Avatar: The Last Airbender is one of Nickelodeon's most watched shows. However, does it live up to the hype?
STORY: The story revolves around Aang and his band of friends as they try to defeat the Fire Nation. Overall, the story is great and the characters are memorable. 1 Star.
ART: The Avatar team does an excellent job with the art. The show manages to mix Western-style animation with Japanese anime to create something new. 1 Star.
PERFORMANCE: A good team effort here. The voice actors never sound like their reading lines. The animators' use of body language and facial expressions is flawless. 1 Star.
SOUND/MUSIC: The sound quality is good and the music fits well. Whether it's a high-octane fight scene or a sad moment, the musicians know what to do. 1 Star.
OVERALL: Avatar is one of the best animated series to come out in a long time. If you haven't taken a look at it yet, I'd recommend you do.
...Yeah. I have nothing to say. Everything that needs to be said has been said.
I agree that this is a nifty show. I'm not all wired into the show but I do watch if I happen across it while flipping through the channels. Surprisingly it's pretty cool.
Enjoy!
This is by far the most original American-anime since Teen Titans! I love the characters and the storylines; it's hard to believe that a show like that mirrors Star Trek or other large show-fanbases is on Nickelodeon! The style of it reminds me of Hayao Miyazaki meets Cowboy Bebop.
Of all the characters that made me laugh, Sokka was the funniest and most down-to-earth. The characters are really well-developed, and the voice-acting: top-notch! Next to SpongeBob, it's the best cartoon on Nickelodeon, and I can't wait to see what the series has in store next.
Believe the hype. This is a great show with well choreographed action, and a compelling story arc unusual for animated TV series. There is a blend of comedy and action, and a dash of Miyazaki influence.
I was reluctant to watch the show at first. I couldn't see how it could live up to what everyone was saying, but I gave it a chance and loved it. True, its aimed at younger audiences, and though light on graphic elements, it is NOT dumbed down.
I am waiting to watch season 2 on DVD, but season 1 was one of the best, most consistent seasons of TV I have ever watched.
At last, a good nickelodeon show! Something we have not seen the likes of since “Rocko's modern life”. Nickelodeon has lately been filled with brainless cartoon shows chalk-full of pop-culture references *cough, Danny Phantom, cough*. Avatar is a real breath off fresh-air.
I sure you all know what Avatar is about, so I am not going to explain, just review.
This show actually has three-dimensional characters, and an intriguing plot. Each character has many fears, desires, and faults. Aang, the main character, at first glance is a saintly little pansy, that later develops into something more. Something we can identify with.
Avatar's animation is gorgeous, and the anime-esque quality only enhances it.
What stood out to me most though, is the show does not skirt around the unpleasantries of warfare. When wars happen, there are refugees, and deaths. Avatar is not afraid to show this.
There is only one problem I have with Avatar. Because Avatar is a children's show many things are restricted. Simply, if Avatar were aloud to become a darker, more serious series, it would become a great show. But until then it is only a good one.
When this arrived on TV in Tasmania the massive hype from all the 4 star reviews here had probably built up an impossible expectation. I'd like to think that didn't influence my comparatively modest rating, but it's hard to be sure.
I should also add that although I saw about 5 episodes, they weren't all in order, so my grasp of the storyline wasn't all that it probably should have been. As a result I tend to have a view of the show which is probably more influenced by general aspects rather than emotional involvement. OTOH I suppose, if I'd been totally gobsmacked by it, I would have gone out of my way to watch it whenever I could, like say 'Big Knights'.
The first thing that struck me is that, assuming this show is an indigenous product of Nick, they went out of their way to appear to be anime, right down to the oriental style writing in the credits (I don't know whether it's a real language or not).
It reminded me quite a lot of the French 'Skyland' in its general look (apart from the absence of awful CGI characters).
I'm sure you all know what Avatar is about, probably better than I do, and it's probably been explained a dozen times already, so excuse me if I skip that.
There's no denying this is an above average show, with a plot far more involving than most western TV animation (how much Western TV animation is in serial format, for a start?)
In certain ways it reminded me of something like 'Spartakus and the Sum Beneath Sea', or 'Mysterious Cities of Gold', 20 years on. The main difference is that back in the early 80's those shows were bolts out of the blue, head and shoulders above the slew of giant robot/My Little Pony toy commercials. Since the late 80's there has been so much quality stuff that a film or series really has to work its butt off to be a sensation. For me, Avatar is darn good, but not a revelation.
I found many of the characters and voice charecterisations pretty average and uninteresting. Some others were admittedly very good, and the plot was intriguing.
The animation is very nice but not as mind-warping as I'd expected, especially from a western production company who presumably does everything on ones.
It was a toss-up between 3 and 3.5. The series has finished now. It'll be sure to come back, and I'll give it a second look, and maybe that time it'll grow on me, because it wouldn't take much to nudge it over the edge. I don't think it's ever going to make 4 for me personally, though.
A quality show, recommended, and very different for American fare (though clearly not for Japanese).
Why the hell am I apologising all the time. It just didn't turn my crank as much as I was hoping it would.
Pushing 3.5, but not quite. I'm torn between wanting to see the whole thing, in order, to make a definitive rating, and OTOH not being interested enough to really want to.
After reading so many positive reviews here about this show and then talking to a friend who's obsessing over Avatar now I finally broke down and watched it. So far I've seen one episode but I enjoyed it quite a bit.
The characters that were introduced are all interesting, the story so far is interesting, and the animation is good. I'll definitely be watching more of this show, and will probably add on to this review as I see more episodes.
I know that anything I can say about this series has already been said before on previous posts. So I can only advice to those who haven't seen "Avatar: The Last Airbender" yet to go see it from the beginning. It is highly unlikely that you'll get disappointed.
I was a little hesitant to see this series. It looked cool, but because it was being done by Nick, I was woried it would be too kiddy. Have I never been so glad to be wrong. A suprise on all accounts, this show is very mature for a Nick show, and its excecution for a TV show is outstanding. Well done Nick!
