10 Reasons You Must Watch Avatar: The Last Airbender
3. It Takes Its Cultural Influences Seriously
Avatar: The Last Airbender is firmly set in the world of fantasy, but you won't see any magic or orcs here.
Instead, the fantastical elements rely on just that - the elements! Elemental bending (a form of manipulating earth, air, fire or water through martial arts) is tightly bound to a distinctly Asian-influenced world that doesn't employ traditional stereotypical story-telling.
It’s refreshing to see such a considered and celebratory approach to Asiatic culture, especially in a show created and produced in the USA.
The show’s creators, Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, employed cultural consultants to ensure they carefully and respectfully portray the cultures they were influenced by in stories, character portrayals, and landscapes.
It's not just the look of the show. Each of the elemental bending styles that are integral to the world of Avatar are individual studies of martial arts.
For example Water Bending is directly influenced by Tai Chi and Fire Bending by Northern Shaolin Kung Fu. Eastern philosophy also heavily influences the story which gives action and dramatic scenes and extra layer of authenticity and different motivations to something as simple as a movement.