Avatar: The Last Airbender (Series) – Review

movie reviewI heard so much about this series that i had to risk a look at it. I also know that the movie (which i haven’t seen yet) received catastrophic reviews. But here it’s all about the animated series.

Now when i had seen the first couple of episodes from the first season i really understood why it got so many fans. The characters and how they are developed in the story is just wonderful. Early on you recognize that there are some characters that will have a long way to go. And you really want to know where they end up. Obviously all characters are very good. My favourite though is the fire prince and his uncle. His background story is very strong and often pretty brutal too. That’s what makes this series not only some kids program. It often has the typical topics you need to have in there for the kids. But you also have a lot of more adult topics that may go a little too far to understand for the kids audience. But that’s definitely no negative thing. So you can have the parents and kids watch it together. And parents have the chance to use this series to explain a lot of important things to their kids.

While the first season is developing the characters and parts of the world all of it is happening in, the second season tries to show more of the history of all the conflict in the series. Basically how the fire nation is trying to conquer the world and all it’s leaving behind is terror and burned ground. Now Aang, the Avatar, is the only one who can rescue the world. But he’s a young boy and still has to learn the powers of the four nations that exist in this world. Like the title says he can already handle/bend the air since he is the last of his kind. Throughout the series his main goal is to find teachers for the water, earth and fire skills. And of course to defeat the fire lord in an epic battle. On his way he isn’t alone and makes some very good friends that help him to carry the burden. Of course i missed a lot detail here and the story is much deeper and i really recommend checking it out if you’re hooked!

In season three then it all points to the big finale. What striked me here was how they managed to show the doubts of Aang and how his friends want to help him. A lot of big questions come up and that’s where it turns a little into adult area again. Some of the characters have to take some very strong decisions and you really feel with them. Some great writing done in that department.

Art wise you can really catch up some very cool ideas here. I have never seen an animated tv series production that delivered such fluid animation on characters. Especially the fight sequences that aren’t exactly rare. It’s cool to see how the characters fight with their bending skills and the ideas they have using these skills. It’s really fun to watch.

I’m not a big anime/manga fan and this series partly uses this style. But it maintains a good balance that made it much easier for me to watch it. It also has some really really funny moments that even made me laugh out loud.

Ultimately i’m a bit sad the series is over. I could see much more adventures of these nice characters. But, well… maybe it’s best that way. No chance to ruin it. So yeah… it’s a complete recommendation. One of the best animated series productions i’ve seen.

9.3/10 from me.

Avatar: The Last Airbender on IMDb

4 Responses to “Avatar: The Last Airbender (Series) – Review”

  1. Anja Says:

    You know, I was watching this cartoon in one breath. Prince of Fire and his uncle – also my favorite characters. I was really happy, that prince then make friends with the main character. And I like Sokka – brother of the protagonist. Just a pity that filmed it so-so. The film I did not like.

  2. Tigaer Says:

    I haven’t seen the film so far since everything you hear about it is very very bad. The animated series on the other hand is wonderful. Like you say… some great characters you want to follow until the end. And the ‘avatar’ isn’t even the most interesting character of them all. He’s just there to build a nice point of view into that magical world for us audience. It’s a great series I can only recommend. No matter how old you are.

  3. Anja Says:

    I totally agree! It’s just a amazing cartoon for all ages. There must be more!

  4. Tigaer Says:

    I think they finished up the story pretty good. Maybe more of it would ruin the magic. =)

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