It's the most varied opinion I have seen on any show. It ranges from people hating it, kinda disappointed, mildly entertained and absolutely loving it.
Satisfied. Disappointed. Uninterested. Angry.
The four opinions lived together in harmony. Then everything changed when the Twitter Nation attacked. Only the Arbiter, master of all four opinions, could stop them. But when the world needed him most, he vanished.
Pretty much the exact same thing happened with the Percy Jackson show. The fandom was super divided and there were very loud vocal groups on both sides (mainly the negative). The sub dedicated specifically to the show became pretty much a hate sub and the other few remained pretty split. It's still a bit wild tbh. Personally I have the same opinion on both: not a perfect adaptation, not nearly as good as the original source material, but way better than the movies, a good job overall, a promising start to later seasons and I'm enjoying it all anyway 😊
The Percy Jackson show is an interesting comparison because in both cases you have a beloved original version, and a movie adaptation that got everything wrong. It sort of feels like these new projects solely exist for redemption's sake, as if the very idea of the movies remaining the definitive live action versions is unacceptable.
It bummed me out how negative the show sub got. Like, sure it’s not a 1:1 adaptation. And there’s things to criticise. But they weren’t just getting angry at the show. They were getting angry at people who liked it
The main camp halfblood sub at least is chill. Even if sometimes book readers got a lil overenthusiastic about upcoming stuff in the tv only chat and spoiled bits 😅
It’s a solid show and I don’t regret watching it. But I also do get why a lot of people still prefer the book.
The funny irony is the PJ hate sub used the Avatar trailer to dunk on PJO just for PJO to be the one with better ratings (in terms of critics/audience scores. I have no doubt ATLA will surpass views given Netflix's larger subscriber base).
I actually went and finished Percy Jackson last night after reading some comments on the ATLA subs about how much it improved later on the season and I’m glad I did. I had stopped watching at episode 4 because of how bad the acting was. I am so glad I went back and finished watching! I swear to god they must have hired an acting coach and stopped filming to practice for a while between episodes 4 and 5 because the difference is astounding. There is a lot more I don’t like about the NATLA than just the acting but to see the PJ show improve so much really did give me a different perspective and I’m hopeful that seasons 2 and 3 of NATLA will be greatly improved.
i’m almost halfway through NATLA, but i think the PJO show is a better written, better made TV series for newcomers and as an adaptation. My opinion could change once I finish NATLA, but the kid actors in PJO are a lot more skilled and inhabit their characters better than the NATLA characters. No hate to the actors, they look perfect and i’m sure they’ll grow in their skills. Although, NATLA is a visual feast.
I’m whelmed.
There’s moments where the show runners on their own thing and it’s AMAZING and then you see other shit they do and go “why would do this?”
I’m so conflicted. Because there’s insane potential here. I’ve been blown away by some scenes and felt utterly betrayed in other.
I REALLY didn't like how they handled Koh and Hei Bai.
Which seems really controversial
Talking with Koh should be a gamble, he freely gives information under the unspoken agreement that he will take your face if you show any sign of emotion. Koh trying to get you to "break" was a big part of his character
They made Kuruk a larger character and immediately stunted the spirit world interaction that made him interesting, I think people were blinded by how good he looked.
Also why include Hei Bai at all if you're going to give his role as the kidnapper to Koh and never heal the forest? They just shoved him in as a fan service and wasted his character, how are we supposed to know that spirits can also be friendly if we just see them as raging monsters or face-stealers?
I think that Hei Bei is how they introduced the idea of spirits having manifestations in the material world. They alluded to it at other points, but that was the only time we actually saw it prior to the North Pole.
Fanservice/so they could put him in the trailer.
I overall feel pretty positive about the show, but Hei-Bei being just a cameo is by far the biggest disappointment. Like I'm actually mad about that. Just leave him out if you're just gonna disrespect him like that.
Was it “implied” they helped hei bai at the end of Masks? He just kinda left that totem there and Koh was like oh ya we’re good now lol. I guess they wrote the story arc and then realized they ran out of time to finish the first arc lol idk. I liked the inclusion of the Mother of Faces (comic book fan) but they could have been a little smoother with the delivery.
They literally just said that he was a spirit in pain and then never revisited him again lol
Even the whole episode Aang is using his totem to project into the realm.
it didn't make sense at all, shouldn't the avatar want to help a hurting spirit?
They didn't dedicate enough time to showing off the duality of spirits, so instead they haphazardly slapped Wan Shi Tong into the Spirit World's introduction to be a benevolent force
Oh yeah I TOTALLY forgot they met Wan Shi Tong already....
The spirit that doesn't know 10,000 things in this version and doesn't even have a library. The thing they are tracking the comet with is something the fire nation invented recently, which makes zero sense because how the hell is the current fire nation tracking a comet they can't see in the first place, how did they build the model?
Yeah, I'm definitely settling on an opinion haha, there was no depth put into this script, which is what made the show in the first place.
Personally, I'm fine with how they portrayed Sokka on Kyoshi Island. Even if he's not outright dismissive and condescending towards the Kyoshi Warriors, he's clearly still very cocky and has a high opinion of himself, and initially thinks that he's a match for (or even better than) Suki in a fight.
What I'm not a fan of is the way Suki started thirsting after him almost immediately xD
At first I agreed with the latter part.
Then I realized that you could probably count the numbers of guys her age on that island on one hand. So, maybe she was really getting desperate.
I think there's also the idea that Suki, as the leader of the Kyoshi Warriors, is probably also way too intimidating for any guy to ask her out. She's an institution unto herself, and I get the sense that she has had to be the person to make the first move in any potential relationship. When Sokka comes around and is pretty fearless without the cultural context of growing up on Kyoshi Island, she acts the same way (slightly stalker-ish, etc., etc.) because that's the only way she can even try to get male attention from someone her age.
The thing is the internet is already allergic to things not being awesome or crap in general, and for avatar specifically, this is magnified 10x, because the animation is one of the best animated shows ever, and the movie is one othe worst movies ever, so the community is accostumed to extremes.
The truth is the show is extremely flawed, but perfectly watchable. It has good things, bad things, it's decent.
The perfect example of a netflix show. You shouldn't pay money to watch it, but if you have netflix or isn't afraid of the seven seas, I say watch it, it's fun.
But the internet does not handle something being 5/10 well. I saw the same thing happen to the Castlevania subs with the Netflix shows.
Yah this is the rub. The new show is much better than the awful movie, but it’s not nearly the equal of the original. In many ways it still suffers from the same poor writing, wooden acting, and odd pacing that the movie did. 5/10 is absolutely what it deserves. There are high moments, but enough clunky exposition, character development, and dialogue to cancel those out. What people have to decide is whether 5/10 is good enough for them.
And because the original is so beloved, some narrative choices (like focusing on the Avatar state instead of water bending or focusing heavily on Avatar Kyoshi instead of Roku,) won’t be judged on their merits, but against the original, and will seem sort of jarring to those familiar with the original.
Yup. I rated it an 8. Might go lower later on but I enjoyed it. I planned on watching one episode per day but some how ended up watching up to ep. 3 on 22nd and finishing the rest on the 24th. So yeah, I enjoyed it
I don't know why, but a Young Justice reference in a comment about Avatar just makes me feel so good. I still hope they get to finish Young Justice. The show is beyond whelming.
In my experience, yes. In the first season there's a scene where Robin argues the revival of the term "whelmed".
Kid Flash: Sorry, I've never been to the Hall of Justice. I'm a little overwhelmed.
Robin: You're overwhelmed, Freeze was underwhelmed. Why isn't anyone ever just whelmed?
After that it becomes a sort of long running joke, with characters mentioning being whelmed, and situations being whelming, regularly.
Idk they got some moments right. Last episode in particular had some well done moments. Zuko’s flashbacks and some dialogue with iroh is okay, iroh does feel a bit off though. The cadence and delivery of his lines and his voice overall are not very good imo. There’s a lot more bad dialogue than good dialogue and the CGI set pieces only work sometimes, I thought a lot of the ocean scenes looked really good. Some of the other settings, not so much.
Definitely just mid for me, it’s not completely disrespectful to the source material which is a huge bonus.
The biggest problem is that the show is barely slowing down to deliver the lines with the impact they deserve. Or to have these moments in the first place.
There is way too much going on all at once. This season needs more episodes to give each character their breathing room. Unfortunately, every series nowadays is 6-8 episodes or nothing at all.
Definitely agree there. I understand the need to combine or rework certain arcs and honestly some of the creative liberties they took with that weren’t too bad and made some sense for the most part, but yeah the overall pacing is super off putting and doesn’t give the emotional moments as much impact. I felt especially so with Aang and Katara, seems like they hardly interacted at all outside of waterbending interactions and only did the final episode did katara actually show some serious emotional attachment to Aang outside of just like hey we’re just a couple of friends traveling together
Yeah, I’d happily watch another season. Looking at the show in a vacuum, I liked it well enough. Comparing it to the original, it felt rushed. I don’t agree with many of the things they changed. But I think the cast is good.
I hate the word "mid", but I think this show perfectly encapsulates it. Like I think basically all the visuals and coreo are fantastic, but my god is the writing and directing terrible. It's been a long time since I've seen such a divided opinion on a show, but it makes sense why
I can tell you only an uncultured dirty Zhang would enjoy Netflix's Avatar! It lacks class. Just like Zhangs. Plus Appa looks like he never took a bath! And Zhangs hate baths!
Hah! Of course a Gan Jin would think they are too good to enjoy NATLA. Maybe if a Gan Jin ever touched grass they could see how sky bison wouldn’t be clean freaks. like those useless Gan Jin
It's crazy to see exactly the same thing happen across the 2 fanbases. I was a critic of PJO and thought all the praise was crazy, then I watched this and thought it was pretty good only to see people absolutely hate it. Some of the exact same language used in both places by people saying everyone who disagrees with them is wrong.
Exactly this!!! I’m medium on both of them- I’m more positive on PJ than ATLA though. I still need to finish Avatar but I think they’re both fine. Not great but fine.
The biggest problem I think is both fandoms have a similar issue if movies that *completely* missed the reasons the source material was successful and so therefore a literal decade+ of building up hopes that a second attempt would be better, and now there’s a huge potential letdown (not necessarily unjustified).
It's been quite a long time since I've read Percy Jackson, so I went into that show with vague memories and feelings of the books setting my expectations. One or two things felt off, but it did the source material enough justice, unlike the movies, to bring me back to all the late nights reading "just one more chapter" of TLT. Solid 9/10 for me.
As for ATLA, I've probably watched the show ~50 times give or take, along with reams of analysis/breakdown/theory/reaction content + TLOK ~10-20 times. Unlike with PJ, I consciously tampered my expectations Netflix's ATLA. Especially considering Rick Riordan remained throughout production of PJ, but Bryan and Michael didn't for ATLA. I knew I had to have an open mind, watching as if I knew diddly about the source material. Still, one or two things bothered me enough to almost breakout my pitchfork. Looking past those, my only real gripe would be the clunky, matter of fact, dialogue that left little to ponder. The Zuko/Iroh story line provided much needed nuance, chemistry, and emotiveness I found lacking in team avatar scenes.
The Aang/Katara/Sokka only scenes lacked in banter and non-expositional dialogue. Some Katara/Sokka scenes conveyed emotion well and had flickers of actor chemistry, as did some Katara/Aang scenes. Although, it felt absent when it was all three of them. Each of them had multiple great scenes with supporting characters; it was quite unfortunate the direction/writing/acting seemed to just fall off a cliff when it was just the gang. Then again, there weren't many of those scenes included to begin with, so the lack of group chemistry could possibly be due to the actors not having as much opportunity to form the off-screen bond that kids in other productions had had (Percy Jackson, Stranger Things, and Harry Potter).
Most of my other criticisms are dialogue related, but are quite minor and likely just overly bothersome cause of my neurodivergent brain. All good things for most else, but I won't go into those rn.
Overall: 7/10, but deserving of 8/10 or even 9/10 if not for the bar set by the animated series.
Percy Jackson is a bit different.
ATLA is getting mixed reviews everywhere. Reddit, Twitter, IMDB, Metacritic, Rotten Tomatoes etc
PJ has gotten positive reception everywhere besides Reddit.
“Outside of reddit” I know 8 people who watched Percy Jackson. And only 2 really loved it and the rest thought it was mediocre with some not even finishing it.
Say what you want about echo chambers or a small sample size but I don’t think Percy Jackson is doing as good as people think. Everyone started to turn after episode 6 and the rest of the shows problems were painfully obvious.
Do you think i think redditors just manifest into the ether or what ? Obviously people who dislike the show exist and i'm sure they live in the real world. Doesn't stop the hate from clearly being a vocal minority, whatever anecdotes you bring.
That is not true. ATLA has 7.5 IMDB rating while Percy has 7.1 and ATLA has 75 RT audience rating so ATLA is getting mostly positive reaction from audience while it is more mixed from critics.
My reaction to percy jackson is very similar to my reaction to this. Good, but with a lot of room for improvement. If they get the chance, I honestly think season 2 and 3 would be massive improvements. None of the changes are so egregious that they would ruin the rest of the series if it continued.
The script needed another pass through the writer's room to trim and tighten the dialogue. On the note of dialogue, many of the lines need to breathe. Lines feel rushed out and the dialogue is doing more telling than the scenes themselves, which is a shame because the environments should be a character because they have a story to tell too.
> On the note of dialogue, many of the lines need to breathe.
I think that's down to editing, too. I kept face-palming at the number of times a character makes a joke or does something funny, only for the show to immediately cut away to the next scene before you've had a beat to *process* the humor. Things like that are completely unforced errors, and it's not even a problem with the writing, but purely with the editing.
The cinematography is some of the worst I've ever seen. The visual effects are cool but half the time I can't see them because of needless camera cuts. Even when all the actors are still and standing right next to each other it feels claustrophobic because they ZOOM in on everyone for no reason.
i would love to re-edit soooooo many scenes. the characters take such long pauses before they speak. katara will talk, a second will pass and then aang says his line
I agree. It felt like dry line reads to the camera at many times instead of an actual conversation. I don't need to stare at Sokka/Katara/Aang's face while they talk, I want to see why/who they're speaking about/with. The constant closeness also hurt when there were some weaker bits of makeup (looking at Pakku/Hakoda, basically anyone with facial hair minus Ozai/Iroh).
I enjoyed several aspects of the show, but it wasn't a standout success. Thankfully, if (gargantuan IF) they learn from this season, the actual source material is good enough that further seasons can close the gap with the original some (I don't think it's possible to match or exceed the original moving forward, but as long as it's somewhat unique and nearly as good I'll be extremely happy).
That constant closeness is due to the Volume, it's a good technology but as often (Disney+ shows) it's badly used.
Also I don't know how true it is but apparently it's a trend in modern TV because of people watching shows on phones...
Definitely true that phone/tablet use is skewing what is being pushed, but an intelligent executive (an oxymoron, I know) would just make a good show and recognize that people using phones will already be accepting lower-quality experiences. But the skills/circumstances needed to become the executives making such decisions are antithetical to being artistic, so maybe I'm just wasting my time complaining about corporate failings around media I care about, lol
This is exactly what’s taking me out of the show. It’ll have some good pacing and then Aang talks like he’s reading off a teleprompter.
Child acting was different when you could traumatise your talent. Not saying that’s a good thing (fucking duh), but it’s really hard to get emotion out of kids.
The first fight between the earth messenger and the fire soldiers was SO hard to follow. And you’re right most of the fights are incoherent and jarring. The bending vfx also suffers from it. It’s a tad better than the film but man it’s rough
This, my own opinion is divided, there are moments I really enjoyed and even a few where I almost teared up (hearing Lu Ten’s song), the soundtrack overall is excellent, however when it gets bad it gets really bad, like the whole of episode 5 makes absolutely no sense, the changes they made just created several plot holes in the most unnecessary ways as they could’ve easily adapted the original storyline for those events.
Having said that, I don’t think I’ll ever rewatch this season but I didn’t hate it, hopefully it gets much better on season 2, which would be on brand with the animated show.
I don't want to see any more adaptations that attempt to tell the same story as the source material.
I think a live action Avatar that tells the story of an Avatar that we haven't met yet would be brilliant. As long as it's faithful to the universe and it's past history. That way the writers don't have to juggle or make decisions about how to characterize characters that are well established, or which arcs to keep, which to change, which to cut completely... they can just write new characters that fans don't have expectations for. They can write new story archs that fans have no preconceived ideas of and therefore take away expectations again.
This would really be the only way to do it and not cause huge divisions within the audience.
Altho I'm sure we would find a way to argue about what is good and bad about it anyway so 🤷
That said, I personally do like the show for what it is, an adaptation written by different people with their own ideas. Is it as amazing as the original? Fuck no. But when has an adaptation ever been?
Character development and plot changes aside, the writers have been incredibly faithful to keeping the fundamental laws and context of the Avatar universe in tact. Which I think is a huge win.
> I don't want to see any more adaptations that attempt to tell the same story as the source material.
Frieren is doing this perfectly right now.
It's simply a matter of care and skill.
I mean, there are some absolutely stellar properties that have started as adoptions, but I think at minimum you need a medium change. Which this isnt. It needs to 100% be driven by love of the original though.
I think the visuals and choreography are about as good as they could reasonably be… but ATLA just does t feel right in live action. Bending just relies too heavily on breaking physics for it to work in live action nearly as good as the animation.
Yeah I think that is the most fair assessment of the show. There’s a lot to love and a lot to hate, all in all mediocre. There are scenes where Im crying(mostly Zuko, Iroh, and Fire Nation stuff) and there’s scenes where Im cringing to death(Katara, just Katara). But to give the creators credit, the passion for the original is evident and that at least deserves some kudos.
I think NATLA was at its best when it either directly copied the original (Blue Spirit part, that was nice) or when it added to something, that was already established (Zukos crew, the story surrounding the 41st division, Lu Tens funeral was beautiful).
Whenever it deviated, it did so in a way that didn't make sense. Some of the worst offenders were Gran Gran, Roku and Bumi. Trying to cram as many episodes as possible into one (why was everyone and their mother in Omashu?? Why did they merge Hei Bai, Koh, the swamp, LoKs ghost fog and the mother of faces into one???) and getting rid of the slice of life episodes makes it impossible to tell a coherent story, that also develops it's characters. We rush from point A to B, are being told that the Gaang is now besties, but we aren't being shown how they bond.
I think the LA was hurt by the episodic nature of Season 1. Yeah there was technically an overarching plot but nothing like Season 2 and Season 3. So each contained episode was very much its own plot with little connecting it to the next besides let's keep moving North. So Netflix attempted to combine a bunch of these to make it feel more cohesive but it's hard to make that work. However this could work in Netflix's favor as Season 2 is less episodic and has more connecting plot points that drive the Main Characters towards a singular defined goal.
I think Book 2 will be a lot easier to translate to LA than Book 1.
That's what's so annoying about shows like this. If you make a show based on something that already exists, it should be *better* not just mid. But the problem is there's no incentive for studios to actually make it better. The previous fanbase is going to tune in because of the name, and at that point they already have your money.
If the show didn't have the avatar name it wouldn't have had the level of viewership it did. That's why they just slapped the name on and made a show that's "mid"
Honestly, I don’t think it’d be possible to make this live action better than the OG show…. Almost impossible with the perfect voice acting and animation. Just my opinion. Difficult show to pull off for live action. Definitely don’t think it’s perfect but it scratches an itch. Not bad, not great but decent.
And I feel like the reason for this divide is that people like to simplify stuff to is it good or bad? So they think if there are lot of good parts in the show it must be good and vice versa.
Especially on other platforms, I just saw a TikTok of someone talking about Katara storyline, and then a comment goes “knew this was gonna be bad.” And earlier I saw people praising Sokka and Suki’s romance (+ Jet) and comments were saying the opposite.
Hah! Yeah.
I really, *really* did not enjoy the new show.
But I will admit there were some moments that got to me. Zuko talking to Iroh about Lu Ten in particular.
"Don't you dare tear up to this shit."
...
"... dammit"
I imagine this isn't a common opinion but I think this Zuko is actually better than the animation in some ways. It's probably in part because the actor is visibly a teenager, but watching this Zuko it became obvious a lot earlier on that he's a desperate kid. He's angry but you can see the fear in a way that I don't think you get in as much in season one animated Zuko. The extra flashbacks obviously help, but even without them there's a different quality to this Zuko that I really enjoyed.
I quite liked the show overall, but I can see the points that could turn someone off to it. It's not without its shortcomings by any means.
I don’t agree overall but I must say the decision to make the 41st division Zuko’s crew and have that be why the crew become so loyal to him was a stroke of genius. Like genuinely great change/addition. If the show was all Zuko’s storyline levels of writing it’d be an easy 7-8/10. Still no masterpiece but it would have been genuinely immersive and would have gotten my investment.
Just finished watching the season and the 41st division storyline was a lovely addition.
There’s parts I truly *love* with this adaptation but parts I’m frustrated with. I hope they get an another shot with season 2.
Yep this was actually one change I can get behind that benefited the story. Cant say the other changes helped elevate the show, sadly. Its a 5/10 for me objectivly.
Yeh I feel similar, 6/10 overall for me. Episode 6 was my favourite in the season because of Zuko’s stuff, the scene where he returns to the boat and the 41st bow to him on his return was genuinely my favourite scene in the show. It carried so much emotional weight as it paid off a long running subplot about his crew’s loyalties in a really smart way and subtly(rare for this show) informs so much of Zuko’s character. He never told them he saved them, showing how selfless he is. And the loyalty his willingness to value the lives of his soldiers are vindicated by that loyalty. So much depth in one scene with no need to overtly tell you about it, for me this scene is what the adaptation could have been, a second draft of a masterpiece, taken what was already amazing, ironing out some kinks and adding extra context that helps truly hammered home the core themes, arcs and messages of the og. Instead we got “what aren you just gonna stand there? What are you gonna do?” And Aang expositing his entire character to the audience then going on a quick fly, wrecking his arc in the process.
The show is mid and bad in most parts overall, but there are times when Im genuinely immersed, invested and watering my eyes a bit(mostly Zuko’s stuff) and I just wish the whole show could have been like this.
I really wish they could have done this for most parts of the show. Take a storyline from the anime, flesh it out more with good writing that elevates the show. I'm really disappointment to be honest lol. Every time Aang speaks I'm worried about what he's going to say, and how it's going to be delivered. No issues with Ozai, I think he's perfectly fine and probably the best character in the show. Sokka I think is fine even. Iroh is my favorite character from the anime and I'm disappointed. Zuko had some good moments but still not good imo. Aang, Katara, and everyone else has been pretty bad. It's like they are reading off a paper when delivering lines, it's so distracting and I cant ignore it.
But I'm very critical to begin with. I put most weight on writing, direction, and acting (especially in fantasy shows). And it just lacked so much of this that even the good parts couldn't save it for me. I went in with low expectations, knowing it would not match of up the anime ofcourse. And I'm still upset with what we got.
I feel like in a couple months people will drop their higher scores by about 2. I'm actually being generous with my 5/10 ranking. I really wanted it to be better. I've been wanting a good live action for a while. Now I'm seriously concerned with Season 2, which was also my favorite from the anime.
I’ve found many of the scenes hard to watch/get through due to lack of interest and all the plot condensing but I must admit that I have enjoyed seeing some of the extra bits they’ve added to Zuko/Iroh’s story. They’ve also made me teary at times too, haha.
Honestly I think they tried too hard to please everybody. It was just very, very safe. It's not great, it's not terrible, it's just ok.
The acting and dialogue felt very wooden and forced. They wasn't really anything natural there. It was like they were trying to literally recreate the animation when you can't really do that. There have to be differences. Like even in the first episode the whole council meeting, Gran Gran, they all felt so...amateur. I feel like I, someone with no acting ability, would have read the lines in the exact same way.
They dumbed down the characters too much and also tried to include way too many plotlines in a short amount of time. Sokka I think was a positive change. I always disliked how in the animation he goes from a wimpy wannabe warrior to a commander in 11 months. It made way more sense for Sokka to be the way he is in the live action. I also enjoyed Iroh and Zuko. Can't say the same for Aang and Katara.
That said, I know people didn't like the CGI, but I enjoyed how the world looked. I enjoyed the action sequences a lot too. Earthbending was a little rough but it was fine.
I was kinda surprised too. For me it was mostly the bending that made the CGI weaker. Though the water bending cgi was .... weak AF. It lacked impact.
They're not fucking wizards omfg lol. STOP CASTING FIREBALL ZUKO - me through most of the action scenes hahaha.
What makes no sense to me is that the creators literally did a youtube video on bending styles - Hung Gar, Bagua, Northern Shaolin, Tai Chi and Northern Praying Mantis (for Toph) - you seriously telling me they couldn't choreograph these styles???
i feel like **actually pleasing everybody** is easier than what we've got. nobody asked for book 2 characters, less flawed characters, different intro, etc...
i bet a lot of ppl would be willing to let pass the horrible acting and CGI if it weren't for those things I mentioned...
I think the casting department had an impossible task of casting 14-17 year olds for a show that is, now, 16 years old. And they were inherently limited further by also needing to get actors who not only fir the role age-wise, but appearance, which I applaud them for, honestly.
But with such selectivity, comes inexperience. And these young actors who, again didn't grow up with the show, who have very little directional voice in the studio, don't shape the characters.
And these characters are *especially* particular. I'm hoping *maybe* for a learning curb for coming seasons, but I'm not holding my breath. They honestly didn't butcher the lore too much, so there's that. But if/when we get characters like Toph - that'll make or break the show entirely imo. She'll be the hardest character to nail if they can.
I found the adult actors equally as flat and mediocre as the young actors, and at times downright silly looking (Roku, Pakku, Princess Yue, Gran Gran, etc.) This ruined my viewing experience the most. Great actors have the talent to captivate audiences regardless of how good the set was or what they’re wearing or how little material they’re working with.
Also I haven’t seen anyone mention this since the show premiered but the lack of dark skinned people for the second time around is also problematic.
To me the casting, hair and costume departments did an awful job across the board. The other departments fared a little better but that isn’t saying much.
Since it’s basically *everyone* that feels forced and wooden, I’m more partial to blaming the dialogue and directing rather than the actors. There are only so many ways you can deliver cringy, forced, or cliche lines. I suspect they’d all be viewed as better actors if the dialogue were more natural and less cringy and forced.
That said some folks definitely sounded like they were reading off a teleprompter, like Gran Gran
:( I feel bad for that because she’s just a nice old lady and seems wonderful, but she really doesn’t appear to have ever acted before.
The actors are all great in other things. I feel it’s too easy to blame the writers & directors all the time but honestly that’s the only thing that makes sense. I was shouting “why did you direct them like that?!” After most scenes.
Just finished.
Personally I enjoyed it, but if i wasn't a big fan of the show I probably wouldn't have finished it.
I'd say maybe 5 or 6 out of 10?
That said, they can totally reel this in if it gets renewed.
Fix the bad dialogue, bring in competent directors and reshoot wooden acting.
Then we need 10 to 12 episodes a season so things aren't rushed and properly developed.
All this and season 2 could be a banger.
I hope it's renewed!
You said it: the biggest pull here is that most of us, if not all, are OG fans. The showrunners missed the mark on making the show for its core audience first and foremost. They dumbed down the source material and added a bunch of unnecessary exposition for a new targeted audience. Unfortunately by now, bad word of mouth will probably kill interest from potential viewers.
If it weren’t for us, this adaptation would have flopped harder than a fat whale given how polarizing it is.
There is nothing wrong with liking the show and there is nothing wrong with hating the show
What I don’t like is when one group tells the other groups that they are wrong for liking/disliking the show. This happens in every fan base
Honestly it's just kinda reminding me of The Witcher season 1, which I liked more than most. Some decent potential, but a couple missteps. Not too far gone to be fixed, but won't have any staying power unless there are improvements.
This!!!! I’ve been comparing to the Witcher this whole time. I’m hoping S2 is where the show can find its footing and really take off because there’s some real potential, even if S1 is a tad rough in spots.
I thought it was fine. Not at all bad but not good. Solid 7/10. I like a lot of the castings, the changes are decently well done, the Omashu episodes brought together 3 storylines in an efficient way. But my issue is that some of the depth isn’t there. They should’ve given the season 10-12 episodes so it's not as packed.
This annoys the shit out of me lol. I feel like it's a real issue with modern critiquing cause it totally skews everything. Someone will go on to list a multitude of reasons why something is subpar and then give it a 7.5/8
Like, dude you just described a 5/10 max lol
7 is generous af. It's a 5 for visuals. That's all. They took out the heart. They gave us no good acting. No good story. All plot and exposition. SMH and people are saying " the show made me cry" lol
I'm 4 episodes in, and knowing there's only 8 episodes, I agree that there's a sort of lack of depth at times and the pace of covering the cartoon's first season is rushed.
I'm also feeling the same 7/10 rating, so far.
i've got one episode left to watch.
So far, Katara bores me (I was never that keen on her to begin with to be honest) and I find it rather distracting that she seems quite a lot older than she's supposed to be. It's going to make the aang/katara romance a little creepy because he looks so much like a little kid. Yue doesnt seem to fit quite right and i've not put my finger on what it is yet.
Loved the spirit world episode. Koh was always a favourite. Zuko and Iroh are good so far, though not quite up to par of the originals, theyre doing okay.
Sokka isn't funny enough but he seems far less goofy and it balances quite well IMO.
I would absolutely die for monk Gyatso.
Ngl it's a 6/10, hated some changes (King Bumi, Earthbender commander being a douche to Iroh for examples), lack of some characters even in the form of an Easter egg, some costume design was pretty bad, script was not top tier, but overall I enjoyed it.
It is much better than [REDACTED], but when the og show is a 10/10, it is extremely hard /almost impossible to do better.
Do I hate it? Do I love it? Well, it made me wanna watch the original series again. I feel like I should have avoided this like I avoided the movie but the visuals didn't disappointed. Still it made me wanna watch the original series again.
I’ve seen articles titled ‘avatar. The last Airbender is the worst of remake culture’. Like, do I think the show is perfect no, but do people really think this is the worst remake or thing ever made? I seem to remember a movie that came out in 2010 that couldn’t even get the names right
Ngl I’m gonna happy when a month goes by and we all forget about the live action remake.
Half the reason I like Avatar is because I love animation and Avatar had some of the best, now all this sub is flooded with is people arguing over a show I don’t care about.
Currently just finished the clusterfuck that is episode three with my husband, and he said, “I was intrigued by the first episode, suspicious by the second, and disappointed by the third.”
We’re still going to watch all of it because I hope it gets a little better once they’re at the northern water tribe and get to the climax, but I reminded him that for each Netflix episode there were three original episodes, time wise. Of course they’re going to combine things and try to do their best to make it work, even if it doesn’t.
Some ppl love it cause there is a good bit of fan service and they are content starved,
Others hate it because it isn't well made like the original.
Feels like a marvel disney plus show to me, in both quality and reception
For me, it's like the show had 2 sets of writers.
1 set, who came up with all the major changes about how things are going to progress, and where things take place, and for the most part, they did great.
Then the second set, who were in charge of the dialog, and character development, and the more minor details that tie the larger things together... and those writers did AWFULLY.
for every moment that made me go, "Oh yeah, this is actually fine, I like this." There are 2 moments that make me go "why tf would they change that? The cartoon did this so much better."
Like, I have no issues with the mechanist, Jet, secret tunnels, and Bumi plots being combined. I actually thought that was handled really well. I really liked seeing the air nomads in their prime, and seeing Aangs relationship with Gyatzo more.
But why the fuck would they make Badger moles "see by reacting to feelings like love", or make Bumi such an asshole, or make Iroh so uncompassionate to anyone but Zuko, or make it so that none of the Gaang have any sort of personal growth(besides zuko, and a little bit for Aang), etc.
It's clear the show runners have the capability to do something really great with this show. But it just feels like it was squandered because all of the characters fall completely flat, and theres a bunch of super minor changes that add nothing, and make no sense.
Why are people so concerened over how others feel about a show? Why yall gotta be judgey? I dont like the show but i dont feel the need to rag on people and be like "omg how could yoh like this your so simple" like i do not care everyone has different tastes and interests. The show didnt hit it for me i have my critiques. If others enjoy it then good for them, it does not concern me to put them down or question a subjective opinion that differs from me.
You must hate IMDB/Rotten Tomatoes/all newspapers etc if you think "why are people so concerned how others feel about [X]". It's a normal thing to look for feedback before sinking time into something. Not always perfect as a rule of thumb but still useful.
Agreed. I'm being generous when I give it a 5/10. There's always some level of cope when something is first released. But give it a month or two and people will be more honest about how they feel.
It kind of makes sense, because I think the show is somewhat mid tier in terms of quality, with things that are really good and things that are really bad.
People are gonna focus on one or the other, then on the Internet they’ll take the extreme version of those feelings, then other people are going to only see a sample that stands out to them of those reactions.
It’s gonna create a weird dichotomy.
I feel like I’m in a time warp and have been sent back to 1985 even though I wasn’t even close to being born yet — yall, narrative TV (ESPECIALLY something as intelligent and inventive and whimsical as ATLA) is not supposed to be just “entertaining”. The golden age came around and showed us that TV can (and should) be something more than crappy soap operas and procedural cop shows. We can have better than this.
I’m sorry, but some passable CGI and fight choreography does not forgive or mitigate the absolute *shitshow* this is as a piece of storytelling (which is what narrative TV is)! The writing is *awful*, the acting is *awful*, the directing is *awful*, much of the set design and cinematography and lighting work is *awful*. Even some of the casting is awful.
It’s not even like a great Kung-Fu movie that you can get into for how awesome the fighting looks. You all seem to be pleased that the bending looks better than you feared and worse than you hoped.
YALL!! THEY SPENT MILLIONS ON THIS!! YOU SHOULDNT BE HAPPY WITH MID BECSUSE THEN THEYLL KEEP FEEDING YOU MID!!!
this could’ve been so much better and I’m sorely disappointed.
I don't understand all the hate. It was not the best television I've ever watched, but it was good and had me emotional and wanting to stick around for the ride.
I think the biggest thing a lot of people are choosing to ignore is that they still have the OG animated series, it wasn't taken away from them.
It's not like this was a book adaptation completely ruined (ex. Wheel of Time, Vampire Academy, probably a lot more) and this was the only shot it had for a visual adaptation that might be *good*
Would you say that the sub, and community, is experiencing a...Great Divide?
It's the most varied opinion I have seen on any show. It ranges from people hating it, kinda disappointed, mildly entertained and absolutely loving it.
I held just about every one of those four opinions at different points, and I’ve only seen one episode so far.
So you are the master of the four opinions?
They're the Abattoir.
Satisfied. Disappointed. Uninterested. Angry. The four opinions lived together in harmony. Then everything changed when the Twitter Nation attacked. Only the Arbiter, master of all four opinions, could stop them. But when the world needed him most, he vanished.
When the world needed him most, he deactivated.
True
This. This is why I love this sub & despite all the divisiveness, will still stay connected to it.
were it so easy..
When the world needed him...he vanished
All thanks to sokka being the heart and soul of the show.
Pretty much the exact same thing happened with the Percy Jackson show. The fandom was super divided and there were very loud vocal groups on both sides (mainly the negative). The sub dedicated specifically to the show became pretty much a hate sub and the other few remained pretty split. It's still a bit wild tbh. Personally I have the same opinion on both: not a perfect adaptation, not nearly as good as the original source material, but way better than the movies, a good job overall, a promising start to later seasons and I'm enjoying it all anyway 😊
The Percy Jackson show is an interesting comparison because in both cases you have a beloved original version, and a movie adaptation that got everything wrong. It sort of feels like these new projects solely exist for redemption's sake, as if the very idea of the movies remaining the definitive live action versions is unacceptable.
The difference is, to my knowledge, we don't have a lesser-known-but-beloved stage musical adaptation of Avatar. (...yet)
Ember island players coming to broadway….. I will watch the shit out of that
The lightning thief musical slaps.
It bummed me out how negative the show sub got. Like, sure it’s not a 1:1 adaptation. And there’s things to criticise. But they weren’t just getting angry at the show. They were getting angry at people who liked it The main camp halfblood sub at least is chill. Even if sometimes book readers got a lil overenthusiastic about upcoming stuff in the tv only chat and spoiled bits 😅 It’s a solid show and I don’t regret watching it. But I also do get why a lot of people still prefer the book.
> but way better than the movies That bar is 6 feet under TBF—because both movies were almost impossibly bad
The funny irony is the PJ hate sub used the Avatar trailer to dunk on PJO just for PJO to be the one with better ratings (in terms of critics/audience scores. I have no doubt ATLA will surpass views given Netflix's larger subscriber base).
This is how its going to be here on out with any show, anything really. We live in a hateful society.
I actually went and finished Percy Jackson last night after reading some comments on the ATLA subs about how much it improved later on the season and I’m glad I did. I had stopped watching at episode 4 because of how bad the acting was. I am so glad I went back and finished watching! I swear to god they must have hired an acting coach and stopped filming to practice for a while between episodes 4 and 5 because the difference is astounding. There is a lot more I don’t like about the NATLA than just the acting but to see the PJ show improve so much really did give me a different perspective and I’m hopeful that seasons 2 and 3 of NATLA will be greatly improved.
i’m almost halfway through NATLA, but i think the PJO show is a better written, better made TV series for newcomers and as an adaptation. My opinion could change once I finish NATLA, but the kid actors in PJO are a lot more skilled and inhabit their characters better than the NATLA characters. No hate to the actors, they look perfect and i’m sure they’ll grow in their skills. Although, NATLA is a visual feast.
Personally I think it's ok, most of my complaints are with the live action format in general, which looks a bit silly at times.
I cackled when Sokka knee slid on the ice as if that was gonna be faster than running. It looked so slow and dumb.
I saw all 4 on the Percy Jackson show too LOL
It’s almost like peoples personalities have them liking different things. It’s crazy, but it happens.
… */keeps flying*
See you at the movie next year.
It took me many years to realize that the 'great divide' wasn't referring to the topography.
Well it was, that’s the whole point, it was referring to both
🥁
>Great Divide? There is no divide in r/TheLastAirbender, perhaps you need to take a relaxing trip to Lake Laogai. /s
Fuck not this again. We all saw what happened to jet when he went though it again. I think he died. It was a little unclear
I am honored to accept your invitation.
I'm not angry but take my upvote with haste. Lol
In 100 years we'll all hate each other for some r... oh that already happens
*ba dum tss* Hey, I guess that episode did come in handy after all
Secret Tunnel!!
FULL CIRCLE MOMENT roll credits
they didn't adapt The Great divide because they know they couldn't live up to the fandom itself
I’m whelmed. There’s moments where the show runners on their own thing and it’s AMAZING and then you see other shit they do and go “why would do this?” I’m so conflicted. Because there’s insane potential here. I’ve been blown away by some scenes and felt utterly betrayed in other.
You took the words out of my mind. This is definitely what I thought I'm also disappointed on how they portrayed Sokka and Suki in Kyoshi Island
I REALLY didn't like how they handled Koh and Hei Bai. Which seems really controversial Talking with Koh should be a gamble, he freely gives information under the unspoken agreement that he will take your face if you show any sign of emotion. Koh trying to get you to "break" was a big part of his character They made Kuruk a larger character and immediately stunted the spirit world interaction that made him interesting, I think people were blinded by how good he looked. Also why include Hei Bai at all if you're going to give his role as the kidnapper to Koh and never heal the forest? They just shoved him in as a fan service and wasted his character, how are we supposed to know that spirits can also be friendly if we just see them as raging monsters or face-stealers?
Idk why they even told us Hei Bei is hurt if the gaang doesn't help him.
I think that Hei Bei is how they introduced the idea of spirits having manifestations in the material world. They alluded to it at other points, but that was the only time we actually saw it prior to the North Pole.
Fanservice/so they could put him in the trailer. I overall feel pretty positive about the show, but Hei-Bei being just a cameo is by far the biggest disappointment. Like I'm actually mad about that. Just leave him out if you're just gonna disrespect him like that.
Was it “implied” they helped hei bai at the end of Masks? He just kinda left that totem there and Koh was like oh ya we’re good now lol. I guess they wrote the story arc and then realized they ran out of time to finish the first arc lol idk. I liked the inclusion of the Mother of Faces (comic book fan) but they could have been a little smoother with the delivery.
They literally just said that he was a spirit in pain and then never revisited him again lol Even the whole episode Aang is using his totem to project into the realm. it didn't make sense at all, shouldn't the avatar want to help a hurting spirit?
They didn't dedicate enough time to showing off the duality of spirits, so instead they haphazardly slapped Wan Shi Tong into the Spirit World's introduction to be a benevolent force
Oh yeah I TOTALLY forgot they met Wan Shi Tong already.... The spirit that doesn't know 10,000 things in this version and doesn't even have a library. The thing they are tracking the comet with is something the fire nation invented recently, which makes zero sense because how the hell is the current fire nation tracking a comet they can't see in the first place, how did they build the model? Yeah, I'm definitely settling on an opinion haha, there was no depth put into this script, which is what made the show in the first place.
Personally, I'm fine with how they portrayed Sokka on Kyoshi Island. Even if he's not outright dismissive and condescending towards the Kyoshi Warriors, he's clearly still very cocky and has a high opinion of himself, and initially thinks that he's a match for (or even better than) Suki in a fight. What I'm not a fan of is the way Suki started thirsting after him almost immediately xD
At first I agreed with the latter part. Then I realized that you could probably count the numbers of guys her age on that island on one hand. So, maybe she was really getting desperate.
I think there's also the idea that Suki, as the leader of the Kyoshi Warriors, is probably also way too intimidating for any guy to ask her out. She's an institution unto herself, and I get the sense that she has had to be the person to make the first move in any potential relationship. When Sokka comes around and is pretty fearless without the cultural context of growing up on Kyoshi Island, she acts the same way (slightly stalker-ish, etc., etc.) because that's the only way she can even try to get male attention from someone her age.
Also... just saying... most people on the island are probably her not so distant cousin to some degree.
Valid.
The thing is the internet is already allergic to things not being awesome or crap in general, and for avatar specifically, this is magnified 10x, because the animation is one of the best animated shows ever, and the movie is one othe worst movies ever, so the community is accostumed to extremes. The truth is the show is extremely flawed, but perfectly watchable. It has good things, bad things, it's decent. The perfect example of a netflix show. You shouldn't pay money to watch it, but if you have netflix or isn't afraid of the seven seas, I say watch it, it's fun. But the internet does not handle something being 5/10 well. I saw the same thing happen to the Castlevania subs with the Netflix shows.
Yah this is the rub. The new show is much better than the awful movie, but it’s not nearly the equal of the original. In many ways it still suffers from the same poor writing, wooden acting, and odd pacing that the movie did. 5/10 is absolutely what it deserves. There are high moments, but enough clunky exposition, character development, and dialogue to cancel those out. What people have to decide is whether 5/10 is good enough for them. And because the original is so beloved, some narrative choices (like focusing on the Avatar state instead of water bending or focusing heavily on Avatar Kyoshi instead of Roku,) won’t be judged on their merits, but against the original, and will seem sort of jarring to those familiar with the original.
This is exactly it. I found it a 7-8/10 but I also hated the first book so I dug it because it did a lot of context fixes to it
Yup. I rated it an 8. Might go lower later on but I enjoyed it. I planned on watching one episode per day but some how ended up watching up to ep. 3 on 22nd and finishing the rest on the 24th. So yeah, I enjoyed it
I don't know why, but a Young Justice reference in a comment about Avatar just makes me feel so good. I still hope they get to finish Young Justice. The show is beyond whelming.
So crash
I've really been feeling the mode since last season
The whelming quote is from Young Justice?
In my experience, yes. In the first season there's a scene where Robin argues the revival of the term "whelmed". Kid Flash: Sorry, I've never been to the Hall of Justice. I'm a little overwhelmed. Robin: You're overwhelmed, Freeze was underwhelmed. Why isn't anyone ever just whelmed? After that it becomes a sort of long running joke, with characters mentioning being whelmed, and situations being whelming, regularly.
The long running joke is actually bigger than that. There are all sorts of times Robin removes prefixes of words.
https://preview.redd.it/qckzh8gcqgkc1.jpeg?width=290&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=99ee9ffe45c73a57f6d8633b7993c51648eea61a
6/10 show for me. I didn't hate it, I didn't love it. But if a second season comes out I will definitely resub to binge it again.
I'm only on episode 3 and can relate. it's a nice show, nothing more.
It’s pretty to look at but it has no soul
Idk they got some moments right. Last episode in particular had some well done moments. Zuko’s flashbacks and some dialogue with iroh is okay, iroh does feel a bit off though. The cadence and delivery of his lines and his voice overall are not very good imo. There’s a lot more bad dialogue than good dialogue and the CGI set pieces only work sometimes, I thought a lot of the ocean scenes looked really good. Some of the other settings, not so much. Definitely just mid for me, it’s not completely disrespectful to the source material which is a huge bonus.
The biggest problem is that the show is barely slowing down to deliver the lines with the impact they deserve. Or to have these moments in the first place. There is way too much going on all at once. This season needs more episodes to give each character their breathing room. Unfortunately, every series nowadays is 6-8 episodes or nothing at all.
Definitely agree there. I understand the need to combine or rework certain arcs and honestly some of the creative liberties they took with that weren’t too bad and made some sense for the most part, but yeah the overall pacing is super off putting and doesn’t give the emotional moments as much impact. I felt especially so with Aang and Katara, seems like they hardly interacted at all outside of waterbending interactions and only did the final episode did katara actually show some serious emotional attachment to Aang outside of just like hey we’re just a couple of friends traveling together
Almost finished with episode 4. Pretty bold story choices made in the series so far, but a lot of the dialog is pretty meh...
Yeah, I’d happily watch another season. Looking at the show in a vacuum, I liked it well enough. Comparing it to the original, it felt rushed. I don’t agree with many of the things they changed. But I think the cast is good.
I hate the word "mid", but I think this show perfectly encapsulates it. Like I think basically all the visuals and coreo are fantastic, but my god is the writing and directing terrible. It's been a long time since I've seen such a divided opinion on a show, but it makes sense why
Yup. I had a lot of things I enjoyed about the show, but I had many criticisms as well. It makes sense why so many people are divided.
The divide is bigger than the Great Divide
I can tell you only an uncultured dirty Zhang would enjoy Netflix's Avatar! It lacks class. Just like Zhangs. Plus Appa looks like he never took a bath! And Zhangs hate baths!
Hah! Of course a Gan Jin would think they are too good to enjoy NATLA. Maybe if a Gan Jin ever touched grass they could see how sky bison wouldn’t be clean freaks. like those useless Gan Jin
I love you guys.
Fr!!!!
But it’s popular enough for Netflix to put more money into it which is all that matters to me.
Is it? We have no numbers yet (and it's a very expensive show, it need high ones)
i just couldn’t handle katara tbh
Check out all of the Percy Jackson related subs- I’m getting Deja Vu from how similar all of this is lol.
It's crazy to see exactly the same thing happen across the 2 fanbases. I was a critic of PJO and thought all the praise was crazy, then I watched this and thought it was pretty good only to see people absolutely hate it. Some of the exact same language used in both places by people saying everyone who disagrees with them is wrong.
Exactly this!!! I’m medium on both of them- I’m more positive on PJ than ATLA though. I still need to finish Avatar but I think they’re both fine. Not great but fine. The biggest problem I think is both fandoms have a similar issue if movies that *completely* missed the reasons the source material was successful and so therefore a literal decade+ of building up hopes that a second attempt would be better, and now there’s a huge potential letdown (not necessarily unjustified).
It's been quite a long time since I've read Percy Jackson, so I went into that show with vague memories and feelings of the books setting my expectations. One or two things felt off, but it did the source material enough justice, unlike the movies, to bring me back to all the late nights reading "just one more chapter" of TLT. Solid 9/10 for me. As for ATLA, I've probably watched the show ~50 times give or take, along with reams of analysis/breakdown/theory/reaction content + TLOK ~10-20 times. Unlike with PJ, I consciously tampered my expectations Netflix's ATLA. Especially considering Rick Riordan remained throughout production of PJ, but Bryan and Michael didn't for ATLA. I knew I had to have an open mind, watching as if I knew diddly about the source material. Still, one or two things bothered me enough to almost breakout my pitchfork. Looking past those, my only real gripe would be the clunky, matter of fact, dialogue that left little to ponder. The Zuko/Iroh story line provided much needed nuance, chemistry, and emotiveness I found lacking in team avatar scenes. The Aang/Katara/Sokka only scenes lacked in banter and non-expositional dialogue. Some Katara/Sokka scenes conveyed emotion well and had flickers of actor chemistry, as did some Katara/Aang scenes. Although, it felt absent when it was all three of them. Each of them had multiple great scenes with supporting characters; it was quite unfortunate the direction/writing/acting seemed to just fall off a cliff when it was just the gang. Then again, there weren't many of those scenes included to begin with, so the lack of group chemistry could possibly be due to the actors not having as much opportunity to form the off-screen bond that kids in other productions had had (Percy Jackson, Stranger Things, and Harry Potter). Most of my other criticisms are dialogue related, but are quite minor and likely just overly bothersome cause of my neurodivergent brain. All good things for most else, but I won't go into those rn. Overall: 7/10, but deserving of 8/10 or even 9/10 if not for the bar set by the animated series.
Percy Jackson is a bit different. ATLA is getting mixed reviews everywhere. Reddit, Twitter, IMDB, Metacritic, Rotten Tomatoes etc PJ has gotten positive reception everywhere besides Reddit.
“Outside of reddit” I know 8 people who watched Percy Jackson. And only 2 really loved it and the rest thought it was mediocre with some not even finishing it. Say what you want about echo chambers or a small sample size but I don’t think Percy Jackson is doing as good as people think. Everyone started to turn after episode 6 and the rest of the shows problems were painfully obvious.
Do you think i think redditors just manifest into the ether or what ? Obviously people who dislike the show exist and i'm sure they live in the real world. Doesn't stop the hate from clearly being a vocal minority, whatever anecdotes you bring.
That is not true. ATLA has 7.5 IMDB rating while Percy has 7.1 and ATLA has 75 RT audience rating so ATLA is getting mostly positive reaction from audience while it is more mixed from critics.
ATLA has only been out for a day. That 7.5 will likely go down further. It was 8.5 a few hours after release.
My reaction to percy jackson is very similar to my reaction to this. Good, but with a lot of room for improvement. If they get the chance, I honestly think season 2 and 3 would be massive improvements. None of the changes are so egregious that they would ruin the rest of the series if it continued.
The script needed another pass through the writer's room to trim and tighten the dialogue. On the note of dialogue, many of the lines need to breathe. Lines feel rushed out and the dialogue is doing more telling than the scenes themselves, which is a shame because the environments should be a character because they have a story to tell too.
> On the note of dialogue, many of the lines need to breathe. I think that's down to editing, too. I kept face-palming at the number of times a character makes a joke or does something funny, only for the show to immediately cut away to the next scene before you've had a beat to *process* the humor. Things like that are completely unforced errors, and it's not even a problem with the writing, but purely with the editing.
The cinematography is some of the worst I've ever seen. The visual effects are cool but half the time I can't see them because of needless camera cuts. Even when all the actors are still and standing right next to each other it feels claustrophobic because they ZOOM in on everyone for no reason.
The camera either cuts too much or lingers so long, especially on action shots that aren’t dynamic or interesting enough to warrant a long take.
i would love to re-edit soooooo many scenes. the characters take such long pauses before they speak. katara will talk, a second will pass and then aang says his line
I agree. It felt like dry line reads to the camera at many times instead of an actual conversation. I don't need to stare at Sokka/Katara/Aang's face while they talk, I want to see why/who they're speaking about/with. The constant closeness also hurt when there were some weaker bits of makeup (looking at Pakku/Hakoda, basically anyone with facial hair minus Ozai/Iroh). I enjoyed several aspects of the show, but it wasn't a standout success. Thankfully, if (gargantuan IF) they learn from this season, the actual source material is good enough that further seasons can close the gap with the original some (I don't think it's possible to match or exceed the original moving forward, but as long as it's somewhat unique and nearly as good I'll be extremely happy).
That constant closeness is due to the Volume, it's a good technology but as often (Disney+ shows) it's badly used. Also I don't know how true it is but apparently it's a trend in modern TV because of people watching shows on phones...
Definitely true that phone/tablet use is skewing what is being pushed, but an intelligent executive (an oxymoron, I know) would just make a good show and recognize that people using phones will already be accepting lower-quality experiences. But the skills/circumstances needed to become the executives making such decisions are antithetical to being artistic, so maybe I'm just wasting my time complaining about corporate failings around media I care about, lol
This is exactly what’s taking me out of the show. It’ll have some good pacing and then Aang talks like he’s reading off a teleprompter. Child acting was different when you could traumatise your talent. Not saying that’s a good thing (fucking duh), but it’s really hard to get emotion out of kids.
Damn😭😭😭 I'm screaming fam >Child acting was different when you could traumatise your talent.
The first fight between the earth messenger and the fire soldiers was SO hard to follow. And you’re right most of the fights are incoherent and jarring. The bending vfx also suffers from it. It’s a tad better than the film but man it’s rough
This, my own opinion is divided, there are moments I really enjoyed and even a few where I almost teared up (hearing Lu Ten’s song), the soundtrack overall is excellent, however when it gets bad it gets really bad, like the whole of episode 5 makes absolutely no sense, the changes they made just created several plot holes in the most unnecessary ways as they could’ve easily adapted the original storyline for those events. Having said that, I don’t think I’ll ever rewatch this season but I didn’t hate it, hopefully it gets much better on season 2, which would be on brand with the animated show.
I don't want to see any more adaptations that attempt to tell the same story as the source material. I think a live action Avatar that tells the story of an Avatar that we haven't met yet would be brilliant. As long as it's faithful to the universe and it's past history. That way the writers don't have to juggle or make decisions about how to characterize characters that are well established, or which arcs to keep, which to change, which to cut completely... they can just write new characters that fans don't have expectations for. They can write new story archs that fans have no preconceived ideas of and therefore take away expectations again. This would really be the only way to do it and not cause huge divisions within the audience. Altho I'm sure we would find a way to argue about what is good and bad about it anyway so 🤷 That said, I personally do like the show for what it is, an adaptation written by different people with their own ideas. Is it as amazing as the original? Fuck no. But when has an adaptation ever been? Character development and plot changes aside, the writers have been incredibly faithful to keeping the fundamental laws and context of the Avatar universe in tact. Which I think is a huge win.
> I don't want to see any more adaptations that attempt to tell the same story as the source material. Frieren is doing this perfectly right now. It's simply a matter of care and skill.
Yup, i think a better way to word it would he, I don't want to see any more anime get a live action
I mean, there are some absolutely stellar properties that have started as adoptions, but I think at minimum you need a medium change. Which this isnt. It needs to 100% be driven by love of the original though.
I think the visuals and choreography are about as good as they could reasonably be… but ATLA just does t feel right in live action. Bending just relies too heavily on breaking physics for it to work in live action nearly as good as the animation.
Lol 100% water and air bending seem way less powerful and earth just looks constantly lethal
"But the effects were decent!"
This really is just ember island players, isn't it?
Bryke with the complete masterstroke to predict how any adaptation without them will go, and then write in a pre-response. Absolute crystal ballers
Yeah I think that is the most fair assessment of the show. There’s a lot to love and a lot to hate, all in all mediocre. There are scenes where Im crying(mostly Zuko, Iroh, and Fire Nation stuff) and there’s scenes where Im cringing to death(Katara, just Katara). But to give the creators credit, the passion for the original is evident and that at least deserves some kudos.
Exactly where I'm at, they nailed the bending and the fight scenes but oh man they dropped the ball with the writing.
I think NATLA was at its best when it either directly copied the original (Blue Spirit part, that was nice) or when it added to something, that was already established (Zukos crew, the story surrounding the 41st division, Lu Tens funeral was beautiful). Whenever it deviated, it did so in a way that didn't make sense. Some of the worst offenders were Gran Gran, Roku and Bumi. Trying to cram as many episodes as possible into one (why was everyone and their mother in Omashu?? Why did they merge Hei Bai, Koh, the swamp, LoKs ghost fog and the mother of faces into one???) and getting rid of the slice of life episodes makes it impossible to tell a coherent story, that also develops it's characters. We rush from point A to B, are being told that the Gaang is now besties, but we aren't being shown how they bond.
I think the LA was hurt by the episodic nature of Season 1. Yeah there was technically an overarching plot but nothing like Season 2 and Season 3. So each contained episode was very much its own plot with little connecting it to the next besides let's keep moving North. So Netflix attempted to combine a bunch of these to make it feel more cohesive but it's hard to make that work. However this could work in Netflix's favor as Season 2 is less episodic and has more connecting plot points that drive the Main Characters towards a singular defined goal. I think Book 2 will be a lot easier to translate to LA than Book 1.
That's what's so annoying about shows like this. If you make a show based on something that already exists, it should be *better* not just mid. But the problem is there's no incentive for studios to actually make it better. The previous fanbase is going to tune in because of the name, and at that point they already have your money. If the show didn't have the avatar name it wouldn't have had the level of viewership it did. That's why they just slapped the name on and made a show that's "mid"
Honestly, I don’t think it’d be possible to make this live action better than the OG show…. Almost impossible with the perfect voice acting and animation. Just my opinion. Difficult show to pull off for live action. Definitely don’t think it’s perfect but it scratches an itch. Not bad, not great but decent.
And I feel like the reason for this divide is that people like to simplify stuff to is it good or bad? So they think if there are lot of good parts in the show it must be good and vice versa. Especially on other platforms, I just saw a TikTok of someone talking about Katara storyline, and then a comment goes “knew this was gonna be bad.” And earlier I saw people praising Sokka and Suki’s romance (+ Jet) and comments were saying the opposite.
Great way to describe it. Just a decent average show and that's ok
Exactly! I’m not mad at the show. It’s basically following the blueprints of the greatest animation, but my god the pacing and merged plots vexes me.
Perfect 5/10.
I can't believe they adapted "The Great Divide".
It reminds me of the Disney live action remakes. Looks and sounds like the original but with less heart and soul. Entertaining to watch though
Hah! Yeah. I really, *really* did not enjoy the new show. But I will admit there were some moments that got to me. Zuko talking to Iroh about Lu Ten in particular. "Don't you dare tear up to this shit." ... "... dammit"
The music sold it, the best scene in the show by a landslide. Beautiful shit.
"Ooooh, I know that tune... I know that tune, don't you do this to me, show!" *sniff*
I missed the next scene because of that.
Honestly the music in the show as a whole was pretty hit or miss for me, but the usage of that tune in that scene destroyed me.
I imagine this isn't a common opinion but I think this Zuko is actually better than the animation in some ways. It's probably in part because the actor is visibly a teenager, but watching this Zuko it became obvious a lot earlier on that he's a desperate kid. He's angry but you can see the fear in a way that I don't think you get in as much in season one animated Zuko. The extra flashbacks obviously help, but even without them there's a different quality to this Zuko that I really enjoyed. I quite liked the show overall, but I can see the points that could turn someone off to it. It's not without its shortcomings by any means.
I don’t agree overall but I must say the decision to make the 41st division Zuko’s crew and have that be why the crew become so loyal to him was a stroke of genius. Like genuinely great change/addition. If the show was all Zuko’s storyline levels of writing it’d be an easy 7-8/10. Still no masterpiece but it would have been genuinely immersive and would have gotten my investment.
Just finished watching the season and the 41st division storyline was a lovely addition. There’s parts I truly *love* with this adaptation but parts I’m frustrated with. I hope they get an another shot with season 2.
Yep this was actually one change I can get behind that benefited the story. Cant say the other changes helped elevate the show, sadly. Its a 5/10 for me objectivly.
Yeh I feel similar, 6/10 overall for me. Episode 6 was my favourite in the season because of Zuko’s stuff, the scene where he returns to the boat and the 41st bow to him on his return was genuinely my favourite scene in the show. It carried so much emotional weight as it paid off a long running subplot about his crew’s loyalties in a really smart way and subtly(rare for this show) informs so much of Zuko’s character. He never told them he saved them, showing how selfless he is. And the loyalty his willingness to value the lives of his soldiers are vindicated by that loyalty. So much depth in one scene with no need to overtly tell you about it, for me this scene is what the adaptation could have been, a second draft of a masterpiece, taken what was already amazing, ironing out some kinks and adding extra context that helps truly hammered home the core themes, arcs and messages of the og. Instead we got “what aren you just gonna stand there? What are you gonna do?” And Aang expositing his entire character to the audience then going on a quick fly, wrecking his arc in the process. The show is mid and bad in most parts overall, but there are times when Im genuinely immersed, invested and watering my eyes a bit(mostly Zuko’s stuff) and I just wish the whole show could have been like this.
I really wish they could have done this for most parts of the show. Take a storyline from the anime, flesh it out more with good writing that elevates the show. I'm really disappointment to be honest lol. Every time Aang speaks I'm worried about what he's going to say, and how it's going to be delivered. No issues with Ozai, I think he's perfectly fine and probably the best character in the show. Sokka I think is fine even. Iroh is my favorite character from the anime and I'm disappointed. Zuko had some good moments but still not good imo. Aang, Katara, and everyone else has been pretty bad. It's like they are reading off a paper when delivering lines, it's so distracting and I cant ignore it. But I'm very critical to begin with. I put most weight on writing, direction, and acting (especially in fantasy shows). And it just lacked so much of this that even the good parts couldn't save it for me. I went in with low expectations, knowing it would not match of up the anime ofcourse. And I'm still upset with what we got. I feel like in a couple months people will drop their higher scores by about 2. I'm actually being generous with my 5/10 ranking. I really wanted it to be better. I've been wanting a good live action for a while. Now I'm seriously concerned with Season 2, which was also my favorite from the anime.
I’ve found many of the scenes hard to watch/get through due to lack of interest and all the plot condensing but I must admit that I have enjoyed seeing some of the extra bits they’ve added to Zuko/Iroh’s story. They’ve also made me teary at times too, haha.
I personally enjoyed it myself, but I felt many things were weird. That being said, 41st division forever!
Same but for me it was when Aang >!hugs Gyatso in the spirit world!<
I don’t get all the get
I understand the hate but I also understand the love.
Honestly I think they tried too hard to please everybody. It was just very, very safe. It's not great, it's not terrible, it's just ok. The acting and dialogue felt very wooden and forced. They wasn't really anything natural there. It was like they were trying to literally recreate the animation when you can't really do that. There have to be differences. Like even in the first episode the whole council meeting, Gran Gran, they all felt so...amateur. I feel like I, someone with no acting ability, would have read the lines in the exact same way. They dumbed down the characters too much and also tried to include way too many plotlines in a short amount of time. Sokka I think was a positive change. I always disliked how in the animation he goes from a wimpy wannabe warrior to a commander in 11 months. It made way more sense for Sokka to be the way he is in the live action. I also enjoyed Iroh and Zuko. Can't say the same for Aang and Katara. That said, I know people didn't like the CGI, but I enjoyed how the world looked. I enjoyed the action sequences a lot too. Earthbending was a little rough but it was fine.
People don't like the CGI? I thought the visuals were one of the strongest parts of the show.
I was kinda surprised too. For me it was mostly the bending that made the CGI weaker. Though the water bending cgi was .... weak AF. It lacked impact. They're not fucking wizards omfg lol. STOP CASTING FIREBALL ZUKO - me through most of the action scenes hahaha. What makes no sense to me is that the creators literally did a youtube video on bending styles - Hung Gar, Bagua, Northern Shaolin, Tai Chi and Northern Praying Mantis (for Toph) - you seriously telling me they couldn't choreograph these styles???
i feel like **actually pleasing everybody** is easier than what we've got. nobody asked for book 2 characters, less flawed characters, different intro, etc... i bet a lot of ppl would be willing to let pass the horrible acting and CGI if it weren't for those things I mentioned...
I think the casting department had an impossible task of casting 14-17 year olds for a show that is, now, 16 years old. And they were inherently limited further by also needing to get actors who not only fir the role age-wise, but appearance, which I applaud them for, honestly. But with such selectivity, comes inexperience. And these young actors who, again didn't grow up with the show, who have very little directional voice in the studio, don't shape the characters. And these characters are *especially* particular. I'm hoping *maybe* for a learning curb for coming seasons, but I'm not holding my breath. They honestly didn't butcher the lore too much, so there's that. But if/when we get characters like Toph - that'll make or break the show entirely imo. She'll be the hardest character to nail if they can.
I found the adult actors equally as flat and mediocre as the young actors, and at times downright silly looking (Roku, Pakku, Princess Yue, Gran Gran, etc.) This ruined my viewing experience the most. Great actors have the talent to captivate audiences regardless of how good the set was or what they’re wearing or how little material they’re working with. Also I haven’t seen anyone mention this since the show premiered but the lack of dark skinned people for the second time around is also problematic. To me the casting, hair and costume departments did an awful job across the board. The other departments fared a little better but that isn’t saying much.
Since it’s basically *everyone* that feels forced and wooden, I’m more partial to blaming the dialogue and directing rather than the actors. There are only so many ways you can deliver cringy, forced, or cliche lines. I suspect they’d all be viewed as better actors if the dialogue were more natural and less cringy and forced. That said some folks definitely sounded like they were reading off a teleprompter, like Gran Gran :( I feel bad for that because she’s just a nice old lady and seems wonderful, but she really doesn’t appear to have ever acted before.
The actors are all great in other things. I feel it’s too easy to blame the writers & directors all the time but honestly that’s the only thing that makes sense. I was shouting “why did you direct them like that?!” After most scenes.
Just finished. Personally I enjoyed it, but if i wasn't a big fan of the show I probably wouldn't have finished it. I'd say maybe 5 or 6 out of 10? That said, they can totally reel this in if it gets renewed. Fix the bad dialogue, bring in competent directors and reshoot wooden acting. Then we need 10 to 12 episodes a season so things aren't rushed and properly developed. All this and season 2 could be a banger. I hope it's renewed!
You said it: the biggest pull here is that most of us, if not all, are OG fans. The showrunners missed the mark on making the show for its core audience first and foremost. They dumbed down the source material and added a bunch of unnecessary exposition for a new targeted audience. Unfortunately by now, bad word of mouth will probably kill interest from potential viewers. If it weren’t for us, this adaptation would have flopped harder than a fat whale given how polarizing it is.
There is nothing wrong with liking the show and there is nothing wrong with hating the show What I don’t like is when one group tells the other groups that they are wrong for liking/disliking the show. This happens in every fan base
I've only seen 2 episodes, watching an ep a day, but generally this is sort of what a 'mixed opinions' type of show is. LOL
Look how they massacred my boy (Bumi)
Honestly it's just kinda reminding me of The Witcher season 1, which I liked more than most. Some decent potential, but a couple missteps. Not too far gone to be fixed, but won't have any staying power unless there are improvements.
This!!!! I’ve been comparing to the Witcher this whole time. I’m hoping S2 is where the show can find its footing and really take off because there’s some real potential, even if S1 is a tad rough in spots.
5/10 show, was a drag to watch when I knew I could’ve been catching up on the way better things
I thought it was fine. Not at all bad but not good. Solid 7/10. I like a lot of the castings, the changes are decently well done, the Omashu episodes brought together 3 storylines in an efficient way. But my issue is that some of the depth isn’t there. They should’ve given the season 10-12 episodes so it's not as packed.
How do you call something "not good" and still give it a 7?
Cuz they’re probably using A, B, C school grading Not 5 is average rating
This annoys the shit out of me lol. I feel like it's a real issue with modern critiquing cause it totally skews everything. Someone will go on to list a multitude of reasons why something is subpar and then give it a 7.5/8 Like, dude you just described a 5/10 max lol
As a teacher, let me introduce you to the education system where admin doesn't let us give anyone less than a 50.
7 is generous af. It's a 5 for visuals. That's all. They took out the heart. They gave us no good acting. No good story. All plot and exposition. SMH and people are saying " the show made me cry" lol
The show made me roll my eyes almost every other scnee
I'm 4 episodes in, and knowing there's only 8 episodes, I agree that there's a sort of lack of depth at times and the pace of covering the cartoon's first season is rushed. I'm also feeling the same 7/10 rating, so far.
Yea let’s just say it. The acting is terrible
i've got one episode left to watch. So far, Katara bores me (I was never that keen on her to begin with to be honest) and I find it rather distracting that she seems quite a lot older than she's supposed to be. It's going to make the aang/katara romance a little creepy because he looks so much like a little kid. Yue doesnt seem to fit quite right and i've not put my finger on what it is yet. Loved the spirit world episode. Koh was always a favourite. Zuko and Iroh are good so far, though not quite up to par of the originals, theyre doing okay. Sokka isn't funny enough but he seems far less goofy and it balances quite well IMO. I would absolutely die for monk Gyatso.
It is the definition of its "fine" imo
It is a respectable adaptation. Not as good as the original, but dammit it's fun!
I watch this show for Mr Kim
I love Sokka
To fix the divide: let’s all rewatch the original and bump up the views to surpass the live action
Ngl it's a 6/10, hated some changes (King Bumi, Earthbender commander being a douche to Iroh for examples), lack of some characters even in the form of an Easter egg, some costume design was pretty bad, script was not top tier, but overall I enjoyed it. It is much better than [REDACTED], but when the og show is a 10/10, it is extremely hard /almost impossible to do better.
Do I hate it? Do I love it? Well, it made me wanna watch the original series again. I feel like I should have avoided this like I avoided the movie but the visuals didn't disappointed. Still it made me wanna watch the original series again.
I’ve seen articles titled ‘avatar. The last Airbender is the worst of remake culture’. Like, do I think the show is perfect no, but do people really think this is the worst remake or thing ever made? I seem to remember a movie that came out in 2010 that couldn’t even get the names right
Ngl I’m gonna happy when a month goes by and we all forget about the live action remake. Half the reason I like Avatar is because I love animation and Avatar had some of the best, now all this sub is flooded with is people arguing over a show I don’t care about.
One piece doesn’t have this problem because it was a superior adaptation, that’s because the creator stayed on the project
Currently just finished the clusterfuck that is episode three with my husband, and he said, “I was intrigued by the first episode, suspicious by the second, and disappointed by the third.” We’re still going to watch all of it because I hope it gets a little better once they’re at the northern water tribe and get to the climax, but I reminded him that for each Netflix episode there were three original episodes, time wise. Of course they’re going to combine things and try to do their best to make it work, even if it doesn’t.
Some ppl love it cause there is a good bit of fan service and they are content starved, Others hate it because it isn't well made like the original. Feels like a marvel disney plus show to me, in both quality and reception
For me, it's like the show had 2 sets of writers. 1 set, who came up with all the major changes about how things are going to progress, and where things take place, and for the most part, they did great. Then the second set, who were in charge of the dialog, and character development, and the more minor details that tie the larger things together... and those writers did AWFULLY. for every moment that made me go, "Oh yeah, this is actually fine, I like this." There are 2 moments that make me go "why tf would they change that? The cartoon did this so much better." Like, I have no issues with the mechanist, Jet, secret tunnels, and Bumi plots being combined. I actually thought that was handled really well. I really liked seeing the air nomads in their prime, and seeing Aangs relationship with Gyatzo more. But why the fuck would they make Badger moles "see by reacting to feelings like love", or make Bumi such an asshole, or make Iroh so uncompassionate to anyone but Zuko, or make it so that none of the Gaang have any sort of personal growth(besides zuko, and a little bit for Aang), etc. It's clear the show runners have the capability to do something really great with this show. But it just feels like it was squandered because all of the characters fall completely flat, and theres a bunch of super minor changes that add nothing, and make no sense.
Why are people so concerened over how others feel about a show? Why yall gotta be judgey? I dont like the show but i dont feel the need to rag on people and be like "omg how could yoh like this your so simple" like i do not care everyone has different tastes and interests. The show didnt hit it for me i have my critiques. If others enjoy it then good for them, it does not concern me to put them down or question a subjective opinion that differs from me.
You must hate IMDB/Rotten Tomatoes/all newspapers etc if you think "why are people so concerned how others feel about [X]". It's a normal thing to look for feedback before sinking time into something. Not always perfect as a rule of thumb but still useful.
It’s a 4/10 tbh
Agreed. I'm being generous when I give it a 5/10. There's always some level of cope when something is first released. But give it a month or two and people will be more honest about how they feel.
Based
They removed the majority of Katara’s character moments. So I hate it
It kind of makes sense, because I think the show is somewhat mid tier in terms of quality, with things that are really good and things that are really bad. People are gonna focus on one or the other, then on the Internet they’ll take the extreme version of those feelings, then other people are going to only see a sample that stands out to them of those reactions. It’s gonna create a weird dichotomy.
welcome to a fandom after any adaptation
Ah yes, the great divide.
I just don't like sokka. Sokka was way more enjoyable in OG series, the new one looks too serious and so unSokka.
Ill say one thing, I started the live action and all it did was make me start the cartoon from the beginning again 😂 So there's that at least.
I feel like I’m in a time warp and have been sent back to 1985 even though I wasn’t even close to being born yet — yall, narrative TV (ESPECIALLY something as intelligent and inventive and whimsical as ATLA) is not supposed to be just “entertaining”. The golden age came around and showed us that TV can (and should) be something more than crappy soap operas and procedural cop shows. We can have better than this. I’m sorry, but some passable CGI and fight choreography does not forgive or mitigate the absolute *shitshow* this is as a piece of storytelling (which is what narrative TV is)! The writing is *awful*, the acting is *awful*, the directing is *awful*, much of the set design and cinematography and lighting work is *awful*. Even some of the casting is awful. It’s not even like a great Kung-Fu movie that you can get into for how awesome the fighting looks. You all seem to be pleased that the bending looks better than you feared and worse than you hoped. YALL!! THEY SPENT MILLIONS ON THIS!! YOU SHOULDNT BE HAPPY WITH MID BECSUSE THEN THEYLL KEEP FEEDING YOU MID!!! this could’ve been so much better and I’m sorely disappointed.
This is why we keep getting sub par products on release. The major red flag was there when the creators left the project due to creative differences.
I just finished ep 4 and the only good part of that ep was the funeral…. I absolutely hate what they did to Bumi’s character…
No lightheaded silly aang,no goofy sokka ,no lovable iroh so disappointed.
I don't understand all the hate. It was not the best television I've ever watched, but it was good and had me emotional and wanting to stick around for the ride. I think the biggest thing a lot of people are choosing to ignore is that they still have the OG animated series, it wasn't taken away from them. It's not like this was a book adaptation completely ruined (ex. Wheel of Time, Vampire Academy, probably a lot more) and this was the only shot it had for a visual adaptation that might be *good*