Netflix’s Avatar: The Last Airbender is missing this crucial ingredient

Netflix’s Avatar: The Last Airbender has finally hit the streaming platform – but not only is something missing, something has gone incredibly wrong along the way.

Cast your mind back to 2005. You were probably a child, sitting down after school to watch the latest episode of Avatar: The Last Airbender on Nickelodeon. In each episode, Aang, Katara, Sokka, and their eccentric friends would go on a new adventure, and each one was as awe-inspiring as it was terrifying. We had a great time, and so did they – the only wrinkle was the small matter of the Fire Nation and a comet that would give them the power to take over the world.

Almost 20 years later, Netflix has tried to do the undoable by bringing Aang’s story back in life action format – only this time, there have been some changes. In the hopes of creating something streamlined and easy to follow, Netflix has left several subplots on the cutting room floor. A move that has been controversial with fans.

However, omitting these details isn’t actually Avatar: The Last Airbender’s biggest problem. Sure, it’s absolutely to the story’s detriment that essential character-building elements such as Sokka’s ingrained sexism have been whittled away, just as much as the reduction of Sozin’s Comet undeniably lowers the stakes. But there’s something else bubbling under the surface – Netflix’s adaptation is just too damn serious. 

Live-action anime – why so serious?

Aang – the goofy young kid who never wanted anything to do with being an Avatar at all – has been replaced with an anxiety-ridden child who loses himself to the dangers of adult greed. Barely having the time to crack a joke or spend quality time forming rich and authentic friendships, Aang is merely a hollow vehicle for stunning action fights, a race against time, and a group of villains that feel unstoppable. But why choose to be so one-sided?

When you watch Netflix’s take on Avatar: The Last Airbender, you might feel as though you’ve seen its visual styling somewhere before. Following in the footsteps of other fantasy shows such as The Witcher, The OA, and Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, Aang’s story is adapted to fit a more dramatic format. There’s greyscale, damning monologues, and heartstopping climaxes in place of any fun, humor, or light-heartedness. A cynic might say that Netflix has a well-oiled formula for what it thinks fantasy drama should look like, and it’s sticking to it.

Although the effect is slightly less noticeable, the same can be said for the streaming platform’s previous foray into the world of live-action anime, One Piece. Digging deeper into the traumatic pasts of characters, including protagonist Monkey D. Luffy, real-life One Piece was weighted with emotion, heart, and guts. The difference? Our gang of amateur pirates knew how to let loose and have a laugh, even when the going got tough.

Netflix’s Avatar: The Last Airbender falls at the first hurdle 

Netflix

Where One Piece was an incredibly faithful adaptation – and left itself breathing space for storylines to naturally exist – Avatar: The Last Airbender has closed itself off from what made the original cartoon so beloved. By having a one-track mind and focusing solely on the raging battle between the Fire Nation and the rest of the world, Aang has to forego both his childhood and the fumbles that get him to greatness. In essence, he completely skips out being a child in favor of being a man.

That’s not to say that the original 2005 wasn’t without serious moments – similarly, Aang had to get to grips with his Avatar status incredibly quickly. However, the storyline took its time to meander, wandering the never-ending playground of imagination, learning, and finding your tribe (pun intended). Rather than the over-arching dilemma or the typical action-packed themes that anime tends to lean into, Avatar: The Last Airbender was popular exactly because of its goofy stuffing. What is the show without it? Another generic – albeit with amazing representation – cookie-cutter fantasy.

Fans of the original show can rest easy knowing that Netflix’s outing isn’t quite as bad as the 2010 live-action movie – which has an incredible 5% rating on Rotten Tomatoes – but it’s frustrating to see that the global streamer has undoubtedly missed a trick. Stories like Aang’s aren’t ones that can just be boxed into a profitable package that looks the part. The substance has to match the style, otherwise viewership will be lost. There’s certainly a wider conversation to be had around why we equate fantasy to severity, but perhaps Netflix has done itself a disservice by offering the cartoon up to watch in the meantime… just look at what we could have had once again.