Book Review: The Legend of Korra: Book 4: Balance, The Art of the Animated Series

Just like the earlier artbooks for the series, this is another a wonderful companion. Going through the book brings back nice memories of watching the animation. Korra's story arc may have its ups and downs but this book presents an overview from the production point of view.

The large hardcover is similar in format to the other Korra artbooks. It has 184 pages. Some places have listed it incorrectly as having only 120 pages. This book is much thicker than that.

Publisher Dark Horse has once again done a fantastic job at filling the book with plenty of concept and production art.

The artworks are sorted by the episodes of the show. There are character designs, background art, concept sketches, storyboards and miscellaneous art from guest arts. Many characters have taken new roles and evolved with a change of look. And it's great to see Toph again (who contributed the funniest moments in the show). The painted background art often come with pencil sketches as well.

There's insightful commentary by Bryan Konietzko, Michael Dante DiMartino and Joaquim Dos Santos. They talk about the design, story and character development. For that, you get a deeper understanding and appreciation for how the animation was made.

All the good things from earlier artbooks apply to this book as well. Needless to say, this is a fantastic book that all fans should get.

Highly recommended.

The Legend of Korra: The Art of the Animated Series - Book Four: Balance (Avatar: The Last Airbender) is available at Amazon (US | CA | UK | DE | FR | IT | ES | JP | CN)

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