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Avatar: The Last Airbender. Why doesn't this get more respect?

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F

Ferrio

Banned
Seriously, with everyone caught up with anime and cartoons from Japan seems people miss stuff created stateside.

This goes even for myself. Everytime I'd see it on, or a commercial I'd flip the channel not even giving it a chance.

Well I happened to leave the channel set to Nick while on the computer and didn't change it when it came on. Turns out it was a pretty damn good show, and I also watched the recent 1 hour special and now i'm sad I've been missing it all this time.

Characters are pretty damn good, and Toph is just awesome with just the general badass skills and constant sarcasm.

toph.jpg
 
B

Beezy

Member
I watched it when it first aired, but now I cant remember what time or day it comes on. Plus I'm not home that much anymore. :(

It is a great show though. It's the only reason why I still watch Nickelodeon.
 
S

Systems_id

Banned
I watched this show all the time but now I don't know when it even comes on. I agree, it is a great show and one of the few great American made animated shows.
 
Shouta

Shouta

Member
Not enough respect? Maybe here but it's extremely popular in the mainstream and is highly respected. It's an incredible series. Great story, great animation, great characters and etc. I said to Kintaro that I consider this better than most of the anime I've seen in the last 10 years.

Season one should have a full set out on DVD this week or next although the singles should all be out now.

The show comes on Friday Nights at 8pm but has reruns during the week on various days.
 
K

Kabuki Quantum Lover

Member
I watch it with my nephew and I was very surprised at the quality of the show. Unfortunately, my viewing schedule isn't consistent, so I'm fairly lost in the series.
 
Shouta

Shouta

Member
krypt0nian said:
I wonder how the wii game is going to be?
Click to expand...

There's a lot of potential considering how the series puts a lot into the bending in the series. Each element has a style of actual martial art that its based on and the movements for each style are all pretty different. I can imagine doing various motions to invoke specific skills and stuff, would be pretty neat.
 
P

pnjtony

Member
My four year old hates it. He'll yell out "Avatar is oooon!" to get me to change the channel to kenny the shark or teenage robot or something. My GF loves it though but she hates how all of a sudden there's sand bending and metal bending when that should fall under earth bending.
 
P

Pachinko

Member
I love this show, becuase I"m lazy with my TV watching I'll admit to downloading it but if there's a season 1 box coming I'll be sure to pick it up. It deserves support. Most anime nerds would write it off as just another americanime wannabe show but see it only takes some obvious elements from anime, the actual storyline is really well thought out and more suprising, it has lots of fighting in it without the need for excessive blood or voilence that is common place in most japanese boy aimed shows, thus you can show this to an 8 year old without any troubles.
 
Shouta

Shouta

Member
pnjtony said:
My four year old hates it. He'll yell out "Avatar is oooon!" to get me to change the channel to kenny the shark or teenage robot or something. My GF loves it though but she hates how all of a sudden there's sand bending and metal bending when that should fall under earth bending.
Click to expand...

Sandbending is probably a variation on Earthbending like lightning seems to be a variation on Firebending although it's probably pretty specialized. I haven't seen any metalbending and it's definitely not Earthbending related since it was established that Earthbenders can't control metals.

I hear the show is going to be on every night at 6:30pm EST pretty soon so folks can catch it on TV. I'll check for the season 1 release in a little bit.
 
P

PhlegmMaster

Banned
I like Avatar a lot, but I'm ashamed to watch it. It's obviously a kids' cartoon. I don't mean that it's simplistic, but it shows that the writers are pulling their punches, so to speak. Not that it could be helped, considering on which channel it's aired...

Ah well, it's still entertaining as long as I don't expect too much out of it.
 
Shouta

Shouta

Member
Aha, the set is out tommorrow it seems. I think it retails for 65 MSRP but you can probably find it for cheaper on various sites and probably even more so down the line.

Oh and it's not an anime Jumpship. It is influenced by it though, mostly in character design style. =P
 
A

AzureRonin

Member
Avatar is one of the best cartoons I've watched in recent memory. Though it's aimed at kids the plot and character development is very interesting. I say enjoy it despite it being aimed at a younger crowd or get your children into it. There is too much mindless stuff out there, zero character development, zero plot, pretty much low on real content. At least Avatar has a story and characters that kids can think about and relate to.
 
A

Amir0x

Banned
Yeah, the show shocked me when I gave it a chance. I mean, there's some genuinely charming and funny moments, and also for a Nickelodeon show that shit gets dark (the
the "death/sacrafice" of that one North Pole chick
). The funny moments are pretty on spot too. I mean, just that one "Secret of the Fire Nation" special had a few moments that made me chuckle, which is rare for an anime from any territory - like when the blind chick makes a hole in the ground and Sokka is like 'it's so dark in here I can't see anything' and she's like "oh no. what a nightmare" sarcastically. Doesn't sound like much, but the voice work really sells it.
 
A

Az987

all good things
Ive never seen this but I do watch xiaolin showdown on cartoon network sometimes and for some reason I get the 2 confused.

I used to love Nick as a kid but found it sucks pretty bad now.

Cartoon network is one of the only things I watch now though :lol

I cant get enough Billy and Mandy.
 
F

Ferrio

Banned
Amir0x said:
The funny moments are pretty on spot too. I mean, just that one "Secret of the Fire Nation" special had a few moments that made me chuckle, which is rare for an anime from any territory - like when the blind chick makes a hole in the ground and Sokka is like 'it's so dark in here I can't see anything' and she's like "oh no. what a nightmare" sarcastically. Doesn't sound like much, but the voice work really sells it.
Click to expand...

Why I like that character. Another part she called out that she saw the place they were looking for and they all stared into the direction she was pointing. Waving her hand in her face to remind them she's blind.
 
Shouta

Shouta

Member
Ferrio said:
Why I like that character. Another part she called out that she saw the place they were looking for and they all stared into the direction she was pointing. Waving her hand in her face to remind them she's blind.
Click to expand...

Yeah, Toph is an awesome character. She really adds the attitude the group needs. Works great since she's such a cute character too, that makes the it all the better. :lol
 
M

Mr Jared

Member
I realized a couple of days that I like this show. Makes me regret not being interested in it since the begining because I'm totally lost. Do they have episodes On Demand for Comcast? I'll have to look into this. .

And yes, Toph is aweome.
 
F

Ferrio

Banned
Amir0x said:
Yeah, the show shocked me when I gave it a chance. I mean, there's some genuinely charming and funny moments, and also for a Nickelodeon show that shit gets dark (the
the "death/sacrafice" of that one North Pole chick
). The funny moments are pretty on spot too. I mean, just that one "Secret of the Fire Nation" special had a few moments that made me chuckle, which is rare for an anime from any territory - like when the blind chick makes a hole in the ground and Sokka is like 'it's so dark in here I can't see anything' and she's like "oh no. what a nightmare" sarcastically. Doesn't sound like much, but the voice work really sells it.
Click to expand...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hbHGa_cOw04
7:50
 
Shouta

Shouta

Member
alkaline black said:
I realized a couple of days that I like this show. Makes me regret not being interested in it since the begining because I'm totally lost. Do they have episodes On Demand for Comcast? I'll have to look into this. .

And yes, Toph is aweome.
Click to expand...

I don't know if they have episodes for on Demand. I can give you a basic rundown of the first season with only the major points highlighted if you want to get an idea of what's going on so you can continue watching the show with the current season since there's only 7 more episodes left in this season of the show.

You can probably watch all of the episodes on youtube now that I think about it. I think most of the series is on there now.
 
M

Mr Jared

Member
Shouta said:
I don't know if they have episodes for on Demand. I can give you a basic rundown of the first season with only the major points highlighted if you want to get an idea of what's going on so you can continue watching the show with the current season since there's only 7 more episodes left in this season of the show.

You can probably watch all of the episodes on youtube now that I think about it. I think most of the series is on there now.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I figured it was all over YouTube. I'll come bug someone unless all the episodes are clearly in order over there. Or if I get lazy, I'll just buy the series once I get the mones :X
 
Shouta

Shouta

Member
It's pretty much in order, episodes are ordered like the usual scheme like Avatar 101 for Season 1 episode 1. 101-120 is Season 1, Season 2 thus far is 201-213.
 
The Chosen One

The Chosen One

Member
I definitely feel this show has flown under the radar somewhat. It's only now starting to get some attention.

And I think it's well-deserved. I think it's one of the first quality cartoons on Nick since the early/mid 90s. Great art and style and a fairly solid storyline, which doesn't take itself too seriously. I try to catch most episodes but Nick keeps fudging with its schedule, so I don't know exactly when the new Eps air.

Some people may hate on it, but I like the fusion American/Anime style.
 
D

djtiesto

is beloved, despite what anyone might say
I've never even heard of it... an American-made show in an anime style that is actually good....? That itself is pretty intriguing, I guess, even though I don't really watch much anime to begin with.
 
robot

robot

Member
I happened to pass by nick and caught the last 10 minutes of that 1 hour special this weekend - great fight scene! Decided to give the series a shot, pretty sure they started back to episode 1 last night - playing at 6:30 and I think 9:30 every weeknight.
 
O

Odoul

Member
That last episode was somethin else. Show never ceases to impress me.

You have what's advertised as a kids show. The antagonists have shown they have no qualms about occupation, enslavement or genocide. And the "good guys" practice physically seperating the classes, oppressing dissent, secret police and extremly mysterious disappearances.

Awesome.
 
H

human5892

Queen of Denmark
It's funny, I just watched an episode of this show (having never saw it before) by chance a few hours before seeing this thread, and was pleasantly surprised. I couldn't believe the weighty subjects the episode I saw (Avatar and friends just arrived in a huge walled city, looking for Avatar's big pet and wanting to deliver a message to the Earth king) addressed for being a "kids'" show -- it had everything from profiling and prejudice (a hunter was after two people who he thought were firebenders and was obsessed about it) to politics (the word "figurehead" was actually used).

If I had kids, I would wholeheartedly support them watching this, as opposed to most other kids' shows out there.

I have to say, though, that the "humor" gets on my nerves 99% of the time, but a) it's not like I'm going to watch this regularly, and b) I understand that at heart, it's a show for children and they would probably find it funny.
 
X

Xrenity

Member
Whenever I see it I watch it, but that doesn't happen too often.

I'll take Samurai Jack over Avatar any time though.
 
xaosslug

xaosslug

Member
poor man's Xiaolin Showdown. :p

I know it's pretty late in the thread, but anyway, I gave Avatar a chance when it premiered a while back, and I lost interest after about the 3rd ep. I didn't find any of the characters particularly engaging, personally, and the story was meh. I don't know though, the overall positivity of this thread makes me wonder if I should reconsider...
 
G

G-Fex

Member
you kidding me? Xaolin showdown blows, how can anyone take that seriously? I like Avatar but I need to watch more.
 
H

Holtz

Member
Avatar is ****ing awesome, excellent and fully developed characters, a story that is actually well thought out and engaging, hilarious humor, the best animation of any american cartoon currently airing, it's just great. I agree with Shouta that Avatar is better than 90% of all anime i watched recently, good stuff. The last episode was so sad, too. :(
avatar.gif

The first season DVD is only 40 bucks at Amazon, too.:D
B000FZETI4.01._SS500_SCLZZZZZZZ_V66346298_.jpg
 
G

GilloD

Banned
I'm pretty embarassed for all of you. No matter how good it is, this is one show we should all just agree to leave on the shelf. For sex's sake.
 
Z

Zapages

Member
GilloD said:
I'm pretty embarassed for all of you. No matter how good it is, this is one show we should all just agree to leave on the shelf. For sex's sake.
Click to expand...

You'll be surprised to hear that there huge amount of girls that watch Avatar at my University... :)
 
B

Beezy

Member
xaosslug said:
poor man's Xiaolin Showdown. :p
Click to expand...

Oh snap. I hope you're joking. :lol

Xiaolin Showdown is a terrible, terrible show. Shit, they purposely made the asian kid yellow. :lol :lol :lol
 
Shouta

Shouta

Member
Beezy said:
Oh snap. I hope you're joking. :lol

Xiaolin Showdown is a terrible, terrible show. Shit, they purposely made the asian kid yellow. :lol :lol :lol
Click to expand...

Xiaolin isn't bad. A funny show with pretty good action from episode to episode. Avatar is waaaaaaay better but Xiaolin has its own merits.
 
K

Koomaster

Member
I really must have missed something cause I've never seen any metalbending in the show. I know Ang referred to it once jokingly, something like, "I wish I could metalbend right about now." or something similar, like a throwaway comment, sorta like 'I wish people could metalbend."

Sandbending tho seems to be a form of earthbending which I'm fine with.

Avatar is kind of a hard show to get into if you only catch one episode since it seems some episodes aren't self-contained, you would need to know some backstory on the characters or what has happened in the story so far to really be involved with what is going on in the episode.

I personally love any cartoons that have an ongoing storyarc as opposed to single episodes that can be viewed in any order and it wouldn't matter.
 
A

AniHawk

Member
I thought this show looked like pure shit. I guess I'll check it out sometime. Didn't know that it was so well received. I'm always up for quality Nickelodeon shows (like Invader Zim or Pete & Pete) that aren't dumbed down.
 
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