Avatar: The last airbender

[mentalguru]

Also know as Avatar: The legend of Aang here in the UK, Avatar is one of my favourite 'cartoons' (although American made, it borrows heavily from the Asian style and culture), it ran 61 episodes ending in 2008.

For those unfamilar with the show. The world of Avatar is one which contains four nations- water, earth, fire and air. The Fire Nation wishes to conquer the world, and it seems that they are getting close to their goal.The story also follows Aang, a 12 year old boy, the last airbender, who after being frozen in an iceberg for 100 years wakes up to a world where he is the last of his kind, his people having all been killed by Fire Lord Sozin. Sozin's present ancestor's forces, FireLord Ozai, currently invades the world. The world has lost hope. The nations and elements at war with each other.

Aang however is not only the last airbender, but also the Avatar, the only one able to wield all four elements at his command. He must learn the elements and save the world.

But he is just one kid and he can't do this alone. Along with friends he travels with and those he makes along the way, he will learn Water, Earth and Fire, making mistakes and learning lessons and being forced to grow up at far too young an age until he eventually faces his destiny. All the while, despite hardship, he tends to maintain a happy, optimistic attitude.

However, the banished and scarred Prince and heir to Ozai's throne, Prince Zuko also pursues Aang, wishing to regain his honour, his father's love and the ability to return home by capturing the airbender. As time wears on, it is clear that however, that he is not meant to fight AGAINST the Avatar.

But will Zuko also be able to face his own destiny?

Aang is the main character, and although is relationship with Katara, his love interest is exceedingly important, in the end it is also the story of two boys, who begin the story as enemies, yet are destined to be friends.

It shows the possibility of a much needed relationship not being realised does not have to be romantic to be tragic.

Zuko desperately NEEDS a friend- and Aang is perhaps the best friend he could ever hope for, and yet he pursues him for the wrong reasons. Tragic indeed.

[RandallBoggs]

I honestly thought the show was a bit cooky at some points during the...first season if I recall. But at the turning point (when Azula came in and Zuko went on alone), it started to get more interesting. And then, at the Crossroads season finale, I was blown away. From there, the story got more serious, underlying it with some humor here and there. And that moment of Zuko standing up to his father was epic.
Pity they stopped it...always wondered about the mystery surrounding Zuko's mother....

[invaderbecky]

That's why their should be a new series, we need answers.

[mentalguru]

True. Knowing what happened to Ursa would have been better than... certain episodes which were unneeded.

Honestly, although ninja!katara and ninja!zuko was kind of cool in Southern Raiders, it was pretty unnecessary, plus I've seen enough of clueless/hypocrite Zuko before he joined the group. Granted, as mentioned before, he possibly was having trouble thinking about forgiving his father for what he did...

Still, hypocrite.

Plus, there were aspects of the season 3 finale I didn't like, and I'd have preferred a Zuko, Aang and Katara Vs Azula and Ozai together than splitting up the battles too...

But anyway.

For a time, Iroh was the only thing which kept the story interesting (the first half of season 1). Katara bored me at first, Sokka sometimes irritated me and it took me a while to actually find him funny. Zuko was profoundly irritating and even Aang had his moments (I thought he was a cute kid and all but I didn't care for Kataang for alot of season 1 sometimes- it was season 2 before I liked it and could look back at season 1 moments as 'actually kind of cute and it will get better in time').

It was episode 12 (The storm) which first really piqued my interest. The NEXT episode 'The Blue Spirit' was the first one I really liked. For once Zuko was actually kind of 'badass' (because he wasn't relying on his lousy firebending skills, but instead is pretty darn awesome ninja and swordfighting skills). Both Aang and Zuko also are better fighting together than against each other as is shown. They work so WELL together, and it foreshadowed that that was how things were supossed to be for the pair of them- to fight side by side.

But of course it was Aang's line at the end of that episode after taken his fallen enemy/temporary ally to safety "Do you think we could have been friends too?" which made it pretty darn awesome, not to mention the shots of them at the end as they both lay down to rest, Zuko in his ship and Aang on his pet bison's tail, Zuko displaying some if subtle doubt over his believed 'destiny' to capture the Avatar and Aang upset and trying to come to terms with the fact that Zuko's fireball clearly meant 'No' to his question.

Or so Aang thought. Zuko definitly had a spark there just like in 'The storm' when he saved one of his crewmen.

So yeah, Blue Spirit was what first showed Avatar's potential as a series for me. The Storm pretty much also shows the viewer that in the end, the show was about Aang and Zuko.

Other favourites include both the Season 1 and 2 finales.

Season 1 is great because it has Koh- my favourite one-shot character, not to mention Aang doesn't leave Zuko to die even when Sokka tells them they should and Katara makes no argument against it.

Season 1 finale made me into an Aang fan- saving his enemy Zuko again, even though a part of him after Blue Spirit probably doubted that he'd be in anyway grateful let alone stop hunting him upped his 'awesome' meter.

I always pitied both Aang and Zuko, because they were both kids caught in pretty bad deals- Aang had too much responsibility for one kid to handle and Zuko had a lousy father (putting it mildly), but it was only then I could have called myself a FAN of Aang. (Zuko came somewhere after 'Zuko Alone' I believe.)

Sometimes Zuko's cluelessness annoyed me though- he knew Iroh loved him like a REAL father yet tried to earn the love of his biological one- who did not deserve it. Also it was so obvious that Aang was the friend he needed (and the closest he had to one even as enemies).

Still, Zuko had a great character arc all in all.