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I posted about this show before but figured I’d raise it again to see if it might attract more interest this time around. I may be flogging a dead horse here, but the forums do seem a tad more active now and we have some new members to boot!
So here goes...
Some time ago a friend recommended I watch Avatar: The Last Airbender. At the time, I quite wrongfully dismissed it as a kids show and didn’t give it the attention it deserved. I got maybe half way into the first episode, but that was it. I put it down and didn’t pick it up again. Thankfully, I came back to it recently as I noticed the whole thing was on Netflix. I had some time on my hands so I figured I’d give it another try. Three weeks later, I’d burned through all three seasons (presented as separate ‘books’).
To give you a bit of background, the show is set in a world divided into four kingdoms, each aligned with one of the four elements (Fire, Earth, Wind, Water). Each nation has a distinct society and a subset of people who have the ability to manipulate and control the element of their nation, which is referred to as bending. The show's creators based each bending style on an existing martial art, leading to clear visual and physical differences in the techniques used by Waterbenders (T'ai chi ch'uan), Earthbenders (Hung Ga kung fu, for the most part), Firebenders (Northern Shaolin kung fu) and Airbenders (Baguazhang).
The story focuses on Aang, who is said to be the re-incarnation of the Avatar. He awakens after 100 years of sleep (trapped in an iceberg), following his accidental discovery by two water tribe children. He finds himself in a changed world, his people wiped out by the Fire Nation; a war like faction who have waged a brutal war of expansion, suppressing the other kingdoms. In spite of the 100 year lapse the Fire Nation are still hunting the Avatar. Aang is said to be destined to master all four elements and bring balance to the world. He sets out on a journey with his new found water tribe companions to fulfil that destiny, which turns out to be a rocky path indeed. The past 100 years are slowly filled in by flashbacks and revelations about the Avatar’s ancestry.
At its heart, this is astoundingly good kids TV, and like the best kids TV it understands that it has an adult audience as well, and shifts very adeptly between dark and light. It tackles serious issues and never talks down to its audience. The main characters have long, believable arcs that see each character change a great deal as the story progresses. There are also plenty of subtle political and religious references, Buddhism and eastern mysticism being a prominent theme. It all makes for a very rich world, with great characters you become quite attached to over time. It reminded me a lot of B5 because of its epic nature, it also deals with prophecy, and is executed with just the right amount of foreshadowing. There's even a bit of a B5 tribute, as the line "who are you? what do you want?" is used at a pivotal moment in season 2. There’s meaningful character development too, with twists and turns and shades of grey instead of straight down the line ‘good’ and ‘bad’.
Visually, it’s absolutely gorgeous. There are shades of Studio Ghibli in the animation style, and it’s potentially one of the best looking animated series I’ve seen in recent years.
If you haven't already checked it out, do give it a look. If you have kids, even better, watch it with them. You may need to bear with it for a few episodes before it fully kicks into gear, but once you hit season two you'll likely be hooked. Would be cool to discuss the show here if anyone else enjoys it, or might want to do an episode for episode look at it for the first time. I’d be up for a re-watch...
*Please note, if you've had the distinct misfortune of seeing the M. Night Shyamalan live action film, please disregard that awful piece of film making entirely. It is not at all representative of quality of the animated series (that preceded the film).
So here goes...
Some time ago a friend recommended I watch Avatar: The Last Airbender. At the time, I quite wrongfully dismissed it as a kids show and didn’t give it the attention it deserved. I got maybe half way into the first episode, but that was it. I put it down and didn’t pick it up again. Thankfully, I came back to it recently as I noticed the whole thing was on Netflix. I had some time on my hands so I figured I’d give it another try. Three weeks later, I’d burned through all three seasons (presented as separate ‘books’).
To give you a bit of background, the show is set in a world divided into four kingdoms, each aligned with one of the four elements (Fire, Earth, Wind, Water). Each nation has a distinct society and a subset of people who have the ability to manipulate and control the element of their nation, which is referred to as bending. The show's creators based each bending style on an existing martial art, leading to clear visual and physical differences in the techniques used by Waterbenders (T'ai chi ch'uan), Earthbenders (Hung Ga kung fu, for the most part), Firebenders (Northern Shaolin kung fu) and Airbenders (Baguazhang).
The story focuses on Aang, who is said to be the re-incarnation of the Avatar. He awakens after 100 years of sleep (trapped in an iceberg), following his accidental discovery by two water tribe children. He finds himself in a changed world, his people wiped out by the Fire Nation; a war like faction who have waged a brutal war of expansion, suppressing the other kingdoms. In spite of the 100 year lapse the Fire Nation are still hunting the Avatar. Aang is said to be destined to master all four elements and bring balance to the world. He sets out on a journey with his new found water tribe companions to fulfil that destiny, which turns out to be a rocky path indeed. The past 100 years are slowly filled in by flashbacks and revelations about the Avatar’s ancestry.
At its heart, this is astoundingly good kids TV, and like the best kids TV it understands that it has an adult audience as well, and shifts very adeptly between dark and light. It tackles serious issues and never talks down to its audience. The main characters have long, believable arcs that see each character change a great deal as the story progresses. There are also plenty of subtle political and religious references, Buddhism and eastern mysticism being a prominent theme. It all makes for a very rich world, with great characters you become quite attached to over time. It reminded me a lot of B5 because of its epic nature, it also deals with prophecy, and is executed with just the right amount of foreshadowing. There's even a bit of a B5 tribute, as the line "who are you? what do you want?" is used at a pivotal moment in season 2. There’s meaningful character development too, with twists and turns and shades of grey instead of straight down the line ‘good’ and ‘bad’.
Visually, it’s absolutely gorgeous. There are shades of Studio Ghibli in the animation style, and it’s potentially one of the best looking animated series I’ve seen in recent years.
If you haven't already checked it out, do give it a look. If you have kids, even better, watch it with them. You may need to bear with it for a few episodes before it fully kicks into gear, but once you hit season two you'll likely be hooked. Would be cool to discuss the show here if anyone else enjoys it, or might want to do an episode for episode look at it for the first time. I’d be up for a re-watch...
*Please note, if you've had the distinct misfortune of seeing the M. Night Shyamalan live action film, please disregard that awful piece of film making entirely. It is not at all representative of quality of the animated series (that preceded the film).
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