Avatar: The Last Airbender

[Wraith]

Avatar: The Last Airbender is a TV show that began back in 2005. It ran for 3 seasons with 20 episodes each. Gradually, it gained a massive fan following and earned critical acclaim.

One thing that drew many to the show is the fact that each character was well developed over the entire season. No loose ends we're left over by the end of it all. There was a full, feasible story in each one. Zuko's redemption. Aang's growth. Katara's feelings about her parents. Sokka's own self worth.

What was your favorite part of this show? Who's your favorite character?

[SenEDDtor Missile]

Correction: There were some loose ends regarding the location of Zuko's mother, although from what I understand, they are expanding on it in a graphic novel eventually, after "The Promise" is finished I believe.

As for the show: Well, it's definitely one of my favorites which is not saying much considering how small my list of favorites is.

Edited November 17, 2012 by Malpercio

[Kuzu]

Ahh yes, the show that kept me from completely disregarding Nick.

[Endy]

I watched this show on Netflix about a year back and I fell in love with it before the intro even finished! The setting, characters, the world it takes place, I just love everything about it.

Also this was going to be brought up eventually so...

[Soniman]

One of my favorite cartoon's ever. The characters, the art design, the music, the story and the development, its all really well handled and an absolute blast from start to finish.

[CrownSlayers Shadow]

Seriously hard to pick a favorite episode, or favorite character for that matter.

Really, everything about that show was so heavily crafted that it's just that hard to single out a fav. Sokka winds up as a bit of a butt monkey with a knack for ideas who then transitions into a badass normal swordsman capable of decent strategies, Aang goes from reluctant hero to one who finally embraces his power and role in the world, Toph was just badass from the beginning who then gets even more badass by creating Metalbending on the fly, Katara starts off as a waterbender who needs serious practice to the most powerful waterbender not including the avatars, Azula's just too awesome a villain.

...seriously, how the hell can I choose from this?

Now if we were talking Legend of Korra, that might be easy to single somethings out.

[Emperor Robrainiac]

It's definitely one of the better shows on TV and probably the best Nick had to offer around that time and probably still is considering what's on now.

The only thing I hated about it was that it had Nickelodeon's typical sense humor, just with less potty and booger jokes (Though not to say it didn't turn up every now and then, one that comes to mind was Appa sneezing on Sokka, which was pretty cringeworthy.) Maybe it's just me, but the very western humor of the show felt very out of place in the show's eastern setting, it's kind of distracting IMO. Plus I've never found it funny in any of Nick's other shows.

and no, I do not find Sokka's jokes funny, even if they are supposed to be bad.

But that aside, like I said, it's definitely the best show on Nick, and it did have dark themes, a good story and a likable cast that other shows on that network lack. (At least nowadays.)

Admittedly, I kinda like Korra better, if mostly for the more contemporary, steampunk setting but I'm not gonna deny that the first season had some major flaws that made it inferior to the original.

Edited November 17, 2012 by Lyra Heartstrings

[Mr. Taxi]

I love absolutely everything from Avatar. Its setting, the pace of its story, its small details that make you want to live in such a world. Aside from the obvious - bending - the animals, the mythology and the culture is just too beautiful. I am also fascinated by the permanent feeling that all of it might be a metaphor regarding the history of China.

Legend of Korra crosses the line of the blatant when it comes to being comparable to the Cultural Revolution.

The characters are also believable (except for their ages, I'd say) and have well-crafted personalities, most notably Zuko and Aang. Of course, they all have traits that stand out and sometimes a little too much (I love you, Ty Lee, but I'm looking at you), but still.

And it has one of the most beautiful scenes I have ever seen in a cartoon. The Last Agni Kai.

[Gregzilla]

Oh lordy, this is one of the best shows ever created, bar-none. I watched it for a while when it first aired, but for some reason kinda stopped around the middle of Book 2. I got Netflix a few months back and decided to watch the whole series, and I loved it even more than I did back then.

The animation is awesome, the characters are great, and it really shines when it gets down to the dramatic, action-heavy scenes.

It's hard to pick favorite moments from this show. Though if I had to give a shout out to any event, it'd have to be the Book 1 finale. One of my favorite episodes of any show ever. It set the mood perfectly, the action was great, and the stakes started to seem much higher.

I think one of the most powerful moments in the show is when General Zhao is being pulled into the water. Zuko offers his hand to save him, but Zhao pulls his hand back and solemnly goes down without a word. Brilliance.

I can't think of many complaints about this show. Some may not like the humor, but I always found it harmless and it lightened the mood when it was called for. I guess some filler episodes are my only complaint, particularly the one with the trek through the canyon with those two groups that hate each other. Everything else is golden.

I haven't watched Korra yet, but it'll has one hell of a predecessor to live up to.

[CrownSlayers Shadow]

Legend of Korra crosses the line of the blatant when it comes to being comparable to the Cultural Revolution.

I don't see the point in the spoiler tag, but LoK being blatant about the Cultural Revolution is a complete understatement when you factor in terrorist attacks, WWII-esque battles, McCarthyism (tell me Tarlokk isn't McCarthy's expy), Red Scare, etc.

[Dr. Homem]

Absolutely love this show and could spend hours and hours talking about it. What I like? Pretty much everything, but especially the writing and character development; it's a complex world with a compelling, emotional story. Humor is wonderful. Also, the animation is beautiful. And bending is the coolest thing ever.

I can't speak for everyone when I say this, but the world and the mythos behind everything is what draws me in. It's fantasy, but done differently than you've ever seen before.

For those who didn't watch it, you can compare it to the movie The Iron Giant: a lot of mature themes that are cleverly incorporated into what was intended to be a kids show on Nickelodeon. I wouldn't say it is a "kids show" myself; it was a revelation for western animation. Which of the shows is my favorite? TLA has the better characterization by far, LoK has the better plot. Ultimately my favorite would be TLA, but I love both series.

Oh, and I ship Tokka. Fuck me right?

[Wraith]

This moment is the greatest scene ever played on Television. Zuko and Azula, the latter of which is currently falling apart, mind you, finally clash, and boy, was it awesome. It pretty much gives payoff to all the tension that was building between the siblings for the entire series. Not to mention that there's some serious role reversal going on in this fight. Form the the sibling's body language alone, you can tell there's a serious contrast to their first confrontation. Zuko, the guy who used to attack blindly, and out of anger, mostly stays in the same place for the whole fight and takes all of Azula's strikes as they come, only countering when there's a clear opening. Azula, who used to be the calculating strategist, is charging forward and attacking blindly, just like how Zuko used to do.

My favorite scene hands down.

[-Robin-]

My only criticism of this series comes in the first half of Book 3, because nearly all the episodes then had sort of a episodic nature to them. Parts of this happened in Book 1 too, admittedly, but after an amazing natural sense of progression in story structure from the latter half of Book 2, it was so weird to go see the show go back to Book 1 style for another 10 episodes.

Aside from that though, this show's amazing. The development, constant deconstruction of cliche moments in animated shows (particularly in the Book 2 finale. Zuko pulling a Heel Face Turn? Not so fast, Bucko), endearing characters, etc. etc. etc. It's all so great.

Part 3 - and the conclusion - of The Promise was completed in September, and golly, were things hectic. A few bullet points:

- Aang is convinced that the nations need to stay separated after seeing his Air Nomad culture being copied by his fan club in Ba Sing Se, down to the tattoo markings being copied. Because of this, he's convinced that the nations need to stay separated; therefore, the Fire Nation citizens at Yu Dao need to be expelled.

- Zuko is prepared for war against the Earth King Kuei in the colonies. He is concerned about his position in this incident, believing that keeping the Fire Nation citizens in Yu Dao is the right thing to do, but knowing that this is exactly what Ozai would have done had he remained Fire Lord.

- Katara confronts Aang about the fan club's actions, telling him that this separation that Aang now wants is at odds with Guru Pathik's philosophy that all the nations are one and the same, deep down. Aang doesn't change his mind, claiming that as the last Air Nomad, he has to protect his culture.

- Sokka and Toph, at the Bei Fong Metalbending Academy at the time, is greeted by Suki, who got to their position in a Fire Nation War Balloon. Sokk and the others then make their way to Yu Dao.

- Aang tries to stop Smellerbee and Longshot from causing war in Yu Dao, preferring to absolve this conflict peacefully (he claims he is on their side), but a drill manages to break through the walls of Yu Dao, igniting battle. Before Aang can try to protest, Earth King Kuei's army arrives.

- Meanwhile, Sokka, Toph, and Suki make it to the Fire Nation tanks, and Toph prepares metalbends the screws inside the tanks to incapacitate them.

- The Fire Nation army arrives at Yu Dao. General How of Kuei's army pleads for Aang to kill Zuko. At that point, Toph dismantles all the tanks. But, instead of stopping the attack, this merely causes the soldiers to break from the tanks and resume going to Yu Dao on foot. This sparks Aang to go into the Avatar State.

- Katara snaps Aang out of the Avatar State, admitting her feelings about the Harmony Restoration Movement: while she was originally for it, her seeing multicultural families in Yu Dao made her envision her own future with Aang, possibly becoming a multicultural family themselves. Aang may be the last Air Nomad, but eventually there would be none, with no one else to pass the Airbender legacy, infused with other cultures or not. Katara asks Aang to think about the situation further in silence, and he does so.

- Aang, away from Yu Dao, contacts Roku, who admits his family relationship with Zuko. Nonetheless, Roku pleads for Aang to kill Zuko to prevent bloodshed.

- Those remaining in Yu Dao attempt to calm everyone else down. Katara waterbends herself into Kuei's own War Balloon, to try and convince him to visit Yu Dao and see the blended families for himself

- Avatar Aang suddenly bursts onto the scene, causing a fissure between the city, seemingly plummeting Zuko to his death. At that moment, Aang rescues Zuko.

- Aang shows Kuei that if he continues his attack on Yu Dao, he would be fighting against the Fire Nation, waterbenders (Katara), Air Nomads (Aang), and parts of his own Earth Kingdom (Toph, the families of Yu Dao). Aang explains that this has become a whole new world, and that it needs to be understood, and not regressed back to what it was. Kuei agrees, as does Zuko, who now realizes that he had made the right choice all along.

- Days later, Aang confronts Roku again, telling him that he saved Zuko because he cares about him and his people. Roku believes Aang made the wrong choice, and remained indecisive. He then claims he has nothing more to teach Aang now because of this. Then this happens:

Aang severs his connection with Roku forever.

- Zuko confronts Aang soon after, apologizing to him about making him promise to kill him if he got out of control, because this made Aang the sole person to decide if Zuko was right or wrong. Zuko knows now that he has to make decisions for himself.

- Zuko then remarks that he might feel better at peace if he contacts his mother's side of his family, and possibly find his mother.

- Aang visits his fan club once again, and asks them to continue preserving the Air Nomad culture. He names this fan club as the first Air Acolytes.

- The chapter concludes with Zuko visiting a mental institution, seeking Azula's assistance from prying the information about their mother from Ozai. Azula has completely broke at this point, and she hallucinates about Ursa every day.

So yeah, lotta stuff.

Edited November 21, 2012 by Joshua

[Dr. Homem]

Let's not forget about the Zuko-Azula battle, there was more emotional stake. With Aang-Ozai, you knew Aang was going to win, and the only real question was how he would handle Ozai after the battle. With Azula vs. Zuko you were not sure how it would pan out. Plus it was the resolution to Zuko's character arc which was one of the most interesting plots in my opinion. Also it had the best shots artistically; specifically the one of the city from high up with the giant jets of blue and orange flame.

Azula's breakdown was amazing too.

[Wraith]

UUgh, the Promise was so BAD. Don't even get me started on how off character that whole thing was?

[-Robin-]

I don't see how off-character it was. Everyone, particularly Zuko, acted how I would expect them to act post-finale.

I guess you could make the case on how Aang and Katara were lovey-dovey with one another, but seeing how dead-set Aang was in getting Katara to like him, and how obsessive Katara was in The Fortuneteller to know about her love life, and how both of them are teenagers, any flanderization on their part can be somewhat justified.

[Wraith]

I don't see how off-character it was. Everyone, particularly Zuko, acted how I would expect them to act post-finale.

I guess you could make the case on how Aang and Katara were lovey-dovey with one another, but seeing how dead-set Aang was in getting Katara to like him, and how obsessive Katara was in The Fortuneteller to know about her love life, and how both of them are teenagers, any flanderization on their part can be somewhat justified.

Zuko goes to his father for advice instead of his uncle.

Aang actually CONSIDERS killing Zuko, after trying his hardest not to kill OZAI, a man indirectly responsible for the death of millions.

Those are the 2 biggest offences,

[-Robin-]

Ozai may have been a jackass, but he was the Fire Lord, and surely must have had tough political situations like the one in Yu Dao that he had to oversee and resolve. The citizens of Yu Dao actually preferred Ozai, because he allowed them the chance to live out in that territory and achieve happiness; it would be better for Zuko to talk with him not only because of the former's experience as the Fire Lord, but also because his influence in Yu Dao could have possibly produced a solution for him.

As for Aang, Zuko forced Aang to promise to kill him if he strayed from the right path. Aang couldn't bring himself to kill Ozai because Ozai was intent on living; Zuko basically pleaded with Aang to hasten his death if he became like Ozai. Having an opportunity for what was basically an assisted suicide might have been enough for Aang to reconsider.

Edited November 22, 2012 by Joshua

[Dr. Homem]

The Promise was okay. The Search will be really bad, though. You know, I always liked Azula. She's incredibly complex for a villain, something that a lot of other stories never explore enough. Does anybody remember this moment?

In the end, Azula's descent into madness wasn't completely her fault, but it was largely her own doing; it could never have gotten that far if she had evaluated and made the choices necessary to prevent herself from going down that path. My heart did truly break when she broke down, but it ached even harder when you saw the first signs of her schizophrenia coming on when she saw the hallucinations of her mother in her mirror, taunting her for all intents and purposes. How heart-wrenching, to have your own brain twist the jealousy and pain and mistrust you've harbored against some one right back into your own face? I think it would break me, too. But I digress.

The point is, her becoming "good" and "stable" would effectively destroy all the development, all the buildup we had until now. I was sad to see Azula go insane; but I'd be far more sad if she became bland.

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[LATER BUDDY]

Well that's uncanny, I started watching all of them on Netflix here about 3 or 4 days ago, XD. I've seen the show a lot of times in the past, and even at one point tried watching them all a few years ago, but I stopped around season 2 for some reason. However I'm like halfway through season 3 now and hope to finish it here tomorrow probably.

It's pretty awesome, I gotta admit. Though I don't really care about any of the awkward romances, everything else about the show is insanely addicting. Aang is probably my favorite character since I really like the air bending the most out of the 4, but honestly, every character is really amazing. As for a favorite episode, I'm not actually sure yet, but the one where Sokka gets his sword is definitely up there.

[Wraith]

Well that's uncanny, I started watching all of them on Netflix here about 3 or 4 days ago, XD. I've seen the show a lot of times in the past, and even at one point tried watching them all a few years ago, but I stopped around season 2 for some reason. However I'm like halfway through season 3 now and hope to finish it here tomorrow probably.

It's pretty awesome, I gotta admit. Though I don't really care about any of the awkward romances, everything else about the show is insanely addicting. Aang is probably my favorite character since I really like the air bending the most out of the 4, but honestly, every character is really amazing. As for a favorite episode, I'm not actually sure yet, but the one where Sokka gets his sword is definitely up there.

Dude, no offence, but get out of here.

Spoilers, man. You have to witness this finale for yourself for it it to have the most impact.

[LATER BUDDY]

Dude, no offence, but get out of here.

Spoilers, man. You have to witness this finale for yourself for it it to have the most impact.

Eh, I haven't read anything yet. I know just about everything that happens except the finale really anyways.

[Dr. Homem]

Zuko: I'm not ashamed. I'm as proud as ever!

Iroh: Prince Zuko, pride is not the opposite of shame, but its source. True humility is the only antidote to shame.

I still find myself pondering this quote.

[Dr. Homem]

Just found that a cool little detail. I'm sure plenty of you had noticed it, but prior to Aang and Zuko's meeting with the dragons Ran and Shaw in "The Firebending Masters" Zuko would always grunt while bending. After learning the true meaning of firebending, however, Zuko stopped grunting.

Grunting helps exert more energy while doing a physical activity which is why Zuko did it. By having him not grunt once he learned from the dragons it showed that Zuko no longer needed that "extra" boost when bending and displayed how much more powerful he was along with his more powerful and larger fire blasts.

Edited November 23, 2012 by Cabbage Merchant

[SenEDDtor Missile]

Just found that a cool little detail. I'm sure plenty of you had noticed it, but prior to Aang and Zuko's meeting with the dragons Ran and Shaw in "The Firebending Masters" Zuko would always grunt while bending. After learning the true meaning of firebending, however, Zuko stopped grunting.

Grunting helps exert more energy while doing a physical activity which is why Zuko did it. By having him not grunt once he learned from the dragons it showed that Zuko no longer needed that "extra" boost when bending and displayed how much more powerful he was along with his more powerful and larger fire blasts.

That's an interesting detail; I never noticed.