I actually had plans for a totally different blog today, but all this stuff was swimming around inside my head so I postponed the other blog and I present to you my thoughts on Avatar: The Last Airbender!

'The Painted Lady'

Although 'The Painted Lady' was not my favorite episode by far, I feel inclined to point out few things about it that could be meaningful enough to c1assfy it as not entirely a filler episode.

This marks the first time that we see the suffering of the Fire Nation people caused by the current Fire Lord and his regime. The Air Nomads were exterminated, the Southern Water Tribe is close to extermination, the Northern Water tribe is hiding in their ice fortress, and the Earth Kingdom is under the control of the Fire Nation and it's inhabitants are being used as slave labor, but 'The Painted Lady' made it clear that the common citizens of the Fire Nation were also being victimized.

The Fire Nation seems to be similar to Ba Sing Se in that there is a c1ass division. The students in 'The Headband' were probably from the 'upper-middle' c1ass because they were in school, well dressed, and learning how to play instruments. The fishing town in 'The Painted Lady' was the exact opposite. The soldiers who approached the town talked down to the town's people similar to the way Earth Kingdom people were addressed. What I find interesting is that although the town is within the Fire Nation, and the people are of the Fire Nation, their livelihoods come from the water. Is hatred for the other elements so engrained in the Fire Nation people's mentality that they think they are above and beyond needing the other elements to survive? Iroh hinted at the need for the other elements in 'The Chase' and Zuko squarely labeled his ideas as 'Avatar stuff'. I assumed Zuko's attitude was a bit extreme because of his background, but after seeing more of the Fire Nation I think that mentality must be widespread belief.

Although I doubt any of the characters from 'The Painted Lady' will return in future episodes, the impact of the things done and the time spent in that town could carry over. Sokka's 'master schedule' clearly indicates the gAang is in a crunch for time, and Aang hasn't even begun to start his firebending training yet. Both 'The Painted Lady' and 'The Headband' served to show the gAang that Fire Nation people are people too, and they are fighting for their freedom right along with the other nations.

Book 3 in General

I have read several posts where people were complaining that Season 3 is dragging, and I think I might know why.

First off, there are 20 episodes in season three. I looked at the first two seasons and counted the number of what I consider 'action' episodes or 'plot critical' episodes. Book 1 has about 12 episodes that I would consider plot critical and/or action, and Book 2 has about 13 episodes that I would consider plot critical and/or action. That leaves 8 fillers in season 1 and 7 fillers in season 2. We should probably expect about the same for season three. I'm guessing 6-8 'filler' episodes although I do think a lot of the fillers are excellent episodes in spite of not having much bearing on the overall plot.

Another reason book three might seem to be dragging is because the creators of Avatar have offered us the show as a total package. The frustration of trying to reach a tough goal cannot be expressed in one or even two episodes. If you read the Harry Potter series you will understand this very well.

Avatar in General

I'd like to point out that the creators of Avatar are fans of anime just like a lot of us. Some people don't consider Avatar to be anime, and they are right in a lot of ways, but it certainly is strongly anime influenced. The creators have taken all of the things they love about anime and cranked it up a notch, and they have also taken the things they dislike about anime and either minimized or eliminated them completely.

I personally love the deep story lines of anime that carry over across episodes, seasons, and even entire series. I love the fact that I have to watch a show from the first episode to understand what is going on in the 30th episode. I love the fact that minute details can foreshadow future events and come back into play dozens of episodes later at the creator's design. I think the creators of Avatar have done an excellent job of exploiting this aspect of anime to its fullest and even taking it above and beyond what we see in a typical anime series. They have planned out all three seasons, partitioned them so that each season has a specific goal, and promised us a real ending at the conclusion of season three. I'm not versed in ALL anime, but of the ones I have seen, I have yet to see a real ending so the prospect of Avatar having an ending is very exciting.

Occasionally I do enjoy some of the shipping (relationships) in anime, but it can get frustrating watching 150 episodes of a series only to find out the couple never really admits they even like each other. I think Avatar has a little bit of every type of ship so no one should be able to complain in this category. Let me explain what I mean...

• Sokka/Yue - Fairly advanced, they admitted to liking each other and even kissed, tragic since Sokka lost Yue when she became the moon spirit.
• Sokka/Suki - Also fairly advanced although it started out much more teasingly, they kissed in 'The Serpant's Pass' right after witnessing a childbirth which sort of hints at a lifetime commitment, and Sokka tells Ty Lee he is 'with Suki' when she is dressed up like a Kyoshi warrior. This ship is a potential tragedy as well since we haven't seen Suki since the battle with Azula, but I personally think she will show up again in season 3.
• Zuko/Mai - This ship was hinted at by Azula, but no one really seemed to believe it. I guess we were convinced that, "Azula always lies". Now that we've seen them as a couple I'd have to say this is one of the deepest, most committed relationships I've ever seen in anime.
• Aang/Katara - KatAang as it is often called is more along the lines of the typical anime ship. He likes her and does goofy stuff to show her he cares, at first she doesn't notice him, but eventually she starts to like him back. These are the ships that are usually left up in the air at the end of the show. Everyone knows they will get together, but it will still be a while and there will be lots of blushing, cheek kissing, and stuttering even after the show has ended. If KatAang actually happens - at least a mutual confession and a real kiss - then the creators of Avatar really have gone out of their way to give us closure.
• And then of course you have your lesser, pie in the sky, no real proof ships that are so much fun to support, but have very little evidence. Some examples: Sokka/Toph(the creators are sorta hinting at this), Aang/Toph, Zuko/Katara (sorry, but it's true), Sokka/Ty Lee, Jet/Katara(sorta happened, but didn't really), Zuko/Jen(one date doesn't count as a ship), Zuko/Song, etc. You get the point.
• I can't talk about ships without mentioning my all time favorite - Sluggtara!

Fillers and anime go hand in hand, and Avatar is no exception. The only thing I can say about this is that I'd rather watch a filler episode than have a single battle scene dragged out over 10 episodes. Also, I think most of the 'fillers' in Avatar have been fairly good quality fillers that somewhat fit into the overall plot. The one that everyone complains about is 'The Great Divide', and I agree that of all the episodes so far that one was my least favorite. 'Tales of Ba Sing Se' and 'Appa's Lost Days' were both examples of what I would consider 'good' fillers. 'The Headband' and 'The Painted Lady' were both fillerific, but hopefully some parts of them will have bearing on the overall plot.

I could go on and on, but I know you all have many blogs to attend to so I'll stop here. The bottom line is; if you are a fan of anime and haven't seen Avatar, I really think you would like it. Even if you are not a fan of anime you should give it a try. Avatar was my gateway into the anime world so to speak. I started watching it half way through season two and got totally hooked. In the ten months we waited for season three, I started watching anime and now I'm hooked on that too. Don't dismiss Avatar as a kids cartoon. The creators of Avatar are extremely intelligent and produced a work of art that can be thoroughly enjoyed by all age groups. I'm 29 and I watch the show with my 3 and 5 year old kids and 15 year old sister-in-law. The whole family is glued to the tv when Avatar comes on.