Allow me to pull a Wan Shi Tong and birdsplain to you! So here’s the thing … it’s been a while since Avatar: The Last Airbender sequel series The Legend of Korra came out, and people want more. That’s where Genji comes in.
It’s been over a decade, in fact. While watching Korra doing her angsty bisexual thing was all well and good, it wasn’t enough to tide the fans over for long! The people wanted another Avatar, to be frank. Someone to carry the torch! Someone to lead the world into the future after Korra’s death! Someone to give us three more seasons of animated action, romance, and spiritual communion!
Are they giving it to us? No. Instead, we’re getting a live action Netflix series instead. Listen, I’m not one to look an ostrich-horse in the mouth, but we don’t WANT to see the same old Team Avatar played by REAL people. We want to see a NEW Team Avatar played by ANIMATED people.
The fans got sick of waiting around, so they decided to make it happen for themselves. And so, the fan-made The Legend of Genji was born.
Who is Genji?
Genji is the next Avatar in the Avatar cycle, who was born after Korra’s death. As you well know, the Avatar cycle follows a particular pattern of air, water, earth, then Fire. A new Avatar will be born into one of the four nations depending on that cycle. Aang was born to the Air Nomads, Korra the Water Tribe, and now Genji has been born in the Earth Kingdom—specifically to a small sandbending tribe in the Si Wong desert known as the Hami.
According to the story, Genji and his family were forcibly relocated to the city of Jinsha after the Earth Federation took possession of sand bender ancestral lands in order to dig for oil and other resources. Genji’s father Khotan left the household when Genji was a teen, forcing the young Avatar to become the family’s breadwinner. After dropping out of school to work odd jobs and make money for his family, Genji began to work permanently in the Old Lao’s repair shop. He also competed in underground sandbending cage matches on the side, much like Avatar Korra did during her sabbatical after defeating the air bender anarchist Zahir. The kicker is: He doesn’t know he’s the Avatar, and neither does the rest of the world.
Wait … people don’t know that he’s the Avatar?
Nope! After Avatar Korra was killed saving the city of Ba Sing Se from a freak spiritual energy explosion ten times the magnitude of the one that made the new gate to the spirit world in Republic City, the world was thrown into turmoil. Hope arrived in the named of a boy named Luan, who was declared to be the new Avatar. Except he wasn’t. Similar to what happened during the days of Avatar Kyoshi, a false Avatar was mistakenly identified. However, Luan is young enough that the people don’t seem to notice that all he can do is metalbend and earthbend. He’s the light of the world! That is … until Genji figures out his true nature.
But at least Genji has friends!
Genji does indeed have friends to help him along in his quest to becoming a full-fledged Avatar. He is joined on his adventures by Aiko Hibana, the adopted daughter of a prominent Fire Nation diplomat in the Earth Federation. Aiko is consistently at the top of her class at the Royal Fire Academy for Girls, excelling both in academics and fire bending.
Joining Aiko is Kalsang, an 18-year-old Airbending prodigy. After living the traditional monastic life and getting his Airbending mastery tattoos, Kalsang began to travel the world teaching young air benders in the ways of old. Kalsang is the son of the familiar Air Nation pair Jinora and Kai, making him a third generation Airbender in the modern world.
Rounding out the gang is Nami, the fifteen-year-old daughter of a Northern Water Tribe oil rig worker. As a child, the elders of the Northern Water Tribe noticed that Nami had a high level of spiritual attunement and predicted that the she would be a powerful bender. This didn’t turn out to be the case. Nami is a non-bender, and as such she is mercilessly bullied by her Water Tribe peers. Until joining the new Team Avatar, her only friends were the spirits that she was able to easily communicate with since she was young. Dissatisfied with her life in the Water Tribe, she later became an Air Nomad at Jinora’s invitation, studying spiritual matters under the airbending masters.
So where can I read more about Genji and his pals?
You can read it online! A five-part comic series called The Avatar Returns is available to read for free online. It’s all beautifully drawn to look exactly like the style of the canon Avatar series. The Legend of Genji is such a well-crafted labor of love that it’s hard to believe the series is fan-made in the first place!
What’s the future of The Legend of Genji?
Sadly, the team behind The Legend of Genji announced that they would be canceling the series in order to “make way for the new Earth Avatar” and move on with their careers.
It’s a serious bummer. But it makes sense. After all, Avatar News announced an official continuation of the Avatar series set to premiere in 2025. According to reports, the new Earth Avatar series will take place 100 years after the events of Korra, landing the series squarely in modern times. There is also talk of the release of a new feature-length film about this particular Avatar that will likely hit screens sometime in 2027.
The Legend of Genji team knows that once this new series airs, their fan-made series will be made irrelevant. But that’s the beauty of fanfiction, isn’t it? It’s meant to celebrate the original work and build community, and provides fledgling creators a chance to stretch their writer’s wings. Maybe we’ll see a completely original work from The Legend of Genji Team in the future. Who knows? If the elders of Aang and Korra can’t even predict who the next Avatar will be; it’s anyone’s game.
(featured image: Webtoon)
