Aaron's Review: Avatar-The Last Airbender

Every now and again, there’s something that changes how we do things. It’s basic knowledge. Change will always be a part of our lives. We just don’t know when it’s coming. Well, I’m here to review a show that changed my life.

Guys, Gals, and Non-Binary pals. This is Animated-Aaron’s Review of Avatar: The Last Airbender

! Background

Taking place in a fictional pre-industrial universe, the world of Avatar has four nations based on the four elements: Air nomads, Water tribe, Earth kingdom, and Fire nation. One day, the Fire nation attacked the Air nomads committing a mass genocide. This sparked a war that has lasted over 100 years. Two water tribe teenagers named Katara & Sokka find a child in an iceberg named Aang. This 12 year-old just so happens to be the last airbender and a being known as the Avatar. A person who can control all four elements.

After freeing him, the three hop aboard Aang’s flying bison (yes, that’s a thing) and go on an adventure that’ll hopefully put an end to the 100 year war.

! Story

Okay, so the story is pretty well thought out and complex. Something the series has gotten praise for has been the fact that is doesn’t pander to its child demographic while still maintaining a light hearted tone in some aspects. It goes back and forth between long winded exposition about how things work in their world and genuine comedic moments in a way that doesn’t feel forced.

In its three seasons, there have only been a few moments that felt out of place and one episode that was bad (in my mind at least) because of its unnatural feel (Bato of the water tribe, Season 1).

The world is very creative as well. There are entire videos and blogs devoted to dissecting the world so I’m sorry if I don’t fulfill your expectation in my overview. Basically, the Fire nation has the most technological advances (trains, tanks, war balloons, etc.) because they’re on top in the war and have used this to keep the other two nations weakened. The secondary main character, Katara is the only water bender in the South Pole because of Fire nation raids both before she was born and when she was a child. The Avatar is reincarnated when he dies in the order of the nations which is why when Avatar Roku, a member of the fire nation, passed away, the fire nation went after the next in the cycle being Air.

Everything makes sense. There’s a reason behind something being the way it is in the Avatar world. There isn’t a lot that is never explained or dwelled over as the show presents it. There is one slap in the face regarding a certain character’s backstory in the final episode but I’m reviewing the series as a whole.

! Characters

Now it’s time for the best part of the series, the characters.

The main character, Aang, is the Avatar. It’s his duty to keep the balance in the world. And since he’s been frozen for 100 years, he has a lot to learn before he’s ready. However, he does a nice job.

Being an Air nomad, Aang is very passive but will fight when all other options involve innocent people getting hurt or if the antagonist of the day has none of his ‘infinite wisdom’. While being pretty wise for a 12-year-old, he’s just that, a 12-year-old. He’s happy all the time. He looks at the glass half-full. He makes a stupid choice based off of ‘it could be fun’ or ‘what’s the worst that can happen’. He gets angry the way a 12-year-old does.

As he grows he makes less rash decisions and better thought out ones, while still playing in the water when he gets the chance. The world may want to fight him first, but Aang will always look for a peaceful means before raising his fist. He’s an excellent protagonist.

Katara, a water bender, is sort of the mother figure of the group. Her mentality is along the lines of ‘do no harm but take no bull’. Like Aang, she’s not prone to violence and can act as the voice of reason but will raise frozen hell when she’s pushed or if someone’s in danger.

The perfect moment that captures this is an episode in season three when the group is on a tight schedule and find a river town with a polluted river thanks to the Fire nation. When her older brother Sokka tells her to ‘do nothing’ because of their schedule she yells back “No! I will never EVER turn my back on someone who needs me!”

While the most mature of the group, she’s not a Mary-Sue. Katara has her childish moments when she’s not in control, desperately wants something, or is overlooked. Most of the examples would contain spoilers for the series so let’s move on.

Sokka, Katara’s older brother, is the oldest. If I can describe him in one statement it would be ‘character development at its best’.

At the start of the show, he’s a sexist, immature, wannabe tough guy. By the end, he’s a skilled weapons expert that can think his way out of most problems and looks at everyone equally. His basic personality is a clever but foolish teenager. He’s always the one who comes up with the plan to fight off Fire nation soldiers. The best episode that wouldn’t spoil anything is in season two when Aang is arrested by an Earth kingdom town for the actions of his previous life. Sokka is the one who investigates clues and comes up with the statements that would’ve freed Aang from jail.

He’s the best comedic relief character I’ve ever seen.

The final member of the group that I’m going to talk about is Toph. Introduced in season two, Toph is a blind earthbender that sees using her earthbending. Kind of like sonar, Toph feels the vibrations on the ground and can ‘see’ the ants crawling twenty feet away from her or ‘see’ the Fire nation tank coming for them long before anyone else does.

Very stubborn, direct and laid back, Toph was born into a very rich family but left to teach Aang earthbending. She’s cocky, arrogant and loves to mess with her friends and enemies. Not the most dimensional character of the show, but she doesn’t need to be in my opinion. They do dwell on her disability at times in the show, but not so much that it becomes her entire identity. For Toph, simple is better.

The main antagonist of the first season is Zuko. The banished prince of the Fire nation. Aided by his uncle Iroh, he tracks down Aang and his group trying to capture the Avatar and turn him into the Fire nation in order to return to his place as the prince.

Zuko & Iroh’s role in the story change for each season so I’m going to focus on their base personality. Zuko is an angst driven teenager that never quits. Even with his horrible attitude in season one, his Uncle Iroh still teaches him fire bending and is the father figure. Zuko takes everything he does seriously and does his best to learn from his mistakes. Iroh does his best to lighten Zuko up with his wisdom and compassion. Despite their quarrels, the uncle and nephew are willing to fight to the death for one another.

The last character can be summed up in one word, ‘evil’. Azula, Zuko’s little sister is introduced in season two as the villain. She’s almost Katara’s opposite. 

Where Katara is kind, Azula is intimidating. She manages to look down on a military officer causing him to sweat bullets as she threatens to throw him off the ship into the rocky shore. Katara takes whatever chance she can to help others where Azula does whatever is necessary to obtain her goals. When recruiting a small team to pursue the ‘gaang’, Azula sabotages the circus show convincing another character Ty-Lee to join. What’s worse is, she does it without lifting a finger. As the princess, she had the power to tell the ring master to release all the animals while Ty-lee was on the hi-rope. By the way, this after she ordered the safety net to be lit on fire. Caring waterbender versus a cunning firebender. And I love every minute of it.

! The Show

The main problem I find in the series is in each individual episode. An awkward line here. An unfunny moment there. There isn’t much wrong with the series aside from the character’s flaws. I’ve heard people argue certain aspects about each character and I’d be lying if I didn’t say you could play a drinking game out how many times a character says a specific word.

! Grade

Avatar the last air bender is one of my favorite series of all time. It’s a treat to watch on TV and I’m happy to say I have all three seasons on my shelf.

Avatar: TLA: A

Final Word: One of the greatest TV shows of all time.

What’s Your Opinion?