Misadventure, the last Master of the air

Misadventure, the Last Master of the Air ( Misadventure: The Last Airbender ) is a Televised series of Animation American created by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko and diffused for the first time since the February 21st 2005 on the network Nickelodeon. In France, the series was diffused starting from the August 27th 2005 on TF1 in the emission TF! Youth and starting from the September 16th 2006 on Nickelodeon. In Quebec, the series is diffused since the autumn 2006 on VRAK.TV. Proceeding in a world of martial arts and elementary magic to the Asian accents, the series follows the adventures of the successor of a long line of Misadventures, Aang, and of his/her friends in their search to save the world of pitiless Nation of Fire. The series was written with the manner of a book collection, each episode represents a " chapitre" and each season, a " livre".

Initially planned for November 2004, Misadventure: The Last Airbender began on February 21st, 2005 on television. The cartoon is also available in DVD or downloadable on iTunes Store, the Market Xbox Live and in BitTorrent. Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko are the creators and the producers of the series. The emission received a favorable reception at the same time of the public and criticism, attracting 4,4 million at the time of its record of audience.

The success of the series encouraged Nickelodeon to order one second season, and third was announced in 2007. The whole of the derivative products includes/understands six cases of DVD, the figurines (15,34 cm), a card deck to be collected, a video game, cuddly toys distributed by Paramount Parks, and two boxes of Lego.

Synopsis

Prisoner inside a Iceberg during one century, Aang, a boy of a dozen years, is released of the ices by two young members of the tribe of water of the south pole.

Aang has a destiny out of the commun run: it is the Misadventure. Since the world is world and like all its former lives, it is a kind of “elected official”, charged to guarantee balance between the Masters of the four elements. Those are divided into four civilizations: tribes of water, the kingdom of the ground, the nation of fire and nomads of the air.

However, its task becomes complicated when he discovers that the nation of fire with benefitted from the hundred years spent to sow the war and the destruction. And this, to extend its influence on the three other people. Aang is the only one with being able to restore the order within the universe. Nevertheless, it must start by learning how to control all the elements. It is the only means of achieving its goal.

History

Creation

Misadventure: The Last Airbender Co-was created and by-product by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko within the studio of animation of Nickelodeon with Burbank (California). This series was animated in South Korea. The first episode d´ Avatar was created six years after its initial design, one period much longer than the average of the animated series. Even if it were initially shown in preview in November 2004, the first episode of Misadventure were diffused only in February 2005. After the outcome of the first season, Nickelodeon immediately ordered a second season of twenty episodes which was diffused for the first time on March 17th, 2006. It was completed on December 1st.

In a continuous cycle, a person is able to control the four elements. She is the Misadventure, the spirit of planet incarnated in the shape of an human being. When the Misadventure dies, it réincarne in a newborn in one of the four people. The order of the reincarnations follows that of the seasons: winter for water, spring for the ground, be for fire and autumn for the air.

The Misadventure has a single intrinsic capacity, the state of Misadventure. It is a Mechanism of defense which confers on the Misadventure competences and the knowledge of all the former Misadventures. When the Misadventure enters this state, its eyes, its mouth and tattooings which it can carry illuminate. This glare is the combination of all its preceding incarnations which concentrate their energy through his body. However, if the Misadventure is killed when it is in fright, then the cycle of reincarnation is broken, and the Misadventure ceases existing.

Through the ages, the innumerable incarnations of the Misadventure made it possible to keep the Four People in harmony and to maintain the order universal.

Summary of the intrigue

One century before the commencement of the series, Aang, a young Master of the 12 years old air, lives among his, the nomads of the temple of the southern air.

Its life rocks when the monks of the temple teach him that it is the new Misadventure. Generally, the Misadventure is put at the current of its true identity at the 16 years age. However, the monks have a presentiment of that the war threatens. Judging that the Misadventure will doubtless soon have to maintain balance between the four Elements, they decide to begin as soon as possible its teaching from the elementary controls, essence to fill its task. Gyatso, one of the worthiest monks, is charged to be the tutor of Aang. However, its pars think that it privileges too the moments of relaxation and that it is too close to the boy to be a good professor. They decide to separate them by sending the Misadventure to the temple from the Eastern air, where it will be able to perfect its formation.

Alas, Aang discovers the projects of the monks. Disorientated, frightened, and overpowered by these recent events and its new responsibilities as a Misadventure, he flees of the temple on his flying bison, Appa. While it flies above ice-cold water of the Antarctic Ocean, a sudden storm causes the fall of Appa in the sea. Aang enters unconsciously the state of Misadventure. It combines the controls of the air and water to protect Appa and itself. While creating a bubble of air around them, then while it freezing, Aang manages to ensure their breathing and their protection. However, the storm transports the bubble in the vicinity of the south pole, preventing its thaw, maintaining the two companions in a state of biostase (suspended life or apparent death).

The series begins hundred years later. The nation of fire, benefitting from the apparent disappearance of the Misadventure, acquired a power without precedent and threat to gain the war which it started. The tribes of water live difficult times: the men of the tribe of the south pole left to lend strong hand to the kingdom of the ground; and the tribe of the north pole, almost intact, cloister behind the walls of ice of its city, awaiting a fight which seems inevitable. The vast kingdom of the ground became, more than ever, the symbol of resistance to the nation of fire. It seems to be the only one with being able to hold head with Wire of fire. Those however do not cease gaining new victories and, within the rows of the defenders of freedom, the hope of a victory is reduced a little more each day. For better attacking the tribes the lord of fire, Ozai, called upon comet of Sozin and sent it towards the other tribes. Two teenagers of the tribe of the water of the south pole - Katara, a Master of inexperienced water, and his/her brother Sokka, a young warrior, become, since the departure of all the men, the guard of the tribe - discover and release Aang and Appa of their iceberg. Aang learns rather early and with its greater amazement than, during its hundred years of absence, the war devastated the world. The year even of his disappearance, the former Lord of fire Sozin drew a great advantage from the absence of the Misadventure and passage of a comet. These two events enabled him to launch a fight against the three other people. For the infinite distress of Aang, the first tactical operation of the nation of fire was a genocidary attack on the nomads of the air. The temples of the air were attacked and all the Wire of the air were massacred. The goal of this attack was to prevent that the Misadventure réincarne, if it had not done it yet, in a nomad, as it would have owed the being, his last shape being that of a Master of fire. This massacre made of Aang the ultimate Master of the air still in life and to date known.

As a Misadventure, the task of Aang is to restore peace and the harmony between the four people. It will be helped in its task by his new friends, Katara and Sokka, its Appa bison and its lémur stealing Momo, and, later, by an young girl Master of the blind ground, called Toph. Together, they will traverse the world to help Aang to control the four elements. To their continuation all the nation of the fire will launch out, of which the most dangerous representatives are prince Zuko and his sister, the Azula princess.

Although years of methodical drive are necessary to control only one of the four disciplines, Aang must control them all in order to be able to demolish the lord of fire Ozai. Time presses. Aang must achieve its mission before the end of the summer, when returns the comet of Sozin, which will reinforce the capacities of wire of fire and will certainly allow them to gain the war. If that arrives, the balance of the world will be broken and even the Misadventure will not be able to restore it., and the Yoga. The production line team employs Edwin Zane, as a cultural consultant to check scripts.

Misadventure

The term “Avatar” comes from the word Sanskrit Avatāra, which means “descent”. In mythology Hindu, often the gods appear in the form of Misadventures to restore balance on Earth after one period harmful. The Chinese characters appearing with the top of the word “Misadventure” in the credits of the cartoon mean the “divine intercessor who is descended in the world from the mortals”.

Whereas Aang was only one child, he learned that he was the Misadventure when one asked him to choose four toys among thousands. These four toys were the same ones as the old Misadventures had chosen generations during when they were children, showing thus that Aang was the Réincarnation of the Misadventure. There exists a similar test that a child must succeed in to be recognized as a reincarnation of Tulku LAMA in Buddhism Tibetan. According to the book Mystical and Magicians of Tibet of Alexandra David-Néel, " a certain number of objects such as rosaries, ritual instruments, books, cups of tea,… are placed together, and the child must choose those which belonged to the last tulku, showing thus that he recognizes which were with him in his life former.

Elements

Misadventure account on Four traditional elements: water, ground, fire and air. Although each one have their own variations, almost all the ancient philosophies incorporate them in a certain manner. In the opening of the emission, each element is accompanied by 2 characters, the first which means the element as former Chinese (Seal Script), and the second corresponds to a more modern Chinese attribute:

the Eau (水) is associated with " " (Chinese: 善; Pinyin: shàn), which wants to say " bienveillant" or " adaptatif".
the Ground (土) is associated with " " (Chinese Traditional: 強; Chinese Simplified: 强; Pinyin: qiáng), which wants to say " fort".
the Feu (火) is associated with " " (Chinese: 烈; Pinyin: bound), which wants to say " intense" or " féroce".
the Air (气) is associated with " " (Chinese: 和; Pinyin: He), which wants to say " paisible" or " harmonieux".

When they are read from right to left in the way in which the Chinese characters were formerly read, they form almost sentences: " water bienveillante" , " the ground forte" , " fire intense" and " the air harmonieuse".

higher Elements

Each Master, when it reaches a level of control raised, can control an element known as " supérieur". Each element has it:

the Water: Easier to control than the others, the higher element of water is the control of blood. This control foncionne only at the time of the days of full moon, when the capacities of the Masters of water are with most powerful the
the Ground: There is not one Master which succeeded in overcoming the higher element of the Earth, the metal , it is absolutely necessary of Toph. Metal is in fact of the transformed and polished stone. By reaching such a level of control, a Master of the ground froisser then metal like paper can.
the Fire: Powerful but unstable and dangerous, the higher element of fire is the the lightning . While concentrating fire will chakra it and while making circulate internal energy until the end of the fingers it is possible to launch flashes.
the Air: Control of the climate

Asian culture

Penmanship

The Chinese Caractères used for almost all the writings appearing in Avatar are of calligraphic Styles Chinese. According to the cases, a suitable style is employed, active sigillary writing (one of most antiquated) with the style of the scribes. The production employs the calligrapher Siu-Leung Lee as consultant and translator.

Styles of engagements

the style Tai-chi-chuan for water - Martial art says intern who insists on the development of a flexible and dynamic force. The muscles are only used to make circulate the energy of the body, but the contraction of muscles prevent this energy from circulating in an intense way. The principle is to remain very flexible and to re-use the force of the adversary.

the style Shaolin for fire - the postures are broad, full displacements, the techniques are connected without idle period, the force alternating with the flexibility at the moment of the impact. The stress is laid on the coordination of the movements with the size

the style Ringed for the air - Seeking relaxation and fluidity in the gesture (with a manifest preference for the energy utilization and a refusal of the physical force), Ringed it is characterized by the marked use of the palm of hand and by displacement circulars, rotations. Ba Gua is at the same time an martial art based on an original strategy of the combat (a strategy of skirting and rolling up), gestural of health (a therapeutic energetics) and a spiritual discipline founded on the repetition of the step slipped

the style Hung gar for the ground - It is especially known for its low and stable positions, its powerful attacks mainly developed with the upper limbs, of many blockings and also the work of internal energy.

Asian cinema

Animate

Episodes

See also: List of the episodes of Misadventure, the last Master of the air

References

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