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While watching Avatar: The Last Airbender (Book 2: Earth, Volume 1) on DVD, I felt like I was the new kid in town, walking into a party where I was still expected to know everyone and all of the internal politics. Still, it was a party with all the cool kids, so I had to stick around. And, fortunately, this was a fun little movie once I got into it.
Avatar: The Last Airbender tells the story of a twelve-year-old named Aang, who holds the power to restore world order. Aang is basically a spoiled brat who would rather play than live up to his awesome power and responsibilities, but he has the ability to control the elements of Air, Water, Earth, and Fire—each of which is represented by a separate nation.
The world has been at war for over 100 years because the Fire Nation is attempting to conquer the other nations: Air, Water, and Earth. I’m not sure why the Fire Nation decided to take over the world, although that’s explained in earlier DVDs. But it does a good job of creating tension and giving the series an overall sense of purpose. Aang’s fear of becoming a warrior is well played, too.
Overall, this is a very interesting DVD. Each of the five episodes stands on its own very well—but the episodes also fit together nicely when watched back-to-back. The story flows well from segment to segment, and it gives the viewer a sense that he or she is watching a very compact television mini-series. The animation is solid on the series, though it’s not really my style to watch. I prefer a more solid drawing style, as opposed to the quasi-anime style done here, but that’s more of a personal preference than a major negative.
Avatar is a great show for the kids to watch. The violence is mostly inferred, and there are no sexual or adult overtones. If you haven’t caught the show on Nickelodeon, though, I’d recommend getting a DVD with earlier episodes before watching this one.
Ed. Note: For more Avatar, check out Jacqueline's review of Book 2: Earth, Volume 2.
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