MD: Asami came a little later in the development process. Once we had the idea for a nonbender revolution, we knew we’d need a character who wasn’t a bender. At first, we had planned for Asami to be an Equalist spy who was using Mako to get close to Korra. But we ended up liking her so much that we thought it was better to keep her on the good guys’ side. The development process was so important for Korra, because it allowed us to play with various story and visual concepts before the full production started.
BK: AS a self-deprecating artist, I am particularly critical of my lack of abilities when it comes to drawing women. But I wanted to challenge myself and handle Asami’s design alone. I wanted her to have sole old Hollywood glamour, while also having some killer racing outfits in her wardrobe. Asami concepts by Bryan Konietzko. Expressions and cleanup by Il-Kwang Kim and Bryan Konietzko. Color by Bryan Konietzko and Sylvia Filcak-Blackwolf.
It would’ve been so awesome if they’d kept the Asami-as-Equalist-spy idea and instead had her do a massive face-heel-turn later on when she succeeds in her goal of getting close to Korra and decides she actually really likes her and wants to fight on her side, I would’ve loved that. Would generate dramatic tension and give them an opportunity to showcase a real friendship between Korra and Asami, as well as add depth to her character. Ahh, well.
