Anime Avatar (okay, not a real anime)

[Darth Ultor]

I think that Avatar is not only the best animated show of all time, not just the best TV show of all time, but the third best story of all time. It's a shame that it aired on Nickelodeon. Many adults loved the show, but more would've discovered the awesomeness of ATLA. Favorite character, in terms of development and story is Zuko. In terms of personality, it's Iroh, no contest. Best villain is Azula. A war criminal, a vicious killer, and all at the tender age of fourteen.

 

[ZaXo Ken'Ichi]

Umm, excuse me. Avatar is indeed real anime

Also, yes, it's great.

 

[Darth Ultor]

Not made in Japan, not an anime. Avatar is ours. 'Murica, fuck yeah... while respecting East Asian cultures and using real Chinese martial arts styles.

 

[ZaXo Ken'Ichi]

As a professional manga style artist by trade, I disagree. Anime and manga as genre classifications are about the genre of artstyle. Country of origin isn't an effective conveyor of information; it tells us nothing about what we're watching or reading. Basing a genre off of country of origin is like saying Harry Potter is a 'Britain Movie'. It's true, but it says nothing useful. But saying it's a Family Adventure Movie is much more effective at explaining what you should expect to watch. We call certain types of art post-modern, or expressionist, or cartooning, etc., with the goal of describing what the intent of said movement is based on the artistic goals, and the similarities between pieces. Anime meaning nothing but 'Japanese Animation' is so broad that it becomes a redundant and useless term. At that point, why not drop the term and only refer to the thematic genre of each show, like horror, or action? In which case, yes, Avatar wouldn't be anime. Because it'd be an Adventure Comedy, and nothing would be anime.

But even then, Avatar was animated in South Korea, which is considered anime in Japan, so...

Anyway, I think Avatar is the best western anime for sure. I think the only weak point is the deus ex machina at the end, which sort of made most of the third season pointless.