I watched Avatar reruns a lot as a kid, and I thought it was great, but it wasn't until I watched the full series as an adult that I realized just how absolutely perfect it is. I'm honestly just flabbergasted at how this show even exists. It is an epic, anime-inspired fantasy series with a linear story, impeccably developed characters, and themes of war, genocide, parental abuse, imperialism, oppression, and fate. And it was aired on Nickelodeon. It was targeted towards children. And those children loved it. An average of 3.1 million viewers watched every new episode, and the series took home the Favorite Cartoon award at Nickelodeon's own Kids' Choice Awards in 2008. Of course, it also won five Annie Awards, an Emmy Award, and a Peabody Award and it has been named one of the best animated series in history by TVGuide, Vanity Fair, and IndieWire. Considering that most popular kids' shows are lowest-common-denominator and filled with nothing but slapstick comedy and fart jokes, Avatar's success is shocking, but utterly satisfying. Kids are worthy of mature, sophisticated entertainment, and they're willing to watch shows with serious, important themes. I've seen so many people state that watching Avatar at a young age has taught them important life lessons and changed how they see the world. Avatar is more than just a kiddie cartoon. It is a show that changes people's lives. It's on Netflix now. If you've never seen it, you have no excuse. I guarantee you will find something about it to love.
Due to how much I fully adore everything about this show, and how I've literally thought about nothing else since I finished it this Tuesday, I knew I had to write this week's blog post about it. But what part of it should I talk about? I toyed around with many ideas, ranging from a discussion of how great the character development is, a follow-up to my Last Airbender Movie Talk where I go even more in-depth on how epically the live-action adaptation failed, or a 60-page thesis on why Prince Zuko is beautiful and I love him. But everyone else talks about those things, so I want to discuss one of the more underrated aspects of the series. (Don't worry. I'll eventually write that Zuko thesis. Someday...)
Avatar is known for its incredible worldbuilding. The series is set in a world divided into four nations: Water, Earth, Fire, and Air. (Long ago, the four nations lived together in harmony...) Certain inhabitants of each nation possess the ability to "bend," or manipulate their element through martial arts-like techniques. The Avatar is the only one who can master all four elements and is responsible for bringing peace and balance to the world. In the series, the Avatar is a twelve-year-old boy named Aang, who must travel across the world, learning to bend each element. Throughout Aang’s journey, we get to see all four nations, with each one having its own distinct culture and traditions. The creators and producers really went out of their way to develop these nations, and they're so fleshed out that they feel real. And a part of that worldbuilding includes developing unique fauna for the Avatar World. Most of the creatures in the series are hybrids of two or more different animals, resulting in cool, clever, cute, and creative animals. Today, I'm counting down my ten favorites!
Side note: All of these are from Avatar: The Last Airbender, none from The Legend of Korra. The reason why is simply because I haven't seen Korra. It's on my bucket list, though! Also, there will be minor spoilers, so if you haven't watched the series, but would like to go into it without being spoiled, proceed with caution.
10. Purple pentapus
The purple pentapus only appears in one episode, Season 2's "Return to Omashu." I still had to put it on the list because I find it adorable. In real life, octopuses, squids, and other tentacled animals like them are pretty scary. However, the purple pentapus, which only has five tentacles, has a very minimalist design that's cute in its simplicity. There's almost an innocence to this creature that I really love. In the episode, the pentapuses leave suction cup markings on the skin. Katara and Sokka invent a disease called "pentapox," with the symptoms being the spots from the pentapuses and a purposely zombie-like behavior. They tell the city of Omashu's guards that there is a pentapox outbreak, so the prisoners of the city must be let out. It's one of the more clever escape plans our heroes come up with.
9. Otter penguin
Otter penguins are native to the frigid Southern Water Tribe, which makes sense, since they are based off of penguins. Early in the series, we see Aang sledding on the backs of these creatures. In fact, when Katara and Sokka break him out of the iceberg where he has been trapped for a hundred years, the first thing Aang does is ask Katara to go penguin sledding with him. Penguin sledding looks pretty fun. If I was in the Avatar World, it would probably be the first thing I'd want to do. Separately, I think otters and penguins are both some of the cutest animals on Earth. Combine them together and you get a really cute creature.
8. Badgermoles
Toph Beifong is certainly the most badass character on Avatar: The Last Airbender, and quite possibly the most badass character in all of fiction. I mean, when we first meet her, she is destroying fully grown men in earthbending tournaments. She holds up a sinking library with her two bare hands. She invented metalbending, for Christ's sake. All of these accomplishments would be plenty impressive for anyone, but Toph is a twelve-year old girl who also happens to be blind. Of course, she couldn't have just learned how to earthbend by herself. The badgermoles were the original earthbenders, and they were the ones who taught Toph everything she knows. Because the badgermoles were blind like her, she was able to understand how they used earthbending as a means of interacting with their environment and she copied their movements. Honestly, the fact that they helped Toph become the absolute badass she is is enough to put them on this list. They're also kind of cute in a way!
7. Toucan Puffins
I have something of a passing interest in birds. Not really songbirds, but all the other kinds are interesting to me. I like toucans because of how colorful their beaks are, and I like puffins because of how quirky-cute they are. The toucan puffin is such a seamless hybrid of the two, it looks like it could fit into our world. I find these birds to be pretty cute, and the scene in which they appear is pretty funny. Team Avatar is on an island in the Fire Nation, and Sokka remarks that they need to be quiet because "We're in enemy territory! Those are enemy birds!" One of the birds then adorably perches itself on his head.
6. Dragons
Much like the badgermoles were the original earthbenders, dragons were the first firebenders. In general, dragons are my favorite fantasy creatures because of how powerful yet ornately beautiful they are. The dragons in Avatar are a perfect blend of the typical Asian dragon design combined with the wings that are more characteristic of European dragons. The dragons in this picture are named Ran and Shaw, although they don't specify which is which, and they are the original firebenders. I think their designs are super cool. They kind of remind me of the Pokémon Gyarados. I mean, these dragons are blue and red, and Gyarados is normally blue, but red in its rare shiny form.
5. Lion Turtle
Speaking of Avatar creatures that remind me of Pokémon, this is the Lion Turtle. It is the largest animal in the Avatar World and it served as a protector of mankind. It's so large that at first, you think you're on an island, but really, you're on the back of a lion turtle. It was clearly inspired by the World Turtle of various cultural mythologies, a giant turtle capable of supporting the world on the back of its shell. It instantly reminded me of the Pokémon Torterra, which was also inspired by the World Turtle. Torterra is one of my favorite Pokémon, so it makes sense that I love the Lion Turtle, since they share origins.
4. Momo
Momo is a winged lemur and one of the two creatures that regularly accompany Aang on his journey. We spend a lot of time with him as a result, and we really get to know him. Despite the fact that Momo isn't human, he still has a lot of character and personality. He's curious and playful, and he is usually found eating anything in sight. I'd say the number one thing that makes Avatar such a great series is its fantastic character development. The fact that the non-speaking, non-human Momo has more character development than some protagonists is a testament to that. Momo's design is also pretty cute. The giant ears are adorable.
3. Foo Foo Cuddlypoops
Sokka is one of my favorite characters from this show, and Season 2's "Bitter Work" is one of his funniest episodes. In this episode, Sokka goes hunting for food and gets himself trapped in a fissure. He meets a young sabertoothed moose-lion, which he calls Foo Foo Cuddlypoops. He initially planned to hunt and kill the cub, but grew to befriend it while he was in the fissure. His banter with the cub is hilarious, especially when he says "You're awfully cute, but unfortunately for you, you're made of meat." The cub is mostly on the list because I agree with Sokka that it's incredibly adorable. I also think the name of Foo Foo Cuddlypoops is hilarious and so unabashedly Sokka. Sokka is the comic relief of Team Avatar, and part of his humor is saying whatever comes to his mind, no matter how random it is. He did want to call the assassin the group meets in Season 3 "Sparky Sparky Boom Man," after all.
2. Turtle Ducks
Turtle ducks are so cute, man. Turtles are my favorite animals because of how cute and quirky they are. I like how they can just hide in their shells when they're not having a good time. Ducks are also pretty cute, especially baby ducks. Combine them together and you get one of the cutest creatures in the Avatar World. We see them a lot in the Fire Nation, since there is a turtle-duck pond on the Fire Nation Royal Palace's grounds. We specifically see Zuko feeding them a lot, which is cute. Zuko's defining character trait is that he feels a lot of complex, passionate emotions, so it's nice to see a gentle, chill side of him.
1. Appa
If you're familiar with the world of Avatar: The Last Airbender, then you could have seen my number one coming from a mile away. But it is number one for a reason. Appa is a flying bison who serves as the main transportation for Team Avatar. Much like the badgermoles were the first earthbenders and the dragons were the first firebenders, flying bison were the first airbenders. This might explain why Appa's able to fly so well, even though he weighs ten tons. My absolute favorite character trope is the Gentle Giant, a massive, intimidating-looking brute who, under that fearsome facade, is actually the nicest character you will ever meet. That's Appa's entire appeal. He's absolutely massive, but he's unbelievably loyal and he has a close relationship with Aang. Midway through Season 2, Appa gets separated from Aang, and you can tell how much it kills both of them to be apart. Appa's design is also intensely lovable, taking inspiration from both bison and manatees, as well as being incredibly soft. Although he's absolutely massive, Appa is certainly the Avatar animal I'd most want to have a pet. Appa, yip yip!
Now, time for a few honorable mentions:
-Buzzard wasps
One thing you should know about me is that I'm a sucker for a good pun. The buzzard wasps are terrifying, but I'm just giving them a mention because I love puns too much. I mean, it's a cross between a wasp and a vulture, otherwise known as a buzzard. It's a literal buzzard. Amazing.
-Cat owl
At least in A:TLA, the cat owl doesn't really have any role in the story, but I just had to mention it. I love owls, and although I'm more of a dog person, I like cats, too. This would be a great Halloween pet.
-Bosco the bear
-Bosco the bear
Bosco is the pet bear of the Earth King. He's pretty cute in his own right, but he's mostly just getting a mention for how utterly shocked everyone is to see a normal bear. Not a platypus-bear, not a skunk-bear, just a normal, 100% bear.
-Tui and La
-Tui and La
These two are the Moon Spirit and the Ocean Spirit, respectively. They're koi fish, which I've always loved. I always say that if I ever get rich, the first thing I'm buying is a koi pond. I also love how well the yin and yang sign is interpreted in their designs. They also play a big role in Avatar's Season 1 finale, which is one of my favorite/most heartbreaking episodes.
-Serpent
-Serpent
Avatar has two sea serpent-like creatures. There's the unagi from "The Warriors of Kyoshi," and there's the serpent from "The Serpent's Pass" and "The Awakening." I think sea serpents are pretty cool, so I wasn't sure which one to pick, but in the end, I chose the serpent since it is more colorful. It's also responsible for one of Sokka's funniest quotes. When Team Avatar is in the Serpent's Pass, they're being chased by Fire Nation ships, and Sokka says "Things couldn't get much worse." Immediately after he says that, the serpent starts chasing them again, and he says "The universe just loves proving me wrong, doesn't it?" However, in a twist of events, the serpent starts chasing the Fire Nation ship and Sokka says, "Thank you, the universe!"
-Badgerfrog
-Badgerfrog
This one gets a mention mostly for the scene in which it appears. In "The Western Air Temple," Zuko is practicing how he will re-introduce himself to Team Avatar. He's being painfully awkward and failing at his introduction. He's practicing in front of the frog, who is unimpressed. This entire scene is an example of one of my favorite tropes, where we see a character practice a speech alone and just absolutely fail. I think it's the Trick Dialogue trope. Geez, one of these days, I'm gonna have to make a list of my favorite tropes.
Next week, I have a few ideas for what I want to post, but I'm not going to say anything definitively because I'm sure I'll change my mind a few times. I'll see you then.
Stellar
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