With many more animated TV shows getting a live-action adaptation, and not doing well with fans of the original, what can we expect from Netflix’s Avatar: The Last Airbender. Will this new adaptation break the cycle of letting fans of the original dislike the show?
Avatar: The Last Airbender is a world where people are born with the ability to bend one of the four elements water, earth, fire, and air, but there is one who is born with the ability to bend all four who is called the avatar. Aang a 12-year-old boy is the one born to be the avatar in the air nation, but when Aang finds out that he is the avatar he vanishes for 100 years. With Netflix Avatar: The Last Airbender releasing on February 22, 2024 reviews of the show have now started to come in with mixed reviews of this new adaptation of the original animated show. With most of the reviews being positive, but without comparing the Netflix adaptation to the original there are many things about the show that are amazing, and there are things about the show that are lackluster.
When asking Ashton Prasouvo, a fan of the Netflix adaptation what he thought of the show he said “The show as a whole is great if you don’t compare it to the original animated show, and you shouldn’t expect it to be a shot for shot recreation. Expecting a shot for shot will no doubt disappoint fans of the animated series.”
Most shows and movies that try adapting the original content most of the time are never a shot-for-shot recreation and Avatar: The Last Airbender is no different and should be seen as its own thing and not a copy of the original. Ashton was also asked if after the show he would recommend the show to people who are interested in watching the show and this is what he wanted to say “ If you are wanting to watch the show and you are a fan of the original then go in with a open mind and see it as its own thing, but if you have not seen the original and are still wanting to watch the show then this show will definitely be a great watch for you.” With this you should go into watching this show with an open mind and take the show as its own thing, and not a copy of the original.
On the other hand, there are people who aren’t interested in watching this show, because they are scared that it will not live up to the original Avatar: The Last Airbender. The original animated show is beloved by many people, and the show is labeled as one of the best-animated series of all time, so when asking some questions to a fan of the original show and his opinion on the Netflix show he had many thoughts.
When asking Jaedyn Flores what he is most worried about when it comes to the Netflix adaptation he said “ I’m worried that the show won’t do justice to the animated series, and that everything that makes the show so loved will be lost with the more serious tone that they are going for, and that the humor of the original won’t be the same.” You can see how important this show means to people who love the original, but can people who love the original show go in with an open mind that the Netflix adaptation is not a recreation but an adaptation.
So when asking Jaedyn if he was open to watching the show without any biases about the original show this is what he said: “ I will try my hardest to not compare the adaptation to the original, but it will be hard with all the time that I have spent with this show.” This is one of the reasons why the show had mixed reviews a lot of people who grew up with the original show never really tried to watch the show without comparing the two shows; Making it hard for people to let go of the original show, but that being said with all of the positive reviews the show has been renewed for not just another season but two more seasons. Making the show continue with seasons 2 and 3 is just to show that the show had gotten enough good reviews to let the show continue.
