Product Description

Join Aang, Katara and Sokka on their journey to find Aang an earth bending teacher. Along the way they meet an incredible little blind girl who sees through Earthbending, fight off the treacherous princess Azula, find a hidden library where they discover that a solar eclipse can help them defend the fire nation, and save the world. All this while, the Sandbenders are stealing Appa!

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #27380 in DVD
• Brand: Paramount
• Released on: 2007-04-10
• Rating: Unrated
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Animated, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Dubbed in: French, Spanish
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .20 pounds
• Running time: 30 minutes

Amazon.com
The five chapters in Avatar the Last Airbender: Book 2 Earth, Volume 2 continue the story of young avatar Aang's adventures deep within the Earth Kingdom. As usual, each episode is a seamless blend of grave drama and comic relief, but the stakes seem higher than ever with the addition of a new member to Aang's team. Joining Katara and Sokka is Toph, a blind but powerful earthbending girl trying to obscure her aristocratic origins by defeating large, scary men in the ring. Aang recognizes Toph from his vision of an earthbending teacher, whom he needs to help him master control over the earth element. Toph also adds a kind of sardonic, tart tone to Aang's journey, ultimately leaving her world to join the series’ trio of young heroes.

"The Blind Bandit" finds Aang, Katara, and Sokka working hard at convincing Toph to help their mission. "Zuko Alone" carries on the tale of the firebending prince who now travels alone and anonymously, but comes close to befriending a boy in an Earth Kingdom town. (The episode is full of interesting flashbacks from Zuko’s youth.) "The Chase" also concerns Zuko’s past, but is primarily about Aang, Katara, and Sokka adjusting to Toph’s somewhat self-centered presence on the team at the same time Princess Azula is relentlessly hunting them all down in a kind of speeding tank. "Bitter Work" finds Toph having difficulties training Aang, while "The Library" is an exotic episode about a professor who leads the crew to a library containing information useful against the Fire Nation. When they get there, they find the place guarded by the owl-like Wan Shi Tong, who begins sinking the library in defense against the perceived invaders. --Tom Keogh

Customer Reviews

Flat out the best cartoon in America
This is literally the best serialized cartoon made by Americans in the past 10 years. Michael Dimartino & Bryan Konietzko have created a fantasy world modeled after Asian nations and culture, full of martial arts magic.

Aang is the Avatar, the last of his race (the Airbenders). As Avatar he is capable of harnessing the four elements that govern their world and keep the peace between the four races (one per element) that populate the world. Shortly after learning his destiny as Avatar, Aang runs away from the responsiblity. Near to death after a becoming lost in a seastorm, Aang becomes sealed in ice for a hundred years.

He is set free by Katara and Sokka, who eventually become his traveling companions. Katara is a young untrained waterbender that is a driving force for Aang's change towards responsibility. In turn, Aang helps Katara to have more fun. After a time, Katara becomes his waterbending master. Sokka is responsible in his own way as well, but ends up as almost comic relief for some of the more emotionally charged scenes.

Additional characters appear and stay with the series. Prince Zuko is almost a foil for Aang at first before being shown as a more parallel character. He travels with his Uncle, Iroh. Zuko's sister and father, Fire Lord Ozai, tend to be the antagonists in the second book. All are fire nation (the bad guys) but we see in both Zuko and Iroh that that fact does not automatically make them evil heartless killers.

In book two we meet Toph, a blind earthbender girl who doesn't want her family to know that she's a capable bender. She becomes Aang's earthbending master, and is quite a tough teacher despite her apparent handicap of blindness.

The characters are memorable and well-developed. The plot line is terrific with many different possiblities of how things could turn out. This is not a cartoon that cops out on sadness or death. Avatar is not like some of the magical girl cartoons from Japan where people die and then in the next season or episode are right back up and kicking. Avatar is a better reflection of real life. When people die (and it's not always bad guys doing the dying) they do not come back. And sometimes the good guys do bad things either because they didn't have all the information or because there didn't seem to be any other alternative. Hard lessons like truth, justice and good triumphant aren't always learned the first time.

It's really a great cartoon for people of all ages and every stage of life.

The best of the best
I want to echo what other reviews have said. This is a great series for all ages. It is a truely well written and well paced exposition of the process of growing up, making and keeping friends, and accepting a place in the world. Ang starts out as a kid who just wants to play and gradually over the series discovers how to be a responsible productive person. The side and back stories are also uplifting and instructive. Good for all ages. Most of the other things on Nick and CTV have devolved to cheap idiot food that has no art or story line. Kudos to whoever thought this series up.

I Actually Give it Six Stars!
With the brainless programming on network and cable television alike, it is a shame that a cartoon, which could easily be overlooked, is quietly setting the standard for quality entertainment. Avatar is the most universally entertaining program of any kind to be broadcast on any channel. Avatar has a big heart and wears it on its sleeve as prominently as Aang's head arrow or Katara's "hair-loopies." (Watch the show to understand.) I am 36. My wife is 28. We watch a lot of series on DVD since we bailed out on commercialised television. Avatar shows that something moving, meaningful and worthwhile can come out of a medium that is so abused by a sea of "johnny-come-latelys," horrible writers, and network puppets who churn out the daily gruel for the masses. I am so impressed with this new mythology, the exemplary voice cast, the animation, and worldly scope of the creator's universe, that I tell everyone I know to "just watch it." But be ready: you'll likely get hooked. Avatar will invade your life with its wit, drama, and linear-type story. Avatar also provides the action-hungry youth with a great new hero while impressing adults with complex and intriguing characters, plots, and settings. With each episode running in a conservative time, I would say it is time well spent regardless of your "tastes." Get ready to engage your feelings, because Avatar will take you into places within your own heart and mind otherwise unrealized. Just watch it!