From the awesome bending of elements to the mythic legends Avatar: The Last Airbender was an amazing story that caught the attention of both kids and adults alike. I remember being so excited for it to come on, and surprisingly so were my parents– who didn’t like animated shows all too much. I think the reason it got so much appreciation and love was because it was truly a unique show. It was like an old epic poem but animated.

I remember during my freshman year of school we learned about epics such as Odyssey, and Beowulf. Each of those old classics had certain qualities to make them count as an epic, and after recently watching watching Avatar: The Last Airbender it hit me why it was so great. It had perfected epic storytelling and created a compelling story because of that. There are seven characteristics a story must have to be considered an epic and Avatar has every single one.

The Fate of a Nation or People And Good vs Evil

The first two qualities a story must have to be an epic is the fate of a nation or people must be at stake. Avatar obviously has this aspect down. The entire world would fall to an almost demonic leader if Aang couldn’t beat the fire lord. We see The Fire lord’s plan to eradicate the earth kingdom like he had done to the Air Nomads and it motivated the entire team for the majority of the story. The show used these aspects to create a truly menacing villain and mission that enhanced the journey and gave the audience something to look forward to. At the beginning of the series we never saw the Fire Lord’s face but we knew how dangerous he was from his actions through the fire nation army. The Fire Lord was a unbelievable evil that provided stakes to give characters a reason to improve and the audience something to be excited about when the end of the series finally came.

Supernatural

One of Avatar’s most compelling aspects is it’s characters that can bend elements and the spirits that cross over into their world. This supernatural part of the show is another quality that makes it an epic. Most great epics have some sort of supernatural force in the story to give it a mystic and legendary feel. Avatar uses the supernatural to it’s very fullest and it creates a vast world of amazing lore that makes the story truly legendary. Seeing Aang interact with the previous Avatars or cross into the spirit world made the story so much more interesting. There were powers greater than our characters at work in the show and it gave the the world so much more life.

Battle Scenes and Massive Quantities

Battle scenes are another feature of epics that Avatar uses to enhance the story. For example the final fight between Aang and the Fire Lord was one of the best fights I’ve ever seen in either animation or television. That fight was grand on a whole other level, and is just one example of the fantastic battles we see in the show. The use of the elements and martial arts gave the show a unique fighting scenes that you can’t really see anywhere else. Massive Quantities are also something often scene in epics, for example large armies or groups of people. Avatar had lots of this, especially in the final fight when we see the fire nation army all use their fire to scorch the Earth Kingdom Nation. This gave the story an overwhelming foe that made the story even more awesome and satisfying when they’re finally defeated in the end.

Vast Settings

The world of Avatar was large and no where the team went was exactly the same. From the large cities of Ba Sing Se to the small villages of the south pole, the world was full of different locations. Vast Settings are something that epics have and Avatar executed this aspect of epics very well. They managed to make Aang’s journey throughout the world feel real and gave the audience different cultures and people wherever he went. The vast settings in Avatar made the story feel like a real adventure and provided the audience with a scenery that made the world feel even more engaging and interesting.

Heroic Adventure

Lastly, we have The Heroic Adventure. This aspect is what truly makes Avatar a fantastic show, without this epic element the story would be hollow. Seeing the team of Aang, Katara, Sokka, Toph and Zukko grow together through their adventure makes the ending of Avatar satisfying. Aang’s growth from reluctant chosen one to the mature young hero is what every hero needs. Seeing him finally beat the Fire Lord while still staying true to himself is the development every protagonist needs. Avatar’s heroic adventure was traditional but executed so well that it felt completely new. I think think I’ve ever been so happy to see the good guy triumph than when I saw Aang finally beat the Fire Lord or Zuko finally stand up to his dad. By the end of Avatar’s heroic adventure the audience is satisfied and truly inspired, which not many shows can do.

Conclusion

Avatar has and uses all these epic qualities, combined with the modern storytelling techniques to create a truly amazing story. The series is definitely a masterpiece to me because of it’s sheer uniqueness and use of epic qualities. There hasn’t been a show like it yet and I don’t think there will be for a very long time