Avatar: The Last Airbender

It seems rare for Nickelodeon to turn out a good new show these days, and even more rare for me to like an anime style cartoon, which is why I'm baffled as to why I love this show so much. Having not missed an episode yet, and having a reminder for new episodes on my desktop, I've seen that it just keeps getting better and better as it goes. Some of the story lines are predictable, but that doesn't turn me off of Avatar as it might some other things, which just adds more to my confusion as to why I love this show so much. Many kudos to Nickelodeon, this is easily greatest show since Rocko's Modern Life (IMO) and after Spongebob Squarepants, that is most definitely saying something!

Avatar The Last Airbender shouldn't be underestimated. For a while I didn't even look twice at it due to it being on Nickelodeon and me being past the age of watching anything on Nick aside from the classic Nicktoons or Nick shows from the 1990s. But word got around that it was really fantastic, a sort of Kung fu style show where a master goes from place to place having adventures. Turns out the people I heard the word from weren't kidding: the saga of Aang, the last airbender and Avatar, who masters the four elements (air, earth, water, fire) and has to save the world by stopping the power-hungry fire lord, Ozai, is as epic as anything I've ever seen. It's an achievement of storytelling that creeps up on you, and while the first season isn't perfect the second season delivers episode after episode that enriches the characters and makes us care about them as we would in, for obvious example, Star Wars.

In fact, the only minor complaint I would have against the second season (not sure yet about the third) is that it borrows quite heavily from the Empire Stikes Back (i.e. the 'one-who-will-save-us-all' mythology from Joseph Campbell is off training with an old master, feels his friend(s) in pain and danger in the future, rushes off before finishing training, bad things ensue, etc). But really, all of the characters get developed quite well, and if anything the development of the character Prince Zuko, a scarred son of Ozai who has been banished until he can bring back the Avatar along with his banished uncle Iroh, is astonishing in its complexity. We don't care about this character at first, in the first season he comes off like a whiner with Iroh as the wonderful comic relief (think Pokemon if the brother and sister weren't so annoying). But by season two a whole other dimension comes into play: who are you, and what are you doing with yourself?

The trek with the three main characters, and the extra characters like Toph (a little blind girl who is one of those great bad-asses you have to see to believe), is one that is sophisticated enough to bring in adults, and for kids it's often just rollicking fun when it isn't deep or dark. The villains are convincing and scary, the humor hits when it needs to (and sometimes it can be just downright trippy and hilarious, like the second episode of season two, the Cave of Two Lovers), and the animation is often breathtaking. As they say on the internet now: it's made of Win!

I don't know when, but for me, Netflix started streaming Avatar and I was like my childhood, It calls to me. As I mentioned I'm sitting here alone in my apartment in quarantine rewatching my favorite show from when I was in middle school. 14 years later and as an adult I'm sitting here crying because of all the emotion that's portrayed in every episode. It's just so real. It might be the massive amounts of alcohol that I'm consuming on my own but I swear, this show is so heartfelt and raw. Practically every episode tackles loss, friendship, bravery and humility all tied in with some friendly humor. The show holds up so well. 10/10 would recommend even without the wine.

Even though Avatar is of American origin, it has a lot of Japanese anime influence, particularly visually, but keeps the best of both animation cultures with it's American sense of playfulness and more realized characterization. The creators of Avatar have really crafted an artistic piece of fun and creative storytelling that is a rare gem for American TV. Avatar has strength in all the major areas of film and story, starting at ground level with an exceptionally believable world setting where war is taking place among the different nations. The main characters who find themselves caught in this struggle are three teens named Katara, Sokka, and Aang (the Avatar) who have set forth to bring harmony to the world through their influence and through the powers of the still developing Avatar. There is lot of humor and fun in this show, and you can't help but to really love these characters and their pets. But this is just the beginning of the glue that keeps you coming back. Great plots and stunning visuals are just as much of importance to the overall success of the show. The story lines are top notch, being both episodic in nature and chronologically integral from one show to the next. Each episode usually introduces a new and genuinely interesting opposition and/or characters to be overcome by the end of the show, and visually there is plenty of awe inspiring backgrounds and quality animation. With just enough well paced action, some sincere points of moral conviction (can you believe it), and witty humor makes the show a winning combination. This is entertainment for all ages, and definitely a must see.

I'm not big on cartoons or the like but my husband had been asking me for years to watch the avatar. Well it came to Netflix so I said ok begrudgingly, thinking it was more so a show for him to enjoy his nostalgia and I definitely didn't think it would be enjoyable to see as an adult, assuming it was a kids show.

I was very wrong! I loved the show, it's def one of my favorites. So wish there was more! It is humorous and touching, generally it put me in a good mood afterwards. I'll def rewatch it.

The characters are all interesting and have great development. Scenes are beautiful. It's just a great show. Give it a watch!!