Avatar: The Last Airbender: The Greatest Cartoon Series Ever by Mikayla Halsell

       So I don't know about you, but my favorite childhood show was Avatar: The Last Airbender. Ok, ok, I'll be completely honest. I still watch it on occasion. No shame. I absolutely love it. Not only does it have comedy, romance, and action, but Avatar has a legitimate plot. 

"Water, Earth, Air, Fire.

Long ago, the four nations lived together in harmony.

Then everything changed when the fire nation attacked.

Only the avatar, master of all four elements, could stop them.

But when the world needed him most, he vanished.

A hundred years passed, and my brother and I discovered the new avatar,

an air bender named Aang.

And although his air bending skills are great, he still has a lot to learn before he is ready to save anyone.

But I believe Aang can save the world."

       Yes I had that opening line memorized. But anyways, basically the whole series is the journey that Aang, Katara, and Sokka make in order to be ready to take on the Fire nation. Aang, as an airbender, has to learn how to bend earth, water, and fire as well so that he will be strong enough to defeat his enemy.

       Aang, the main character of the show, is just a 12 year old boy who is supposed to overthrow the Fire Lord. Even through he has this whole destiny on his shoulders, he is still a playful, carefree child. He has to sacrifice his childhood for the sake of saving the world. Honestly though, I have no idea how he ended up hooking up with Katara. I mean really? The guy's got game I guess. Maybe it was "had to know him in person" kind of thing.

       Katara was the last waterbender of her tribe and is the most mature member of the group. She keeps her brother, Sokka, and Aang in check. She was a very consistent character and kept the group moving when they would get sidetracked often.

    Sokka is one of the most comedic characters in Avatar. Though he desires to be a warrior and a water bender, he can never quite be good enough until the end of the series. However, his zeal is unmatched and he's always willing to put his two cents in if there's a fight. Sokka never failed to make me laugh either by his unorthodox actions or just unintelligent comments. 

     Toph is an earthbender who is blind. Since she had super over-protective parents, she secretely competed in underground earthbending tournaments. She ended up teaching Aang how to earthbend. Toph is probably the most hardcore character ever. She was a little rebel and even though she was blind, she could still win in a fight against almost any guy. 

    Zuko is a firebender who is obsessed with trying to find Aang and kill him in to order to gain favor again in the eyes of his father, the Fire Lord. But later in the series, he sees the fault in his ways and joins up with Katara, Aang, Sokka, and Toph to destroy the Fire Nation. Zuko, by far, is my favorite character IN THE ENTIRE SHOW. He's most definitely my cartoon crush. No shame. Even though he has his dark side, I still had a HUGE crush on him. Maybe it's his voice, or his hair, or his scar...I don't really know. But I was crushing pretty hard on him.

       So yes, Avatar is my favorite cartoon series OF ALL TIME. I was always waiting for the next episode and could not wait to see how the series would be resolved. I actually had a party at my house for the final episode. And the finale was worth it. SO worth it.