It’s Father’s Day!

Avatar:  Glory and Shame

Personally, I think Mike and Bryan get too much credit for what was really a team effort.  A good team balances out each other's weaknesses.  While making Avatar, Mike and Bryan were balanced out by other great writers.  However, Korra was mostly made by Mike and Bryan, so any personal biases they might have don't get edited out.  

Taking all the glory also means taking all the shame. 

Land and Sky transport for all Anime fans.  

Concept: Appa and the baby Catbus are friends

Avatar VS Korra:  Disconnecting to a changing world.

Why do fans complain that there is too much technology in Legend of Korra?  

There have been a lot of fans who are unhappy with how much the world of LOK has technologically advanced in the last 70 years.  

While at the same time, other fans argue that major technological changes in 70 years is completely plausible, and sight recent history.  

The issue here is that people keep comparing LOK to real life. A story isn't meant to be 100% realistic; otherwise we'd have very few "happily ever after".

The real issue is that the world of Avatar has changed so much that many fans no longer feel connected to it. It's going back to a favorite restaurant and the menu has completely changed. Or picking up a favorite game, only to find the rules are so different that you can't play anymore.  

Regardless of how a franchise changes, there will always be people who feel confused or left out.  Fans should be empathetic toward each other, and not try to tear down someone just because they have a different opinion.  

Major changes in 70 years are completely realistic to our modern day, but that doesn’t mean it's enjoyable. If you asked an 80-yr-old what they thought of the present day, You'll find that many are unhappy with how much has changed and the struggle coping with that change.

LOK isn't reality. It's a story. And the main purpose of every story is to be enjoyed.

Let’s talk about Zuko. And since it’s October, let’s talk about “Creepy Zuko”. And how Ozai’s abuse has effected his children.  

Avatar:  Only there for the group photo

One question I often see is:  

“Why are Katara and Zuko so underused/ weak in the “Legend of Korra’?”

The answer is quite simple:  Fan service.  

Bryke wanted the Aang Gang to be in LoK for fan service, but didn't want them to get in the way of other characters.   Therefore Toph, Zuko, and Katara are present but are almost useless.  

Which feels out-of-character for them, and frustrating for the fans when pre-established characters do nothing to help.  

Fantasy vs Science Fiction: The modern dramatic duo

From Greece, to Shakespare, to modern day, Tragedy and Comedy have been staples of storytelling.  The two were even played back to back to help contrast each other.  These two genres also play an important role in the human psyche, which are reincarnated today as Fantasy and Science Fiction.  

There’s an old saying that goes:  

“Comedy makes you feel while Tragedy makes you think.”

Comedy focuses on emotion and entertainment.  Everyone enjoys having a good laugh and Comedy is all about having a good time.  Comedy seeks to create emotional relief and catharsis through good humor.  

Tragedy on the other hand focuses on the mind.  Typically, the audience already knows everything will end badly, so the story focuses on why everything went wrong.  

What makes it a Tragedy is that the characters brought it upon themselves.  This wasn’t some inescapable disaster; the ending was entirely preventable.  For example, if Hamlet and Othello switched places, neither play would have ended in tragedy.   

In our modern world of fiction, fantasy holds a similar role as comedy while science fiction holds a similar role to tragedy.

Fantasy is all about those feelings of Wonder and amazement. The world allows the reader to simply enjoy and experience “The Magic”, no math skill required.  Fantasy usually draws in a younger crowd because it connects to their emotions.  

Sci-fi on their hand wants to engage the mind of the reader. It wants to intrigue you with how things work. Sci-fi usually draws in an older crowd because it engages more of your critical reasoning skills.  

Unfortunately, being depressed is often confused with being intelligent in modern society.  Intellectual writing like tragedy is considered more refined, while comedy and fantasy are considered low tier garbage.  

This is also why all major English classics are about terrible things happening because somehow negativity is more important than feeling happy.

This prejudice is why things like animation, popular books and fantasy are looked down upon, while SciFi and dark literature are often praised.  

However, people aren't just walking brains, they are living creatures. And those creatures have emotional needs.

This is also why I’m not a huge fan of Sci-Fi; because it often confuses misery for good writing. 

Combustion bending is one sub-set of bending I’d love to explore more.  I think it’s possible for other firebenders to do a smaller version of it.  

Avatar: Is Roku to blame for the War?

When something goes wrong in the world, people have a tendency to blame others; especially those in power.  In the United States for example, it's very common for people to blame the president for current problems, regardless on whether or not he/ she has any actual control over the problem.  

Likewise, people in the world of ATLA tend to blame the Avatar when something goes wrong.

The fire nation attacks; blame the Avatar.

People get hurt in a war; blame the Avatar.

Can't solve your own problems; blame the Avatar.

The Avatar's mission is to bring balance to the world.  However, the Avatar did not create the world's problems, and is ultimately not responsible for the actions of other people.

Like the janitor for the world, the Avatar cleans up messes and helps bring order to the world, but more often than not the janitor is blamed for the mess existing in the first place.  The irony is that if people cleaned up their own messes, there would be no need of a Janitor.

This brings me to the subject of Avatar Roku.  Many Avatar fans blame Roku for the 100 yr war, and Roku even blames himself.  

But is it really Roku's fault?  

Roku grew up in the Fire Nation with his best friend Sozin, eventually finding out he was the Avatar, and traveling across the world.  When Roku returned to the Fire Nation, Sozin told Roku his plans for world conquest which Roku immediately rejected.  Later, Sozin invaded Earth Kingdom territory for which Roku confronted and defeated Sozin.  Roku had given Sozin two warnings, and there would not be a third.  However, as soon as Roku died, Sozin renewed his plans for global domination.

Although fans and Roku himself blame him for the war, I can not fault him.  Roku saw a problem and did something about it.  He was decisive.   

Just because his wasn't able to prevent a war, doesn't mean he caused the War nor is he responsible for the actions of other.  (Sozin's an adult.  And can be responsible for his own actions.) 

Roku's actions were natural and reasonable.  Plus, most people don't think of murder as their first solution to everything.

(Seriously, execution isn't the only way to solve problems.)

On a similar note, companies do "preventative measures" to keep people safe.  However, people will still get hurt because no rules or regulations can protect stupid people from themselves.

The Avatar isn't some perfect person who can perfectly solve every problem.  (Say that 5 times fast).  They are a human being who is doing the best they can.  

Aang VS Korra - Avatar: The Last CATbender - Fan Animation