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Avatar: The Last Airbender Forums

Nickelodeon (ended 2008)

What makes Avatar so unique

  • Avatar of shadowcloud86

    shadowcloud86

    [1]Oct 15, 2006
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    In just 2 seasons Avatar: The Last Airbender has become one of the most poplular and highly rated ingenious cartoons of our generation! Why is it so succesful? What gives it its "edge" and why do kids continue to watch it?

    I think it is just pure genius to begin with, but also, not very many cartoon shows have a definite plot line, where there will certainly be a beginning and a conclusion that is planned out in advance. Like spongebob, its just episode after episode with no real plot. (not that I don't like spongebob, just using it as an example)

    what makes Avatar so special to you?

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  • Avatar of UGamer08

    UGamer08

    [2]Oct 15, 2006
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    Another "Why this Avatar's so great" thread eh? A bit ostentatious there but yeah its pretty well-placed. Its gonna get locked dude.

    Edited on 10/15/2006 2:13pm
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  • Avatar of shadowcloud86

    shadowcloud86

    [3]Oct 15, 2006
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    UGamer08 wrote:

    Another "Why this Avatar's so great" thread eh? A bit ostentatious there but yeah its pretty well-placed. Its gonna get locked dude.

    ooops i feel stupid...sorry!

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  • Avatar of dumbTVnut

    dumbTVnut

    [4]Oct 15, 2006
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    shadowcloud86 wrote:

    Avatar so special to you?


    Nothing. It a good show, but I've seen better. It just compared to what else is on nick its the greatest thing on earth. I have to admit that I'm impressed that something like avatar could come out of some American producers and Korea slave animator labor.
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  • Avatar of blitzwing17

    blitzwing17

    [5]Oct 15, 2006
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    In 2 words: character development. Nothing is more gratifying then seeing a situation in which a charcter would normally do something, but because of past effects, has decided upon a different plan of action.
    Every character seems to grow and mature in this series and really is something to behold.
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  • Avatar of subcelebrity

    subcelebrity

    [6]Oct 15, 2006
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    Well developed characters, beautiful animation, well coreographed battle scenes.. this is a show that took a *ton* of work and research to create. Voice acting is also very good, although it is kind of obvious/annoying in places when the same actor is voicing more than one character in the same episode.
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  • Avatar of WiseIroh

    WiseIroh

    [7]Oct 15, 2006
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    to me its that the show has no linear story line the story spreads and for a kids show that is highly impressive.
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  • Avatar of Eman5805

    Eman5805

    [8]Oct 15, 2006
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    it has top tier animation and voice work...but the characters are the heart of the show...and the fact that even animals like Appa and Momo are shown with real depth...you connect with them and wanna know what's gonna happen next...one of the best american based cartoons to come on since Gargoyles

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  • Avatar of Faldwin

    Faldwin

    [9]Oct 15, 2006
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    Lets see how many reasons I can come up with:
    1. Character development
    2. Well thought out bending disciplines
    3. Ships that actually go someplace. A lot of shows will just tease you infinitely, and then when they finally get together, the show ends.
    4. Great comedy
    5. Real-world spiritual theory (chi, and the like)

    Okay thats all I can do now, but I may come up with more later.
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  • Avatar of PrimoNation

    PrimoNation

    [10]Oct 15, 2006
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    I like the fact that I can watch this show with my 5yr old and 7yr old and they can enjoy it although most the subject material is WAY over their heads. Of course that is the reason I enjoy it so much. The Avatar gives adults a show with mystery and intrigue with a rich history and culture WITHOUT making it unable to watch around your kids - that is a RARE find in this day and age. Heck I was watching America's Funniest Videos the other day and the host used foul language . We have relationships, revenge, life or death situations... I could go on and on.... and yet thru it all my kids are smiling and enjoying the "karate" moves and bedhead jokes... GOTTA LOVE IT!
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  • Avatar of dumbTVnut

    dumbTVnut

    [11]Oct 15, 2006
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    Faldwin wrote:
    Lets see how many reasons I can come up with:
    1. Character development
    2. Well thought out bending disciplines
    3. Ships that actually go someplace. A lot of shows will just tease you infinitely, and then when they finally get together, the show ends.
    4. Great comedy
    5. Real-world spiritual theory (chi, and the like)

    Okay thats all I can do now, but I may come up with more later.


    1. You want character development?, let see, how about gunslinger girls: nothing brings tears to your eye like watching cybernetic little girls degenerate!
    2.There is like a whole class of animes that have well designed chorography, fighting styles and powers, example: I hate to say it but it just the most likely one that everyone here knows of: naruto. 3. What your kidding me right?, sure sokka gets action like a rabit in heat, but look at aang and katara, in 40 episodes they might have kissed??? once, that it. You want dynamic relationships, heck try venture brothers, anyone seen this night???s episode, I totally saw that coming, dr. girlfriend being a little bit pregnant that is. 4. Oh please. Try JoJo's Bizarre Adventure... wait that???s an awful example! Invader zim then.
    5. You want spiritual theory try veggie tales, nothing like Christian ideology shoved down you throat in nutritious morsels. You want spiritual theory try veggie tales, nothing like Christian ideology shoved down you throat in nutritious morsels. How is avatar secretly doing the same thing to you with Taoism and oriental tradition any better?
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  • Avatar of robinhawk77

    robinhawk77

    [12]Oct 15, 2006
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    dumbTVnut wrote:
    Faldwin wrote:
    Lets see how many reasons I can come up with:
    1. Character development
    2. Well thought out bending disciplines
    3. Ships that actually go someplace. A lot of shows will just tease you infinitely, and then when they finally get together, the show ends.
    4. Great comedy
    5. Real-world spiritual theory (chi, and the like)

    Okay thats all I can do now, but I may come up with more later.


    1. You want character development?, let see, how about gunslinger girls: nothing brings tears to your eye like watching cybernetic little girls degenerate!
    2.There is like a whole class of animes that have well designed chorography, fighting styles and powers, example: I hate to say it but it just the most likely one that everyone here knows of: naruto. 3. What your kidding me right?, sure sokka gets action like a rabit in heat, but look at aang and katara, in 40 episodes they might have kissed??? once, that it. You want dynamic relationships, heck try venture brothers, anyone seen this night???s episode, I totally saw that coming, dr. girlfriend being a little bit pregnant that is. 4. Oh please. Try JoJo's Bizarre Adventure... wait that???s an awful example! Invader zim then.
    5. You want spiritual theory try veggie tales, nothing like Christian ideology shoved down you throat in nutritious morsels. You want spiritual theory try veggie tales, nothing like Christian ideology shoved down you throat in nutritious morsels. How is avatar secretly doing the same thing to you with Taoism and oriental tradition any better?


    dude, you are dissing it way too much.

    1. Nauruto isn't nearly as great as the avatar, and it doesn't spend episodes focusing on one particular battle. Geez, what better way to cut animation costs, than watching a character THINK about what he's going to do next, over and over and over...

    2. The comedy is lighter, and much more entertaining for children. INVADER ZIM is amazing! But it was way too dark for some children, so instead of putting it during a time young children would watch it (like nick should've), they cancelled the series.

    3. I don't think the relationships are dynamic, but they are certainly more complex. And you're still not giving them credit. Venture brothers is not a show for kids under 10. Avatar beats Venture Brothers on that account (but Venture Brothers is much more entertaining usually)

    4. Avatar uses much more realistic martial arts than Naruto! god! I wish you people would stop comparing them!!!


    I like Avatar because:

    -the artwork
    -the depth of the storyline
    -the characters
    -the amount of work you see that goes into an episode (some episodes)
    -the settings (and background story. reminds me of some old video games, like final fantasy)
    -and the humorous scenarios the characters get into
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  • Avatar of JonathonWolf

    JonathonWolf

    [13]Oct 16, 2006
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    dumbTVnut wrote:
    Faldwin wrote:
    Lets see how many reasons I can come up with:
    1. Character development
    2. Well thought out bending disciplines
    3. Ships that actually go someplace. A lot of shows will just tease you infinitely, and then when they finally get together, the show ends.
    4. Great comedy
    5. Real-world spiritual theory (chi, and the like)

    Okay thats all I can do now, but I may come up with more later.


    1. You want character development?, let see, how about gunslinger girls: nothing brings tears to your eye like watching cybernetic little girls degenerate!
    2.There is like a whole class of animes that have well designed chorography, fighting styles and powers, example: I hate to say it but it just the most likely one that everyone here knows of: naruto. 3. What your kidding me right?, sure sokka gets action like a rabit in heat, but look at aang and katara, in 40 episodes they might have kissed??? once, that it. You want dynamic relationships, heck try venture brothers, anyone seen this night???s episode, I totally saw that coming, dr. girlfriend being a little bit pregnant that is. 4. Oh please. Try JoJo's Bizarre Adventure... wait that???s an awful example! Invader zim then.
    5. You want spiritual theory try veggie tales, nothing like Christian ideology shoved down you throat in nutritious morsels. You want spiritual theory try veggie tales, nothing like Christian ideology shoved down you throat in nutritious morsels. How is avatar secretly doing the same thing to you with Taoism and oriental tradition any better?


    1:?? There a great many things that have character development.?? Books and plays are full of it.?? Some titles have more character development than others.?? Rurouni Kenshin has quite a bit of character development, but there is more in the manga than in the show.

    2:?? There are many anime that do not have better choreography.?? Naruto is along the same lines as Dragonball Z and Yu Yu Hakusho.?? The big battles can last for weeks with stages of each side gaining sudden escalations of power.?? They even had to explain during the Chuu-nin exam that Sakura and Ino's fight was one of the few normal fights.?? Most of the cast is supremely powerful; Gaara and Naruto are bonded to gods.?? They all use the same martial art while relying heavily on special techniques.?? Avatar actually gave each style its own characterists.?? Even each major practicioner can be seen to have different nuances.

    3:?? Aang and Katara's relationship is dynamic.?? They both haven't really been looking at each other as love interests all that long.?? A lot of thought is going into whether they want to pursue it.?? Katara's not sure if she's interested because of what the Fortuneteller told her, and she has to wonder if pursuing the Avatar will only lead to heartache.?? Aang has to wonder if he'll only hurt Katara worse if they fall in love and whether he's doing it out of loneliness.?? Venture Bros is a poor comparison since Monarch and Dr. Girlfriend have been in love since the beginning.?? And then the viewer is teased with their being broken up since the beginning of season 2.?? DumbTVnut is correct that most shows end when the main characters get together.?? It's usually part of the series finale so that they can tie up all the loose ends.?? Fans of Stargate have been tortured by the tension of an unrequited romance between Gen. O'Neil and Col. Carter because they know military regulations won't allow them to pursue a relationship.

    4:?? Comedy isn't something anyone can define.?? Obviously, you like a dark comedy.?? Not everyone laughs at the same jokes.?? In some settings, racial jokes aren't tolerated; but in the right settings, they can be accepted as light-hearted humor.?? I find Avatar has some good laughs in it.

    5:?? I find it insulting that someone who praises anime so much has learned nothing from it.?? An American show is doing a respectable job portraying Eastern philosophy, and I applaud them for it.?? It's obvious the creators went out of their way to show the spiritual aspects of another culture in a way that is true to the origins but that a different culture would be able to understand.

    I like the show because it's obvious how much the creators put into creating an authenticity to the show.?? There's a visual progression to physical features and character progression.?? The continuity of the show is amazing.?? When you consider who the show's target audience is, they could have done a lot worse in keeping the story as interwoven and progressive as they have.
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  • Avatar of subcelebrity

    subcelebrity

    [14]Oct 16, 2006
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    Something perhaps worth adding to the Naruto comparison is that in Avatar, the choreography in the martial arts department is much more fluid and realistic. Not nescesarily dissing Naruto here, but I know that in at least one case, almost an entire fight scene in one ep. was copied from the Cowboy Bebop movie, blow for blow (incidentally, that scene was also allegedly lifted from a Bruce Lee movie, but I have yet to see any evidence of that.)
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  • Avatar of Eman5805

    Eman5805

    [15]Oct 16, 2006
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    and because of those super long DBZ(didn't Freiza say a planet would explode in 5 minutes? but that didn't happen for another 7 episodes), Naruto fights, the fights in Avatar seem too short...fights in Avatar last about as long as a fight in the real world might last...
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  • Avatar of dumbTVnut

    dumbTVnut

    [16]Oct 16, 2006
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    Look someone got to play the devils advocate, we can't just all say "Avatar is the 11111!". I think I'm doing a pretty bang up job considering that I personally feel most of the examples I have stated are actually opposite to my points (that the why my hummer works baby). Any here is more.

    1.I'm glad everyone argees with me.
    2.Lets just put aside the fact that never-ending-story animes make fight seems indescribably horribly long. Can you honestly say you have never seen a cartoon with short choreographed fight scenes on par with avatar or better?
    3. Kids and adults eeh? Well there is no shortage on that list either, at least outside the usa, inside well there avatar, maybe danny phantom, kim possible (oh god what a orgy of pop-feminism!), etc. I'll admit avatars probabbly #1 in the usa on that, I think "stellvia of the universe" is a goode example of a all-ages show, I would describe it as a fusion of star trek and harry potter. 4. I'm not saying avatar does not have comedy, and there are other cartoons that have light commedy (most american cartoons in fact) sure race jokes are bad but what about jokes about the disabled, say jokes about the visually challenged? I???m sure blind people watching the show (don't laugh) would have some objections to some of the jokes made at Toph's expense.
    5. Do you know much about easter philosophy? Where is there bending of the elements in it?
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  • Avatar of Faldwin

    Faldwin

    [17]Oct 16, 2006
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    Wow, my simple list has sparked quite a discussion. I would just like to say that I don't have a lot of experience with "real" (Japanese) anime. Just Naruto, and only the dubbed version of that. I wasn't saying that Avatar surpasses other shows in these areas, I was simply saying that they do a good job of it. So I will comment further on each of my items now that I have more time.

    1. Character development - I personally think this show does an exemplary job of that.??
      1. The "villain" introduced at the beginning of the show(Zuko) has changed radically.?? Going from a moody anger driven boy to someone who actually went on a date with a girl.?? His status within the fire nation and his opinion of them has also changed radically.??
      2. Aang was originally guilty about abandoning the world in??its time of need, and has now gotten over that.?? He has adopted a much more serious attitude about mastering the elements and saving the world, than he had earlier.?? And through all of his hardships he has still maintained his good attitude
      3. Sokka in the beginning was a overly macho, pompous boy.?? In the period of only a few moths he has developed, into someone who respects the talents of others(even girls) and now respects women much more.?? All of this maturation and Sokka is still an awesome guy
    2. Well thought out bending disciplines -
      1. For example firebending is more than just shooting fire.?? The very first episode explained the concept behind the bending to an extent that it could be replicated (if it were real)?? It was further elaborated upon in "The Deserter"?? Ironically the element of the "enemy" is the most developed.??
      2. But waterbending is also given some attention.?? Examples are the need for push and pull, and the relation to the moon.
      3. Earthbending theory is given a lot of attention in "Bitter Work"?? As well as the "neutral jin"(sp?) discussed earlier
      4. Airbending actually receives the least attention, but that is probably because no one is being taught it
    3. I agree that the Kataang ship seems to be following the traditional theme of endless teasing.?? But the ship definitely has depth that is not present in many other ships.?? For examples see "Cave of Two Lovers" and "Fortune Teller"?? When I originally wrote that I was thinking of Sokka who has been with at least two girls and there is strong evidence for more.?? Also for a macho guy like Sokka, the relationships have been surprisingly mature.
    4. Different things are funny for different people, so I won't bother defending the show's comedic value.?? I personally love the humor.?? If you don't then that's okay to, there's plenty of other things to love.
    5. When I originally posted this I failed to take into consideration my unique belief system.?? I personally believe that anything is possible if you know you can do it(telekinesis etc.)?? So with my beliefs in mind, anything seen on that show is possible.?? Even if you do not share this belief a little research will reveal that many of the concepts presented do exist in many eastern cultures.?? For example the flow of chi throughout the body.?? Another example would be what was demonstrated by the Guru in "Appa's Lost Days"?? The flow of energies is simple to "see" for even someone with little experience.?? I can do it on a smaller scale. (like in a single room)?? I don't know of any eastern mythologies that have direct bending of the elements. but I have heard of controlling fire to a small extent like making candle flames move and go out.?? Any of the other elements could be accomplished by telekinesis.

    Wow that was long, but I really do like this show and I wanted to add my two cents(okay maybe a little more) to this discussion.?? Just a quick disclaimer and I will be done.

    With #5 I do not mean to offend anyone, or to influence their beliefs, but merely to demonstrate mine.?? If you want to discus my beliefs PM me and I will be happy to talk with you, but don't clutter up the boards berating, or supporting me.

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  • Avatar of piranhapete

    piranhapete

    [18]Oct 16, 2006
    • member since: 12/31/04
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    dumbTVnut wrote:
    Faldwin wrote:
    Lets see how many reasons I can come up with:
    1. Character development
    2. Well thought out bending disciplines
    3. Ships that actually go someplace. A lot of shows will just tease you infinitely, and then when they finally get together, the show ends.
    4. Great comedy
    5. Real-world spiritual theory (chi, and the like)

    Okay thats all I can do now, but I may come up with more later.


    1. You want character development?, let see, how about gunslinger girls: nothing brings tears to your eye like watching cybernetic little girls degenerate!
    2.There is like a whole class of animes that have well designed chorography, fighting styles and powers, example: I hate to say it but it just the most likely one that everyone here knows of: naruto. 3. What your kidding me right?, sure sokka gets action like a rabit in heat, but look at aang and katara, in 40 episodes they might have kissed??? once, that it. You want dynamic relationships, heck try venture brothers, anyone seen this night???s episode, I totally saw that coming, dr. girlfriend being a little bit pregnant that is. 4. Oh please. Try JoJo's Bizarre Adventure... wait that???s an awful example! Invader zim then.
    5. You want spiritual theory try veggie tales, nothing like Christian ideology shoved down you throat in nutritious morsels. You want spiritual theory try veggie tales, nothing like Christian ideology shoved down you throat in nutritious morsels. How is avatar secretly doing the same thing to you with Taoism and oriental tradition any better?


    What the heck? My main problem with your post is that you named five SEPARATE examples, whereas Avatar has a bit of everything in one neat package. Why are you even here if you don't like Avatar?
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  • Avatar of dumbTVnut

    dumbTVnut

    [19]Oct 16, 2006
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    piranhapete wrote:
    Why are you even here if you don't like Avatar?


    I quote my self because you can't read:
    dumbTVnut wrote:
    Look someone got to play the devils advocate, we can't just all say "Avatar is the 11111!". I think I'm doing a pretty bang up job considering that I personally feel most of the examples I have stated are actually opposite to my points (that the why my hummer works baby).
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  • Avatar of piranhapete

    piranhapete

    [20]Oct 16, 2006
    • member since: 12/31/04
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    dumbTVnut wrote:
    piranhapete wrote:
    Why are you even here if you don't like Avatar?


    I quote my self because you can't read:
    dumbTVnut wrote:
    Look someone got to play the devils advocate, we can't just all say "Avatar is the 11111!". I think I'm doing a pretty bang up job considering that I personally feel most of the examples I have stated are actually opposite to my points (that the why my hummer works baby).


    Ok... *goes to hide in a corner*
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