#12 – Avatar: The Last Airbender 💖
If I had to pick a show that almost reaches the level that Breaking Bad did, it would be Avatar: The Last Airbender. This show is an experience and has one of the best animation standards on television, a lot of people call this animation style, anime, but I see it more as american anime as it was created by americans. I will also say that this show uses imagery of different cultures like East/South Asian, and New World Societies and it combines with anime elements and cartoons. Put it all together and you have one of the best written cartoons of our generation.
The characters of Aang, Katara, Sokka, Toph, and Zuko have great chemistry together and all have an arc from a character developmental standpoint. The story, like Breaking Bad, is nearly flawless from beginning to end, and it has some the best written drama that is rare in american cartoons like this. The voice cast all do a fantastic job and some of the known voice actors do an amazing job like Mae Whitman, Mark Hamill, Dante Basco, Mako, and Grey DeLisle.
This show has two amazing villains, Fire Lord Ozai and Princess Azula. Both are evil to the core and they both have their reasons for being like they are throughout the series. Both Grey DeLisle and Mark Hamill do absolutely fantastic jobs with their voices for both of these characters as they are essential for bringing them to life.
I know that Prince Zuko was a villain in the first two seasons, but I see him more as a flawed anti-hero who was only trying to impress his father and regain his honor after being brutally defeated and banished by his corrupted father. Dante Basco also does an excellent job of voicing this character and was clearly the right voice for this type of character.
Aang is one of the most relatable characters on the show because he starts out as afraid to face his destiny as he was quickly rushed into training and basically had no life and freedom to do what he wanted. When you see him throughout the show, he’s an energetic child and has a good heart for helping others, but he eventually comes to realize that he has to fulfill his destiny as the Avatar; Master of all four elements of water, earth, fire, air, and save the world from the Fire Nation.
Other characters like Katara and Sokka have great character development from beginning to end. They both mature into adulthood and they both realize how important it is to work together with Aang to fight the Fire Nation and bring peace to the four nations.
If you want more of my thoughts of this show, check out my repost of an old review of Avatar, right after I finished the show.
Honestly, Avatar: The Last Airbender is my favorite animated series of all time as it has all the elements I love about a great series: great writing, great comedy, great animation, great drama, and great character development. It’s another show that has some of the best writing you will ever see on television. It’s timeless because of what I just said in this mini-review, so take my word for it and watch this show if you haven’t seen it.
