Picspam: My Top 20 Favorite Moments of Avatar: The Last Airbender [1st Half]

[flowrs4ophelia]

It's been making me really happy to see a lot of people on my f-list getting into Avatar: TLA recently. The movie is so amazingly bad that there seems to be sort of a positive backlash phenomenon going on with everyone being emphatically redirected to the source material. I've been re-watching the whole series myself and was struck with the urge to do some kind of big picspam, and have had a lot of time to work on it while housesitting for a friend this week. It's a good thing I'm having fun working on this, because it's becoming the kind of thing you don't realize is going to take longer than you thought until you've already finished too much of it to give up. LOL.








[20]
AANG'S FLAMIN' DANCE PARTY
Book III, Episode 2: The Headband

"Maybe it was different on the colonies, Kuzon. But we don't do that here."

This whole episode probably has some of the funniest moments ever as the Gaang are awkwardly trying to fit in undercover and we see many of the Fire Nation people are amusingly normal, if in need of some alternate guidance. Naturally, the Avatar takes action by throwing a dance party to teach them the ways of chilling the hell out every once in a while and getting down, and the result is a bunch of priceless silliness. Flameo indeed.











[19]
THE BOY IN THE ICEBERG
Book I, Episode 1: The Boy In the Iceberg

"I'm Aang."
"…You just sneezed, and flew ten feet in the air!"
"Really? It felt higher than that."
"You're an airbender!"
"Sure am."

The sense of fun, charm, imaginative fantasy, and humor established right from the introduction of the hero is a worthy start to a show that only steadily and consistently keeps getting better from this point on. Aang is at once totally lovable in his relaxed and overwhelmingly positive nature, acting so enthusiastic about meeting new friends and as if he doesn't even perceive Sokka's initial dislike of him. I admit Aang/Katara is pretty much the only canon romance I had a mostly lukewarm reaction to, but I can't deny it's pretty damn sweet that her face is the very first thing he sees waking up to a new life after a hundred years in cold storage and you can see that he's instantly taken with her.










[18]
THE FIRE NATION BREAKFAST CLUB
Book III, Episode 5: The Beach

"Well, I'm sorry I can't be as high-strung and crazy as the rest of you."

Taking inspiration from classic teen movies with lots of heavy angst and heavy partying, Bryan and Mike managed to make this episode work as both a hilarious parody and sort of a character piece that humanizes all the young antagonists a little more. Even Azula's complete inability to act like a normal human being at a party, much less a normal teenager, makes her almost more pitiful than terrifying seen this way. This climactic scene of all of them venting their frustrations on the beach just has so many slightly surprising little details in it I love. Ty Lee actually seems to think of Zuko as a friend and is upset by him making fun of her. For all that she acts so easily bored, Mai is not at all drawn to drama, but it turns out that doesn't mean she wants to be shut out of her boyfriend's problems any more than she wants him taking them out on her.

Bonus points for the final bit with the kids going back to trash Chan's party and doom him to getting grounded for life, which is meant to be just like something out of Weird Science. (Could be worse, Chan. It could be snowing in your bedroom.)










[17]
UNCLE IROH'S TEACHINGS
Book II, Episode 9: Bitter Work

"Fire is the element of power. The people of the Fire Nation have desire and will, and the energy and drive to achieve what they want.
Earth is substance. People of the Earth Kingdom are strong, persistent, and enduring.
Air is the element of freedom. The air nomads detached themselves from worldly concerns and found peace.
Water is change. The people of the Water Tribe have a deep sense of community and love that can hold them together through anything."
"All this four elements talk is sounding like Avatar stuff."
"It is the combination of the four elements in one person that makes the Avatar so powerful. But it can make you powerful, too. You see, the technique I'm about to teach you is one I learned by studying the waterbenders."

This sequence is a perfect example of everything that makes Iroh such an enjoyable and admirable character. These kind of wise-old-mentor lectures easily could have seemed boringly familiar or force-fed, but because of Iroh's laid-back attitude and sense of humor as well as the rich personality Mako's performance helped give him, you hang on to every second every time he opens his mouth to say something else awesome in scenes like this. These quiet moments of him teaching Zuko the only defensive firebending technique have a beautifully slow and serene quality and not really any conscious plot momentum, which is the kind of thing that's great to see in a cartoon in our age of so much overstimulating children's entertainment with non-stop action and no substance.










[16]
SOKKA TRIPPING ON CACTUS JUICE
Book II, Episode 11: The Desert

"Look…It's a giant…mushroom! MAYBE IT'S FRIENDLY!"

For epic hilarity. I especially love that Toph observes the effects this is having on Sokka and then asks, "Can I have some of that?" Sometimes Katara can really be no fun. Hahaha.

Bonus points for this very likely being Mike and Bryan's G-rated homage to the kind of trippy sequences that are somewhat of a signature of anime director Shinichiro Watanabe, who has enjoyed getting his characters unintentionally high and making it unbelievably funny in both Cowboy Bebop and Samurai Champloo. There's even a strikingly similar moment in one especially surreal and cracktastic episode of Champloo involving a mushroom cloud.









[15]
JET VS. ZUKO
Book II, Episode 14: City of Walls and Secrets

"They're firebenders! I saw the old man heating his tea!"
"He works in a tea shop..."

One of my favorite details about Zuko is that he's a bender who has taken the pains to learn how to also fight with weapons and is smart enough to know how his skill with Dao blades can come in handy. His Blue Spirit alternate identity never would have been as interesting without it, and it becomes a great moment to show this part of his character again when Jet fights him trying to provoke him into revealing he's a firebender. These are two characters you never exactly expected you'd ever see fight each other and so I never realized how sweet that would be until it happened, complete with badass back-to-back swordfighting which is always a plus in my book.








[14]
REUNION OF ZUKO AND IROH
Book III, Episode 19: Sozin's Comet (Part 2)

"How can you forgive me so easily?"
"I was never angry with you. I was sad because I thought you had lost your way."

Come on...You know you cried.









[13]
SOKKA VS. PIANDAO
Book III, Episode 4: Sokka's Master

"Excellent work, Sokka…I'm a little old to be fighting the Avatar."
"How did you know?"
"Oh, I've been around. Of course I knew all along Sokka was Water Tribe. You might want to think of a better Fire Nation cover name. Try Lee. There are a million Lees."

Even in a world with fantasy bending and its many possibilities, there's something very enjoyable to me in its own way about a good old-fashioned fight with swords. Especially when it's done this well, with as much care to make the fight techniques match real martial arts as usual. And especially when it's with Master Piandao, my very favorite background character in all of Avatar. One of my favorite elements of the series is Sokka's journey and how much he changes despite being The Funny Guy that inferior writers would easily neglect to develop much, and I love seeing him grow into a great fighter and get his moments to prove himself and kick ass despite being the regular guy with a boomerang. But of course the strength of his character is what's really important, which his master recognizes in his way of teaching him...Did I mention I love Piandao?










[12]
THE STORY OF PRINCE ZUKO'S BANISHMENT
Book I, Episode 12: The Storm

"You will learn respect, and suffering will be your teacher."

The general idea that Zuko was treated horribly by his father and unfairly banished was pretty easy to infer already by the time this flashback showed his past in detail. But there was still some surprise in seeing a younger, more innocent, unscarred Zuko showing sides of his character we hadn't seen before in his outrage over the General's plan and his loyalty to his father. There was reason to sympathize with him a little before this episode, but I don't think it was until this point that we were shown anything to like in him very much (well, besides that he proved himself to be at least less lame than Zhao, but that was nothing).









[11]
KATARA VS. HAMA
Book III, Episode 8: The Puppetmaster

"You're not the only one who draws power from the moon. Your technique is useless on me."

This creepy face-off in the moonlight makes Katara's fight with Master Pakku, which seemed a quintessential Avatar action scene that early on in the show, look like child's play.









Rest of the countdown continued here...

Comments

[mollipop-love.livejournal.com]

This is AWESOME! I have to agree with you on all of these.

[flowrs4ophelia.livejournal.com]

Thanks! :D

[madlori.livejournal.com]

Love the picspam! Can't wait to see the rest! Great moments all, although I'm a little surprised you picked the Flamin' Dance Party if you're not a Kataanger. :-)

I hope some of MY favorite moments make it in! Just last night I was marveling once again at the sheer awesome that is the team storming the Earth King's palace. For my favorite epic battles, I think I have to name at least Aang vs. Azula in The Drill, Zuko vs. Azula in Sozin's Comet, Aang vs. Zuko in Bato of the Water Tribe and Toph vs. Fricking Everyone in The Blind Bandit.

Other favorite moments are Aang and Zuko meeting the firebending masters, Katara bringing Aang back to life with the spirit water, and King Bumi's three deadly challenges.

And yeah, I totally cried when Zuko and Iroh reunited.

[flowrs4ophelia.livejournal.com]

Thanks. :D Can't argue with any of your favorites. That fight in "Bato of the Water Tribe" very nearly made it into this picspam and would have been fun to do. And I wish I was including more stuff involving Toph, but her badass moments are going to be quite high on the list because I'm a pretty big Toph fan.

And the dance party is a great Kataang moment, ngl. Who could resist a guy who can spontaneously reveal those kind of dance skills?

[yukinoomoni.livejournal.com]

Oh man I love this. Please keep going.

[flowrs4ophelia.livejournal.com]

Thanks! *giggles at your icon*

[dandelion-xf.livejournal.com]

Well thought out! I totally agree with you.

[melautism.livejournal.com]

What about when Aang learns to earth bend and foo foo cuddlypoops :)

[mellafe.livejournal.com]

I finished my anual rewatch last night, and you picked some of my favorites!! The giant mushroom! The beach! (I mean, Zuko's HOT). UNCLE IROH! I love this show SFM.

[flowrs4ophelia.livejournal.com]

It would be fun to compare if you made your own. :)

[amaryssobellus.livejournal.com]

I really enjoyed this. I love seeing/hearing other's opinions and likes of Avatar.

[asphyxiational.livejournal.com]

Great picspam! I totally need to speed up my rewatch of the series, so I can see all these epic moments again. :)

I await the next batch~

[tsumirechan.livejournal.com]

This is a very excellent list and I agree that these are all very, very awesome moments. Thumbs up and I can't wait to see 10-1! :D

[jo-fitz.livejournal.com]

I love your icon! I love Toph all bad ass, but it's really heart warming to see that she does have a softer side.

[mariahpixie.livejournal.com]

reunion of zukko and iroh...

I TEARED UP JUST REMEMBERING OH GAWDD

T^T

[amanuensis1.livejournal.com]

What great analysis! Your collection of pictures to illustrate is terrific but I love the text even more.

The Storm--that was the moment I said, "Holy GOD. I thought this show was supposed to be Aang and Katara's story, but, those sneaky writers--this whole thing is Zuko's long arc."

[madlori.livejournal.com]

It's both. Aang and Zuko are the twin protagonists of ATLA. They're flip sides of the same archteype. Both were born into a great tradition and destined to inherit huge colossal power, and both went into exile. Aang's was self-imposed, but Zuko's was inflicted on him, although in a sense he brought it on himself by showing himself to be of greater character than his father. Both of them are on a quest to make themselves worthy of their destiny. Aang's struggle is to fulfill his task while being true to himself, where as Zuko's is to redefine his destiny for himself instead of accepting what he's been told it is. Both of their journeys are fueled by guilt and shame. Zuko's shame at his father's rejection, and Aang's guilt over his desertion and long absence. Both of them are supported on this journey by one key person whose love for them is unconditional and transformative; Zuko has Iroh, Aang has Katara. They start out on opposite sides of a playing field and little by little walk toward each other until they find themselves on the same path.

And there goes my half-baked Campbellian hero-journey analysis. :-0

[turtleyurtle1.livejournal.com]

ZUKO AND IROH OMG ;~;

[paigeeybby.livejournal.com]

This is amazing, I agree with all of them! I love it!

[sakru909.livejournal.com]

I agree with every single item on this list. Avatar: the Last Airbender had so many great moments, that it's kind of hard to choose. I'm eager to see part two. ^__^

[moldycookies.livejournal.com]

Dude, Book: III, Chapter 19 just made me fall in love with Zuko all over again. Seriously. I love Zuko. Excuse me while I go gush over how much I love him. gushgushgush

[firnheledien.livejournal.com]

I totally agree! I'd actually put Zuko and Iroh scenes up top. Partly because I absolutely wept during Zuko and Iroh's reunion. T^Tb

This will be nice to share with newbie Avatar fans.

[cloudsofnothing.livejournal.com]

You've chosen some awesome moments! I agree with everything on this list.

I can't wait to see part two!

[krivall.livejournal.com]

Awesome! Makes me want to rewatch the whole series. AGAIN. :)

[kurenai-tenka.livejournal.com]

Actually yes. I very much agree that that moment should be on the list, but I'd have definitely put it higher (if not highest).

[somniumweb.livejournal.com]

Jet vs. Zuko tea shop duel = Mugen vs. Jin tea house duel y/y?

Oh yes, Sokka's cactus juice trip is definitely the "Mushroom Samba" of the series. Named for the Bebop episode and also happens in Champloo... except not with mushrooms.
*total sucker for Bebop and Champloo shout-outs whut*

[flowrs4ophelia.livejournal.com]

YES. YES. THIS. *steals the awesome gif*

(I've also thought before that the cabbage merchant is just like the three old geezers in Bebop who randomly appear in so many places where the characters go. I just bought the Avatar art book and was amused to read in there that they did kind of get the idea from that when they kept bringing in the cabbage guy again.)

[kurenai-tenka.livejournal.com]

Some of these, so much yes. Especially no.14

Also about 12, somehow I didn't remember/realise Iroh was there. That's..kinda odd.

[dark-fire18.livejournal.com]

Love you for doing this!!!

[her-historia.livejournal.com]

Yes, to #16! That has got to be one of my top episodes :D

Can't wait to see the rest!

[coldwriter.livejournal.com]

Great list, I love a lot of these as well! I can't wait to see your 10-1 choices!