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silverthunder) wrote2009-11-17 10:48 am
silverthunder) wrote2009-11-17 10:48 am
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Avatar Season One
Last night, Cody and I watched the last four episodes of Avatar: The Last Airbender season one.
My last post pretty well made it clear where I stand on this series: I definitely like it. There's a level of detail and careful planning involved here that you don't normally see in North American cartoons that are primarily aimed at 8-12 year olds. The world in the series is crafted very well, the characters are fleshed nicely and don't seem one-dimensional or cliche, and the action and humor are both done cleverly enough to satisfy adult fans as well as children. Best of all, the story is engaging and it flows well - each episode seeming to serve a purpose in the overall development of the plot and characters.
I'm going to start by talking about this world's system of magical powers, or bending. Despite the fact that it has been used before, I'm very fond of the idea of using the four 'primal' elements as a basis for a magical system. In this case, the division of the four kingoms seems based on the division of the world's magical powers, and each nation has its own set of magical abilities. It raises a few questions - at least for me.
It seems that the series is quite rigid about where its powers are distributed: waterbenders are only present in the Water tribe, firebenders are only present in the Fire Nation, earthbenders are only present in the Earth Kingdom, and airbenders belong to the Air Nomads. The creators went to some lengths to make sure that the four nations have a different look and culture - the Avatar wikis I linked are good sources of information as long as you don't browse too deeply if you're trying to avoid spoilers - so it seems that these rules hold. It may suggest that there are not many inter-racial marriages - either that, or it is environment which influences what bending ability a child may develop.
The former doesn't seem to fit quite right because it doesn't seem that there is any mistrust of different races (except for the Fire Nation but given that they're oppressing other nations, this is kind of natural). Take the reaction of Sokka to the little girl who develops a crush on Aang. They're different races, but Sokka seems to think it's a fantastic idea that they get together (of course he might think differently if he knew Aang was actually talking about courting his sister, but that's a different story altogether).
The latter suggests that if Aang were to father more airbenders, he'd have to raise them in one of the two abandoned Air Temples. I don't know if this seems right to me either. Maybe there's no real answer to the question of why each type of bender is only found in the corresponding nation. Perhaps it's just because that's where the trainers are and they migrate there?
It'd be interesting to explore this idea in fanfiction.
EDIT: After writing this up, I went to look it up a bit more. From what I saw in the Avatar wiki, it seems the various bending abilities are developed based on what the various nations observed in nature and would correspond most closely with their geographical locations and affinity with any given element. What I've read seems to suggest that a person is born a 'bender' and learns to manipulate whichever element is most culturally accessible. Why it is only the Avatar who can manipulate elements other than what they grew up with is kind of a mystery to me in this case. Once you learn one you can never learn another? I still don't fully understand this system and its limitations, but maybe it will become more clear later on.
In any case, the use of these bending abilities is explored in the storyline, although I'd love more detailed descriptions of how it works and what the limits are. Katara's use of the water she carries in her bottle suggests that benders need a source of the element in question, but Zuko's use of his flames in the fight inside the Northern Water Tribe's fortress suggests that one can produce the element in question at will. Perhaps this is the case, and Katara's use of the water source was due to her own inexperience at the time. In this scenario, as a bender practices and becomes more adept with their element, they would be less reliant on a source. If no evidence is produced to the contrary, I'll probably assume this theory is the correct one.
EDIT: I talked with Cody about this after writing up this post, and he said that he's pretty sure that the firebending technique is unique in how they produce the fire from within (using the heat from their bodies, maybe?). All the other techniques seem to require a source of the element in question, although there's no way to really test that with airbending. It does seem like the air needs to be in motion already to manipulate it; Aang creates this effect this by waving his hands or by blowing air from his lungs in some cases.
I was also quite interested in the healing aspect of the waterbending technique. I'm assuming the other elements have similar branches? Hopefully we'll see a few in action.
I'm going to move on to the plot of Avatar. This story feels unique. It's not like any particular element is unique, though. I certainly wouldn't say that one person being the last survivor of his/her tribe hasn't been done, and separating the world and its powers into the four basic elements isn't exactly new either. One nation waging war against the others in the hopes of uniting the world with one purpose and order has definitely been done before. Certainly I've heard of the idea of one person being responsible for maintaining balance in the world, and it's not usual to have one person be able to manipulate all four elements. The part that feels unique is how the creators have taken these notions and woven them together into a story. The plot feels like a journey of discovery for each character at the same time as it is a quest to win a war and save the world. The fact that the characters are young also makes it a coming of age story, which is a type that I am pretty fond of.
Thus far, too, the writer have done justice to the overall storyline and to the characters. There are times when it feels epic, and times when it feels familiar and simple. It's a hard balance to manage, but it's done very well here. I won't say the writing is perfect (there are a few places where I raise my eyebrows) but it's very good.
And then there are the characters (my favorite aspect of any story).
I touched on this a bit in my last post, but I'll go into further detail here. Character development is handled well. Each person has an easily distinguishable look and personality. They aren't one-dimensional and they aren't all heading in the same direction. The way they react to various situations is believable and fits the way each character has been developed.
I'm fairly sure that Sokka is my favorite character. He seems stuck in the role of 'comic relief sidekick', but his personality is more cynical than is usual for that role. It's clear that he often feels useless due to his lack of bending ability, and often goes out of his way to try to prove himself. At the same time, he's usually the one who suggests that something will be too risky or who advises caution. This is typically reserved for the female 'responsible' type. It's interesting to see someone who will be reckless to the point of idiocy in some situations but cautious and sensible in others and it fits well for a teenager with a sense of inadequacy.
Katara is the 'responsible female' of the group, but she typically fails at this as she likes to go along with a lot of Aang's 'fun' ideas and will do irresponsible things when she feels like she can justify it to herself (like stealing a waterbending scroll for "Aang's sake"). She doesn't hesitate to comfort others, but I wouldn't call her the 'mother' of the group simply because she seems too interested in being a child still. I was glad to see her decisively reject the 'healer' role that the waterbending master tried to force on her in favor of mastering the more aggressive techniques and becoming a fighter.
Aang is an interesting study in contrasts. He's such a kid: short attention span, lack of discipline, cheerful demeaner, and easily bored by anything not fun or exciting. On the other hand, he's a source of wisdom and surprisingly good judgement when necessary. He's more of a 'think fast' type than a careful planner and relies on his instincts more than anything. Beneath the surface, it's obvious he's got a lot of uncertainty and a certain amount of guilt for what's happened since he ran away. Because he's a child, I think the idea of saving the world as a whole is a bit too large of a concept for him to really latch onto. It seems more like he wants to save it for the sake of Sokka and Katara, which is much more believable for someone his age.
And Zuko... angst bitch of Avatar. Seriously. There's one in every series. I'll bet he's a fangirl favorite. It's not difficult to relate to him, though. He's had a bit of a shitty past. His tendancy to throw temper tantrums is kind of unusual for the angsty solitary type - I'd expect more composure and broodiness. It suits his age, though. Zuko is a boy of action and impatience. He doesn't like to wait around and contemplate what's happened or what's coming. While it seems that he is capable of planning ahead, he's more often impetuous and headstrong. Man, this guy has a lot of anger, though. Therapy can be a good thing!
EDIT: One more thing about Zuko and Aang. There were a couple of episodes building up a parallel theme between these two characters. It seems that while Aang is the hero of this story (despite his flaws and the way he ran away from being the hero before the story began), Zuko is going to be its antihero. Neither of them display the characteristics of the tradional hero, and it's been made clear that the primary motivation for each of them is purely selfish. However, Aang's actions seem to involve more traditional roles of helping the weak and the sacrifice of self, thus identifying him as the hero. Zuko's actions, while not exactly evil, generally involve forcing his will on others and ignoring even his nation's best interests in pursuit of his goal - thus identifying him as an antihero. Both of them are presented as sympathetic characters regardless.
Despite the fact that he hasn't been given the same development as the others, I'm growing pretty fond of Iroh. I think he's more crafty than senile at this point, but I haven't totally discarded the possibility yet. He doesn't quite fit the 'wise old advisor' role, but he's definitely a sneaky bugger, that's for sure. I wonder if we'll see more of his past. There's been a couple of mentions of a battle he'd lost pretty spectacularly...
I'm told that more major characters are introduced in the next season. I hope they'll be as interesting and fun as the ones from the first season.
So, shipping. I guess it had to come up. It may be too early in the series for it, but whatever.
I kind of liked Sokka's brief romance with Yue. She was a sweet girl and I really felt for her in that situation. Kind of cliche that her fiance was an asshole, but whatever. I didn't expect what happened at all, and it really did strike a chord. It was a beautiful scene there at the end.
However! I'm holding to my original opinion that Sokka needs someone kickass. I'd like to see him end up with a strong and passionate girl who can hold her own. He needs someone who can protect and be protected. Plus, it'd be nice to see him with someone optimistic to even out his pesimism. Sokka x Yue would've been sweet, but probably kind of depressing, too.
I also like Aang x Katara. They will for sure end up together at the end, unless the writers pussy out like so many other North American kids' shows. This show seems like it might be above that sort of crap, though. I think it'll make a really sweet pairing - definitely my favorite in the series so far!
But, anyway! Here's my estimation of the fandom based on what I've seen so far. The fangirl favorite character is Zuko (angst bitch!). The main het ship is Aang x Katara (there's a big 'duh'). The main slash ship is Zuko x Aang (although if I were going to ship slash in this series, I'd probably be more interested in something like Zuko x Sokka or possibly Sokka x Aang). The rest are mostly side ships and smaller sections of fandom.
Am I right?
This series is definitely going to be a favorite. I'm glad we bought the box sets. Can't wait to watch it on the 52" with the surround sound!
My last post pretty well made it clear where I stand on this series: I definitely like it. There's a level of detail and careful planning involved here that you don't normally see in North American cartoons that are primarily aimed at 8-12 year olds. The world in the series is crafted very well, the characters are fleshed nicely and don't seem one-dimensional or cliche, and the action and humor are both done cleverly enough to satisfy adult fans as well as children. Best of all, the story is engaging and it flows well - each episode seeming to serve a purpose in the overall development of the plot and characters.
I'm going to start by talking about this world's system of magical powers, or bending. Despite the fact that it has been used before, I'm very fond of the idea of using the four 'primal' elements as a basis for a magical system. In this case, the division of the four kingoms seems based on the division of the world's magical powers, and each nation has its own set of magical abilities. It raises a few questions - at least for me.
It seems that the series is quite rigid about where its powers are distributed: waterbenders are only present in the Water tribe, firebenders are only present in the Fire Nation, earthbenders are only present in the Earth Kingdom, and airbenders belong to the Air Nomads. The creators went to some lengths to make sure that the four nations have a different look and culture - the Avatar wikis I linked are good sources of information as long as you don't browse too deeply if you're trying to avoid spoilers - so it seems that these rules hold. It may suggest that there are not many inter-racial marriages - either that, or it is environment which influences what bending ability a child may develop.
The former doesn't seem to fit quite right because it doesn't seem that there is any mistrust of different races (except for the Fire Nation but given that they're oppressing other nations, this is kind of natural). Take the reaction of Sokka to the little girl who develops a crush on Aang. They're different races, but Sokka seems to think it's a fantastic idea that they get together (of course he might think differently if he knew Aang was actually talking about courting his sister, but that's a different story altogether).
The latter suggests that if Aang were to father more airbenders, he'd have to raise them in one of the two abandoned Air Temples. I don't know if this seems right to me either. Maybe there's no real answer to the question of why each type of bender is only found in the corresponding nation. Perhaps it's just because that's where the trainers are and they migrate there?
It'd be interesting to explore this idea in fanfiction.
EDIT: After writing this up, I went to look it up a bit more. From what I saw in the Avatar wiki, it seems the various bending abilities are developed based on what the various nations observed in nature and would correspond most closely with their geographical locations and affinity with any given element. What I've read seems to suggest that a person is born a 'bender' and learns to manipulate whichever element is most culturally accessible. Why it is only the Avatar who can manipulate elements other than what they grew up with is kind of a mystery to me in this case. Once you learn one you can never learn another? I still don't fully understand this system and its limitations, but maybe it will become more clear later on.
In any case, the use of these bending abilities is explored in the storyline, although I'd love more detailed descriptions of how it works and what the limits are. Katara's use of the water she carries in her bottle suggests that benders need a source of the element in question, but Zuko's use of his flames in the fight inside the Northern Water Tribe's fortress suggests that one can produce the element in question at will. Perhaps this is the case, and Katara's use of the water source was due to her own inexperience at the time. In this scenario, as a bender practices and becomes more adept with their element, they would be less reliant on a source. If no evidence is produced to the contrary, I'll probably assume this theory is the correct one.
EDIT: I talked with Cody about this after writing up this post, and he said that he's pretty sure that the firebending technique is unique in how they produce the fire from within (using the heat from their bodies, maybe?). All the other techniques seem to require a source of the element in question, although there's no way to really test that with airbending. It does seem like the air needs to be in motion already to manipulate it; Aang creates this effect this by waving his hands or by blowing air from his lungs in some cases.
I was also quite interested in the healing aspect of the waterbending technique. I'm assuming the other elements have similar branches? Hopefully we'll see a few in action.
I'm going to move on to the plot of Avatar. This story feels unique. It's not like any particular element is unique, though. I certainly wouldn't say that one person being the last survivor of his/her tribe hasn't been done, and separating the world and its powers into the four basic elements isn't exactly new either. One nation waging war against the others in the hopes of uniting the world with one purpose and order has definitely been done before. Certainly I've heard of the idea of one person being responsible for maintaining balance in the world, and it's not usual to have one person be able to manipulate all four elements. The part that feels unique is how the creators have taken these notions and woven them together into a story. The plot feels like a journey of discovery for each character at the same time as it is a quest to win a war and save the world. The fact that the characters are young also makes it a coming of age story, which is a type that I am pretty fond of.
Thus far, too, the writer have done justice to the overall storyline and to the characters. There are times when it feels epic, and times when it feels familiar and simple. It's a hard balance to manage, but it's done very well here. I won't say the writing is perfect (there are a few places where I raise my eyebrows) but it's very good.
And then there are the characters (my favorite aspect of any story).
I touched on this a bit in my last post, but I'll go into further detail here. Character development is handled well. Each person has an easily distinguishable look and personality. They aren't one-dimensional and they aren't all heading in the same direction. The way they react to various situations is believable and fits the way each character has been developed.
I'm fairly sure that Sokka is my favorite character. He seems stuck in the role of 'comic relief sidekick', but his personality is more cynical than is usual for that role. It's clear that he often feels useless due to his lack of bending ability, and often goes out of his way to try to prove himself. At the same time, he's usually the one who suggests that something will be too risky or who advises caution. This is typically reserved for the female 'responsible' type. It's interesting to see someone who will be reckless to the point of idiocy in some situations but cautious and sensible in others and it fits well for a teenager with a sense of inadequacy.
Katara is the 'responsible female' of the group, but she typically fails at this as she likes to go along with a lot of Aang's 'fun' ideas and will do irresponsible things when she feels like she can justify it to herself (like stealing a waterbending scroll for "Aang's sake"). She doesn't hesitate to comfort others, but I wouldn't call her the 'mother' of the group simply because she seems too interested in being a child still. I was glad to see her decisively reject the 'healer' role that the waterbending master tried to force on her in favor of mastering the more aggressive techniques and becoming a fighter.
Aang is an interesting study in contrasts. He's such a kid: short attention span, lack of discipline, cheerful demeaner, and easily bored by anything not fun or exciting. On the other hand, he's a source of wisdom and surprisingly good judgement when necessary. He's more of a 'think fast' type than a careful planner and relies on his instincts more than anything. Beneath the surface, it's obvious he's got a lot of uncertainty and a certain amount of guilt for what's happened since he ran away. Because he's a child, I think the idea of saving the world as a whole is a bit too large of a concept for him to really latch onto. It seems more like he wants to save it for the sake of Sokka and Katara, which is much more believable for someone his age.
And Zuko... angst bitch of Avatar. Seriously. There's one in every series. I'll bet he's a fangirl favorite. It's not difficult to relate to him, though. He's had a bit of a shitty past. His tendancy to throw temper tantrums is kind of unusual for the angsty solitary type - I'd expect more composure and broodiness. It suits his age, though. Zuko is a boy of action and impatience. He doesn't like to wait around and contemplate what's happened or what's coming. While it seems that he is capable of planning ahead, he's more often impetuous and headstrong. Man, this guy has a lot of anger, though. Therapy can be a good thing!
EDIT: One more thing about Zuko and Aang. There were a couple of episodes building up a parallel theme between these two characters. It seems that while Aang is the hero of this story (despite his flaws and the way he ran away from being the hero before the story began), Zuko is going to be its antihero. Neither of them display the characteristics of the tradional hero, and it's been made clear that the primary motivation for each of them is purely selfish. However, Aang's actions seem to involve more traditional roles of helping the weak and the sacrifice of self, thus identifying him as the hero. Zuko's actions, while not exactly evil, generally involve forcing his will on others and ignoring even his nation's best interests in pursuit of his goal - thus identifying him as an antihero. Both of them are presented as sympathetic characters regardless.
Despite the fact that he hasn't been given the same development as the others, I'm growing pretty fond of Iroh. I think he's more crafty than senile at this point, but I haven't totally discarded the possibility yet. He doesn't quite fit the 'wise old advisor' role, but he's definitely a sneaky bugger, that's for sure. I wonder if we'll see more of his past. There's been a couple of mentions of a battle he'd lost pretty spectacularly...
I'm told that more major characters are introduced in the next season. I hope they'll be as interesting and fun as the ones from the first season.
So, shipping. I guess it had to come up. It may be too early in the series for it, but whatever.
I kind of liked Sokka's brief romance with Yue. She was a sweet girl and I really felt for her in that situation. Kind of cliche that her fiance was an asshole, but whatever. I didn't expect what happened at all, and it really did strike a chord. It was a beautiful scene there at the end.
However! I'm holding to my original opinion that Sokka needs someone kickass. I'd like to see him end up with a strong and passionate girl who can hold her own. He needs someone who can protect and be protected. Plus, it'd be nice to see him with someone optimistic to even out his pesimism. Sokka x Yue would've been sweet, but probably kind of depressing, too.
I also like Aang x Katara. They will for sure end up together at the end, unless the writers pussy out like so many other North American kids' shows. This show seems like it might be above that sort of crap, though. I think it'll make a really sweet pairing - definitely my favorite in the series so far!
But, anyway! Here's my estimation of the fandom based on what I've seen so far. The fangirl favorite character is Zuko (angst bitch!). The main het ship is Aang x Katara (there's a big 'duh'). The main slash ship is Zuko x Aang (although if I were going to ship slash in this series, I'd probably be more interested in something like Zuko x Sokka or possibly Sokka x Aang). The rest are mostly side ships and smaller sections of fandom.
Am I right?
This series is definitely going to be a favorite. I'm glad we bought the box sets. Can't wait to watch it on the 52" with the surround sound!
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