There was once a time when animation movies and series were made with such profound skill. Their stories were written to be both intelligent and simple at the same time. They aged well and even gets better with time. Avatar The Last Air Bender existed in such a time. The animated series still stands to be my favourite till this day and nothing have topped it. It iss a show that was loved by both children and adults alike. Yes, grown adults loved the show, despite it was for children. That is to show you that there was a reasonable amount of maturity in the writing and its production. It was a good series. We can all remember how fantastic it was to watch. It now seems that it is not good as we thought it was as youngsters, rather it is actually way better than we imagined it to be.

The entire concept was the show is not only fantastic, but original. The first of its kind. The world in which our characters lived in was built on the foundation of ingenuity. No one has ever done anything like it prior to the show. The world building was excellent. No matter how complex the universe of Avatar may be, it was written so that it may be understandable to the children who were watching it. After all they were the primary audience. The mistake of writing down to the primary audience was avoided. Some things were left a little mystified for our young minds, which was gradually revealed to us as we grew. That is great writing. As for the adults who were also seeing the show with us, they would appreciate the complex world built with a simple narrative.

The characters are just the heart of the series. All the main and recurring characters were all meticulously written with a rich backstories and dual characteristics. They all had good and bad sides to them. The best part of our characters is there backstories. The series of events that happened which inspires or influences their actions and line of thoughts.

For example, Zuko who is almost always angry. After being abandoned by the mother, raised by an abusive father, scarred and exiled. How can anyone expect less. Let us not forget that he is constantly chasing validation from a father who does not love him. The failure to attain his favour has left Zuko empty and always feeling less of himself. In his mind he is never good enough. His sister Azulla is a textbook definition of a sociopath. She is smart, ruthless, cold, skilled and a little bit crazy. She loves the feeling of power, with her little minions always following her. It gives her a sense of worth. She always wants her way, with little or no regard to the feelings of those around her. She loves being the centre of attention. All that vanity comes from a place of loneliness. She feels alone and unloved. So she surrounds herself with all the things that don’t matter, when all she needed was the attention of her mother. Another fact about her. She thinks her mother did not give her enough attention in favour of her brother. Hence the animosity she has towards Zuko. Iroh on the other hand seems to be a good and easy going old man. He is a wise man, but the wisdom came at a great cost, the life of his son. Iroh used to be a ruthless army general. This tragic event made him to reevaluate his life choices and see the error in his actions.

Katara and Sokka have lost so much. They have had responsibilities placed on them so young. They had to grow up fast. Hence Katara’s choice to perfect her skill in water bending, and Sokka, despite his goofiness is a natural born leader. Aang our protagonist may not have much stories behind his character, as he disappeared when he was just 10 years old. However, it is noteworthy we state that his innocence and initial naivety comes from a time long forgotten, where peace and love reigned. A time he was born in. We can also feel the weight of the world on his young shoulders. Such reality is so shocking to a little child. Hence that is why he is often so distracted in the beginning of the series, as a way to deal with his burden.

Aang’s story basically starts when he is broken out of he ice. He is confronted with a world he does not understand. Slowly his naivety is ripped off of him by each encounter with adversaries. Yet, he struggles to maintain his innocence. That is the only thing he has left from the old world he knows. Step by step, he learns all he needs to face his ultimate foe, along the way he learns a lot of lessons too. He is able to achieve his full potential, but that took hardwork, persistence, endurance and patience. Virtues that to be be emulated in our lives. He earned his place in the world and his title as The Avatar. All these serves as the build up he needs to face Fire Lord Ozai.

The series has very interesting villians. Carefully written in such a way they will look terrifying but within the context of a children’s animated show. The did not in anyway come off as generic or formulaic. They were very competent in their work and true adversaries for our hero Aang. They also have a good stories to back up their characters.

The show managed to touch political themes like genocide, imperialism, ultranationalism, patriotism, fascism etc. The messages were perfectly relayed in such a delicate manner. Competent writing I guess.

I can never get myself to stop watching Avatar The Last Air Bender. Each I watch it, I see something new.

Des