This week saw The Legend of Korra end its four season run, and by its close it had become one of the best things on TV (or the internet I guess as the final season was only released online.)
Taking its queues from recent trends in YA fiction, and fusing it with the world created by its predecessor, The Legend of Korra graduated from teen drama in its first season to well written and epic story lines.
To dismiss it as a cartoon is your own loss, as, like all the great TV I've included in this list, this show is grounded in interesting and compelling characters. With all the coming of age drama that comes with having young protagonists the show has layered that with political, social, and moral commentary while managing to (mostly) avoid cliche.
It's a show about family and duty, and struggling to find your way in a world that has huge expectations of you.
What was always impressive though was that in such a fantastic fantasy world, most of the threats (in particular in the last two seasons) felt more realistic, nuanced, and strayed into the type of grey areas that challenged its heros in interesting ways.
It was smart storytelling and compelling viewing. I'll miss it!
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