I’d like to address a reoccurring comment in defense of Korra and criticism of my video: the Studio meddling argument. The idea that Korra suffered from studio meddling which is why its quality was affected and why comparing Korra to Arcane who had a smoother dealing with its executives is argued to be unfair. I don’t think this is a convincing argument for 2 reasons. 1: because the studio itself is part of the creation process of the show, they finance the endeavor, make it possible and are creating along side the creators whom are effectively hired by the studio. Which means that any mistake and shenanigans done by the studio that effects the show’s quality still makes criticism of the show fair because the people behind the show made mistakes and that includes the studio who like it or not are behind the story telling process. Executive meddling isn’t always a bad thing either, plenty of executives have saved franchises from the eccentricity of artists so if its fair to praise a work saved by executive interference its fair to criticize one effected by it. 2: in Korra the executive meddling argument can be a tad bit exaggerated. We know the studio messed with the quantity of episodes, weren’t clear to the writers about how much time they had to tell the story etc. But Mike and Brian have stated in some interviews that they were given creative freedom on many issues especially on the first season, and several issues that many of us complain about probably were not studio interference on the story. The Equalists just dissapearing from the world after book 1; focusing on pro-bending which is not tied to the main conflict; Tenzin saying Korra learned air bending techniques in pro-bending and should keep playing the sport but we only see that ONCE and then we never see Korra learning air bending until it happens out of nowhere with no explanation after she loses her other bending arts; Asami turning against her father not being explained aside from the assumption that its the right thing to do, but we don’t see into Asami’s mind on why she has her good moral values and what would motivate to physically attack her father so immediately; Korra taking too long to become more likable, we all know she was meant to grow and mature, the issue is how long it took; Korra bending as a toddler yet still training for around ten years when it would have been better to just show her training and learning quickly so as to avoid cheapening the effort of learning how to bend which was established in ATLA; not exploring the social issues in republic city with much depth, not explains the government system very well which is NOT a republic, as far as I can tell but more of a soviet style committee system, in the first season I mean, it becomes a republic later, even then republics just COME OUT OF NOWHERE, republics are a western thing and the Avatar universe is based on asian culture and political systems yet suddenly they get a western enlightenment based republic?; and of course the love drama. And this is just focusing on season 1. Other facts like how it appears that Mike and Brian wanted a Aang- Katara- Male Toph love triangle in ATLA which was apparently stopped by Aaron ehaz according to rumors, shows a tendency of the creative minds behind Korra to making certain mistakes a lot of us didn’t like. Anyway my point is, the executive meddling argument doesn’t delegitimize criticism of Korra as a story and it doesn’t explain all the writing elements that people criticize in Korra. And it doesn’t make comparing Korra to Arcane unfair just because the executives behind Arcane made the right decisions and didn’t complicate things for the writers when entertainment is created by BOTH the creative team AND the executives. However, this being said, my criticism is on Korra as a story and even then I like the political thriller and commentary aspect in Korra ALOT actually. And I do have videos planned defending Korra on many of those decisions. Iastly, I’d like to thank the engagement and passion that some of you have dedicated to this video. Even critical comments are a big help to my small channel, so thank you guys. And I’m glad we got a conversation going.

As much as love and adore both Korra and ATLA. I have to agree, Arcane truly is what Korra should've been and a much better version.

I think what makes Vi a much better character in this story, aside from her general demeanor coming from a place where it is earned or makes sense, the story doesn't try to force us to think she's always righteous and makes the right decisions all the time. She's deeply flawed and the principal reason Jynx slips into insanity. She wants to do right but constantly fails because she's a flawed character. You see her character change and evolve to some extent over the season, beginning to understand some of the complexities of the world, yet when she slips away from that you can empathize as to why and you know she's still got more development to go through. Other female super architypes with the same attitude always try to beat you over the head with how righteous they are and nothing is their fault and it is never earned or genuine.

I feel like the reason vi is more likeable than Korra is because she had a bad upbringing. Vis parents were murdered, she had to look after her sister almost alone, and had to rob places to survive and still was a nice person with a good heart. Korra grew up with people always looking after her and taking care of her and was spoiled, hot headed, rude and out of touch.

"Being ignored is the worst criticism" boy do I love that line

Two things I wanted to say after this video: Jayce is portrayed so well with how easily he is manipulated. It’s never because he’s stupid, Arcane shows him to be a genius and how he’s constantly told that he is. It shows how egoistic he is and how every time he gets manipulated by someone else, they appeal to his ego. He’s not simply stupid or lacking of common sense; instead, Jayce is constantly exploited through his morals. The other thing is the story of Jinx, how she truly “jinxes” everything she tries to do, how she constantly hurts those she’s closest to while trying to help. I just find it really well told tragic storytelling.

There are a few big reasons. In Arcane, characters doing bad/stupid/horrible things actually has consequences and don't get a free pass, while in Korra, the mc acts as an A-hole throughout and still expects people to root for her. And the main Arcane crew isn't purposeless like in Korra. They actually have a reason to fight and their struggle makes them sympathetic characters. Lastly, Korra's worldbuilding is all over the place while in Arcane, it's done well.

Heimerdinger being ousted, as tragic as that scene seemed to be, was one of Jayce's best calls. Heimerdinger preaches patience and virtues while being oblivious to the corruption around him, and not doing anything to fix the problems that existed in the city. Perhaps he just thought it would work itself out if he left it long enough, but since he measures time in centuries, he's blind to the minutia that affects everyday lives. He needed to be kicked out of the operahouse, where he's neither advancing his own beliefs, nor helping work with the more favor-based system everyone else is. He was purely an obstacle there, but I think he'll do a massive amount of good now that he's working with Ekko. Vander gave up on war when he saw the tragedies it created. He became a pacifist, no longer fighting for a cause. In one sense, this is an ideal "good" character - the warrior that gave up the sword for the plow, as it were. He helps keep the peace, working with Grayson to deal with problematic elements, and acting as "enforcer" to ensure the undercity's contract system doesn't get broken. In many ways he's an ideal. Yet Silco was also right. Vander wasn't willing to fight for anything anymore. He was willing to accept the lot of the downtrodden just so that no one's life was at risk, and by doing so he condemned the other people in the undercity to a life of unchanging oppression. The only way to advance - to achieve a 'better' life - in that society was through the various mafia groups. That's where Sevika went when she couldn't put up with it anymore. The kids - Vi and Powder and the boys - were willing to fight, to try to achieve _something_ to not be stuck in the gutter. The way they went about it may not have been the best, but they don't have many options; certainly not without help and advice from their elders. Though Vander himself wasn't a great planner either. So Vander kept them safe, but also kept them trapped. So, as much as he's considered one of the most heroic characters, he can also be seen as a villain, complicit in the tyrannical oppression of the undercity by letting topside always get its way (until it hit his family). The same can be said with Silco. He was definitely a villain, but the change in the system he instigated was _needed_ . Granted, he would have been a horrible leader afterwards, just as many in history, but that doesn't change certain aspects of the necessity. This goes on and on. Every character was at one time the hero, and at one time the villain, either in different times in the story, or in different perspectives of their actions. It's part of what makes the show have so much rewatchability potential.

The character I like the most is Vi. She is hot-headed, but she is responsible. At times she is too responsible even. Partially bacause of Vander's words "everything they do is on you". She takes responsibility not only for her actions, but also for everything Powder/Jinx did and tries to fix it. She is driven by guilt for the things she had no control over, like Powder's attempt at helping and "abandoning" her. Vi did the best she could in the given situation concidering her character and age (c'mon, you can't expect adult behavior from a young teen). Everyone talks about harsh Jinx's childhood completely forgetting that Vi went through it too plus she had to take care of other people.

I think what this series does is keeping characters as "people." No one is born completely pure with zero selfish motivations. No one is born evil with zero selfless motivations. They feel like actual people, not just characters along for the ride in a grand tale.

I would disagree on one point. It’s difficult to say that Vi specifically is the main character in Arcane. Almost every character that is relevant post-timeskip is given a fair amount time to develop but more importantly a point of perspective in the narrative. We spend a lot of time on our ‘villains’ in Silco and Jinx and their actions, issues and perspectives just as we do with Vi and Caitlyn’s efforts to hunt them down. And especially how all of these perspectives advance and impact the plot. Arcane has a cadre of main characters that all have dedicated time to their perspective and plot progression. Jayce, Vi and Jinx all spring to mind when it comes to plot progression and perspectives. While Vi and her attitude certainly can be compared with Korra, Korra is the main character by virtue of the plot revolving almost entirely by the perspective surrounding her. It’s in the title. Vi is one of a handful of key characters that each share these roles. It’s about Jinx and Jayce as much as it is about Vi.

26:22 Vi was "harsh" only when she has too. She can be gentle and caring too. She's very gentle with Jinx, Ekko, and Cait, but she's harsh and bossy with Mylo (not Clagger) because Mylo needs harsh leadership. Vi is actually really great at dealing with different type of people.

The biggest difference between VI and Korra is that VI's 'toxic' and aggressive personality is most of the times punished. Hell, the ending is VI basically losing her original goal in the series, to reunite and save Powder. She lost because she is someone who is used to 'saving' the day with her fists but that wasn't what was going to save Powder. VI's lack of understanding lead to her 'losing' at the end. VI and Korra both seldom lost physically but VI would always lose when it came to her ideology and personality which Korra didn't suffer while being the same kind of brash girl like VI. Korra never really 'lost'. She did struggle physically and ideologically at times but somehow always won in the end which is not great for character growth.

You have already put more thought into Korra than the writers ever did.

Vander is the wisest character in the series and my favorite character by far. He is the only one that understood that war is never worth it. Even Mel was considering it in act 3, although she still wanted to solve everything diplomatically. In act 3, Silco realized that Vander was right, and he even admitted, right before Sevica executed Fin, that they got through those times (during which Vander led Zaun) only because of loyalty.

Teddy bear being the one outcasted actually makes a lot of sense cause he’s all ideals and no practice and that part of why they ended up in this mess. He didn’t act when Zaun was slowly being killed but also didn’t act when the Council made by him stray away from the goals of progress and equality - very much like Silco, he was stabbed by the monster he created, but in this case created by his passiveness.

I couldn't get enough of Victor. He was just so relatable and watching him and jace's great intentions spiral out of control is just great TV

What I loved about the characters in Arcane is that they acted realistically to their situations. Vi made mistakes but people rooted for her because she has a good heart and intentions...Jayce is unsure of himself, but the viewers can see he tries in earnest to make a better world as an optimist living in a society of corruption and pessimism as a beacon of hope. Jinx is a mentally unstable girl who desperately needed approval and the love of those around her...and without it she becomes more unhinged and unsure of who she is as time goes on. And every other character in some way has been fleshed out so you can see their point of view and identify with them.

I can’t even hate any main characters in Arcane. They all had good intention. They just made wrong decisions, mistakes and had consequences.

okay i haven't seen anyone talk about this so i might as well... jace and mel's relationship is very respectful in a way that you don't see very often when it comes to dynamics similar to theirs. i like how mel didn't initiate a romantic relationship until jace became a counsel member. of course i don't think she helped him get there purely for that reason, but i really appreciate the fact that she didn't want there to be a power imbalance between them, so she never went for it even though she clearly liked him for a while. it's little details like that which make arcane so good.

Your take on Vander and Silco is oversimplistic, the crucial part that you miss is that Silco’s more radical methods end up working, he does get to achieve his goal when he’s offered everything he ever wanted on a silver platter by the council and the deal is agreed upon unanimously. Does he harm his community? Of course. Are his methods immoral and too extreme? Certainly, but you could argue that these were necessary sacrifices that ultimately could’ve led to him running a successful and prosperous society, the pressure that he creates results in an uncomfortable situation for the Piltover elites which forces their hand to act, while Vander made things too comfortable for them, he wasn’t willing to do the fight and was willing to perpetuate a shitty but stable situation so that things don’t escalate. But the beauty of the show is that it doesn’t tell you that either side is in the right here, it doesn’t show Vander as a coward for not doing what Silco is willing to do because at the end Silco doesn’t take the offer, even though it was everything he has worked his entire life to achieve. The real theme here is whether or not we are willing to take the radical and immoral steps that might be necessary for systemic change and what those steps cost us on a personal level, it shows that for some maybe there are things in life too precious to sacrifice even if that sacrifice will result in a net win for both sides of the conflict, on the surface Silco was more successful than Vander and his path was harder, but in the end Silco realises that what Vander was doing (not fighting for the cause to protect the ones he loved) was much harder and more agonising than what he did and that it doesn’t come from a place of weakness but deep care for those around you, all of this is shown in the fountain scene, Silco finally understands that once he had something to lose he couldn’t do what was necessary for the cause

What I like about Arcane is that character are all acting reasonably, even the insane ones. Characters have actual goals and emotions that make sense. And when things go wrong it is a consequence of them acting in character, not out of character. They are allowed to fail because of their virtues, not just faults. ps: While I assume we have vastly different political opinions, I have to agree: the political commentary in Korra was very sloppy.

Vi recklessness actually means something, she thrives in dangerous environments and can't stand living a peaceful life. The relationship between Vi and Cait (Vi's strongest bond after leaving prison) grows when they are both in danger (EP 5-7) and frails when stability gets involved (EP 8). There's none of that in Korra, Korra's just reckless because that's the stereotype the writers wanted for the main character.

You have to keep in mind when comparing Arcane to almost anything else that Riot isn't actually looking to make money off this show. They would be very, very happy to break even or fall just short of breaking even since this is a giant advertising campaign for them. So if they don't make money and simply don't lose too much money, it's a smashing success. Very few other creators are in the same position.

I hadn't watched Arcane, but as soon as you released this video I made a Netflix account and watched all the way through. Nice to see serious adult animation and a video game adaptation that isn't garbage. Also Mel is best girl.

I thought I'm the only one who loves Mel, at the start she just seems like a calculating power seeking politician, but throughout we see different sides of her and even learn why she is the way she is, she shows her gentle side and I love it

Besides Vi having a better and more sympathetic reason for being as rough around the edges as she is imo, I also think another aspect of her that automatically makes her more likeable is her loving relationship with her sister that brings out a softer, warmer, caring side to her which ultimately makes her feel more relatable and three-dimensional. This same element improves Silco's character as well imo. Developing a father/daughter relationship with Jinx elevated his character by showing us more facets of it. By contrast, I never thought Korra's relationships were all that interesting, impactful or well-explored and personally didn't feel invested in any of them.

00:00 Intro 00:50 Why Korra failed as a show 03:28 Conflicts in fantasy genre 06:18 Korra and it's similarities with Arcane: 06:33 1) Fantasy manhattan 06:46 2) Cosmopolitan multiculturalism 07:06 3) Innovation and technology getting out of Incompetent elites' hands and rise of new insurgent elites 07:17 4) "equality" 07:26 5) Mismanagement of democracy 07:46 6) "progress" 08:06 7) Good and bad people exist across all nations/classes and sides 08:45 8) Antagonist provides revolutionary solution to long neglected problems 09:15 9) Protagonist 10:00 Why Arcane is better. Characters, pacing. 11:05 Is Korra actually a geniously hidden social commentary? 18:19 Arcane's narrative. Show, don't tell. Multiple perspectives. Arcane's characters: 21:03 Jayce. 21:50 Ekko. 22:08 Mel, Caitlyn. 23:07 Heimerdinger. 23:18 Silco. 23:57 Victor. 24:03 Vi and Jinx. Politics: 28:58 Council. Zaun and Piltover. 32:40 Revolution critique. Reforms.

Not saying Korra wasnt whithout fault but I think Arcane had a bit of an advantage being made for mature audiences where they could explre the subject a little more while Korra was made for 12yo children

Ballsy title, I'll give you that. I agree with you for the most part, although I'm not too partial to the 'rewriting of a story' idea most of the time but I liked your idea to add additional context to Korra. This is the same thing franchises like The Hunger Games suffer from - the 'war' is portrayed as a fight over surface issues instead of people who have their backs against a wall as the state repeatedly allocates resources to those that were 'born better' while the rest of society has to sit around in their shadow. My Hero Academia almost touched on this with characters like Uraraka that wanted to make money for their parents and Gentle Criminal a guy who wanted to help society but was driven away from it, but it's a wasted storytelling opportunity that could've been used to explore class differences instead of each season mostly being a series of battles + slice of life. Arcane really goes the extra mile by showing constantly, at every moment, how different the characters environments are. When I saw that topsiders literally wear _gas masks_ to go into the undercity, I knew this show was something different. We are not 'told' about the difference in classes, we are straight up shown; they don't even _breathe the same air_ .

"Except she has a worst haircut" Sir...how dare you. Leave my favorite sea urchin alone

I generally agree with the things you said in this video, but I want to point out 3 things: 1. Vi isn't the protagonist. Althrough in the first act she had indeed more presence, the show clearly don't want to make some character the main one. Like in the game, there is no main character and this is one of the things that makes Arcane so interesting too. 2. Vi hair is great >:( 3. Silco didn't want the Zaun people to live in the bad conditions they were living. Don't get me wrong, he is indeed a bad person (most of the time), but I would say that he wants the "nation of Zaun" at every cost, that's why he and Singed created shimmer to fight phisically against Piltover. Silco doesn't care for what happens with the people that are addicted to shimmer because for him these are the conditions to make his dream come true. That scene that he threats the leaders of Zaun isn't to show us that Silco wants the air to stay in that way, it's to show exactly what Piltover did to them and justify their actions to accomplish the nation of Zaun. I'm brazilian by the way and your portuguese is very beautiful.

okay, now I really need a fanfiction that rewrites the first season of Korra, because your idea of the plot with Maco and Bolin sounds so much better xD btw is there anyone who isnt´frustrated with the love triangle?^^ What I also like about Vi: even though she wants to fight everything head on, she actually listens to Vander´s reasons and contemplates them.. she could´ve just gone off trying to fight the enforcers, but she did not, she went for the diplomatic route even if it meant leaving her family behind.. Silco: Honestly, of all the chembarons that rule over the undercity Silco was still "the best" as he was the only one with a real goal & ideology, because as you can see all the others lived for was money, power and luxury and even went above so they weren´t even used to the toxic air under them anymore. Silco stayed in the underground, surrounded by his people, keeping in touch with what was going on there. You might argue that Silco cared as much as the other Chembarons about the people, but, well let´s say he at least saw their deaths as a sacrifice for the future of Zaun?^^ About Heimerdinger: he was the only one in the council who wasn´t corrupted and they voted him out, which was on the one hand bad, but on the other hand good, because it gave him the opportunity to finally take a look for himself at the state of the undercity that he had turned a blind eye on.

Another big difference between Korra and Vi I find is Korra is the privileged only child. While Vi was the big sister of her group who her adopted father scolds and is involved the most since he does see a lot of who him in her and doesn't want her to follow a path he had gone which had cost many lives including Vi and Powders parents. Vi basically had a significant role as a leader, role model, and carer as a big sister compared to Korra who was isolated in the South until she went to Republic City when she was in her late teens, early adulthood.

I think Arcane has a distant advantage, TV-14 VS PEGI 12+, when Arcane get to the low points in the society they don't pull there punch's, random people are being mugged, prostitute, literally doing anything to survive. For a show with a similar message Korra got held back by the demographic the studio/writer's are applying to or exposing to and don't get me wrong they still could have done better with the hole show this is just another reason Arcane had me hooked more then Korra. also good vid :)

Legitimately the best political analysis I have seen of the show. I would say that living in Brazil really gives you that extra insight into the nature of revolutionaries and government oligarchy and how the top and the bottom of most societies are twisted parodies of one another but I think your just a lot smarter than the average bear.

Yes! yes!! Bryke really dropped the ball with Korra. And the awful love triangles in Korra drove me up the friggin wall. They leaned on that BS so hard and too long. Thank you for bringing that up. And Vi hair is kick ass the best hair cut ever. So ya.

Let's be honest the biggest problem I have with season 1 of Korra is how they waste majority of their runtime on idiotic love triangle witch resulted in us not having any connection to or knowledge about main cast AS WELL AS no real effort put into explaining how society works. And then season 2 was just a dumsterfire. Show realy strarts in season 3 and it's not realy a good sign.

What I love about Arcane is that is allows viewers to make up their own mind when it comes to characters. You have people who consider Silco to be a needlessly cruel, power-hungry, manipulative villain, but also those who think of him as a tragic anti-hero and a great father, and guess what? They all have a point and the show never forces one view or the other.

I would generally agree with you about Vi’s haircut being dumb, but she makes it work.

I'm sure Arcane is going to be what future animated series aspires for

One thing that I have to mention about Korra is that love triangle and even sports events are not inherently bad - what makes them so is that they are things in themselves instead of lenses to explore themes of the story. You can say that love triangle is there to facilitate tensions between characters and that pro-bending highlights Equalist message, but as they are in the show their impact is superficial. In Arcane there are two important love-based relationships - between Jayce and Mel and between Vi and Caitlyn. You can even say they both have dynamic similar to love triangle - Vi is torn between Caitlyn and her care for Powder, while Jayce has to balance relationship with Mel and partnership with Victor. Arcane also has scenes of "sport" - on Piltovan side there is shooting tournament for young Caitlyn and at Zaun there is training dummy/shooting range organised by young Vi and her gang. The thing is, even those seemingly superficial things are there not just for the sake of it, but to set up character journeys. In shooting tournament Caitlyn is told to "choose what she's shooting for" and she makes her choice as a grown up - uses her rifle to save Vi first by shooting Sevika and then by trading it for a cure. Shooting range is needed to paint sisterly rivalry between Jinx and Vi that dates back prior to their split. The one that Jinx still feels she is losing (a scene where she tries to beat Vi's record) despite the fact that, most likely, she was the one who made this hideout possible in the first place (no other members of the gang were shown to have necessary tech savvy)! Legend of Korra could, theoretically have a love triangle where Mako chooses Korra (master bender and avatar) over Asami (rich, pretty girl who, let's suppose, Mako dated for a while). Then the show can explore how Mako sees rude and absent Korra better than caring Asami, because she is a bender (which helps framing bender vs. non-bender conflict not only as a matter of class dispute, but as a matter of internalised racism). Pro-bending can explore how even if you are not in the government or enforcement, if you have bending your life will be set. You can become a bending sportsman (a prospect locked to non-benders) or even go to one of those power plants where Mako worked in the show and earn a decent living just because you were born with power to shoot lightning out of your hands. At the same time, because pro-bending arena would have been visited by non-benders as well (same goes for power plant), Mako and Bolin could've witnessed first-hand how non-benders are mistreated. Maybe they would even be blind to non-bender struggle at first, because their traumatic past + their hard-earned place near the top of sport chain would make them feel like they were struggling and had to earn their place just like non-benders. You'd still have to cut amount of scenes spent on two topics, but at least then they would have more purpose aside from "sport - fun, love drama - captivating"

Arcane is a mature show that knows what it is. I think the fact that it was limited run on Netflix instead of a long form tv show has a lot to do with how organized and tight the plot is. Also, not limiting itself to kids show ratings probably helped free up the writers a bit

I love that a lot of people who 'give in' and watch arcane even though they don't like LOL or were prejudiced love it. I love lol so much and even though I don't need people to love it too it is great to see some respect for the world, because it has so much to give and people couldn't see.

Great stuff! Love the balance and nuance they used in the show…and I feel like we could see Jayce go good or bad in the next season…it’ll always be a hard choice as the system scoops him up!

So, Arcane is LoK without the executive meddling.

If I remember correctly, Piltover had some characters that were indeed influenced by some of Korra's cast, such as Camile who is pretty much inspired by Toph's daughter. I think even the environment of Piltover was influenced by that of Korra's.

When Mako got his job at the factory, we could of saw him in a line applying for the job and he gets fast tracked to the front because of Lightning bending with a cut off at the end. Something you usually see in Great Depression era movies. Perhaps there is an option for housing for the factory workers and benders get first dips on the locations closest to the factory, or perhaps free lunch is given to the benders so they can gain their strength back faster to continue working.

When you talked about how rare people like Washington are, it reminded me of what José Bonifácio had to say about the dangers of outright revolution: "Stay, Magnanimous Prince, for the pride and happiness of Brazil. For if you don't stay, rivers of blood will flow in this great and noble land..."

You thought Jayce was portrayed as heroic? I thought they made him about as flawed as possible without being actually villainous. He's naive, easily-manipulated, overconfident and generally fairly ineffectual as a result.

What I like about Arcane is its format with he social commentary. The show didn't have a message it was throwing in your face, it was making connections between the fictional world and our world to help us connect more. A big problem with shows and movies on social concepts/justice is they focus so much on making it obvious what the message is so the viewer can see, which ruins the shows because it deters from the main story.

They could've set up a welfare subplot and have non benders live in slums abd show scenes of non benders having trouble getting jobs or have a welfare agent who is trying to help homeless non benders get jobs but cant because of the way the coty is. This subplot would replace the terrible love triangle and the stupid probending. Great video you have conviced me to watch Arcane

I would very much like to know your opinion on the “gay couple approach” that both shows “implies” (Vi and Caitlyn in Arcane). I mean Korra does this at the very last minute of the show that, in my opinion, is just to add the inclusion that everyone wants to put in their stories now (Disney/marvel...). But do you see in Arcane a well written potencial lesbian couple? What are you impressions on this subject throughout this first season? At first I thought it was the typical forced stereotype, but I gave it a little more thinking and I think that maybe they have a pretty interesting complementary potencial as a couple. I would love to see a more in depth video analysis about this😄 Great analysis, I really enjoy your videos👍🏼🔥

I think an underlying issue with Korra's writing is that it seemed so scared to have any type of cliches. I admire the writers' intentions to make something unique and critique the way classic heroes and villains are in typical animation shows, however they don't do it well at all. Arcane is packed with cliches and known tropes (the traumatized brawler, the rich girl trying to do good, the geniuses etc). But they respect their characters and their audience, everything is so well - written and the visual storytelling is stunning. Anything done right can be good.

It's not as big as the things you mention here but one big weakness Korra had was that it was working within partly self-imposed tone, content and world-building limitations that didn't fit the story it wanted to tell. For instance, except for season 3 where they got a little more bloody, they had to keep actual deaths to a minimum and/or almost entirely off-screen which really undercut any attempt at grittiness or actual depiction of conflict- no one could die in season 1 except the villains- who died disney-style which made it difficult to portray the stakes of their conflict and it caused them to mix their metaphors because the nearest thing to death they could generally depict was de-bending someone. The fact that they weren't willing to have guns- presumably because it would make the lack of lethality even less plausible and also likely push it to a harsher rating- also stretched suspension of disbelief given how modern the setting had gotten and the fact that guns should logically have rendered benders nearly obsolete. Their shyness around sexual content didn't hurt them so much in the early seasons- if anything it was a blessing because adding sexuality probably would have made them focus on the love triangle bullshit even more- but the fact that they didn't have the balls to come out (pun intended) and actually depict a same-sex relationship as a same-sex relationship really took all the teeth out of the korrasami thing they tried to use for diversity points at the end of the series.

So basically, Korra pulled a Force Awakens and Last jedi (i.e. telling instead of showing while using divisive identity politics) while Arcane pulled a Magi anime Season 1 (by showing instead of telling and not using divisive identity politics)

Nice to see you come out with a new video so soon!

Can I say that this video is a breathe of fresh air when it comes to talking about the issues that both Arcane and Korea deal with. I loved the “defunding the enforcers” line was great. Getting rid of the enforces would only have made it worse. Jayce and Vi wouldn’t have been able to take out the crime bosses and drug supply with out the enforcers training and resources. The crime bosses made the people poor and kept them there. The enforcers were trained that everyone is a criminal so they treated normal good people as criminals. The Chief Vander worked with knew that the enforcers didn’t know how to handle the underground so she worked with Vander who kept the peace through law and order not drugs and revaluation. The enforcers are not bad people they just are out of touch with the modern issues and use old tactics to deal with them that make the problems worse. So the “defund the enforces” is the worst idea ever, to “retrain and reform the enforcers” is what will help both the topside and the under-city.

There are TWO glaring reasons these show can't fairly be compared and that is, 1. Arcane does what all animated shows NEED to do to be successful and that is bring incredible animation and artistic style to the show, which Korra does not do. While Korra is fine and basic, thus making it watchable, it doesn't showcase anything unique and particularly aesthetically pleasing in the animation/art department, which Arcane does. This is at least 50% of the reason why Arcane is so successful. 2. Arcane Season 1 has way more minutes of show to get across all of its content, which Korra Season 1 did not have. Korra was, unfortunately in Season 1, limited to 12 episodes of about 23 minutes each. Arcane has 9 episodes that run about 45 minutes each. That's nearly TWICE as much content and more time to flesh out the worldbuilding and characters, etc. You also forgot to mention how Korra and Vi are both lesbians who end up with the "rich girl" character, but that's okay. It's almost scary how much they have in common.

Holy shit, you are pro reforms, you like Jayce and Mel and your thoughts are coherent and well put together. You are incredibly based, my friend, and you have my outmost respect!

As much as I understand the whole ‘short haired girls are strong’ trope is overused, I truly believe Vi makes the haircut work BECAUSE of the character she is and chooses to be. I respect her so much for what she does and represents, to the point where things that I usually despise are now some of my favorite things about her simply because she MAKES me like those things on her. I simply cannot imagine Vi looking any different, style or otherwise.

Arcane not only brings fresh air, but a whole new standard into the industry and a masterpiece, even I was taken by surprised.

Truth is you talk so much about Korra cuz she's ur main waifu. It's alright fam :D

Its funny that many revolutionary dictatorships turned out to be reactionary (* sad noises of active death help (euthanasia) being legal for a *brief* time in 1922 in Soviet Union * and now Russia is the most reactionary country in Europe). Its will be interesting to see if there would be a reactionary response from Piltover from what Jinx did

27:06 honestly, I feel like Korra is the way she is *because* of how well off she was growing up. since she was being pampered and secluded from others, Korra genuinely just did not know how to interact with other people, and that was only made worse when she suddenly put herself in an environment *full* of people. also, the fact that she was raised more with the status of the avatar more than the responsibilities likely got to her head (which was proven in her first interaction with Lin Beifong when she got arrested), and made her believe that due to the fact that she was the avatar (even just in name), people were going to like her. with that being said, i feel like we're not really *supposed* to like Korra at first; the more time she actually spends learning how to interact with people, the more likeable she becomes. i also really like this video, and mel *is* best girl :)

I actually enjoyed both shows immensely. Arcane is definitely the superior one, though, primarily because they are unhindered and unafraid to go fully dark where the story demands. I find the parallels a bit surprising but I think there are some points that were misinterpreted. One of your major points against Korra was Ammon and his 'movement'. There actually wasn't a rift between benders and non-benders until Ammon manufactured one because his upbringing and his own self loathing, when he was exposed the people realized their movement was based on a lie and it dissolved almost immediately. As far as Korra herself, she was the youngest Avatar since Aang and came to her power several years sooner than he did, and unlike Aang she had natural command of three out of the four elements, whereas Aang still had to learn the other elements outside of his native one. In essence, Korra was treated as the 'chosen one' from a very early age and basically became a spoiled brat because of it. Her entire arc was an inverse of Aangs, where he had to learn confidence, she needed to learn humility. In other words, Korra was unlikable in the beginning by design so she could achieve growth. Vi is a different beast altogether. She is a child of trauma, raised in a harsh environment and taught that she had to fight for everything she had. Her only power is her own will. Despite the similarities I'd still call it comparing an apple to an orange based on them both being considered a fruit. Not saying LoK wasn't flawed. I just feel people lean too heavily into hating it because it wasn't like it's predecessor. I pray that Arcane doesn't suffer similar issues since season 1 set such a high bar.

I would love to see a video on Jinx and the other characters you didn’t delve deeply into in this video.

Great video, I just don't really agree with that Vi and Korra comparison. Or I agree they are similar but the reason why Vi is not bothers me is not only her background. It's more about the motivation of those two and the role they play in their world. Vi is an outlaw. Nobody really cares about her and her motivations are simply personal. Strong and personal. She doesn't have any political goals. She doesn't want to fight for better world or to fix the global issues. She just want to get Silco and get Powder back. She maskes mistakes, she is reckless and not think through but I feel she is doing the best she can in order to get what she want. But her role in whole world is just small and therefore I don't mind the impulsive and reckless personality I can accept her as a person as she is. Korra on the other hand is, as you said, chosen one. This changes everything. Cause she is automatically assigned to the role of some "spiritual leader". She wants and tries to change the world for better yet she clearly can't and (what is the worst for me) refuses to see a bigger picture. We can say she is just a teen. OK I can go with that and what I actually expected is that she will be an impulsive, stupid, reckless teenager but as the show progress she will acknowledge her flaws and learn patience, wisdom, respect and understand world is not easy. But it won't happen. She remains impulsive teenager who refuses to see a bigger picture and listen to others. Rushing everything and at the same time the show is rewarding her for behavioud. When she learned wind bending or Avatar state I was like. WTF? Why? She didn't really deserves this at all and it drove me crazy. That is my issue. If Korra is just one of the Avatar groups who is a bit of a troublemaker but she is behaving with her best intentions and get lectured and eventually understand. I wouldn't mind her at all. But having absolutely terrible terrible chosen one character and pretend they are not terrible is just dafuq?

Im so glad someone else has finally said it. Viktor is the perfect replacement for Heimendigger. Isn't out of touch with the world, has sympathy AND empathy, has the brains as well, AND he comes from Zaun himself. The only downside is hes the complete opposite of Heimendigger in terms of life as well. Its a shame he's dying. I wonder what else he's going to do to prolong his life. And Cait definetly needs to replace her mom.

Me taking notes as a future writer

As someone that lives in a pretty rundown country run by cartels, I can tell I often feel more menaced by the slums than by corporations. Not because they're bad, but because they're simply indolent. The actual danger comes from other slum dwellers that have renounced their empathy and hope in order to enjoy pain and despair. That's why it felt strangely refreshing seeing Vi emphazising her life is shit due to "criminals that kill us and a government that doesn't care".

I adore Korra, but that doesnt mean it dont have a LOT of flaws. Alot of it was the limitations and restrictions Nick was forcing onto the writers and the fact that they rushed the seasons to get done. Not saying its ALL Nicks fault, but it is a reason why Korra wasnt as good as it could have been. I feel like if the writers had no limits or restrictions and could actually think out the episodes, Korra would have been amazing.

hmm, Vi is actually royalty too, she's Vander's daughter, the difference is they don't giv a shit if it was Vander's daughter, if anything she's a target. but also explain why all the peoplel in The Lanes knows Vi when she came back.

*says arcane is the same as korra* *Doesn't even mention Jinx in the summary* Dude, those stories are very different. Their setup are nearly identical, the point of their story is completely different.

Mel falling in love with her subject is such karma lol.

Arcane in gandalf voice : I am Korra, or rather, Korra, as she should have been.

On the idea of the defeating the Final Boss, the 2 shows are very different in how they handle it. In one the villain is done in by the monster of chaos they nurtured, and said monster leashes out at the world. In the other the heroes work together to revival the villain's evil actions and lies to the people. This brings about a sort of peace in the short run but many wounds have been open and will need time to heal,

what makes Arcane better is that the people who made the animations know the lore and understand it while the animations only know and don't undestand

I was so excited when I learned LoK was being made. I was completely open minded and wanted to love the new addition to ATLA story. But literally on the first episode I knew the show was going to be terrible. Arcane is top dog in animation, dialogue and character development right now AND it does this without being completely perfect itself. I feel like all the shortcomings of other shows like it makes it so easy to point out what works in Arcane.

Small correction about Vander: He wasn't that much of a hero, as he kept the status quo in check. He kept the undercity from flourishing, because he thought a life in poverty was better then being slaughtered. Fair enough, but that's not heroic. His deals with the enforcers weren't about letting the undercity flourish, it was about keeping them seperate which would NEVER have allowed the undercity to become more then it was. He was literally a guy living in poor, extreme circumstances who bent to the force of the ideals of the very same government that created his circumstances. That's not heroism, that's life when you're at the bottom of hierarchy.

Also, when are we going to get an evil Avatar character who uses their power to take over the world? I think that would be kind of a fun idea. How can every single Avatar in the history of the world have always been good and tried to keep the world in balance? Seems unrealistic.

I didn't see the similarities until they were pointed out... As now part of it feels like the writers of Arcane sitting at a table and asking "What did Legend of Korea try to do only to mess up... And how can we fix that?" As a joke only for someone else to nod their head and say "Sure thing boss!"

Good reminder that both shows had development issues. Sure Legend of Korra needed to hop between studios or something, but even if Arcane didn't, it took them 6 fucking years! The show entered development hell countless times, and consequently cost more than the expected budget, too.

I think the main characters are extremely different between the two shows (because I think Jinx is actually the main character). :) Great analysis.

I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that Echo is your demographic, Pil. Can I call you Pil? How bout Grim? Pil-Grim? No? Mr. Pass? Anyway, Silco and Vander could also represent the intended demographic, since Brazil tends to struggle with corruption, crime, and is a country of extremes, economically speaking. But I think you, personally, identify with Echo and Mel more than with any of the other coxcombs.

This video is quite intriguing and insightful. I was especially moved by the last five minutes where you talked about revolutions and reforms, and why the former is seductive, but destructive and damaging in the long run

Who knew I would be subscribed to two based and hilarious Brazillian KZfaqrs?😂👍 First Dovahhatty and now you!

I am willing to give Korra some benefit of the doubt and excuse the issues the show had with the writers having to walk a fine line to get the show aired at all. I mean just look at the Korra and Asami relationship that didn't even get as explicit as Caitlyn and Vi got. Also, if one just compares the first seasons of both shows, then Arcane has the advantage of having more runtime even though it has fewer episodes. But yes, the writing of Arcane is great, since they do not waste time with exposition and have the show don't tell approach truly down, like almost no TV show has. Finally, I guess the problem with Korra might be that they were not sure what their target audience is and thus had to keep things simpler than was good for the story.

Personally I like that it puts those Enlightenment values into a city that isn’t just rehashed 1920s New York. Like Korra did. Familiarity breeds contempt and I now hate New York without having set foot in the bloody city!

Man I enjoy your channel so much. Truly great content.

So in conclusion: Mel is best girl

as someone who watched korra some time ago for pure escapism and entertainment this was enlightening to watch. nice comparison of the two shows and great in depth analysis too. i can't wait to watch your next arcane video if you're gonna make one!

Vi is not really the Korra of arcane to me. Vi isn't like Korra who argues over every single thing and isn't as selfish. Vi doesn't just get mad and preachy about every little thing, she actually gets angry about serious issues which is understandable. Korra is very self centered and winy. Just because she uses her fists to fight and has a masculine look and is straight to the point doesn't make her aggressive and rude. Yes when Vi was young she got mad pretty quickly but when she got older yes of course from the start she was a little bit more aggressive because she spend a long time in the prison but she really doesn't have angry issues. you also made a joke about autism in the end which ruined the whole video for me.

The similar story can be chalked up to it being a common story. Stories like these have existed for thousands of years and still form the basis for a lot of story telling.

This is random, but I also love when show makers give characters good unique names

I’m gonna pause this, watch Arcane and come right back.

Before Arcane came along, Korra was my favorite animated series.

Arcane and korra are pretty different series not even similar to one another at all hell it's not even similar to avatar so that point is null. Also korra was only planned for 1 season then season 2 and for 2 seasons it is why season 3 connects more to season 4 giving us hints of the main character. Had writers had been let to do 4 seasons from the start then this wouldn't be the case

"Nobody really talks about RWBY anymore." Yeah, not even those of us who still hold the tiniest bit of hope...

The angle of industrialization in Korra breaking down traditional systems between benders-nonbenders in Republic City among a unprecedented cosmopolitanism and subsequent inequality would have been interesting to see. But then progress would have to be questioned