In 2023 we witnessed a new beginning for adaptations to the live action. Netflix, at the end of August, premiered the series 'One Piece' with flesh and blood actors. Although at first I did not have high expectations due to the low quality of the adaptations made previously, it ended up being a great story, which left all the manga and anime followers fascinated, and which allowed new fans to join the crew. of the 'straw hats'.
On this occasion, the aforementioned streaming service wanted to replicate that success with 'Avatar: The Last Airbender', the historic animated series from Nickelodeon which had three seasons and also has a large legion of followers. But how did this live action fare? Did it replicate the 'One Piece' formula or was it a complete disaster, as we saw before? This is our criticism.
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Is 'Avatar: The Last Airbender' (Netflix) a good adaptation?
The live action of 'Avatar the last Airbender' It is a great work that has many similarities with the Nickelodeon animated series that premiered in 2005. However, the fact that it is an adaptation also leaves the door open to having some differences, which should not affect the course of the story. At least not in a big way.
One of the similarities I found that I was hoping it would have was the scene where Aang sits on top of an air sphere and spins around it until he crashes into a stone statue. This scene, which made me laugh like the time I saw it in the animation, allows the essence of the character to be maintained, who, despite being just a child, has the responsibility of taking care of everyone.
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Another thing why I think it was a good adaptation is because a lot of care was taken with the details, such as the clothing of each of the characters, which clearly differentiates which tribe they belonged to, as well as each of their distinctive features: the symbols on the head and hands of the protagonist, Zuko's scar, the characteristic paint on the faces of the Kyoshi warriors, etc.
However, there was one detail with respect to the original that, personally, I did not like very much, but that also depends on each person's tastes. And the live action did not have the same voices in the dubbing as the animated series. Although I do not consider this detail as something fatal, I consider that it would have been a 'great goal' if it had been present, at least in the main characters.
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Likewise, I think that the Netflix series did well to simplify several aspects of the original version, which made the story flow much more smoothly. The negative thing about this is that it influenced, for example, the time Katara takes to master the water, something that in the animation costs her a little more. That I suddenly mastered his technique so well left me a little bewildered.
Did the actors of 'Avatar: The Last Airbender' fulfill their characters?
When it comes to the actors in the Netflix adaptation I have some mixed feelings. Gordon Cormier, who played Aang, seemed to me to have had an impeccable performance as the over 100-year-old boy who must master the four elements, although I think that, when he had to show sadness, he lacked displaying his acting skills a little more.
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As for Kiawentiio, the young actress who played Katara, I think she did quite well, but what bothered me a little is that her expression told me that at any moment she was going to laugh when, obviously, it was not the time. to do it. That's a detail that I noticed a lot in the first chapters, then I couldn't say if she stopped doing it or I just got used to it.
My biggest disagreement was with Sokka. I get the impression that, in the adaptation, they didn't make him as funny and silly as he is in the original story, he cracked the occasional joke, but it didn't round out the character. We already knew that Sokka's case was going to be peculiar, because they removed the machismo from him, which was quite clear. It seems to me that he was a character to exploit more.
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Those who had the best performances of the series were Dallas Liu and Paul Sun-Hyung Lee, who gave life to Prince Zuko and his uncle, General Iroh. At all times, they conveyed to me the closeness between the two, which is evident in the original story, as well as the pain of the Fire Lord's son over his banishment and his desperation to catch the Avatar.
In short, I didn't dislike any of the performances in the series. I feel that they fit well into their respective characters and that they could exploit them more in the following seasons. Although there were some details that made me a little upset, I don't think it was something terrible or that it affected the quality of this fiction in any way.
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Visually, 'Avatar: The Last Airbender' did not fail
This is one of the points in which the adaptation of Netflix could, perhaps, surpass any other adaptation that was made before. This series took advantage of everything that animation offered and turned it into gold: the landscapes from the air, when they went to Omashu, the people of the nations of water and fire, all achieved in a magnificent way.
But the production went much further than that. This series, being about people who manipulate elements such as water, air, fire and earth, had to have a good job developing them, and boy did they achieve it. It is known that with today's technology one could create unimaginable things; However, not everyone executes it perfectly.
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Another aspect that I want to consider within the visual aspect is that of the fight sequences, which were quite clean and also deserve to be highlighted. Here, clearly, Dallas Liu stood out, who showed off his skills and gave us great moments like when he goes to rescue the Avatar or when he fights with his father.
Conclusions
For me, 'Avatar the last Airbender' It was a ver
y good adaptation that still has a lot to explore, apart from some details that could be considered its own tastes, but that do not deviate from the essence of the original material.
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What I do consider is that, if they want to cover the three books that the animated series covers, Netflix would have to hurry, since the main actors will soon leave behind their appearance as children and that would be very detrimental to the future of live action.
Rating: 3/5
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