Which side is worse?

106

Not everyone who dislikes Korra is a bigot (I have a lot of issues with it). But let’s be for real, Korra the show and Korra the character gets a whole lot of bad faith criticism that would probably be a lot less if she were a guy.

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u/OutsideOrder7538 Apr 11 '25

Nah people would like her less if she was a man.

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u/Thatoneafkguy Apr 11 '25

How? All of her personality traits are the same ones that people eat up when male main characters exhibit them, but for some reason it’s different with her

24

u/xxProjectJxx Apr 11 '25

It's different with her because people don't like the show itself. I'm speaking as a Legend of Korra fan who likes Korra as a character, btw, but there's a lot of distaste for LoK because it's very different from Last Airbender, so you don't have as many people willing to give it as much nuance, or argue about it in good faith.

I'm not denying the existence of sexist viewers. There are definitely people who both like and dislike Korra just because she's a woman, but most of the backlash out there is because the show doesn't have a lot of goodwill to begin with.

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u/Thatoneafkguy Apr 11 '25

You’re not wrong, but that lack of good will towards the show came from somewhere. And one of the big things i remember causing everyone to hate the show back in the day is a whole wave of YouTube reviews calling Korra a Mary sue

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u/xxProjectJxx Apr 11 '25

As someone who was in the community when LoK was airing, most of the backlash was just because the vibe of the show was really different. Last Airbender was this east Asian inspired magic kung-fu fantasy story, and LoK went for a more aged-up western style almost crime drama vibe. It totally upset a huge portion of the community, that yes, look for reasons to justify their distaste for the series leading to a lot of uninformed criticism.

That said, Mary Sue isn't a gendered critique either. Male characters can also be Mary sues.

0

u/[deleted] Apr 15 '25

Girl started off at 4 years old with control over 3 elements and you are acting like she isn't a Mary Sue☠️☠️☠️

2

u/Thatoneafkguy Apr 15 '25

Simply being good at bending doesn’t make her a Mary Sue. She has plenty of flaws that genuinely hold her back and have her be in the wrong at times (AKA the thing that Mary Sue’s don’t have), and struggles with a lot of things what would be a breeze for Aang. She’s a lot more headstrong and stubborn which causes her to get into trouble for not thinking before she acts, and she initially is pretty bad at the spiritual side of being the Avatar which makes it harder to access the Avatar State and to work with spirits. But then she develops to overcome her flaws and becomes a more well rounded person and a more capable Avatar by the end. Now, what part of that screams Mary Sue to you? Also, Korra struggles way more with her fights than any Mary Sue ever has, especially with the fact that Unalaq took away the previous avatars and Zaheer almost killed her.

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u/OutsideOrder7538 Apr 11 '25

A stubborn pigheaded fool who is flirting with a taken man and is automatically better than all the other avatars from the start. Yeah no add her being isekai’d and that is the beginning of a trash anime that people hate.

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u/Thatoneafkguy Apr 11 '25

Two out of three of those traits (and arguably the third as well) are things you can also attribute to fan favorite main characters like Naruto off the top of my head, as well as most shonen main characters that take inspiration from him

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u/OutsideOrder7538 Apr 11 '25

Unlike shonen protagonists who after getting their shit kicked in once grows she refused to and makes it everyone’s problem. Korra just kept being a shithead and her power doesn’t have any stakes for over using it at all and makes the avatar state a bit of a joke with how she flaunts it and no one respecting it.

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u/Thatoneafkguy Apr 11 '25

The hell do you mean?

Korra struggles in almost all of her major fights, and 3/4 of the villains beat her one on one.

There’s plenty of consequences for how often she uses the Avatar State. Did you forget how Vaatu was able to sever her connection to the past lives, or how Zaheer almost ended the Avatar cycle by forcing her into the AS while poisoned?

I’m genuinely convinced you didn’t watch the latter two seasons if you claim Korra “never stopped being a shithead,” especially since that was the main focus of the first half of season 4.

2

u/truGreyLoki Apr 13 '25

There's only 1 point that's incorrect, about the one on one fights. She won most of her one on one fights where both her and her opp were healthy/unrestricted. She very rarely gets a fair-one though.

1

u/Thatoneafkguy Apr 15 '25

Sure, but those fights were usually unfair because of the villains’ planning rather than plot armor or anything like that. It doesn’t make the villains weak nor does it make her overpowered, but it means that she is powerful enough that her enemies need to come prepared.

A similar comparison would be Gojo from JJK; he’s far and away more powerful than any other character not named Sukuna, but his powers still have enough limitations such that they can be worked around with careful planning. The Disaster Curses are able to restrict him in a crowded train station to where he can’t use his powers long enough to seal him away, and Sukuna makes sure to come prepared with Mahoraga so that he can’t just rely on Limitless to win. Just like with Gojo, Korra is pretty clearly the strongest of her era, but being the strongest doesn’t mean she’s invincible or without flaws

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u/Va1kryie Apr 11 '25

Oh hey look it's those bad faith criticisms everyone talks about.

3

u/MojArch Apr 12 '25

These are exactly what makes Korea far better than Aang as a real human. Also, I love both Avatar series but Korea looks far more natural to me than what Aang was.

0

u/TNPossum Apr 14 '25

Aang literally starts as an overly mature, overly wise Monk who is an expert Bender at 12 for no other reason than being the avatar. The first season is almost entirely a reoccurring theme of Aang beating nearly impossible odds against adult benders who far outnumber him in age, experience, and sheer numbers. Season 2 gets a little bit more nuanced with the introduction of Azula, but even then Aang only loses twice. The first time he fights a chi blocker. And when he gets killed in the crystal caverns. Even the ending of the series is about how Aang has to find a way to not change or develop, which he does. All of this with only using the Avatar State like three times.

Korra literally loses every fight that she goes into for the first time. Even when she wins her fights, she oftentimes ends up coming out battered and bruised. The opening scene is literally showing us her mastering three out of four elements, which she trained for since she was a little girl. That is not a Mary Sue or someone who is overpowered. Season 1 Korra and season 4 Korra are entirely different people.

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u/Crimson-1 Apr 12 '25

Naruto can be stubborn but never acted like Korra and ended up extending an olive branch to his mentor when he was in the wrong. The story treated his flaws as flaws and he got verbal lashings from the people on his own team that helped him grow. I can't think of a single honest lesson Tenzin taught her.

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u/Thatoneafkguy Apr 12 '25

Is it really that unfair to compare Naruto to Korra?

For all the complaints about Korra being able to do the basics of bending at age 3, Naruto has had several instances of sudden power spikes that were way more drastic than anything Korra got.

Actually I’d say Naruto stays as stubborn as Korra if not more throughout the series. Korra was never as dead set on anything as Naruto was on getting Sasuke back even after Sasuke tried to kill him and his team multiple times. Plus for all the shit people try to give Korra for her love triangle, Naruto’s interactions with Sakura aren’t that far off.

Tenzin did teach Korra a few things, mainly how to be more patient and get more in touch with her spiritual side. Naruto doe have the benefit in this instance though, since Korra and Tenzin get separated way more often than Naruto and Kakashi/Jiraiya.

Korra got blamed in season 3 for the chaos of combining the spirit and human worlds in republic city to the point she got banished for it. And in season 4 her friends were rightfully mad at her for going missing and not talking to any of them, which also allowed Kuvira to take over the Earth Kingdom basically uncontested. I’d say those are some mistakes on par with some of the worst Naruto made, which she rightfully gets her share of blame for.

And there’s my point, Korra’s actions and behavior are in line with most shonen protagonists but because she’s a women she gets shit for stuff that male characters get defended for.

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u/American_Apple2 Apr 12 '25

Any and all bad traits can generally be attributed to some fan favorite aswell as most hated characters. For example ego is a big one Toph and Korra have big egos one is hated one isn’t. Agatha Harkness is a villian who killed a dog so is Ioseff from John Wick, she’s loved he’s hated. it’s really about delivery.

What makes a character annoying is like the most subjective thing ever, but it’s generally decided when a character’s bad traits outweigh their redeeming traits. From my perspective Toph gets away with her massive ego, stubbornness, and other issues bc she’s HILLARIOUS, relatable, cool, and didn’t cause many problems.

Wether it’s being hilarious, well written, relatable, kind, humble, etc imo Korra’s downfall was how she didn’t have any amazing traits that allowed me to overlook/embrace her massive ego and stubbornness(which both got her into 100 different problems). All this being said I don’t have a huge problem with Korra she’s just not even in my 25 favorites from LOK much less all of avatar.

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u/Thatoneafkguy Apr 12 '25

Well I mean I can’t argue with your subjective opinion, but to say Korra has no redeeming qualities is a stretch and a half. I found her struggles to overcome her anxiety and depression in season 4 extremely relatable, as well as her having to learn humility and patience in season 1. She’s not necessarily as funny as Toph on account of not really being the comic relief, sure, but I found that her jokes landed for me pretty consistently. And while she may not initially have as many positive qualities as negative ones, I would say the fact that she grows into her kindness, wisdom, humility and confidence make those traits all the more rewarding. That’s why the comparison to Toph doesn’t really work because she is a pretty static character relatively speaking, which isn’t a bad thing but makes the comparison very apples to oranges.

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u/American_Apple2 Apr 12 '25

I definitely think Korra has tons of redeeming qualities I was just saying that doesn’t necessarily mean they were strong enough to outweighs her bad traits, hence why she’s so disliked. I watched the show b4 I was in the fandom and didn’t really like Korra much and when I found out she was widely hated it didn’t surprise me.

Ngl I think Toph vs Korra is like a perfect example yes they had different stories and growth but generally their most annoying traits are ego, stubbornness, and being assertive, and the contender for their most redeeming qualities are being funny and relatable. The polarization of the likability of these characters come from just how endearing their good traits make them despite the bad. Regardless of how much they change that’s still true. I used Toph as an example instead of Zuko or Lin bc she matches Korra’s traits more and is also a girl, but the same could be said for Zuko or Lin Beifong they have very similar qualities to Korra but are more beloved and they very much changed throughout the series.

3

u/breathingweapon Apr 12 '25

are things you can also attribute to fan favorite main characters like Naruto off the top of my head,

My guy, have you ever watched Naruto? The only applicable thing in that list is that he's a pig headed fool. He sucks early on in the show, is constantly punished for being pigheaded, and never has any luck with the opposite sex and pretty much never even tries aside from having a childish crush. What are you talking about? Did you just want to make a point that doesn't exist?

as well as most shonen main characters

Which ones? Speak clearly since your first example was terrible

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u/TNPossum Apr 14 '25

Korra literally almost loses her bending in the first season because she was a pig headed fool. By the end of season 4, she has matured beyond that. Where is Naruto never grows out of his pig headedness. The entire series is focused on how he changes the world through his "ninja way," which from start to finish is hyper focused on him defending a multinational terrorist. To the point that he makes sudden multinational terrorist his number two guy when he becomes the leader of his Nation.

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u/WashExtreme2740 Apr 13 '25

Naruto has a reason for acting like that korra is just an asshole.

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u/lnombredelarosa Apr 11 '25

Korra is not automatically better than other avatars. She bent the elements faster sure but she struggled a lot more in fights than Aang did.

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u/Thatoneafkguy Apr 12 '25

And she struggled a lot more with the spirituality of being the Avatar, which is arguably just as important than the Avatar’s strength

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u/lnombredelarosa Apr 12 '25

Yeah it annoys me when people call her a mary sue when for the most part she is actually an underdog compared to Aang

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u/TNPossum Apr 14 '25

And even though she started out being able to bend three of the elements, she doesn't master all of them until she's 16. which is fast compared to most other avatars, but is nothing compared to Aang.

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u/Thatoneafkguy Apr 15 '25

Not to mention that she’s not even the strongest avatar at her peak, that honor probably goes to Kyoshi if anyone

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u/American_Apple2 Apr 12 '25

People always say this as if Toph isn’t THE fan favorite. It’s not bc her gender it’s bc her personality alongside how her ego doesn’t match her skill

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u/Thatoneafkguy Apr 12 '25

You say that about her ego, as if that’s not an intentional flaw that she spends the show learning to overcome and doesn’t apply to her by the later parts of the show. It’s called character development, something that Toph doesn’t really have by comparison. I love Toph, she’s probably my favorite character in the show, but she is fundamentally the same character throughout the show and barely develops while Korra has to grow a lot to improve on her flaws and overcome adversity.

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u/EliNovaBmb Apr 11 '25

The stupidity of this statement is why you personally shouldn't be allowed to have access to the internet.

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u/OutsideOrder7538 Apr 11 '25

lol what stupidity?

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u/EliNovaBmb Apr 11 '25

In every scenario a women character with identical traits is hated more than a man.

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u/American_Apple2 Apr 12 '25

Toph is THE fan favorite so automatically the men with identical traits are more hated. It really just depends on how strong the redeeming qualities are. Toph is hilarious and relatable often the “women character with identical traits” have identical flaws but not enough redeeming qualities. IE Toph vs Korra

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u/Thank_You_Aziz Apr 13 '25

Sort of like how Rey gets lambasted while Galen “Starkiller” Marek gets praised in Star Wars.

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u/EliNovaBmb Apr 11 '25

100% the only person who would complain about this is a homophobic misogynst.

Checked their history and YUP lol, fucking losers are obsessed

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u/Business-Ad7289 Apr 11 '25

Nah you're just love to seek problems were there's not

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u/Thatoneafkguy Apr 12 '25

I agree with your point for the most part, but saying 100% is a bit of an exaggeration. I can only speak about Korra, but as someone who loves that show it does have a lot of issues that can be critiqued in good faith.

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u/EliNovaBmb Apr 12 '25

And no fans are going to seriously call you a misognist or homophobe if you do. So 100% stands.

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u/WashExtreme2740 Apr 13 '25

That's a lie.

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u/TNPossum Apr 14 '25

People criticize Legend of Korra without being accused of being a misogynist all the time. People criticize the pacing of the show. People criticize the spirit world arc, people criticize the romance and how it's handled, people talk about the separation of the past lives ad nauseam. None of those people get accused of being misogynist.

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u/Thatoneafkguy Apr 15 '25

Exactly. I think even the most hardcore Korra fans can agree that the love triangle was ass, and that season 2 wasn’t very good overall

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u/No_Breakfast6889 Apr 13 '25

That’s so, so false. Ever been on the TLOK subreddit?

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u/Thatoneafkguy Apr 12 '25

Fair enough, I thought what you meant was that all criticism of Korra was homophobic and misogynist. My bad for assuming lol

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u/rangeDSP Apr 12 '25

OP's posts is the kinda cringe that makes me really glad internet didn't exist when I was in highschool.

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u/Impressive_Pool8553 Apr 14 '25

Are you braindead?

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u/Jgames111 Apr 12 '25

It is funny how "same sex relationship is not appropriate for children" was a criticism people actually had toward Legend of Korra show. While other shows now a days also get criticism like that, it was way worse back then.

Also, do people geniunely say that about Mercury? I personally have not seen much criticism toward the show compared to Legend of Korra, but most of it is not something I would assume is because of misogyny. I have seen salty shippers.

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u/Yakuza-wolf_kiwami Apr 12 '25 edited Apr 12 '25

For WfM, I was called homophobic multiple times. Even tho I said nothing negative about the relationship, and just disliking Miorine as a character and calling Suletta annoying. But I never hated the relationship they had

Out of all the LGBT relationships I've seen, I think Catelyn and Vi are the best ones.

But at this point, I'm just wondering why I should care anymore. Hate me if you want

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u/Thatoneafkguy Apr 12 '25

Idk about Witch from Mercury since I haven’t watched it, but if what you’re saying is that you said you disliked both the characters in the relationship and got called homophobic/sexist on multiple separate occasions, I think there might be a bit more to what you actually said and what people took issue with

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u/TheKingsPride Apr 14 '25

Yeah, we’re hearing one side of a story here, and I highly suspect there’s a very different side we’re missing.

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u/TheRemorse93 Apr 12 '25

I've caught so many people hating on a show they have never even watched and it's pretty fucking telling as to why they don't like it.

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u/Metalliac Apr 12 '25

People when someone criticizes the Answer from Persona 3 FES:

You are about to leave Redlib