Avatar creator spills the beans on the idea behind the era for The Legend of Korra.
After the incredible success of the Avatar: The Last Airbender series, the show creators, Bryan Konietzko and Michael DiMartino continued the Avatar’s journey with its sequel, The Legend of Korra. Both shows garnered critical acclaim, establishing themselves as one of the best-animated series.
However, both shows occurred in a different timeline, which was evidently visible in their visuals. When it comes to advancements, Aang’s arc revolved majorly around pastoral societies but Korra Universe was completely otherwise. Creators confirmed that Korra’s arc is set in the 1920s era, with the landscape becoming more industrialized.
The Legend of Korra is Set in the 1920s!
The difference in time between Avatar: The Last Airbender and Avatar: The Legend of Korra witnessed technology growing in leaps and bounds. In Aang’s arc, the technology was undoubtedly there as fans saw displaced Earth Kingdom citizens moving into the Northern Air Temple, who aided Aang in his fight against Fire Lord Ozai.
Whereas, coal-powered ships were another hint that the technology was advancing but Korra Universe saw a major difference. Korra’s world is more industrialized than Aang‘s, showcasing new types of transportation and groundbreaking technology.
Even the original series creators, Bryan Konietzko and Michael DiMartino confirmed the Korra’s world industrialization in an interview with NPR back in 2012.
Konietzko stated,
“It’s kinda set in 1920s fictional Shanghai meets Manhattan.”
The combination of Chinese and American cities of the 1920s connects fans to Aang’s world with Korra’s. By showcasing the pastoral communities, the fans would be able to reminisce about Aang’s era but giving it a modern touch would showcase the different timelines, which will explore Korra’s journey.
Giving Korra’s Universe a revamp was much needed since the sequel series took place 7 decades after the original ATLA via ScreenRant. However, many would wonder if it was fine for the universe to showcase technological advancements in that timeline. But, the answer lies in ATLA!
Avatar: The Last Airbender’s Outcome is Why The Legend of Korra is Much Advanced!
Avid fans of ATLA are well aware of the peace treaty that Aang and Zuko made after the titular character defeated Fire Lord Ozai. That would have likely led the four nations to live without fear, meaning that they would have gotten more time to hone their resources.
They now had more time to work on developing new technologies, leading the nations to grow, rather than working on their survival.
Even in the original series, the Fire Nation was way ahead in terms of technological advancements than the other three nations – the Earth Kingdom, Water Tribes, and Air Nomads. In Book Two, we see Zuko’s sister, Azula attempting to break past Ba Sing Se’s defenses using a massive drill, which was nothing that the characters had seen before.
That was enough evidence that Zuko’s homeland is far more advanced in technology. Given that he would have offered to share his nation’s knowledge with other nations for peace, the nations would have shared their inventions and knowledge, leading to progressive advancement.
Toph Beifong’s metal-bending technique has further opened new opportunities for machinery as Korra’s world has several metal benders. All these reasons contribute to the advancements in The Legend of Korra. However, the show itself has also come up with upgrading its technology in a time of need.
