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LTTP: Avatar: The Last Airbender
- Thread starter ckohler
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Age is so arbitrary and never takes into account someone's actual maturity level. Sorry, but a bunch of young kids who have traveled the planet to save the world, especially Aang using mature judgement far beyond his years...I think a little latitude in what age they start kissing can be used. They aged more in maturity in that single year than most current 20's aged romantic couples. I'm pretty sure the feelings could be considered mature and real enough despite their actual age.
Johnlenham
Member
Ok so the film comes out today in the uk, its got a massive 7% on rotten tomatos. Ive finished book one so should I bother with this film? my gf is quite intrested in it.. hmm opinions gaf?
Rewrite
Not as deep as he thinks
The movie is terrible. It's a complete disservice to the content you saw in the cartoon. If your girlfriend hasn't seen the show, it's better that you make her watch the first season of the cartoon first because the movie may potentially persuade her not to watch the series.
Johnlenham
Member
Hartt951 said:
Yeah I went and foudn the film thread and the Gifs were enough to stop me, my gf was dissapointed as she was looking forward to it!
Snowman Prophet of Doom
Member
richiek said:
I REEEEAAAALLLY don't think that's a reference, at all. That's quite a stretch.
Johnlenham
Member
Well she is not a fan of the program to her it was just a film that looked interesting by the trailer so the whole whitewashing/ shitty looking bending would be taken at face value where as I would be raging! Ill be saving my free tickets for scot pilgrim instead and carry on through book two.Gui_PT said:
"The Boulder feels conflicted about fighting a young blind girl!"
...
"The Boulder is over his conflicted feelings, and now he is ready to bury you in a rockalanche!"
I decided to give Avatar a chance after hearing so much positive feedback, and I'm so glad I did. Love the show. I powered through the first 2 Books in about a week, and I'm saving the last 6 episodes for a final marathon. The depth that exists in the world is just incredible. As an older viewer, it's really rewarding to catch all the influences Mike and Bryan used when designing the show. (Air nation heavily based on Buddhist monasteries, right down to the statues and architecture, etc)
I was really suprised with the ending of Book 2. Up until the very end I expected
Exceptional storytelling.
'The Beach' from Book 3 didn't feel boring or overly angsty like some people mention, but it did feel incredibly out of place. I did get quite a chuckle out of Zuko's "Hey! That food was for my cranky girlfriend!". I guess it just felt more like an omake than anything else. I'm still trying to figure out how the hell it got past the network censors. Same goes for 'The Desert' in Book 2 when Sokka and Momo start tripping out on cactus juice.
Any word on an OST? Really digging the music.
...
"The Boulder is over his conflicted feelings, and now he is ready to bury you in a rockalanche!"
I decided to give Avatar a chance after hearing so much positive feedback, and I'm so glad I did. Love the show. I powered through the first 2 Books in about a week, and I'm saving the last 6 episodes for a final marathon. The depth that exists in the world is just incredible. As an older viewer, it's really rewarding to catch all the influences Mike and Bryan used when designing the show. (Air nation heavily based on Buddhist monasteries, right down to the statues and architecture, etc)
I was really suprised with the ending of Book 2. Up until the very end I expected
Zuko to turn against Azula and help the Avatar.
'The Beach' from Book 3 didn't feel boring or overly angsty like some people mention, but it did feel incredibly out of place. I did get quite a chuckle out of Zuko's "Hey! That food was for my cranky girlfriend!". I guess it just felt more like an omake than anything else. I'm still trying to figure out how the hell it got past the network censors. Same goes for 'The Desert' in Book 2 when Sokka and Momo start tripping out on cactus juice.
Any word on an OST? Really digging the music.
Johnlenham
Member
Sokka cracks me up :lol so many times I think "damn thats exactly what I would say"
So sarcastic, its great! Only up to book 2 chap 8.
So sarcastic, its great! Only up to book 2 chap 8.
Balboa
Member
I'm only six episodes into Book 1 but it's not really doing anything for me at the moment and it's feeling like a chore to keep going, does it just take a while to get moving or is it safe to say if I'm not into it by now I probably won't be later on?
The story hasn't been going anywhere for a while and I think that's why I'm never really looking forward to watching the next episode.
The story hasn't been going anywhere for a while and I think that's why I'm never really looking forward to watching the next episode.
TheDarkKnight774
Member
Balboa said:
Just stick with it. Its like most long journey quest stories where the early stories are setting the world and the moments are smaller in scale.
Started watching the show over breakfast on tv. It's on avatar day in book 2 at the moment. I enjoy it quite a bit, but not sure if it's really any better than the japanese shows I watched when I was a kid. I don't see the depth people were talking about that you can't find elsewhere. I thought FMA was at least on the same level. And with that show I liked how even a normal soldier can a difference.
I've been too tired each night to do a full set of thoughts - there's a lot going on in it this show - but a few notes:
I'm mixed on the season 2 finale. I didn't really understand what happened with Aang and whether he
The first five or six episodes of Book 3 lost the narrative drive that had taken over the show since the second half of Book 1, which is unfortunate. They're all focused on character work and stage setting, but they've lost the sense of momentum and building urgency that the previous season had. Good episodes, but they're not (yet) adding up.
I love Toph. But they really didn't find a way to keep developing her. There's been a lot of episodes where she's just along for the ride; in Book 2 she felt like a stronger member of the team. She doesn't have a personal arc that's developing, as all the other characters do.
That reads like a list of complaints. The show is still wonderful, and often quite surprising. But the first half of Book 3 is a real dry spell relative to what's come before it. It's not the steady march toward the showdown I was expecting.
I'm mixed on the season 2 finale. I didn't really understand what happened with Aang and whether he
was able to take control of his Avatar state, as the show was building toward. He just rose straight up - WAY up - then got zapped. So I'm not sure if all that training he was going through amounted to anything.
The first five or six episodes of Book 3 lost the narrative drive that had taken over the show since the second half of Book 1, which is unfortunate. They're all focused on character work and stage setting, but they've lost the sense of momentum and building urgency that the previous season had. Good episodes, but they're not (yet) adding up.
I love Toph. But they really didn't find a way to keep developing her. There's been a lot of episodes where she's just along for the ride; in Book 2 she felt like a stronger member of the team. She doesn't have a personal arc that's developing, as all the other characters do.
That reads like a list of complaints. The show is still wonderful, and often quite surprising. But the first half of Book 3 is a real dry spell relative to what's come before it. It's not the steady march toward the showdown I was expecting.
GhaleonEB said:
Aang decides to meditate and let go of Katara, opening the 7th chakra and thus allowing him to master the avatar state and let him use it to defeat Zuko, Azula, and the Dai Li. However, in this process his body is vulnerable and Azula strikes him with lightning, thus leaving the process incomplete and it leaves Aang having not mastered the avatar state
It gets a lot better, don't worry.
I agree with most of that, BorkBork. I just found the closing scenes confusing and frustratingly ambiguous. The narrative seldom strays into ambiguous outcomes (Jet being one of the best examples of its use), but I really didn't understand what transpired. I read the explanations above, and I can kinda buy them, but unless they're explained later on, it's an interpretation that I've got to roll with rather than a clear description of what happened. It feels like the narrative ball was dropped at a critical moment, in my opinion. The more I think about it, the more I dislike how the finale ended.
I'm having a hard time seeing where your confusion came from, Ghaleon. Any time he went glowing at any point in the show, he was entering the avatar state, and
Don't really see where the ambiguity comes from.
given the events with the Guru, and what he was told he was going to have to do, him saying "I'm sorry, Katara" meant he was willing to let her go to enter the avatar state (to save her).
dave is ok
aztek is ok
That is just because as a kids show, they werent allowed to actually kill people off - like Zhao in S1GhaleonEB said:
Hartt951 said:
Well by that I'm saying there's a distinction between using the Avatar State and being a master of it. Usually when you master the Avatar state the "glow" is only an instant. It's shown in both the end of "The Avatar State" and in the finale. That's what true mastery of the Avatar state looks like.
Salazar said:
Sorry I'm late. The entire third book for £10.93:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B002XDQH54/
AniHawk said:
People are saying he was opening up the 7th chakra. But he never went into the Avatar state when he opened the others.
But if he did open it, as I thought he did, why didn't he have control over his avatar state? That was the entire point of the training. So at the end of the season, I'm left wondering: did he open it? Why didn't he have control? Will he be able to control it next time? He seemed to do what was needed. But if it was interrupted, why hasn't it been addressed at all six episodes into the following season? Seems like a pretty critical point in his training, and it's not been addressed one way or the other in the show.
But if he did open it, as I thought he did, why didn't he have control over his avatar state? That was the entire point of the training. So at the end of the season, I'm left wondering: did he open it? Why didn't he have control? Will he be able to control it next time? He seemed to do what was needed. But if it was interrupted, why hasn't it been addressed at all six episodes into the following season? Seems like a pretty critical point in his training, and it's not been addressed one way or the other in the show.
Snowman Prophet of Doom
Member
GhaleonEB said:
He didn't go into the Avatar state when he opened the other chakras because he needed to open all seven to gain his mastery. He opened the seventh chakra and was able to go into the Avatar state because of it, but Azula, as she had done before (remember her cheap shot on Iroh), hit him with a sneak attack when he wasn't expecting it. I'm not sure where you're getting that he didn't have control; there's nothing in the show to suggest that.
You're honestly the only person I've ever seen say they disliked the season 2 finale; for my money, it's the best thing in the whole series.
You're honestly the only person I've ever seen say they disliked the season 2 finale; for my money, it's the best thing in the whole series.
Snowman Prophet of Doom
Member
GhaleonEB said:
That doesn't necessarily signify lack of control. I always figured that to be the 'wind-up' for a big attack (height is advantage, after all) and that he was caught off guard by Azula.
Edit:
Also remember that Aang would not have the ability to redirect lightning, as he only has access to the knowledge of past avatars in the Avatar State, while Iroh was the one who invented that technique.
Snowman Prophet of Doom said:
Again as seen in the end of the first episode of Season 2, The Avatar State, true mastery of the Avatar state is signified by a non-continuous glow. All the attacks shown at the end of the episode are "big attacks" bigger than what Aang usually does in the Avatar State. I definitely don't think it was wind up. He was in the Avatar State and he was not in control.
Finished the show last night and reading through this thread has made me appreciate it even more. Big thanks to everyone who contributed, especially BorkBork! Throughout the series I was amazed at how flawed yet absolutely endearing the characters were. After finishing the series I feel like I've come to know (I almost want to say made friends with :lol ) lots of interesting, funny and all around great people, and it saddens me that I won't get to take part of their lives any more. To me, that's one of the greatest achievements of any story.
On a side note, does anyone know if there are plans to re-release the region 2 DVDs? We only got the bare-bones editions; not even subtitles. Would love to listen to the commentaries especially.
On a side note, does anyone know if there are plans to re-release the region 2 DVDs? We only got the bare-bones editions; not even subtitles. Would love to listen to the commentaries especially.
To add to this.PounchEnvy said:
Snowman said this: "I'm not sure where you're getting that he didn't have control; there's nothing in the show to suggest that."
So tell me: what did Aang do in the avatar state at the end of Book 2 that he did not do all other times he went into it that would indicate he now had control of himself?
Every time he enters it, his arrows and eyes light up, he strikes a pose with his arms held out in front of him, a windstorm whips up around him, and he rises straight up while otherwise not moving.
That is what he did at the end of Book 2. There was nothing different about it. He was doing it in front of the most powerful enemy he's faced, so if he did have control, I doubt he'd have remained frozen. And if he chose to, he wouldn't have sat there while he got fried; he's dodged or deflected Azula's fire plenty of times.
And because there was nothing different about how he behaved when in the avatar state, that led me to think he did not actually unlock the last chakra. I mean, I was looking forward to seeing what Aang could do after he unlocked the last one; the entire finale seemed to be building toward that. The answer, apparently, is nothing. So either he did unlock it, but couldn't do anything new, or he didn't. Either one is kind of important and the show has not touched on it since. Thus, my confusion about what happened at the end of the finale.
So tell me: what did Aang do in the avatar state at the end of Book 2 that he did not do all other times he went into it that would indicate he now had control of himself?
Every time he enters it, his arrows and eyes light up, he strikes a pose with his arms held out in front of him, a windstorm whips up around him, and he rises straight up while otherwise not moving.
That is what he did at the end of Book 2. There was nothing different about it. He was doing it in front of the most powerful enemy he's faced, so if he did have control, I doubt he'd have remained frozen. And if he chose to, he wouldn't have sat there while he got fried; he's dodged or deflected Azula's fire plenty of times.
And because there was nothing different about how he behaved when in the avatar state, that led me to think he did not actually unlock the last chakra. I mean, I was looking forward to seeing what Aang could do after he unlocked the last one; the entire finale seemed to be building toward that. The answer, apparently, is nothing. So either he did unlock it, but couldn't do anything new, or he didn't. Either one is kind of important and the show has not touched on it since. Thus, my confusion about what happened at the end of the finale.
I loved the finale, with the exception of the ending sequence.
On a side note, I just got back from a brief four day vacation, which had seven hours of driving on either end. I'd picked up Book 1 and Book 2 of Avatar on DVD for the kids to watch during the drive. They loved it even more the second time around, and went bananas when they got to the disc with Toph on it, where she is introduced. The kids love her. My younger is starting to refuse to wear shoes, because she wants to earthbend. :\
I could only listen, but I was struck by just how much foreshadowing was there which I had missed the first time through. Character arcs and plots that don't culminate until Book 2 are seeded from episode one of the first book. It's wonderfully well thought out. There's a patience to how the story unfolds that I enjoy, as it builds one notch at a time, never rushed, so that the characters can react to it. And when they do, there's never a false note to their behavior. No, "he never would have done that," kind of moment. Especially
Zuko at the end of Book 2. It would have felt like a stretch had he aligned with is uncle and Aang at the end - he just wasn't there yet. His decision was true to his character and where he was in the arc he's moving along.
The show really benefits from having an end point. It's got a steady build and a feeling of inevitability about it. I was telling my wife, if the show were "The Continuing Adventures of Avatar Aang", none of these character and story arcs would be happening, because the show would not be a self-contained story with a natural end point. It benefits tremendously from leveraging its structure.
Great show. Now to plow through the second half of Book 3 this week.
GhaleonEB said:
There was nothing different about the avatar state after opening the chakra's. That was so he could go in to the avatar state whenever he wanted like they've shown the previous avatar's doing. He did open the final chakra at the end of that episode by "letting go" of Kitara. That allowed him into the avatar state at all which before that he was locked out of. Once you start opening the chakras you have to go all the way to even go to the avatar state.
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