Any Avatar the Last Airbender fans here?

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I have a friend on Facebook who lets me use her Netflix account and through her, I discovered I misjudged Avatar the Last Airbender. I thought because it was on Nickelodeon, it was a childish cartoon in the vein of Spongebob. Now, however, I see it differently. This is an epic, well-written saga about a boy trying to bring peace to the world. It’s not entirely Christian, but it has themes that resonate with Christianity. Am I the only one on here who gave this show a try or are there some people who think “This show is eeevil because it talks about magic and chi”.
 
I initially disregarded the show because I assumed it was too childish, but I was pleasantly surprised at what a good story it was. Aang can be quite sympathetic and I like his sense of morality, and Sokka’s pretty funny. The first season was kind of slow-paced, but the second 2 were great. I think my favorite episode is when they watch a play about their own adventures. I also liked the one where Zuko, Azula, and their friends are on the island resort sharing stories, and Azula says “My own mother thought I was a monster. She was right of course, but it still hurt.” :rotfl:
 
I lime it with reservations, and it’s NOT the magic that caused mine.
 
I love that show. It is constantly playing in reruns on cable TV and I have seen most episodes four or five times. My kids usually watch with me. There are so many things to appreciate that it would be hard to enumerate them all.

Much of the appeal has to do with the animation. It incorporates many of the conventions of anime - in fact, the first time I caught an episode, I thought it must be a Japanese cartoon that had been dubbed into English (like Pokemon, Dragon Ball Z and so forth). However some of the extremes that anime can get into are avoided, and the general feeling is adapted for American audiences’ tastes. In addition to the general influence of anime, there seem to be specific elements influenced by the films of Hayao Miyazaki. Apparently the physical design of Appa, with his six legs, was influenced heavily by the Catbus in Miyazaki’s* My Neighbor Totoro*. Some of the spirit-creatures, such as Koh the “face-stealer”, also remind me of similar beings in Miyazaki films.

Regarding the characters, I love Prince Zuko and his uncle Iroh especially. Zuko’s progression from apparent villain to hero is achieved with more insight and credibility than I would have suspected. Many of the scenes surrounding him in the third season are quite touching. And Iroh is such a delight, a wise old man yet unpretentious in his love of simple pleasures. His devotion to his nephew, and the grief that he shows when Zuko seems to be going astray, are very touching also. And he is also very funny!
 
I have been watching with my kids, age 13 and 9 (boy and girl). My husband also joins in sometimes. We talk about the choices different characters make and whether they seem to be good. I like that usually when they make a bad choice, they decide later that it wasn’t so good, and then change their behavior or seek to rectify the consequences of the bad choice. People who are seeking revenge are thought of as “crazy” or not right in the head. We have also talked about the religious values that the show is based on, and how those are similar and different from our Catholic faith. We talk about there being some good in all religions even if they do not have the fullness of truth.

We really like the show and the characters, especially Prince Zuko and Uncle.
 
Great show. There is some filler and the target audience is younger, but there is some great character development, emotional depth, and plot lines in it that go well beyond what you’d expect from a “children’s cartoon.”
 
This has to be one of my favourite ever shows, though like others here my first impressions of it were not very favourable. I first tried watching the show after my boyfriend (now husband) recommended it. I don’t think I even finished watching the first two episodes. It seemed childish and even a bit dull.

My husband was only able to force me to watch more of it after we were married haha! And boy, was I wrong. The show does start off slow, but after the first few episodes, I was hooked. The characters were very well written and developed, the animation and choreography of the bending battles amazing, and the story engaging. It might have a lot of eastern themes, but it does have Christian themes as well. Forgiveness and redemption are some of the most important themes in the story.

A few other posters mentioned the character development of Zuko which I agree is one of the highlights of the show. I like how his progression from villain to ally was not straight-forward. He constantly struggled to figure out what was right, which was not helped by his own family’s manipulations (with the obvious exception of Iroh). Zuko even continues to struggle with these questions in the comics which take place after the events in the show. Of course I also love Iroh, someone who was both so funny yet wise and powerful. Sokka is hilarious yet isn’t one-sided comic relief. He really matured into a warrior over the course of the show. Toph and Katara are both great characters too, and Azula just makes an awesome villain. 😃

Even the music was memorable, especially in the final four episodes. “The Last Agni Kai” was a beautiful and somber piece that played over the most epic duel in the series. That choice of music was much more effective than if it had been your standard loud action scene music which you might have gotten with other shows of this type. It really showed the tragedy of that duel.

Anyway, I could go on about how much I like* Avatar the Last Airbender*. But suffice to say I’m glad my husband insisted I watch it. 😛
 
Whoops…I just realised this thread was started way back in 2012. 😊 Old thread alert!
 
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