Is The Legend of Korra Worth Watching? Complete Review

The anime The Legend of Korra is packed with intense fight scenes, inspiring stories, and coverage of crucial socio-political issues. With this interesting combination, it’s not surprising that this anime has become the most-watched anime series for many channels and streaming services.

It has been well-received by many across the globe. Though its story and characters are purely fictional, its moral lessons have appealed to a large global audience. Created as a sequel series that follows the events that transpired in the anime Avatar: The Last Airbender, the series aired from April 14, 2012, to December 19, 2014.

Read on to decide if you should be watching this series or not!

1. Article Highlights

The anime touches upon the spiritual aspect that the original anime didn’t touch upon. Its notable female protagonist is a huge breath of fresh air. Also, their decision to portray her as a non-White character has found wide currency.

It is a beautiful story that will inform the viewers of many crucial issues on a level that other kids’ series or young adults’ series have not tackled yet. If you have watched Avatar: The Last Airbender, you will notice that the two share similarities in this regard.

2. Is it worth watching?

The anime will not disappoint you. With an amazing list of backstories that explore each character’s complexities, any viewer will be enamored with the story.

Also, it delivers immensely in providing us with action-riddled fight scenes and wonderful superpowers or “bending” abilities. The fight scenes are amongst the most intense and marvelous in the entire genre.

I. Plot

The plot is set in the same universe as that of the original Avatar: The Last Airbender. In this universe, there are different people with different abilities or “bending.”

There are specifically four abilities: the ability to bend fire, earth, water, and air. Every single person can bend only one element. However, the Avatar is the only one blessed with the ability to bend all four elements and is entrusted with the responsibility of maintaining harmony and peace in that world.

The Last Airbender: The Legend of Korra - Exclusive Trailer

The sequel follows the struggles and hardships that face the new Avatar Korra as she has to tackle new issues and conflicts that arise in Republic City. This city is the capital of the United Republic of Nations, a state in which Aang played an instrumental role in forming.

In this new state, the spiritual art of bending has lost its spiritual connection and has become blatantly commercialized. Bending is used as a weapon by many gangs and thugs for crimes and rioting.

While Avatar: The Last Airbender progresses on a clear pace and follows one plot solely, The Legend of Korra has too many things happening at once and progresses very fast. This might be a huge turn off for many, as it gets very overwhelming and hard to follow.

The plot of each season is different from that of the consecutive season. Each season comes up with a different obstacle for the Avatar Korra to overcome.

II. Characters

The character of Avatar Korra is fascinating and amazing. Compared to the previous Avatar Aang, she is a much more headstrong character. She is not afraid to go on the offensive.

The heightened Avatar state is given a lot of importance in the predecessor series. We are made to understand that the Avatar state is a very climactic scene from the music and the visuals. However, on a tragic note, in this anime, one will feel as if it is a common occurrence as if there is nothing special about it.

III. Themes

The anime The Legend of Korra deals with many mature themes like anarchy, civil war, LGBTQIA+ relationships. It has been praised for its sympathetic portrayal of non-white characters and elaborate cultural representation.

It has made a huge breakthrough for being one of the few anime, or even entertainment shows to represent LGBTQIA+ relationships authentically.

IV. Art

The art direction has become a lot more mature. The animation was contributed to, to a large extent by Studio Mir of South Korea and Studio Pierrot of Japan.

Also, it features many funny and cute fictional animals that help punctuate the series with comic relief. The anime also bears a lot of resemblances to Ghibli movies like Spirited Away, which has been cited as a strong influence.

3. Final Thoughts

Unfortunately, any review of The Legend Of Korra is inevitable without comparison to its predecessor. This is due to its status as a sequel.

Also, if you have watched the original, you must go watch this anime with an open mind. Don’t expect this anime to be the same as the predecessor. In many ways, this anime is completely different. Only when you acknowledge this, this anime will make sense and can be enjoyable.

Even if you haven’t watched the original, you can enjoy this anime. It has a wealth of moral lessons and beautiful stories to offer. One should not miss out on this.

4. Grade

5. Info Card

6. Watch Order

A watch order won’t be necessary.