Avatar The Last Airbender - The Complete Book 1 Collection
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Dante Basco, Dee Bradley Baker, Jack De Sena, Mae Whitman, Zach TylerBrand: PARAMOUNT HOME VIDEO
Writer: Bryan Konietzko
Writer: Michael Dante DiMartino
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo; English (Published), Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Full Screen, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 489 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2006-09-19
Audience Rating: Unrated
Studio: Nickelodeon
Movie Reviews of Avatar The Last Airbender - The Complete Book 1 Collection
Movie Review: Epic Well Researched Animated Nick Show
Summary: 5 Stars
Warner Brothers can take pride in "Batman: the Animated Series". Disney lays claim to the "Gargoyles" series. But "Avatar: the Last Airbender" can be said as one of the most sophisticated animated shows that have ever been aired on Nickelodeon. Those that have been watching Nick for at least two decades will remember the fan-favorite Anime epic, "The Mysterious Cities of Gold". What MCOG was 20 years ago is what "Avatar" is today.
Viewers may distinguish this show from a typical Anime that was created in Japan for Japanese viewers (and sometimes dubbed into English for American viewers). "Avatar" is NOT Anime--it was created by Nickelodeon and sent overseas to be animated in Korea. The show's general audience is pre-teen children but the stronger elements are drawn from a continuous epic storyline that stays consistent as well as very believable characters that the older viewers can relate to. From the magic of supernatural flight to the setting of an ancient land that blends Asian myth and folklore to the modernized battleships and tanks that adorn the power-driven Fire Nation (think Imperial Troopers from "Star Wars") the cultural awareness and depth to a children's cartoon is surprisingly well researched.
The story begins in a world of coexisting nations based on the four elements: water, earth, fire, and air. The term "bender" refers to someone who can master a particular element of his or her culture e.g. firebenders, earthbenders, and so on. The Avatar is one chosen person in every generation who possesses the power to master all four elements. It is his or her duty to keep peace and balance in the world. When that person dies, the Avatar is reincarnated into the next life cycle of a different person.
The mysterious disappearance of the Avatar, along with a 100-year war with the Fire Nation, has lead many to believe that hope is lost. But two children from the Southern Water Tribe, brave and loving Katara and her sarcastic but practical brother Sokka, discover the new Avatar frozen within an iceberg. When Aang awakens from his hibernation he discovers that the Fire Nation annihilated all the other airbenders years ago, leaving him the only survivor of his kind. Though Aang is chronologically 112 years old, biologically he's 12.
Aang is a good-natured boy and though he's slightly mischief, he willingly accepts his role as the Avatar and the tremendous responsibility he must undertake. He's unselfish, loyal, and willing to do anything for his friends. Aang must study and master all four elements by the end of the summer or else the Fire Nation will be too powerful to stop and Armageddon will occur.
Aang's primary adversary in the first season is Prince Zuko, an exiled member of the Fire Nation who has been given strict orders to capture the Avatar. While Zuko's hard driven obsessive nature makes him a hostile threat to Aang and his friends, his personal struggles depict him more as an anti-hero than a villain. Viewers discover that Zuko's distinguished facial scar was a sign of punishment from his father for refusing to fight him in a duel. He has been banished from his home and considered a disgrace to the entire Fire Nation for showing "weakness". Only by capturing the Avatar can his honor be restored. Despite his arrogance and short temper, Zuko is deeply loyal to those close to him such as his uncle, General Iroh.
In contrast to his nephew, Iroh is a good-humored man who enjoys music, drinking tea, and playing Pai Sho. Iroh's carefree attitude barely masks his true identity as a shrewd strategist and master firebender. He considers Zuko like his own son and is constantly by his side, offering words of consolation and wisdom to the agitated prince.
The show's plots often involve social issues that are relevant even today. There's nothing to tone down the grimness of life after Sokka and Katara constantly mention how the Fire Nation killed their mother. The show accepts death as a natural part of the life cycle; something I'd only see handled this well in a Miyazaki film until now. Despite this loss, the siblings are strong and courageous kids who stick with Aang throughout their adventures.
Katara and Sokka aren't the only ones with challenges. Zuko suffers abuse and shame from his father, Aang must find a surrogate family after his own is destroyed, and Katara struggles with a sexist society that bars women from learning the art of waterbending. These obstacles are smaller ones that occur during first season although the larger challenge is to get Aang to the North Pole where he may find a waterbending master to teach him. Along the way they encounter various obstacles including hazardous weather, threatening armies, supernatural spirits, and the power-hungry Admiral Zhao who also wants the Avatar but with less noble intentions and methods than Zuko.
As others have said, the price for this is a bit steep but it is certainly worth it. There are plenty of extras to watch on the making of Avatar. I found the origins of the bending styles very intriguing. After leading the viewers on a fascinating quest around the world, the season finale pits the ruthless Fire Nation against the Northern Water Tribe in a fight that can only rival that of the battles in "The Lord of the Rings". The choreography, all based on various forms of Chinese martial arts, is dazzling to watch while the excitement is heightened as the ruthless Zhao seeks to uproot the balance of life itself. There is little that can be expected as surprises turn around every corner. Can Aang protect the Water Tribe or will the balance be destroyed along with the Avatar for good? By the end of the first season, you'll be in tears, cheering with delight, hankering for more good storylines, or all of the above.
Spoiler warning: Season two will turn certain events around as Aang and his friends get a new member of the team. Toph is a small feisty girl who, despite a particular handicap, is a master earthbender. Zuko's menacing sister Azula brands him and his uncle as traitors so the former prince-turned-refugee is forced to go on a spiritual journey, seeking his own destiny and questioning his personal values. Though Azula and her cronies are a deadly threat, she's the least of Aang's problems and we discover that there are other scheming forces besides the Fire Nation. The tension and thrill only accelerate as the series progresses and as an avid viewer, I'm looking forward to every new episode.
Summary of Avatar The Last Airbender - The Complete Book 1 Collection
Avatar: The Complete Book One DVD Box Set includes the collection of all Avatar Water Nation episodes. This six-disc set will center on the Water Nation and its characters in 20 Avatar episodes (Chapters 1-20), Five DVD?s plus a bonus disc filled with incredible special features!Book 1: Water, Vol. 1
Mysterious, visually beautiful at times, and surprisingly funny, Avatar: Book 1, Volume 1 is the exciting story of Aang, a 12-year-old reincarnation of the ancient Avatar, whose purpose (in an imagined world that seems both ancient and futuristic) is to restore peace and order between warring armies of the four elements: fire, earth, water, and air. At one time or another, over thousands of years, the Avatar has been embodied in masters of each of the elements. Aang (who is freed from a century-long sleep inside an iceberg) happens to be an "airbender," capable of using air and wind as powerful forces for moving objects and defeating hostile armies of firebenders. The feature-length Avatar follows Aang and a couple of friends as he becomes reacquainted with the world he knew before his 100-year hibernation--a world now lost to history. The story also concerns internal dramas within the unforgiving world of firebenders, who are intent on destruction and conquest. This engaging story, very pleasant to look at in its rich tones of blue and orange, is for all ages. --Tom Keogh
Book 1: Water, Vol. 2
Avatar The Last Airbender, Book 1: Water, Volume 2 continues the adventurous if half-comic journey of 12-year-old Airbender Aang, reincarnation of an ancient avatar, and his friends Katara and Sokka as they seek a teacher to help Aang fulfill his peacemaking destiny in a war-torn world. The four episodes on this disc, a follow-up to the elegant, magical series introduction, find the trio wandering through sundry Earth Nation cities, where they encounter signs of troubles between the once-harmonious, elemental tribes representing fire, earth, air, and water. They also bump into trouble with the occasional evil kingdom, as in "The King of Omashu," where Aang must go through various trials to save Katara and Sokka from a bizarre execution. (They're encased in growing, crystal structures.) "Imprisoned" finds Katara inadvertently responsible for the arrest of an Earthbending boy who dares to use his powers while his people are under Firebender occupation. The ambitious, two-part "Winter Solstice" is the best production in this collection, a pairing of storylines involving the capture of a Firebender war criminal and the hopes of a frightened village that turns to Aang to defeat a monster from the spirit world. The action is still original and fun on this sequel--most of it continues to be based on exciting uses of the elements--and the lead trio's characters (Aang the scamp, Katara the idealist, Sokka the skeptic) are still a pleasure to be with. --Tom Keogh
Book 1: Water, Vol. 3
The Avatar saga continues with four of the anime series' strongest stories yet on Book 1: Water, Volume 3, mixing goofy comedy with mythic drama in the spirit of Avatar's magical debut (Book 1 Water, Volume 1) and engaging follow-up (Book 1 Water, Volume 2). Volume 3 concerns the continuing (perilous) travels of Aang, the 12-year-old Airbender destined to heal the rift between the world's air, water, fire, and earth peoples, and his friends Katara and Sokka. "The Waterbending Scroll" finds Katara so jealous over Aang's quick mastery of complicated waterbending techniques that the trio ends up in trouble with a cluster of cutthroat pirates. "Jet" is an interesting story of an adolescent boy leading a Robin Hood-like rebellion against the firebending occupiers of his land. Charismatic and rakish, Jet makes Katara swoon and becomes a hero to Aang--until his true colors and agenda show up later. "The Great Divide" places Aang and company in the position of mediating a truce between refugees seeking assistance across a great canyon. Finally, "The Storm" is a superb piece which shows us, in parallel narratives, how Aang was fleeing his oppressed life as an avatar-in-training a century earlier when he became encased in ice, and how the driven, seemingly merciless Prince Zuko lost his own boyhood innocence before setting out to capture Aang. This excellent collection carries on the series' imaginative, graceful animation, making Avatar a real pleasure to watch. --Tom Keogh
Book 1: Water, Vol. 4
Book 1: Water, Vol. 5
Chapters 17 through 20 of Avatar the Last Airbender: Book 1 Water, Vol. 5 find Aang, the 12-year-old Avatar destined to bring peace to the world by mastering the four elements, once again in direct collision with the forces of the Fire nation. In "The Northern Air Temple," a sad Aang visits the ruins of a monastery well known to him in his past life. Aang is shocked to discover a tribe of faux Airbenders living there, presided over by an inventor with a dark and even treacherous secret. "The Waterbending Master" introduces Aang to a mentor he would just as soon avoid: an old Waterbender who can teach him to move, shape, and fight with liquid, prerequisites to Aang assuming his place as the world?s savior. Meanwhile, Aang's traveling companion Katara is frustrated by that same master?s refusal to sharpen her own natural, Waterbending talent; until, that is, an unexpected link between them becomes clear. (Aang's other friend, Sokka, stays busy--and crazy--chasing a princess who gives him mixed signals about her romantic interest.) "The Siege of the North, Parts 1 and 2" is yet another epic confrontation between Admiral Zhao's Fire Navy fleet and the Aang gang. The twist this time is that Zhao attempts the murder of Prince Zuko, an action that cannot go without consequences. As usual, Avatar is visually exciting and highly original, an otherworldly yet fully accessible fantasy full of dreams and good humor. --Tom Keogh
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