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Good, but not God's gift to western animation
On the whole, it's an average series. Was it good? Sure. Was it great? No. It wasn't perfect, and that's fine, nothing is.

Good humor, good action, great animation and pretty good voice acting. I'm told they did their work on asian cultures reference in the series.

There's lots of padding and unnecessary episodes (The Great Divide), main characters swing in and out of likeability (Katara). Many plot elements plainly exist solely for the sake of the characters they relate to and contribute nothing to the setting or the story, which is just as well because they completely disappear without a trace once they serve their purpose (Katara vs "NO GURLZ ALOUD! D=<") and alot of characters that really have no reason for or logic behind existing (Hama).

But over all a decent series. 6/10

But the resolution of the series forced and unnecessary. Aang dithered. And that's not a word I often use, but it's oddly appropriate.

Confronted with the harsh reality that not everything can be magically solved at the end (Pffahahahahahaha), Aang tries to consult the preceding Avatars on how to rationalize the need for violence with his airbender upbringing. But they don't tell him what he wants to hear so asks a lion turtle that's there for some reason instead. The lion turtle spouts some BS or other that would have counted as foreshadowing if it hadn't been brought up in the eleventh hour.

Middle middle middle. Aang beats Ozai.

Now, if they wanted to a point of violence not being the only answer (never mind that it was for the entire rest of the series including right up until the actual resolution in question), that would have been fine. Maybe Ozai doesn't need to die to be stopped. Fine, I can get that.

Problem is, they didn't do that. They actually made a point of promoting Aang's use of violence as a final solution and went out of their way to reinforce that message, explicitly calling him selfish for not wanting to do so.

Then they turn around and have Aang spare him. Because...reasons. And it's all good. Before this they don't even try supporting Aang's position. They're against him at every turn right up until he spares Ozai and then all of a sudden he's totally in the right. Grey area? No. It's just "Ozai needs to die. Period." then "Aang's right for unspecified reasons! Ozai doesn't need to die!"
  # comments: 102
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Balance is the name of the game
Typically, shows, especially cartoons and anime, have one or several things that they do exceptionally well and are lacking in other areas. Basically, they stand out for very specific reasons. Avatar: The Lost Airbender is not like that. Everything Avatar does it does extremely well.

The plot may not be as good as Death Note's, the action not as good as Bleach, the humor not as good as The Simpsons, ect. But while it may not be #1 in any specific category, being #2 or 3 is still very good, and being #2 or 3 in practically every category is an incredible achievement.

While there are things to nitpick over the 61 episodes, Avatar is a show with only strengths and no weaknesses. The plot is epic, the characters are great, the humor works. It all comes together to create one of the most balanced works ever put to any screen, which is fitting for a show about restoring balance to the world.

Having this balance makes Avatar be more than the some of its parts and makes it deserve to be mentioned alongside the great cartoons and animes of all time. Even the great epic/mythical works like Star Wars and Lord of the Rings did not achieve the near-perfect balance of Avatar: The Last Airbender.

It is a true classic and one of the best works to ever follow Joseph Campbell's 'hero's journey.'
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Greatest Cartoon of all time,....
Avatar: The Last Airbender

Year: 2005

Voices of: Zach Tyler Eisen, Mae Whitman, Jack De Sena, Dante Basco, Mako,Grey De Lisle, and Jessie Flower

Grade: A+

Or at least damn close,between some of the most brilliant characterizations,and two very nicely melded plots concerning two of these characters,but best of all was the sense of,...balance. There was overall a nice balance between the spiritual,the dark,serious,and complicated, the relaxed and sweet, and the downright hilarious. The main plot being that Aang who is the Avatar who has the ability to bend the four elements,can and must learn the other three elements (he already knows airbending and for some Tear Jerker y goodness,he is revealed to be the last one) in order to stop the Fire Lord from using a comet to commit genocide,and the other plot being that son of said (Zuko) Fire Lord has been banished and must capture the Avatar to get back in his good graces. And I must say that they nicely combined them,to the point of one episode explaining how they really are Not So Different. Once that gets going,the writers nicely start to put heroes and villains on both sides and deconstruct the usual ways of the fantasy genre (Book 2 especially I mean really 4 kids topple a government? And you really don't expect the opposition to come back?

Alongside that good writing stuff is the top notch animation and effects,all from excellent research on various martial arts forms. Said research also extends to ensuring that proper writing is used,and so they hired a calligrapher. All this adds to a very pleasant atmosphere,even during the most intense scenes.

Now for my top 3 favorite parts which really help make this an A+

- The whole character of Toph

- Great sense of balance

- Brilliant inside jokes

And the bottom 3 which ultimately are ruled out

- The character derailing of Katara

- The three episodes called "The Great Divide"," Avatar Day", and "The Painted Lady"

- The resolution of the conflict is an Ass Pull

But other than those 3,and especially the top 3,this series is a classic.
  # comments: 8
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Not for everyone. The impressions from season I
The story seems to have been very important for somebody, you can tell by the detail. The art is pleasing to the eye, especially the backgrounds. The structure of an epic adventure! And yet it leaves me cold at the best of times.

Partly this is due to Hype Aversion, I first saw the M.Night creation (which is bad even from an Avatar-virgin's point of view) and after reading up about what could/should have happened decided to see for myself the original. The thing is, it's done in the French pseudo-anime style (same as Totally Spies!), where the (to my mind) excessive amount of twitching is distracting and only serves to remind me of every bad incarnation of anime. Point number two is the Fan Dumb, when all the fans of the show bashed the pronunciation in the film, which to a non-native English speaker raised on Bollywood films and an anime dubhater sounds much more accurate. A side note is that while in the film we can suppose that Nations/Clans are made of (slightly?) different ethnicities and form a Clan on gods know what basis, in the cartoon all the representatives of one Clan look the same so the different accents of the voice actors (most notably Iroh) are more than distracting. Point number three is this: everything comes off as very bright and happy and clean, which makes one wonder if this is not a simple case of white man's Oriental Fetish Fuel, then again YMMV.

This is a solid story and good animation (be the art style your thing or not), if everything else distracts you then it simply wasn't meant to be. I will not bring up my quarrel with the characters and the feminism, since I haven't seen more than the first season. I do recommend it, just don't go into it waiting for your world to be changed. A review on this page praised it equal if not better than the classics of the 90's with which I can't agree, but again, it's a personal view.
  # comments: 69
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This Made Me Believe in American Animation Again
I grew up with Batman The Animated Series, Gargoyles, and other shows whose quality I thought I'd never see again in American works. Samurai Jack was perhaps the one exception, with Justice League also worth note, but these, I felt, were just the last embers of the glory days of early-to-mid-90's animation. Gone were the days of Doug, Rockos Modern Life, Ah Real Monsters, and all those other shows on Nickolodeon, and Cartoon Network had replaced Toonami with Miguzi. Ew. Everywhere I looked, I saw Tom Goes To The Mayor, or Spongebob Squarepants, or something else just as god-awful. Once Genndy Tartakovsky and BruceTimm retired, I figured, there'd never be a truly great American cartoon again. And then I watched Avatar.

I then showed it to my roommatem. His reaction was, "this is on Nickelodeon!?" Friday's at 8 quickly became our hour of worhsip.

Despite being visually modeled on Anime, it doesn't try to copy it. Instead, there's barely a hint of anime sight gags, characters act and move like westerners, and the animation is some of the smoothest on TV. The fight scenes, too, are a spectacle. Every one is its own Crowning Moment Of Awesome, and, like Samurai Jack, are not quick skirmishes - they take up a good portion of the final act of an episode usually. The final fight(s) in the finale (which are non-stop for a good 20 minutes, by the way, and not DBZ-style either - these are non-stop, hit-block-parry-block-thrust fights, for 20 MINUTES!) easily outranks even many of the best movie fight scenes.

Beyond the visuals, the writing is some of the best we'd ever encountered in a series, animated or otherwise. We quickly became weary of watching for the most minute things, because we knew they'd become important later. We'd repeat one-liners, usually from the newest episode endlessly until the next episode the following week, and then-some. In all, the scope and eloquence of the story, the world, and the characters is comparable to Lord Of The Rings.

This isn't just a well-done kids' show; this is on-par with shows like Lost and Heroes. Avatar has the perfect blend of drama, comedy, action, & romance that made Star Wars and Indiana Jones classics. Avatar is truly a landmark in animation. It's restored my faith in American Animation
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A Truly Marvelous Masterpiece
This is one of the best shows, animated or otherwise, that I've ever seen. I love the character development and how incredibly realistic it is. All the changes and growth mean that there's never a dull moment but it's all believable and relate-able. Had this been a novel, Mike and Bryan would be right up there with William Shakespeare. It's so good, it almost doesn't seem like just a kid's show; it's one of the most beautiful things ever created.

One of my favorite things about this show is the complexity. It presents the heroes and villains as real people with emotions, motives, and loved ones. It shows that not everything can be solved with a clever scheme in 30 minutes or less and provides lessons that actually have basis is the real world. But what seals the deal for me is the fact it completely subverts the usual Blackand White Morality. I appreciate that it presents both side of the war and shows that no one should be judged because of their nationality-and I mean that in a positive or negative light. Jet and Hama (from the Earth Kingdom and Water Tribe, respectively)aren't portrayed in a positive light just because they're fighting the nation that wronged them. The Fire Nation schoolchildren and villagers from early in season three aren't portrayed in a negative light just because of their Royal Family's crimes. The heroes are allowed to make mistakes and do the wrong thing and the villains are allowed to redeem themselves and fight for what's right. I think it's such a profound message, that anyone is capable of great good or great evil, that Avatar the Last Airbender will always have a special place in my heart.
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A Favorite of Many that Deserves the Love
Even though seven years have passed by this point, there's still no question that a lot of teens and kids today declare Avatar: The Last Airbender their #1 cartoon, and the same applies for me as well. But I guess my personal experiences with it were pretty unique in that I actually dismissed it when I saw the promos and no one was telling me this was "TEH BEST THING EVAHRGH." I only got around to it by Book 2's "The Blind Bandit" episode, mainly because I was shocked that a show for kids my age had a blind main character. And really, I think that was an excellent gateway point for me because the show is unlike anything out there, cartoon or anime.

Probably the most striking thing about ATLA is how compact the story is. The creators put their all into creating an epic that would stand on its own, with little to no filler due to how most every incident, every conversation, every bit of something relates to the characters and their fantastical world. It's certainly one of the most atmospheric shows out there, with beautiful music and backgrounds setting the Avatar world as dynamic and wondrous, helped with loads of creative world-building. This leads us to another striking point of the show: the art and animation. From the characters' subtle expressions to the fluid choreography of the benders to the quirky yet oddly familiar mannerisms of the show's menagerie of strange critters, the animation alone deserves a gold star.

Still, be warned that the really tight storytelling of ATLA does make it hard for newcomers to squeeze through at any point they like. The series is literally a book trilogy; you have to see it from start to end, and the juiciest parts are left for you to hunt since not everything will be spelled out for you. But that's just nit-picking because I know a number of us don't mind re-watching what's consistently a high-quality production. It's no wonder people of so many different demographics attached to it: it can be silly yet mature and dark but inspiring. It's simple enough for a child to understand, but layered so as to warrant attention from teens and adults. Even if you don't buy the hype the around this show, feel free to check this one out: it's a passionate project and a modern classic that'll probably ring true for generations to come.
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The best fantasy you'll ever see on television - for young and old
There is much to praise about this series and I will do so in a moment, but let me first tell you this. I only discovered this series after it had already finished its run. I was able to watch all episodes in a row, never having to wait for the next one. So I watched the entire series in a single week.

Really, is there anything I can add to that? Well, if you insist: the art is gorgeous. The music is great. The worldbuilding is fantastic. It's really cool to have something different than your average Standard Fantasy Setting. You can really feel the effort that went into creating this Asian-inspired world, the result being much more interesting than "fantasy with added nijas". As for the storyline itself, well, it's not the most original story in the world, but a band of kids who have to save the world never really gets old.

The series true strength lies in its characters. Rather than the often simplstic morality of kids' shows, Avatar The Last Airbender gives us interesting and often morally conflicted characters. We may initially have come for Aang and his pals, but we stayed for Zuko, a character with so much depth that many shows for adults could take him as an example of how to do moral complexity right.

Any flaws? Well, it's still a kids' show, so it's occasionaly limited in what it can do. Despite dealing with war and epic battles, there is surprisngly little bloodshed - or character deaths. But that's only to be expected. This is a surpremely enjoyable slice of fantasy that only gets better as the series goes on. I am eagerly awaiting The Legend Of Korra.
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An fine example of a kids' show done right.
Back when the show first started years ago, I loved it. It was an exciting, action-packed show with a great storyline that always kept you hooked. I somewhat followed the series through the first 2 seasons, but because of Nickelodeon's weird scheduling, I couldn't see most of the third. Thankfully, Netflix has all 3 seasons, so I finally sat down and watched it, beginning to end, during the Summer. And it was just as great as I remembered it.

Granted, a few of the first season's episodes were silly, and some seemed like filler, but it was always animated well, interesting, and even the worst episodes had some funny parts. Watching it all at once helped me see how well linked together the plot was, and while Season 1 had filler episodes, things were always moving along, leading to a conclusion. (And I could go on and on about how amazing this series' conclusion was to me, but this is a review of the series, not the finale) Season 1 had silliness while moving along the plot and always keeping some degree of seriousness. Season 2 had a much more interesting plot with less filler, and Season 3 had a dark, entertaining plot that really showed off the depth of the characters while tying up some of the series' loose ends.

The animation of the show was always good, and it just got better as the show went on. This is especially true for the bending techniques. Not only does the animation of the techniques improve, but the attacks themselves improve, making battles more epic as time went on. The characters were all expressive and fun to watch. The show also never shied away from darker themes than most children's shows, which made it more interesting to watch. This made it appealing, even outside of it's intended demographic.

If you've got Netflix, I'd highly recommend you check out the series. It will be worth your time.
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One of the best animated series I've ever seen
Avatar: The Last Airbender is one of those very, very rare shows that gets everything right. The writing, the animation, the plot, the characters, it's all done so well and the final product is beautiful. It's definately one of the greatest animated shows around, and that's no overstatement.

At a first glance, I took it as a typical anime-knockoff with some generic plot. But as I got around to watching it, I found my initial estimate WAY off. The writing is GREAT. The balance between comedy and drama is absolutely perfect. The characters have levels of complexity that's even rare for shows aimed at older audiences, let alone shows aimed at children. They're all very enjoyable, and when people ask for good examples of characterization, I always point to this show. The characters all have their own conflicts to deal with, while at the same time contributing to the main storyline and furthering it along. (even the female characters are done very well, which is rare to say for a show aimed at boys or a gender-neutral audience) The characters aren't the only things that are complex: the plot is, as well. Like the characters, the plot is surprisingly deep even for the shows aimed at older audiences.

I love the setting the world takes place in. It's based off areas in Asia with cultures based off real-life Asian cultures. (though a few others have been snuck in. Swamp-benders and hippie nomads, anyone?) The world is populated with both original animals and Mix And Match Critters, which I found pretty creative. The setting is enhanced by the wonderful animation. Boy, don't get me started on the animation! It's wonderful in the first season and only gets better from there. It not only enhances the setting, it enhances the bending movements used by the characters. (which, for the record, are based off real martial arts)) The animation, combined with the choreography, make the fight scenes absolutely stunning.

I'd recommend this show to ANYONE. Give it a chance, you won't be sorry.
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Basically, believe the hype
Avatar the Last Airbender had been strongly recommended to me for some time. I had been told by friends that it was just as good, if not better, than the animated classics of the 90s, like the animated series of Batman, Superman or the X-Men. Naturally, a degree of hype aversion set in. I assumed this was typical nerd hyperbole, obsession leading directly into exaggeration.

And then I watched it.

Quite simply, Avatar matches the hype. Yes, it is a children's cartoon and has limitations, but like all great children's programmes, it doesn't treat the audience like they are idiots. The amount of effort and detail that has gone into the artwork and the story is commendable. All of the main characters have depth that you just don't see outside of the very best television programmes. For example, at first glance, Aang may appear to be just yet another generic goofy super-strong chosen one type, but as the series unfolds we see how he labours under the expectations of the Avatar, he has doubts, regrets. He is a far more rounded character than, say, Goku.

The humour is typical kid's show fare, but it works. When Avatar is funny, its very funny. Likewise, when more heartfelt moments come up, they work, because of the aforementioned depth of the characters. When lessons are learned, generally the show sticks to them-the characters are different, better people when the show ends from when it begun. And hey, the fight scenes kick ass. What more could you ask for? Don't let the hype from fans put you off, Avatar the Last Airbender is genuinely up there with the likes of Bt AS or Samurai Jack as the best animated programmes the west has to offer. Check it out.
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One of America's best TV exports
Take all the good parts of anime while dropping some of the more questionable elements, add all that was good about American 90s cartoons, add a dash of French animation, and you've got Avatar.

The plot isn't exactly groundbreaking - young kid is the chosen one with magic powers and has to save the world from the Evil Overlord. What makes is the fantastic spectacle it is, is that it's simply really well done.

The art style looks rather Japanese at first, and many subsequent, glances. However, when you see it in motion, it utterly lacks the Limited Animation common to anime, and the characters instead move in a fluid manner reminiscent of Disney.

All the characters are supremely well-designed and written. Aang really seems like a happy kid faced with the burden of saving the world, Azula is believably vicious, Ozai is an honestly fearsome Evil Overlord, and it's easy to see why Zuko has so many fangirls.

Not only that, but the writers actually remember that there's a war going on. Regularly throughout the show, the characters come across some wreckage or damaged ground left by an army. Fire Nation plots interfere with the journey on numerous occasions, and to the writers' credit, these can't always be solved by four kids with plucky determination.

We also get to see the human cost of the war. Only one character actually dies (off screen), but a big chunk of the second series involves refugees fleeing the fighting, and we see all the hunger and desperation that entails. Still, the writers go on to deliberately avoid Always Chaotic Evil in the third series, when they show how most Fire Nation citizens are decent folks who just want to make a living.

Unfortunately, the third series suffers from some Pacing Problems. In order to get a counterattack by the good guys to occur exactly halfway through, the writers resorted to Wacky Wayside Tribes in order to stretch the plot. To their immense credit, these episodes were still very interesting and well written. After the battle, the sequence of events leading up to the end felt somewhat rushed, though it was still decent.

And then the Grand Finale itself blew everyone away with its epic awesomeness.

In closing, this is easily one of the best American cartoons ever made. Watch it and you won't be disappointed.
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