The Legend of Korra (2012-14)

As an independent show, The Legend of Korra is pretty good, but it cannot escape comparison to Avatar: The Last Airbender, to which it pales. For one, it lacks the cohesion of Avatar, which tells a single grand overarching story over 60 episodes. Korra has four seasons, each season with a new enemy. Korra also doesn't have the rewarding story arcs that Avatar did. Everyone on Team Avatar was a sympathetic, relatable character that grew over the course of the series. On the other hand, Mako and Bo Lin are extremely annoying. There are some cameos from the old characters; some serve more purpose (Katar and Iroh) than others (Zuko and Toph). The newer show updated the graphics, creating 3D depth, that admittedly look kind of weird sometimes, especially the robots. The style is also more overtly anime than the unique Western/Eastern hybrid from Avatar. The music is not as hauntingly beautiful as in Avatar, though the 20s jazz is a welcome touch, along with the old-timey newsreel recaps.

Now for what Korra does well...It continues to build on the themes that made Avatar so good: real-world politics. Republic City is the bustling immigrant city that transcends the boundaries of nations. Such a United Nations is what follows a world war. Season 1 is about The Equalists. They are portrayed as a domestic terrorist group on the surface, but there is always some ambiguity as to their evil, after all they're only asking for equality in a land that may or may not deny them their (super-)humanity. It is similar to X-Men, overtly political. It might not be too off to compare them to the PLO or the Black Panthers. Season 3 is about a group of anarchists and in parallel rebuilding a culture nearly lost to genocide (a beautiful example of the type of balance that the Avatar is meant to restore to the world).. Season 4 is about a warlord who has taken advantage of a power vacuum to seize legitimate control. Season 2 is the outlier, portraying an irrelevant and unrealistic civil war between the Northern and Southern Water Tribes. A big caveat though is that the best episodes of the series come in Season 2, that's the two-part story of the first Avatar, told in beautiful Kaguya-esque animation.

The bending in Korra is also pretty cool. All the elements are taken up a level, unlocking new bending styles that make sense in the established magic system: lava bending, flight, expanded metal bending, etc. I was slightly disappointed that Korra didn't really discover her spiritual side until Season 2, because the spiritual balance the Avatar brings is really the defining characteristic of its purpose, rather than the flashier mastery of the four elements. When she finally does find her inner spirit, they muddy the rules of the Avatar state and the spirit world almost beyond recognition.

In conclusion, not as good as Avatar but a worthwhile viewing experience.

Avatar: The Last Airbender (2005-8)

The greatest children's show, maybe the greatest TV show period, recently came to Netflix, and it holds up really well fifteen years later. As a kid, watching the animated bending was really cool. But as an adult watching again, I appreciate how complex and beautiful the plot and character development are: Zuko has a highly satisfying redemption arc. Drawing heavily on Asian (and Inuit) philosophy, martial arts and design, the creators put genuine thought into world building at a level we wouldn't see again until Game of Thrones. Ba Sing Se is a clear reference to Beijing, complete with the secret police and oppression.

The Avatar is the bridge between the physical world and the spirit world, and it is the Avatar's responsibility to maintain/restore balance in the world. The Avatar has the ability to bend all four elements: Earth, water, fire and air. And the Avatar is a spirit reincarnated in a different bender based on a cycle. Over the last hundred years, while the Avatar Aang has been frozen in an iceberg, the Fire Nation has embarked on an imperial war of world domination, committing genocide in the process. Yes, that's war crimes, refugees, and totalitarianism in a children's show at the height of America's war in Iraq. It is profound.

Even the Art of War is explored in the show. Omashu surrenders to fight another day. Earth benders are masters of "neutral jing", waiting for the right moment to strike. I'm not sure how I feel about the ending watching it back. The penultimate episode sees our hero struggling with having to kill the Fire Lord. It is a serious and deep introspective exploration that looks like he is about to come to peace with his fate. The show acknowledges the idea of just violence in which it is necessary to be violent to stop further violence (a just war). And Aang must selflessly put aside his own reservations for the greater good of the world to fulfill his duty as Avatar. That is a profound message for a kid, but the show ultimately goes in another direction. Aang unlocks a new superpower and saves the day in a non-fatal way.  It is visually awesome but I think not in line with the serious themes that the show explored throughout.

The music is beautiful. The writing is smart and funny and poignant. The animation cleverly combines both Japanese and Western elements. All the characters have fully realized arcs that develop over a tight three seasons. Even having a series-long episodic plot was pretty unique for a TV show in 2005, let alone a children's show. I can't wait for the live action remake of the series; hopefully M. Night Shyamalan stays far away. I think we'll give Legend of Korra another try now.