Avatar:The Last Airbender: Not perfect, but surpasses

"You are my friend. You will always be my friend."

Hearing those words can bring warmth to someone's heart, which it definitely did for me. If you haven't watched the new version of Avatar: The Last Airbender, Aang's mentor and friend, Gyatso, speaks these words to Aang, which he holds on to. Looking at the series, this is one part of the show that I particularly enjoyed. The bond between Aang and Gyatso was quite developed and shown in the live-action series. Watching the dynamics of the friendship and mentorship between the two had me wanting to see more.

If you have never seen any version of Avatar: The Last Airbender, this is a popular and beloved show that has been watched countless times. The show, which was originally animated, is set in a fictional world where there are four nations: Water, Earth, Fire, and Air. The show depicts Aang, who is the Avatar, joined by siblings Katara and Sokka, on their mission to stop the Fire Nation's mission to conquer the world. The popular animated series, which in ended 2008, has continued to live, which is seen here. But before Netflix created this new live-action adaptation of the beloved series, there was another.

In 2010, M. Night Shyamalan's adaptation of Avatar: The Last Airbender was released, but to negative reviews from critics and fans of the show. Seeing the film, I didn't like it as well, especially when it comes to the casting. Now, when it comes to the new version, it wasn't perfect, but it surpasses. Two things that I thought could had been better about the show was the character development and some of the storylines. For example, I saw that some fans didn't like that Aang was more serious than funny, which I agree with. I can remember Aang being more playful in the animated series, but he could be serious sometimes. Since the show was renewed for two more seasons, hopefully the creators will make Aang more playful and funny.

Secondly, some of the storylines could had been. For example, we didn't get to see all the stories behind the characters. Even though it was eight episodes, the episodes could had been developed more and made longer to had this work. For example, I really would had to like to see the stories behind Fire Lord Ozai and Princess Azula shown since Prince Zuko's and Uncle Iroh's were developed. But as I mentioned earlier, since the show has been renewed, more background stories should be revealed.

But overall, I really enjoyed the show. Like I said at the beginning of my article, I really like how Aang's and Gyatso's relationship was depicted. This is how I felt about some of the other relationship arcs depicted in the show. For example, I thought Prince Zuko's and Uncle Iroh's relationship was depicted very well. Even though Fire Lord Ozai is Prince Zuko's father, there is a dad and son bond between Zuko and Iroh. They care about each other and will protect one another if needed. Also, the relationship arcs between Aang, Katara, and Sokka were also depicted very well. When it comes to this new adaptation, the showrunners really did a good job on this part.

When it comes to the action scenes, I thought they were awesome. For example, when Aang returns to the air temple and enters his Avatar form, which was epic. Also, the fight scene between the water tribe and fire nation was astounding as well. Even though the show can be improved, this is the better live-action adaptation. This new version is more of a homage to the animated series than Shyamalan's film adaptation. Finishing the show, I am ready to see more and I'm happy that the show has been renewed. If you haven't watched it yet or haven't seen the show before, you should check it out.

Thanks for reading! Look out for my next review! Hope you subscribe😁😁

-Brianna