Avatar

About a month ago, I started watching Avatar.


Yes. That cartoon show on Nickelodeon.

Of course, it will be tiresome and damn potong stim to watch one episode a week. That would be the case if I follow the show on TV!

Ah! But there's the Internet. So why wait when you can... Download!

*insert maniacal laughter*

Anyways. Who would have thought that Avatar is such a great show? I mean, I've read articles praising it and heard of the awards that it has bagged, but I never would have thought that it is THIS good.

What's this Avatar crap? Well, the show is set in a universe where the art of controlling the elements, called the art of bending, exists. There are four distinct groups of people: Fire Nation, Earth Kingdom, Air Nomads and Water Tribe. Each group has an affinity towards the element its name suggests. To keep the balance in the world, there exists an individual who is able to master all four elements. This individual is called the Avatar. One day, the Fire Nation decided to attack the other three nations. Conveniently, the Avatar chose to disappear at this time. 100 years into the war, the Fire Nation is on the brink of victory. It is at this time that the Avatar reappears, found hidden inside an iceberg by two Water Tribe members.

Don't let the show's cartoony look and feel fool you. This is definitely NOT a show meant just for kids. The character's world is a war-torn one, filled with people bearing sad histories of losing loved ones to the war. Here is a world where kids grow up without seeing much of their parents and unfortunate fathers having to bury their sons.


Most notable of the characters is Zuko. He is a prince of the Fire Nation, banished by his own father just for speaking out of turn. Initially, he seems to be a cruel, not-caring and selfish individual who would do anything to regain his honour. As the plot develops, he is revealed to be a confused teenager who just wants to gain the attention of his father and an individual torn between his loyalty to his country and doing what's right.

And then there's Iroh, the general who was branded a coward for withdrawing from an important battle after the loss of his only son. The Avatar universe is filled with such characters. Kudos go to the writers for coming up with interesting backgrounds for the characters instead of using the generic bad guy good guy set up!

Oh and the art style! The universe draws much from Chinese art, with pagodas and outfits taken straight out of kungfu flicks and the foggy mountains so loved by Chinese artists. And if you take a look at the giant Earth Kingdom cities, you will bow down in awe at the brilliance of it.


And looking at the names of the places and people, the show obviously caters to a Western audience. In this side of the world, we will be laughing at the redundancy of names like Senlin Forest and Heibai the Black and White Monster.

There's obviously too many things to praise about this show.

So my advice to you is this: forget what everyone is saying about how the cartoon is only meant for the younger audience and GO WATCH IT.

Side Order: Wednesday is tomorrow. Man I hope everything turns out fine! Getting a bit of the jitters. Hahaha.