What YOU Should Watch: Avatar: The Last Airbender

This cartoon was the first "anime" type show I watched outside of Pokemon as a kid. I can't believe I forgot to write about this show in the anime week I did pre-spring break but better late than never. What really reminded me was when I was baffled a friend of mine hadn't seen this show and  I pestered him to watch just the first episode for months. After watching the first episode he was hooked and binged all 61 episodes over the course of a week and told me, "Dude why have you never told me to watch this show?"

But what is Avatar?

The Avatar. master of all four elements: water, earth, fire and air.

Avatar: The Last Airbender follows Aang (pictured above) also known as The Avatar, the master of all four elements. In this world, there are people who can "bend" the elements to their will. These people are called "benders" belonging to either the: Fire Nation, Air Nomads, Water Tribe, Earth Nation. 100 years before the events of the show, the Fire Nation declares war on all the other nations and knowing that the new Avatar would be born in the Air Nomads, they proceeded to wipe out the entire nation. Aang however being only 12 years old, was able to escape and freeze himself in a big ball of ice which sunk to the bottom of the sea away from the Fire Nation. Without the Avatar to fight for the other nations, the Fire Nation was able to wage war for 100 years. 

Fast forward to the time of the actual show, two Southern Water Tribe children 12 year-old Katara and her 14 year-old brother Sokka stumble upon Aang's iceberg. 

Aang's iceberg.

They break him out and Aang thinks he is still 100 years in the past, but soon a Fire Nation scout ship hunting The Avatar discovers him and Aang has to fight back. He never learned how to bend anything else beside air however so he can't go into the "avatar state" where his eyes will glow blue and he will be the most powerful bender alive. By the end of the episode he discovers that at the time, he can access the avatar state as a defense mechanism to save him from death. 

Throughout the next three seasons, he will have to master all four elements, to fight the fire nation and stop their leader, The Firelord. Along the way he will meet new friends, face lots of enemies and learn how to traverse the new world he is unfamiliar with. So why is this show a show YOU should watch? Let me break it down by sections:

Humor

The first thing you will notice about this show is how funny it is. While the show has a serious issue, stopping the end of the world, the characters are still very much kids. Sokka will make stupid jokes, dad jokes, color commentary, complaining humor, and others as he is a non-bender and is the strategist of the three. Happy mushroom cloud  is a great example of his humor as he drinks from a random cactus and when Aang sends up a cloud of dust in rage, he sees it and starts tripping (mind you he's 14 years-old) and does it. There are countless more jokes that Aang, an earth bender they pick up and "MY CABBAGES" guy that just make you laugh from how stupid it is which is why it has to be watch and not read.

Humanity

The characters are not just funny, but also extremely compassionate regardless of being the protagonist or antagonist. Iroh, a general in the Fire Nation and uncle to Prince Zuko, is one of the most compassionate characters in a "kid's" cartoon. Zuko, spoke out against his father at a war meeting and was sent to "hunt down and bring The Avatar down" before he could return home. This task was thought to be impossible because he should have died years ago or be an old man. Upon discovering Aang is still 12, the task becomes harder and Zuko struggles as he is about Sokka's age as well. He has no one he can really trust except for his uncle who is like a father to him. 

Iroh in back, Zuko right.

The two endure many hardships and we learn about their characters more as they follow the Avatar's path hunting him and his friends down. We begin to see that Iroh, is trying to change Zuko's thought process and to challenge the entire society that the Fire Nation has established. Season 2 has an episode that made me feel nothing but sympathy and sadness for Iroh when...you know what watch the show. I am not going to spoil it anymore as it is truly a fantastic character that quickly became a fan favorite along with Zuko.

Bending!

The show has a very big Eastern philosophy and art style as well as how the characters act. Bending itself is martial arts movement as it requires oneself to be harmonious with nature which is what the elements are a part of. Each nation has a different style of martial arts associated with their bending. Water benders are more tai chi, while air benders do more jujitsu. 

Waterbending stance

Firebending stance

The fights are aweome, as the styles conflict and the animation is done so flawlessly that the flurry of vivid colors of blue water vs red hot fire that stems out or is focused like the picture above is truly remarkable for a 2005 show. 

These are just some of the reasons you should watch Avatar: The Last Airbender. It's writing is smart, emotional and more entertaining than anything being put out nowadays that could be even remotely comparable. I urge you to take the time and watch this show, if you haven't already. Unfortunately, no streaming sites currently have the three seasons so you would have to rent them, buy them off Amazon Prime, or find an online anime website that hosts them.