Slightlyembittered - SlightlyEmbittered Productions

Which kind of bender are you?

Avatar: The Last Airbender is the G.O.A.T. | Video Essay

A love letter to the show.   

This is my second bending pamphlet.  It explains some of the basics of Firebending.   (EDIT:)  The Air and Earth bending pamphlets will have to be a little different since they don’t get stronger or weaker.  

Bending 101

Lesson 1:  What is Bending

Avatar Kuruk:  Failure or Retcon?

WARNING:  Minor Spoilers for the Kyoshi Novels.  

Avatar Kuruk was the Water Tribe Avatar before Korra and is considered by many to be a failure of an Avatar.  He was brash and was more interested in personal pleasure than keeping balance.  

The recent Kyoshi novels explain that Kuruk wasn’t a failure.  Rather, he spent his life fighting dark spirits which most people were unaware of.  The Kyoshi novels suggest that he was a good avatar even though public opinion was very much against him.  

However, this new information feels like a retcon to me for one specific reason:  

Everything we know about Kuruk doesn’t come from a third party account, it comes from Kuruk himself.  

Other than the novels, our info on Kuruk comes from the season 2 “Escape from the Spirit World” game, and the episode 319.  Kuruk himself recounts that he wasn’t the best Avatar and spent most of his time goofing off.  

However, if Kuruk wanted to explain he wasn’t a complete failure, then he had apple time to do so.  Plus, as our main source of info he had full controlled how the fans viewed him.  

I do not think the dark spirits were an original part of his character.  I think it was a much later addition after dark spirits were introduced in Korra.  I believe this retcon existed because Bryke didn’t want fans to think Kuruk was a total failure.  

But a retcon is still a retcon.  

And not all Avatars did a good job.  

WaterBending101

Just finished version 3.0 of my Avatar Sub-Element chart. It's come a long way since version 1.

“You and me, brother. The showdown that was always meant to be: AGNI KAI!”

Also, probably the best animated fight I’ve ever seen, a heart-wrenching tragedy, and also callbacks to All The Things.

You remember Zuko’s Agni Kai with Zhao? Remember his previous fights with his sister? Remember his 540 degree turn?

Well.

Updated Element chart with explanations and a new watermark.  

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.