The Promise, Korra, and...uh, a random thought on Good Friday

[hymnia]

I know I haven't been updating much—but I have been keeping up with my new blog, so if Japanese language and culture interests you, remember to keep checking Hymnia Monogatari for updates.

But I had a couple of other things I wanted to write about, so...here I am. I've been in an Avatar: The Last Airbender mood lately, thanks mainly to the early online release of the opening episodes of The Legend of Korra on Korra Nation. And I've been re-watching the original series with my mom, so that she can watch Korra with me and be all up to date. We're now on the first couple episodes of Season 3. When we get to the place where I left off my long-abandoned re-watch posts, I will go ahead and finish those up. (Finally!) Also, I belatedly got my hands on The Promise: Part 1, which I read a day or two ago.

The Promise: Part 1 (spoilers)

• I think The Promise is off to a pretty good start, although I was disappointed by how short it was, and the one-year skip especially had me saying “NOOOO! I WANT TO KNOW MOOOARR!” I mean...FIVE assassination attempts?! What did they try to do to him? How did he escape? SHOW DON'T TELL PLZ! (Oh right, it's a kid's series. I forget that sometimes...)
  
  
• There was not enough of Mai, Ty Lee, Suki, and the Kyoshi warriors. Why was Mai not there for the victory ride on Appa? Okay, she probably didn't want to come—but still, I was disappointed. The one scene she was in was nice, though. Yay, girl power.
  
  
• Toph's metal-bending lackeys were...kind of there? I hope that subplot turns out to be fun and not boring. Jury's out, as far as I'm concerned.
  
  
• Good to see Smellerbee and Longshot managed to escape the Dai Li's clutches. I figured they would have, but the confirmation is nice. I also like the new characters from Yu Dao—the “mixed” family.
  
  
• I've seen a couple of people from avatar_fans comment on the absence of Iroh. Personally, even though I'd love to see more of Iroh, his absence didn't bother me that much. I think that he wants to let Zuko have some independence and space, and their paths have naturally diverged at this point with Iroh focusing on his tea shop in Ba Sing Se; I don't really picture him visiting Zuko all that often and vice versa. And he may not have even had time to have heard about the incident in Yu Dao and got there in time to intervene—Ba Sing Se is pretty far from the colonial coast, after all. (“Oh it's a long, long way, to Ba Sing Se...”) Of course, I'm sure he would give Zuko advice if he asked. But I don't really blame Zuko for not asking, either. It's not Iroh's advice that Zuko wants. Iroh has never ruled the Fire Nation, and it's not Iroh that the Fire Nation citizens will compare Zuko to. I think Zuko genuinely needs to hear what his father has to say—and I want to hear it, too. Of course, I also hope he rejects about 90% of it. But sometimes bad advice can be useful, to a discerning ear. I wouldn't rule anything out.
  
  
• I strongly suspect that Yu Dao and Republic City are one and the same. Calling it.

The Legend of Korra ep. 1 and 2 (spoilers)

It's been a little while since I watched the two opening Korra episodes—what was it, two weeks ago they came out online? Anyway, I was thoroughly satisfied and have no worries that this series will be as enjoyable as the original. Korra is a great lead, and I like the supporting cast so far, too. It was good to see Katara, but I'm glad they're apparently not going to spend too much time on the old cast. I do hope we get a glimpse of Zuko's descendants at some point, though—and I wouldn't mind one or two cameos of the old cast as long as they fit naturally into the story (an elderly Mai and/or Ty Lee wouldn't go amiss, IMO). But I'm basically content assuming that most of the original cast are gone.

The animation and design are gorgeous—just gorgeous. I thought it was on par with a Studio Ghibli feature film. They've definitely taken things up a notch.

As for shipping, well...I was a little surprised they made things so obvious right off the bat, but on the other hand, it may help stave off the kind of shipping wank that happened on the original—or at least, get it out of the way and done with early! XD Personally, I am perfectly happy with the set-up for Makorra so far. As usual, I suspect I will have no problem riding the canon ship (or ships, if any others materialize).

The Good Friday media gap

The other thing I wanted to post about—and this may seem like a bit of a non-sequitur after rambling about ATLA, but it is Good Friday, after all—was John 19:38-42. I was reading this passage about Jesus' burial last night, and it occurred to me that most films or other media that deal with the story of Jesus (whether as the main story like in Jesus Christ Superstar, or a side story like in Ben-Hur) don't really deal with this part, AFAIR. They usually focus on Jesus' ministry and/or death, and the burial/waiting period is usually completely skipped, with the resurrection sometimes tacked on like an afterthought. I guess writers must find it all a bit anti-climatic to deal with the burial and resurrecion after the crucifixion, an emotionally intense scene with much more physical action. Anyway, I think somebody should pick up the slack and write a film that focuses on the post-crucifixion story—because there's actually quite a bit of material with all the post-resurrection appearances, not to mention room for embellishment on all the disciples' reactions to Jesus' death.

Hmm...did I just release a Bible fanfic plot bunny? 0_o

Joie

Comments

[mrs-bombadil.livejournal.com]

Clearly a more casual fan here, but I did not know about The Promise. My brief digging tells me it is canon, yes?

[hymnia.livejournal.com]

I would say so, yes. Mike and Bryan did not write it, but they collaborated with the author.

[secondlina.livejournal.com]

The animation is really amazing. I loved to see it myself - i've been shying away from anime a lot (reading the manga version instead) simply because the cheap, cut-out animation does get a bit heavy sometimes. So it's nice to see something fluid and gorgeous and researched in this style.

[senior-witch.livejournal.com]

I am a purist when it comes to the bible. Music (Bach) is okay, mostly because it keeps pretty much to the original, and I also like the old Viae Dolorosae (there's always one picture for putting Jesus into his grave), but I am not into modern movies, that are all too cheesy (except parodies as Life of Brian.)

I have found some feminist acquaintances during my excursion to the German blogging world. For them, the explanation would be simple: it's because it's women who looked after Jesus' body, while the male disciples had all deserted him.

Do you learn Japanese with a book, or have you joined a class?

[hymnia.livejournal.com]

Do you learn Japanese with a book, or have you joined a class?

I use books and computer software. I haven't been able to find a class that was both affordable enough and fit into my schedule.