I suppose it's time for my yearly deviantArt journal update, and what better time to do it than after the Legend of Korra finale? I've been a rabid Avatar fan since 2009 so I was both excited and terrified at the prospect of a new series. Overall, I enjoyed it. Starting with the not so good first.... ALL THE BLOODY SHIPPING!!! Gah, this drove me crazy. Rather than plot we get whole episodes of...love triangles? With a 12 episode season you just can't do that. I was rooting for Makorra at the beginning and by the end I wanted Mako to take a flying leap, which pains me. The brothers had such potential for an epic character arc, being orphans and involved with the triads, I feel like they ended up being nothing more than pretty shipper meat by the end. Other than that, Korra is the kind of person I want to smack upside the head. She totally didn't deserve her redemption at the end. Asami...meh, not sure what she's there for.

That being said, the animation was definitely a step up from the original series, and the music was great. Despite the uninspiring new Team Avatar, the original Gaang's relatives were awesome. Tenzin had great character development and was a good contrast to Aang's personality. His kids were hilarious. Lin was just...wow...Toph would be proud. And as if Korra and her new team weren't already losing me, we have Zuko spawn come into the picture. Big intimidating general of the United Forces with Dante Basco's wispy voice? I'm in love already! And he didn't disappoint. Iroh managed to be a bit of an awkward putz like Zuko, with more than enough badassery and bomb-punching to quickly move up the ranks to favorite character status. To my delight, it also seems he's become the creators' punching bag, like Zuko, as they had him blown off a ship, nearly drowning, getting electrocuted and falling out of numerous planes all in the span of about 30 minutes. Ah, the memories... And then the creators leave us with a glimpse of Bumi and suddenly I'm really looking forward to the next season. As far as I'm concerned, the last 5 minutes of the finale never happened.

So, all of this is to say that I'm planning some epic cosplays for AWA this year. I'll be Grell from Black Butler, like I originally planned, but now I've decided to go as a United Forces firebender as well, so I'll post some pics from that. I had to half-heartedly finish my Mako and Bolin painting [link] after watching the finale, because all I wanted to do was an Iroh piece. So be on the lookout!

Flameo Hotman!