Legend of Korra Book Four: Balance Blu-ray Release

After 10 years, 2 avatars, and a slew of exciting characters the incredible franchise that started with a young air bender named Aang, is coming to an end. Korra beat Amon, she connected the human and spirit world, and stopped  The Red Lotus from ending the line of the Avatar. Book 4 is her most turbulent journey yet.

Book 4: Balance is the perfect ending to this epic series. Zaheer's poison took a toll on Korra both physically and mentally. She is haunted by the image of herself in the Avatar state while she was under the control of the poison. The season begins 3 years later, on the day Team Avatar, Korra, Asami, Bolin and Mako, are meant to finally reunite. When her father arrives without her however, they discover Korra has been missing for months. She has begun a journey of self realization. She meets an old friend of Aang's who helps her extract the final remnants of the poison just in time to face Kuvira, the metal bender who after the fall of the earth queen is conquering the Earth Kingdom.

The original series, Avatar: The Last Airbender, has the most vibrant group of memorable characters and Korra follows suit. The dynamic of this Team Avatar is reminiscent of the original crew. Bolin is the funny guy who is always has your back in a fight and a joke ready for a tough day. Asami who although she is not a bender, is a technological genius who can hold her own in a fight against any bender. Mako the cool under pressure muscle with impeccable instincts, except with women. They are just the start. Book Four beautifully ties up story lines of characters that appear throughout the series. For example, Asami's father Hiroshi returns. Before Book 4, we last saw Hiroshi being arrested for supporting Amon, now he helps Asami engineer a weapon to level the playing field during the final battle.

There are hours of bonus features. They include commentaries on each episode by the creators, actors, producers and animators. They open your eyes to the complexities of creating a master piece like The Legend of Korra. There are moments they cherish, that perhaps the audience missed watching the series for the first time, or visual cues they may have glossed over. Next they include a recording of the last ever New York Comic Con Panel. Each of actor explain what a personal and profound effect the series has had on their lives. It a comprehensive look at the making of this incredible journey.

For Avatar fans this Blu-ray release is a must have.

The Anime Encyclopedia, 3rd Revised Edition Review

It’s been 7 years since the last edition and a lot has changed in Japanese Animation since then. Bandai pulled out of the American DVD market; Aniplex went to court over Kiba; Anime Sols and Daisuki tried to move the locus of power away from America and back to Japan; piracy and torrenting became hot-button issues; anime experimented with stereoscopic vision (Cyborg 009), crowd-funding (Kick-Heart), cellphone distribution (Today’s Aska Show) and “4D” cinema events (Hatsune Miku Live Party). Meanwhile, anime's sense of its own history continued not only to reframe the past, with the rediscovery of A Mole’s Adventure, but also to fret about the future, with the retirement of Hayao Miyazaki (Studio Ghibli).

If you ever wanted to know a lot of about anime series, ova and films this is the book for you. Often called The Anime Bible, The Anime Encyclopedia has seen it's 3rd revision. The revision updates from the very beginning of anime to the year 2013. Yes otakus your favorite shows like Sword Art Online and Highschool of The Dead are included in this revision. This entry not only gives the full synopsis and details of anime ranging from A to Z. It also gives you thematic entries covering various genre's from Hentai to sports anime and more. This section is great because it gives a history on each genre and how it started in anime. In addition each anime hyperlinks for those with tablets to get more information on the animation. I found this encyclopedia very useful when it came to old school anime. If you're like me and love the old school anime it's a great tool to look up titles you may have missed. The book is insightful, very detail and packs a punch. 

Final Grade A+/9.5