Friday, November 25, 2011

The Next Avatar: Legend of Korra (The Last Airbender)




After Nickelodeon’s successful Animated Television series of Avatar: the Last Airbender-Legend of Aang (2005-2008), here comes a new series of Avatar (to be personally created by co-creators Michael Dante DiMartino and Brayn Konietzko).

Avatar: Legend of Korra, is an upcoming animated television series originated from the Avatar: Legend of Aang and will be aired on Nickelodeon Mid- 2012. The animated TV series will run for 2 seasons with 26 episodes. The first season will be composed of 12 episodes while the 14 episodes will be on the second season.


What’s the Story all about?
The story starts 70 years later and will focus on Korra, about 17 years old teenage girl from the Southern Water Tribe and said to be the new Avatar. From among the elements namely Air - Water - Earth - Fire, only Air bending is the element she wasn’t able to master.

The said series is entirely different from the previous avatar (Aang's adventures) but still connected to the story. The set-up of adventure will be in Republic City, a large "metropolis powered by steampunk-type technology" such as cars and motorcycles (founded by Aang and Zuko after the war and brought people from four nations).Conflicts inside the city starts with the group of anti-benders, called the Equalists, who use  chi-blocking to subdue their enemies led by Amon who aim for revolution.

As the story goes on, Korra and her friends (the brothers) Mako a Fire Bender and Bolin an Earth Bender will be joining the city’s most popular sport called pro-bending, which sets teams of benders against each other. She will also meet Chief Bei Fong (daughter of Toph bei Fong who taught the art of Metalbending); the leader of city's police which are Metalbenders (a subset of Earthbenders).

On the later part of the story, Korra will learn Airbending from Tenzin, youngest child of Aang and Katara. Tenzin is married to Pema and has 3 children; Jinora, a "bookworm", and Ikki, a "motor-mouth", are his daughters while Meelo, his youngest child (whose similar to Aang), is his son. All of his children are airbenders.

Korra must fight rampant crimes and the anti-bender revolt, assisted by two brothers, Mako and Bolin. She is also joined by her animal guide, Naga (female Polar Bear Dog), and the Metalbending police force of Republic City.

Main Cast Characters
Korra (Janet Varney, Cora Baker in a flashback) is the main character of the series and the next Avatar, after Aang. She is a hotheaded teenager from the Southern Water Tribe, described as "ready to take on the world". Before the beginning of the series, she has already mastered Waterbending, Earthbending, and Firebending, and must learn Airbending from Tenzin, Aang and Katara's youngest son. Korra has a polar bear dog named Naga as her animal guide.





Mako (David Faustino) is a firebender, another of Korra's friends, and Bolin's older brother. He is described as "dark and brooding", and participates in pro-bending with Bolin. He is named after the late Mako Iwamatsu, who provided the voice of Iroh in the original series.



Bolin (P.J. Byrne) is one of Korra's friends and an earthbender. In contrast to his older brother Mako, Bolin is often light-hearted and humorous. He participates in pro-bending, the most popular sport in Republic City. Bolin has a pet Fire Ferret named Pabu.



Tenzin (J. K. Simmons) is Korra's airbending master. He is the youngest of Aang and Katara's three children, and the only one that is an airbender. He has three children himself, that are all airbenders.



Jinora (Kiernan Shipka) is Tenzin's eldest daughter; an airbender, and also an avid reader.



Ikki is Tenzin's youngest daughter, second child, and described as "fun, crazy, and a fast talker". Ikki is also an airbender.



Meelo is Tenzin's only son and the youngest of his three children. Meelo resembles Aang (his grandfather) and is described as erratic or active, in contrast to his solemn father.[citation needed] Like his sisters, Meelo is an airbender.



Pema is Tenzin's wife, a non-bender, and the mother of Jinora, Ikki, and Meelo. She is currently pregnant with her fourth child.



Amon is a mysterious masked man who leads "the Equalists", an anti-bending organization which uses chi-blocking skills to subdue their foes. He has been confirmed as the major antagonist of the series. 



Chief Bei Fong is Toph Bei Fong's daughter and head of the Republic City police. The police use metalbending to subdue criminals, taught to them by Toph herself.



Naga (Dee Bradley Baker) is Korra's female Polar Bear Dog and animal guide.


Pabu (Dee Bradley Baker) is Bolin's black-footed red panda ferret (Fire Ferret).




 
 
Korra’s Development
 
“We really wanted Korra to be different from Aang. Other than being female, just different in her personality and everything. That is really refreshing for Mike and me. We will be writing a scene and stop and pinch our selves and say ‘Aang never would have said this. Aang never would have done this!’” – Bryan Konietzko



“The idea was to break the conventions of what female superheroes. She’s tough. She’s rugged.”
The creators shared some technical details and facts about Korra, including a full “turn” (front, back, left, and right) of her design, and a design of young Korra. Korra’s full body figure is seven ‘heads’ tall, which is a different proportion that what was used for the younger characters in Avatar: The Last Airbender. Korra is seventeen, and already knows water, earth, and firebending.


The New Team Avatar

The panel then segued into the reveal of the new Team Avatar. This time, instead of a brother and sister pair like Sokka and Katara, Korra will be joined by two brothers, Mako and Bolin.




Aang and Katara’s Descendents

The crowd roared in delight as the creators introduced Aang and Katara’s descendants.
“Korra is Aang’s reincarnation, which is different from being [Aang and Katara's] daughter,” Di Martino said. “Aang and Katara did have three kids, the youngest of which is an Airbender named Tenzin. We know that Korra has learned water, air and fire but has yet to do airbending at all. In this series one of her missions is to train with Tenzin and learn Airbending.”





Tenzin and his family live on Air Temple Island, an offshoot of Republic City. He’s married to Pemma, a non-bender. They have three children together and Pemma is pregnant with number four. Jinora, the eldest, is a bookworm, the second daughter Ikki is talkative, and their youngest child is their son, Meelo.


The Equalists and The Metalbender Cops

Bryan Konietzko and Joaquim Dos Santos worked on the design for the Equalists, including their revolutionary leader, Amon, who has the Chinese word 平 (peace) emblazoned across his chest. 


Amon leads a group of “henchmen” trained in chi-blocking (the technique Ty Lee used in the original series to block bending abilities.)




The panel then showcased the design for the metalbending cops of Republic City. In Avatar: The Last Airbender, Toph was the first Earthbender to discover the technique of metalbending. Seventy years later, although it is still a rare technique mastered only by the very few, there is now an “elite SWAT team” of metalbender cops. The design for the cops is based on 1920s New York City police uniforms, crossed with samurai armor. Similar to the Dai Li’s Earthbending restraint techniques, the Metalbender cops use ziplines to swing across the city and throw metal cables to nab people.





The Republic City


The producers showcased a series of concept artwork they used to help Nickelodeon envision the look of the new series. Film noir and steam punk elements have worked their way into the roaring 20s-atmosphere of the Four Nations 70 years later. In the artwork, Korra rides Naga and chases after Fire Nation gangsters driving a getaway car, fights metalbender cops, and takes on chi-blockers in a shady alleyway.





A new element introduced in Korra will be “Pro Bending,” which builds on the ‘bending as a sport’ Earth Rumble concept from the original series. Pro-Bending is inspired by Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) tournaments.


Other Photos:









References:
racebending.com
wikipedia.org 
legendofkorra.com 
thelegendofkorra.tv

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