Reasons to watch Avatar: The Last Airbender

3 Main Reasons To Watch Avatar

“Water, Earth, Fire, Air…” One cannot easily forget the opening monologue of Avatar: The Last Airbender as the Nickelodeon show still remains a fan-favorite after almost two decades. Based on Asian culture and lore, Avatar: The Last Airbender gave fans a fresh and engaging storyline with bending elements, a bunch of kids sharing the same brain cell, and a whole new fantastical world, this is also one of the reasons to watch Avatar and making them instantly fall in love with it! 

In 2020, almost 12 years after the show concluded, Netflix streamed the show and gave fans the biggest surprise. Even after all these years, the show had a great fan base and also attracted first-time viewers to watch it. Avatar: The Last Airbender set a record on Netflix as the show with the longest consecutive-run in the Top 10 Streamed Series chart.

So what makes the show so popular that the initial fans, who would at least be in their 20s now gush about the show? We’ve narrowed down a few vital reasons just for you!

It’s (Not) Just a Kids Show

The show creators Michael DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko are genii enough to not limit the story for just kids, even though it is originally a Nickelodeon show. Concepts like parental abuse, a 100-year war (they don’t try to cover up the consequences), and – gasp – genocide. 

Yes, the show has divided the world into factions based on the elements – Fire Nation, Earth Kingdom, Water Tribe, and Air Nomad. The Fire Lord, the leader of the Fire Nation, decides to wipe out the entire population of Air Nomads and the effects of it are never sugarcoated in the show. 

There are also some extraordinary character development and issues that are faced in the real world that only adults can understand. It’s funny to see the old fans understand this only during the re-watch.

Brilliant World-Building With a Refreshing Eastern Culture

We are widely familiar with elves and dwarves and fairies but Avatar: The Last Airbender has an entirely different type of fantastical world that is beautifully influenced by Asian culture. The Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom is a mix of Chinese and Japanese culture, and the Air Nomads are heavily based on Tibetan culture. Even the element bending and non-element action is based on real martial arts moves.

Shows with fantasy worlds need to be understood well but Avatar: The Last Airbender eases the burden for us. The concept of bending the elements and sub-element techniques like lightning-bending, metalbending, and bloodletting is pretty simple to understand and do not have too many plot holes or complications. It is simply perfect!  

Character Development 

Starting the show with a bunch of kids trying to save the world, Avatar: The Last Airbender has some remarkable characters with a consistent growth throughout the show. From the protagonist Aang to side-character Suki, each and every character is given a brilliant character development that fans just cannot ignore.

The Redemption Arc

This definitely needs a separate segment or we cannot do justice to the character. Zuko, the ill-tempered Fire Prince and Heir to the Throne, was first introduced as the main antagonist of the show. But will you ever root for the bad guy to win in just the third episode? Well, you will! Zuko was a very ‘complicated’ villain. He was banished from his own Nation by his own father, the Fire Lord, to capture the Avatar.

Three years away from his Nation searching for the Avatar, Prince Zuko was accompanied by his ever-loving (and everyone’s favorite) Uncle Iroh. The angry Prince is a villain-turned-hero in the story. And finding the path of redemption by himself makes his character more interesting and loved. From small heroic acts to detailed inner conflicts and clumsy redemption attempts, Zuko’s arc is still one of the best redemption arcs in television history.

With the live-action Netflix adaptation coming up, make sure you test your Avatar skills in the quiz here!