[5.4/10] I was never much of a shipper when it came to *AtLA*. Certain characters made sense to me and certain characters didn’t, but it was never the most interesting part of the show. I understand that you have to do certain things to appeal to an early teen audience, and maybe as a thirty-something whose long since found his true love, that just isn’t in my wheelhouse anymore. But love triangles (and quadrangles, and pentagons) just don’t do it for me. I actively roll my eyes at them, and that’s what “The Spirit of Competition” offers. In short, Bolin likes Korra; Korra likes Mako, and Mako likes Asami. But then disaster strikes! Korra asks Mako out, and he rejects her. Bolin asks Korra out, and she reluctantly accepts. That makes Mako jealous, and he confronts Korra while admitting his confusion and feelings for Asami. They kiss, much to the chagrin of Bolin, who was standing behind them with flowers. It’s all very *Dawson’s Creek* (a reference that I’m sure, again, marks me as a thirty-something) and I can’t be bothered to care. What’s worse is that the episode tries to parallel this romantic confusion with confusing on the pro-bending court. Initially, all three of the Fire Ferrets are in sync and defeat their opening round opponents in the championship tournament with ease. Then, when Mako is jealous but Korra and Bolin are copasetic, the latter two do well but Mako is off his game. And finally, when everyone’s at odds, they only survive to the championship round thanks to a brilliant late-save performance from Korra. In the meantime, there’s angst, and tears, and dramatic recriminations, and my good lord am I just over it. There’s something cute about Bolin’s schoolboy crush and his exaggerated, Sokka-like reactions to everything. (And the adorableness of Pabu’s antics help on that front.) There’s something relatable about Korra hearing Pema’s story about how she mustered up the courage to ask Tenzin out and feeling inspired. But on the whole, this is just a bunch of standard-issue teen drama that serves as distraction from the cooler elements of this show. This also seems as good a place as any to talk about the one thing that bugs me visually about *Legend of Korra*. While I think the level of animation has improved from *Avatar*, and the design of the settings and backgrounds is fantastic, something about the character designs, particularly the guys, seems off and even a bit ugly to me. It’s clear in the foppy, Robert Smith clone who leads the enemy Wolfbats, but it’s on display in a number of characters on the show: Mako, Tarrlock, and any number of randos to boot. The faces are more angular and severe, the clothes more overdone, and overall just less aesthetically pleasing. In short, while I’m no expert on the subgenre, it seems more anime-y to me. I know *Avatar*’s anime credentials are a topic of hot dispute, but while the show was obviously anime-inspired, and had certain designs and tropes that reflected its Asia-inspired setting, it always felt enough of a piece with, say, *Justice League* to feel familiar. Many of the designs on *Korra* feel less like Bruce Timm and more like a standard anime show. I’m sure that’s a plus for some people, but the overdrawn style of it frequently leaves me cold, especially in an episode full of romantic close ups. The other side of the coin is that, as much as it wasn’t my thing, *Avatar* often lived in the shadow of its ships, bringing up Aang’s crush on Katara at inopportune moments that stretched from the beginning of the series to the end. While I doubt this will be the last we see of Korra’s romantic entanglement, maybe it’s good to get this out of the way and put it to bed early, before moving on with the more worthwhile material the series has to offer. I’m not holding my breath, but a middle-aged cartoon-watcher can hope.