I was going to start another thread tomorrow since the complete Book 3 season was coming out, but I'll just voice my thoughts on the show why this show is so damn good for newcomers to the series or people who dismiss it because its a cartoon on Nick.
The Characters:
To me (and to most people I imagine), the most appealing thing of any show are the characters. These are not one dimensional stereotypes by any means. The protagonist shoulders the burden of his murdered race and unfulfilled responsibilities to the world with a happy go-lucky attitude and very little emotional baggage. The heroine is the emotional anchor to the protagonist (even acting as the narrator) and in the process of the journey, becomes the protectoress of the hero. The antihero acts as a foil to the protagonist, struggling and suffering towards a path of redemption that takes many surprising twists.
What I love most is that they are all flawed characters, drawing their strengths and weaknesses from the same source, and is often reflective of their element.
Aang is a free spirit who has embraced all of the teachings of his people, but his non-confrontational nature causes him to run away from his problems.
Kataras protectiveness and idealism are a perfect complement to Aang and their relationship (not just romantic) is one of the foundations of the show. Because of her idealism, her trust is betrayed on several occasions and she is slow to forgive. Her flaws are her strengths, which makes her an excellent character. Her character is dynamic in the way that she can go from bitchy to motherly, but it never seems inappropriate.
Zuko is arguably the most flawed character in the show, which makes the process of his redemption so fascinating to watch. His strength is his drive and his ability to fight, even when things are hard. That is also his downfall as his stubbornness and inability to think things through lead him into bad situation after bad situation.
I dont have time to get into the other major characters. Suffice it to say, they all have their unique qualities and everyone plays an integral role to the saga in the Avatar world.
As an aside, I quite dig the fact most of the most capable fighters and strategists are female. I'm a bit of a sucker for strong female characters, good or bad. Honestly, is there a more badass female villain than Azula? A more badass heroine than Toph? I cant think of any.
A Continual Storyline and Themes:
Because of the overarching framework that was conceived before the first episode was written, the show becomes more and more rewarding to watch as the groundwork is laid episode upon episode. In my opinion, there are very few actual filler episodes due to there being so much ground to cover in each 22 minute episode. Most either advance the plot, reveal more of the personalities or the interactions between characters, or introduce elements that become important in later episodes. Each of the three season finales is also the very definition of epic, with deaths, sacrifices and world changing events happening in every one.
Avatar is not a subtle show. It beats you over the head with themes of honour, love, and redemption. Perhaps its because its a kid show that they make these things as obvious as possible. But it never talks down to the audience, the jokes are genuinely funny, and the show takes risks with melodrama rather than selling the heart short. The result is moments of unexpected poignancy and pathos. Not bad for a coming of age story.
The Music:
I believe that this show has the best music of any television series. Period. Ill argue this with anybody until the end of time. The Track Team has done an unbelievable job of churning out amazing pieces of music that not only supplement the action on screen, but in many instances drive them. The
Avatar State theme punched me in the gut during the ending scene to The Desert. The
Last Agni Kai music during the finale made the duel so much more epic and tragic. Take a listen to the
Season Three Trailer music. A freaking cartoon clip should not evoke that much emotion. The music is goddamn incredible.
The Animation/Artwork:
This is down there for reasons that I watch the show, but its probably more important to many people than myself. The artwork is gorgeous. Backgrounds from the Earth Kingdom to the Air Temples take influences from various Asian designs but with unique stylistic flair.
The fight choreography is stunning in many cases, improving season upon season. Everyone of course knows about the different bending disciplines utilize different real life martial arts, (Fire = Northern Shaolin, Water = Tai Chi, Earth = Hung Guar, Air = Ba Gua) but that doesnt make it any less awesome. The last few episodes in Book 2 provide a non-stop example of how inventive and awesome bending can be. Whether its one on one or the Gaang versus the world, there are some eye-popping scenes that will make anyone go WOW.
Avatar is one of my top 5 TV shows of all time. The fact that the show is aimed primarily at kids makes no difference. The whole premise of saving the world may be cliché, but Avatar's execution, in my opinion, is better than other comparable fantasy works such as Harry Potter or Star Wars (Im going to get flak from the SW Defense Force, but I dont care). Its rare that a television series has the ability to live up to the actual vision of the creators and combines drama, comedy, and romance in such a successful way. Its even rarer that it is able to end when it should end, given the climate in television production nowadays. Too many good shows get cancelled before reaching their full potential (Firefly), go on for too long and run out of material (Simpsons), or completely jump the shark due to a lack of foresight in resolving convoluted storylines (X-Files).
In short, I have to give kudos to Mike and Bryan on building a world that has its own internal believable mythology, on crafting and planning out a storyline from beginning to end, on developing flawed characters based around universal values, and on having the balls to end the series at the height of popularity. Flameo, guys, flameo.
We're getting an hour show next year, right?
