Avatar: The Last Airbender-Book 3:Fire Volume 3 DVD Credits:

Region: 1

Avatar: The Last Airbender-Book 3:Fire Volume 3 DVD Release Date: 5th May 2008

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Avatar: The Last Airbender-Book 3:Fire Volume 3 DVD Review:

There seems to be a horde of American anime shows flooding our airwaves now. As a purist myself, few of these American counterparts measure up to their Japanese brethren. Avatar: The Last Airbender is puzzlement to me. It is clearly influenced by Asian animated shows, yet walks a thin line between actual anime and ordinary animation.

Each season of Avatar is organized into books, and within each books Aang (the last airbender) learns a new elemental power (earth, water, and fire). Book 3: Fire Volume 3 is the last five episodes from season three. After failing to destroy the fire nation during an eclipse, Aang has no choice but to learn how to firebend. As he, and the other children from various nations, trains at the Western Air Temple, their parents are imprisoned as prisoners of war. Can Aang find a firebending teacher in time? Will the children ever see their parents again?

Did that make any sense? If you have kept up with the show, you’ll know the importance of the eclipse and all of the bending powers. Otherwise, you’ll be completely lost. I couldn’t even review the show on my own; I had to invite a friend of mine who is a die-hard fan to explain the history to me. With the exception of Prince Zuko, none of the back-story is revealed in these five episodes.

Despite the mysterious plotting, Avatar is quite a sight. The animation draws more from America than Asia, which is why I wouldn’t compare it to anime. Even though the backdrop is clearly an Asian landscape (with a bit of South American thrown in on one episode), and the characters all know martial arts, the cartoon style isn’t exaggerated. Also, the physics in the Avatar realm is intensely realistic. The fighting styles match real life perfectly, creating smooth and easy to follow fight scenes. The dialogue is also full of American wit. I would just continue to watch the show for the jokes alone.

The Special Features include audio commentary by the creators and crew for the first two episodes on the disc. The audio commentary plays like most audio commentary. The crew and creators don’t take it too seriously, rarely talk about what’s on the screen, usually discuss what got cut, and keep laughing at their own inside jokes.

Avatar isn’t a show that I’d start to watch, mainly because I’d have to watch hundreds of hours of footage to catch up. I do however respect several elements of the show. It’s action scenes and realistic physics is an aspect rarely seen either in the States or in Japanese anime. The dialogue is witty and sometimes makes up for the poor plotting. I’d recommend at least checking it out and making up your own mind whether it’s worth watching the past three seasons to enjoy the show fully.

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Avatar: The Last Airbender-Book 3:Fire Volume 3 DVD review written by: Lyz Reblin