So, I went to a concert for Avatar: The Last Airbender – and it was terrific.
If you know me, you know I’m a huge Avatar: The Last Airbender fan and have been for many years. I will always make sure anyone checks out ATLA if they haven’t done so already and keep bugging them until they do. I will watch the new live-action Netflix series all in one night and compromise my sleep schedule just because I love the franchise so much. I will buy merchandise, so much of it, because I literally can’t control myself.
Alright, well, I’ve done a lot better on the latter in the last few years, but you get my drift, right?
So when I found out that a touring orchestra would be performing musical pieces from the show all over the country, I knew I had to book tickets for my boyfriend, who also happens to be a big fan of the show. But as I was watching it—and tearing up consistently—I started to notice and appreciate one other aspect of the show I hadn’t ever realized before, and I have to talk about it.
The Music Is Still Just As Good As I Remembered - If Not Better In Person
As someone who grew up with Avatar: The Last Airbender, I really don’t think there’s another kids show that made the music as great as this show did.
It’s clearly influenced by plenty of Asian components, which is something you don’t necessarily experience that often in everyday kids shows. Don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of great children’s shows that hold up well as an adult, but Avatar: The Last Airbender hits differently, and a significant component is because of the music.
Whether it’s during Iroh giving the best advice, watching the best character, Toph, take down her enemies, or seeing Katara being the ultimate waterbender, the music flows with each of their intense moments – and hearing it in person makes it all the better. The amount of talent and precision that goes into recreating each of these is fantastic.
But I Never Realized How The Themes Evolve With The Characters As They Mature
Okay, maybe this is just me being dumb with music, or I had genuinely never noticed it before, but I never realized that the themes, as they are played, evolve more often as the series goes on.
I obviously know that in musicals, there are motifs; moments of music that are recognizable and carry a certain amount of weight for each character. These motifs are often used over and over again to symbolize the change of story. They could change the key, or the speed, or something else, but you know that motif from the bottom of your heart when you hear it. A great example would be one of the best modern musicals, Hamilton.
But the idea that character themes could also change never really hit me until I listened to the Avatar: The Last Airbender themes in person. Throughout the show, the themes comprised each individual character and showed how they progressed throughout the series. As the characters aged and grew, the themes would as well.
They would grow more dramatic and serious as the problems they were facing became even bigger. Again, this stands out so much to me because, again, this is a kids' show. I feel like there are plenty of people who wouldn’t think about these little details, but it means the world to me that this is there, creating such compelling and well-done television.
Honestly, It Just Makes Me Want To Rewatch The Series Again
I mean, I never really need a reason for me to enjoy and rewatch Avatar: The Last Airbender, but it really does make me want to rewatch the series again – heck, it makes me want to rewatch the Avatar: The Last Airbender live-action adaptation again as well.
I love things like this so much. It makes me appreciate this series even more—and also makes me a little sad because it almost feels like kids these days will never get to experience what it was like to watch this show week by week. But I suppose being able to check it out now with a whole new generation on streaming is just as fun, too.
But the bigger thing is that it makes me want to rewatch just to catch these characters' themes, to hear them grow and evolve into the strong benders they are towards the end of the series. It also makes me want to check out the Avatar: The Last Airbender cast again in live-action, listen to their themes and take my guesses as to how those would evolve over the next two seasons.
Maybe this is just something that I picked up and should have realized years ago, but I thought I’d share. There’s always something new about this show that I learn that makes me love it even more, and I suppose that’s what makes it so great to be a fan of the Avatar: The Last Airbender universe.
