Hey, brother! They say everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked, and that is true in more ways than one.

I mean, obviously, it started a 100-year war for the Four Nations, but it also changed the history of animated television,

with many still considering Avatar The Last Airbender to be the best animated show ever made.

And it's not hard to see why.

Because when it came out, Avatar was unlike anything its viewing audience had ever seen.

For one, it featured and get this continuity.

Previously on Avatar.

Which I know sounds basic, but most kids animated shows at the time did not feature this

outside of maybe like two or three episode runs.

But Avatar had three cohesive season-long arcs all building toward a promised series-long payoff where the Avatar would face off against the Fire Lord.

A promise they make in the first 30 seconds of the show, and when it finally pays off, it is epic.

Not only that, but you only really need to watch the intro to understand the bending system, which is just martial arts lets you control the four elements. The avatar is the only one who can do all four. He's the most powerful. That's it. But on top of on top of that, the show was unafraid to tackle heavy real-world themes,

including sexism, ableism, genocide, child soldiers, PTSD, pacifism versus necessary force.

I mean, the list goes on, and yet it never feels preachy and it never stops feeling kid friendly.

Check this.

And none of that is even the true overarching theme.

Because here's the secret.

The show isn't actually about winning the war. It's about restoring balance.

It's about choosing who you are when the world wants you to become something else and refusing to become your enemy.

And also that just like epic bending fights are like cool, you know? Like that's a pretty big theme too, I think

Blame you, hotman!

Now the original series ended back in 2008, but based on the fandom, you never know.

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