Airbening101

Korra:  The Airbending Drop-Out

There’s a lot of speculation on who would win in a battle between Avatar Aang and Avatar Korra.  Of course, neither is alive at the same time so this battle would be purely hypothetical.  However, there’s one argument I’ve never seen mentioned.  Korra is an airbending drop-out.  

Korra first came to Republic City to learn airbending.  She learned most of the forms but couldn’t produce a single puff of air until the season 1 finale.  

In season 2, Korra could now airbend but she hadn’t mastered it.  As Tenzin put it, “...you’re still a long way away from mastering airbending.”  “You’ve mastered Korra-style airbending.  Now you need to master real airbending.”  

Unfortunately, Korra stopped listening to Tenzin as soon as she unlocked airbending.  Worse still, Korra dismissed him as her teacher soon after, and that was the end of her airbending training.  

Because of her choices, Korra never mastered airbending.  Instead, she relied on her bending strength and the avatar state to make up for her lack of skill.  

To Korra airbending was just firebending without the burn.  

This became an obvious weakness because airbending relies heavily on skill, dexterity, and agility; skills Korra is in desperate need of.  Therefore, Korra has always struggled fighting against agile opponents like Zaheer or the Equalist.  

Which brings me back to Aang vs Korra.  When it comes to airbending, Aang would demolish Korra.  Aang was a airbending prodigy, Korra is a drop-out.  Even Tenzin could beat Korra in airbending.  

This is the finalized version(s) of my bending chart. I overhauled the whole thing and updated some of the symbols.  I’m pretty satisfied with it, though I may change the symbol for “Ice” in the future.  

My old design:  

Which one is your favorite design?

I am an Earth Science Teacher who studied the four elements in university.  I hope to make a series on the science within Bending.  

I’m so happy to see all these Avatar related animations.   This one is of Aang Earth Bending by Renan Nunes.

ATLA Creators Leave NETFLIX Project:  And I’m not worried.

This might be a Very Unpopular Opinion, but I'm not overly worried about the creators leaving the Netflix Avatar the last Airbender remake.

Let me explain:   Despite how much Mike and Bryan are praised, they didn't come up with everything good in ATLA.  Like any project, they worked with a team and other team member contributed many things that fans love about the show.  Good team member act as "checks and balances" to prevent personal biases from taking over, and to yield a better product.  

Mike and Bryan made ATLA but they also made Legend of Korra.  They made Korra without their full team and LoK wasn't as good.  Because Mike and Bryan didn't have their full team, many of their biases didn't get ironed out of the final product.  And because they were more in control, their inadequacies shone through.  Thus, Korra's quality suffered because the creators aren't perfect, and they didn't have others to balance them.  

Therefore, I'm not overly worried to see Mike and Bryan go because they aren't the source of all goodness.   Just like with J. K. Rowling, maybe it's time for someone else to nurture the franchise.  

The Moon and Ocean Spirits are the source of all Waterbending, so Commander Zhao essentially unplugged the Waterbending WiFi and even took out their Internet satellite (i.e. The MOON).  

Maybe that’s why Katara was so upset.  

Aang and Kya sacrificing themselves to protect Katara and the tribe

I can easily see this during the next Fire-Nation Avatar.  And since the Fire-Nation is based off Japan I can see this totally working.  

Avatar but its a summer anime in the 90s and they still have powers and stuff but also live like normal highschoolers

In Defense of the Elemental System & Energybending

So I’ve seen and heard many people describe the magic system in Avatar as being based in the four classical elements. While this isn’t an inaccurate description of the show, the word “classical” has a very strong Western cannotation (Greco-Roman, to be specific). I’d like to make the argument that the elemental system in ATLA is far more Eastern than people give it credit for.

The concept of dividing the physical world into water, earth, fire, and air is just as much Ancient Indian in origin as it is Ancient Greek. Additionally, the existence of a fifth element that represents the absence of the physical or a world beyond the physical— which is often translated as “void” or “space”— is present in both Hindu and Buddhist philosophy.

This “void” concept is acknowledged in ATLA through the existence of energybending, an ability granted to our hero after coming into contact with a primordial being who existed before the four elements system. Whereas the other bending arts focus on overcoming obstacles using the physical world (elements), energybending allows one to subdue the enemy by looking beyond the physical and taking away the ego-driven brute force that lies within the opponent.

A solution steeped in a Buddhist conception of the world.

Like what I’m doing? Tips always appreciated, never expected. ^_^

https://ko-fi.com/atlaculture

Romantic Moments vs Romantic Intent: A Shipping problem

If you are a fan of animation/ anime, then you are probably familiar with the term “Shipping” or “Relation-shipping”.  This is basically when you think two characters should be a couple and you “ship” them.   As an Avatar: the Last Airbender fan, I am well aware of ships such as Zutara or Kataang.  However, it’s very common for shippers to ignore “Romantic Intent”.  Romantic Intent is when the characters are romantically interested in each other; this can be one sided or mutual.  Romantic moments might lead to romantic intent, but the two aren’t mutually exclusive.  

Being in a romantic situation (taking someone to dinner, hanging out with them, or giving them gifts) does not mean their intentions are romantic.  They could just be a really good friend, or they might be a relative.  For example, my sister and I did a lot of things together in High School, so many people assumed that we were dating.  

Why I bring this up is because many shippers ship characters purely because “they look cute together”, or “they have so much in common”, or “I would love to see these two become a couple.”  However, in their zeal shippers often forget that these characters might have their own desire and aspirations.  These aren’t dolls to make do what ever you like.   

Second, there’s often a huge amount of entitlement that comes with shipping, which I think is kinda funny.  Whether Jill ends up with Bobby or Max, isn’t your decision to make.  Stories are fun, and speculation is fun, but we the readers are really only outsiders looking into someone else’s story.  

And even though these are just fictional characters, we can’t force someone to fall in love with someone else.