why avatar: the last airbender will always be my favorite show
A couple of days ago marked 19 years since February 21st, 2005 — the release of the first episode of the origional Avatar: The Last Airbender series. Yesterday, the first live action adaptation of the show was released on Netflix.
When I was little, I was hooked — eyes glued to the television and hurtling for a snack or bathroom break at commercial intervals so that I wouldn’t miss a second. I have the DVD set of the first book that I curse myself for letting my mom give away.
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I have never re-watched a show so many times, and I had never been into anime (hold your horses, I’m not calling it anime, I’m just raising the point that a lot of anime/animation fans tend to watch a plethora of content in the animated category). I’m going to also drop that Avatar: The Legend of Korra is also fantastic, and I will not entertain opinions crying otherwise.
So… Why? Why is a children’s show at the top of my list, and why has it remained there even as I truly become an adult? For some reasons, it just is, but I can list a bunch of tangible examples off the top of my head.
The universe is thrilling; the worldbuilding is fantastic. The animation is beautiful. The characters are funny and sweet and touching and unique. The character arcs make sense. The storyline makes sense. There’s cool bender fighting but practical uses of the elements, too. There’s moments that tug at your heartstrings accompanied by scenes so silly you have to laugh. I see myself in so many of the simple moments. And elements are just cool. I like old stuff — it’s clearly set in a pre-industrialized era. Korra’s universe is beyond exciting, too.
How do people come up with this stuff? The writer in me dreams of it.
Maybe I don’t have a bunch of concrete reasons, but I would give anything to experience the wonder of watching the animated series for the first time again. For now, I’ll try not to zoom through the 8 episodes of the live action series (no comment on the movie…) and thank the universe that the fandom is alive and well.
