Live-action adaptations are hard to create, especially since there are already firm expectations in place from fans of the source material. There are varying reviews of Netflix's version of "Avatar: The Last Airbender," but regardless, it has racked up tens of millions of views worldwide.
'Avatar: The Last Airbender' Is a Success
Social media is currently filled with content from the live-action series, and you'll see mixed reactions from all who have seen it. Even with a lot of negative reviews, it did not stop viewers from checking the TV show out as it gathered 21.2 million views since its release.
The numbers, other than those who genuinely wanted to see how it turned out, could be from curious fans or new viewers who have not seen the animated series it was based on. As a result, "Avatar: The Last Airbender" reached the top 10 in 92 countries.
In fact, it surpassed other animation to live-action adaptations, particularly Netflix's "One Piece." Its viewership is 15% higher than the pirate-centric show, which had 18.5 million viewers accompanied by good reviews, as reported by Gizmodo.
It's certainly faring better than "Cowboy Bebop," which was mostly hit with negative reviews to the point that Netflix eventually decided to cancel the adaptation after just one season. "Avatar: The Last Airbender" has a strong start, and will hopefully continue on should it be renewed.
Why It's Getting Hate
It's hard to please every audience that will come across a show, especially if that particular show is already based on a massively loved franchise with a very deep lore. In all fairness, the live-action did stay true to the core of the story.
Still, some fans were expecting the adaptation to be an identical copy of the animated series, and given that the live-action had a lot of revisions, the negative feedback was already to be expected.
Among the revisions, changes with Sokka arguably had the worst reaction of all. The writers decided to remove one personality trait from the non-bender, which was his sexism. Fans say that it was an important aspect of his growth, as well as Katara's.
Some were not about the changes in the story at all but the casting. Even before the release of the show, people were already critical of the race of the potential cast, which was probably due to the live-action movie that most called "white-washed" and inaccurate.
While the actors did more than enough to give the characters they were portraying justice, many viewers still criticized the acting skills of certain cast members, particularly the ones on the younger side.
While we can never really get rid of bad reviews, the show still has overwhelmingly good ones, saying that the changes in the story for appropriate for a live-action adaptation. Several "Avatar: The Last Airbender" fans especially appreciated the new additions to the series.
For instance, we got to see the invasion of the Fire Nation that wiped out all the Airbenders in the Southern Air Temple. The showrunners also added a few elements that create a more complex foundation for Uncle Iron and Zuko's bond in the show.
