The Legend of Korra: The Complete Series Blu-ray SteelBook review

May 28, 2021- Permalink

Good things come to those who wait and, after a shipping delay, I was finally able to sit down and take a look at a review copy of the limited-edition Blu-ray SteelBook release of The Legend of Korra: The Complete Series released by Paramount Home Entertainment. The animated series, which ran on Nickelodeon, is a sequel to Airbender: The Last Avatar. In this four season series, Korra is the latest element-bending avatar facing unrest in a changing world. Voice talents on the series include Janet Varney, Seychelle Gabriel, David Faustino, P. J. Byrne, J. K. Simmons, Mindy Sterling, Aubrey Plaza, John Michael Higgins, Kiernan Shipka, Lisa Edelstein, Steve Blum, Eva Marie Saint, Henry Rollins, Anne Heche and Zelda Williams. Before I go any further, I just want to clarify that the discs in this set are the same as the 2016 box set. It’s the limited-edition packaging that’s different. I didn’t see the set back then, so let’s take a look now.

The 1080 AVC-encoded digital transfer is in the series’ original 1.78:1 aspect ratio. The image on the whole is very good. The line art is crisp. The colour palette ranges from muted tones to popping primaries. Black levels are deep and the contrast is quite good. CG effects blend in well with the animation. There is some colour banding and macroblocking but it’s not consistent and doesn’t detract too much from the overall quality.

On the audio side, there are some changes over the four seasons. Season One has an English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 soundtrack and French and Spanish Dolby Digital 2.0 tracks with English and English SDH subtitles. Season Two has an English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track and a Spanish Dolby Digital 2.0 track with English SDH subtitles as does Season Three. Season Four has an English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit) and English SDH. The 5.1 soundtrack is very dynamic with excellent directional effects and ambient sounds to place you into the scene. Your subwoofer can probably give up its gym membership as the low-frequency parts give power to each battle in the series. The score is crystal-clear and dynamic and dialogue is clear and well-prioritized. It’s an excellent soundtrack.

The four SteelBooks are enclosed in a dark gray box with a cutout window on the front. Each SteelBook has colourful artwork on the front and back, with monochromatic images in the interior of the cases. Each individual season comes with multiple audio commentaries, storyboards, and other behind-the-scenes looks and dives into the story.

The Legend of Korra: The Complete Series Blu-ray SteelBook set is a great find for fans of the series and for SteelBook collectors alike. Recommended.