Category: Avatar / Airbender / Korra

So we watched the final season discs.

And Katherine watches it now and again.

And then Jim and Ginger visited, and we watched most of the final season again.

And then my folks visited, and we watched most of the final season again.

And, y’know — still enjoying it.

Kudos to the creators of Avatar: The Last Air-Bender for their shiny new Peabody award (to be given in May).

Unusually complex characters and healthy respect for the consequences of warfare enhanced this American-made, anime-influenced martial-arts adventure.

Cool!

Can a Oriental-themed anime be developed by Americans for Nickelodeon and still provide solid entertainment? Absolutely.

Avatar: The Last Air Bender: Book 1, Book 2, Book 3 

Overall
Story		Acting
Production		Features

Story: A vaguely Asiatic world is divided into four great nations, each distinguished by the form of elemental magic — the Fire Nation, the Air Nomads, the Water Tribes, the Earth Kingdom. A hundred years ago, the Avatar — a perpetually reincarnated master of all four elements, vanished without a trace, even as the Fire Nation set out on a campaign to conquer the world. In the present, a brother and sister (Sokka and Katara) of the decimated southern Water Tribe uncover a young Air Bender in an iceberg. It’s Aang, the reincarnated Avatar, whose job is now to restore balance to the world …

On one level, it’s pretty standard Campbellian Quest stuff. Aang must master the other three elemental powers, even while on the run from the Fire Nation and from an exiled prince of that land, Zuko, who seeks to restore his honor before his cruel father, the current Firelord. In so doing, he travels across the length and breadth of the world, discovering what’s happened, meeting new friends, fighting new foes, gaining in power even as he tries to figure out how to fight the most powerful nation, and bender, in the world.

That world is beautifully realized over the three seasons of the show, with characters, events, themes coming back again and again with nary a missed beat. Even as Aang goes on his own growth path, so does the young water-bender Katara, her often-but-not-always-comic-relief, warrior brother Sokka, and even the “bad guy,” the honor-seeking troubled teen fire-bender Zuko. They all have their own arcs, but the ever-growing cast around them — blind earth-bender Toph, Zuko’s increasingly-unbalanced psychopath sister Azula, Zuko’s buffoonish but resourceful uncle Iroh, and even the lesser lights than them, are far more than cartoonish caracatures. They’re characters the viewer loves to see come back again, whether to cheer or boo, for how they will interact with our heroes.

While there’s plenty of big magic battles, especially as the series concludes, the show is never about bigger and badder booms (though the exploration of how bending magic works, and the variations on the four simple elements, is always interesting). The tale is always, first and foremost, about the characters, and the decisions they make, and the growth that comes from it, good or bad. While there are clear story arcs (and the overall saga), there are plenty of stand-alone eps as well; as with many good shows, it’s sometimes difficult to tell at the time whether an episode is a one-off or whether a character or event will come back into play later on.  There’s a good scattering of two- and three-part episodes as well, and the “Previously on Avatar” review moments before episodes are useful in reminding you of key players and past events. 

There’s plenty of humor, low and high, but there’s plenty of drama (and melodrama) to be had as well.

And by the time it’s all over, it feels very satisfying.

The show was crated by Michael Dante DiMartino (Family Guy, King of the Hill), Bryan Konietzko (Family Guy, Invader Zim), Aaron Ehasz (The Mullets, Futurama, Ed).

Acting: The voice actors in the series are all good, and the regulars do an excellent job running the gamut from humor to drama to romance. The casting was done by the talented Andrea Romano, among others.

Of note was the actor Mako who voiced Uncle Iroh. He passed in 2006 away during production of the Book 3, and replaced with another actor (Greg Baldwin) who never quite matched Mako’s wry humor and compassion.

Production: The world and character design are lavishly done. The animation is almost always excellent, both in and of itself, and in providing a rich tapestry over the three series. While definitely of an anime style (complete with occasional anime conventions), the style is overall realistic.

In creating a portmanteau Asian-based world, the producers have pulled together lots of influences — cultural, religious, and martial. Indeed, the various “bending” styles are all based on various Chinese martial art forms, which gives each a very different and fitting feel.

The music is mostly done by Jeremy Zuckerman (known mostly for this show), and is well done, mostly Asian in mood but versatile across the wide variety of scenes in the movie. Themes are maintained for various characters or settings across the series, which is nice.

Features: There are special features on all the discs — both creator commentary tracks on key episodes, as well as some special features (e.g., on the martial arts forms used). The book sets also include bonus feature disks. Solid addition to the collections.

Overall: This is one of those series I would recommend to anyone whole-heartedly. Katherine has loved it age 6-9, but it’s kept Margie and myself well-entertained. My only regret with the time spent is that … it’s over. Until Katherine decides she wants to watch it all again (which, in aggregate, I think we’ve done twice).

Interestingly (or worryingly), M. Night Shyamalan (whose kids loved the show) is doing a three-film life-action adaptation. So expect that the series will continue to be in the news. Which, if for positive reasons, is a good thing.

Highly recommended.

Other links:

• IMDB, with spoileriffic FAQ.
• Wikipedia (and more).
• Avatar Wiki
• Official Nick site.
• Significant Avatar posts here.
• Demo video (book 3)

I’ve been very intentionally staying away from the current Avatar: The Last Airbender season, waiting for the collected set for Book 3: Fire. Which has now been announced: 16 September. (Not yet on Amazon.)

Katherine and I recently started rewatching the two previously released season sets. Looking forward (with some sadness) to the final one.

… that we (Kitten and I (and Margie, too, I suspect)) have reached the end of the second season DVD of Avatar: The Last Airbender, and …

… cannot bear the thought that the third season will not be out on DVD until next Fall.

No, really, it’s that good.  Great art, fine music, an rich and intricate plot and backstory, entertaining characters … I can’t recommend it highly enough.  We all loved it.

And, no, we’re not recording Season 3 on the DVR.  That would just feel wrong.

Rent, buy, or borrow it.  Watch it.  You won’t be sorry.*

* Note: Blog writer does not take responsibility for any sorrow you may feel for renting, buying, or borrowing it.  There’s no accounting for taste.

I remember running across Avatar on TV on Nick a few times, and finding it interesting but too obviously arc-driven to get into it without Kitten being enthused.   Recently Doyce got onto the bandwagon, and opined that, especially with our taking karate, we would really dig it.  So I went ahead and got the season 1 (“Book 1: Water”) DVD set.

Katherine was a hard case about actually starting it — but once we did start watching it together, she enjoyed it immensely, and I recently picked up the season 2 (“Book 2: Earth”) DVD set to continue.  Indeed, the biggest pain now will be waiting a whole year for the season after that!

 Avatar: The Last Airbender, Book 1 “Water” (2006)

Overall		Story
Production		Acting

Story:  ATLA is set in a pseudo-Chinese world of magic and mystery.  There are four great powers in the world — Air, Water, Earth, and Fire — with nations built around tribal specialties in magic to wield (or “bend”) each of those elemental powers.  Everything was in harmony until a century ago, when the Fire Lord decided to conquer the world — and, through brutality, discipline, major mojo, and forged iron technologies (meaning combustion-powered tanks and ironclad boats), largely doing so.  The Air nations have been wiped out, the Water ones largely crippled, and only the Earth nations survive to any extent.

Also a century ago, the Avatar — a reincarnation of someone who can bend all four elements — vanished.  Legend has it that the Avatar will return, to restore order and balance and all that good stuff.  Our story opens as a brother and sister of the Water nation — Sokka, a would-be warrior, and Katara, a would-be waterbender — discover the frozen body of Aang, a young airbender and the future Avatar, trapped in ice.  Now it’s a race against the clock for Aang to get trained up in all four elemental magics, pursued by various folks (mostly from the Fire nation) who want to stop him for their own purposes, all before the Fire Lord takes over the rest of the world.

The backstory of ATLA is rich and mythic.  The history is thought out, the ways that different magics work is detailed, the spirit world and related mythologies are an excellent blend of classic and original, and the story arcs for the saga and the individual characters are interesting and involved.  Though episodic, there is a definite sense of a great legend in the works, with each episode adding another brick.  And though there is usually a “moral” to each story, it’s only rarely preachy.

The main characters are interesting, all of them with personality, good points, and bad points.  There are a host of supporting characters as well, including some animals that avoid being too cute, and some bad guys who are not as bad as they seem (and others who are). 

The different strengths and weaknesses of each type of bending, how the movements (each inspired by a different school of Chinese martial arts) are done, and the imaginative ways that each nation’s magic can be used in peace and war are all marvelously executed.

The episodes themselves deftly blend humor with the serious issues of loss, war, self-discovery, discipline, loneliness, frustration, fear, duty, and belonging.  There are scary parts (at least for Kitten), but just as many laugh-out-loud moments.  In short, there is plenty here to entertain both a 7-year-old and someone some decades older than that …

Acting: The voice artists do a fine job here.  There’s nobody who particularly stands out (which is actually fine), and few of the voices are of “famous stars,” with the exception of the late Mako, who voiced Uncle Iroh until his death last year.  (Mark Hamill has voiced the occasional appearances of the Fire Lord.)

Production:  This is a gorgeous show, with smooth action, creative storyboarding, beautiful scenery and design, and excellent iconography that blends Chinese myth with its own unique touches.  Though obviously inspired by anime, the animation is designed in the US and executed in Korea, and is more realistic and approachable for American audiences than most anime.

The DVDs have a variety of extras on them, from some commentary tracks (in the final four episodes) to interviews with the creators and “designing the world of Avatar” short subjects.

Overall:  Triffic stuff.  I can’t recommend just starting to watch it — but now that there are DVD sets out, it’s definitely worth adding to your collection if you enjoy animation, anime, or myth.