When I heard that Netflix would be releasing a live-action series of “Avatar: The Last Airbenderm” my heart dropped. There are tons of examples of live-action versions of animated shows going completely wrong.
Whether it’s casting, scripts, or effects, there are lots of ways to ruin a beloved show. I’ll admit, because of the low quality of the live-action movie version of The Last Airbender produced in 2010, I had my expectations at the bare minimum. At best, I expected to see better bending effects: as in the elements looking natural, moved nicely, and at a good pace. I also wished that the characters would have decent acting and look enough like the original animated characters. Other than that, I prayed that they wouldn’t mess up their second chance for the series.
Netflix adapted “Avatar: The Last Airbender” into a live-action 8-episode series and was released on February 22, 2024.
The first season was set to focus on “Book 1” of the original animated series and has been confirmed to be renewed for 2 more seasons. But how was the 1st season? Did we get what we wanted? Or did we just repeat what happened with the last live-action movie?
I watched the new live-action series to see if it had done the animated show justice, and they were able to pull it off; even with some issues. The first season was set to summarize the first book of the animated series which has 20 episodes.
Off the bat, you can see that the characters look more like the actual characters in the show than in the other live-action version. Aang’s name is pronounced correctly and the actor pulls off his personality pretty well. Katara and Sokka are also a bit closer looking to the original characters and can match their set personality. We’re also introduced to Zuko, Azula, Mai, Ty Lee, Uncle Iroh, and Fire Lord Ozai.
With all these characters and actors, there’s going to be a difference in acting skills. Overall, I feel like the acting was average for the main three characters. They were able to play their parts, but there were many parts where the speech or actions felt either unnatural or awkward. The same goes for Azula and her crew; Mai and Ty Lee. However, since they didn’t have much screen time; I felt that they couldn’t fully show what they could do. Although I did feel that Zuko’s awkwardness was used purposely since his acting came off more naturally and Zuko in general is an awkward character.
The backdrops and settings for this new Avatar look amazing. The environments looked just right and felt like they were real locations in our world. Everything looked so natural and so did the elements involved.
It’s amazing how great the production crew was able to create these big landscape shots, especially when considering all of the small details that have to be just right to be convincing. This includes fight scenes, supernatural bending, or just seeing the actors stand in front of a beautiful landscape.
And of course, we all remember how amazing the fight scenes and bending were in the original animated show. As I watched, I couldn’t believe how realistic the bending looked. Even though some fights felt boring or slow, you could see how much the directors wanted to focus on making the bending as smooth as possible — even if it would cost the pacing of the battles.
We also can’t forget the honorable parts of the original animated show that we love. Don’t worry everyone: the cabbage man is in the series with his cart of beloved cabbages. They even added the 2 fan-favorite songs “Secret Tunnel” and “Leaves From The Vine.”
A downside I have toward this show is how little Aang bends water. He airbends throughout the whole series but doesn’t use any other element. The only time we truly see him use a different element is during the last episode. It made me kind of sad to see Aang waterbend in the last episode only, despite the first book being about water.
Overall, I think the show did pretty well. It was able to capture the characters, environment, and culture of the show well, despite the short screen time it had to demonstrate it. The only downside I had was Aang not bending other elements and the battle’s pacing. If they were just a bit faster I’d like them more, but you can’t complain. It’s either fast-paced fights with bad quality, or slow-paced fights with great quality toward the element bending.
I recommend you watch the live-action if you enjoyed the animated show. Although if you’re a die-hard fan, maybe stay away. We don’t want another fire nation attack from you.
