More on AtLA
It's such a fun show. Everyone in the main cast is more or less endearing. Am glad I missed (?) the scorched-earth ship wars of yesteryear XD; but having seen LoK first, and thus having first encountered Katara as Aang's widow and the mother of his children, I was prepared to take them as a given. Despite their age(s) I think the "fated encounter + lifelong love" schtick works in the context of this fantasy, this world, these two characters. It's a neat trick the show pulls, portraying them as thoroughly pre-sexual while at the same time pointing toward future hotness. I mean, Our Hero is this tiny bald kid who at age 12 bears zero resemblance to a romantic prospect, but it was easy for me to believe he had indeed imprinted on the correct person, even if it took her three seasons to figure that out. (The shaved head is tough to come to terms with, you guys. So tough.) In any case they have a very expansive ai. I am also one of those viewers who concluded from "The Headband" that the sex was going to be outstanding.* Let's just presume jizzbending is a viable method of birth control, okay.
My question about Katara is: if she's that attractive at 14, how is the fabric of the universe (let alone Aang's person) going to withstand her hotness in two to four years?! Idek. I appreciate her prominence in the scheme of the series, the amount of individual development she gets, and the way her character combines traditionally feminine associations--water, healing, caring for others, mothering the group in general and Aang in particular--with top-tier prowess at bending, including in battle. I also like her protectiveness, and Aang's lack of threatened masculinity (or is it lack of any masculinity to threaten ahaha) when he gets rescued by her, etc.
Needless to say Toph is a rockstar. For the most part the female characters get high marks. There were a few too many dead/absent moms and sacrificial princesses, but it seems almost churlish to complain. Azula losing her shit at the end of S3 was a disappointment, though. She'd always been crazy--for some value of "crazy" equating to megalomania and pathological lack of empathy--but highly functional, so to have her suddenly stop being (as) functional struck me as a cop-out. I guess the writers couldn't figure out what to do with their rampaging tigress other than have her go rabid and lock her up.
Zuko's arc otoh was satisfying. Uncle Iroh is so far up in the stratosphere of awesome that he seems a wholly imaginary creature. The highest evolution of the mentor figure trope? XD It's a good thing his dynamic with Zuko is so familial--irrefutably so--because otherwise I might've been in danger of...never mind.
Other stuff: the critters! The worldbuilding! Aang's ethical vegetarianism! Can we get a tally of how many kids watched this series and announced to Mommy that they were gonna be vegetarian like Aang.
"The Firebending Masters" made me happy.
* Not to say tantric?! Even if you leave the tango aside, Aang knows where the pleasure chakra is amirite, and Katara's all divine feminine ocean moon blood power sploosh. I have yet to find fic that addresses these issues appropriately. Believe me I am looking.
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My question about Katara is: if she's that attractive at 14, how is the fabric of the universe (let alone Aang's person) going to withstand her hotness in two to four years?! Idek. I appreciate her prominence in the scheme of the series, the amount of individual development she gets, and the way her character combines traditionally feminine associations--water, healing, caring for others, mothering the group in general and Aang in particular--with top-tier prowess at bending, including in battle. I also like her protectiveness, and Aang's lack of threatened masculinity (or is it lack of any masculinity to threaten ahaha) when he gets rescued by her, etc.
Needless to say Toph is a rockstar. For the most part the female characters get high marks. There were a few too many dead/absent moms and sacrificial princesses, but it seems almost churlish to complain. Azula losing her shit at the end of S3 was a disappointment, though. She'd always been crazy--for some value of "crazy" equating to megalomania and pathological lack of empathy--but highly functional, so to have her suddenly stop being (as) functional struck me as a cop-out. I guess the writers couldn't figure out what to do with their rampaging tigress other than have her go rabid and lock her up.
Zuko's arc otoh was satisfying. Uncle Iroh is so far up in the stratosphere of awesome that he seems a wholly imaginary creature. The highest evolution of the mentor figure trope? XD It's a good thing his dynamic with Zuko is so familial--irrefutably so--because otherwise I might've been in danger of...never mind.
Other stuff: the critters! The worldbuilding! Aang's ethical vegetarianism! Can we get a tally of how many kids watched this series and announced to Mommy that they were gonna be vegetarian like Aang.
"The Firebending Masters" made me happy.
* Not to say tantric?! Even if you leave the tango aside, Aang knows where the pleasure chakra is amirite, and Katara's all divine feminine ocean moon blood power sploosh. I have yet to find fic that addresses these issues appropriately. Believe me I am looking.
This entry was originally posted at http://canis-m.dreamwidth.org/18909.html. Please comment there using OpenID.