Avatar: Korra Book 2 Info Coming Early June (Maybe)

[Relix]

Only came to drop my two cents about what I want from Amon:

I sincerely think that Amon would be a much better character if he was not as black and white as Ozai. Its not because I hate when villains are just...ya know villains, cuz Ozai was fine the way he was in my opinion. The face of evil and war and all that. Because it was a simple storyline (despite the complexity of some characters and the vast universe). A kid savior against the heartless tyrant. But in Korra's time, its not as black and white. There is no war. There is no tyranny. There are individuals who feel like there is an imbalance, an injustice, or perhaps an outright irrelevance of the benders. Its all on a more personal level if you will. Where as a nation was fighting for power and world domination, the Equalists are fighting to remove an imbalance (as far as we know...there could be other motives, people pulling a Xemnas and shit). Amon's motives can't be as black and white as Ozai's would be. There would have to be a justifiable reason for his vendetta other than "lol benders suck." The way they even subtly introduce the Equalist movement in the first episode was great: a simple spokesperson voicing their views and actually getting sympathy and supporters of their cause (while still having badass chi-blocking underground ninjas at their disposal as well). There is already depth for the Equalists, in my eyes, that the Fire Nation lacked save for a few instances. I don't know. I just feel that the setting and time that LoK takes place deserves a more complex antagonist. Plus he's voiced my mother kupin- Steve Blum. Its Spike guys. Its just Spike under that mask.

[XIII Heartless]

At no point in my paragraph did I mention Amon, so fall back. I was disagreeing with the principal of what you were stating; that a villain can't be evil just because and be interesting. There was nothing wrong with Ozai. He was a powerful man who wanted my power. Perfect enough. Not every villain has to have some deep reason for doing what they're doing.

I'm almost positive Amon is gonna have some tragic past or something that pushed him where's he at now. I just get that vibe from him. But it's not a necessity for every antagonist under the moon.

Bellatrix Lestrange says hi.

[Relix]

Lol And like I said as well, there was nothing wrong with Ozai either. He was perfect for the kind of plot he was involved in. We didn't need a backstory on Ozai or why he was the way he was. He was the perfect "EVIL JUST CUZ" villain and played his part well. But I'm saying that Amon would probably be better off being a villain that has a depth and reasoning to why he is doing what he is doing. The basis of the Equalists come off as something personal rather than political. Thats a lot of hate for the benders "just cuz", is all I'm saying. Honestly my post wasn't even commenting about anything you said, which is probably why my post was mostly about Amon (hence why I said I was just adding my two cents). It was more about where I stand on Amon whether he should be a villian who just wants to watch the world burn or a villain who has reason to do what he does.

[Sorax 122]

Watching the premiere this morning gave me so much nostalgia from the first series. Meelo is my favorite character already. Amon is going to be awesome too, i can just tell. can't wait until the next episode!!

[A]

I have a feeling Amon is going to be that character will troll everyone really hard at the end especially when that mask comes off

[Sora2016]

Toonzone News Interviews Michael DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, Co-Creators of "The Legend of Korra"- Animation News Discussion Cartoon Community - toonzone news

Oh gosh, I honestly wasn't expect that, so the anti-bending arc is all going to be in Book 1? Interesting...

[soraking10]

With the question of what happened to Zuko's mom really makes me happy that their not gonna ignore that entirely. As for the premiere itself, loved it. Korra kind of reminds me of Toph, just the way she opposes authority. xD

[Endless Strategy]

With the question of what happened to Zuko's mom really makes me happy that their not gonna ignore that entirely. As for the premiere itself, loved it. Korra kind of reminds me of Toph, just the way she opposes authority. xD

Judging by Katara's attitude in response to the question, I think they found her.

[XIII Heartless]

Lol And like I said as well, there was nothing wrong with Ozai either. He was perfect for the kind of plot he was involved in. We didn't need a backstory on Ozai or why he was the way he was. He was the perfect "EVIL JUST CUZ" villain and played his part well. But I'm saying that Amon would probably be better off being a villain that has a depth and reasoning to why he is doing what he is doing. The basis of the Equalists come off as something personal rather than political. Thats a lot of hate for the benders "just cuz", is all I'm saying. Honestly my post wasn't even commenting about anything you said, which is probably why my post was mostly about Amon (hence why I said I was just adding my two cents). It was more about where I stand on Amon whether he should be a villian who just wants to watch the world burn or a villain who has reason to do what he does.

I wasn't talking to you. I was talking to Spock.

[Taochan]

Oh gosh, I honestly wasn't expect that, so the anti-bending arc is all going to be in Book 1? Interesting...

That's what it looks like. I hope they can make this multiple arc thing work well and cohesively.

With the question of what happened to Zuko's mom really makes me happy that their not gonna ignore that entirely. As for the premiere itself, loved it. Korra kind of reminds me of Toph, just the way she opposes authority. xD

Korra really reminds me of the entire Gaang; there are so many parallels between her and Aang already that it's mind blowing.

[Solar]

Here are two awesome tumblr posts WHICH I DIDN'T WRITE on Azula I love and why I find her a compelling villain.

One of the really fabulous things about ATLA that I think is sometimes overlooked is not just this character arc, Azula’s character arc, which is often discussed, but rather the subtle and subtly evolving character arcs afforded each of the dangerous ladies, from Mai’s silent struggles with the repressive restrictions put upon her by her parents and how slowly as the series progresses she begins to break through to Ty Lee’s lack of a personal identity and almost instinctive molding of herself to meet the expectations of others—how they see her and what they think of her—to, of course, this: Azula.

Azula is introduced as the favored child to unwanted Zuko, the prodigy to whom firebending comes naturally where Zuko struggles and struggles with it, the natural successor to Ozai and Zuko, her opposite, the exiled prince. She’s cool, detached, amused by the struggles of others, in every way privileged over them and so certain of her absolute power that she repeatedly and willfully overrides the advice and suggestions of others, at times to her detriment. She’s cruel, even to the two girls closest to her, Mai and Ty Lee. She assumes loyalty from them (and affection from Ty Lee) and rarely allows them kindnesses (and when she does allow kindness, she only ever allows it to Ty Lee—who she also threatened till Ty Lee agreed to join her); it never once occurs to her that they might not follow her in all things. She is absolute.

But she’s also lonely and as much a victim of Ozai’s abuse as Zuko, though the abuse they each suffered took very, very different forms. Both were emotionally neglected in unique ways. Zuko was shunned, physically struck down, turned aside. Azula was elevated by her father and coddled by him, but in this, she was also removed from the love and guidance others—like her mother—could offer her. Ozai encouraged what flaws existed within Azula as strengths, and furthermore he encouraged her to think of others not as people, but as tools. Through Ozai, she learned to command fear of others instead of asking love of them; through Ozai, she learned to prioritize her own skill, her own power, her own—wholeness in herself, that she believed she needed nothing but herself. And certainly he provided her with ample demonstration of this: Ozai saw his own family as tools. Zuko dispensable, a sacrifice. Iroh dispensable, too. His own wife, Ursa, a tool to be manipulated to kill his own father, the man who blocked his path to the throne. Of course Azula would grow thinking that people were tools at her disposal: weapons to be used or obstacles to be broken.

And more than anything else, her relationship with Ursa is this quiet, subtle thread running through all of it. In “Zuko Alone,” we see how Ozai has already begun to favor Azula and spurn Zuko, how Ozai more than Ursa guides Azula. We see Ursa, frustrated and exasperated with Azula’s behavior—her disregard for the safety of her friends, her casual cruelty to Zuko, all encouraged and condoned by Ozai—thoughtlessly say that she doesn’t understand what’s wrong with Azula. And—well, for me, personally, I don’t think Ursa was abusive; I don’t think she favored Zuko over Azula, but rather that she tried to compensate for the obvious disdain and disfavor Ozai showed Zuko, and that she was truly at a loss as to what to do to help Azula or how to do it without contradicting Ozai. But when a parent says something like that—when a parent says there’s something wrong with you, or they, in frustration, say or imply that you’re irreversibly flawed—that sticks. It hurts. It wounds. And then Ursa vanished, and Azula was still just a child; she was nine, and her strongest memories of her mother shortly before her mother vanished—died, for all Azula knew, and certainly Ozai never spoke of Ursa to either of his children after—were that her mother thought her wrong. And between that and her father’s grooming of her, his teaching her that she was always right, the emotional distance he gave her even as he praised her, the competition he encouraged between her and Zuko, whom Azula perceived as favored over her by their mother (when Azula had been taught by her father that she was the smart child, the strong child, the best child), and the lack of real, true affection in her life (which certainly Ozai would never have encouraged—love a weakness, to be feared a sign of power and strength)—just. She would have told herself it didn’t matter. She didn’t need love. She didn’t need her mother’s love. Love is weakness. Caring for others is weakness. Wanting love of them is weakness.

But she did want love. She wanted her mother to love her. She didn’t want her mother to think her wrong, to think her a monster. She wanted her mother to love her as her mother loved Zuko. And then her mother was gone.

And of course, then, when she thinks she will be at Ozai’s side when they literally raze the Earth Kingdom, when he tells her she will not go with him, she says, “You can’t treat me like Zuko.” She’s supposed to be the favored child. She’s supposed to be the child Ozai loves, the child of whom he’s proud. And he leaves her behind. Then he tells her she will be the new Fire Lord, and Azula is, for that moment, truly speechless, truly touched—but he gives himself power over her, still, as the Phoenix King—because he will always have that power over her, because he does not trust her, because he does not love her, because to Ozai, even Azula is a tool. And it’s just—ugh! When people ignore that Azula is a victim of abuse, too, because she IS. She was deprived of love; she was deprived of guidance; she was only ever a tool to Ozai, his perfect child groomed to serve him that he might cement his own power.

Just—BLEGH. Azula’s entire arc is about fear and power and the absence of love and deception but especially self-deception, and it’s about wanting love when she doesn’t really know how to love, because nobody loved her; nobody taught her. All she ever knew was fear.

(None of this, of course, justifies or excuses the atrocities she commits or attempts to commit through the course of the series. But nor do those atrocities erase the tragedy of her own life. I JUST REALLY LOVE AZULA, SORRY.)

As much as I love Iroh, and his amazing relationship with Zuko, sometimes I wonder… why’s he so devoted to helping Zuko, but not Azula?

He’s willing to forgive Zuko again and again for his mistakes, but Azula, who he’s never bothered to give even one chance, is definitively “crazy and needs to go down”?

In “The Avatar and the Firelord”, he tells Zuko that the source of his inner conflict is that he is descended from Avatar Roku and Fire Lord Sozin, and this causes good and evil to be at war inside of him, and Iroh believes that the good side will win out in the end. However, he fails to realize that Azula has the same lineage of Zuko and has the same conflict within her. Why isn’t she given a chance?

Now I’m not trying to turn Azula into a woobie; her issues were much more serious and ingrained into her than Zuko’s, and it definitely would have been much harder for her to overcome them, but why doesn’t anyone give her the chance?

In fact, the reason that Azula is so much more messed up than Zuko is because nobody gave her a chance in the first place. From the flashbacks we see in “Zuko Alone”, it’s clear that Ursa has an unspoken preference for Zuko, and while I’m sure she does try to do what she can for Azula, she seems to get frustrated with her daughter easily. That’s minus one positive role model for Azula. (In fact, we don’t even know if the apparition of Ursa during Azula’s breakdown was what she really would have said in that situation. Maybe Ursa really would have dismissed Azula as a monster; we only saw the reaction of Azula’s hallucination of her mother, which represents everything she didn’t get from her mother in reality.)

As for Iroh’s relationship with Azula when she was younger, it’s much more left to the imagination, but there are a few disappointing implications. At age eight (or so; that’s my guess of her age in the flashbacks in “Zuko Alone”) she already seems to harbor a dislike for Iroh, chastising him for giving up on the siege and hoping fervently that Azulon will revoke his birthright. Why does she hate him so much? “Because she’s crazy and evil” is an easy answer to jump to, but people, even kids, rarely do things without a real reason.

I think the reason is the same as the reason that her relationship with Ursa was, well, less than ideal: Iroh seems to like Zuko better, too. This is my interpretation of it based off of Iroh’s letter and gifts to the children that he sends from Ba Sing Se - a very unique dagger with an inspiring inscription for Zuko… and a doll for Azula.

Not only is this sexist, but it’s clear that Iroh hasn’t spent much time with Azula at all and doesn’t even know her in the slightest if he thinks that’s the kind of gift she’d like.

So far that’s two positive role models for Zuko and none for Azula. Who’s left for her to look up to? Her father and grandfather. Do they like her more than Zuko? It would appear so… But why do they like her more than Zuko? She’s good at firebending. Fullstop.

Well, that’s enough for a little girl with no other appealing options to latch onto, so it makes sense that she hones her firebending to an insane degree and takes any opportunity to show it off for them so she can be praised. So she can be loved.

So there’s a couple of role models for her, but they’re not the good kind. Here’s a refresher: Azulon told Ozai to kill his firstborn son for disrespecting his older brother. And Ozai, although we never find out if he was going to go through with it if Ursa hadn’t stepped in, still was willing to burn and banish said son years later for making a comment out of turn.

Well, that about explains were Azula gets her cruel and sadistic tendencies. But what about the deeper problems? Namely, her belief that fear is the only way to control, or even interact with people on a basic level, that love is unreliable and unattainable?

Remember how I said that Ozai liked Azula more than Zuko? Yeah, I was lying. He doesn’t. Sure, he’s proud of Azula. She’s one of the greatest firebenders the world has ever seen, and she’s got the fierce, dominant personality that she copied from him. Yes, Azula would make a great successor to Ozai…

If she was a boy. But she’s a girl; she’s the Princess, she isn’t going to take over when Ozai dies (hypothetically of course, because the Phoenix King lives forever! Muahaha). Zuko is. While he’s more than happy, tickled pink, in fact, that Azula is powerful, it doesn’t change the fact that Zuko is the eldest son, and thus, the heir to the throne.

(The fact that she’s made Fire Lord during Sozin’s comet doesn’t even contradict this, because Ozai only gives her that title once it’s rendered meaningless by his rise to Phoenix King. It’s clear that she isn’t ruling alongside him, or in line with him, and he’s only trying to pacify her to keep her out of the way.)

It’s no wonder, then, that Azula develops a younger-sibling inferiority complex to Zuko. You don’t notice it at first because she’s constantly asserting how much better she is than Zuko at everything. But that only reveals how much it gets to her. She calls him “Zuzu” and “dumdum” to assert dominance over him and gets back at him in the only ways she can, through manipulation and mind games, but at the end of the day, he’s still the Crown Prince, and she’s still the Princess. He’s still loved unconditionally by Iroh and Ursa, and she is still prized by their father only for her skill.

Here’s where I start to marvel at the writing of this show and how unbelievably complex and beautiful it is. Zuko and Azula are exact inverses of each other. Outwardly, Zuko is a failiure. He’s a scarred, banished, disappointment, and can’t even succeed at the one task he devotes his all to, capturing the Avatar. But despite that, he shows tremendous inner strength, never gives up, and has a high capacity to love since he is loved. Azula, on the other hand, is outwardly perfect. She’s beautiful, powerful, and doesn’t let her emotions get the better of her… or so it would appear. Only at the very end to we glimpse what she’s like on the inside: misguided, scarred, and faithless in love.

She’s Zuko inside out, but nobody, not her parents, not her uncle, not her friends, ever noticed. And that is why her breakdown at the end is so heartwrenchingly poignant; it’s the same struggle we’ve been following in Zuko for three seasons but in reverse; whereas Zuko has finally put all the pieces together correctly, Azula’s puzzle, which she’d assumed was already completed, shatters all at once.

Azula is such a layered character that I can’t help but love her more and more the more I think about her. Once more, I applaud Bryke on their incredible ability to paint such a vivid picture even in one character.

[soraking10]

That's what it looks like. I hope they can make this multiple arc thing work well and cohesively.


Korra really reminds me of the entire Gaang; there are so many parallels between her and Aang already that it's mind blowing.

I see what you did there :>

But yeah, I see what you mean. She has the stubbornness of Toph, the appeal features of Katara, the silliness of Sokka, and the humbleness of Aang.

[MegaWallflower]

I'm watching the first episode now(Got it recorded while I was out) and I'm loving it so far. *U* Korra's entrance was so awesome. <3

[KingdomheartsII]

I watched it earlier and never realized that it has one of the best animations of any cartoon or anime on television right now. Props to the art director. Hell, props to the whole team.

[lycorismoon29]

I see what you did there :>

Gaang? That's been used in the show and since the series was created in 2005 xD