Customer Reviews

Avatar The Last Airbender - Book 1 Water, Vol. 2

5 star:		(25)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Yup, the series is about tribal benders who can work with a particular element, earth, air, water or fire. The Avatar, a child, must master all 4. Talking about elements, this series has elements for great TV ---fun, excitement, great characters, plot, and wow, even Values! So this review is mainly for parents. I'm a mom and came to love this program too AFTER my kids urged me to watch every new episode along with them.
My sons, ages 7 and 11, started watching Avatar from the beginning and loved it so much they made sure they watched not only every new episode but also reruns. Of all the cartoons they watch, this one is very good in not only visuals (ala japanese anime), exotic locales, fun and excitement... but also in intriguing story telling and realistic character development. Every episode is like a chapter in an epic, developing the plot and revealing more and more about each of the main characters Katara, Sokka and the Avatar Aang(ages 12-15) and also of the secondary characters(more kids and also adults). Their sidekicks are their helpful, sometimes silly, and endearing pets Apa and Momo.

The Avatar episodes bring the young heroes into situations where they have to make choices and as viewers we journey with them as the make both good and bad choices, and watch as they learn and mature as they go along.

The Avatar series reveals the universality of human spirit as the young heroes face challenges and conflict. Despite and maybe because of the exotic people and settings, the writers never resort to TV stereotyping about gender, color, age, weight, education or lack of, etc., that you find woven in for punch lines and demeaning in other TV programming.
This is the only or one of the few new popular kids programs that doesn't insult yours or your kids intelligence, and actually has family values. I highly recommend this cartoon to parents looking for something that the whole family can watch and have fun together.

This is such a fine film. It is rare that such a thoughtful "cartoon" can display such marvelous characteristics as respect, discipline, morality and responsibility. The characters represent such wonderful archtypes and realism in their humanity. The ancient ways of the four elements from the Orient and medevil Europe, to name a few, are well thought out and actualized. This is the first cartoon in a long time that I encourage my children to watch.

Avatar: The Last Airbender is indeed the best show to air on Nick since the 1980's, but this show is 100% American. From the co-creators, producers, and often writers Bryan Konietzko (Invader Zim storyboardist to Art Director) and Michael Dante DiMartino (direction of various episodes of Family Guy, King of the Hill, and one of Mission Hill (an adult swim show) to the American directors, writers, musicians, and storyboardists. It is true the show is animated in Korea but so is every other animation project these days, Korea is where the costs are lowest and hence everyone sends their work there - including most of the Japanese anime you've seen in the past 10 years.

That being said, I've enjoyed this surprise cross-over hit very much (only Sponge Bob has managed to attract such an audience and Avatar is winning over more and more older fans, using fan based community memebership as the source of this opinion). Avatar's cast make you want to follow their stories, to learn the how's and why's of their characters. Most episodes we learn new things about the characters as the plot progresses and you want to discover these things. The voice acting is above par, even major talent Jason Isaacs (Lucius Malfoy of Harry Potter fame) joins the cast for the villain Zhao.

The fight scenes are a lot of fun to watch and the behind the scenes clips (included in the volume one DVD) show how the bending elements are based on certain martial arts, the attention to these martial arts (even if I'm a little iffy on the martial arts expert, Kisu) only adds to my enjoyment.

In conclusion, just because a show is good, doesn't make it Japanese anime. I also highly recommend Avatar to fans of animation.

My husband and I are huge anime, animation and martial arts fans. His sister, (older sister, mind you), told us about this show on Nick and how awesome it was. How different it was with it's in-depth storyline, the great voice acting, the characters you could relate to as well as the fantastic animation. And the close harmony with martial arts sealed the deal. We were hooked with the first episode we watched, halfway thru Season 1, and quickly set up the DVR to find as many others as possible. It's killing us, this waiting for new episodes! ;P

This is a great show that adults can get into (if they're into animation and the like). One of their best cross-overs since Invader Zim (though I had my doubts, at times, that kids should be watching that one).

I've picked up the first DVD and the second one arrived, just this very second (yay!). You can be sure that we'll get the whole series and save it for our kids to watch. (Aw mom! Not that OLD cartoon again!)

I have seen all of the episodes, I have them taped, yet I still want the dvd! I can't get enough of the show! My favorite character is Prince Zuko. Yes, I know, you probably hate him, but who cares! I really recommend it!

I have come to the conclusion that this is the best show on TV, all of TV. Other cartoons aimed at the age group Avatar is aimed at are either radiating with angst or strung out concepts that were tried (and failed) in the 80s. Even sitcoms and dramas pale in comparison to this series as far as character development, humor, and the sympathy and empathy the characters evoke.

There are two main groups of characters, the trio, Aang, Katara, and Sokka. This group is the main focus of the story, so far, they play off each other well acting as minor foils to each other. The already existant relationship between Katara and Sokka as twin brother and sister works well with the conflicts in the story as they tend to pick different sides, but in the end come to a compromise. Aang is goofy, but he grows very quickly and shows a maturity that is representative of the times of war.

The second group is that of Zuko, Iroh, and their cohorts. Zuko is a very serious character that seems pretty one dimensional (must catch the Avatar etc...) throughout most of the first season, and Iroh is an old man, wiser than he is skilled in fighting (and he's quite good), and enjoys tea. These two characters play off each other very well, Iroh acts as a father figure to Zuko, as Zuko deals with his own personal conflict. Throughout the series we get to see Zuko's development which is incredibly solid, he has to fight with his own rejection and hatred of his father while dealing with the fact that he is an enemy of everyone who he encounters. I believe that Zuko, as a character, has the most room to grow and flourish in the series.

The world is also amazing. Combining elements from many eastern cultures resulting in a very deep world, with a rich history, culture and mysticism. They made new creatures by combining creatures from this world and some of these creatures can bend and are in fact the ones who taught bending to the tribes. The world map is really pretty too and unlike most series, you actually know where the characters are, and the destinations are visually stunning.

On top of a top notch story, the animation is crisp, well done, consistent, and smooth. The fighting is brilliant, the styles, Northern Shaolin for fire, Hung Gar for earth, Tai Chi for water, and Ga Bua for air, all fill in, well, brilliantly for their representative elements. The fighting seems very well thought out, combining elements of hand to hand with ranged elemental attacks, making this easily the series with the best fight scenes. The voice acting is really good, solid choices for all the characters, they fill in the characters really well.

So all in all, this series is as close to perfectly made as they come.

I personally love this series. I find it exhillerating and adventure filled, and I always jump at any chance to watch it. Unlike most kids shows, Avatar: The last Airbender has a moderate amount of solomness in it, making it better to watch for 10+. I love the animation, the directors, the thrill, I love everything about it.

No one hates avatar at my school and even my mom and dad are hooked even my dog watches it this has humer and fighting and its better than any kind of fighting shows dragon ball z only has action thats not realistic and this is so much better than the stupid naruto show this DVD would be better if it had more episonds but 4 long episonds are good and anyway its better than 1 if you like avatar on the show its better without the commersials so buy it now dont make the avatar angry

I love this show! It is very exiting and the characters each have their own different personality! Everything in the show is well thought out. Some parts fill you will extreme happiness and other parts leave you with extreme sadness. I highly recomend this show for anyone ages 10 and up(like everyone) if they love adventure, humor, and anything else. I love Avatar: The Last Airbender!

P.S. If you like Avatar, you'll love the great movie "Gwano"!

This show, while it is considered anime, is not your average japanimation. This is an intelligently written show and is highly entertaining, and the visuals are stuck on "superb". I'll pick this over "Dragonball: The Redundance Saga" any day.