This is not a ghost story it's a love story and not a very good 1
I thought I'd finally see what all the fuss is about, and so far I'm pretty glad I have. It's true that it doesn't get off to the strongest start with some pretty basic storytelling and episodes which feel a bit too much on the childish side, but it continues to build a world that becomes fascinating and extremely well thought out. The characters become more interesting and complex as it goes on and start dealing with themes that are far above the "kids show" roots. It's also pretty funny.
Prince Zuko may be the most compelling character, with the first impressions of him being an extremely vanilla bad guy who is evil just because. Episodes reveal more about what's going on with him and I actually began rooting for him to have some luck. I also love his Uncle Iroh who walks the line between comic relief and genuinely important mentor.
Aang isn't the best protagonist at times due to his immature nature and the fact that he keeps repeating a lot of the same mistakes before learning from them. Katara stands out as the one to watch, with her brother Sokka being unfortunately relegated to the "idiot" role most of the time, but when he has something important to do it makes it have all the more impact.
I'm not in love with the anime-inspired visual style and jerky frame rate (I really struggle with Japanese style animation, it's always been a massive turn off for me), but later episodes have some striking art. Looking forward to seeing where it goes next.
Starts a bit rough, with the first few episodes especially kind of childish in sensibility (instead of childlike). Even during the bumpy first half though the mythology and world-building are so dense and well-woven that it keeps my interest. Some complexity finally kicks in around mid-point (the first episode I really like is "Jet"). It has a nicely building sense of stake-raising from then on, with some really good episodes, and the finale is downright great. Excited to continue to the next two seasons!
Best Season! From Chandler & Kathy to Chandler & Monica..Phoebe's Pregnancy...nd what not.
