Avatar: The Best Cartoon You Never Knew Existed 

This past weekend one of my favorite animated series came to a close. After 62 episodes, Nickelodeon's Emmy Award winning epic Avatar the Last Airbender had its series finale and it was awesome. Now, I know some of you are probably thinking, "What makes this show so worth watching?  I mean its on the same network as a talking yellow sponge!  What makes THIS show need to see?"

The answer to these questions is simple: drama. 

Every episode ends on a cliffhanger and creates intrigue. Along with this,  the show is set in an imaginative and inventive world that grabs you and makes you want to see more. 

The world of Avatar itself is based in a fantasy Eastern culture in which people can manipulate the elements with martial arts which is known as "bending". There are four basic types of benders in this world: fire, earth, air and water.   This concept leads to awesome kung fu style battles in the vein of a Jet Li movie and gives the series a great action adventure feel.

I would also be remiss when discussing this world , If I did not mention the creatures that inhabit this world as well.  Seemingly ripped from the pages of the Isle of Dr. Moreau, the wildlife are essentially mashups of two creatures put together. The one that boldly sticks out in my mind is the platypus bear, which has the body of a black bear and a bill of a duck and a tail like a beaver. But I digress, without good plotting, the setting would mean nothing. Luckily for the the viewers it definitely delivers on both ends.

The main plotline of the show centered around a boy named Aang and his journey to become the Avatar. The avatar is the only one that can bring back peace to the world which is currently at war. In order for him to accomplish this goal, Aang must master all the bending styles before a comet appears and makes the evil Fire Lord unstoppable.

We also follow the subplot of an exiled prince, Zuko in his search for Aang so he can destroy our hero in order to redeem his honor and receive affection from his father, the Fire Lord. The two plots obviously interweave quite a bit throughout the length of the series. This makes for a exciting and compelling story that action-adventure series within the animated genre usually lack. Add to this comedic moments that will make you legitimately crack up as well as characters you'll actually care about, making this a series every animation fan must see.   

Artistically, the look of the show is one of elegant simplicity. The colors are beautiful and the hand drawn style gives something special to series.  This series helped me find my love for animation again and hope it can do the same for others.

If you would like to check out Avatar, all three seasons are available on iTunes and the XBOX Live Marketplace.  Complete DVD collections of seasons 1 & 2 are available at most major retailers.

Interesting to note: M. Night Shaymalan is scheduled to direct the live action feature film adaptation, coming out in 2010.