me!" (Toph, Azula, Zuko, Mei). Or the "I have no one, no family" (Aang). I mean, give me a character who's just like "I see a problem and I strive hard to fix it". Not the, "my life sucks".

I'm sure there's some sad story concerning Bolin and Mako's family already. I just want Korra to be different. She doesn't need to have some kind of loss. What she needs to do is see a world that she finds near impossible to fix, and sees the limitations of the Avatar's power -- the limitations of a single person. And then try with all her might, dedication, and through her bonds with others to overcome that slowly deteriorating world.

[Mindbender]

Most people do not have a tortured past, but most people are also not interested in the story of Bob the accountant with a wife and 3 kids and a nice house who never has had any problems ever. Conflict is the essence of drama.

[Archsage]

Most people do not have a tortured past, but most people are also not interested in the story of Bon the accountant with a wife and 3 kids and a nice house who never has had any problems ever. Conflict is the essence of drama.

Yeah I'm thinking that you're right. It's as I said in my previous post, "Most people in real life aren't even like that. Perhaps that's why -- they like the fantastical nature of the hero who comes out of a dark past?". It makes a lot of sense too. Who wants to see a realistic character in an action animation?

But I like to see realistic characters. Just one main protagonist who's just like all of us. That's part of the reason why I loved Sokka's character so much. He was just your average teenage joker. No special powers. He had some back story about how his mom died and his dad left him (which makes his character a lot less real), and his whole "moon spirit" phase was something that I really just couldn't relate to. At all. But his characterization was refreshing in its 'everyday-ness'.

But look at Tenzin, or the Chief. They're very realistic characters, no special backstory, no crazy loss. And their characters are rich and full and I can't wait to see them put into certain situations.

[Ataru]

I'm not sure I follow how characters with dark pasts are 'unrealistic'. Aang was a very realistic character. Giving Korra something to grieve over wouldn't make her less realistic. I'm not some sadist who just loves to see people suffer, but I'd like them to throw Korra something a little darker to deal with than teen love triangles and her not being allowed to do whatever she wants all the time. I don't doubt it'll get darker when they start really pushing the prejudice vs. benders bit, so I just hope that happens before too long so we can really get into the meat of this story and its characters.

[QiBreezy]

We don't need a broken character for them to be conflicted. With that said, internal struggle is an important factor in creatingattachments to a protagonist. We want to relate to them on many levels - that's what separates a good story from a great story. Mindbender put it perfectly - that's why our heroes aren't the first ones to die. No one tells the story of the first dude who died. That would make for a boring book. Ultimately, entertainment is what we're looking for.

I wouldn't say a broken character is unrealistic, but being that Korra is the new Avatar in a succession of many, it would be quite unrealistic if EVERY Avatar has a 'broken' character.

Also, out of topic, I thought Air Nomads are supposed to be celebate? What's up with Aang/Tenzin? Abandoners. Such shame!!

[Sejame]

Korra needs to lose someone. We need some loss up in heeyah. Korra will always be crippled as a character until she has some kind of real deep dilemma/life problem like death or witnessing actual human suffering to deal with like Aang did. As she is now she's just too shallow. Her problems and concerns seem really petty next to those brought up in the first series. She needs to serious up, real quick-like.

Is it bad of me to be rooting for this to happen?
I'm just really hoping we'll witness her worst times during the show and see her develop from them. Her past is a bit dull but it'd kind of have to be for Aangs victory to have any kind of meaning, there was a nice amount of time where things were peaceful. She was able to grow up without major problems but now things can start to happen and we can witness some genuine problems which will hopefully make the Korra VS Aang comparison more interesting. Right now there really isn't much competition.