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Spotlight on Fandoms: Avatar: The Last Airbender
The world of Avatar has a very "medieval Asia" feel to it -- or, at least, technology is low and all the writing's in classical Chinese. It's divided into four nations, each with their corresponding element: Earth, Fire, Air, and Water (Heart! By your powers combined I am Captain Pl-- wait, wrong show.) What makes the world special is that some of the people from each nation are able to control and manipulate their respective element, a power known as "bending". In the middle of all of this, bringing balance to it all, is the Avatar -- one person who is continually reincarnated throughout many lifetimes, who acts as the intermediary between the physical world and the spirits, and who has the power to bend all four elements. In each incarnation, the Avatar is born to a different nation, in turn, so that the balance is maintained.
So. Our story begins 100 years ago, with Fire Lord Sozin, who took advantage of the increased power given to his firebenders by a comet in order to try to conquer the world. Obviously, the Avatar would try to stop the whole conquest deal, so he needed to be dealt with. It was the Air Nomads' turn for him to be born among them, so Sozin, who apparently didn't know the meaning of the word "overkill", decided to wipe them out. All of them. The Fire Nation army killed every last Air Nomad, wiping the nation off the face of the earth.
Except, ironically, for the Avatar, who instead managed to be trapped in suspended animation inside an iceberg with his flying bison. Hence the subtitle of the series, "The Last Airbender".
Water Tribes
The Water Tribes are the first culture we come in contact with in the series which naturally means they're the coolest. In temperature at least. The Water Tribes are split into two groups, one living at the North Pole and one at the South. Though they're still considered one nation, the connection between the two is tenuous and while it may have been stronger before the war, right now it is barely there.
The Northern Tribe seems to be more sophisticated having developed a huge, thriving city (we only see the one in the series and there's no indication that there are more). They have managed to withstand the Fire Nation for quite some time, building up strong defenses against an invasion.
The Southern tribe lives in a fashion closer to the Inuit. It is however possible that the Southern tribe once was as rich as its sister tribe, but if it was it was destroyed in the war. They seem to have suffered immensely when the Fire Nation invaded and killed most of its members over a decade ago. Most of the men left the South Pole to join the war, leaving mostly children, women and elderly behind.
Fire Nation
These are the bad guys of the series and some of it seems to be tied in with the element that they control. The firebending master Jeong Jeong said "fire will spread and destroy everything in its path if one does not have the will to control it!" Maybe the problem started when the Fire Lords lacked the will to control their element and their country, instead acting as the fire and trying to consume everything around it. The Fire Nation thinks itself best, their element is superior to all others and thus it gives them the right to rule the world.
This mentality has probably been around for quite a while as we learn that a war had been brewing even before the Avatar vanished. When Avatar Roku disappeared, Fire Lord Sozin took the opportunity to harness the power of a passing comet and invade the other nations. They struck out at the Air Nomads first, wiping out an entire civilisation in the hopes of destroying the newborn Avatar with it.
They didn't manage to kill the Avatar, but they did succeed at obliterating the Air Temples and continued their war into the Water Tribes and Earth Kingdom. When Aang shows up again, the Fire Nation is close to winning the war for good. While the current Fire Lord Ozai has some men out looking for the Avatar, his major focus is to finally destroy the other nations and win his grandfather's victory. At first it seems that almost everyone of the Fire Nation is behind Ozai, but this appearance is deceiving. We do meet some people who don't agree with the war and hopefully we will see more of it.
Despite that we know so much about the Fire Nation, we have actually seen very little of the nation itself. It actually lies on an island to the East of the Earth Kingdom and from what we can tell the Fire Nation is technologically more advanced than the other nations. They have large steam ships and tank like vehicles and some other crazy inventions that we won't spoil for. Most of the technology they do have is, of course, fire (or more precisely steam) based. How the country itself looks we will really find out in the next season.
Air Nomads
We don't know a lot about the Air Nomads since, other than Aang and one or two others we run into along the way, they were massacred a hundred years before the show began. Loosely based on Buddhist monks and nuns, the Air Nomads lived in temples governed by a council of elders. We don't know if there were villages or towns surrounding the temples. From the flashbacks we've seen the temples seem to be pretty self-sufficient. Following the categorization of 'nomad,' each airbender bonded with a flying bison as a child to use as a means of transportation and as a friend. Our best example of this is in Appa, Aang's bison (and sadly, the last flying bison).
Before the massacres, we know there were four temples, all on what look like volcanic archipelagos. According to an interview with the creators, the temples were single sex so there were two female and two male. (Yes, I've wondered how the kids come about too, but sadly it's a kids' show and we'll probably never find out for sure.)
The Air Nomads are unique among the nations in that all members of their tribe are airbenders, and each airbender is marked with blue tattoos on their hands, feet and head. The young airbenders were trained by the elders in the temple in both philosophy and bending. They're the only culture we've seen that has training games - like air ball - for their young benders instead of solely training them for war. Perhaps it's just because it was a different time or perhaps the pacifist nature of the culture.
The Air Nomads probably didn't have an army and so when attacked by the Fire Nation were slaughtered ruthlessly.
Earth Kingdom
The Earth Kingdom would be the largest of the four nations if the Fire Nation hadn't been slowly chipping off pieces to conquer for the past century. The capital of Ba Sing Se is reputed to have never fallen to an invader and the Earth King feels secure in their invulnerability behind the high walls. This feeling of security seems to prevent the people of Ba Sing Se and the Earth King himself from realising the very real threat of the Fire Nation and the dissolution of the Kingdom beyond their earthen walls.
Like the Fire Nation, the Earth Kingdom seems to reflect the element it stands for. Its people stand fast in the war and sometimes stay the most unyielding. The Earth Kingdom's counterpart is a mixture of Eurasian countries from our world. Ba Sing Se has obvious Manchu influence in the dress and architecture, another part of the Kingdom shows the influence of Korean culture, and a third has Bedouin influence. At one point, Iroh praises the diversity of cultures, arguing to his nephew that this is what makes the Earth Kingdom strong. Whether or not this is a sentiment that others in the world agree with, the Earth Kingdom stands fast and almost alone against the might of the Fire Nation's army.
The current Earth King is very young, and while the appearance is of an absolute monarchy (or more of an emperor-ship really as the different provinces and smaller cities have their own Kings), the politics of Ba Sing Se are not so simplistic and other forces also hold power within the city.
So What is this Bending You Guys Keep Talking About?
I might be biased but bending is one of the coolest 'superpowers' around. It's partially natural talent - you have to be born with the ability to bend your country's element and partially training and meditation - even the Avatar as powerful as he is has to be taught how to wield the elements by a master.
From a fan's standpoint, bending is amazing because each of the elements have a specific style of martial arts that it's based on. Instead of the characters just doing basic martial arts moves and the animators are adding water or fire to the frame, the creators picked a specific style to match the way one would actually fight with the element. The animators were also given lessons in these styles so while they may not be experts in martial arts, they know how a position feels when they're drawing it. And that attention to detail shows.
Waterbending - Waterbending is based on tai chi. It's strongest as a defensive art, and the waterbender attempts to use their water to redirect the opponent's attack and use his strength against him instead of just outright blocking. Water is the element of change, and some of its greatest strength lies in its versatility both as a weapon and a tool. Waterbending can also be used to heal, and those waterbenders who are able to heal with it are considered some of the strongest. There is a also direct connection between waterbending and the moon. The tales say that waterbenders learned how to manipulate their element after being taught by the spirits of the moon and ocean. Now the phase of the moon affects the waterbender's power. At a full moon, she is the strongest. When there is an eclipse, she can not bend at all.
Firebending - Based on Northern Shaolin Kung fu, Firebending is the most aggressive of the four bending arts. It also seems to be the one that truly requires a knowledge of hand to hand combat in order to master firebending as the ferocious style of successive quick kicks, punches, jabs, and blocks require flexibility and agility of the body as well as control of the element. As opposed to the other styles, firebenders are able to create fire instead of only being able to manipulate the element when it is already present in their surroundings.
Like in actual martial arts, control of their breath is the most important thing. It is that breath that they turn into energy inside their body. By pushing the energy out again, it turns into fire that they can manipulate. The most important part of firebending is actual control. A firebender must be able to stop the fire from burning everything in its path. Highly skilled firebenders have been shown to have duels or fight in a forest without a piece of clothing or leaf getting singed. Without control of one's emotions and one's breath, the fire can overtake a firebender and burn everything in its path. Firebending is controlled by the sun, and those who master the element are more powerful in the daytime.
Earthbending - This one is based on Hung Gar Kung fu and keeps a balance between the offensive and defensive capabilities. The style uses the movements of animals to inspire the punches and kicks that keep an earthbender firmly rooted on the ground. Earthbenders focus on the principle of neutral jing - neither choosing to attack nor to avoid a fight, but waiting for the right moment to for action. They focus on both confrontational tactics and brute strength in order to master earthbending. Many benders go barefoot to continually have contact with their element.
Airbending - Ba Gua is the style that airbending is based on. It is known for its ever circling, evasive movements that build up a concentration of power to be released in a strong attack or shield. Airbending is almost entirely defensive, the circular movements making it difficult for opponents to land attacks but also lacks the type of powerful attack that the other three bending arts can muster. All airbenders are both monks and mainly pacifists so the circling, defensive style makes sense not only with the use of the air but also within the culture it comes from. Airbenders also get cool toys like gliders that allow them to use their bending to hover and fly and air scooters (invented by our own Aang and the reason he got Master status so young) that are balls of air one can ride on to play games, get away fast, or simply really confuse one's enemies.
If you're interested in seeing how bending looks, here's a pretty good vid of the four bending styles.
Characters
Aang - Aang is the Avatar, Bridge between this world and the Spirit World, and the only person who is able to bend all four elements. On top of that, he's a twelve year kid. He's fun-loving, mischievous, and perfectly happy to take a detour in their quest to try to ride a giant koi fish or see a beautiful waterfall. He's incredibly respectful towards life in all forms and tries his best not to fight unnecessarily. Sometimes this comes off as naiveté and, to be fair, Aang can be naive about the possibility of evil and cruelty in people. He's intensely loyal to his friends and relies upon them, especially Katara and Sokka, for support in his quest. As he's grown in canon, some of this fun-loving and relaxed personality has changed as he has grown into his role as Avatar and seen the damage war has done. Which is very sad indeed.
Aang was raised in the Southern Air Temple before the war began, and of all the characters, he has the least bias towards members of other nations and remembers well his Fire Nation, Earth Kingdom, and Water Tribe friends. He ran away from his Temple as twelve, coincidentally saving his own life, and ended up in suspended animation for a hundred years until Katara and Sokka broke him out of the iceberg.
Katara - Katara - helped by Sokka because he made her angry enough to lose her temper and accidentally break an iceberg - is the one to discover Aang trapped in his ball of ice and try to take care of him as he recovers (quickly) from the effects of the suspended animation. Her role as Aang's protector and mother figure is re-asserted almost immediately as the small village where she and Sokka grew up is less than welcoming of the small airbender. She continues to be the voice of reason and common sense in the group, happy to tell Sokka, Aang, or others they run across just when they're being stupid and how it can be fixed. She also develops into a very powerful waterbender and is named a Master to assume the role of Aang's waterbending instructor. She believes entirely in Aang and his ability to bring peace to the world and defeat the Fire Lord, and she will do everything in her power to help him achieve this goal.
Sokka - Sokka, Katara's older brother, is there for comic relief. Not primarily, of course, but once they let the voice actor loose, he ran wild with the character. Sokka's arrogant, goofy, clumsy, and lazy, but he's also got a good head on his shoulders. He's a competent enough warrior with his club and boomerang -- it's not really his fault that he's overshadowed in a fight by all of his friends; they're benders! And although not exactly bright, he's very clever. And he so is the leader of their little group. Don't let anyone else tell you differently.
Zuko - Zuko, son of Ursa and Fire Lord Ozai is a very troubled emo boy. And that's an understatement. Three years before the series begins, Zuko was exiled from the Fire Nation by his very own father and Fire Lord Ozai. The only way for him to be allowed to return and to win his honour and his place as heir to the throne back is if he manages to capture the Avatar, something Zuko intends to do at all cost. Or at least, some cost.
Zuko is the first villain we meet, but there is more to him than just his anger and pony tail. He's got emo. And a good reason to be it. Zuko is actually a rather complex character and while he does very very stupid things and you want to repeatedly hit him over the head, there is so much more to him. He probably has more honour than his father will ever have and he tries desperately to do the right thing. Sadly enough, the right thing for his father, isn't the right thing for everyone else.
Toph - Toph Bei Fong is win. No, really, she is -- the first time we see her she's winning a Wrestlemania-style earthbending tournament. As the returning champion. And Aang quickly tries his hardest to convince her to come along and teach him earthbending.
She's the only child of the Bei Fong family, one of the wealthiest and most powerful in the Earth Kingdom, but her parents coddled and protected her -- and didn't let anyone know she exists -- because she has been blind from birth. She might be just a tad bitter about that. Well, she's usually more than a tad bitter about just about everything. Although blind, she's not helpless -- she might just be the most talented earthbender ever, and she uses her bare feet to sense vibrations through the earth -- sort of her own personal sonar. It's easy to forget that she is blind, and she sometimes uses that to comedic effect. (For example, she likes to shout "I see it! I see it!" when they're looking for something.) She's the bitch of the group, and it's adorable.
Iroh - Uncle Iroh is love. You simply have to adore him. He is the only sane person in Zuko's family and when Zuko was followed, Iroh went with him and stood with the boy. He's been more of a father to Zuko than Ozai will ever be and while it is easy to underestimate Iroh, there is a whole lot more to him than just his love for tea, music evenings and Pai Sho. He can breathe fire, can fight in a loin cloth and somehow manages to make up for Zuko's temper. He also seems to hold a lot of wisdom and probably still holds a few more surprises.
Sadly enough, Iroh's voice actor Mako died about a year ago from esophageal cancer. He made Iroh as kick ass as he is today and we dare you to not get choked up at Iroh singing in Tales of Ba Sing Se. TPTB have however no intentions of killing off the character even if it's strange to think of anyone else doing his voice.
Suki - Suki is more of a minor character but she gets a spot here for she is awesome and we love her. She is a Kyoshi Warrior and while she isn't a bender, she can very well kick ass. We meet her first on Kyoshi island where she is in charge of the defenses there. She is a highly skilled warrior and a protector. While Kyoshi island is pretty much neutral in the war, Suki decides to try to help after meeting Aang and the others. It maybe has something to do with getting to kick Sokka around and making him wear a dress.
Azula - Azula is Zuko's little sister and she's a real piece of art. She's daddy's favourite girl, a firebending prodigy and a downright bitch (and some of us LOVE her). It's hard to tell much about her without spoiling too much as she only shows up in S2. Suffice to say that even as a child she has been obsessed with power and has been eager to manipulate the people around her. She stands out with her firebending too as she manages to bend blue fire and even controls lightning bending (one of the toughest forms of firebending). She is assisted by two of her friends; Mai and Ty Lee. Mai is pretty much as close as you can get to a goth in Avatar world and has insane skills with throwing knives. Ty Lee is a bit of a airhead and a very girly girl with a pink aura, but she has deadly skills and a strange crush on Sokka.
Appa - Appa is a flying bison and, sadly, the last of his kind that we know of. Flying bison were raised by the Air Nomads and seem to be able to use their own version of airbending to be able to fly. Appa and Aang bonded at an early age, and Appa was stuck in the iceberg with Aang for the century. He is simply the awesomest creature ever, and if I could have an Appa, I would be happy.
Momo - A flying lemur that Aang finds living in the ruins of the Southern Air Temple, when the group travels there. Take a lemur -- which, as you of course know, is the cutest of all primates -- add bat wings in his armpits and long rabbit ears. Cutest. Thing. Ever.
He's your standard smarter-than-the-average-monkey that you often find as a traveling companion in stories -- i.e. he can understand some of what people are saying, can try to communicate back with hand gestures, etc. If the gang gets captured, expect him to sneak in and steal the keys from the jailkeeper's belt. Also, he can fly.
The Cabbage Merchant - This poor man. He has a cart of cabbages, which he's selling. Simple enough, right? And yet, every single time that anyone accidentally knocks over a merchant's wares during a chase... Well, let's just say that the cry of "My cabbages!!!" is a familiar one to Avatar viewers. It doesn't matter that he traveled halfway across the country to a new city; trouble followed him there.
So Why Should You Watch? We'll Tell You!
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sarcasm_guy: There's humor. There's drama. There's awesome. My favorite bits are any scene involving Toph or Iroh, because they seriously bring the awesome.
thebluespirit: Avatar is supposedly made for children and yet, it has more story and continuity than most of the adult shows around. The creators have put so much thought into this world and it really shows in everything. The bending arts stand out the most there. They created a superpower that actually has a solid logic behind it and it happens to look awesome too. The art in general is simply gorgeous and the characters are moving. There is not one that I don't like and while sometimes you're fooled that they are one layered, there is always so much more to them. I think the size of this post pretty much indicates how much I love this show. The storyline is intriguing, the world is complex and well thought out and then there's just crack and humour. Plus? TURTLEDUCKS!
Favourites: Sokka, firebending, Suki, sabertoothmooselion, turtleducks, Iroh, Zuko,... everything okay?
Episodes: Zuko Alone, Siege of the North, Crossroads of Destiny, The Blue Spirit, The Storm, Cave of two lovers, The Chase, and many many more.
southernbender: Avatar is a gateway drug. When Zuko came into Fandom, I was intrigued by the premise but argued that I didn't like cartoons. Luckily, thebluespirit persisted as she is wont to do, and I agreed to watch the newest episode Tales of Ba Sing Se. The rest, as they say, is history. *looks at my two animated characters and huge stack of cartoons, anime, comics, and manga that I now follow*
It's a great show. Every episode is tightly plotted, and they throw more information at you than most hour long shows aimed for adults. Especially when you compare it to adult sci fi shows like Stargate or BSG, the level of attention paid to continuity, character development, and world building (the bending arts, the obvious historical influences in clothes and architecture, the fact that everything written on the show really is written in correct classical Chinese calligraphy). For me, Avatar brings to mind the Diana Wynne Jones' quote that when you write for children, you can make things more difficult because children are used to working to understand while adults expect things to be spoonfed to them.
Favourites: firebending, Appa, Katara, Ba Sing Se, Omashu, Zuko, Sokka, Aang, turtleducks, waterbending, the whole idea of bending in general...
Episodes: Siege of the North, Tales of Ba Sing Se, Crossroads of Destiny, The Waterbending Scroll, The Storm, Avatar Day
Clips and Vids
Zuko Can't Wait to Be King Cause it's Crack.
Sokka Needs Help Also Crack!
Waterbending is Totally the Best No one makes cracky vids for Katara *sigh*
Katara and Toph to Meredith Brooks' Bitch I take back the lack of cracky vid comment
I'll Make a Man Out of You No, really, this is an Avatar vid.
Oh, wait, maybe this one's the Avatar vid
School Time Shipping Most of you may have seen this back in the winter when it premiered, but it's a hilarious sketch made by the creators. Yes, we have PTB that mock shippers and do it lovingly. This is why Avatar rocks so much.
Season 3 Trailer! They premiered the trailer for Season 3 at ComicCon. This one's the best version of it I've seen so far.
AvatarSpirit.net - This is the best Avatar site out there.
Amazon sells the Avatar: The Last Airbender DVDs as do most media stores. Season 1 (Book 1) is currently available, and the Season 2 collection is being released on September 11th.
Book 1: Water
Book 2: Earth
Buuuut Season 2 is released on individual DVDs right now so you can still watch/rent it.
DVD 1: Episodes 1-5
Sooo....there's more?
Season three is premiering on September 21st at 8pm on Nickelodeon. We've had to wait for almost a year for it, but if you start watching now, you'll have plenty of time to catch up and be ready to dive right in!
Questions? Comments? Pie? Teal Deer to Throw?
So. Our story begins 100 years ago, with Fire Lord Sozin, who took advantage of the increased power given to his firebenders by a comet in order to try to conquer the world. Obviously, the Avatar would try to stop the whole conquest deal, so he needed to be dealt with. It was the Air Nomads' turn for him to be born among them, so Sozin, who apparently didn't know the meaning of the word "overkill", decided to wipe them out. All of them. The Fire Nation army killed every last Air Nomad, wiping the nation off the face of the earth.
Except, ironically, for the Avatar, who instead managed to be trapped in suspended animation inside an iceberg with his flying bison. Hence the subtitle of the series, "The Last Airbender".
Water Tribes
The Water Tribes are the first culture we come in contact with in the series which naturally means they're the coolest. In temperature at least. The Water Tribes are split into two groups, one living at the North Pole and one at the South. Though they're still considered one nation, the connection between the two is tenuous and while it may have been stronger before the war, right now it is barely there.
The Northern Tribe seems to be more sophisticated having developed a huge, thriving city (we only see the one in the series and there's no indication that there are more). They have managed to withstand the Fire Nation for quite some time, building up strong defenses against an invasion.
The Southern tribe lives in a fashion closer to the Inuit. It is however possible that the Southern tribe once was as rich as its sister tribe, but if it was it was destroyed in the war. They seem to have suffered immensely when the Fire Nation invaded and killed most of its members over a decade ago. Most of the men left the South Pole to join the war, leaving mostly children, women and elderly behind.
Fire Nation
These are the bad guys of the series and some of it seems to be tied in with the element that they control. The firebending master Jeong Jeong said "fire will spread and destroy everything in its path if one does not have the will to control it!" Maybe the problem started when the Fire Lords lacked the will to control their element and their country, instead acting as the fire and trying to consume everything around it. The Fire Nation thinks itself best, their element is superior to all others and thus it gives them the right to rule the world.
This mentality has probably been around for quite a while as we learn that a war had been brewing even before the Avatar vanished. When Avatar Roku disappeared, Fire Lord Sozin took the opportunity to harness the power of a passing comet and invade the other nations. They struck out at the Air Nomads first, wiping out an entire civilisation in the hopes of destroying the newborn Avatar with it.
They didn't manage to kill the Avatar, but they did succeed at obliterating the Air Temples and continued their war into the Water Tribes and Earth Kingdom. When Aang shows up again, the Fire Nation is close to winning the war for good. While the current Fire Lord Ozai has some men out looking for the Avatar, his major focus is to finally destroy the other nations and win his grandfather's victory. At first it seems that almost everyone of the Fire Nation is behind Ozai, but this appearance is deceiving. We do meet some people who don't agree with the war and hopefully we will see more of it.
Despite that we know so much about the Fire Nation, we have actually seen very little of the nation itself. It actually lies on an island to the East of the Earth Kingdom and from what we can tell the Fire Nation is technologically more advanced than the other nations. They have large steam ships and tank like vehicles and some other crazy inventions that we won't spoil for. Most of the technology they do have is, of course, fire (or more precisely steam) based. How the country itself looks we will really find out in the next season.
Air Nomads
We don't know a lot about the Air Nomads since, other than Aang and one or two others we run into along the way, they were massacred a hundred years before the show began. Loosely based on Buddhist monks and nuns, the Air Nomads lived in temples governed by a council of elders. We don't know if there were villages or towns surrounding the temples. From the flashbacks we've seen the temples seem to be pretty self-sufficient. Following the categorization of 'nomad,' each airbender bonded with a flying bison as a child to use as a means of transportation and as a friend. Our best example of this is in Appa, Aang's bison (and sadly, the last flying bison).
Before the massacres, we know there were four temples, all on what look like volcanic archipelagos. According to an interview with the creators, the temples were single sex so there were two female and two male. (Yes, I've wondered how the kids come about too, but sadly it's a kids' show and we'll probably never find out for sure.)
The Air Nomads are unique among the nations in that all members of their tribe are airbenders, and each airbender is marked with blue tattoos on their hands, feet and head. The young airbenders were trained by the elders in the temple in both philosophy and bending. They're the only culture we've seen that has training games - like air ball - for their young benders instead of solely training them for war. Perhaps it's just because it was a different time or perhaps the pacifist nature of the culture.
The Air Nomads probably didn't have an army and so when attacked by the Fire Nation were slaughtered ruthlessly.
Earth Kingdom
The Earth Kingdom would be the largest of the four nations if the Fire Nation hadn't been slowly chipping off pieces to conquer for the past century. The capital of Ba Sing Se is reputed to have never fallen to an invader and the Earth King feels secure in their invulnerability behind the high walls. This feeling of security seems to prevent the people of Ba Sing Se and the Earth King himself from realising the very real threat of the Fire Nation and the dissolution of the Kingdom beyond their earthen walls.
Like the Fire Nation, the Earth Kingdom seems to reflect the element it stands for. Its people stand fast in the war and sometimes stay the most unyielding. The Earth Kingdom's counterpart is a mixture of Eurasian countries from our world. Ba Sing Se has obvious Manchu influence in the dress and architecture, another part of the Kingdom shows the influence of Korean culture, and a third has Bedouin influence. At one point, Iroh praises the diversity of cultures, arguing to his nephew that this is what makes the Earth Kingdom strong. Whether or not this is a sentiment that others in the world agree with, the Earth Kingdom stands fast and almost alone against the might of the Fire Nation's army.
The current Earth King is very young, and while the appearance is of an absolute monarchy (or more of an emperor-ship really as the different provinces and smaller cities have their own Kings), the politics of Ba Sing Se are not so simplistic and other forces also hold power within the city.
So What is this Bending You Guys Keep Talking About?
I might be biased but bending is one of the coolest 'superpowers' around. It's partially natural talent - you have to be born with the ability to bend your country's element and partially training and meditation - even the Avatar as powerful as he is has to be taught how to wield the elements by a master.
From a fan's standpoint, bending is amazing because each of the elements have a specific style of martial arts that it's based on. Instead of the characters just doing basic martial arts moves and the animators are adding water or fire to the frame, the creators picked a specific style to match the way one would actually fight with the element. The animators were also given lessons in these styles so while they may not be experts in martial arts, they know how a position feels when they're drawing it. And that attention to detail shows.
Waterbending - Waterbending is based on tai chi. It's strongest as a defensive art, and the waterbender attempts to use their water to redirect the opponent's attack and use his strength against him instead of just outright blocking. Water is the element of change, and some of its greatest strength lies in its versatility both as a weapon and a tool. Waterbending can also be used to heal, and those waterbenders who are able to heal with it are considered some of the strongest. There is a also direct connection between waterbending and the moon. The tales say that waterbenders learned how to manipulate their element after being taught by the spirits of the moon and ocean. Now the phase of the moon affects the waterbender's power. At a full moon, she is the strongest. When there is an eclipse, she can not bend at all.
Firebending - Based on Northern Shaolin Kung fu, Firebending is the most aggressive of the four bending arts. It also seems to be the one that truly requires a knowledge of hand to hand combat in order to master firebending as the ferocious style of successive quick kicks, punches, jabs, and blocks require flexibility and agility of the body as well as control of the element. As opposed to the other styles, firebenders are able to create fire instead of only being able to manipulate the element when it is already present in their surroundings.
Like in actual martial arts, control of their breath is the most important thing. It is that breath that they turn into energy inside their body. By pushing the energy out again, it turns into fire that they can manipulate. The most important part of firebending is actual control. A firebender must be able to stop the fire from burning everything in its path. Highly skilled firebenders have been shown to have duels or fight in a forest without a piece of clothing or leaf getting singed. Without control of one's emotions and one's breath, the fire can overtake a firebender and burn everything in its path. Firebending is controlled by the sun, and those who master the element are more powerful in the daytime.
Earthbending - This one is based on Hung Gar Kung fu and keeps a balance between the offensive and defensive capabilities. The style uses the movements of animals to inspire the punches and kicks that keep an earthbender firmly rooted on the ground. Earthbenders focus on the principle of neutral jing - neither choosing to attack nor to avoid a fight, but waiting for the right moment to for action. They focus on both confrontational tactics and brute strength in order to master earthbending. Many benders go barefoot to continually have contact with their element.
Airbending - Ba Gua is the style that airbending is based on. It is known for its ever circling, evasive movements that build up a concentration of power to be released in a strong attack or shield. Airbending is almost entirely defensive, the circular movements making it difficult for opponents to land attacks but also lacks the type of powerful attack that the other three bending arts can muster. All airbenders are both monks and mainly pacifists so the circling, defensive style makes sense not only with the use of the air but also within the culture it comes from. Airbenders also get cool toys like gliders that allow them to use their bending to hover and fly and air scooters (invented by our own Aang and the reason he got Master status so young) that are balls of air one can ride on to play games, get away fast, or simply really confuse one's enemies.
If you're interested in seeing how bending looks, here's a pretty good vid of the four bending styles.
Characters
Aang - Aang is the Avatar, Bridge between this world and the Spirit World, and the only person who is able to bend all four elements. On top of that, he's a twelve year kid. He's fun-loving, mischievous, and perfectly happy to take a detour in their quest to try to ride a giant koi fish or see a beautiful waterfall. He's incredibly respectful towards life in all forms and tries his best not to fight unnecessarily. Sometimes this comes off as naiveté and, to be fair, Aang can be naive about the possibility of evil and cruelty in people. He's intensely loyal to his friends and relies upon them, especially Katara and Sokka, for support in his quest. As he's grown in canon, some of this fun-loving and relaxed personality has changed as he has grown into his role as Avatar and seen the damage war has done. Which is very sad indeed.
Aang was raised in the Southern Air Temple before the war began, and of all the characters, he has the least bias towards members of other nations and remembers well his Fire Nation, Earth Kingdom, and Water Tribe friends. He ran away from his Temple as twelve, coincidentally saving his own life, and ended up in suspended animation for a hundred years until Katara and Sokka broke him out of the iceberg.
Katara - Katara - helped by Sokka because he made her angry enough to lose her temper and accidentally break an iceberg - is the one to discover Aang trapped in his ball of ice and try to take care of him as he recovers (quickly) from the effects of the suspended animation. Her role as Aang's protector and mother figure is re-asserted almost immediately as the small village where she and Sokka grew up is less than welcoming of the small airbender. She continues to be the voice of reason and common sense in the group, happy to tell Sokka, Aang, or others they run across just when they're being stupid and how it can be fixed. She also develops into a very powerful waterbender and is named a Master to assume the role of Aang's waterbending instructor. She believes entirely in Aang and his ability to bring peace to the world and defeat the Fire Lord, and she will do everything in her power to help him achieve this goal.
Sokka - Sokka, Katara's older brother, is there for comic relief. Not primarily, of course, but once they let the voice actor loose, he ran wild with the character. Sokka's arrogant, goofy, clumsy, and lazy, but he's also got a good head on his shoulders. He's a competent enough warrior with his club and boomerang -- it's not really his fault that he's overshadowed in a fight by all of his friends; they're benders! And although not exactly bright, he's very clever. And he so is the leader of their little group. Don't let anyone else tell you differently.
Zuko - Zuko, son of Ursa and Fire Lord Ozai is a very troubled emo boy. And that's an understatement. Three years before the series begins, Zuko was exiled from the Fire Nation by his very own father and Fire Lord Ozai. The only way for him to be allowed to return and to win his honour and his place as heir to the throne back is if he manages to capture the Avatar, something Zuko intends to do at all cost. Or at least, some cost.
Zuko is the first villain we meet, but there is more to him than just his anger and pony tail. He's got emo. And a good reason to be it. Zuko is actually a rather complex character and while he does very very stupid things and you want to repeatedly hit him over the head, there is so much more to him. He probably has more honour than his father will ever have and he tries desperately to do the right thing. Sadly enough, the right thing for his father, isn't the right thing for everyone else.
Toph - Toph Bei Fong is win. No, really, she is -- the first time we see her she's winning a Wrestlemania-style earthbending tournament. As the returning champion. And Aang quickly tries his hardest to convince her to come along and teach him earthbending.
She's the only child of the Bei Fong family, one of the wealthiest and most powerful in the Earth Kingdom, but her parents coddled and protected her -- and didn't let anyone know she exists -- because she has been blind from birth. She might be just a tad bitter about that. Well, she's usually more than a tad bitter about just about everything. Although blind, she's not helpless -- she might just be the most talented earthbender ever, and she uses her bare feet to sense vibrations through the earth -- sort of her own personal sonar. It's easy to forget that she is blind, and she sometimes uses that to comedic effect. (For example, she likes to shout "I see it! I see it!" when they're looking for something.) She's the bitch of the group, and it's adorable.
Iroh - Uncle Iroh is love. You simply have to adore him. He is the only sane person in Zuko's family and when Zuko was followed, Iroh went with him and stood with the boy. He's been more of a father to Zuko than Ozai will ever be and while it is easy to underestimate Iroh, there is a whole lot more to him than just his love for tea, music evenings and Pai Sho. He can breathe fire, can fight in a loin cloth and somehow manages to make up for Zuko's temper. He also seems to hold a lot of wisdom and probably still holds a few more surprises.
Sadly enough, Iroh's voice actor Mako died about a year ago from esophageal cancer. He made Iroh as kick ass as he is today and we dare you to not get choked up at Iroh singing in Tales of Ba Sing Se. TPTB have however no intentions of killing off the character even if it's strange to think of anyone else doing his voice.
Suki - Suki is more of a minor character but she gets a spot here for she is awesome and we love her. She is a Kyoshi Warrior and while she isn't a bender, she can very well kick ass. We meet her first on Kyoshi island where she is in charge of the defenses there. She is a highly skilled warrior and a protector. While Kyoshi island is pretty much neutral in the war, Suki decides to try to help after meeting Aang and the others. It maybe has something to do with getting to kick Sokka around and making him wear a dress.
Azula - Azula is Zuko's little sister and she's a real piece of art. She's daddy's favourite girl, a firebending prodigy and a downright bitch (and some of us LOVE her). It's hard to tell much about her without spoiling too much as she only shows up in S2. Suffice to say that even as a child she has been obsessed with power and has been eager to manipulate the people around her. She stands out with her firebending too as she manages to bend blue fire and even controls lightning bending (one of the toughest forms of firebending). She is assisted by two of her friends; Mai and Ty Lee. Mai is pretty much as close as you can get to a goth in Avatar world and has insane skills with throwing knives. Ty Lee is a bit of a airhead and a very girly girl with a pink aura, but she has deadly skills and a strange crush on Sokka.
Appa - Appa is a flying bison and, sadly, the last of his kind that we know of. Flying bison were raised by the Air Nomads and seem to be able to use their own version of airbending to be able to fly. Appa and Aang bonded at an early age, and Appa was stuck in the iceberg with Aang for the century. He is simply the awesomest creature ever, and if I could have an Appa, I would be happy.
Momo - A flying lemur that Aang finds living in the ruins of the Southern Air Temple, when the group travels there. Take a lemur -- which, as you of course know, is the cutest of all primates -- add bat wings in his armpits and long rabbit ears. Cutest. Thing. Ever.
He's your standard smarter-than-the-average-monkey that you often find as a traveling companion in stories -- i.e. he can understand some of what people are saying, can try to communicate back with hand gestures, etc. If the gang gets captured, expect him to sneak in and steal the keys from the jailkeeper's belt. Also, he can fly.
The Cabbage Merchant - This poor man. He has a cart of cabbages, which he's selling. Simple enough, right? And yet, every single time that anyone accidentally knocks over a merchant's wares during a chase... Well, let's just say that the cry of "My cabbages!!!" is a familiar one to Avatar viewers. It doesn't matter that he traveled halfway across the country to a new city; trouble followed him there.
So Why Should You Watch? We'll Tell You!
sarcasm_guy: There's humor. There's drama. There's awesome. My favorite bits are any scene involving Toph or Iroh, because they seriously bring the awesome.thebluespirit: Avatar is supposedly made for children and yet, it has more story and continuity than most of the adult shows around. The creators have put so much thought into this world and it really shows in everything. The bending arts stand out the most there. They created a superpower that actually has a solid logic behind it and it happens to look awesome too. The art in general is simply gorgeous and the characters are moving. There is not one that I don't like and while sometimes you're fooled that they are one layered, there is always so much more to them. I think the size of this post pretty much indicates how much I love this show. The storyline is intriguing, the world is complex and well thought out and then there's just crack and humour. Plus? TURTLEDUCKS!Favourites: Sokka, firebending, Suki, sabertoothmooselion, turtleducks, Iroh, Zuko,... everything okay?
Episodes: Zuko Alone, Siege of the North, Crossroads of Destiny, The Blue Spirit, The Storm, Cave of two lovers, The Chase, and many many more.
southernbender: Avatar is a gateway drug. When Zuko came into Fandom, I was intrigued by the premise but argued that I didn't like cartoons. Luckily, thebluespirit persisted as she is wont to do, and I agreed to watch the newest episode Tales of Ba Sing Se. The rest, as they say, is history. *looks at my two animated characters and huge stack of cartoons, anime, comics, and manga that I now follow* It's a great show. Every episode is tightly plotted, and they throw more information at you than most hour long shows aimed for adults. Especially when you compare it to adult sci fi shows like Stargate or BSG, the level of attention paid to continuity, character development, and world building (the bending arts, the obvious historical influences in clothes and architecture, the fact that everything written on the show really is written in correct classical Chinese calligraphy). For me, Avatar brings to mind the Diana Wynne Jones' quote that when you write for children, you can make things more difficult because children are used to working to understand while adults expect things to be spoonfed to them.
Favourites: firebending, Appa, Katara, Ba Sing Se, Omashu, Zuko, Sokka, Aang, turtleducks, waterbending, the whole idea of bending in general...
Episodes: Siege of the North, Tales of Ba Sing Se, Crossroads of Destiny, The Waterbending Scroll, The Storm, Avatar Day
Clips and Vids
Zuko Can't Wait to Be King Cause it's Crack.
Sokka Needs Help Also Crack!
Waterbending is Totally the Best No one makes cracky vids for Katara *sigh*
Katara and Toph to Meredith Brooks' Bitch I take back the lack of cracky vid comment
I'll Make a Man Out of You No, really, this is an Avatar vid.
Oh, wait, maybe this one's the Avatar vid
School Time Shipping Most of you may have seen this back in the winter when it premiered, but it's a hilarious sketch made by the creators. Yes, we have PTB that mock shippers and do it lovingly. This is why Avatar rocks so much.
Season 3 Trailer! They premiered the trailer for Season 3 at ComicCon. This one's the best version of it I've seen so far.
AvatarSpirit.net - This is the best Avatar site out there.
Amazon sells the Avatar: The Last Airbender DVDs as do most media stores. Season 1 (Book 1) is currently available, and the Season 2 collection is being released on September 11th.
Book 1: Water
Book 2: Earth
Buuuut Season 2 is released on individual DVDs right now so you can still watch/rent it.
DVD 1: Episodes 1-5
Sooo....there's more?
Season three is premiering on September 21st at 8pm on Nickelodeon. We've had to wait for almost a year for it, but if you start watching now, you'll have plenty of time to catch up and be ready to dive right in!
Questions? Comments? Pie? Teal Deer to Throw?
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Katara for the win!
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*hugs*
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*uses happy icon as it seldomly gets used omg*
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It may have to do with having a character that has water powers too, I don't know.
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Sad thing is, I started watching bits and pieces of it because it came on before Spongebob Squarepants and slowly got more into it from there.
*sigh* I am a cartoon addict.
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I wanted to watch Avatar cause there were games from it on Neopets and it looked awesome!
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I hide my enthusiasm well, I guess. :D
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And now I've forbidden myself from watching it because I simply can't app any more characters for a VERY LONG TIME.
I want an Aang. Not just in game. I want an Aang I can take around with me everywhere, like a human purse that doesn't actually carry things and you can't sling him over your shoulder. That was a weird analogy.
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But I want one too, now, damn you.no subject
A Portable Aang, for all your portable Aang needs.
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And keep watching it! It's good and I promise I won't talk you into apping someone from it.
...REALLY.
I want an Appa. You can have Aang.