# Avatar **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 8, 2006, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatar/338968 "2006-01-08T03:47:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mangosteen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Mangosteen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangosteen)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2006, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatar/338968/1 "2006-01-08T03:47:56Z")
Is this cartoon series originally from Japan? If so, how long ago was it shown in Japan? Or is it a “Made in America” show? Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![BluePitbull](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e9bcb4/32.png) [@BluePitbull](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BluePitbull)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2006, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatar/338968/2 "2006-01-08T03:52:52Z")
> [@Mangosteen](#): > > Is this cartoon series originally from Japan? If so, how long ago was it shown in Japan? Or is it a “Made in America” show? > > Thanks! American > **[Avatar: The Last Airbender](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avatar:_The_Last_Airbender)** > > Avatar: The Last Airbender, also known as Avatar: The Legend of Aang in some regions, is an American animated television series produced by Nickelodeon Animation Studios. It was co-created by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, with Aaron Ehasz serving as head writer. It aired on Nickelodeon for three seasons, from February 2005 to July 2008. Avatar is set in an Asiatic-like world in which certain people can manipulate one of the four elements—water, earth, fire, or air—with telekine... ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2013, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatar/338968/3 "2013-11-30T22:04:40Z")
If you like it, you should check out its sequel series called the legend of korra. Enjoy! ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2013, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatar/338968/4 "2013-12-01T00:22:51Z")
Check out Korra after you finish _Avatar: The Last Airbender_. _Korra_ isn’t anywhere near as good. ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2013, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatar/338968/5 "2013-12-01T01:54:07Z")
Heh, I was just watching this show the other day with my kid - I really enjoyed it. It’s a great show for being entertaining to both kids and parents alike. Has some very dark themes for a kid’s show, and some very nicely done character development. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2013, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatar/338968/6 "2013-12-01T02:08:07Z")
> [@Malthus](#): > > Has some very dark themes for a kid’s show, and some very nicely done character development. Zuko, in particular, on both fronts. Possibly the best handling of the topic of child abuse I’ve ever seen in children’s entertainment. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2013, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatar/338968/7 "2013-12-01T02:54:11Z")
> [@squeegee](#): > > Check out Korra after you finish _Avatar: The Last Airbender_. _Korra_ isn’t anywhere near as good. It also spoils aspects of Avatar. ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2013, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatar/338968/8 "2013-12-01T03:25:58Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > It also spoils aspects of Avatar. Good point. It pretty much spoils almost everything in the previous series. Some of the Avatar characters are still around, though elderly. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2013, 7:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatar/338968/9 "2013-12-01T07:13:55Z")
I don’t see how anyone could mistake it for being Japanese. The style may be anime, but the storytelling, characters and themes are very American. ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2013, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatar/338968/10 "2013-12-01T16:47:05Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > Zuko, in particular, on both fronts. Possibly the best handling of the topic of child abuse I’ve ever seen in children’s entertainment. Can’t see the Firelord winning father of the year award, no. :eek: One episode had Zuko make perhaps the best Freudian slip I’ve ever heard in a show - he was saying something about defeating the “fatherlord”, when another character says “you mean ‘Firelord’” and he angrily says “that’s what I said!”. 😃 One think I really liked about the show is how pretty well each and every character gets a satisfying character arc. Though admittedly, Zuko’s is the most obvious. Hell, the show even has one sorta feeling sorry for Azula, and she’s a full-on sociopath - she admits as much. One thing that felt a teeny bit awkward was the romance between Aang and Katara. He’s shown as so very young. I get that he matures a lot over the course of the show, but still, he seems basically a kid, and her a teenager - one who, moreover, has acted sort of like a substitute mom. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2013, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatar/338968/11 "2013-12-01T17:05:25Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > I don’t see how anyone could mistake it for being Japanese. The style may be anime, but the storytelling, characters and themes are very American. Not everyone is familiar enough with the differences. Mangosteen may have no idea.