There is a funny and ridiculous ritual that we fan boys and fan girls do when we really really really like a movie, a book, manga, anime, or a cartoon show: We draw pictures of our favorite characters. We come up with scenario's that we would like our favorite characters to be in, and we then draw or write our own stories of those scenarios. People even dress up for cosplays of their favorite characters and attend Anime Expo at the Los Angeles Convention Center (June 29-July 2, 2012), or Comicon in San Diego (July 12-14, 2012). I've visited both in the past. Of course, there's the Star Trek Conventions too for the older nostalgic set. The goings on with fans in those places are just crazy fun.
Fans at the Anime Expo dressed up as
Wobbuffet and Jigglypuff from Pokemon
There are websites out there that allow us to indulge in creating those fantasy story lines or situations and then publish them online for other fan boys and girls to see, comment on, and admire. For drawings of my favorite characters, I use Deviant Art.
Korra characters in School uniform.
By freestarisis on Deviantart.
To develop new stories about our favorite characters, some kids use Fanfiction. Some of the stuff out there are so hilarious, nerdy, and outrageous that only other fans can appreciate.
Some Fanfiction titles based on Harry Potter
Sadly, I am one of these people. I don't do crazy stuff like some other fanatics, but I do look up different pictures or draw stuff relating to shows I like. But after a while I have to back away from the computer screen because I just can't deal with too much of that completely alternate universe stuff for too long. But, I still go on
Deviantart just to look up Legend of Korra drawings.. . most of which are pretty
amazing, and encourage me to draw more. Same with other shows such as Harry Potter, Twilight, The Hunger Games, Adventure Time, Percy Jackson and many many MANY more.
I guess it's just human nature for someone to want their favorite stories' storyline to go perfectly and exactly how they imagine it to be. If it doesn't happen in the actual shows, fan boys and fan girls make it happen on line. I guess that's just how it works.
Everyone must have heard of, or watched Avatar: The Last Airbender that aired on Nickelodeon from 2005 to 2008 right? It was an anime inspired cartoon series set in an Asian martial arts influenced mystical world somewhere in the far east. The main characters can manipulate earth, air, water and fire and are known as "benders". There was an epic struggle where good triumphed over evil. It was a really good show and we watched it every week on TV. When it was canceled in 2008, kids like us were sad. Many people wrote to Nick to complain . . . and apparently, the complaints worked! We almost wrote to Nick ourselves.(Personally I hate all these new stupid teenage live action shows. The best are cartoons.....ESPECIALLY STUFF LIKE THIS. I liked how the creators of Avatar totally mixed up the story completely. BUT IT'S SO AWESOME.) I would be so happy if I lived in a world like this.
Now Nick brought the Avatar back in a new series called Avatar: The Legend of Korra. The series just came out on April 14, 2012, and is set seventy years later. The story is about the new Avatar, Korra, a strong, funny, powerful, and amazing girl, (a little defiant too.. :D) who is still learning to use her bending powers. She meets her friends, Mako (handsome, and more serious firebender) and his brother Bolin, (funny and cute earthbender). Together, they face an anti-bender revolution by a group known as the
Equalists led by the evil Amon who has the power to take bender's powers away.
The show is on Nick TV every Saturday at 11:00. Each episode is 30 minutes. But each episode really packs a punch. Sadly, this series is going to be much shorter than the last one... that's why there has been SO much drama in only the first 5 episodes. It's amazing. IT. IS. AMAZING. WATCH IT!!!! REALLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Mr. Gene Yang
To top it off, one of my favorite comic book artists, Gene Luen Yang, (who drew the funniest version of the Monkey King story called "American Born Chinese"), is given the awesome task of writing Avatar: The Promise, a comic book series that bridge the 70 years gap between the original Avatar and the new Legend of Korra.
Gene's writing and drawings are great, so you are really in for a treat if you pick up a copy of either Avatar: The Promise, or "American Born Chinese" or both. My copy, (along with copies of Lucky Luke and Asterix comic books) just arrived in the mail through Amazon today. I will spend my weekend reading it, and watching Legend of Korra. CAN'T WAIT
EDIT: I SAW THE LEGEND OF KORRA EPISODE 5 AND I'M DYING HERE. POOR BOLIN. BUT NO I'M NOT SAYING ANYTHING BECAUSE YOU HAVE TO WATCH IT!
