10 Reasons You Must Watch Avatar: The Last Airbender

What can take authors hundreds of pages of storytelling is achieved by Avatar in just 3 seasons. We're talking about world-building of course, and not only is the world that Avatar inhabits well-constructed, but it's rich in culture and history in a way you rarely see in animated television.

Each of the four nations has its own mapped-out land, distinct culture, and history that comes through the narrative.

The cycle of the Avatar (when one dies, their spirit passes into another) reflects this history, and throughout the show we learn about the lives of several of these past incarnations.

The art of bending is a fully-fledged set of martial arts, each one distinct from each other and identifiable by their move-set. The creatures that inhabit the world are amazingly imaginative, from a flying bison to Flopsie, the pet goat-gorilla!

We're even treated to a third-act meta-theatrical production, in which actors from the Fire Nation (the Ember Island Players) perform the story of the Avatar over the course of a play in an episode. This serves as both a hilarious reminder of what's happened so far, and a nuanced demonstration of the rich culture available to characters in the world.