‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’ Franchise Creator Says He Shipped 1 Couple Before Anyone Else
Strong opinions and a shared love for Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra are part of the glue that holds the series’ fandom together. Along with choosing favorite characters or elements, many go hard for their favorite existing or non-existent couple in the TV show. Zutara, Kataang, Sukka, Korrasami, and Tokka linger in the hearts and minds of fans who are willing to debate their favorite ship.
Romantic connections are something that co-creators Bryan Konietzko and Michael DiMartino conscientiously wanted to weave into the story, and Konietzko shared that he always saw one couple as endgame.
‘The Legend of Korra’ brought Korra and Asami together
Throughout Korra’s journey to understanding her avatar power, she also had to learn how to be human. That meant navigating personal relationships with her family, Tenzin, herself, and friends like Mako, Bolin, and Asami. It’s true she had a love thing going with Mako for a while — and Bolin had a major crush on her — but in the end, Makorra was not meant to be forever.
Korra found love with another acquaintance. Korra and Asami grew close as sisterly friends, and eventually their bond turned into romantic affection. At the end of the series, they walked off, hand in hand, into a new adventure.
Bryan Konietzko says Korrasami was always the plan
Michael DiMartino and Byran Konietzko appeared as guests on Avatar: Braving the Elements podcast to talk shop. On the topic of fan ships, Konietzko said, “Korrasami was my first ship. I was the first Korrasami shipper, and I’ve battled fans over this at cons who are like, ‘I was the first!’”
To defend his position, he shared that the characters’ entanglement was always a conversation in the writers’ room. He harkened back to their statement when the show ended in 2014, and noted they wished they could have taken Korra and Asami’s love story further.
“I’m glad we were part of that wave, and it was cool to see other shows — other animated shows — that were going on at the same time, even take it a little bit further,” he added.
With the new Avatar partnership in full bloom with Nickelodeon, perhaps these two storytellers have plans to explore the Korrasami angle some more. The ATLA world is a rich one, so it’s possible that all the familiar faces from past incarnations will pop up in new projects.
‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’ ships Zutara and Kataang were always part of canon
Once DiMartino and Konietzko learned about shipping, they realized they’d been having those discussions about Aang, Zuko, and Katara all along.
“There was definite talk about Zuko-Katara, Aang and Katara, and that stuff,” said Konietzko of their writing process. Ah, the love triangle formed itself early. Though Zutara vs. Kataang is still debated to this day, Aang and Katara wound up together and continued their lineage with Tenzin, Bumi, and Kya.
Relive the magic of the Avatar universe by streaming both series on Netflix. And fans can check out the podcast online on platforms such as Apple, Spotify, and iHeart.
