Benders

So, in my brief stint as an unemployed bum with sudden access to Netflix, I finally took the advice of some dear friends...and watched all of Avatar: The Last Airbender.

Turns out, it's pretty much an awesome trip, which lead to a surprise

Sure, the Last Airbender series was aimed at a younger audience and had characters to match that age range...but it was still very clever.  The use of the elements in everyday life was usually well-executed and it was good to have a show that didn't over-cheese too much just because it's animated.

The characters grew, continuity was respected, and it was just a fun story on the whole.  Hell, they even let their female and/or disabled characters be just as powerful, which was a pleasant surprise.  Toph, a blind girl, is pretty much the resident badass of the series...if you ask me.  The writers let the characters be real, and there wasn't any "oh, she's a girl, so we need to have the hero rescue her again and again."
Holy crap does that get old.

Then along came the next story in the Avatar mythos: The Legend of Korra.

Bringing the story into a slightly more modernized context mixed the approach up wonderfully, and it was neat to see how the showrunners mixed in the fantasy-esque traits of bending with the technological updates to the world since the last series.

Having the season one antagonists' motivation be the removal of bending was interesting, on paper.  In the context of the show, though, it got really freaking dark.  Fast.  Combine that with a strong female protagonist that feels real and you've got a great start.

It's cool that the writers aren't sugar-coating the idea for the kiddos, but I was mostly surprised that the whole of season one was so damn serious...good storytelling (if you ignore the forced romance B plot), and some genuinely surprising twists.  Me gusta.

I recommend both.  The Last Airbender is three seasons long, and there's only one season of Korra out, for now.  Also, lots of actors/actresses you know and love lend their voices across both series...so check 'em out.