Avatar: The Last Airbender

A map of the four nations

Avatar: The Last Airbender is set in a world where human civilization consists of four nations, named after the four classical elements: the Water Tribes, the Earth Kingdom, the Fire Nation, and the Air Nomads. In each nation, certain people, known as "benders" (waterbenders, earthbenders, firebenders and airbenders), have the ability to telekinetically manipulate and control the element corresponding to their nation, using gestures based on Chinese martial arts. The Avatar is the only person with the ability to bend all four elements.

The Avatar is an international arbiter whose duty is to maintain harmony among the four nations, and act as a mediator between humans and spirits. When the Avatar dies, their spirit is reincarnated in a new body, who will be born to parents in the next nation in a set order known as the Avatar cycle: Fire, Air, Water and Earth. By tradition, a new Avatar will travel the world to learn all four bending arts, after which they will begin in earnest their role as global peacekeeper. The Avatar can enter a condition known as "the Avatar State", in which they temporarily gain the skills and knowledge of all their past incarnations. Although this is when the Avatar is most powerful, if the Avatar were ever to be killed while in the Avatar State, the reincarnation cycle would end and the Avatar would never again be reborn.

A century ago, the young Avatar Aang, afraid of his new responsibilities, fled from his home and was forced into the ocean by a storm and encased himself in suspended animation in an iceberg near the South Pole. Shortly after, Fire Lord Sozin, the then-ruler of the Fire Nation, launched a world war to expand his nation's empire. Knowing that the Avatar must be an Air Nomad, he carried out a genocide against the Air Nomads with the help of a comet enhancing firebenders' power. One hundred years later, Katara and Sokka, teenagers of the Southern Water Tribe, accidentally discover Aang and revive him.

In the first season, Aang travels with Katara and Sokka to the Northern Water Tribe so he can learn waterbending and be prepared to defeat the Fire Nation. Prince Zuko, the banished son of the current Fire Lord Ozai, pursues them, accompanied by his uncle Iroh, hoping to capture the Avatar to restore his honor. Aang is also pursued by Zhao, a Fire Nation admiral aspiring to win Ozai's favor. When his navy attacks the Northern Water Tribe, Zhao kills the moon spirit; Yue, the princess of the tribe, sacrifices her life to revive it, and Aang drives off the enemy fleet.

In the second season, Aang learns earthbending from Toph Beifong, a blind twelve-year-old earthbending prodigy. Zuko and Iroh, now fugitives from the Fire Lord, become refugees in the Earth Kingdom, eventually settling in its capital Ba Sing Se. Both groups are pursued by Azula, Zuko's younger sister and a firebender prodigy. Aang's group travels to Ba Sing Se to seek the Earth King's support for an attack on the Fire Nation timed to an upcoming solar eclipse, during which firebenders will be powerless. Azula instigates a coup d'état, bringing the capital under Fire Nation control, and Zuko sides with his sister. Aang is mortally wounded by Azula, but he is revived by Katara.

In the third season, Aang and his allies invade the Fire Nation capital during the solar eclipse, but are forced to retreat. Zuko abandons the Fire Nation to join Aang and teach him firebending. Aang, raised by monks to respect all life, wrestles with the possibility that he will have to kill Ozai to end the war. When Sozin's comet returns, Aang confronts Ozai and uses his Avatar powers to strip Ozai of his firebending ability; meanwhile, Aang's friends liberate Ba Sing Se, destroy the Fire Nation airship fleet, and capture Azula. Zuko is crowned the new Fire Lord and ends the war.

The series consists of sixty-one episodes. The first episode—an-hour-long premiere—aired on February 21, 2005, on Nickelodeon.[9] The series concluded with a two-hour television movie broadcast on July 19, 2008.[10] Each season of the series is known as a "book", in which each episode is referred to as a "chapter". Each book takes its name from one of the elements Aang must master: Water, Earth, and Fire.[9] The show's first two seasons each consists of twenty episodes and the third season has twenty-one. The entire series has been released on DVD in regions 1, 2 and 4.[11]

As of May 2020, the complete series is available on Netflix in the United States.[12] It became the most popular show on US Netflix within the first week of its release there, despite not being featured on the main page.[6] The show broke the record for longest consecutive appearance on Netflix's daily top ten list, with 60 straight days on the list, one of only two shows in the top ten record holders that wasn't a Netflix original series as of July 2020.[13] In New Zealand, the complete series is also available on Sky Television's streaming service Neon.[14][15][16] Later in June 2020, the complete series became available on CBS All Access[7] and later on Prime Video[17] in January 2021.

Michael DiMartino (left) and Bryan Konietzko, the series' co-creators

Avatar: The Last Airbender was co-created and produced by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko at Nickelodeon Animation Studios in Burbank, California. Its animation was mostly done by South Korean studios JM Animation, DR Movie, and MOI Animation. According to Konietzko, the series was conceived in early 2001 when he took an old sketch of a balding, middle-aged man and imagined the man as a child. He drew the character herding bison in the sky and showed the sketch to DiMartino, who was watching a documentary about explorers trapped at the South Pole. Konietzko described their early development of the concept; "There's an air guy along with these water people trapped in a snowy wasteland ... and maybe some fire people are pressing down on them".[18] The co-creators successfully pitched the idea to Nickelodeon vice-president and executive producer Eric Coleman two weeks later.[19]

The series was introduced to the public in a teaser reel at Comic-Con 2004,[20] and premiered on February 21, 2005.[21]

In an interview, Konietzko said: "Mike and I were really interested in other epic 'Legends & Lore' properties, like Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings, but we knew that we wanted to take a different approach to that type of genre. Our love for Japanese anime, Hong Kong action and kung fu cinema, yoga, and Eastern philosophies led us to the initial inspiration for Avatar: The Last Airbender."[22]

A pilot episode for the series was made in 2003. It was animated by Tin House, Inc., written by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, and directed by Dave Filoni. Mitchel Musso voiced Aang in this pilot but was later replaced by Zach Tyler Eisen when the show began production. In the episode, Sokka and his sister Kya (renamed to Katara by the time the series aired) must travel the world to find masters for Aang, who is the Avatar; however, they must evade a critical foe, Prince Zuko of the Fire Nation, who wants to capture Aang.

This episode was first publicly released as one of the extras in the NTSC season 1 DVD box set, which were not available with the previously-released individual volumes. As the PAL box set lacks extras, the episode was not made available on DVD in PAL regions. The episode was released with audio commentary from the creators, which unlike commentary on other episodes in the season is not possible to disable on the DVD set.[23] On June 14, 2010, the unaired pilot was made available with and without commentary for the first time via the iTunes Store.[24]

In 2020, the pilot was shown on Twitch.[25]

Fictional locations featured in the show are based on the architecture and designs of real locations. For example, the creators modeled the city of Ba Sing Se off the Forbidden City in Beijing, China.

The series is notable for borrowing extensively from East Asian art and mythology for its universe. Its creators employed cultural consultants Edwin Zane and calligrapher Siu-Leung Lee to help determine its art direction and settings.[26][27] Its character designs are influenced by Chinese art and history, Hinduism, Taoism and Buddhism, and Yoga.[26][28] Jeremy Zuckerman and Benjamin Wynn created the series' music and sound design together in the early developmental stages and then went on to divide the tasks, Zuckerman taking on the musical responsibility and Wynn the sound design. They experimented with a wide range of instruments, including the guzheng, pipa, and duduk, to match the show's Asia-influenced setting.[29] The art style of the fictitious locations used in the series are based on real locations in Asia. Sites such as the Forbidden City and the Great Wall of China in Beijing were inspirations for the Earth Kingdom city of Ba Sing Se,[30] and Water Tribe locations were based on Inuit and Sireniki cultures.[3] According to writer Aaron Ehasz, early Fire Nation designs were based on Japanese culture. To avoid accidentally making broad statements, they redesigned many settings and peoples to be more "broadly inspired".[3] For the final design, the creators went with a more Chinese style for the Fire Nation's clothing and architecture.[31] For instance, the Fire Temple was based on the Yellow Crane Tower, as its flame-like architectural elements were a perfect motif for the Fire Nation architecture according to the creators.[32]

The gestures used by the "bender" characters are derived from Chinese martial arts, for which the creators employed Sifu Kisu of the Harmonious Fist Chinese Athletic Association as a consultant.[33] Each fighting style is unique to the "benders" who use them or characters who are aligned to a certain element. For example, practitioners of "waterbending" use movements influenced by T'ai chi and focused on alignment, body structure, breath, and visualization. Hung Gar was the inspiration for practitioners of "earthbending", and was chosen for its firmly rooted stances and powerful strikes as a representation of the solidity of earth. Northern Shaolin, which uses strong arm and leg movements, was chosen to represent "firebending". Ba Gua, which uses dynamic circular movements and quick directional changes, was used for "airbending".[34] The Chu Gar Southern Praying Mantis style can be seen practiced by the earthbender Toph, who develops a unique fighting style as a result of her blindness.[35] Asian cinema influenced the presentation of these martial-art bending moves.[18]

Avatar: The Last Airbender was the highest-rated animated television series in its demographic at its premiere;[39] an average of 3.1 million viewers watched each new episode.[39] It had 5.6 million viewers for its highest-rated episode and was a highly rated part of the Nicktoons lineup beyond its 6-to-11-year-old target demographic.[40][41] A one-hour special, The Secret of the Fire Nation, consisting of the episodes "The Serpent's Pass" and "The Drill", aired on September 15, 2006, and attracted 5.1 million viewers. According to the Nielsen Media Research, the special was the highest-rated cable-television program that week.[42] In 2007, Avatar: The Last Airbender was syndicated to more than 105 countries and was one of Nickelodeon's top-rated programs. The series ranked first on Nickelodeon in Germany, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Colombia.[43]

The four-part series finale, "Sozin's Comet", had the series' highest ratings. Its first airing averaged 5.6 million viewers, 95 percent more than Nickelodeon had in mid-July 2007.[44] During the week of July 14, it was the most-viewed program by the under-14 demographic.[45][46] The finale's popularity was reflected in online media; Rise of the Phoenix King, a Nick.com online game based on "Sozin's Comet", had almost 815,000 game plays in three days.[47] IGN ranked the series 35th on its list of top 100 animated TV shows.[48]

Avatar: The Last Airbender received widespread critical acclaim. As of July 2020, the show has a critics score of 100% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 23 reviews.[49] Max Nicholson of IGN called it a "must-watch" and described it as "one of the greatest animated series of all time".[50] Nick Hartel of DVD Talk called the series a remarkable, "child friendly show" whose legacy "should endure for years to come".[37] Erik Amaya of Bleeding Cool described the series as "impressive in its sophistication" and "fantastic".[51] Henry Glasheen of SLUG Magazine called the series "adventurous and exciting", a "classic" and occasionally moving.[52] According to Brittany Lovely of Hypable, it tells "complex and beautiful" stories.[53] Joe Corey of Inside Pulse described the series as an anime-action hybrid.[54] Chris Mitchell of Popzara called it one of best shows to air on Nickelodeon, praising the series' background music and voice acting.[55] D. F. Smith of IGN recommended it to viewers who enjoy action-adventure cartoons.[56]

Rob Keyes of Screen Rant called the series "one of the greatest cartoons ever made".[57] Mike Noyes of Inside Pulse recommended it to viewers who enjoy "great" adventure.[58] Gord Lacey of TVShowsOnDVD.com called the series "one of the finest animated shows ever".[59] According to Todd Douglass, Jr. of DVD Talk, adults will enjoy the series as much as children do.[60] Joshua Miller of CHUD.com called it "phenomenal" and "one of the most well animated programs (children's or adult) American TV has ever had"; according to Miller, the series is heavily influenced by anime.[61] Tim Janson of Cinefantastique described it as "one of the most engaging animated shows produced".[62] Dennis Amith of J!ENT called the series "one of the best animated TV series shown in the US by American creators". Amith praised its sophisticated storylines, edginess, humor, and action.[63] Franco "Cricket" Te of Nerd Society described Avatar: The Last Airbender as "one of the best cartoon[s]" he had ever seen, recommending the series for its characters and plot.[64] Scott Thill of Wired called the series engaging and its setting, influenced by the Eastern world, "fantastic".[65] Kirk Hamilton of Kotaku said the series should be part of the Golden Age of Television, and recommended "the sophisticated kids show" to others.[38]

The show's writing and theme have been widely praised by critics. Michael S. Mammano of Den of Geek called the plot "smartly-written" and praised the animation.[66] Nicole Clark, writing for Vice News, wrote that the show's narrative depth was "its greatest asset", and praised the story's "emotional authenticity" and how it "expose[d] very young viewers to darker subject matter, like genocide and authoritarianism, while giving them a framework for understanding these issues."[3] Jenifer Rosenberg of ComicMix liked the program's emphasis on family, friends, community, and education.[67] According to Nick Hartel, the series touches on themes of "genocide and self-doubt" without frightening younger children; rogue characters are redeemable, sending an important message that people can change and are not bonded to "destiny".[37] Chris Mitchell called the plot "fantastic".[55] D. F. Smith compared the series' plot to Japanese action cartoons, calling its tone and dialogue "very American" and praising the humor leavening an epic, dramatic theme suitable for all ages.[56] Rob Keyes also praised the series' humor and affecting plot: "[It] will capture your hearts".[57]

According to Mike Noyes, the series amalgamates elements of "classic fantasy epics".[58] Todd Douglass, Jr. called the plot engaging, well-thought-out, and meaningful. The series' concept is "well-realized", with a consistent story. Douglass wrote that the characters "[have] a real sense of progression", and praised the writers for their humor, drama, and emotion.[60] Joshua Miller called the series surprisingly dark despite its "silly" theme; the plot is livelier than that of Lost and, similar to the latter show, emphasizes character development. According to Miller, its writing was "true adult levels of storytelling".[61] Tim Janson described the series as more than fantasy- and superhero-themed, seeing the characters as central and relateable.[62] "Cricket" Te praised the series' use of Buddhist philosophies and the diverse presentation of its themes of courage and life.[64] Kirk Hamiltion praises the series for expressing towards its audience to be themselves and for its quiet progressivism.[38]

Critics also praised Avatar: The Last Airbender's character development, art, animation, and choreography; Eric Amaya enjoyed the expressive animation that complements the writing. According to Amaya, the elements were influenced by Hayao Miyazaki.[51] Todd Douglass, Jr. called the character development interesting,[60] while Nicole Clark wrote that the show "managed to do what so few shows even today have: assemble a cast of characters that depicts the world as it is, with a range of identities and experiences."[3] Jenifer Rosenburg praised the series' portrayal of females as "strong, responsible, [and] intelligent".[67] According to Joshua Miller, the bender characters' use of bending for everyday activities brings "depth and believability" to the Avatar world. Miller called the series' designs "rich and immersive", with each nation having its own, detailed look. He praised the action scenes as "well rendered", comparing the development of the Avatar world to that of The Lord of the Rings, and the fight choreography as "wonderful in its most minor details".[61] D. F. Smith enjoyed the series' painstaking backgrounds.[56] "Cricket" Te praised each episode's color palette and the choreography's combination of martial arts and magic.[64] Nick Hartel criticized the animation, although he found it an improvement over previous Nickelodeon shows.[37] Chris Mitchell called the animation fluid.[55] "Cricket" Te agreed, noting its manga influence.[64] According to Brittany Lovely, non-bender characters in battle are "overshadowed" by their bender counterparts.[53] Joe Corey called the animation's action and environments a "great achievement",[54] and Rob Keyes praised the series' fight choreography.[57] According to Kirk Hamilton, the action sequences in the series are amazing while being child-appropriate and exciting.[38]

Avatar: The Last Airbender became a cult classic and had a large impact in the 2010s on how networks viewed animated programs; subsequent children's shows would often blur the lines between youth and adult programming, featuring more adult themes.[68][69]

A number of critics have referred to Avatar: The Last Airbender as one of the best (animated) television series of all time.[70][3][71][72][73][74][75][76] In 2013, TV Guide included Avatar among the 60 greatest cartoon of all time list.[77] In 2018, Vanity Fair ranked the series as the 11th-best animated TV show.[78] Avatar was ranked the 36th-best animated series on IndieWire's 2018 list of the "50 Best Animated Series Of All Time".[79]

The series experienced a resurgence in popularity following its release on Netflix on May 15, 2020; it reached the number-one position on the platform's top series in the U.S. four days after release, and was the most-popular film or show for the week of May 14–21.[80] The series maintained a spot within Netflix's top 10 series for a record-setting 60 days, the most of any show since the company debuted its list of top series in February 2020.[81] Both fans and co-creators Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko attributed Avatar's renewed popularity to its relevance to contemporary events, including the COVID-19 pandemic and racial unrest in the U.S., with DiMartino remarking: "The major issues in the stories—genocide, totalitarianism, systemic injustice, abuse—sadly, these have been pervasive issues throughout history and continue to be. The show is a reflection of our world. But now, we happen to be living through a time in which all these problems have been exacerbated."[82]

Several books based on the show have been published. Dark Horse Comics published an art book titled Avatar: The Last Airbender – The Art of the Animated Series on June 2, 2010, with 184 pages of original art from the series.[98]

Several comic-book short stories were published in Nickelodeon Magazine, and Dark Horse published Avatar: The Last Airbender – The Lost Adventures—a collection of these and new comics—on June 15, 2011.[99]

Dark Horse published a graphic-novel series by Gene Yang that continues Aang's story after the Hundred Years' War. Avatar: The Last Airbender – The Promise, published in three volumes in 2012, explores the fate of the Fire Nation colonies that become The Legend of Korra's United Republic. This series was translated into Hebrew in 2016–2017.[100] A second set of three comic books, Avatar: The Last Airbender – The Search, focuses on Zuko and Azula, and the fate of their mother Ursa.[101] The second set was translated into Hebrew in 2018–2019.[102] The third set, Avatar: The Last Airbender – The Rift, shifts the focus to Aang, the creation of Republic City, and Toph's relationship with her family.[103] The Rift was followed by Avatar: The Last Airbender – Smoke and Shadow about a resistance force in the Fire Nation against Firelord Zuko, who at the end of the original series assumed the throne.[104] The fifth graphic novel was Avatar: The Last Airbender – North and South, which follows the events of Smoke and Shadow and is about Katara and Sokka returning to the Water Tribe to see various changes to their homeland.[105] The next graphic novel is titled Imbalance and was released in October 2018. The series explores the emerging conflict between the benders and non-benders that becomes the center for the conflict in the first season of the sequel, The Legend of Korra. Unlike the previous five books it was written by Faith Erin Hicks.[106]

A two-part young adult novel series focusing on Avatar Kyoshi written by F. C. Yee was published in July 2019 by Abrams Children's Books. The first book of the Kyoshi Novels is Avatar: The Last Airbender – The Rise of Kyoshi.[107] The second part in the series, titled The Shadow of Kyoshi, was released on July 21, 2020.[108]

A video-game trilogy based on the series has been released. The Avatar: The Last Airbender video game was released on October 10, 2006,[109] and Avatar: The Last Airbender – The Burning Earth was released on October 16, 2007.[110] Avatar: The Last Airbender – Into the Inferno was released on October 13, 2008.[111] Avatar: Legends of the Arena, a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) for Microsoft Windows, was released on September 15, 2008, by Nickelodeon. Players can create their own character and interact with other players around the world.[112] Avatar: The Last Airbender was THQ's bestselling Nickelodeon game in 2006 and was one of Sony CEA's Greatest Hits.[113] Aang and Zuko appear as skins for Merlin and Susano, respectively, in Smite.[114] Avatar: The Last Airbender characters and locations are featured in Nickelodeon Kart Racers 2: Grand Prix.[115]

The series' first season was the basis of the 2010 live-action film The Last Airbender, which was written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan. It was intended as the first of a trilogy of films, each of which would be based upon one of the three television seasons. The film was universally panned for its writing, acting, whitewashed cast, and Shyamalan's direction; it earned a 5% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes as well as five Razzies at the 31st Golden Raspberry Awards, including Worst Picture,[116][117][118] and some critics described it as one of the worst films ever made.[119][120][121] Although the film originally shared the title of the television series, the title The Last Airbender was used because producers feared it would be confused with James Cameron's film Avatar.[122] The Last Airbender stars Noah Ringer as Aang, Nicola Peltz as Katara, Jackson Rathbone as Sokka, Dev Patel as Zuko, and Shaun Toub as Iroh.[116]

The Legend of Korra, a sequel series to Avatar: The Last Airbender, premiered on Nickelodeon on April 14, 2012.[123] It was written and produced by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, the creators and producers of the original series.[124] The show was initially titled Avatar: Legend of Korra, then The Last Airbender: Legend of Korra; its events occur seventy years after the end of Avatar: The Last Airbender.[125] The series' protagonist is Korra, a 17-year-old girl from the Southern Water Tribe who is the incarnation of the Avatar after Aang's death.[123]

Netflix announced in September 2018 that a "reimagined" live-action remake of Avatar was to start production in 2019. The series' original creators, DiMartino and Konietzko, were to be the executive producers and showrunners.[4] The two said that they intended to adapt the series "with a culturally appropriate, non-whitewashed cast".[126] It was announced that Jeremy Zuckerman, who composed music for the original show, would also be returning to do the music for the remake.[127]

On August 12, 2020, Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko both revealed on their social media accounts that they had departed the show due to creative differences.[128][129][130][131]

Merchandising for the series included action figures, a trading card game, three video games, stuffed animals distributed by Paramount Parks, and two Lego sets.