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Avatar: The Abridged Series

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Katara: It's a random stranger that I can exhibit naive optimism towards! Yay, naive optimism!
Aang: Uh... who are you?
Katara: An optimist!
Sokka: And I'm a skeptic! Skepticism, skepticism, skepticism...
...
Katara: Hopeful optimism?
Sokka: Continued skepticism....
Characterization, Cliff Notes style.

In yet another Follow the Leader version of Yu-Gi-Oh: The Abridged Series, GanXingba made an abridged version of Avatar: The Last Airbender. Can it capture the flavor of the original?

No, it really can't, which is sort of the point, but it keeps the basic character concepts roughly the same and just exaggerates the bejezus out of them. Aang is an annoying, clueless idiot even more hopelessly in love with Katara, Katara is shrill, overbearing, and needlessly optimistic, Sokka is much snarkier, Zuko is a stereotypical emo teen, and, inexplicably but hilariously, Momo is Mexican and Iroh is a stereotypical Jewish old man (not to mention that Ozai sounds like Hulk Hogan, Azula speaks Valley Girl and Pakku is the only Scottish Water Tribesman). It works. It also gave us "Kung Fu Action Jesus".

Had its own website (now defunct). And then Viacom blocked the entire series, at least in North America.


This series provides examples of:

  • Addled Addict: King Bumi has become this in the years that Aang's been gone.
    Aang: Bumi?! What happened to you?!
    Bumi: Steroids and crack cocaine!
  • Attention Whore: Aang. He’s constantly looking for attention, especially from Katara. This is most prominent in episodes 4 and 9 where he doesn’t like it when his friends don’t give him enough attention.
  • Author Avatar: Much of the series is Author Avatar* for GanXingba to point out plot holes and other logical inconsistencies. The comet conversation between Aang and Avatar Roku, for example.
  • Author Powers: In episode 6, Aang is defeated very easily by Jet (a non-bender) and he isn’t the traditional hero of the episode. He breaks the fourth wall and demands to know who wrote the episode. It was Zuko.
  • Berserk Button: Do not be the guy who didn't call Mike Tyson 'Iron Man' (ep. 6).
    • "THEY'RE NOT MUTTON CHOOOOOOOPS!!!!"
    • The closest Aang can manage is to burn Appa's harness, bathe him a dozen times and find a therapist (re. ep 11).
  • Calling the Old Man Out: Katara calling out Master Pakku about his ideals of female fighters
  • Chick Magnet: Iroh, to the tune of 5000 points on "The Game of Love". Also qualifies as a Kavorka Man.
  • Combat Commentator: added to the big Katara vs Pakku fight in ep. 11.
    Commentator 1: Katara with the water blast, Pakku dodges left and counters with a shoulder and down goes Katara! Down goes Katara! Oh my! Pakku on the offensive, do you believe in miracles- AH! IT'S ALL OVER! IT'S ALL OVER! Oh my, let's see that again!
    (instant replay)
    Commentator 2: Veteran move by Pakku here, goin' from the scoopity-boopity to the flippity-floppity and the rumbly-bumbly and then finishing with a bit of the razzly-dazzly!
    Commentator 1: You're drunk again, Chip.
    Commentator 2: I've got a problem, Jimmy.
  • Combat Pragmatist: Iroh's preferred fighting style is the Groin Attack.
  • Conspiracy Theorist: Jet, with his "crazed theories" about the Freemasons and Illuminati. In fact, Viacom deleted this episode because Jet knew too much of the truth.
    Jet: Hey, Sokka. Wanna go grab some glory?
    Sokka: Glory? Where?
    (Later, the two of them set up an ambush)
    Sokka: Hey Jet, where's the glory? All I see is an old man.
    Jet: Not just an old man. He works for... Them.
    Sokka: Who?
    Jet: Them! They're like the Freemasons, Templars, and Men in Black combined. They must be stopped. You! Give me your shoelaces!
  • Crazy Survivalist: Jet, leading the battle against the Martians... Er, Fire Nation, basically Expying a mix of Solid Snake and The Question from Justice League Unlimited.
  • Curse Cut Short: Zhao gets one in the last seconds of Episode 8 after burning down his entire fleet of ships.
    Aang: You know, you firebenders probably shouldn't use wooden ships. Or wear mutton chops.
    Zhao: ...Son of a BIIIIIIII-
  • Dead Fic: The series hasn't been updated since episode 11.
  • Department of Redundancy Department:
    • Episode 5 has two from Bumi.
    "So in other words, they went postal! Get it? Postal, mail delivery system..."
    "Yes? No? Maybe? Lobster?"
    • And Episode 9.
    Sokka: Now that we can conveniently move, I have a convenient plan that conveniently involves these convenient vats of perfume they conveniently make at this temple!"
    Katara:How convenient!
  • Dirty Kid: Aang. Twelve years old, and he propositions Katara for some make-up sex.
  • Entendre Failure: On the Zuzu's Date episode, his date tries every innuendo short of saying that she wants to have sex with him, failing to get across her meaning to Zuko. In the end, she flat out says that she wants to have sex with him, and instantly, Zuko is transformed from whiny bitch to lady's man extraordinaire.
  • Foreign Queasine: Apparently, animal testicles are a Water Tribe delicacy. In Episode 9, Batou serves up a soup of whale testicles, and Episode 11 features a feast involving "seal testicles, penguin testicles, polar bear testicles, and gazpacho."
  • Funny Background Event: In Episode 6, when the kids are cheering for Jet's speech, you can hear someone say 'sieg heil' among the cheers. May also double as Crosses the Line Twice.
  • Gag Echo: In the first episode, Sokka, Aang and Zuko all mention the "iceberg pinata" explanation for a Human Popsicle. Later, we learn that Aang and Zuko are both amazingly obsessed with eating Lucky Charms for breakfast.
  • Giving Up on Logic: Sokka comes dangerously close to it when he lampshades the Schizo Tech of the series.
  • The Ghost: GanXingba himself. He's one of the very few abridgers who has publicized basically nothing about his personal life, despite doing not only this show but being a part of the high-profile TeamFourStar. (His real name can be found on the Intarwebs, but that's about it.)
  • The Hyena: Yue is an odd case. Most of her dialogue is just her giggling girlishly. Even when she cries.
  • Idiot Ball: Sokka actually caught "stupid" as a disease. Then Katara came down with it.
  • It's All About Me: Aang tends to be very self-centered and wants to be hailed as a hero. In episode 9, he keeps the map leading to Sokka and Katara’s father a secret because he wants them to keep paying attention to him.
  • Let Me Get This Straight...: The Mechanist can invent tanks, jet skis, and a gigantic friggin' drill... but the concept of a hot air balloon somehow eludes him.
  • Look Behind You: The way Katara was able to get the Waterbending scroll away from the pirates is by convincing them there was a ninja.
  • Man of a Thousand Voices: GanXingba voiced every characternote  up until Episode 11, which is the only episode to have guest voice actors.
  • Naked People Are Funny- Do not bother Iroh during "Naked Iroh Time".
    Zuko: Awww, now I'm scarred physically and mentally!
  • No Celebrities Were Harmed: Zuko's whiny voice sounds similar to Rob Paulsen's "wussier" characters, such as P.J. and Carl Wheezer.
  • Oblivious to Love: Katara doesn’t seem to notice the obvious hints that Aang likes her.
  • Oh, Crap!: Pakku in Episode 11 during his fight with Katara.
    Pakku: Ohohoho!!!! Oh, you sure showed me lass! Ohoho-CHRIST ON A CRACKER!!!
  • Precision F-Strike: Katara's calling Pakku out in episode 11.
  • Punctuated! For! Emphasis!: Plenty of these to go around.
    • Katara in Episode 1: "Give! Me! My! CHOCOLATE!"
    • Sokka in Episode 10: "Steam. Powered. Jet skis."
    • Zuzu's Date has one too.
    Jin: Okay, I'll keep it simple. I want. To have sex. With you.
  • Screaming at Squick: When Katara has a dream about Zuko flirting with her, she wakes up screaming in horror.
  • Shout-Out: Tons, in The Abridged Series tradition.
    Aang: Who are you?
    Katara: I'm Kata-
    Aang: Pussy Galore? I must be in heaven!
    Katara: *angry* You will be in a second!
  • Side Effects Include...: The side effects for Haru's Sexyfine Shampoo are as follows: "Headaches, blood clots, green rashes, gonorrhea, albinism, thumb cancer, chocolate cravings, heroin addiction, pregnancy, ear mutation, increased risk of cyborg koala attack, the apocalypse, and Zutara." Your Mileage May Vary if that last one is a case of Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking or not.
  • So Unfunny, It's Funny: Amon's jokes consistently fail to get a laugh out of the audience, but he never stops his drive to make it as a comedian (or at least find someone who does at least find his jokes funny).
  • Spit Take: Aang does one (offscreen) in Episode 9 upon learning that he's been eating whale testicle soup.
  • Stalker with a Crush:
    • When Katara is crushing on Haru, she follows him all over the place.
    • In fact, she is named Stalker Girl. She very clearly likes Aang and follows after him, even to the fortress where she dresses up as the Blue Spirit to save him.
    • Zuko with Katara. He even had a lock of her hair.
    Iroh: You took a lock of that water tribe girl's hair?
    Zuko: Well, yeah. I just wanted a piece of her with me everywhere I went.
  • Stay in the Kitchen: Master Pakku believes that if woman aren't healers or summoners they should be this.
    Master Pakku: So go learn to heal or get in the kitchen and make some babies!
  • Stock Scream: There's a Wilhelm early in ep. 9.
  • Strange Minds Think Alike: Aang, Sokka, and Zuko are all independently aware of what an "iceberg piñata" is.
  • Throw the Dog a Bone: Zuko, resident Butt-Monkey of the show, is given a break in Zuzu's Date, where he gets to make out (and probably do a little more...) with Jin.
  • Took a Level in Badass: Aang can effortlessly own anyone, provided he's not being written by Zuko.
  • Trash Talk:
    • When Aang is fighting Zhao, he resorts to taunting him about having mutton chops, which causes Zhao to fly into a rage and accidentally burn his ships.
    • Aang loses it when a glider pilot "does the ancient Airbender equivalent of You Got Served."
    Aang: So you think you're hot shit, huh?! Well I got news for yo' punk ass! You ain't got nothin'! Ho ho, what is this, loop-de-loops? Get that J.V. shit outta here, son!
  • What Kind of Lame Power Is Heart, Anyway?: When Aang states that he's master of all the elements, the four main elements' symbols are shown around him. A heart symbol then suddenly appears but is quickly X'd out.
  • What the Hell, Hero?: Aang gets the recieving end of this for laughs in episodes 9 with the map (Then they wouldn't be paying attention to ME!!) and in episode 10 with Aang trash-talking Teonote .
    Sokka: Wow, Aang! You're a real ass! Even I wouldn't pick on a handicapped kid!
  • Worth It:
    • Sokka's attitude to sacrificing the air balloon's fuel source to get rid of Kenny Loggins music.
    • Also why Zhao just watched Aang kick Zuko's ass rather than stop him from getting away.
  • Wrong Genre Savvy: Master Pakku. His sexism is now a combination of Stay in the Kitchen and the expectation that female protagonists must remain in the back row and heal or summon monsters.
  • Yandere: One episode character Meng is turned into one. She calls Aang her lover and she follows after him when he leaves her village. She goes as far as dressing as the Blue Spirit and as Zuko so that she could get Aang all to herself.
    Meng: You can run, lover, but you can’t hide.
  • Yank the Dog's Chain: “When It’s Done” has Zuko join Aang and his friends and he’s finally happy. Just when he’s getting excited about all the fun things he’ll get to do with his new friends, Iroh pops in and tells him that once Ozai is defeated, their time together is done. Cue Zuko crying.


Katara: Encouraging optimism?
Aang: Yeah, I'm gonna have to ask you guys to stop doing that.

 
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Concept of a Hot Air Balloon

Tanks, Jet Skis, and Gigantic Friggin Drills abound. But no Hot Air Balloons?

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5 (12 votes)

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Main / SchizoTech

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