As An Avatar: The Last Airbender Fan, Here Are 6 Things I Recommend Checking Out After You've Watched The Animated And Live-Action Shows
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You know what? I envy you. And I’m only saying that because I’m assuming you just recently watched Avatar: The Last Airbender for the first time, and I wish I could go back to the first time that I ever watched it (the animated version), since it completely blew me away.
But, you know what? I’m getting ahead of myself. Because maybe you started off with the live-action version (the Netflix update is already renewed for Season 2), and liked it so much that you then decided to watch the animated show in all of its magnificent glory.
Either way, you might be thinking, “Well, where do I head next?” Well, guess what. I’ve got you covered! Because I’ve experienced pretty much everything there is to offer from the world of Avatar (Including the rides at Nickelodeon Universe!), and I want to share them with you. Now, I’ll start off with the most obvious place to go next, and then work my way into more niche territories. So, hold onto your glider, newly minted Avatar fan. It’s going to be an interesting ride!
The Legend Of Korra
Obviously, the first place you should go next (if you haven’t already) is The Legend of Korra. It directly follows the events of Avatar: The Last Airbender, and, like its predecessor, is also one of the best animated shows of all time. In fact, some bold souls (such as myself) may even consider it to be even better than The Last Airbender, but those souls are few and far between.
What’s so great about the series is that it gets better with every rewatch. Korra is a very different kind of Avatar than Aang. One person, I don’t remember who, even said (and I’m paraphrasing here), that ATLA is the story of a human becoming a god, whereas TLOK is the story of a god becoming human.
What they mean is that Aang starts out very reluctant, and learns to embrace his power, while Korra starts out like an Avatar fully born, only to learn to be humble.
This counter storytelling to ATLA is what makes TLOK shine for me, and I think you have to approach it in this manner. If you don’t, you might be disappointed with it, since it isn’t as whimsical as the original.
In fact, it’s a more mature take on the subject matter, and for that reason, I adore it. And, if you come to it with an open mind, then you probably will, too.
The Comics
Next, I want to talk about the comics, as there’s just so many of them now that it’s hard to keep up. We originally got long-form comics, such as The Search, The Rift, The Promise, Imbalance, North and South, and Smoke and Shadow.
These stories were told in three parts, and took place following the events of Airbender. Included in this were also Avatar: The Lost Adventures, and Team Avatar Tales, which canonically took place in-between the events of the animated series.
But now, it seems like we’re only getting one-off stories, such as Katara and the Pirate’s Silver, Toph Beifong’s Metalbending Academy, Azula in the Spirit Temple, the excellent Suki, Alone, as well as the next book, The Bounty Hunter and the Tea Brewer, which features the bounty hunter June, and Iroh (remember them from the live-action show?).
And, that’s just stories concerning ATLA. If you also like Korra, there are comics for that, as well! So, yes, if you want even more of this world, then your next best stop is the comics. It’s the only logical progression.
The Novels
Okay, so say you loved the comics, and now you want to go even deeper into the lore. Well, then your next stop is the Chronicles of the Avatar novels, of which there are now five books. The first four explore the lives of Avatars Kyoshi and Yangchen, and the most recent book, The Reckoning of Roku is about, you guessed it, Avatar Roku.
The novels are a next great step because they go into characters on the show who are only seen in flashback scenes, or in the Spirit World. Not only that, but the books also add a great deal to the universe, showing things that were only hinted at on the show.
I also love how the novels are the most mature the series has ever gotten. Characters die (quite frequently, actually), and there is an overall gravitas to the stories here that you don’t find in the comics, the live-action show, or the animated series.
So, if you’ve gotten through the comics and want more slower-paced, (young) adult stories, then look no further than the Chronicles of the Avatar series.
The Video Games
Have you ever wanted to be an air/fire/water/earthbender in real life? Yeah, me, too, but unfortunately, that’s never going to happen. Or is it…
No, it isn’t, but there are always video games to fill the void. There are actually several Last Airbender games, mostly on older hardware (though, there is the fairly recent Avatar: The Last Airbender: Quest for Balance game, but it isn’t very good).
However, much like the side story comics, most of the earlier games take place within the events of the TV series, such as 2006’s Avatar: The Last Airbender: The Video Game. In this title, you get to control Aang, Sokka, Katara, and Top…actually, no. No Toph. Instead, you control the earthbender, Haru (Remember him?), since this first game is based off of Book 1 of the series.
The game itself is pretty rudimentary, and its sequels, The Burning Earth, and Into the Inferno, which cover events from Books 2, and 3, respectively, have similar gameplay (the handheld versions were vastly different in both visual style and gameplay, playing more like an RPG, though).
You also had games like Avatar Bobble Battle, which was almost sort of like a tower defense, strategy game, as well as the more puzzle-oriented Avatar: The Last Airbender: The Path of Zuko. Hell, if you want to get nuts, you can even play as Avatar characters in Nickelodeon Kart Racers 2: Grand Prix, where you can race as Aang and Katara (against other characters such as Spongebob, and Lincoln Loud from Loud House fame).
If you like fighting games, you can also play as Aang, Toph, and Korra in Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl. Speaking of Korra, there’s also a Korra title from PlatinumGames that took place between Books 2 and 3 of the show, but it’s really hard to find now (the Nintendo DS game, while different, can easily be found).
I also haven’t gotten into the many, many online games, like Clash of the Benders, or Barge Barrage. All of this is to say that there are plenty of Last Airbender video games. Unfortunately, none of them are that great, so they’re more for the hardcore fans only.
The Fanfiction
As you might expect, there’s a lot of Avatar fanfiction. There’s plenty of stuff on Wattpad from everyday fans that you could check out.
But, I want to primarily focus on the fan-made passion project, The Legend of Genji, which is not affiliated in any way with the original series, but is, in my humble opinion, almost as good as something you might find from one of the authorized projects.
The story concerns the next Avatar following Korra, and he’s a sandbender. There are five parts, but I’m pretty sure that the series has been canceled, so keep that in mind. Either way, it’s really cool that the fans have been so eager for more content that they’ve cooked up something wholly unique on their own.
The M. Night Shyamalan Movie
Lastly, I want to talk about the much-reviled M. Night Shyamalan movie, The Last Airbender, which our very own Alexandra Ramos (who is a huge ATLA fan) considers the worst M. Night Shyamalan movie ever made, and she’s not alone.
Most fans detest this movie, and for a number of reasons. I don’t blame them, but still consider the movie to be an important moment in franchise history. It does an admirable enough job of following Book 1 of the series, but it also doesn’t feel quite right.
There’s also the matter of whitewashing, which was controversial at the time, but that only made it imperative that Netflix got it right when it came to casting Asian roles for the live-action show.
So, what I’m saying is, the movie isn’t very good, but it’s an interesting curiosity, and I think it’s one that all super fans should watch, at least once anyway.
Hope you enjoyed the recommendations! Stay fluid, people.