Even Netflix gets it right sometimes. Last year’s One Piece, based on the pirate-themed manga series, allowed the show to embrace both the seriousness of the source material and the cartoonish aesthetic of writer Eiichiro Oda, and the show was well-received by both new and old fans. I made a profit. It felt sincere whereas The Last Airbender felt cynical.
Indeed, while remakes in general are often derided by critics and general audiences, they don’t necessarily have to be a product of moribund nostalgia. That applies to any medium. Finally, this week sees the release of his second installment of the Final Fantasy VII Remake trilogy, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, on PlayStation 5. There are various motivations for remaking games. Improvements in graphics and mechanics are expected, but the original version is difficult to obtain. But the Final Fantasy VII Remake game’s narrative invention and gloriously wild twists make it stand out compared to the boring facsimile of the live-action The Last Airbender. The characters in FFVII Remake resist the idea that their paths are predetermined, and the game confronts the idea of remake itself. The question arises: why rebuild old land? Wouldn’t it be more exciting to see a new story if you already know where it’s going?
There’s room for both remakes and live-action to take on animation, but only if they have a clear vision. why It exists beyond just giving people more of what they like without thinking. This new take on Avatar: The Last Airbender doesn’t stand alone. The reason for this is not only its appropriation of the strange, staid visuals from animated works, but also its refusal to move on from the past. In other words, it’s a show that decisively fails to grow.
Avatar: The Last Airbender is now streaming worldwide on Netflix
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