I chanced upon this show when my husband started working nights. Not much to do but watch T.V. in the afternoon and evenings, and I noticed that they were running Dragon Ball Z again on one of the cartoon channels so I tuned in to re-watch. Then I decided I wanted to be eating supper while that was on so I started tuning in a half hour before so that it would be there when I got done fixing supper. And while I was fixing supper I'd watch a little of this show they'd been running before DBZ called Avatar: The Last Airbender... and it wasn't long before I was waiting to see Avatar every day and making supper during DBZ. I was blown away! It was everything I thought anime should be... and it's technically not anime because it's a western made cartoon even though its setting is Asian-esque. What a bunch of hooey. You can tell from my other posts that I've always had a fascination with anime even though I've pointed out several flaws in the series I've highlighted. And it's obvious to me that it took an American company to finally do it right and people are just jealous.
This series is made in the spirit of Japanese anime. Like the others I've talked about we have color coordination like Voltron and a use of different elements like Sailor Moon. But Avatar is streamlined and focused without a lot of rabbit chasing. There's a purpose not only to the hero but to all the characters with a definite climactic point in mind and it worked at a slow build over 3 "books." The way the problems of each episode are overcome isn't the same in every episode either... like always a blazing sword... always a transformation into a Super Saiyan at the climax of the battle. The teamwork was real instead of everyone always eventually deferring to Keith (Voltron) in the end, for example. There was more time devoted to character development but it was done deliberately and incrementally without disrupting the flow of the show. And the primary story was layered on a little at a time, unfolding the entire world created for the premise.
It's a mark of brilliance how the opening credits can sum up the series in such a way that a person is never behind on the story no matter at which point they first start watching. I think I first noticed it towards the beginning of the second "book." But it's not hard to catch up. Aang is the last of the Air Nomads who have the power to manipulate the air to their will. He has the serious task of being the next person in a regenerative cycle that can manipulate all elements and therefore hold the peace in this world. But he's still a little kid and has nobody to teach him now except other child prodigies from the element manipulating peoples of the world.
He learns to waterbend from his new friend, Katara. And this represents the first layer. They devote an entire "book" or "season" or however it's separated to the adventures of Katara teaching Aang while seeking out other waterbenders and finding acceptance from them. While this is going on the primary plot builds slowly in the background... the Fire Nation prince, Zuko, is hunting him relentlessly to regain his honor and he has an army at his disposal.
In the next book they enter the Earth Kingdom and discover a blind earthbending prodigy named Toph who becomes Aang's earthbending teacher while the Zuko is banished from the Fire Nation with his Uncle Iroh and they wander aimlessly for a while, still in search of Aang and also a way to get back in his father's good graces.
He does that in book three and also realizes that the Fire Lord is wrong so he defects to join the Avatar and becomes his firebending teacher while relearning how to control this power himself. A lot of growth happens for the characters over the course of the series.
Along the way you do get to see what his ultimate power will look like in his "Avatar State," but when triggered before he has mastered the elements, it is dangerous, uncontrollable, and unpredictable. So, no blazing swords every episode for Aang. Just an occasional helpful temper tantrum, and then in the final episode you see the power of the Avatar under the complete control and command of this Avatar.
There's also a place for characters that don't have supernaturals powers. Katara's brother, Sokka would wield his boomerang and later swords with expert skill as a source of valuable help to the team. A girl from the Earth Kingdom who is part of the royal guard named Suki whose fighting prowess is unmatched. And Ty Lee and Mai from the Fire Nation using circus acrobatics and knives to be devastating foes. I liked these two in particular even though their roles were smaller. Ty Lee and Mai are, at first, enemies of the Avatar, but later change sides.
This adds more layers to the show since the characters are not black and white and two-dimensional. This is also on display as Aang frequently communes with the spirits of former Avatars for advice, most notably Avatars Kyoshi and Roku who were originally from the Earth Kingdom and Fire Nation respectively. It is often reinforced that the Fire Nation wasn't always bad and that there are still some normal people living within that are good at heart. Roku was around to see the Fire Nation in the process of going bad and they go into detail about it. It's so complex for a kid's show it's just mind boggling.
Hair and clothing changed throughout the progression of the show and I appreciate that in particular. It makes the story more believable and real because you can see the passage of time, especially with the growth of the boy characters' hair. It reinforces that this isn't all happening within the course of a few weeks so when the characters are portrayed as knowing more and more about each other there's a sense of continuity that you can't get from characters that wear the exact same clothes throughout the series. It's a small detail, but it makes a big difference.
Avatar also fixes what I've complained about in every anime cartoon I've reviewed up to this point - the use of female characters. In the other series that I watched they were either full blown warriors and useful team members, or they were the nagging consciences of their men but they were never both at the same time. The old shows wanted to have strong girls without sacrificing their girliness and they just couldn't handle juggling the two aspects of the female persona. Avatar nails it. The girls were all indispensable parts of the team and they were also nagging sisters, friends, and girlfriends in the necessary moments. And it's all because the show was sewn together gradually with each moment reserved for a certain time rather than going from one extreme to the other from episode to episode.
I've heard that they continued this concept with The Legend of Korrah, but I've not had the chance to see it. I was told that it was a little more grown up as Avatar was more of a younger kid's show. I'd like to check it out but at the same time I also don't know... it's hard to strike gold twice and I don't know how much more they could add to this that wouldn't be redundant. I love a story that has a definite ending like this one did and I would hope that Korrah does the same thing. But, Avatar The last Airbender is by far the best attempt at anime ever and I love it so much. Definitely a winner that I highly recommend.
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