Thursday 1 October 2020

In which a latecoming fan realises Avatar: The Last Airbender is fantastic

One of the great things about no longer commuting is more time to do, well, everything. Of course, like many, this has resulted in me doing less, but one thing I did do was check out Avatar The Last Airbender.

The reason for that is pretty much all MD Presley, who has constantly talked upon his love of the series to me and used it as one of his main examples for his book Forging Fantasy Realms: Worldbuilding For Fantasy Fans and Authors (for which I was fortunate enough to be press-ganged into beta reading). He convinced me that AtLA was one of the great works on fantasy and that I was remiss not to check it out (without ever putting it in such terms).

And there it was for free on Netflix.

So I watched an episode or two. Watched another episode or two a week later. Watched another episode or two a bit after that. Then, at some point, I got hooked, and binged the whole thing in a week. That's because AtLA is a tremendous piece of art that hits many of my sweet spots. 

So many that I'm likely to talk about it almost as incessantly as Presley.

But, first, to start with, I just wanted to talk about some of the things that I think make AtLA really, really great.

9) Zuko and Mai

This is actually quite a far way from my favourite character dynamic on the show actually, and they take up relatively little screen time. But it just tickles me pink to see a couple so darn emo, particularly in a show so colourful and fun. I love other dynamics more, but that one just cracks me up. And in a way, it demonstrates one of the great strengths of the show - it knows its strengths and plays to them, but it also capable of managing a great many different things while doing so.

8) Art

I'm not a huge animation geek, so I can't tell you how good or not the art in AtLA was against other of its ilk. But I can tell you it married up with the story the writers want to tell. I can tell you when the story relied on its artists to carry the story rather than the writers, when it came to action sequences or the grand panoramic sweep, they delivered. 

7) Humour

I laughed a lot and, equally crucially, I very rarely cringed. I'm not a big fan of the sort of comedy that relies on prolonged social embarrassment, or very corny jokes. AtLA was very capable of getting a lot of laughs without going there. I think a huge part of that was the writers being very aware of what sort of jokes would naturally arise from the interactions of their very different characters but at the same time, they weren't afraid to go for the deliberately comic moment (poor cabbage selling guy) in a way I appreciated.

6) Worldbuilding

I get why Presley's harped on so much about the worldbuilding here. It is very smart in the way that it sets a few defining characteristics and finds countless ways to use then. The storytelling is filled with references to the world's past, little treats that add context to all the characters. And the world feels so diverse, particularly in the Earth Kingdom. Fire Nation citizens and Fire Nation colonists have different cultures. There's multiple different takes on water benders. AtLA has a world that invites constant speculation and exploration, and that supports its story immaculately. That such a high quality of technical creation and joy is only at this point in the list says it all.

5) Ethics

I've written before about how I think art in this genre sometimes has a confused message when it comes to right and wrong, particularly when it comes to violence. AtLA has a wonderful and beautiful clarity on this, particularly when it comes to the stories of Aang and Zuko. AtLA is firm that some wars must be fought, but that violence should be eschewed where possible. I do not think it is perfect; I think perhaps it could have done a lot more on the Why of that; but let us remember this is a children's show and deep exploration should not be expected. For me, it is more than enough that Aang seeks to retain his principles and find a more peaceful way.

4) Iroh

If the show does get into the why, I think it does it in an implied way through the story of Uncle Iroh (and his nephew and protege, Zuko), maybe the most delightful old man in all of fiction. I do not want to give too many details; I do not wish to spoil others' journeys; but his consistent kindness and refusal to let life leave bitterness within him is just a straight up inspiration. And he does it with such style and good humour too. If I grow up to be Uncle Iroh, I will be beyond proud in myself - yet, being an Iroh, not.

3) Powerhouse Moments

I think that ultimately great stories are, among a thousand other traits, those that make us feel like we have shared greatness at their most pivotal moments. By greatness, I mean magnitude and power - greatness of joy, greatness of spirit, of awe, of sorrow. Sometimes we share it with the writers' observations, sometimes we share it with the characters' actions. For me, there are a great many moments like this in AtLA, and I can't think of a single one where the writers went for that moment and didn't connect. A lot of them were powerhouse. Again, no spoilers, but... just watch it yourselves, damnit.

2) Growth

Frequently the seed of such moments comes from character growth. We see a character struggle, and agonise, and when the moment of vindication comes - we feel like we have seen greatness. And over it's three seasons, AtLA maybe did the best job on character growth I know of. I think Sokka's journey from that jerk brother to something far finer is the best, but most of the characters had them and where they were, they were great. They were clearly defined, never changed the characters' core, well paced, and gave this viewer what he wanted. Huge kudos.

1) The Characters Are Just Great

I think the top of this list indicates just much I love the characterisation here, so let's spell it out explicitly.

Virtually every character - maybe every character - is memorable, interesting, and true to themselves. Every character has a set of dynamics with those around them that are unique to themselves, and with the other characters, not just the main ones. They are full of joy and full of depth. 

If you were to ask me to pick a favourite character then, even with my love for Iroh, it would be difficult. Toph's mix of sarcasm, straight-forwards dealing, and frequent arse beatings is hugely entertaining. However, Katara's indomitable inner-strength and compassion - and well timed sass and arse beatings - is awesome. Sokka's ability to roll with the punches and find his strengths (while being a total goof) despite being less powerful than those around him is great. Even side characters like Suki, Ty Lee and King Bumi, are great fun to see go around their business. 

These are only a handful of things though, using the poetry of a child to describe the glorious technicolour action of those incredibly gifted. 

Watch it. I'm going to watch it again soon. You may regret it, but there is a strong chance you will end up just as besotted as I did. For this show is fantastic.

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