Why Korrasami Sucks

Korrasami sucks, everyone.

Honestly, I was debating how to start this one off: do I go for the verbose “Korra and Asami is a terrible fan-ship”? Or do I keep it vague and say “this is why show-writers shouldn’t fan-ship their own characters”? Truthfully, I’d have probably been fine with both, but it’d have lacked punch. It wouldn’t stick out as much as if I were being blunt, especially since it wouldn’t express my real thoughts on the most fan-baiting aspect of a bad sequel to my favourite show.

Anyway, Avatar: The Legend of Korra…what can I say about it? It looks pretty, for one. The fight scenes, while nowhere on-par with Avatar: The Last Airbender, are really impressive and well-choreographed. The show has a brilliant, two-part back-story involving Avatar Wan in Book 2. And the music is fantastic. But the show itself? Let’s say that it went off the rails quickly, hit a lull and then climbed back into entertaining territory for its remaining two seasons. On the whole, however, it’s not good.

It’s not like I’m saying this to be a jerk. I respect the creators of the show, Bryan Konietzko and Michael Dante DiMartino, immensely, and think they were wasted on it (not that they’re guiltless, but I’ll come back to that later). I also, like The Star Wars Prequels, still appreciate a variety of aspects about it, even if the whole doesn't work. Regardless, a turd is a turd, and given the greatness of its sister series…that’s disappointing. And nowhere is this more apparent than in its ending, which is pretty much fan-pairing come to life via lesbian pandering.

I have to stop any and all fans of Korrasami from freaking out by saying, “Calm down.” I recognize that art is subjective, and that, therefore, any attempts at romance in-show are too. I’m also not denying the creators’ right to have a lesbian romance between the protagonist and a side-character, that doesn’t bother me. I actually welcome it, as general entertainment, particularly in the West, is sorely lacking in strong, non-heterosexual representation. If you like this pairing, good for you! But I don’t. Why?

Because Korra and Asami don’t work as a couple.

In truth, romantic relationships were never a strong point of the franchise. Even Avatar: The Last Airbender, which I love, always seemed to falter there. True, Suki and Sokka was a great relationship that evolved naturally. But even then it had its share of groan-worthy moments (overprotective Sokka, anyone?) As for the rest? Jin and Zuko was nice, but it was too short, while Sokka and Yue was rushed. Aang and Katara I only bought as friends, and Zuko and Mai was unbearable. (I’m not kidding, you sit through some of their exchanges without cringing.)

That said, none of the primary, romantic relationships in Avatar: The Legend of Korra work. At all. Korra and Bolin having a belch-off in the Book 1 doesn’t qualify as a romantic relationship, especially since it’s quickly replaced by the abusive pairing of Korra and Mako. And even when the latter weren’t fighting…they had no romantic chemistry. Not even the inevitable romance between Asami and Mako felt natural. So when it came time for Korra and Asami to hook up, it didn’t do either of them any favours.

I’ve heard some defence for this sudden pairing from fans. They’ve argued that Korrasami was hinted at in the beginning of Book 4 while Korra was recuperating from her scars in the previous season. I don’t buy this; true, Korra only wrote letters to Asami, but is that romance? She could’ve been doing that for any number of in-character reasons. It’s like how people use a throwaway line in Perfect Blue to explain the twist at the film’s end: unless it specifically connects to the pay-off, it means nothing.

It’s especially meaningless because a good relationship needs time to develop. It doesn’t matter if it’s straight, gay, or anything in-between, relationships don’t materialize at the last second in a well-written story. I buy Korra and Asami as friends, perhaps even best friends, but lovers? Ignoring the show’s serious writing flaws, that’s pushing it. Especially because it’s the final shot, has no prior build-up and has been forcefully confirmed as canon by the show’s creators. Cool or not, it’s tacky.

There’s also the argument that the show was so heavily rushed by Nickelodeon executives that it lacked development time. That's sad to hear, but it's not a valid excuse. For one, anime shows, of which this is heavily influenced, are rushed constantly to meet weekly deadlines, yet many of them are classics. I don’t care how troubled production was, Nickelodeon only messed with budgets, deadlines and episode allotments. The stuff that matters, i.e. the writing and planning, wasn’t screwed with at all. Bryan and Mike knew they were dealing with a two-headed dragon, and yet they still came unprepared. Schedule conflicts are sympathetic, but they’re not an excuse for laziness.

This is especially important because fans have called it “ground-breaking” and “revolutionary”, when it’s not. Homosexual relationships, particularly lesbian relationships, have existed in anime for decades and were the modus operandi of Kunihiko Ikuhara’s work since inception. Even in the West, what about Steven Universe? Are we forgetting that there’s a lesbian relationship there that isn’t forced and actually fits the story?

Also, like Doug Walker said in his vlogs: if one of the two people in the Korrasami ship was a man, would anyone care? Or would it be decried as “lazy”? Why is lazy, ham-fisted fan-shipping in-show suddenly praiseworthy because it’s a lesbian relationship? Ignoring the amount of fan-porn that now exists, it’s really lazy because of how pandering it is. There’s really no other way of putting it.

I get it: it’s a big-name show that appeals to a wide demographic. Of course it’ll spark interest! And kudos for making the protagonist a lesbian, that’s a big risk! I simply don’t like its execution. I know that I’ll lose the respect of some fans for saying this, but it’s also a low-blow on the creators’ part. Bryan and Michael are better than this, and that they don’t realize it is embarrassing.

So yes, Korrasami sucks. The end.