It's just... such a gem. I'm in love. It's so good. Yes, it's a cartoon, and yes, especially in the first season, it can be rather childish at times, but it's so clever and fleshed out and rich and the characters are awesome and I adore it.
And even though some of it is a little childish, the thing about it is that it doesn't diminish the conflict and the stakes stay high. Like, that's artfully done, actually. I have been watching it while my mom pretends to ignore it while playing on her iPad (yeah, she says she doesn't like it, but let's be real here - she may not be as invested in the characters as I am, but she definitely knows what's going on) and I think, though my mother denies it, that we both find ourselves enjoying it. It's just a really good show. It's clever and witty and interesting and thought out and if I could ever have the capacity to create a world like the world of Avatar then I would be damn proud of myself because wow. In-depth history. Distinct, unique cultures. It's kind of incredible.
And also, let's just appreciate how freaking hilarious it is. It only gets funnier as the series continues. Like, there's some stupid stuff - like, when Sokka got high off the cactus water, and they see a mushroom cloud erupt in the distance...
Katara: What is that?
Sokka: It's a... giant mushroom. .... MAYBE IT'S FRIENDLY!!!!!!
But then there's also super clever, super witty, super snarky comedy, and that always makes me laugh too. Like, the character Toph, who is blind (except she sees through her feet, using earthbending - which means she can see great underground, but not so great if it's not, y'know, solid ground) is such a snarker. There's an episode where they've been flying in the desert looking for this ancient building, and they're starting to doubt it exists, and then:
Toph: There it is!
(All the characters get excited and look around, but don't see anything)
Toph: That's what it'll sound like when one of you spots it. (waves hand in front of her eyes)
Toph, you snarky brat, you.
And then there's just stupidly hilarious stuff that wouldn't be uncharacteristic coming from my brain full of crappy jokes, like:
(Team Avatar are at King Bumi's for dinner, then realize he doesn't intend to let them go)
Katara: Let us leave!
Bumi: (while eating salad) ... lettuce leaf?
It's so stupid, but I laughed really hard.
But mostly, just... the world building. They spent so much time thinking about this, I can't even imagine. Each element has its own distinctive culture that's different from the other cultures (Earth Kingdom, Fire Nation, Water Tribe, Air Nomads) and each discipline of bending is different from the others (I looked this up. They actually based the bending on real martial arts. Water-bending is Tai Chi, fire-bending is Northern Shaolin Kung Fu, earth-bending is Hun Gar Kung Fu - except for Toph, who has a slightly different style due to her blindness, something called Southern Praying Mantis style Kung Fu? - and air-bending is something called Baguazhang. I just think that's super cool, because clearly they were thinking about this when they came up with it).
Actually, just as an example, look at this scene where some kid picks a fight with Aang. Notice how little fighting Aang actually does - he doesn't throw a single blow. That's because, as an Air Nomad monk, he's a pacifist, and as an airbender, he focuses more on evading than confronting. Which is why Baguazhang is such a perfect fit for airbending (there are most definitely some techniques from that in here, though it's subtler since Aang doesn't actually do any airbending in this scene).
It's just a really good story, and really, really well told. You could definitely take some good story-telling techniques from this story, and this is a Nickelodeon cartoon. That's one of the reasons I love it. It just kind of proves that something can rise so far above expectations.
Like, I've said this before, but I cannot exaggerate enough that the world building in this show is freaking incredible. If you're paying attention, you can see the Ba Gua when Aang (the last airbender) starts fighting - he starts circle-walking! You can see the different cultures and the different philosophies associated with each element. They gave each type of bending an origin story. It just seems like such a real world - it clearly was real enough to the creators - and I think that's amazing.
And - something I find admirable - they totally knew when to end their story. I think, especially for a show as popular as Avatar was, that that's a really good thing. It could have gone on for a long time, it could have stretched itself out and become thinner and thinner. Instead it chose to make three concrete, substantial seasons. It was sort of perfect. Left me wanting more, but also feeling really satisfied with how it ended.
And I love all the characters and every episode has substance and it's got a great balance of intriguing action sequences and light-hearted dialogue while keeping the story moving. But there is one thing that I find ultimately makes the show unique. Perhaps this is just me being under-educated in the realm of adventure stories (though I don't think I am), but I absolutely love that Aang, the most powerful bender on the face of the earth, is a pacifist.
I feel like we get a lot of adventure stories where the Chosen One/hero/whatever-it-is is really quick to jump into fight. You know, they have power and they know how to use it to their advantage, and God help the people who challenge them. Maybe I'm wrong about this, and if so I'm really sorry, but I think most heroes we get in adventure stories don't have many qualms about fighting, hurting, and possibly killing bad guys.
That's not a bad thing - it's just a common trope of the genre. And the fact that this trope is so common is what makes it so interesting to me that Aang is not that.
He's a monk. A kid monk, I might add, but that's not even the point. He respects all life (he's even a vegetarian!) and so there was this lovely moral dilemma where he was being told he had to kill the Fire Lord (the Big Bad), when, as a pacifist, he found the idea repulsive. And, if you ever watch him fighting, he very rarely throws any blows. Airbending is about evading, not confronting. I just think that's really refreshing, to have a hero who makes such an obvious effort to not cause any damage. That's not a huge concern in most adventure stories, and I think it makes Aang much more interesting as a protagonist.
I also love that he's a twelve year old kid. Obviously, kid heroes are not entirely new to the adventure genre either, but here's the thing. The difference is that, most of the time, we are acutely aware that Aang is a child. Because no matter how mature he has to get in order to save the world - and he does mature for that task, undoubtedly - it doesn't stop him from remaining a child at heart. For example, while hiding undercover in the Fire Nation, where no one would hesitate to kill him if he was discovered, he decides to throw a secret dance party for Fire Nation school kids because clearly the strict school rules are oppressive. He is such a kid, and I love him for it.
And the best part? This pacifist child is the most powerful bender on the face of the earth. I know I've mentioned this before, but I think that's so cool. Because, especially given the ignorance of youth and how he knows that he's the only one who can save the world, it would be very easy for him to become this power-driven Avatar. But it doesn't happen. He's just so purely innocent, but not naive (or at least, he grows out of his naivete), so inherently gentle, and compassionate, and sensitive, that his power doesn't corrupt him.
I love that. We get a lot of heroes that are all tough and commanding leaders and "Come at me, bro!" A lot of, look at how much I can handle. It's such a different thing to see such a powerful hero be so consistently gentle (which I do believe is probably one of the most accurate adjectives to describe Aang). And I really really like that. It's such a different (and, I think, underrated) style of heroism, and I love that it gets celebrated. It's my favourite thing about the show.
It's just a really, super cool show. It's hilarious and the fight scenes are awesome and the story is to die for and, for a Nickelodeon cartoon, it really took a lot of risks (such as, for instance, making one of the single most powerful characters in the series a blind little girl. Or, having a whole episode devoted to Aang's pet bison wandering around looking for him. There was other stuff too). And I think it's important that we appreciate that in spite of the fact that it aired on YTV and that every time I watch an episode on Netflix I have to sit through the Nickelodeon logo that seems so kiddy that it makes me question my life choices, in spite of this, it is undeniably a very good, intriguing, interesting and very well told story. It was clearly meticulously laid out and carefully planned and really thought through and there's just so much heart to it.
Most of this I never noticed for how remarkable it was when I watched it at the age of eight. Go figure.
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