avatar. no, not that little picture next to my username.
Blog Entry: avatar. no, not that little picture next to my username.
Blog Entry: avatar. no, not that little picture next to my username.
Posted by: AeolianMode
Posted: June 17, 2008, 5:28:01 PM
Mood: Artistic
Eating: Cherries
Drinking: Water
Currently: Drawing
Listening To: Soundtracks
Posted: June 17, 2008, 5:28:01 PM
Mood: Artistic
Eating: Cherries
Drinking: Water
Currently: Drawing
Listening To: Soundtracks
THIS IS A CRITICAL ARTICLE WRITTEN BY ME. THERE ARE NO SPOILERS.
Wow. Who was I kidding, not catching up on the latest Avatar: The Last Airbender episodes?!
For all ye who are about to read this mini-article who have not yet seen Avatar: do not be fooled by its presentation on the kid's channel for the king of all flops and craps, Nickelodean. Avatar is a series which has been amazingly and professionally crafted into an unforgettable tale. But, in order to enjoy it to its fullest, you must watch it from the beginning. Most of its episodes continue an ongoing story and are not episodic, mundane, day-to-day trial type episodes seen in most kids shows. Yes, there are morals. But they are good morals, and they normally aren't shoved down your throat- they are thoughtfully placed in characters' dialogue.
As a critic I firmly watch shows/movies with a critical mind, and I look for the pros and cons in the following:
1) Characters
2) Storyline
3) Romance
4) Humo
5) Art and Animation Style
6) Action
I'll say this right off the bat: Avatar beautifully and masterfully recognizes what a good story needs, and gives it just that. Now I'll narrow it down.
CHARACTERS
All of the characters are believable and all are likable, to a certain extent. They have flaws, character qualities, and differences that make them stand out from the cookie-cutter characters found in some shows. I could be critical about ways some characters are handled, but for the majority of the time, they are believable and realistic. They don't come close to mary-sues.
One of the best things about Avatar's diverse cast is its appeal. Its easy to chose a character to be your favorite. Its easy to find others who like different characters. I personally love Sokka. Some people like Katara better. Others like Aang. Since the cast is so diverse you can pick a character as you watch it and say, "I think I like him the best."
STORYLINE
To me, characters and storyline are the things most needed to make a good story. Some serieses may have great characters but a terrible story, some vice versa. Avatar, however, is not one of these. The storyline is nearly perfect, it makes sense, with some minor flaws that I can let slide. There are some(very minor) continuity issues in some episodes, but the basis of the plot is firm and makes perfect sense. The characters respond believably to what happens, and many episodes have an attention hook that keeps you wanting to find out what happens and watch it to the very end. It keeps you glued to your seat, no matter how badly you want to pee.
ROMANCE
Though romance isn't NEEDED to make a good story, it certainly helps. it gives characters motivation and reasons to do what they do, and it gives the fanbase some stuff to work with. (Not like they need any help coming up with their own non-canon couples, which I utterly despise <_<) Avatar artfully places romance within the story in a believable way.
HUMOR
Who wants to watch something dark and depressing and miserable with no breaks whatsoever? Not me. The comic relief and occasional humorous moments are tastefully and creatively demonstrated in Avatar. Some of it is a little juvenile, but some of it hits me right on the spot.
ART AND ANIMATION STYLE
For the record, I could care less if something is "true anime" or not. If its good, I'll watch it. And Avatar is good. Heck, it surpasses good. It surpasses great. It may just even be almost perfect. Anyway, I think all those people who are going "its not authentic anime, so its crap" need to stick their heads in a toilet and flush a few times to clear out all that garglemesh in their brains. As Strong Bad would say, "That gunk is ill." So, I will continue to say, the art is great regardless of where it came from. The animation is smooth, almost movie-quality. They don't re-use scenes like some other shows. Everything is done smoothly and colorfully. In some scenes, the camera shakes as though it was a real movie crew following around actors on a battlefeild, but its a cartoon.
ACTION
And the action- oh, the action. If it wasn't for Avatar's action scenes it would lose a lot of its flavor. Part of the story deals with a kind of power called "bending", where the users grab and bend certain elements with nothingness. This opens the door to some extrordanary, jaw-dropping scenes containing nothing but battle, battle, battle. Maybe a little bit of dialogue. But the combat is alive and authentic, and some scenes just make you want to scream, "LOOK OUT BEHIND YOU!"
Seriously. I talked to the TV (or sometimes my moniter) at the characters or talked to myself about what was happening because... I was so into it!
Seriously. Set aside some teensy, minor flaws that Avatar is and go and watch it. I don't think there's a single person on the planet who could sincerely watch an episode, put aside any kind of resident frustrations about the show or its "not-anime" animeness, and then place their hand on a bible and swear they hated it.
Wow. Who was I kidding, not catching up on the latest Avatar: The Last Airbender episodes?!
For all ye who are about to read this mini-article who have not yet seen Avatar: do not be fooled by its presentation on the kid's channel for the king of all flops and craps, Nickelodean. Avatar is a series which has been amazingly and professionally crafted into an unforgettable tale. But, in order to enjoy it to its fullest, you must watch it from the beginning. Most of its episodes continue an ongoing story and are not episodic, mundane, day-to-day trial type episodes seen in most kids shows. Yes, there are morals. But they are good morals, and they normally aren't shoved down your throat- they are thoughtfully placed in characters' dialogue.
As a critic I firmly watch shows/movies with a critical mind, and I look for the pros and cons in the following:
1) Characters
2) Storyline
3) Romance
4) Humo
5) Art and Animation Style
6) Action
I'll say this right off the bat: Avatar beautifully and masterfully recognizes what a good story needs, and gives it just that. Now I'll narrow it down.
CHARACTERS
All of the characters are believable and all are likable, to a certain extent. They have flaws, character qualities, and differences that make them stand out from the cookie-cutter characters found in some shows. I could be critical about ways some characters are handled, but for the majority of the time, they are believable and realistic. They don't come close to mary-sues.
One of the best things about Avatar's diverse cast is its appeal. Its easy to chose a character to be your favorite. Its easy to find others who like different characters. I personally love Sokka. Some people like Katara better. Others like Aang. Since the cast is so diverse you can pick a character as you watch it and say, "I think I like him the best."
STORYLINE
To me, characters and storyline are the things most needed to make a good story. Some serieses may have great characters but a terrible story, some vice versa. Avatar, however, is not one of these. The storyline is nearly perfect, it makes sense, with some minor flaws that I can let slide. There are some(very minor) continuity issues in some episodes, but the basis of the plot is firm and makes perfect sense. The characters respond believably to what happens, and many episodes have an attention hook that keeps you wanting to find out what happens and watch it to the very end. It keeps you glued to your seat, no matter how badly you want to pee.
ROMANCE
Though romance isn't NEEDED to make a good story, it certainly helps. it gives characters motivation and reasons to do what they do, and it gives the fanbase some stuff to work with. (Not like they need any help coming up with their own non-canon couples, which I utterly despise <_<) Avatar artfully places romance within the story in a believable way.
HUMOR
Who wants to watch something dark and depressing and miserable with no breaks whatsoever? Not me. The comic relief and occasional humorous moments are tastefully and creatively demonstrated in Avatar. Some of it is a little juvenile, but some of it hits me right on the spot.
ART AND ANIMATION STYLE
For the record, I could care less if something is "true anime" or not. If its good, I'll watch it. And Avatar is good. Heck, it surpasses good. It surpasses great. It may just even be almost perfect. Anyway, I think all those people who are going "its not authentic anime, so its crap" need to stick their heads in a toilet and flush a few times to clear out all that garglemesh in their brains. As Strong Bad would say, "That gunk is ill." So, I will continue to say, the art is great regardless of where it came from. The animation is smooth, almost movie-quality. They don't re-use scenes like some other shows. Everything is done smoothly and colorfully. In some scenes, the camera shakes as though it was a real movie crew following around actors on a battlefeild, but its a cartoon.
ACTION
And the action- oh, the action. If it wasn't for Avatar's action scenes it would lose a lot of its flavor. Part of the story deals with a kind of power called "bending", where the users grab and bend certain elements with nothingness. This opens the door to some extrordanary, jaw-dropping scenes containing nothing but battle, battle, battle. Maybe a little bit of dialogue. But the combat is alive and authentic, and some scenes just make you want to scream, "LOOK OUT BEHIND YOU!"
Seriously. I talked to the TV (or sometimes my moniter) at the characters or talked to myself about what was happening because... I was so into it!
Seriously. Set aside some teensy, minor flaws that Avatar is and go and watch it. I don't think there's a single person on the planet who could sincerely watch an episode, put aside any kind of resident frustrations about the show or its "not-anime" animeness, and then place their hand on a bible and swear they hated it.