Drawn together from fragments of Eastern religions, philosophy, and martial arts, the world of Avatar: The Last Airbender is quite layered and complex. I’m always a sucker for a title with a good mythology to it, and if nothing else, Avatar: The Last Airbender has that going for it. Sky Bisons, Platypus Bears, and Gorilla Goats, Oh My! The 4 Nations While the series didn’t necessarily conjure up within me the same sense of awe and wonder that I attribute to Miyazaki’s works, it aims for and achieves similar levels of myth-making, world-building, character depth, and moral complexity. The term “Miyazaki-esque” doesn’t at all feel like an overstatement, here. So let me cut right to the chase: I was very impressed by this series. But good, worthwhile, and honorable culture can be in all places. Here I am, a man in his mid-thirties, singing the praises of a Nickelodeon series aimed squarely at 6 to 11-year-olds. I feel somewhat similarly when I talk about Avatar: The Last Airbender. ( Princess Mononoke arriving at The Ross was a supreme cause for celebration.) In order to watch the few Miyazaki films that were readily available - e.g., My Neighbor Totoro– I had to spend some time in the children’s section of my local video store - and I’m sure it looked odd to see a man in his late twenties wandering through the aisles of Pokémon and Power Rangers videos. And given that I was living in Lincoln, Nebraska, the chances of any of them ever making it to a local movie theatre were slim to none.
I began exploring Hayao Miyazaki’s films long before any of them had been released on DVD.
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