bakes2389 I will admit that I am not a fan of Korra, and I don't think I ever will be. I find her character just awful in general, and this defense is somewhat of why I don't care for her. My response in no way, shape, or form, is anything to cut down your opinion. If you like Korra, that's cool. And if you don't like Korra, then that's cool too (and I can relate). Okay.....so Korra's selfishness, sense of entitlement, and lack of thought in her actions are three qualities that make it hard for me to like Korra. Yes, they are flaws, but they are flaws that I don't support, and I have never seen any growth or character development from these flaws. Even if I despise Korra and her flaws, this does not make me a basher. I for one, don't like Korra's selfishness. I think as an Avatar, this position requires at the most, some humility and even a sense of empathy for fellow people, nonbenders included. I felt that Book 1 focused heavily on Korra only concerned for her own well-being, and the well-being of fellow benders. We see one moment where Korra shows any concern for a nonbender, but then in the next scene, she uses violence to make a nonbender talk, and lords her bending over that nonbender. That's terrible on so many levels. Korra makes brash decisions and doesn't think of the consequences. This is evident in both books; you'd think by book 2 she would have learned to weigh the pros and cons of a decision, but she doesn't. She makes a decision on the spot and ignores any other decision that could (and would) be the potential best route. Korra has entitlement issues, which correlates with Korra getting everything so easily. This is a huge flaw in the writing, and this is ridiculous. Why Bryan and Mike would even put this in is beyond me. This trait that they have given Korra is not suitable for an Avatar, and makes Korra look like a royal douche..... Korra comes off as the self-important avatar that puts her needs first: boyfriend, probending, etc before her job as avatar in book 1, and in book 2, she puts her learning of spirit-bending before mastering airbending and focusing on her duty as avatar. Granted, she knew airbending (but punching air is kind of ridiculous and Tenzin was trying to make that point), and Korra was curious about the evil spirits, but this goes back to point on brash decision making. No thought was put into that decision at all. As for Korra not being worthy of being avatar......I believe this is a matter of opinion. I find Korra unworthy, as Korra puts her own interests first on several occasions, which is what I find quite annoying. I have trouble sympathizing with Korra, as I find her selfishness and lack of humility as a problem when being the avatar. An avatar should be able to relate to the people, bender and nonbender alike, but I don't see Korra's empathy with her fellow nonbenders. With that said, Korra does put emphasis on bending......and I understand why. Bending makes up who she is, so it is understandable. I just feel like she does abuse her bending, as she uses it when it is unnecessary, she abuses her spirit world ability in book 2 to win a race against children (which alone screams character personality flaw but I digress), and she uses this bending against innocent nonbenders who cannot defend themselves. Mako displays this abuse as well.....and this is rather irritating to watch. As for the whole Amon vs. Oppression of Nonbenders.....yeah the writing for LOK is horrid in comparison with ATLA. Bryan and Mike were well aware of their episode limit constraint, yet they still did not effectively write a plot that showed any progress with this issue, nor did it express any character development. The writing was so focused on relationships, love triangles, and the damn subplots, that they forgot the main point was Amon and Oppression. They missed the mark and it really showed. It would have been better if they had left the plot open ended, and carried it into the second book. But instead we got a choppy book 1 ending that focused on Makorra rather than the battle of Amon and the ending of Oppression, and a completely new book of spirits that did not tie into the last book, and was left open ended when there was time to end it properly. As for the couples......I enjoy all ships, but Makorra. I found the writing absolutely disgusting here. And the whole cheating ordeal really made me hate Korra and Mako permanently. The cheating shows what kind of people they are and it does not shed light on any good quality. I blame them both equally, as it was Korra who initiated the kiss, knowing Mako was with Asami. Korra purposely put her own interests first without giving a rat's ass about who she would affect (Asami). But then again, Korra didn't care about Asami....or Asami's relationship with Mako. And Mako kissed back and then didn't tell his gf which is awful. But I find it truly disappointing that neither character bothered to tell Asami, nor did Korra even apologize for her actions. Mako gave a minor apology that really wasn't even what it should have been.....but it was a start. Korra used Asami and Asami's wealth, weapons, etc to get ahead, and didn't even have any consideration for Asami's feelings. These qualities shown by both Mako and Korra are awful......and these character flaws are just terrible. And sadly, they don't learn anything from this because they got away with it in the first place. I really don't care about the next argument. I don't have a problem with her overreacting with her loss of bending. I have a problem with Aang magically coming back and giving her her bending back, along with the power of bending restoration. I just find it very convenient that this happened, and it is just poor writing. I think if Korra was left with just airbending, she would have learned how to be humble and gained great humility from that experience. She still had one element, so I didn't feel as much sympathy for her situation, as Lin and other benders had their bending taken away permanently, along with nonbenders, who have never bent anything. So I found Korra's reaction to being "stuck with one element" very selfish and greedy. She acted as though she was useless with just airbending. One type of bending does not make any bender useless. And as avatar, they could have allowed Korra to gradually learn her bending over..... I just hate the bending presented on a silver platter to Korra, in which she didn't learn anything. This is my opinion of it all; I don't care for Korra as a character. She has far too many flaws, and sadly, her flaws only get worse. Korra does not develop and she shows no sense of growth. And I absolutely love how Bryan and Mike had to write in a ridiculous "amnesia plot" for Book 2 to physically make Korra somewhat likable. Sadly, those few moments in Book 2 of Korra acting like a good person didn't last long..... Korra only was able to escape a few flaws, but still kept some.....and those are still the worst flaws she has.

zanhar1 [i]Korra (The Legend of Korra) Hating on the Avatar, people? That could be dangerous for your physical well-being.[/i] Yeah, maybe if she was real. And even if she was, a good avatar would not hurt a person just for not liking them as Korra seems to do. [i]Selfish; doesn’t think about the consequences of her actions Congratulations, bashers! You’ve identified a little thing called a character flaw. Everyone has them, fictional characters and real people alike. Those are things that are a part of a person’s personality, and are things that she needs to work through and keep under control.[/i] Thanks for the sarcasm, we appreciate it. Really makes you seem credible and like you’re not trying to fight us. Sarcasm and immaturity (on my behalf) aside, yes all characters have flaws, I'm glad she has them it keeps her from being a Sue. But flaws are also reasons to hate a character. While part of a well written one, they are what make a character dislikable. I mean people who don't like Korra probably aren't going to hate her for helping to save the world. And then there's the fact that selfishness is the wrong flaw to give a character who's job it is to literally put the needs of others before her own in order to save the world. She has many flaws, I probably hate that one the most. [i]Gets everything too easily (e.g., getting her bending restored) That’s a flaw in the writing, not the character.[/i] Flaws in the writing contributes to the flaws in a character. Just like the writing of most any love triangle, writing a plot in which a character gets everything way to easily or simply has everything they want and has no problems makes for a character that is sometimes harder to like. And it's twice as bad when the character steals the spotlight. [i]And for that matter, I think that Mike and Bryan did pretty well with what they had. When Nickelodeon greenlit “The Legend of Korra,” they only gave Mike and Bryan twelve episodes to present a single story—meaning, they only had twelve twenty-minute episodes to present and resolve the Equalist conflict with as few plot holes as possible. They weren’t given the next fourteen episodes until well into development, at a point where it was far too late to change anything.[/i] I agree and disagree here. They did do well considered the time and episode press they had. [i]but[/i] a good writer could utilize what limits they were given to the fullest. And we've all seen with atla that they are perfectly capable of doing so. They just didn't. [i]Isn’t worthy of being the Avatar You aren’t magically selected to be the Avatar, nor do you choose to be the Avatar; it’s how you’re born. I believe there was quite a bit of explanation and discussion over this with Aang in the original series. Yes, she makes mistakes, but isn’t that part of being human (see: character flaws)?[/i] This one I could actually agree with; the avatar doesn't choose to be the Avatar, it just happens. However the avatar does get to choose how he or she reacts to it. I don't expect her to change her entire personality to fit the bill, but she must learn some responsibility. As for the mention of flaws; keep in mind, a character can be [i]too[/i] flawed. [i]Abuses her bending …Kind of, yes. Korra sees being the Avatar as being all about the bending prowess, which she has in spades, and she likes to show it off, whether it’s appropriate to or not. Kindly refer to my above discussion of character flaws.[/i] Again a character can be overly flawed. You pointed out three flaws. At this point she is treading dangerously close to being too flawed. It's not even a kind of yes. The power abuse was constant and was evident right off the bat from the very beginning. She used her powers to scare a guy protesting bending. And even worse she used it to both attack a judge for just doing his job and use it to beat Ikki in a silly race. The Avatar State isn't the toy she uses it as. The fact that she sees the being the avatar as being a poweress as something she could show off is borderline villainish on its own as those powers are meant to restore balance and cause good not for acts of sheer narcissism. I know a character just like that; her name is Nerissa. She had ultimate power that was meant for keeping balance, but in abusing that power for her own selfish whims she ended out becoming the main antagonist. So Korra needs to be careful there. She really is treading in dangerous waters. To be fair, I don't think she's gonna go evil, she's not that type of character. But she has that same selfishness and arrogance that Nerissa had prior to going dark. [i]Chooses simply to fight Amon and doesn’t sort out the oppression of non-benders During the course of the show, Amon is a more pressing threat, particularly after he displays his ability to remove bending (kidnappingpeople to do so, even if they were/weren’t gangsters [Bolin…]), and instigates terrorist actions and full-on civil war. Should non-bender oppression have gotten more focus? Perhaps. Keep in mind that there is, in fact, a second (and a third and a fourth) season where these things can be discussed and resolved.[/i] This I can agree with. Fighting Amon was more pressing than the oppression issue. She prioritized in this instance. And I feel like she solved the later of the two...well later. My problem was when she chose probending and her relationship with Mako over Amon. She blew off her airbending training constantly to go play in probending matches, which ultimately lead to Amon attacking and conquering during the final competition. This also lead to her cheating the system when she magically got airbending after her other bending was taken away (which lead her to whine about how she lost her bending despite still being able to bend air (something she whined about wanting so much) which is kind of silly since at leas she had something unlike the other victims of Amon, but that's another matter). And then how instead of training she was busy making faces and teasing Asami because she got with Mako. Literally, she was worrying about boy trouble when Amon was at large. Now I'm not saying she can't act like a normal teen, I'm saying--we've seen that she's capable of prioritizing--she should have put her duty as avatar ahead of trying to go for a taken man. [i]Chooses Mako over Bolin I would like to preface this by saying I am a hardcore Borra shipper, and still think that he is a better match for Korra than Mako is, but that is neither here nor there. (It can still be canon! Three more seasons, fellow shippers~) Unfortunately, Korra was simply not interested in Bolin like that. For those who say that Bolin deserves Korra more, I would like to remind you that people are not objects to be won or deserved, so please cease that line of thought. Korra just loved Mako more—you don’t choose who you love.[/i] Okay, in this instance it's not that she loves Mako more that bothers me. It's the fact that she lead Bolin on and used him to make Mako jealous. Bo genuinely loved her, she took him on a date, made him feel like she felt the same way, and then kissed his brother right in front of him on the very same night. [i]That's[/i] what I don't like. Yes, you can't help who you love. But you sure can help how you handle it. She could have been straight with Bo (and Asami) and told him that she loved his brother not him. Yes, Bo still would have been hurt, but I feel as though it hurt him more to be lead on and lied to. Long story short, I don't mind that she likes Mako more (that's not really in her control) but I do hate how she went about it. As a side note, saying that someone doesn't deserve someone isn't objectifying them. In fact saying someone deserves better than to be cheated on and lied to is probably a nice thing so say. Bo [i]didn't[/i] deserve to be lead on like that, and he does deserve someone who won't cheat on him. To say someone deserves such treatment is more objectifying than saying the person doesn't. [i]Breaks up Masami I also like Masami. But Makorra was always endgame (for season 1…~), and Mako pretty much screwed that relationship up all by himself through his own mistakes (character flaws, people). Korra, you could argue, does hold some fault with the fall of Masami, because her feelings and actions made Mako start reconsidering his relationship. But the fault is largely with Mako, who returned Korra’s kiss, hid it from Asami, and was very avoidant of discussing any relationship problems.[/i] This one I am particularly passionate about as it hurt my favorite character. I actually hold Mako way more accountable for this than I do Korra. However Korra is in no way innocent either. Not only did kissing Mako while he was with Asami hurt Asami, but it hurt Bo too. Korra was Asami's [i]friend[/i]. Asami helped her team stay in the probending contest. Yet she made faces and mocked Asami behind her back. She hated Asami without her knowledge even though Asami had been nothing but nice and generous. Friends don't mock friends behind their backs. Friends don't kiss their friend's boyfriend. And lets not forget that Asami gave [i]everything[/i] up for them, her riches, her trust, her home, and her own father. She did it for them and to do the right thing. And it get repaired in back-stabbing, lies, and disloyalty. Korra and Mako weren't even the ones to fess up. Bolin was the one to tell her. And that makes it all the worse. Asami is very nice and if Korra would have just talked to her about it she probably would have gave her a very easy time. Makorra is product of a cheating jerkbender and a man stealing jerkbender. I wouldn't hate Makorra quite so much had Mako actually talked to Asami instead of lying to her. She's a sweet girl, she would have understood, I seriously doubt she'd force Mako to stay with her against his will. But no, he took the cowardly way out and went behind her back after how nice she was to him. She sponsored him in the pro-bending tournaments and went against her own dad for him, and to do the right thing. He reapays her with disloyalty and dishonesty and that's not alright. And Korra she was totally aware of her friend's relationship with Mako and she went right in and kissed him. What kind of friend is that? Which leads to Korra before she stole Mako. She was being really rude; whenever Asami entered Korra would make some immature face or shudder and then she'd pretend that everything was okay. So behind Asami's back she'd be rude and to her face she'd act all nice. Why? Because she was jealous. And whenever she saw Asami and Mako kiss or hug she would stick her tongue out or make some childish face. How old is she? Old enough to not make those grossed out faces when her friend is dating the man she wants. Again she should have talked to Asami about it instead of behaving like a child. [i]Overreacts at the loss of her bending As touched upon in the series, bending is part of who a person is. Having your bending forcibly removed would be like losing a limb. And as the Avatar (and who she is as a person), bending was everything to Korra. It was part of what defined her. Then suddenly, it was all torn away. Not to mention, she’d already been having self-confidence issues as the Avatar (she felt she couldn’t save people, she continually compared herself and was compared to Aang, etc.). When Korra’s bending was removed, so was all of her sense of self-worth and confidence. I hope you people who claim this NEVER try to use it on real people, because it WILL have serious consequences—if not to you, then to the person you’re telling it to.[/i] This one I also agree and disagree with. I totally agree that it's a part of her and to have it ripped away was terrifying. I would be so scared too. I'd feel bad too. But she at least had something left. As said above, the other victims of Amon were powerless. She had been wanting to master air since the beginning and she finally was able to use it but she wasn't even happy about that. Again I'd be mortified about losing three of my elements but then I also would realize that I at least have one element (an element I'd always wanted to use) to work with where as everyone else had nothing left. And then there's the fact that she was complaining about how much she hated being a non-bender and how horrible that was in front of someone who was [i]born[/i] unable to bend. That's a bit rude on her behalf. [i]Korra fandom, I know quite a few of you are very vocal in your hate of specific characters. Would you all please take a step back and reevaluate your reasons why?[/i] Already have. I try to be fair about my reasons. And I do think I am. I think [i]most[/i] of us are fair. I understand her motives and fears but I think she could have handled them better. She has legit reasons to behave how she does, but she needs to do some re-evaluation herself. She makes these abrupt decisions and if she stepped back and thought for a second they could have been avoided. Yes she's human and humans make mistakes, but I feel as though when she made them, she didn't even try to fix them. I don't even remember her apologizing to Asami for taking Mako. Long story short, I don't hate her for her initial actions/reactions, I simply don't like how she handles things after the mistake was made. All of this in mind I don't actually [i]hate[/i] Korra. I think she's alright. I'm very up and down with her character. She has her high and low moments. Overall your article was well-written, you have some fair points, I just don't agree with all of them.

zanhar1 @bakes2389 Well put! I totally agree with you.

bakes2389 @zanhar1: Thank you! I agree with you too! xD

zanhar1 No problem. :P

ellafairy @zanhar1 I mostly agree with u

tsmith120 Not a bad article, though there are some things I think could be said about these criticisms that went unmentioned. Sorry if I repeat your own arguments, but a number of these so-called 'problems' with Korra really irritate me. 'Selfish; doesn’t think about the consequences of her actions' They're two different things, you know. I don't think Korra is ultimately selfish; I honestly believe that if it came to it, she'd give her life for any of her friends. Her actions can be self-centered, certainly. She's a teenager. I haven't met one yet who has never acted selfishly at some time or another. And not thinking about the consequences of her actions? Maybe, but at least she's acting. Is she always right? No. But at least she's being pro-active. I give her points for that much, at least. And she learns to be smarter about these things as the series progresses. 'Gets everything too easily (e.g., getting her bending restored) ' That's more bad writing, and even that is more down to the uncertainty of where they could take the series. I don't see it as a reason to hate Korra. Plus, she spent the whole series trying to learn Airbending and had spent most of her previous life - over ten years, I'm going to assume - mastering the other three elements. That's longer than it took Aang, who got three elements pretty much sorted in about six months. Doesn't get everything easily, just sayin'. 'Isn’t worthy of being the Avatar ' You've covered that pretty well - it's not like you're made to take a test. I, personally, think the reason Korra seems so 'unlikable' (though I actually like her a great deal, so :p) is down to her learning she is the Avatar at such a young age. Being told you're the most important person on the planet at such a young age is likely to result in a somewhat self-concerned personality, especially when everyone in your life is going to treat you that way. I honestly think they shouldn't have gone looking for her at such a young age, though it is interesting that Korra had learned to at least use three of the elements. Again, though, it seems the focus was entirely on keeping her cooped up and focusing on the physical side of being the Avatar rather than personal development. The Avatars of the past were products of a balanced training regime that took them around the world, learning under different masters in different scenarios. Having her kept in the same place and training from a young age? Not exactly going to have the same result. 'Abuses her bending' No, she doesn't. Bending is an ability that she has and has worked to improve over her lifetime. She can do what she wants with it; as long as she doesn't hurt anyone out of cruelty, she's not abusing it. Most of the characters who have bending use it in a variety of mundane ways, or just for fun. This does not make Korra a bad person. 'Chooses simply to fight Amon and doesn’t sort out the oppression of non-benders' I have yet to see any genuine evidence that the bending community oppresses the non-bending community in any way. Some individual benders oppress individual non-benders. But it's not like they get treated as second class citizens. If that were the case, then would somebody like to explain to me why at least half the high ranking officials of this world are non-benders? Or better yet, why the majority of wealthy businessmen living in huge mansions are non-benders, while benders like Mako and Bolin were living on the street? The Equalist movement is a sham, designed to pray upon the general populace's fear of what is different, and taking isolated situations and pretending they can be generalised to the rest of society. 'Chooses Mako over Bolin' Shpping preferences are not legitimate reasons to hate a character. 'Breaks up Masami' This... Yeah, fair enough, it's not something that scores her any points in my books either. That said, it happened near the beginning of the first season. Is it really so hard for people to move on? I maintain that her actions later in the series reflect a character who would not do the same thing if presented with a similar situation. You know, because she's grown as a human being. Like normal people do. 'Overreacts at the loss of her bending' NO! Alright, you've made good points on this and I'll try not to just repeat what you've said. But seriously, people are genuinely using this as an excuse to hate Korra? Bull. Crap. Like you said, it's the equivalent of losing a limb. But if we take it to its logical conclusion, it would be like an artist losing the use of their hands, or a professional sports player losing the use of the faculties they need to play a sport. I'm not trying to generalise because I know it happens in real life, and I don't want to say they all become emotional wrecks or anything. But seriously, Korra has built a lot of her life and self-image around the fact that she was the Avatar, and to her, that meant being the master of the four elements. Now she only has the one. Not only does she feel like a failure, she feels broken, over half-incomplete, and everything she has worked towards for most of her life is gone. Asami never had any of those things, and was able to build her self-image knowing she was not a bender; as such, that is not where she - or anyone who knows her - places their value in. Korra does not have that. She has grown to rely on her bending, and without it she has lost what she believes to be an essential part of her as a person. I think I really needed that off my chest.

zanhar1 @ellafairy Thank you.