Avatar: The Last Airbender

Gorgon Heap · #1 07-16-2008, 08:27 PM

I don't want to come off as a complete nerd, but hey; let's face facts.

Have a lot of other people picked up on this show? It sounds silly, but this cartoon on Nickelodeon is about the coolest stinkin' thing of the form a many years.

This week it seems to be wrapping up at the end of the third - and maybe last - season. I've been watching avidly since I acccidently caught it one day and I'm never less than impressed.

For those who don't know - In a psudo-asian fantasy world, there are four nations, each specializing in a form of "bending" whereby the people can control a certain element. After centuries of peace brought about by the wisdom of a single person, the Avatar (who is the only one capable of controlling all four elements), the nation of fire suddenly strikes out and pretty much conquers all the world. The last Avatar vanished when he was needed most and pops back up a century later in the form of a kid who has no idea what's in store for him or what the world is like now.

With a few friends who have suffered immesurably during the long war, he sets out to learn what he has to and set the world back to balance.

... Frankly, the detail with which the world and conventions, powers and history and the characters are built are astonishing. The animation is also top-notch. It's anime without being over-the-top - sort of easy-to-look-at Western style with the amazing action and effects sequences one expects of the latter.

It's filled with deep coming-of-age plots, mysticism, the meaning of good and evil, doing the right thing, sacrifice, redemption and balancing industry with nature.

There's a huge list of characters, all of which are fully developed and have their own backgrounds and goals. They all have trials to get through and choices to make - and most, but not all, of them are teenagers.

It's just such a damned impressive and heartfelt show, I was wondering who else out there appreciates it and why.

shy guy · #2 07-16-2008, 08:36 PM

A few months ago, I downloaded the first season of Avatar from iTunes on a rainy day.

This show is amazing. Seriously, one of the best adventure cartoons I've ever seen. I thought that the faux-anime thing would bug me, but the animation is gorgeous.

I love the characters, the premise, the scenery, the humor, everything.

But I haven't had the time to watch anything past season one yet.

Revenant Threshold · #3 07-16-2008, 08:54 PM

It is great! I'm just upset it'll be over in a couple of days.

Well, I suppose probably more than a couple of days for me, depending. Darn American shows!

Gorgon Heap · #4 07-16-2008, 09:15 PM

shy_guy, thanks. I did also want to mention some other aspects.

Humor: Kinda hokey and juvenile, but it never feels at all forced, so you can really see a bunch of teens acting and saying things the way they do.

Imagery: Wow. Just wow. The animators beautifully render some really fantastic locations. From vast crystal-filled caves, to mazelike cities of stone to temples hanging upside down under cliff faces and vast, impenetrable swamplands - they do an incredible job of envisioning a world of fantasy and magic.

Oh, and the creatures, clothing and weapons; everything is like ours but different, which makes it familiar enough to believe. We know we're in a world with diferent laws, but it's close enough to our own that we never feel completely left out.

Gorgon Heap · #5 07-16-2008, 09:21 PM

Oh, yes; power and betrayal and corruption. The Fire nation is the ultimate bad guy because they forgot how to channel their element peacefully - that's why the war started. Very recently in this last season we see the corruption of another element. It's easy to see how balance is necessary in this world - any of them could have lost control, conceivably - not just the Fire folk.

DrFidelius · #6 07-16-2008, 09:18 PM

They once stormed the Forbidden City. And it worked.

squeegee · #7 07-16-2008, 09:32 PM

I really really dig this show, and have since season one. Avatar is distilled awesome. The story arcs of most of the characters are fantastic -- Aang, Zuko, Katara, Sokka, Toph (+1 awesome). Hell, even Appa got a short arc that was pretty good. The bending is well thought out and tied (loosely) to various martial art styles, and the producers come up with really cool ways to use each bending power. The art production is first rate as well -- awesome designs, great settings. (I really like the western air temple -- an upside-down cliff city!). I also like how the animators stick in the occasional super-deformed schtick for a second (if I'm using the right term).

My son and I are watching the Comet Countdown this week, and its been very cool so far, three episodes in, and 7 (?) from the finale. Aang must save the world this week! Squee!

I do believe Aang can save the world. I also think Uncle Iroh will be the new fire lord; I guess we'll see.

Gorgon Heap · #8 07-16-2008, 10:25 PM

Quote:

I also think Uncle Iroh will be the new fire lord; I guess we'll see.

Oh, crap. See, this is why I try not to think too deeply in to shows I really like. That is really a good friggin' bet.

Dangit.

squeegee · #9 07-16-2008, 10:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gorgon Heap

Oh, crap. See, this is why I try not to think too deeply in to shows I really like. That is really a good friggin' bet. Dangit.

Gah! Sorry! I didn't consider spoilering, it's uninformed speculation. And the series has completely fooled me several times, so I don't have a good track record -- perhaps something entirely different will happen. The arc with Zuko versus his father is the most awesome one, with Iroh as the guardian angel/Jiminy Cricket between them. This has to bear interesting fruit before the end.

I'm still trying to figure out how Aang is going to get back in contact with the Avatar State --

SPOILER:

-- And I'd think he'll need it before the end.

I figure there's also a Pai Sho connection coming up:

SPOILER:

.

squeegee · #10 07-16-2008, 10:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gorgon Heap

Oh, crap. See, this is why I try not to think too deeply in to shows I really like. That is really a good friggin' bet. Dangit.

One more response -- if we're going to be all Star Wars, then Zuko would have to kill (or equivalent) his Father at the end of things. But its a kids show, so that ain't going to happen. Aang is being set up to do the deed, but there has to be some twist there -- Aang will fail but fate will somehow succeed, in the form of another character or maybe even

SPOILER:

squeegee · #11 07-19-2008, 11:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gorgon Heap

Oh, crap. See, this is why I try not to think too deeply in to shows I really like. That is really a good friggin' bet.

Dangit.

There, you feel better now?

SPOILER:

Omi no Kami · #12 07-19-2008, 11:13 PM

I've started watching the show thanks to this thread, and I'm almost finished with the first season. I'm really enjoying it. Aang annoys the crap out of me for some reason, but I've pretty much gotten over that... I can't help but feel bad for Sokka though. He's the Xander to Aang's Buffy, and he does that role well, but I feel bad for the fact that he has to travel with two (by all accounts) extremely talented benders, and gets to watch them grow up and presumably surpass him by leaps and bounds, since I assume bending > swordplay in a depressing number of circumstances.

squeegee · #13 07-19-2008, 11:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Omi no Kami

I've started watching the show thanks to this thread, and I'm almost finished with the first season. I'm really enjoying it. Aang annoys the crap out of me for some reason, but I've pretty much gotten over that... I can't help but feel bad for Sokka though. He's the Xander to Aang's Buffy, and he does that role well, but I feel bad for the fact that he has to travel with two (by all accounts) extremely talented benders, and gets to watch them grow up and presumably surpass him by leaps and bounds, since I assume bending > swordplay in a depressing number of circumstances.

Sokka gets a good arc, and even an episode later on devoted entirely to that question. All the characters grow, just at different places & paces.

squeegee · #14 07-16-2008, 11:05 PM

One more Zuko speculation, spoilered again.

SPOILER:

squeegee · #15 07-17-2008, 12:00 AM

I'll also note that this thread was tried once before without much success.

Which surprises me. I guess the marketing flies over the heads of most non-kid poeple, and kid-folk don't pay enough attention to dig the show's virtues.

squeegee · #16 07-17-2008, 12:16 AM

Oh, hell, I'll just keep going. I expect nobody else will reply to this thread, nobody seems to "get" this show.

I thought it was especially super cool when during the Day Of Black Sun

SPOILER:

Sweet!

Achren · #17 07-17-2008, 12:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by squeegee

Oh, hell, I'll just keep going. I expect nobody else will reply to this thread, nobody seems to "get" this show.

Easy! Easy with that brush! I just stay out of these threads because I don't have cable and don't want to be spoiled. I read a bit into this one, but once people started mentioning stuff from this season, I stopped reading until I started seeing the spoiler boxes. I'm very excited about this season, though I'm very impatient for it to come out on DVD, I'll be sad for the show to end.

Gorgon Heap · #18 07-17-2008, 01:44 AM

As to what Achren said; considering the intensity and plain ol' coolness of the show, I am consistently astonished with how little play it gets on Nick. They gladly play hours upon hours of SpongeBob and Jimmy Neutron (which have their pusposes - I have kids who like those shows) but never, ever seem to want to replay Avatar.

It's so hard to find once it's been played.

squeegee · #19 07-17-2008, 11:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gorgon Heap

As to what Achren said; considering the intensity and plain ol' coolness of the show, I am consistently astonished with how little play it gets on Nick. They gladly play hours upon hours of SpongeBob and Jimmy Neutron (which have their pusposes - I have kids who like those shows) but never, ever seem to want to replay Avatar.

Not true -- Nick Teen used to play the episodes so much it seemed nearly continuous. Nick Jr was playing episode reruns on weekends last year, so it was pretty easy to catch up. This year has been different however -- it seems like once the Season 3 episodes dried up last November, Avatar has been very scarce on broadcast. However, now that the Countdown To The Comet week has commenced, the reruns are back in heavy play again.

Quote:

It's so hard to find once it's been played.

All the episodes that have aired are up on iTunes, and have been since around the time season 2 started.

Achren · #20 07-17-2008, 01:52 AM

Really? I know many 20 somethings who really enjoy it. I'm suprised they don't rerun it more considering how popular it seems across such a wide age range. My cousin and his parents watch it together. It's almost like this generation's Star Trek. Although could its wide appeal be part of the problem? I don't think Nick's other shows are for anything other then a particular age range, but I'm decidedly not certain.

Meurglys · #21 07-17-2008, 05:59 AM

I like it when I bump into it - usually on Saturday morning kids tv before I have to go out...
I forget all the names, but I love their transport!

aldiboronti · #22 07-17-2008, 06:17 AM

M Night Shimalayan is helming (and writing) the upcoming movie version.

That's either good or bad news, depending on your opinion of him. Personally I think it's a disaster.

Gorgon Heap · #23 07-17-2008, 09:55 AM

Oh ... oh, God. Not that guy! Guh ... let the sucking begin. Who's rediculous idea what that? He's stuck to the same eye-rolling schtick fo rthe past decade and each film - of his own making!- is worse than the one before.

Gorgon Heap · #24 07-17-2008, 10:34 AM

[sigh] Well, let's not dwell on that, shall we? Let's stick with the OP and how cool this show is.

squeegee · #25 07-17-2008, 11:27 AM

Also, all the shows up through the first half of season 3 are available on DVD. They're up on Netflix or at your video store (or at least I've seen them at my local Hollywood Video).

An Arky · #26 07-17-2008, 12:03 PM

My 10 year-old son thinks it's a great show, and is lamenting the end. I think it's not too bad, for a Nickelodeon show.

Noelq · #27 07-17-2008, 02:35 PM

I'm absolutely entranced by this show. Excellent writing, great animation, extremely in-depth and involving script. Wholeheartedly reccommended to all my friends, and those that have picked it up have loved it to.

I'm looking forward to the comet, myself. I was scared that this season would never happen.

squeegee · #28 07-17-2008, 02:56 PM

It is odd that they're doing 5-6 weeks worth of episodes in just five days. My pet theory is that they have a contract to deliver the last DVD for season 3 on a specific date, and they have to get all the shows broadcast before that can happen. It seems like a silly way to do things -- they could have gotten much more viewer interest if these shows had been broadcast over several weeks. Especially if they hadn't had an 8 month breather since the previous part of this season.

For some reason, the first two shows we saw this week for the first time in the U.S, "The Western Air Temple" and "The Firebending Masters" were broadcast in Canada in late December 2007 and early January 2008. What's up with that?

lunar elf · #29 07-17-2008, 03:12 PM

My husband and I really love this show. Hubby has watched it from the beginning and I've caught up along the way. My favorite part is saying the line, ...'but I believe Aang can save the world!' (I'd do that to get a rise out of my hubby when he was watching the show because that was the only thing I could remember.) I still do it now and he laughs.

This season has been really cool with the animation, I was just like ... 'wow.' It's fun trying to figure out where the story line is going too.

I want an Appa!

squeegee · #30 07-17-2008, 03:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lunar elf

'but I believe Aang can save the world!'

I used to goof on my son by spoofing that line. The only version I recall is "but I believe Aang can shave the squirrel", which gets me a big

from my kid.

Ice Cream Man · #31 07-17-2008, 04:10 PM

Another vote for awesome. I'm looking forward to the final epsidoes. About time!

squeegee · #32 07-17-2008, 10:12 PM

Nice episode tonight. Katara was

SPOILER:

again, which is pretty dark for her. And it was way cool when she

SPOILER:

Sweet!

I meant to ask this yesterday, re Boiling Rock pt2:

SPOILER:

Cisco · #33 07-17-2008, 10:56 PM

They have all the DVDs at the library but they're been utterly laid waste to by little brats whose moms have not taught them how to properly handle something that doesn't belong to them

.

So, I've seen the first ~half of the first season, haltingly.

Does Nickelodeon ever do marathons, like maybe starting from season 1?

squeegee · #34 07-17-2008, 11:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cisco

Does Nickelodeon ever do marathons, like maybe starting from season 1?

They do do marathons. But I'm guessing they'll randomly cycle Avatar episodes like they've done in the past, so it may be difficult to get a serial viewing of the seasons.

Just subscribe to Netflix for a month or two, cycle through all the Avatar season DVDs, and cancel. $17-34 for 60ish episodes (20 per season x 3, plus a couple), not a bad deal. I'm obviously biased, but the show is worth tossing someone a buck to see.

Larry Borgia · #35 07-17-2008, 11:19 PM

So how much of a children's show is it? Is it something I (an adult with no kids) can watch without feeling silly and weird?

Cisco · #36 07-17-2008, 11:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Larry Borgia

So how much of a children's show is it? Is it something I (an adult with no kids) can watch without feeling silly and weird?

It's right there on the edge.

squeegee · #37 07-18-2008, 12:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Larry Borgia

So how much of a children's show is it? Is it something I (an adult with no kids) can watch without feeling silly and weird?

Yes.

It has depths that fly over the heads of kids, but also basic themes that would appeal to anyone -- loyalty, betrayal, the nature of love and hate. Redemption. Retribution. Trust. The nature of spiritualism (in a world where these rules are not what you'd expect). Expectations thrust onto someone who may rise to the occasion, or those who cannot.

And its got kool kung-fu styles of fighting. Dragons. Epic contests between masters of different obscure arts. Explosions!

Really, most of the major characters are kids thrust into adult matters, and finding the strength to deal with these things, and with each other. The main characters all have epic struggles with themselves to figure out who they are, and what they ultimately want.

All of this is overlayed on a deadline -- the major characters, who have had huge personal losses, must team together to beat an unbeatable enemy before time runs out.

What's not to like?

DrFidelius · #38 07-18-2008, 07:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by squeegee

And its got kool kung-fu styles of fighting. Dragons. Epic contests between masters of different obscure arts. Explosions!

... and zeppelins. Mustn't forget the zeppelins...

Ice Cream Man · #39 07-18-2008, 09:21 AM

Just watched Southern Raiders. Katara is freaking awesome!

Is it wrong that I really wanted her to

SPOILER:

Gorgon Heap · #40 07-18-2008, 10:56 AM

That's the thing, Ice_Cream_Man, you can never really be sure with this show.

[Veiled spoilers below]

I really didn't know if she would or not, especially with her whole "dealing with the dark side" thing. You even see Zuko get worried for a sec.

It's probably best she didn't - with the series ending there's no space to deal with these issues later. If Katara had gone Darth Rosenberg what then? Can't just leave it up in the air.

squeegee · #41 07-18-2008, 08:47 PM

OK, the Ember Island episode today (with the 'good' guys, not the previous Ember Island episode with the 'bad' group) was kind of lame. Is it just me? I thought the previous Ember Island episode was a hoot some ways. But not this one.

BotoxSinatra · #42 07-18-2008, 11:06 PM

I am a fan also. My question is this:

Isn't a comet mostly water?

Katara is frightening powerful?

squeegee · #43 07-18-2008, 11:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BotoxSinatra

I am a fan also. My question is this:
Isn't a comet mostly water?

Apparently Sozin's comet is mostly fire. Yeah, I know.

Quote:

Katara is frightening powerful?

Katara kicks ass this season. So, yes. But I've noticed that pretty much all the benders have slowly grown in ability. During last season's climax,

SPOILER:

Gorgon Heap · #44 07-19-2008, 10:47 AM

In all fairness, the others are all - through experience and hardship - becoming real masters in their disciplines whereas Aang is learning four at once. Gotta give'em the curve.

And, by God, do I want to make this into a roleplaying game.