The world of
Avatar: The Last Airbender (
Avatar: The Legend of Aang in Britain and Korea) is one of fantasy and adventure. It abounds with heroes, villains, spectacular element-bending and acrobatic martial arts. Oh, and also spirits, monsters, and intrigue. That's what it is, right? An action-packed adventure animation for children.
Which is an accurate description, but it's also true that works don't always stay in their original target audience. Whether it's the
Twilight Moms or one of the many, many other examples of
periphery demographics (TV Tropes link warning), fiction meant for children or young adults can speak to adults as well. (And I'm not even
creepy, I swear!)
The reason
Avatar speaks to me in this way is that the world has a lot more depth and truth to it than it may seem at first. I mean it's gorgeously animated, rich in detail, very well written, has good production values, etc. etc.--but even more than that, it's one of those works that really move me and say something about what life is like. I would like to discuss those aspects of Avatar in this and other posts. Call it the grown-up fan's defense of liking a children's animation.
If you want a comprehensive analysis of the show, or if you're interested in any kind of in-depth critique of
Avatar, you absolutely must give Alex's
Extended Analysis a read. I won't try another full critique of the show, because as far as I'm concerned that wheel has been invented . My goals for this series are humbler: I want to talk about the reasons why the show appeals to me as an adult.
So without further ado, let me start with the first reason: The characters of
Avatar, and specifically the way they grow and change.
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