Egon LongShanks: Avatar the Last Airbender

Showing posts with label Avatar the Last Airbender. Show all posts

Thursday, February 5, 2015

Daily Dose of Awesome: Avatar the Last Airbender

Who would have thought a cartoon on Nickelodeon would be this good? This show surpassed the hype for me. I was worried that it would fall into the same trap as so many other things, where the hype is built up so high that you can't help but be disappointed. On the contrary, this show may even surpass said hype.

I watched this through Netflix's instant watch and loved every second of it. The characters are well written and come off as real, likable people. The story is epic, while still giving us self contained episodes that are easy for the newcomer to follow. The soundtrack is very well done, the voice acting is solid, and the animation style grows on you as you watch it.

The best part of the show is the humor. Unlike other shows where awkward and clumsy "comedy relief" is shoved in, the humor here works through the dialogue. I found myself laughing quite frequently, more so than I would if I were watching a modern day sitcom. I was a little worried when Momo, the group's flying lemur (and second team pet) was introduced, but he doesn't get in the way too often, and when he is brought in, it results in a decent gag.

I did also love whenever the show went meta-physical. Anytime Avatar Roku showed up, I knew it was going to be awesome. He just had a certain gravitas that had me enthralled anytime he spoke.

Clancy Brown and Mark Hamill both play villains. The beauty is that they both use their Lex Luthor and Joker voices respectively, but it still works perfectly. Sadly, the Joker laugh isn't heard here, but it would sound out of character for the villain that Hamill is playing.

Also surprising for a Nickelodeon show is how many heartbreaking moments there are. Sokka's romance in the first season finale was very well handled and I found myself invested in what was going to happen. Appa's Lost Days, an episode in the show's second season that follows the group's flying bison after he gets kidnapped, also puts the viewer through the emotional wringer.

Not only are there sad moments, but some surprising bits of nightmare fuel as well. I don't want to give away too many details, but Hama is one of the most horrifying things you'll see in a cartoon. When Aang, the show's main character, goes into his Avatar state, it can also be very creepy. I was glad to see that I wasn't the only one who thought Aang's voice sounded nigh demonic when he demanded to know what Appa's kidnappers had done with him. It's creepy enough that it will give older viewers the heebie-jeebies, but it doesn't go so far as to alienate younger viewers or become inappropriate for it's targeted demographic.

This probably ranks in my all time favorites as far as not only animated series, but shows in general. I'm not sure what spot it would take exactly, but it's up there. I can't recommend this show enough. It was a joy to watch and I look forward to going through it again at some point.

Tuesday, January 20, 2015

Daily Dose of Awesome: The Legend of Korra

I was skeptical when it was announced that there would be a sequel series to Nickelodeon's "Avatar: The Last Airbender". I'm a huge fan of the series, but I wasn't sure if they would be able to capture that same lightning in a bottle again.

As it turns out, I was wrong and the new series is absolutely fantastic. There are some missteps here and there. It doesn't quite hit the same highs that the original series did, but it is still a strong work in its own right. It takes all of the things that made the first series such a gem, but it doesn't rehash anything. In some respects, it goes out of its way to act as a contrast, but it feels natural and it carries the spirit of the first one quite well.

Between this and Cartoon Network's "Green Lantern: The Animated Series", I was convinced for a while that there was still hope for Saturday morning cartoons. Sadly, Green Lantern was cancelled too soon, though Korra had a solid run at four seasons.

I highly recommend checking this show out as it really is quite good. It's got a good story, great characters, and it's just fun, which is something that more shows need.

Tuesday, October 14, 2014

Americanime

This is a series of articles I wrote that discusses shows that were highly influenced by anime, but produced by American companies, thus making them non-anime series.

Megas XLR

With anime being as popular as it is, it's no wonder that some animated series tried to mimic that style for their own benefit (which is ironic as some of the anime style was inspired by Disney). While these series and movies are not technically anime, they do draw a lot from it. Some even go so far as to get anime studios to animate or produce the work for them to make it feel more authentic. TVtropes calls productions like this "animesque", but the common term is "Americanime" for the products released in America, though other countries have their own variation of the trope.

Seeing as these series and movies are inspired by anime, I thought it warranted discussion, however, unlike shows like Yu Yu Hakusho, I won't be going through these episode by episode. Rather, I'll just give a general overview.

The first series we'll talk about is a little known gem called Megas XLR. It ran for 2 seasons from 2004 to 2005.

The story begins in the future where mankind is at war with an alien race called the Glorft. We, alas, are on the losing end of the conflict and are on the verge of defeat. In a last ditch effort, they steal a prototype robot weapon from the Glorft and modify it. The robot is dubbed Megas (short for Mechanized Earth Guard Attack System). Since one robot won't do much at that point, they decide to send it back in time to a critical battle where Earth made it's final stand in the hope that a victory there will turn the tide of the war.

The robot is sent back, but due to complications, is sent too far back and the machine crashes in New Jersey in the early 20th century.

It's found later in a junk yard by Coop, an overweight slacker and his friend Jamie. The manager of the place sells it to Coop for $2 (which Coop never actually pays). Coop modifies it, replacing the missing head with his car and rewiring all of the piloting systems so that they can be controlled through video game controllers.

Kiva, a military pilot from the future, comes back to retrieve the robot. The Glorrft, wanting their weapon back, follow her and end up in our present time. She attempts to take the robot back, but it has been so heavily altered that only Coop can pilot it. Having spent his whole life playing video games, this actually works in his favor as he becomes a formidable (if unconventional) pilot. His friend Jamie goes along for the ride and throws some snark in for good measure, but doesn't really contribute to the battle most of the time.

While the animation style is clearly Western, it heavily draws from, and parodies, the tropes seen in Mecha series.

The show parodies pretty much everything, both Japanese and American. There are episodes that poke fun at Sailor Moon and Sentai series, but they also reference American pop culture on several occasions. Bruce Campbell voices one of the villains, and one enemy is clearly inspired by the Predator.

The writing is consistently strong and the characters do grow, despite the formulaic nature of the story. While the Glorfft are the main villains, other threats do arise, usually because of something Coop did.

Megas has a vast array of weaponry, most of which only show up once and are never seen again. The labels on the buttons change and the system is controlled by a different game controller every episode. This can be explained by the fact that Coop is constantly tinkering with it.

The show aired on Cartoon Network's Toonami block, back when it ran on Saturday nights. Why the show was cancelled remains a mystery, as it was a great show that had a lot of potential. It had great action, a rock oriented score, and was packed to the brim with great jokes and dialogue.

It should be noted though, that the MST3K rule applies heavily here. In real life, if the giant robot were to be thrown into a building, the shock of the impact would kill everyone on board, and the fact that they fly through space even though they're just in a car doesn't really make a whole lot of sense. You also start to wonder how the city gets rebuilt so quickly or why no one notices the giant robot walking around, but you just go with it and enjoy the ride.

For fans who would like to check the show out, you are out of luck in a lot of respects. Neither Cartoon Network or Boomerang air the show anymore and it isn't available on DVD (though there is a petition to get it released). I had a glimmer of hope when TVGuide's website had links saying that you could watch the episodes online. I thought, maybe they were streaming the episodes, but it only linked me to iTunes. Still, I can't complain. At least I can recommend you find the show there as opposed to resorting to a torrent since those aren't exactly legal.

If you get the chance, I highly recommend checking this show out as it delivers on pretty much all fronts. It's funny, it's action packed, and the writing is top notch. I wasn't kidding when I said this show was a gem and it deserves more exposure.

Teen Titans

Avatar: The Last Airbender

The Boondocks