Anime-Lib.fun - Discover everything about anime
1541
191

Six months after the events of Book One, Korra begins a new journey of discovery focused on the Spirit World and the history of the Avatar cycle. With the impending arrival of harmonic convergence, Korra must serve as the protector of both worlds. Also includes the two-part episode, Beginnings, the story of the first Avatar.

  • Type: TV
  • Age rating: Children 7 or older
  • Date aired: 2013-09-13 to 2013-11-22
  • Status: finished
  • Next release: -
  • Rating: 1541
  • In favorites: 191
  • Popularity Rank: 1166
  • Episode count: 14
  • Episode duration: 24 min/ep
  • Total duration: 5 h. 36 min.
  • Genre: Action , Adventure , Comedy , Drama , Fantasy , Martial Arts , Super Power , Anime Influenced
Reviews
dfeest - 2015-05-14 22:03:28

It's probably the worst season of all. But avatar Wan's episode, amazing.

lionel.blanda - 2013-12-08 20:46:38

Today, a review of the Legend of Korra Book 2. It follows the lives of Team Avatar as they set out in an adventure to the unknown realm of the spirits without ever getting sidetracked…well not quite.

Intro

Avatar: The Last Airbender was a phenomenal coming of age story about Aang, the last air nomad, being thrown into a world of chaos in a quest to create a world of peace and balance. The series was filled with great humour, action, loveable characters, and a well written story. Years later a sequel to the series has us following Korra, the new avatar, set 60 years after the events of the last airbender. Does this season stand up to its last or even the original series? Let’s find out.

Brief Synopsis

As briefly mentioned before, this is the second season of the Korra franchise. So you shouldn’t be starting here if you want to get into the series. This season takes place a couple of months after the events of Amon and the Equalists. It starts at the South Pole, where the seasonal festival goes awry, because dark spirits attack. Now, it is up to Korra and the gang to explore the causes of the spirits going crazy and try to put a stop to the impending disaster.

Characters

The cast of characters are led by the avatar herself; Korra. Korra is a butt-kicking female lead who isn’t afraid to enforce her will on others. Seeing a strong-willed female character is refreshing, because in the words of Spike Spiegel, “I love a girl how can kick my ass”. However this often backfires, since she has an awful rebellious nature, being full of herself and often being disrespectful to those closest to her. She hardly matures between the seasons and acts like she’s in a permanent state of menstruation. It takes her a long time in the season to stop acting up like a spoiled child. She is so moody that she makes Asuka look tamed...well not really.

Next, we have Mako who is a pompous firebending pretty boy who loves to stick his tongue down any moving female. He tries to become a cool detective, but fails miserably. So he often needs to make himself feel better by, yup you guessed it, sticking his tongue down any moving female.

We also have Bolin, Mako’s brother who is the comedic presence in the show. But sadly this is short lived, as Bolin ends up becoming an arrogant airhead even when he is compared to captain pompous himself.


Asami is the other female character in the main group, but is often sidelined as the team’s cheerleader. You will see her strong independent character slowly die as she becomes needy and dependent on captain pompous.

As you can tell, I’m not a fan of the leading cast in the series. Well, Naga is pretty cool. This is mostly in part to their characters becoming so unlikable throughout the season. Korra acts more immature and disrespectful than Aang, even though he was only 12 years old. Mako is there to see how many tonsils he can lick. Bolin is there to be full of himself. And the biggest disappointment, Asami turns from a badass car driving, plane piloting boss, into nothing more than a pawn in a stupid love triangle.

Book 2 focuses on a stupid love triangle and a plain awful relationship between Korra and lover-boy. It’s made painfully obvious that the writers tried to get a wider audience for the show, by creating this love triangle and some drama, but it hurts the characters gravely.

Despite this, there is a fantastic supporting cast. Characters like Varrick and Tenzin were amazing to watch.I do wish the other characters would’ve got more screen time, like Kaya, Bumi, Eska, Desna, and most importantly Lin Beifong. Lin was such an amazing character in the first Book, but is now sidelined to play the role of ignorant police chief, who won’t listen to her subordinates.

Character interactions during comedic moments were spot-on hilarious, but this is overshadowed by a disastrous love triangle and unlikable main cast. With a cast with so much potential I sadly give characters a disappointing 6/10.

CHARACTERS 6.0

Story

The story of Book 2 doesn’t pick up until episode 4. Before that, the plot is kind of up in the air with seemingly random events taking place. The pacing wasn’t all the great, with the scenes switching from the controversy and love-triangle at the South Pole and family getaway at the Air Temple. The love-triangle was such a distraction to the main story. The drama really impacted the story in all the wrong ways. However, Book 2’s highlight was the flashback with Avatar Wan in episodes 7 and 8. It was a phenomenal flashback that was important in providing information about the Avatar universe. And it was a breath of fresh air to see such a loveable character. From this point forward the story really starts to pick up in its pacing and really starts to shine. Despite this, there are quite a bit of problems that are raised in the final episodes of the season. I won’t spoil anything, but all I have to ask is “HOW DOES JENORA BECOME JESUS!?!?”

STORY 7.5

Animation

The animation in Book 2 was simply gorgeous. The animation was done by in conjunction with two studios. Studio Mir was responsible for animating episode 7, 8, and episodes 10-14. And who was behind the other episodes? Well none other than Studio Pierrot, who is behind the animation in Naruto. Believe it! Character designs, scenery, and art were fantastic. This is highlighted with the well-coordinated fight scenes. Book 2’s attention to detail is exceptional.


ANIMATION 9.5

Sound

The soundtrack for the Legend of Korra series is just awesome. It was able to shine through all scenarios; from the humour, drama, and action. The East Asian style was highlighted beautifully by the tunes and instruments that were used. Voice acting was also well done across the board. A special mention goes to Aubrey Plaza who brought to life the emotionless killing machine, Eska.


SOUND 9.3

Enjoyment

So did I like the Legend of Korra Book 2? Well yes, kind of. I may have been expecting too much from this season. As mentioned before, Book 2 didn’t have its priorities straight. I would’ve been perfectly fine with the love triangle, if it weren’t handled so horrendously. I actually liked the first season of Korra a bit more than this one. I mean, when you have the legend Steve Blum voice Amon you can’t go wrong. I also found that the characters in the Last Airbender were a lot more likeable and better developed than they were in Korra (even through the first book in the Last Airbender).

Many people don’t like comparing Korra to the Last Airbender, but honestly the comparison is inevitable. Is this fair? Well I believe so. It’s fair because everything happens in the same world; it is a sequel after all. It is the same world and even has some of the same characters. One of the biggest issues I have with the Book 2, and even Book 1 to some extent, was the lack of exploration. What do I mean? Well, the Last Airbender did such a great job of creating the vast world. There are so many nations, people, animals, and ideologies. Despite this fantastic foundation, the Korra franchise is insistent on focusing on a small portion of its world. In Book 1, we were centred in Republic City and in Book 2 we were focused on the South Pole. It would be interesting if we could see how the world changed over the 60 years since the Last Airbender. The world now has technology, cars, planes, and even movies. I just feel that it’s disappointing that we don’t see more of this world.

Final Verdict­

The Legend of Korra Book 2 tries to explore the unchartered realm of the Spirit World, even at the expense of the vast world which is right beneath its fingertips. It is a great attempt at trying to spice things up in the Avatar universe, but doesn’t pull it off perfectly. It has phenomenal visuals and audio, which can only be described as sexual intercourse for your eyes and ears. And other than the love-triangle it is really enjoyable to watch. Overall, I’m disappointed with how the characters were handled in this season. They made the main characters unrelatable and even unlikable in certain scenarios. There are two more books that are planned for the Legend of Korra franchise, and I just hope that the writers can redeem themselves. I just felt that this season had so much potential and I’m somewhat disappointed in it. So for my own personal enjoyment, I give Book 2 a 6.3/10. So tallying the score for Story, Characters, Animation, Sound, and Enjoyment, I reward the Legend of Korra Book 2: Spirits a very heartbreaking 7.44/10.

kris.queenie - 2013-11-18 20:24:05

In comparison to book 1, book 2 is not as good.

There are a lot of ups and downs, making book 2 a bumby ride.

Halfway through book 2 there is a double episode which is about the first ever avatar, these were phenomenal. People argue that they were the best episode of Korra period.

The finale, while I believe was too over the top, was very good and satisfying; once you suspend your disbelief.

Though a step down from book 1, It was still "The Legend of Korra" - Still excellent. Still definitely worth the watch.

Breathtaking animation. Beautiful soundtrack. Quality, likeable (for the most part) characters.

I joyed this season tremendously.

hester71 - 2013-11-16 10:41:44

After the very short but intense first season of LoK, fans were looking forward to a new era of Team Korra - this time with at least another two guaranteed seasons, and the chance to tell a longer story. However, The 2nd season of Korra is actually another self-contained story, told over the span of 14 episodes. This time, though, the ending does not feel so rushed. Unfortunately, the first half of the season has some serious issues.

There is a lot to be said about the Avatar universe. Before I dive into the story and characters, I will say a few things about the setting - it's absolutely brilliant. An obvious tribute to early 20th century America, the combination of a world of benders and the dawn of the Industrial Age is done really well in Korra. It's quite clear that a lot of research and thought went into some of the technology and gadgets that we see in Korra, and it adds a lot to the setting. Some of this season also takes place in the South Water Tribe, the colorful, dreamy Spirit World, and a very charming change in style in a two-parter flashback to 10,000 years ago with art inspired by historic Japanese architecture and art. The backgrounds are fantastic, and the animation is (mostly - this is addressed later on in the review) stunning. This is not where Korra falters.

So in the beginning, we are greeted by many familiar faces, and a few new ones - the most memorable probably being the eccentric business mogul Varrick, and Korra's ominous and powerful uncle Unalaq from the Northern Water Tribe. Tenzin's siblings Bumi and Kya, and Tenzin's eldest daughter Jinora also play an important role in season two.

Then there's our four main characters - Asami rebuilding the struggling Future Industries, Bolin's faltering pro-bending career with a mediocre team, Mako working with Chief Bei Fong as one of Republic City's best officers, and, of course, Korra. It seemed at the end of season one that Korra had really changed - she had become a fully realized Avatar, saved the city and pledged to protect the people and be the bridge to the spiritual world. Perhaps it all went to her head, though, because right from the start she is as cocky and arrogant as ever - even more so than she was in the first season.

Her temper is short, she's rude to her closest friends - especially Tenzin, who has dedicated so much time and patience to training her, gets in fights constantly and listens to nobody but herself. It doesn't take long for this to become annoying, and her character becomes extremely unlikable. Thankfully, Varrick and Bolin provide a lot of critical comedy relief during this time - relief that is very much needed, and Varrick becomes important to the story at the same time. There's also a fair bit of action, and a huge plot is developing behind all the drama. It doesn't take a backseat to it all, but it certainly makes it harder to care about what is going on.

If that wasn't enough, the animation and art takes a bizarre dive in quality - especially by the 4th episode. While the backgrounds are solid, characters are often off-model, animation boils, the characters are stiff and don't carry the expressive acting that Avatar fans are used to. Outside of fight and action scenes, the animation had become awkwardly and disappointingly stale.

Suddenly, you find yourself halfway through the season and wonder where everything is going, and it's troubling. But things take a sharp and sudden turn for the better at episode 7. Studio Mir begins supervising the troubled direction that Pierrot had taken the animation, and the best possible thing happens to Korra that will change her character forever. I would almost go so far as to say it was a cop-out, but it is such a critical turning point that it works really well in the time-frame of the story.

From there on, everything picks up pace. The episodes are exciting again, Korra returns in her true form as a strong, female lead, and works together with her friends to stop the biggest threat to the Avatar universe to date.

The ending is intense and the animation is stunning. It will have you on the edge of your seat. As for its conclusion, there were some elements that are not properly explained, and some things felt cheesy as a result, but everything is tied together decently. There are some bittersweet moments as well - perhaps even some that may see further development in the next season, as the ending of S2 mixes up the world of Avatar quite a bit. Consequently, this season has more impact than the first.

It may be tempting to drop S2 of Korra pre-episode 7, but hang in there, because you won't believe what happens right after that. It more than makes up for the weak first half.

Your Comment
you might like...