Avatar: The Last Airbender

"Water. Earth. Fire. Air. Long ago, the four nations lived together in harmony. Then everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked" begins the opening credits to one of the best children's animated shows I have ever seen. It is the story of Aang, a 12 year old airbender who is found frozen in an ice berg, Katara, a water bender from the Southern Water tribe, and Sokka, Katara's hardheaded, but bighearted, brother. As the show continues, you quickly find out that Aang was trapped in the ice berg for 100 years and he is tapped to be the next Avatar, the person who is a bridge between the physical and spirit world and capable of all four types of bending. But to become the Avatar, he has to learn the other three forms of bending. As the first season occurs, the three travel to the North Pole to be taught by the benders Northern Water tribe. But Aang and company is being hunted by Zuko, the exiled son of the Fire Lord. As the story and seasons progress, Aang travels to the North Pole, to Bah Sing Seh, the capital of the Earth Kingdom, and into the heart of the Fire Nation, finding friends and allies in some of the most unexpected places.

The show spanned three seasons, each one focusing on a different bending style. And that is one thing that I especially respect about this show: the directors set out to tell a story and they told it. After the story was told, the show was over, which is something that you rarely see (and something that several shows could stand to learn). While this is a kids' show and can be a little bit slow starting, it has some of the best character development I have ever seen in a TV show, kids' show or otherwise. It's almost impossible not to feel triumph when Aang understands earthbending, or holds his own in a battle with a firebender. The characters are written like real people, not flat like characters often are in kids' shows, each with their own personality and witty one-liners.

There are several episodes that seem like filler material when you first watch them, but looking back, you see that it is fleshing out the characters more. One such episode is an episode towards the end of the second season when one of the main voice actors passed away during production and it caused the directors to do an episode which was a collection of short stories, each focusing on a day in the life of a different character. Some are funny and whimsical. One character helps create a zoo. Another pair spend a day at the spa, becoming closer friends. Others are heart wrenching, such as the one who visits the grave of his son, who was killed in the war.

If this is a show that sounds interesting, all three seasons are available on Netflix Instant Watch as well as Amazon Instant Video. I seriously recommend that everyone give it a shot and watch at least the first several episodes. Let me just warn you that the first few episodes are a bit slow. Now excuse me while I go find my season one set of Avatar: The Last Airbender so I can watch it again.