"Avatar: The Last Airbender" Review

      This has been on my to do list for a lot longer than I'd care to admit. I've said already that I've been writing a book, but I've also been editing a book for a friend and I've gotten back into playing some Minecraft with a couple of friends. Plus, I have a full time job. All this means I have little time to do much writing. It makes me sad... BUT NO MORE! It's time to do a review. Without further ado, Avatar: The Last Airbender. Warning: spoilers will probably follow...

Toph looks a little derpy...

GENIUS - The Story is Extremely well Written

     This is possibly my favorite part of the whole series. The story is, by far, one of the best things to come out of an American cartoon in years. I expect a good story from Japanese anime, but not usually from American television. The story was deep, pulling the characters together and giving them purpose. Katara and Sokka were just average teenagers from a struggling Southern Water Tribe village until they found Aang trapped in the iceberg. This fateful meeting eventually made them saviors of the world. The story is a bit slow at the beginning, but it's all necessary for character development.

The last four episodes are especially well done, with incredible fight scenes and a fitting end to the story...

Good - The Characters are Memorable and the Voice Acting was Decent
     One of the key ingredients to any story is crafting characters that are memorable. Another key is making them likable. If I don't like the characters, I'm not going to like the show; or I'll like it less than I should have. Avatar: The Last Airbender excels at likable characters. I even liked the bad guys... sometimes more than the good ones. Uncle Iroh is by far one of my personal favorites. His casual nature during times of peril usually end up in hilarity, but he has no problem being serious when he has to. Azula and her two minions (Ty Lee and Mai) were also some of my favorites, each having a distinctly different attitude and personality. Sokka is another favorite. His jokes were funny, even when they... no, especially when they fell flat. At the end of the series he shows that even a non-bender can be crucial to saving the world. The character development is definitely one of the show's strong suits.

Look at that smile. Iroh,  you crack me up...

     Another strong point is that the voice acting was well done. I don't know if it's problems with dubbing of what, but a Japanese anime that has been dubbed over in English is usually terrible. Bleach and Fullmetal Alchemist are a few that I've watched that are great in Japanese, yet horrible in English. Shows meant to be done originally in English are usually done pretty well, and Avatar: The Last Airbender is no exception. I especially liked Katara, Sokka, and Iroh's voices, which I felt matched each character perfectly. The only one I didn't especially like was Zuko's. Occasionally, I felt like his voice didn't belong to the character. Then I realized that he was voiced by Rufio from Hook. Ah, nostalgia...

Good - Atypical American Animation
     First off, my friends call me an "Animation Nazi". I feel they sometimes mean it as an insult, but I consider it a compliment. It means I have standards: I have very specific tastes when it comes to animation styles. I don't just watch any old rubbish that presents itself on my television screen. I suppose I've been spoiled by Japanese anime. The quality of animation from Japan is, in most cases, much higher than that of American cartoon shows. Perhaps this is due to expectations: both have been doing it their way so long that the viewers expect that sort of quality from the artists.

Again, the last four episodes really step it up...

     In the beginning, the animation was a bit too "American" for my liking. The animation coupled with the comedy made it look too much like a Saturday morning cartoon, instead of something I could take seriously. But as the series progressed, the animation got better and better. In terms of fight scenes, the last few episodes went above and beyond. One thing that stayed pretty consistent was the choreography of the combat. The way the characters moved in battle was fantastic and mostly realistic. I say mostly because there's not really any benders in real life to draw from... Anyhoo, the animation was much better once it got past the "children's cartoon" phase.

Meh - The Comedy is a Bit Too Childish
     Before you go off... Yes, I know that this was intended as a kid's show. Even so, the comedy need not be so childish. Later in the series the jokes got a little better and the comedy improved, but some were still hard to digest. Some lent themselves better to a groan than a laugh. I will say that Sokka was hilarious on most occasions. Like most things in the show, the comedy got better as it went on. However, there were still times when it was facepalm worthy...

Drink the cactus juice... IT'S THE QUENCHIEST!

GENIUS - Bending
     I don't think I really have to explain why bending of any kind is awesome, but I will... YOU CAN BEND ELEMENTS TO YOUR WILL! The whole show revolves around bending, and the Avatar's ability to learn to bend all four elements. On my "Would-be-a-cool-ability-to-have" list, any form of bending is in the top five. I loved the way the show used bending, both to create and destroy.

Bed bending... Another of Aang's dormant Avatar abilities awakens...

Blech - Nobody Died No Main Characters Died
     EDIT: I had said, "Nobody died", but I have since been corrected. What I think I meant to say, was that none of the main cast died. As I've said before, I watch a ton of anime. Several anime deal with the death of main characters, sometimes in the middle of the anime and sometimes at the end. I half expected Aang to die after fighting Ozai, and I was slightly disappointed that he didn't. Yes, that would have been sad, but I guess Japanese anime has molded my thought patterns that way.

     So, yes, a few characters died, but when you think of how brutal the Fire Nation was apparently supposed to be, you'd think there would have been a lot more deaths on-screen. You know, like when the Fire Nation invades the Earth Nation and tries to take over everything. Those Earth Nation folks wouldn't just sit back and let them take it, would they? I suppose it's good that this is an American show aimed at kids, because if it were a Japanese anime the death toll would have been catastrophic.

Although, I'm pretty sure it'll be a while before any of those guys get up again...

Final Thoughts
     Despite the quality of the animation and the childish comedy, I enjoyed the series. Three seasons was more than enough time to build a deep story with strong character development. I liked that the show ended there and didn't try to pointlessly delay the inevitable. There was a definite time limit in the show, and the characters stuck to it... mostly. I'll be the first to say that I hate pointless filler episodes... and filler seasons (that's pointed at you Naruto and Bleach). Every episode in Avatar: The Last Airbender had a purpose, even if that purpose was only to develop the characters.

It's a giant mushroom... maybe it's friendly! Mushy, giant friend!

     Overall, the show was a resounding success, in my book as well as thousands of others. It's success led to the creation of another series, The Legend of Korra. A review for that one is coming soon. Short answer: I liked it even more that the first series...

    Extra: I've taken this opportunity to borrow (and tweak) a rating/writing system used by Kotaku. I like how it turned out, and it looks like it'll make things a bit easier in the future. So thank you, Kotaku, for being so inspirational...