Avatar: The Last Airbender (TV, 2006)

Written by David Nolen | 11 November 2009

Synopsis

A set of siblings, Sokka the aspiring warrior and his sister Katara the aspiring Water Bender, out on a fishing trip and lamenting the state of affairs their world is currently in, happen upon an ice burg where trapped inside they see a boy. The boy, upon sensing the power Katara is using as a Water Bender, breaks free from his icy prison, and it is here we meet the main character of the show, Aang, The Last Airbender and eventually found to be the Avatar, the only person capable of mastering the manipulation of all four elements. It is also widely prophesized that the Avatar is the only one who can bring back balance to the world by defeating the Fire Lord and ending the war that the Fire Nation started just as Aang was born some one hundred years prior. Only problem is, Aang is still just a boy of twelve years despite being frozen in ice for a century, and will need training to master all the elements before even making the attempt. Oh, and he’s got to master the elements before Sozin’s Comet shows up again, which will provide the Fire Nation all the power it needs to finish the job they started a hundred years ago.

Review

I admit, when I first heard of this series, I scoffed at the notion it could be any good. I mean, seriously, have you seen the bulk of whatever we call local productions anymore? The shear amount of pure vile dreck from Cartoon Network and whatever passes for writing from a 4kids local series (not to mention what they do to Japanese series’) tends to make one think that whatever good it was that our generation thought they were going to do when we displaced all the jerks making shit fucked up back when we were kids, all we really did was refine the fucked up mess and turn fucking things up the ass into an artform. The offerings of the DC Animated Universe, its assorted offsprings, and Transformers: Animated type shows being so rare, few, and far between as to be equivalent to an endangered species. So, when I kept on hearing, for years mind you, that Avatar was enjoyable to several of my friends, to the point where they’d wind up discussing episodes as we did for anime series we liked, I continued to find myself extremely hard pressed to admit that maybe that a winner had somehow found it’s way to being produced over on this side of the pond…though it was on Nickelodeon, a network that has a higher than average hit rate, even when I was a kid. Finally Rurouni Ken-ohki stated he’d loan me the first couple of seasons with another series I’d become interested in, Louie the Rune Soldier (damn good that one), so I could judge for myself if it was any good. Being that we live in the same city, I grabbed a few of my own completed series to trade, headed over there, swapped them out, and headed back to finally see what all the hubbub was about.

After all is said and done, having watched all three seasons, the third I actually marathoned in one day after buying it myself, I can honestly say this is up there with one of the best shows I’ve ever seen, hands down. Even more impressive was the fact that this is a local production and, “One of the best things I’ve ever seen,” is not something that ‘toon producers seem to want or care about making. Hell, I’m not even sure they know what they are aiming for anymore, if anything at all. Even G.I. Joe Sigma Six and the Transformers Unicron trilogy, both being the absolute peak of pure suck as far as story telling goes, at least were out to, and actually did, sell millions of toys. But now? Who knows? In any event, a great series aimed at kids was made, and what’s more, it’s intelligent enough not to talk down to them, and also shows them what good story telling can and should be. This makes it enjoyable for adults to, because despite it being aimed at and accessible to children, it doesn’t pander to the lowest common denominator but shows everyone what can be attained by aspiring to be more. It IS great, as many of the legions of adoring fans will no doubt go on record to attest to. It is my hope that at least a few will actually ask why it was so great, and then learn how to find out…perhaps even discovering how to make something as good as or even better than the level of story telling Avatar is at in their journey towards enlightenment.

The core basis of the series is this mastery of the elements that the people of this world have discovered and harnessed in a variety of ways. Those people who have this ability are called ‘benders’; and each one is in tune with one of the four elements: Earth, Air, Fire, and Water. This is more of a Hindu, Greek, and Japanese idea elemental interpretation as opposed to the Chinese Taoism five elements: Earth, Wood, Fire, Water, and Metal. Mixed into this world is a mix of various relating philosophies and also an idea of a spirit world, populated by beings that are somewhat similar to what is described in various Shamanistic practices as well as the kami of Japanese Shinto, and the divinities of Hinduism. Involved are also a healthy mix of the aforementioned Taoism; Yin and Yang teachings and the transcendentalism of Buddhism. Through it all, though never explicitly stated as such is the idea of a fifth element, which also harkens back to the Hindu, Greek, and Japanese elemental philosophy. The fifth element, who is not an exceedingly hot and neked Milla Jovovich, curses be upon the framers of said philosophy for it not being so, has many names: aether, void, soul, spirit, space, idea, etc. It may be best to call it by a more mundane name: Energy…that thing all matter is when it’s being pushed past the speed of light in a squared fashion. It is a credit to the writers’ passion for the various philosophies and even mythologies mentioned that they were able to take their studies of those philosophies, find their many many similarities, and merge them into a harmonious whole as skillfully as they did.

The bending, it should be noted, is not just a mental discipline, although there was one character who certain refined it as such. It is the way in which energy, or chi, flows through one’s body as it is in motion. Every bender obviously requires a healthy level of concentration to the point it becomes effortless to hold such a high level of focus upon themselves and the way they’re moving. If you think I’m describing martial arts, you’d be right. The writers of this series were also very much in tune with the philosophy of mind, body, and spirit working as one…the elements that the bender was in tune with reacting and becoming one with the bender. Extra care was taken in the animation both in simple usage of their abilities and in battle, that the bending was also a very physical thing, at times choreographed so beautifully, it would be a glorious dancing of not just bodies, but spirits in conflict reflected in the elements showing light, color, sound, and raw physical and spiritual power.

The story itself is basically what happens when people do what people always, without exception, do. Just having peace and prosperity is never enough; and so the Fire Nation started the war. Oh to be sure, the Fire Lord at the time had such noble intentions and grand hopes, but as they say about the road to Hell...which is ironic if you think about Hell and the Fire Benders, heh. In the end, they wind up committing genocide on the Air Nomads, hunting the southern Water Benders to near extinction, waging a ware of attrition against the Earth Kingdom, and basically doing everything but bringing peace and prosperity to the world at large...in the name of bringing peace and prosperity to the world at large. People so close to the balance of their world have now thrown their world out of balance. This is the primary reason the Avatar was created, though I'm not entirely sure by whom. Given that there is only one Avatar and that this person is reincarnated in a cycle through the four nations of the world, and that in the correct circumstances this being can be killed once and for all, it's more than obvious the role of Avatar was an artificial construct. The Avatar is the guardian of the balance of that world, and the only person capable of mastering all four elements. Which is not to say he's the most powerful or skilled in those elements (with one slight exception I won't go into in this review...suffice it to say, you see it very early on), several of the characters are far more talented, and, short of that one exception I mentioned, more powerful than Aang in their individual disciplines. However, his role is both the bridge between the elements and people, but also between the physical world and the world of the fifth element, what is at that point called the spirit realm. Much is explored as Aang and co. seek allies and guidance for both Aang and themselves. Questions of love and loss and found again, of transcendence and what that means for giving a damn about what's here on the world, and of killing and alternatives to it...by those that actually have such alternatives. And that's only a few of the journeys in store for you in this series.

Like anything, the story is not perfect. For some, their biggest gripe is the episodic nature of season one; which the producers likely had to make episodic to sell it at first. As for me, I'm actually okay with that aspect of the story telling since they made it work so well, and kept continuity. What annoyed me was the way they were trying to hard at first to make it too accessible to their target audience. The humor is funny at points, but one can't help but feel artificial and forced...not to mention tends to saturate the story telling for the first few episodes. Also, it's pretty much middle school humor, which again is humorous, but tends to be a bit wall banging when you consider, this is humor from our schools, not humor on a more universal scale that tends to flow with the story, rather than overpowering it. Not only was the humor forced, but the fun the characters had, and the story telling around it was also a little forced. For the first few episodes, this is all Aang wants to do, and later it makes sense why he wanted it, but at the time, it really felt off, especially the way everyone was going along with it, sans Sokka. Also, there was the big reveal about Aang being the Avatar. The handling of that was extremely awkward. Granted given that he had been spending quality time with Steve Rogers for about a century does account for some thoughts that he might be the Avatar, but it doesn't quite account for the fact that pretty much everyone knew he was the Avatar before Aang himself confirmed it. There's also the fact it IS a local production...so it's got the GI Joe problem where everyone bails out of their planes before they die. No blood, no on screen death, you get the idea. This is rather noticeable when they go into battle with whole armies and no one gets killed. Press the I believe button hard on that; you did it with GI Joe and the Transformers before the movies, you can do it here too. However, it's rather surprising what they DID manage to get in under the radar, so be on the lookout for that. There's some real gems there, trust me.

The characters are all quite fun and interesting. Aang, the main character and Avatar himself, is a twelve year old fun loving boy, who just happens to be thrust into a war he never wanted and barely understands. The duties on him are enormous and watching him reconcile his immaturity to maturity, personal beliefs, life and loves are one of the main highlights of the series. It's good to know that the Avatar is just as human as the rest of the cast in just about every way, including the way he falls in love with and cares for Katara. Katara is the last Water Bender of the Southern Water Benders and with her brother Sokka discover Aang and his flying Air Buffalo, Appa. Of all the characters she tends to undergo some of the more dramatic changes; going from someone who can barely move water to quite possibly the most powerful water bender of her generation; picking up skills in the arts from all over. Also her emotions are so...female...that one can't help but be amazed that they handled it so well, but also how they mature over time from the caring sister and caring but pissed daughter to the caring woman who is those things as well. Sokka is another character that guys like me love to hate, which is hilarious since he gets to be the universe's butt monkey for the entire series...all of it self inflicted. All in all, he's a decent guy, a major smart ass, a pretty good fighter after awhile, and were he real, he'd effortlessly get all the booty he'd ever want...the latter being why guys like me hate guys like him, heh. Zuko is one of those bad guys who just doesn't quite jive with the way most bad guys work. He's a lot like Beast Wars Dinobot, with a sense of honor and duty to match. At first he was dead set on capturing the Avatar to restore his standing in his father's eyes after an episode of dissent caused his father to horribly scar him for life as a lesson in strength and respect and then banish him to search for the Avatar. His change wasn't so much dramatic as it was progressive and logical, much like his native intelligence and discerning nature as cultivated by his uncle, Iroh. On the subject of Iroh, this is the stellar and departing role of the late actor Mako, who plays the wise and yet somewhat tired old war veteren who sees in his nephew the son he lost in this war. Mako actually died after the second season, leaving the role to Greg Baldwin, who actually does what can only be called a hommage to Mako's portrayal of the character, though lacking a bit in the commanding projection Mako was natively capable of.

Mako, I watched you in your movies and listened to you in your voice work all my thirty-three years of life as of this writing. You were an inspiration, and it was an honor to have shared in this journey with you, even if only in this small and unknown way. Gods willing, we'll see you again in whatever fate awaits us after this life is done. Until then...we will miss you, old friend.

Continuing on, we come to Toph, the blind and quite literally greatest Earth Bending master ever, which is doubly impressive considering her young age. Toph's character deserves special mention for the way they handled her. The animators took extra care to emphasize that she can't see, and so typically doesn't quite face a person when talking...she cocks to the side so she can hear them. Also, she and even they make some of the funniest jokes about her lack of site. Never to put her down, as she more than demonstrates her abilities to kick ass and take names, but certainly in ways that remind one, she's blind, she's okay with it, and you should be too; in fact, let's have a little fun with it...the same way we have fun with Aang being a daredevil dumbass or Sokka being a smartass. Given the politically correct nature of the Hollyweird establishment, the very idea they could show this character as well as they did, as awesomely as they did, is nothing short of pure golden perfection, and I salute them. She's a strong girl, both in inner and outter strength. On the subject of strong women, the final character I'd like to talk about is a girl by the name of Azula. She's the sister of Zuko and a prodigy of Firebending, the most powerful of her generation, if not the most powerful that's ever been. She's also what we'd call a grade A psychopath that is incapable of considering matters such as good and evil in her own context. She could pass the polygraph test while telling the most outlandish lies to your face. She has no moral center at all, and a deep craving for power and control while being one sadistic little bitch. She's cold, powerful, beautiful, deadly, and merciless...can you tell I like this girl? Sure, I'd kill her in a heartbeat, and consider myself lucky I managed to get in the strike to do it, but damn...she does bring a smile to my face when she's being all ruthless and scary, heh.

These are just some of the main characters. There are so many interesting secondary characters such as the acrobatic and bosomy Ty Lee, to the gothy and morose lover of Zuko, Mei, to the Monty Python like wackjob Earth Bender, King Boomy...just so many and all are important and shown well throughout the story. I consider myself lucky to have gone on the journey with the main characters and met each and every one, both good and bad.

The animation is something I thought I'd never see again in a local production: near perfection. It's more than obvious they had people actually choreograph some of the fight scenes before they animated them. It's not quite a rotoscoping effort, but I wouldn't be surprised if they took videos and were constantly referencing them as they drew the scenes. It's an old school Chinese martial arts type epic in many ways, and they do a good job translating it into animated form. The non fighting parts show the best parts of both East and Western philosophies of animation with fluid motion, detailed stills, and somewhat simplified facial features you find in anime; though a little more detailed and varied as one would find in a more local production.

The music fit the scenes and series perfectly. I'd honestly love to get a copy of the score if they ever put it out on CD. I'll have to see about that. It's not exceedingly epic music, but it's certainly GOOD music, which you don't find anymore in cartoons. It's the kind of thing you remember when you grow up, much the same way I know just about everyone from my generation can hum the Transformers theme. It will stay with you...forever.

In closing...to be honest, there's nothing more I can say that I haven't already said. It's one of the best stories that I've had the privileged of experiencing. I feel saddened I wasn't there with everyone else as it was being written and told, but at the same time, I'm glad that I was finally able to cast aside my doubts and see for myself how truly awesome it was. This series deserves all the praise it's gotten, and it's a fucking shame we don't see more of its like. Though admittedly, because we don't, it makes it all the more precious when we do. When the final scene played out, and I saw what I did, I can truthfully say that when those credits started rolling, I was completely and utterly happy and satisfied. It was Fuckin' A; that's how you fuckin' do it.

And I'm certain that's all that really needs to be said.