‘AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER’ RETURNS TO NETFLIX

As though magically re-materialized from thin air at just the right moment, the Emmy Award-winning animated series, “Avatar: The Last Airbender” returned to streaming giant Netflix’s catalog earlier this month, and little did we know just how much we would soon come to appreciate it once again.

Many would consider it a defining work of art for the current generation. Upon viewing this relatively short narrative epic, there is little question why: The Eastern culture and philosophy-inspired story of young Avatar Aang and his quest to defeat evil clearly resonated with its viewers when it first aired more than 15 years ago.

Clearly this remains true, because even though it concluded years ago, the show instantly hit No. 1 most-viewed according to Netflix, and has firmly stayed put since.

Avatar’s themes have been endlessly praised and analyzed since the beginning, making it seemingly one of the few animated television series with such critical longevity. The biggest reason for this appears to be the strength of said themes, held up by repeatedly brilliant and unique writing.

Aang’s journey is one paved with strife, and though the show is geared toward young children, it maturely tackles subjects like genocide and societal disillusionment with an unparalleled grace. Plus, despite the entirety of his tale being contained within only three seasons, the series famously reaches a practically perfect conclusion.

Unlike many of its contemporaries in the genre, Avatar never oversimplifies the concept of war just to provide “guy-beats-up-guy” entertainment. It unflinchingly depicts the inevitable suffering that conflict is sure to sow, and it often sacrifices flashiness sure to keep a child’s attention for truly insightful moments of introspection for its characters. It is a risk to focus too particularly on emotion when writing for a program in which action is such an integral piece, and yet Avatar never fails once in striking a perfect amalgam of both storytelling devices.

It also must be mentioned how incredibly rich and masterfully weaved the world from which the story is born, another element of Avatar still deeply examined by dedicated admirers to this day.

Amazingly, it appears Avatar: The Last Airbender has returned a feeling of swashbuckling innocence to so many during this current period in our history that is very much not so.

In this way, it has accomplished the impossible in an instant, giving childlike amounts of hope to millions previously preoccupied with so many grim reminders of the responsibilities of adulthood.

As the iconic intro-sequence narration expresses, “I believe Aang can save the world…” 5/5 stars