Customer Reviews

Avatar - The Last Airbender: The Complete Book 3 Collection

5 star:		(174)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

As a mom of two who is nearing 40, I was begrudgingly introduced to the Avatar series when my son talked me into getting the first disk of Book 1: Earth through Blockbuster. I sat down with the kids when they put the disk. I had NO intention of paying attention to the show. I am VERY happy to say that by the end of that first disk I couldn't wait to get the next. This show is truly great. The story lines are wonderful, the music is powerful and you truly grow to care about these kids who are working to save the world. We just finished the final disk of the final book tonight and it was FABULOUS. We are looking forward to getting the full set in September to complete our set collection. I can't recommend this series enough.

I must say when this show first came out I never wanted to watch it because I figured it was just like all this pokemon and dragonball z nonsense out on tv. This show is very different, the first episode I watched was an episode in the first book I believe where it shows Momo's story and Zuko's story where he goes out on a date with a girl, and I just thought what is this show really all about? Luckily nickelodeon was showing Avatar from the beginning that week for the beginning of the second season. I never missed an episode after that.

After all the waiting for the third season to finish I really was expecting a fourth one, because we have the books of: Earth,Water, and Fire. The creators could have made another book about Aang's life, but maybe it was better the way they ended this. I hope I didn't spoil anything by saying that.

I hope Avatar isn't ruined by M. Night Shyamalan, since he is planning on making an Avatar movie with real actors. Either way I will be buying this when it comes out, and I recommend it to anyone with or without children. For the kids it teaches them patience, understanding, choosing between right and wrong, and it's also very funny. I'd be willing to bet that almost anyone would fall in love with this show after watching the first episode.

Season 3 of Avatar could not have been any better! All loose ends were tied up neatly, and things between characters happened as I thought.

The plot stays the same course (not really any actual "surprises" per se), but the characters end up surprising us all.

What a brilliant piece of work, and truly amazing that it came from Nickelodeon!

[I can't say any more than this, otherwise it would have to contain "spoilers", and that's just no fun for anyone involved!]

Needless to say if you haven't seen any of this series, you NEED to start with season 1, episode 1 and work your way through each and every episode. It is WELL worth your time to do so!

As a fan of anime since the 1980's, and that being said, I'm also an almost 40-year old mom of three boys age 3 to 12, and a licensed acupuncturist and Medical Qigong practitioner in my home state of California, so I was completely blown away by the Avatar series. Not only is it better than my previous favorites, namely Robotech, and the wonderful Miyazaki classics like Spirited Away and Howl's Moving Castle, etc., but it is just amazing to me the kind of culture and spiritual essence of truth that it is spreading to the masses, and to our children especially.

I have had to watch the whole series over and over again and each time I have gotten more out of it. The animation and artistry is spectacular, the music dramatic and inspiring, and the depth of the story ranges from themes of suspense, comedy, trajedy, respect, heart-break, and love. The main characters develop and grow up through their journey, and in this thrid series, we find them having to face all their fears and transformations, in order to save the world.

There was a whole lot of authenticity to Chinese and eastern cultures that really impressed me. Also, the spirituality from Daoism, Zen, Buddhism, and Hinduism is apparent in the wisdom shared by Aang, Uncle Iroh, and the Lion-Turtle. The concepts of qi (chi) blockage and energy medicine are portrayed here in ways I've never seen before--the writers really know their stuff, not only in the martial-arts way.

It blew my mind seeing what the Lion-Turtle did to Aang, lighting up his heart chakra and third-eye chakra, giving Aang a new "power" he had not had in any of his previous Avatar lives. The reason I was so blown away was that I had been shown this spiritual technique, just like that one the Lion-Turtle did to Aang, when I was learning to channel back in 1994--but it was Spirit that showed me, not a person (or strange animal, for that matter!) To see this thing happening on an animated TV show--I could hardly believe my eyes! Then Aang used the same pose in his final defeat of the Fire Lord, and when he straightened his own head and spine (aligning the Qi in Qigong pose) the energy flowed the righteous way. I just could almost not even believe they could show something like this for real, but with animation is comes out so clear...where did they get this information? I wonder how they knew how much of this is real in Medical Qigong? Kudos to all of them.

This, in my opinion, is the best season of the show. There is more action, more humor, even better animation than before (if that's possible), and...well, the war between the Aang/Katara and Zuko/Katara fans was never more evident than during this season. Mike and Bryan (the creators) do love to tease us.

Another thing is that Zuko and Suki join the Gaang, adding another dimension to the show. Having Zuko, who began as an antagonist and ended up as an anti-hero by the start of Book 3, make such a bold statement against his father is one of the highlights of the whole show. It's realistically done, with Katara unwilling to trust him at first and friction within the group as a result. (Suki, meanwhile, slips in without a problem just before the finale, because everyone loves Suki.)

Some fans might say that to close out the finale (which is the best finale I've ever seen for any television show, period) with a romantic moment between Aang and Katara was too cliche and went against the tone of the show, but I don't think so. After all, the show began with him waking up in her arms - it's only right and proper that it end with them, the two most important characters, finally coming to terms with the fact that their relationship has changed into to something more.

In closing, I will say this: You might think that this is "a kids' show" just because it's broadcast on Nickelodeon and is animated. You couldn't do yourself a bigger favor than to cast off those assumptions and treat yourself to this incredible show, which is more intelligent and well-done than most of the adult shows nowadays.

My six year old daughter got me started on this story. I am very happy she did as it has been an enjoyable time for both of us to share. The humor, sarcasm, emotion, coming of age, depth, and the complex characters and storyline define it as one of the best animated series I've seen to date. I do not bestow this compliment lightly, as a fortysomething year old mom who loves animation with a brilliant storyline...this says something. Needless to say, I am planning to collect the series.

Not many shows (let alone cartoons) have the quality that avatar has brought. I'm never let down when a new episode. Some are not as epic as others but altogether it is a show that never disappoints. Values are instilled, humor is involved, and an adventure is brought that would give any child a more active imagination. I leave the show each episode somehow more relaxed and at peace. This show is a DEFINATE. Just give it a shot first through the first 4 episodes (the time for one movie) and just see if you aren't curious to see "just one more episode".

Lcpl Koda, Gary V.

One of the best, most well-developed stories I've ever seen. Too bad most regular shows don't put this much thought, creativity and effort into their work. It really seems like the creators of this show created the whole world first and then developed a story that was consistent with it, rather than a story first and then coming up with the surroundings as they went along. I also really liked that they had a definite story with a clear end that they worked towards so that the series didn't descend into having a lot of unnecessary padding just to keep it running longer (like many other popular series, such as Lost and X-Files). In addition to the excellent story, the music is beautiful as well, particularly in this final season. The end of the series wrapped up the storyline very well, but also left open some very interesting possibilities, should they continue at some point. I sincerely hope they do. I would happily follow another story from this series.

As the other reviewers, I really loved Avatar. I'm sorry to see it end. I'm an older adult, and feel that this show is very much for adults and children both. I especially liked the very last scene between Aang and Katara, and the last series of battle scenes were incredible in their complexity, "beauty", and form. I wish that this show could continue in some incarnation, but I suppose that this will not be. I guess that I always was hoping against hope that more airbenders would be found, or that we'd find out what happened to Zuko's mother. Too bad that they could not go off on another adventure, with Aang as a full avatar. I'm glad that I will be able to buy this complete set for the third year, and look forward to all the extras. I found the plots to be engaging, intelligent, wonderfully animated, and well acted with good voice talent. I feel that this show really cared about quality, that they really tried, and they succeeded, and that we all benefited. What a delight.

This is by far the best TV show I have ever watched, whether it be cartoon or real people. This show's finale is incredible and is the best ending to any show I have ever had the pleasure of watching, most endings leave you hating a series-or at least that is the way I feel. I have been disappointed by many TV show endings in my time, and my husband and I have enjoyed this show from the beginning and it only got better with each episode-def. worth buying.

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