quick reaction post
Feb. 14th, 2011 02:47 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
insanenekoStill processing, but I just wanted to put some stuff down...
1. Wow, no kidding about the strong female characters. Why can't every fantasy have these kinds of females?
2. I didn't actually care for the big fireworks in the final battles. I'd have preferred more finesse instead of the big showy bending. But since I really really really liked the message (brute force does not mean you will win), I guess I'm okay with it.
3. I liked Aang's issue with killing anyone and how he ended up not killing Ozai, though what he did do...was rather brutal. He did take the advice of his former lives, in the end, though not in the way they meant it.
4. Zuko talking to the frog when trying to join the gang was so hilarious! I appreciated Katara threatening Zuko, too. She's scary when she's really mad.
5. The scene where Zuko and Aang do the moves with the dragons was *awesome*.
6. Suki is so much better as a love interest for Sokka! She's real! She kicks ass! Loved her taking out the warden of that jail by herself.
7. Toph is such a great character. I really wonder what will happen to her when she's older? What kind of person will she find as a love interest?
8. Iroh and Zuko, wow. Their reunion was so touching.
9. I was a bit puzzled by Zuko/Mai, but I like them together.
10. I liked that beach episode (Azula getting all nuts about winning at beach volleyball was awesome!) until the campfire "get our angst out" fest. That part was a bit trite to me. But it made Zuko/Mai seem more real to me, so overall it was good.
11. I'm glad they devoted so much time telling Appa's tale when he'd been skybisonnapped and separated from the gang.
12. I don't know what to think of Azula. I appreciated that she was a smart and cunning and cold-blooded villain, but I felt no attachment to her. Then at the end they tried to bridge the distance with her and I'm not sure it worked for me. I'm still sorting her out.
13. Ozai sucked. Wish he hadn't been so one-dimensional. Wish we learned what happened to Zuko's mom. I felt sorry for Zuko when I saw Azula in action. I can't imagine having someone like her as a sibling.
14. I like Katara/Aang very much. I just wish they'd shown Katara's changing feelings a bit more as they turned into romantic love a bit more.
15. The blood-bending thing was...horrifying. That was a very powerful episode. I felt sad how Fire Nation really fucked up a lot of things in their quest to conquer all.
Overall, enjoyed it quite a bit.
(no subject)
Date: 2011-02-15 04:34 am (UTC)1. I KNOW!!! This series was great for strong females - and hey, the new miniseries is going to have a female Avatar! I'm very excited for that. :D
2. I'm with you on this. I could've used more martial arts, less effects. But it was still cool to watch.
3. Aang's pacifism at the end struck a chord with me, especially as everyone was telling him to "suck it up" and he still stuck by his principles - and ended up mastering the Avatar State on his own because of it. It was pretty awesome.
4. Zuko's dorkiness is my favorite part of his character. It balances out well against his angst and all that anger.
5. Firebending Masters is one of my favorite episodes! Zuko and Aang have such a fun dynamic.
6. I love Sokka x Suki. I also do kind of like Sokka x Toph and Sokka x Ty Lee, but overall, Suki is my favorite match for him. She is pretty kickass.
7. Toph is fantastic. I'm sure she'll grow up to be even more awesome (if that's possible). She gets paired off with a lot of people, too. I don't really have a Toph pairing, myself, although there are a few I kind of like.
8. Iroh and Zuko's reunion seriously made me cry. Iroh in general is so universally loved by fandom, it's amazing. He deserves it, though.
9. Zuko/Mai is less sudden if you read the 'Going Home Again' comic that is set between the end of season two and the beginning of season three. They're really a good match if you think about it.
10. The Beach is such a funny episode! Cody and I were laughing through most of it. And yeah, the campfire scene is pretty trite, but I still liked it.
11. Appa's whole episode had me on the verge of tears! It was one of the most moving eps of the season, seriously.
12. Azula is the kind of villain you love to hate. I never managed to feel sorry for her either, but there are a number of very interesting essays around the 'net devoted to understanding her character and how she came unraveled. It's pretty good reading material.
13. Ozai was more of an evil force than a character. I don't think we're ever meant to empathize with him. As for Zuko's mom... you and the rest of the fandom. I don't think there's a single ATLA fan who isn't dying to know.
14. Katara's feelings are a subject of extreme controversy in fandom. I'm a fan of Katara/Aang too (obviously, since I write fanfic about them), but they are one of the pairings involved in the pretty nasty ship war that took place back in the day (and which a lot of people are still sore about, it seems).
15. Bloodbending is creepy! Did you notice that after all that fuss about how she won't do it and it's horrible, Katara bloodbends just randomly out of nowhere in Southern Raiders? That struck me as very out of place.
But still, it was an awesome series! I'm glad you enjoyed it too!
(no subject)
Date: 2011-02-22 04:20 am (UTC)1. I am ambivalent about the new series only because I am one of those people who get really attached to characters and don't care so much to read/see things about their descendants or other people in the same world...But I do really like that the Avatar in the new series will be female. I hope she and her companions will be as endearing and as kick ass as in the original series. ^^;
2. I'll never be satisfied with the fireworks, but I did like Sokka's reaction when they meet up with Aang. That's some consolation.
3. Yes, I did like that his sticking to his principles led to him being even more awesome.
4. I think for a part of the second series the angst got kinda bad (though personally I cackled through it all), but when the dorkiness all came out after he stopped trying to be like his dad or sister.
5. Zuko and Aang getting stuck in glue together was hilarious!
6. I guess I can see Sokka with Toph or Ty Lee, but I think Suki has the right kind of spunk for him. Also, she really was the first girl to show him (other than his sister) just how awesome girls can be. I like that.
7. I really can't imagine Toph being paired off with someone from the series...I'm hoping the new series will tell us who she ended up with?
8. He's amazing for who he is, but even more so because of who he could've been. I mean, how did the Fire Nation's Crown Prince turn out so decent and awesome? Zuko had such a struggle, and he had his uncle to provide guidance and support!
9. Ohh. I guess I'll check out this comic. I already like the pairing, but having the relationship fleshed out would be good.
10. It's amazing how odd Azula and Zuko seem when put among "normal" teens. Even Mai can blend in! I love how unaffected Ty Lee is anywhere she goes.
11. They truly did an awesome job with Appa's episode. I loved him already, but after that episode I loved him 100x times more.
12. I...didn't hate her, oddly. I found her off-putting but admirable. Do you have any recs for the essays you mention? I wouldn't mind seeing some analysis on her.
13. I felt dissatisfied with Ozai's non-personality because everyone else in the family got to be somewhat humanized...Even Sozin!!
14. I did a search on shipping wars and quickly found out the controversy. I can see the theoretical case for Katara/Zuko from some of what happens in the series, but I accidentally read a fanfic with that pairing by an author I was reading for another fandom and was thrown off by it. *shrugs* Glad I missed the ship wars, those things are so toxic and in many ways pointless.
15. You know, I disliked Southern Raiders overall so I just added her bloodbending in that episode to the pile of things I didn't like. I know it was supposed to show her dark side, but I think it was too dark and didn't have enough consequences for her. I was ticked that nothing happened with her accusing her brother of not loving their mother enough!
(no subject)
Date: 2011-02-22 03:11 pm (UTC)http://kaigou.dreamwidth.org/350898.html
The same person also did another essay dealing with the Southern Raiders episode, which I think you might like:
http://kaigou.dreamwidth.org/353921.html
It really got to me that Katara never apologized to Sokka in that episode. Yeesh. I mean, I assume she probably did off-screen, but I wanted to see it.
Katara/Zuko is not my thing, but I can see why other people like it. However, I think the ship wars carried on to the point where it was just personal insults being slung back and forth. Just unpleasant in general.