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 Bombastic arena battles. Intense chases. And tons of
epic fun.
Avatar: The Last Airbender, Book 2: Earth, Volume
2 (how’s that for a mouthful?) picks up
right where Volume 1 left off, in the middle of uproarious
adventure. That adventure does not let up until the last
episode. Aang, the young and inexperienced Avatar, is
still searching for a master Earthbender. If he doesn’t
find someone capable of teaching him the ability to control
Earth, Aang’s efforts to stop the evil Fire Kingdom,
whose armies are sweeping across all the land, will surely
fail.
Enter Toph, one of this series’ coolest characters
and someone who will play a major role in the saga from
this point forward.
Volume 2 of Book 2: Earth – a
fancy name for season 2 – opens up with Aang and
friends searching for an Earthbending master. A nearby
school does not work out, but a secret tournament of Earthbending
champions does. There, they meet a small, blind girl.
A small, blind girl who also happens to be the greatest
Earthbender they’ve ever seen.
She is Toph, introduced in the first episode, The
Blind Bandit. She’s got attitude, spunk, charisma … and
she kicks all sorts of butt. Here we see some of the coolest
displays of power yet, with this tiny little girl breaking
out power that is Akira meets The
Matrix. The bad guys here are inspired by superheroes
and professional wrestlers, and it shows. They offer up
big, loud combat, but their flexing is not match for Toph’s
calm, cool display of power. This is a turning point episode
key to the series; she’s here to stay, a permanent
part of the group from here on in. Great stuff. The kids
will love it. And so will the geeks (like me).
Four other episodes follow. Zuko Alone follows
the adventures of the disgraced Fire Kingdom prince of
the same name as he ventures off on his own. Here we get
some insight into this somewhat tragic character, feeling
pity for him even as we dislike him. I expect him to become
a hero before the series is over. The Chase is
just what it sounds like; nonstop actions and some really
creative concepts make this a fun episode. The creators
of this show have cobbled together dozens of influences
and made some unique out of them. The Chase is
a good example of that. Bitter Work finally begins
Aang’s training in earnest. Lots of laughs here – the
no-nonsense arrogance of Toph is great – and
obviously a step forward for the overarching Avatar story.
Rounding out the disc is The Library, which culminates
in an exciting confrontation with the Fire Nation, and,
even better, offers some background on the series’ main
villains.
 Throughout all these episodes is plenty of action, inventive
creatures, interesting and likable characters, a great
Eastern flavor, and lots of laughs.
Avatar: The Last Airbender was a surprise.
Introduced to me by my son, I watched with him, expecting
mind-numbing, Pokemon-inspired kiddie fare. What I got
was fun and funny action and adventure, a sweeping Asian-influenced
epic that made me feel like a kid again. Each episode is
a self-contained story, but they all run one right into
another as part of the larger Avatar saga. It makes for
an experience unlike most kid-friendly cartoons.
Disc Presentation
Like Volume 1 in this series, here we’ve
got just over 120 minutes of colorful, crisp animated action,
presented with a robust Dolby Digital soundtrack. Looks
good all around. No sign of compression artifacts, the
colors pop, and the animation is smooth. Avatar:
The Last Airbender is a far cry from the choppy,
stuttering children’s animated series I see far too
often in a house with a young boy inside. This disc looks
and sounds swell. Quite a satisfying transfer.
 Disc Extras
Last time around, the extras were passable, but barely
worth noting. This time? They’ve taken a turn for
the super peachy keen.
With the addition of commentary tracks, the consumer
value of this disc goes up exponentially from Volume 1
of Avatar: Book 2, essentially doubling your entertainment.
I’m one of those DVD consumers who are hooked on
extras; they can make or break a deal for me, or elevate
a decent release into the excellent. A commentary track
might not seem like something to extensively praise, but
it is so unexpected here – creator commentary on
what is ostensibly a children’s cartoon seems out
of the norm – that I can’t help but be impressed
and thrilled.
Even better, they’re actually good commentary
tracks, offering a wealth of insight and information on
the thought process that has gone into the show’s
creation. We learn of the writers’ push to present
strong female characters, learn what aspects of Asian lore
and legend they’ve lifted for various parts of the
Avatar world, and get a sense for the enthusiasm they have
for the story they’re telling. They talk about how
and why they created certain characters, how the voice
actors approach their roles, and more. It’s good
listening.
 The Bottom Line
I’m an adult – and I’m hooked.
Which is good, since my son is not an adult, and he’s hooked,
too. We love watching this show together, and why shouldn’t
we? Not only does it have action, adventure and humor,
it has the feeling of being something vast. The epic story
being told spans not just multiple episodes, but multiple seasons.
It’s a massive saga of the sort rarely attempted
in all-ages fare. There isn’t an illusion of a larger
saga, either. Each episode tells a standalone story while
also advancing a much larger plot. It’s a winning
formula that should be fun for the whole family.
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