As a child, “Avatar: The Last Airbender” was my favorite show of ever. I had watched the entire series multiple times throughout elementary school, and it just seemed to get better the more times I watched it. Recently, I spent the time to re-watch all three seasons, to see if it was as good as I remembered it to be. To my pleasure, not only did it meet my expectations, it exceeded them. In the show, some people have special abilities that allowed them to bend the four elements, water, earth, fire, and air.
“Water. Earth. Fire. Air.
Long ago, the four nations lived together in harmony. Then everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked.
Only the Avatar, master of all four elements, could stop them. But when the world needed him most, he vanished.
A hundred years passed and my brother and I discovered the new Avatar, an airbender named Aang, and although his airbending skills are great, he still has a lot to learn before he’s ready to save anyone.
But I believe Aang can save the world.”
Those words, said before every episode, have become engraved in my mind ever since I was a kid. the plot, although it seems simple, becomes one of the most complex stories I’ve ever seen. Undoubtedly though, the most intriguing part of the entire series is the story of the banished prince Zuko. Zuko is the prince of the Fire Nation, (the bad guys) and was banished by his father for questioning the war, and was given a scar across his half of his face as well. The scare represents Zuko’s pain and the humility of being banned from his nation, and it haunts him throughout the entire series. Zuko’s whole purpose is to find the Avatar, which was a task given to him by his father to restore his honor. However, this story takes many twists and turns, and learns a lot throughout his journey.
The main characters in this show are Aang, Katara, Sokka, Zuko, Toph, and of course, the main antagonist, Fire lord Ozai. Katara and Sokka, are brother and sister, and are from a small ice village in the south that was destroyed by the fire nation. There, they discover the most important person in the show, and in their lives, Aang. Aang is the main character, and he is the avatar, the only person who can bend all four elements. and has to deal with coming to terms with being the Avatar, and that the war is in his hands to end. Toph, along with Zuko and Katara, are the ones who teach Aang to bend the element that he isn’t a master of already (air). Toph however, is blind, and can only “see” by feeling the earths vibrations with her amazing earth bending skills. Ozai, as the main antagonist, doesn’t show himself too often, but remains a looming force of evil that the rest of the cast need to deal with. The characters all mix well with each other and all of their personalities bounce off of each other with Sokka, Toph, and Aang being the funnier characters, and Katara and Zuko being much more serious.
As I watched the show, I found myself immersed in the world due to the characters, amazing visual style of the animation, music and the incredible writing the writers have blessed us with. Before re-watching, I thought that the story might have been too childish for me now that I’m older, but its quite the opposite. The story is so mature and there is material that you would be surprised to see in an adult TV show being handled by “The Last Airbender” so well. The show talks about the morality of war, as well as murder, and whether or not murder should ever be right or deserved. The show also showcases slavery, poverty, and also showcases a child’s point of view on war at points.
Avatar is a splendid example of how a “Children’s” TV Show can still be enjoyable and not only for kids. In my opinion, ”The Last Airbender” is a show that can be enjoyed and watched by all ages. The show has a perfect mixture of comedy, action, and seriousness, and is a perfect example of how a show should written, created, and animated (if show is an animation). 5 stars out of 5
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