The ‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’ cartoon isn’t a ‘kids-only show’, but something that everyone could relate to, as showrunners said.
The Avatar: The Last Airbender saga has never failed to amuse its fans. From its immaculate action sequences to a jaw-dropping storyline, the anime of the saga has managed to keep fans constantly at the edge of their sets. And it isn’t just the children who were amazed by the anime: The anime is enough to leave even the adults entertained.
But while the rest of the lore is one thing, there is one specific episode helmed by the showrunners that literally people of all ages could find relatable. And the mastermind co-creators of the 2005 masterpiece, Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko seem to have similar thoughts and opinions on that episode, having created the superhit fan-favorite animated series themselves.
The Avatar: The Last Airbender Episode Everyone Could Relate To
While it is indeed true that the ATLA universe may seem like child’s play since its storyline surrounds the life of a 12-year-old Aang and his teenage friends Katara and Sokka (among others), there are many aspects of this story that people of all ages can relate to.
The perfect example to explain this statement is the one episode that featured “Aang opening his energetic chakras.”
Hypable, the episode The Guru in the 2005 animated series was helmed in such a way that everyone could relate to it.
But why? Because it was “a fairly unfamiliar concept to most Westerners,” as DiMartino explained. And to make it familiar to them so they could understand it, the showrunners were willing to overcome any and every challenge.
Just like how DiMartino shared in the interview:
“The challenge there was to make it not just an educational lesson,” DiMartino said, “but to dramatize it and see how Aang struggles to deal with his past mistakes in order to grow, which is something people of all ages can relate to.”
Moreover, as it turns out, this spiritual concept wasn’t the only one that was added in the series to make it relatable to adults too, for the showrunners helmed the entire series in such a way that could fascinate people of all ages.
ATLA Creators’ Approach to the Series Wasn’t Limited to Kids
As many grown-ups who are familiar with The Last Airbender lore may be aware, there are multiple other instances in the animated series besides The Guru episode that people of any and every age could understand and form a link with.
This is because co-creators DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko never had an approach limited only to the kids while creating the series. Instead, they intended to incorporate everything into it that even they found fascinating.
According to what Michael Dante DiMartino shared during the interview with Hypable:
“Even though we were obviously aware we were making the show on a children’s network, that never stopped me and Bryan from exploring the themes and ideas that fascinated and inspired us.”
Thus, there you have it: Proof that Aang’s story is not only for the kids to enjoy, but is one that could keep even the adults at the edge of their seats.
And if you still don’t believe us, then you can stream the Avatar: The Last Airbender animated series on Netflix and confirm it for yourself!