Thursday, May 1, 2014

Avatar: The Last Airbender

Genre: Adventure
Age Appropriate: Any age, really
Emotional Response: Excited in a kid way
Notable Features: adventure, action, friendship, elemental magic
Language: English
Length: 3 seasons, 61 episodes
Overall Recommendation: Great!

"Shush chatty monkey." - Sokka

Aang is a young boy trapped in a block of ice. Katara and Sokka find him while floating around in the water. Finding him and setting him free sets off a complete 3 season series of action and adventure. The three teens live in a world where people have elemental magic, separated into kingdoms of people will like abilities. Katara and Sokka are from a water tribe, and Katara has inherited the ability to manipulate water. With the arrival of Aang in their lives, Katara uses his need to find more about himself as the escape she needs from her set destiny. There is no way that Sokka would let her leave without him and so the trio goes off on a mission to learn more about Aang.

There is trouble, however. Aang is an Avatar - one of the chosen few who are reincarnated over and over with powerful abilities that stretch over all elemental boundaries. His job is to bring balance back to the land and there is a huge obstacle in his way. The Fire Kingdom is ruled by a tyrant who wants Aang out of his way, or within his power. So, now the three are looking for more clues into Aang destiny while working hard to avoid capture by the Fire Kingdom. Their journey takes them through the Air, Water and Earth kingdoms, meeting new people and obstacles along the way. The plot becomes a coming-of-age story coupled with saving the world.

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I love it! I'm not always a fan of younger age range animated series. This one was a lot of fun. I'd seen a few episodes of the original when it was on Nickelodeon but it wasn't until it showed up on Netflix that I sat down and watched the whole thing through. Seriously, I watched the whole thing through, in great big gulps (bites?). The characters are really compelling, and the little mini-romances are adorable. It's also really kid friendly. I mean, come on, it was aired on Nickelodeon.

Aang and the gang include a flying lemur and an air buffalo! I want both, kinda. The buffalo might be hard to care for, though. Aang does a bunch of air tricks too that I wish I could manage. I would also like to be able to use those tricks to fly. It completely brought out the kid in me. I highly recommend it - especially if you want something to watch with the younger crown. Don't let it stop you if you don't!

There was only one negative about the franchise. The movie. It was so awful I wanted to cry and rage at how the ruined the story. Don't see it. After you finish this sentence, just pretend it doesn't exist.

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Let's try some more!: Samurai Harem

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