Developed by Nickelodeon, Avatar: The Last Airbender was an American fantasy animation series that ran for three seasons after first debuting in 2005. Featuring the adventures of Aang, an airbender, who goes up against the fire nation, the series broke the mold when it came to standard hero vs villain stories in kids animation. The series’s success resulted in an animated sequel, Avatar; The Legend of Korra as well as a live action film made by M. Night Shyamalan. Currently, Netflix is producing a live action series based on the first three seasons of the hit tv show.
The Last Airbender takes place in a world where some people can manipulate one of the natural elements; earth, water, air or fire. The story finds its protagonist in Aang, the latest incarnation of the Avatar. Avatar are extremely powerful beings capable of bending all four elements sent in times of crisis to rid the Earth of chaos. Since Aang belongs to the Air Nomads and all the nomads were wiped out by the fire nation some time ago, Aang is the last airbender on the planet.
A chance encounter with two water benders sets Aang on a journey in which he discovers his powers, comes to terms with his responsibility and sets course to beat back the genocidal fire nation from conquering the planet. Along the way, Aang has persistent run-ins with a banished fire nation prince tasked to bring him to the Fire Lord. Constantly hiding from fire nation scouts, Aang and friends desperately find friends in unexpected places as they strive to build up a rebellion that will finally take down the tyrannical fire nation.
The Last Airbender animated series was different because it dared to venture into complex characters and themes that children's cartoons rarely dive into. Themes such as war, genocide, imperialism, totalitarianism, indoctrination and free choice were woven into the story which had rarely been done before. As a result, the series became as popular with teens and adults as with kids. The series achieved stratospheric success and the story continues into Avatar: The Legend of Korra. Thus, Netflix was desperate to turn this series into live action and the studio’s success with One Piece only strengthened this resolve.
The Last Airbender is a strong television series in many aspects. One, it has fantastic action sequences that intelligently utilizes characters’ abilities and actually involves opponents going up in mental chess matches to knock each other out. Fistfights here have a purpose as each character plays to his strengths, carefully using the surroundings as well as other strategic moves to take the opponent down. Two, the villains in the series are out of this world. From Zuko’s sister Azula to the Fire Lord Ozai himself, the series makes us truly hate the villains which is rare for a kids TV show produced by Nickelodeon. Finally, the show has real stakes; protagonists make mistakes, people die and there is no magical ability to come back to the land of the living once you are gone.
For all the Last Airbender fans out there, we have a slew of special gifts that will make your day. What better way to celebrate this groundbreaking series than to order this Chibi Pin featuring Katara. If the cuddly and lovable Appa is your spirit animal; then this Chibi Appa keychain will be perfect for you. For those of you who are fans of Prince Zuko, this Zuko Chibi Lapel Pin will compliment your style perfectly. If you love the water tribe, we have just the thing for you as well: the Water Tribe Symbol Keychain.
This is not all as we have so much more The Last Airbender themed jewelry available in our store right here.
Check out the main trailer for Nickelodeon’s The Last Airbender here. All seasons of Avatar: The Last Airbender can be found on major streaming services as well as your nearest DVD rack. The live action Netflix adaptation of the cartoon is now streaming across the platform and can be seen right here.This is not all as we have so much more The Last Airbender themed jewelry available in our store right here.
