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How did Avatar: The Last Airbender do it
- Thread starter Supermanisdead
- Start date
People keep saying this. "Plans" rarely amount to anything but vague outlines that often change in the moment. Even the most beloved finales (including Avatar) come from writers just lucking themselves into the right spot, finding that they had just the right pieces lying around.
Awesome show, I just watched the series on Netflix and my biggest regret is that I didnt watch the show sooner.
I'm hoping the legend of Korra is just as good
I'm hoping the legend of Korra is just as good
I watched it all earlier this year and it became my favourite cartoon of all time. That includes anime lol
It's so good. It's SO GOOD. I love literally every character and was so sad I had to finish the series. I still haven't watched Korra but I've bought Kyoshi's novel which I haven't started yet but I plan to
It's so good. It's SO GOOD. I love literally every character and was so sad I had to finish the series. I still haven't watched Korra but I've bought Kyoshi's novel which I haven't started yet but I plan to
Toph is the best thing about Avatar, and the reason why it hits its stride in the second season.
We've been watching The Dragon Prince and not only is it absolutely fantastic as a show as well, it continues that representation trend in General Amaya, a deaf-mute woman that is the epitome of badass:
There's also a secondary character that's blind, a kindom with two rather awesome queens (onscreen kiss included), and two male elves in a loving relationship, all treated matter-of-factly.
I think it's worth it. There are some really great story beats worth experiencing. It has a really well done look at ptsd. And the music is outstanding. Erhus have such a beautiful sound.
Don't expect it to top ATLA. Just appreciate what it shows and you may find yourself pleasantly surprised.
I blame Korra season 1 and 2 on Nickelodeon's dumb ass for only green-lighting one batch of episodes at a time (sometimes in the MIDDLE of a current season) and then expecting the Korra creators to just "create more story!" when The Last Airbender's greatest strength was that it was a single epic story told over 3 books.
It's why pacing is better, and arcs have more breathing room in Korra 3 & 4, because Nick gave them those two seasons at the same time. Honestly blows my mind that The Last Airbender was WILDLY successful and Nick was stingy with renewal rights. ugh.
It's why pacing is better, and arcs have more breathing room in Korra 3 & 4, because Nick gave them those two seasons at the same time. Honestly blows my mind that The Last Airbender was WILDLY successful and Nick was stingy with renewal rights. ugh.
It's not. None of the characters have any strong development, only basic lip service development where they learn '[insert bad trait] is bad'. It's honestly closer to Full House than ATLA in that regard.
It really was something special that not even its successors were able to match. Korra was OK and I really like The Dragon Prince but there is some cheap writing in that show. Avatar was a show that proved children's television doesn't have to be mindless garbage in lieu of a baby sitter. They were able to cram so much into 22 minute chunks. Something like Star Wars has always seemed focused on designing everything with the intention of selling toys first, I never got that feeling with Avatar TLA.
disney, the ones who didnt make the originals and justified their assertion of it being the end by making up the worst plot twist in the series at the last moment?
just because chronologically it takes place at a later point in the same universe doesnt mean the other trilogies didnt have their own complete arcs, which ended.
The MVP, my favorite female character in media ever.
Holy shit ATLA is legendary. Pretty much every character is incredible.
its hard to write any story. not relevant. i am saying that avatar specifically just kind of petered out. I wouldn't look at it as the shining standard.
Every show should follow suit and make half its cast women. :3
I like TLJ but it's trash compared to what's achieved in ATLA. Book Earth is better than anything in star wars, tbh.
oh wow all the differently colored nations joined forces to give the hero an arena to fight in. not particularly shocking.
I liked avatar. didnt much care for the ending. comparing it to the last jedi is strange, because it's a totally different format.
both are similar in being pretty solidly written pieces of fiction aimed at kids but tacking issues that impact us all. i would never try to compare them any further
For some reason (probably the amazing premise/artstyle), I really made a solo event out of the premiere. Ordered some green pepper/sausage pizza, set up my whole meal, and waited for the show to start before eating.
I can't tell if I remember it so vividly because I made such a strange big deal out of the whole event, or because the show actually impacted me, ha.
Don't force yourself to like things, even if it goes against the zeitgeist.
I will say that second half of Season 2 was when I actively realized I was watching something special.
And they wanted male Toph to be in a love triangle with Aang and Katara. And the person that convinced them to go with blind girl Toph instead was.... sigh.... Aaron Ehasz.
Ok, now I KNOW you're fucking with us.
Again, that's not how the show ended. What are you talking about? Did you watch the same show? lol
(Not even trying to get you to like the show, I'm genuinely trying to figure out what's going on)
? that's definitely what happened, more or less. if you're talking about the conflicts leading up to the final one, then yeah, those were interesting. the actual battle of aang vs fire whatever felt kinda contrived. its the thing where the hero is so prepared for the final fight and then all of a sudden nothing he learned earlier matters. and you can do that well (jojo part 3's final fight) but it was a kinda middling version of that.
it wasnt terrible, it just didn't really fully hit for me.
They had a plan and it didn't overstay its welcome.
The fact that Aang isn't mentally prepared to straight up kill Ozai is touched upon multiple times in the final season, and the nations definitely don't come together to give him an arena in the final fight. The white lotus retake Ba Sing Se, Zuko and Katara go challenge Azula, and Sokka, Toph, and Suki stop the airships. The nations came together for the black sun invasion and got wrecked. Most of them were imprisoned at the time of the finale.
Plans stop Korra season 2 and the last few seasons of GoT from happening
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They basically had an amazing team of writers and storyboard artists who all became industry legends in their own right. Google any random name of writer, director, or storyboard artist of any random episode and that person probably is or was in charge of their own franchise at some point.
Especially if you add Korra's team to the mix.
Especially if you add Korra's team to the mix.
I've watched this series in full roughly once a year since discovering it in 2008. I think the thing that stands out to me is that the script for every single episode (no matter how much of a character building/hi-jinks episode it is) includes at least one line referencing the gaangs current primary goal/the endgame plot. It prevents the show from ever feeling like it's getting lost or bogged down, the characters always feel like they have some sort of understandable motivation for their actions, and each episode feels like one part of a giant roadtrip.
They had a plan and it didn't overstay its welcome.
The fact that Aang isn't mentally prepared to straight up kill Ozai is touched upon multiple times in the final season, and the nations definitely don't come together to give him an arena in the final fight. The white lotus retake Ba Sing Se, Zuko and Katara go challenge Azula, and Sokka, Toph, and Suki stop the airships. The nations came together for the black sun invasion and got wrecked. Most of them were imprisoned at the time of the finale.
Plans stop Korra season 2 and the last few seasons of GoT from happening
Not really in those specific instances the writing staffs of both shows just made bad plans that led to poor TV
Thinking back on it, Avatar is a favorite of all time show. The payoff is just so satisfying. I used to give it a lot of shit for the deus ex lionturtle but looking at how so many other shows have gone up in flames at the end, well I can't knock it too hard.
I mean he's the standard by which all other redemptions are judged.
still the fucking GOAT, rewatched it a few months ago and will probably do so every few years until the end of time.
the only thing I would really criticise is the slightly rushed ending, and the fact that the fire nation inexplicably takes prisoners all the time for not even a handwaved reason (by the end of the 100 years war anyway)
the only thing I would really criticise is the slightly rushed ending, and the fact that the fire nation inexplicably takes prisoners all the time for not even a handwaved reason (by the end of the 100 years war anyway)
I agree with above posters about being actively confused about your understanding of the ending fights. There are four different fights happening simultaneously during the finale each with different goals and characters. All of the fights need to succeed or dire things happen to the world. Katara and Zuko have to stop Azula and take the throne or she will simply continue the Fire Nations reign of terror. The White Lotus and Iroh have to retake Ba Sing Se or it will remain a Fire Nation Stronghold. Toph, Sokka and Suki need to stop the airships from literally burning the entire world. Finally Aang has to stop Ozai from continuing his rule and burning the world.
Aang is EXPLICITlY said to be unprepared for the final fight. First as mentioned above he is not emotionally ready to take a persons life. Second all of his bending teachers say he isn't good enough at any of his bending styles yet. Aang even says he plans to wait a while since the Earth Kingdom already fell so that he can make sure he is ready. The only reason he ends up fighting is that it becomes clear if he does wait that there won't be a world to save. Throughout the entire fight Aang is on the back foot due to his inexperience and lack of a killing instinct. It isn't until his chakras unlock and he regains his connection to his past lives that he turns it around.
eh. ive only watched it once, but it sure did feel like all of that was just happening to clear space for aang.
as for him being supposed to be unprepared, i mean yes i understand that they're not going to say "ok yup this entire fight is going to be a piece of cake you are totally competent and it shouldn't be a problem". obviously thats not satisfying.
but it just felt like something out of a different show, in a way that was kind of really not all that engaging for me personally. just because a lot is going on doesn't mean a lot is actually going on, you know?
I ended up thinking the series as a whole was good, but the ending isn't what i remember when i think of the parts i liked. apparently i don't even remember it all that well aside from the actual 1v1 fight, though elements like the ships ring a bell for sure, and i remembered that they fought azula some time close to that.
i remember looking at the credits on the ending and feeling my view of the series as a whole being colored negatively to some extent. that's all i can tell you without watching it again (probably wont)
I'd say that's true for 4-6 (and, hell, A New Hope is incredibly good as a stand-alone film), but I think 1-3's overall story ended knowing that you either:
A) Knew what happened in 4-6
or
B) Were going to watch 4-6
It had plenty of plotlines that were nowhere near "complete" if you had only watched that trilogy.
The fresh and compelling world-building from Bryan Konietzko and Michael Dante diMartino, the excellent character writing from writers like Aaron Ehasz and his wife Elizabeth Welch (among others, too numerous to quickly list), the directing from seasoned pros like Giancarlo Volpe, Lauren MacMullan and Dave Filoni (!!), the voice direction by the legendary Andrea Romano, the impeccably selected cast ... you can keep going with this. The soundtrack by Jeremy Zuckermann and Benjamin Winn. The martial arts foundation that came from Sifu Kisu. The South Korean animation team at Studio Mir, who you might know from The Boondocks, working at the top of their game.
It's a matrix of absurd talent at the right place, at the right time, and we may never see its like again.
It's a matrix of absurd talent at the right place, at the right time, and we may never see its like again.
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It kinda did though. I suspect Legend of Korra's infamous love quadrangle was basically what they wanted back in the day. And, well, the overwhelmingly negative response caused them to drop it after season 2... and then they canonized Korrasami to make up for it, and the rest is history.
Yeah ATLA is my favorite show of all time. Sokka is my favorite character and even though his friends would disagree, I think he's insanely hilarious.
