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aangarchy · 2 months

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Netflix atla live action review ep 1-3

So i was able to watch the first three episodes and i wrote down some thoughts. Strap yourselves in, it's gonna be a big post. There's a lot i don't like, but it's not all negative. So let's get the negative out of the way first, then we'll get to the positive.

The cgi is abhorrent. Especially the green screen stuff where a lot of movement is happening. I'm specifically referring to the scenes of Katara and Sokka in the canoe as well as the Omashu railing system, and anytime Aang is flying on his glider. The bending may be better than the original live action, but it's not good either. Bending for me was always gonna be impossible in live action. I never feel like there's any connection between the moves the actor is making and the cgi element. In animation it's much easier to make the two connect, but an actor is basically staring at nothing and moving their hands around a bunch, hoping post will make it look good. This show also fell prey to the "ball of water is consistently losing water and yet remains the same shape and size" trap. I think out of all the elements the airbending looks the best and the earthbending so far the worst. The Avatar state looked very janky as well, some shots looked like there wasn't even an actor there anymore and it was all animated. And not animated in a good way either, some of the movements were way to wobbly, reminding me of that weird broom flying cgi in the first harry potter movie where the character is flopping about awkwardly bc it's badly animated. The animals also look pretty weird to me, i can barely tell where Appa's face is most of the time. Also for some reason they have momo making monkey noises instead of lemur noises? Like he legit sounds like a chimpanzee? I wonder what that's about.

The costumes are very hit or miss. They're very bright and i've often seen them fit awkwardly on the actors. Suki's headband was practically sliding off of her head while doing a fight scene, and in Omashu an extra's headscarf literally slid off of her head as she walked out of frame. Don't even mention Bumi to me either, that guy looks absolutely insane to me and i mean that negative. I can't suspend my disbelief enough to pretend that's a real guy. I liked Suki's makeup however, and i really like how they did Katara's hair and outfit. We got our first glance at Ty Lee and Mai too, and i like that Ty Lee is basically a carbon copy of her cartoon outfit.

Some story choices are.... interesting. Some of them, i'm not sure whether i like them or not yet. I'm confused as to why they combined three different stories into the Omashu storyline. We have Bumi, Teo and the Mechanist, as well as Jet all piled up in the same city, and somehow Zuko is there as well. The Jet story happened way too quickly, and i'm confused as to why Sokka was so upset at Jet's betrayal when he hadn't even spoken to the guy at all, he didn't even know his name. I don't like the choice of having everyone split up in Omashu. There was a lot of focus on Katara and Sokka and Aang barely appeared. I will say i really loved the no bending fight Aang and Zuko had in Omashu. Such a shame that their choreography barely got any time to shine due to the fight scenes being edited like marvel movies to hide mistakes. This has me excited for the blue spirit episode though!

I don't like the way they revealed that Aang is the Avatar in the watertribe. Why is Gran Gran the one that immediately knows? Just bc she's old? I liked that Aang revealed it himself in the original, but in this one it's just Gran Gran telling everyone who he is and Sokka not even believing her.

Then there's the opening for the first episode. I have very mixed feelings. I like that they showed the bond between Gyatso and Aang, and i liked the way they switched between Gyatso's last stand and Aang falling into the water. I'm sticking to my guns however with saying that we didn't need to see the attack on the airtemples play out. I liked it being this mysterious event that happened so long ago it's become legend to anyone alive today. But now, as a viewer, we have more information than our main characters. It also took away from the emotional turmoil of Aang finding Gyatso's skeleton. In the original, there's still this slimmer of hope, are they really dead? Could some still be alive? Only for it to be ripped away then and there. Now the audience already knows Gyatso is dead, we know what Aang is about to find. They also didn't really linger on Aang's emotions after this, like at all? He buried Gyatso and basically went "alright where to next?"

There also seems to be a lot less bonding time, making the relationship between the characters in episode 1 and 2 very weird. Katara and Aang barely had one conversation in the first episode, and Katara was already talking about Aang changing her life and helping improve her bending after only one day. It feels very weird and forced. It gets better by episode 3, but it was definitely bad in the first two.

I'm gonna say it again but i'm mad about Sokka's sexism arc disappearing. Suki was angry at Sokka for just comparing her skills as a warrior to him, when she hadn't even seen him fight yet. She also starts out as being weirdly enchanted by Sokka just bc he's an outsider. He's not even attractive at all, and they're trying to sell him as some sort of heartthrob. I like their bonding time while they trained, but i don't like how immediately Sokka is hung up on her. He still needs to meet Yue, and idk about you but to me it would be weird for him to already like one girl, and suddenly jump to the next.

I'm not sure why Kyoshi is being Aang's main Avatar guide here? I always figured it should be the Avatar right before you that would do the job, so why did Kyoshi get to Aang before Roku? And why did she already give Aang the speech about saving the world? What else is Roku gonna do? I know we get the Hei Bai story in this show, so what's the point of the Hei Bai story when it doesn't lead to Roku's dragon coming to Aang to warn him about the comet? I'm not mad at this btw, genuinely just confused. I don't understand the point yet.

Onto the acting, once again very hit or miss. So far Gordon (Aang) has been one of the best. He's a very good representation of Aang's character, and i like that he brought out Aang's sassier side right away. Kiawentiio (Katara) so far has been really good too, and i like her chemistry with Gordon. I was prepared for Ian (Sokka) to be much worse than he ended up being, and a lot of jokes in the first episode did end up landing for me. Unfortunately the opposite is true for Dallas (Zuko), i was expecting his performance to be better than what it ended up being. It's not bad per se, but definitely less refined than i was hoping. Same for Paul (Iroh). I don't like the way he delivers some lines at all (especially the Jasmine Tea lines, it's way too forced, i don't actually believe he likes jasmine tea rn. In the original uncle barely mentions which tea he's drinking, and only once asks for jasmine tea bc it's his favorite. Otherwise he always just says "cup of tea" and never mentions the flavor. Idk why but the emphasis on jasmine tea really bothered me lol). I really liked Azula so far. Elizabeth brought a very cutthroat energy, which is precisely what i'd expect from a character like Azula. Daniel Dae Kim was also just everything i was hoping for and more. I'm hoping to see more of him (for his acting... no other reason.......)

Idk why but i was elated at seeing the cabbage merchant and hearing him say the line. Best moment of the whole show so far (and that's saying a lot i think lmao).

The music is very good. Some of the placement of the more dramatic music is a bit awkward? Like moments that i feel should have a low quiet melody seem to have a more dramatic flow which makes the scene lose emotional value to me. Maybe that's just my preference though. I like the nods to the original music throughout the show, especially for Kyoshi, the fire nation theme as well as the avatar theme, and then the exact same credits music as the original. I love the more epic/dramatic version of the avatar theme.

Overall, i am enjoying myself. I wasn't expecting greatness from this adaptation, and so far i'm remaining kind of neutral i think. It's not absolutely horrible, and i'm not cringing every five seconds. Of course it's never gonna compare to the beauty of the original animation. That's always going to remain untouchable to me. And this adaptation obviously does not come close at all. But it's fun, i guess, so i'm gonna keep watching.

#avatar the last airbender #atla #avatar #netflix atla #atla netflix #netflix #atla live action #review #aang #avatar aang #zuko #sokka #katara #azula #prince zuko #princess azula #netflix avatar

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spiralledcupid · 6 years

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Spoon Views: MHA Season 3

Episode 4: My Hero

Here we are with the new episode!! Honestly, this has been the best ep thus far, it was so hype and the battles were amazing and honestly I really enjoyed it. So let’s get to it !!

Just a sidenote before I start- I have been drinking tonight, I’m not totally smashed but if there’s any spelling issues or stupid comments ummm that’s why lmao. Anyway, onwards !!

So first, I really liked this shot just for the threatening imagery

like tbh it just gives off such a scary aura like you KNOW nothing good is coming from here on out. It also kinda sets the darker tone for the rest of the series as its gone so far.

Also, we all know I’m salty about him anyway but I’m saying it: the contrast of mineta’s cowadance when faced with villains vs Midoriya who only thinks of others who are/could be in danger (Pixie-Bob, Kouta) shows just how little mineta deserves to be in the hero course and just furthers how much I hate him.

This was a nice little fun bit though.

I just love them so much, but at least they’re safe from what’s to come !! Still, poor kids. Also

This is the third version of Aizawa’s food comment I’ve seen. Don’t quote me on this but I think in the scans he said beets, in the official he said celery and how he’s saying salty liquorice ? Honestly, all three are good but for me my fave is celery just because I feel like he’d be the celery kinda guy, y’know? But whatever, that’s just something weird I picked out.

Speaking of salty, Monoma…hunny no, please chill. For real, he’s so dumb and I love him.

Moving on, Dabi looks…so damn good like no quirk puns but he looks hotttt my dude

Also, I just wanted to say I always imagined his scars as more purple, but the kinda reddish browny purple they’ve used in this shot really cements the whole ‘burns’ idea, like did someone say Todoroki I just thought it was a worthwhile note

On the theme of artistic choices though, was it just me or did Spinner look a little janky like

It might just be perspective issues but his face just looks weird to me idk. His sword tho? Hilarious, wonderful, why did the dumb incel lizard ever think that monstrosity was a good idea. Also, why does he have TEETH? That just jarred me for some reason I just think a lizard but with human teeth is weird idk guess I’m not a scalie or whatever but nah it weirded me out.

K, I really didn’t need to screenshot this but

Class B I love you, please be in it more !!

I love these two as well

They make such a good team and honestly if I didn’t think Kendou is a huge lesbian I would ship it but sadly I HC her as a gay so whatever. But I’m js it could work.

Back to the darker stuff, this shot took me ages to get but it’s worth it bc

It really just emphasises everything there is about Muscular that makes me hate him the way I do. He’s a terrible person, willing to kill a child for fun, and insists on tormenting him too. It really sickens me and I hate him. I hate him and I’m glad he’s fuckin gone.

Okay, apparently I thought this was worthwhile but all I have in my notes is ‘Damn that’s a good shot’ so

Damn that’s a good shot

And because we’re on the theme of things I decided I needed:

Midoriya is the hero we all need’ according to my notes. It’s the truth but I guess it’s y’alls choice if it’s worthwhile

Back to something with actual point:

I’ve never really cared much about Moonfish, he was just creepy n weird and @takeitjane jokes about finding him hot bc she’s a freak But honestly he was just a joke until

He was animated.

I thought this last episode but he’s so much scarier when he actually, y’kn ow, moves and shit he genuinely scares me and ew, God. Soil u r never allowed to joke about finding him hot ever again bc scawy

Then there’s this with like Bakugou’s pupils doing the wobbly thing they do when anime people cry:

So at first I thought Bakugou was so scared he started tearing up (honestly same) but then the subtitle came up and it’s very much like Bakugou is crying out of anger, because at this point he thinks one of his classmates has lost an arm. I mean, this is probably worth an in depth talk but I’m busy and have exams so I’m just gonna put it as a small comment her and maybe come back to it, but I feel like Bakugou is one of those people that can like insult his classmates as much as he wants but as soon as you go for them you’re dead, you feel? It very much feels like he wants to figth Moonfish purely on the basis that he harmed one of his classmates, and he’s absolutely furious he’s being told not to.

But that’s just my take on things.

Furthering the sadness, I’ve mentioned this in my last review but poor fuckin Ragdoll. I feel so sorry for her and the fact it’s gonna be repeatedly mentioned for the next few episodes pains me so much I’m just :’( poor her.

In contrast, this is something I’ve always wanted to talk about but never got round to, but watching these kids get hurt upsets me

Shots like this for example really hurt. I feel like if I were like 11-16 I’d be like “Cool!! Damn, I wish this was my life!!” but from an 18 year old perspective I’m like “Nol!! Kids shouldn’t be doing this!!” I just get very upset over kids having to hurt themselves when they should be like stressing over GCSEs and getting emo in art class, not breaking their bones over literal supervillains.

Again, just my take.

I lost the screenshot (somehow), but Kouta throwing that rock had me ready for tears I’m ngl, he was just ready to step up and turn Muscular’s attention to him and ?? what a brave kid tbh.

In my notes, I’ve written for this shot ‘Midoriya reflects me’ and I think what I was saying was Midoriya’s having the same reaction to Kouta being threatened as I have to him being threatened if that makes sense. His reaction was very much ‘I’m the hero, so I have to protect him because he is a child’, just as mine is ‘I’m an adult and I should be protecting these kids because they’re children’ I hope that makes sense.

Also, y’all know how earlier I said I was ready to cry at Kouta? Well this

This shit made me fuckin sob, oh my god. The fact Midoriya is about to die, and all he can think of is his mum? Heartbreaking. I cannot deal. And then the end of the ep, when all that intensity just went into the cheerful ending song? That juxtaposition made me cry even more, well played producers, well fuckin played.

So, all in all a great episode!! I hope this was coherent enough, because I really just wanted to spill over with enthusiasm and I’m so excited for next week. Give us Twice you cowards

Thanks for reading !!

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