Reviews WesternAnimation / Avatar The Last Airbender

An fine example of a kids' show done right.

Back when the show first started years ago, I loved it. It was an exciting, action-packed show with a great storyline that always kept you hooked. I somewhat followed the series through the first 2 seasons, but because of Nickelodeon's weird scheduling, I couldn't see most of the third. Thankfully, Netflix has all 3 seasons, so I finally sat down and watched it, beginning to end, during the Summer. And it was just as great as I remembered it.

Granted, a few of the first season's episodes were silly, and some seemed like filler, but it was always animated well, interesting, and even the worst episodes had some funny parts. Watching it all at once helped me see how well linked together the plot was, and while Season 1 had filler episodes, things were always moving along, leading to a conclusion. (And I could go on and on about how amazing this series' conclusion was to me, but this is a review of the series, not the finale) Season 1 had silliness while moving along the plot and always keeping some degree of seriousness. Season 2 had a much more interesting plot with less filler, and Season 3 had a dark, entertaining plot that really showed off the depth of the characters while tying up some of the series' loose ends.

The animation of the show was always good, and it just got better as the show went on. This is especially true for the bending techniques. Not only does the animation of the techniques improve, but the attacks themselves improve, making battles more epic as time went on. The characters were all expressive and fun to watch. The show also never shied away from darker themes than most children's shows, which made it more interesting to watch. This made it appealing, even outside of it's intended demographic.

If you've got Netflix, I'd highly recommend you check out the series. It will be worth your time.