The cultures of the four nations are also greatly influenced by East Asian and indigenous cultures. For example: Ba Gua employs the "negative jing" to create erratic circular movements and capitalizes on centripetal force and defensive positions Northern Shaolin follows the "positive jing" and emphasizes brute strength and aggression to generate power and Hung Gar uses the "neutral jing" in its ability to predict an opponent's movements and heavily relies on patience and reacting to the opponent's fighting accordingly. These starkly individual tendencies are explained in eighty-five distinct types of " Jings", or internal energy. These individual styles of martial arts also reflect on the personalities of the user and the nations as a whole. Each of these employ a different form of martial arts in their fighting choreography: T'ai chi for Waterbending, Hung Gar for Earthbending, Northern Shaolin for Firebending, and Ba Gua for Airbending. In the show, some characters have the ability to manipulate one of the four classic elements of ancient philosophy: Water, Earth, Fire and Air, although the Avatar has the ability to control all four. The greatest influences on the series were Asian art, culture and history the characters' various personalities and traits are based on philosophical teachings such as Taoism and Buddhism. Studios such as Studio 4☌, Production I.G, and Studio Ghibli, which produced anime-styled cartoons, were also sources of inspiration. The original character conception was derived from a sketch by Bryan Konietzko that depicted a middle-aged balding man with an arrow on his head. The anime-styled character art was inspired by Shinichiro Watanabe's Cowboy Bebop, Samurai Champloo, and FLCL ( Fooly Cooly) of Gainax. The characters of Avatar: The Last Airbender were designed by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, the co-creators of the series. Additionally, the writers based the characters' different bending abilities on distinct styles of martial arts. They combined these ideas and created the concept of an "air guy" and "water guys" trapped in a snowy wasteland, with "fire guys" invading them. Konietzko's partner, Michael Dante DiMartino, was interested in documentaries related to the South Pole at the time. The main sketch depicted a middle-aged monk with an arrow on his head and later included a flying bison as his pet. During this absence, a war started by the Fire Nation resulted in the Air Nomads' genocide, the near extinction of the Southern Tribes' waterbending population, and the Earth Kingdom's extensive colonization.Ĭharacter designs were originated from a series of drawings by one of the show's creators, Bryan Konietzko. Only the Avatar-a being who represents the bridge between the physical and spirit worlds-can master all four elements and thus bring balance to the land, but has been missing for the past 100 years. In The Last Airbender, a fictional universe composed of four sovereign nations, some people are "benders" and can control air, fire, earth or water.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |