The Avatar Universe is so great that it should certainly be shared with more people. Many blogs have been written about introducing the show to others, so this article is here for those who want to persuade others. It contains an introduction to the show and the characteristics of an Avatar as well as a short synopsis of the first sequel (Avatar the Last Airbender).
The world is divided into four nations: the Fire nation, the Earth Kingdom, Air Nomads, the Water tribe. There are four elements: Fire, Air, Water, Earth. Some people in this world have the innate ability to control or manipulate one of the elements – they’re known as benders. However, one bender can only control one element. In the Fire nation,there are fire benders (who can control only fire), and there are earth benders in the Earth Kingdom, Air benders in the Air nation and water benders in the water tribe. In this world, though, there are people called non-benders who can’t bend at all. They can be found in every nation.
Don’t worry: the shows aren’t originally in Chinese or Japanese (the creators were American but just really liked the culture).
In this world, there’s reincarnation. Every person is reborn into the world.
In this world, there is also a spirit world, but that will be explained in the series.
The AVATAR is a person who can control all four elements,and is therefore special and always tries to keep balance in the world. Oncethey do, they are reborn as the Avatar again. There is such a thing as the Avatar cycle, which means that the avatar is born in the nations in order. Soif in one life they are born in the fire nation, they’ll be born in the air nation in their next life, then water, then earth. The Avatar possesses a power called the Avatar State, which is a state where the energy of all the avatar’spast lives are brought together in a moment to make them really powerful (you can see their eyes glow when they’re in the avatar state). This Avatar State and how the first Avatar came will be explained somewhere in the entire series. If the Avatar is in the Avatar State and is killed, the Avatar cycle will be destroyed and the avatar will not be reborn into the world (all of this is explained in the series).
Moreover, the art of bending isn’t all that simple. A person who is a bender can’t just manipulate their element as soon as they’re born – they have to learn how to do it.
Now. The first sequel in the Avatar world is Avatar: the Last Airbender. This series is about a 12 year old boy from the air nation who is the avatar (named Aang), and is pressured to stop the fire nation from attacking their home. Aang and Appa are awoken a hundred years after freezing in an iceberg, by two siblings of Southern Water Tribe, Katara and Sokka. Aang learns that the Fire Nation started a war a hundred years ago, just after his disappearance. The Fire Nation's opening move in its campaign for global conquest was to launch a genocidal attack on the Air Nomads which drove Aang's entire race to extinction, thus making him 'the last airbender' alive. He realises that he must fulfil his destiny of becoming a fully realized Avatar and return balance to the world by defeating the Fire Nation. Aang sets out to master the three unlearned elements: water, earth, and fire. With Katara and Sokka, Aang decides to head first to the North Pole to find a waterbending master.