Tag: #animation

A Silent Voice – A Review

‘A Silent Voice’ (‘Koe no Katachi’ in Japanese which literally translates to ‘The Shape of Voice’) is a 2016 Japanese animation film (‘Anime’) directed by Naoko Yamada. This film is based on the manga (Japanese comics) of the same name written and illustrated by Yoshitoki Ōima and received widespread acclaim upon its release. I have always enjoyed Disney and Pixar animation films (Big Hero 6 and Coco being some of my favorites) and when a close friend of mine suggested this movie, I realized that I have never seen a Japanese animation film before. Somehow it just never came up on my radar. Curiosity got the best of me when the film also somehow came up in my Netflix recommendations. And that is how I watched one of the most poignant and touching animation films.

‘A Silent Voice’ is a romance drama film that tells the story of the friendship between Shoya Ishida and Shoko Nishimiya, two high-schoolers who used to be classmates in elementary school. We see the whole film from Ishida’s perspective. The actual story begins when Nishimiya, a deaf girl, transfers to Ishida’s elementary school where she gets horribly bullied by him. Ishida gets into trouble for it and ends up becoming an outcast in his own school while Nishimiya changes schools. Years later, in high school, Ishida has lost all his friends and has a bad reputation in school. But he has learned from his mistakes and never wants to hurt Nishimiya or anyone ever again. He has learned sign language which he was unwilling to learn before and is able to start a sweet friendship with Nishimiya. He wants her to be happy so he tries to bring her old friends and classmates back together. In the 2 hours 30 minute movie, we see how their friendship helps them with their issues which majorly arose from bullying. The film shows how bullying affects both the victim and the bully as we see both the characters suffering from loneliness and self-loathing. Nishimiya, as sweet and kind as she is, still suffers the after-effects of the bullying she faced. She believes that she is the reason why Ishida lost all of his friends. Ishida has realized his mistake but has now become an outcast.

One of the most striking points of the film is how grounded and natural all of the characters and their arcs are, particularly the main protagonists’. At the beginning of the film, one feels so much dislike towards Ishida when we see him tearing Nishimiya’s hearing aids from her ears, throwing them out the window, and blowing sand in her face. But all of that hatred slowly melts away seeing him trying his best later. He becomes quiet and careful even as nobody in school actually cares about him. He is scared of looking at his classmates directly and hates feeling judged by them. The animation depicts his fear with blue crosses over his classmates’ faces. He is filled with self-hatred, even considering suicide at one point, and struggles to apologize to Nishimiya.

Friendship is also an important topic in this film. We see all kinds of friendships. Ishida gains a loyal friend in Nagatsuka, a bullied boy who also helps him find Nishimiya. Some of her classmates talk sweetly to Nishimiya while making fun of her behind her back, even refusing to learn sign language. Ishida’s friends find it easy to place all the blame on him even though they also took part in the bullying. Some of them change for the better, while others don’t.

There is something about this film that makes it so much more humane and emotional than other animations I have seen. The animation style by Futoshi Nishiya is so different from the usual, yet so welcome. The film has beautiful and detailed sceneries of the roads, lakes and the buildings of the town. The film also tackles a lot of relevant social issues like bullying, suicidal and self-deprecating thoughts, social anxiety, and the struggles of people with disabilities. It is interesting how an animation film can be this realistic in terms of its story because these are definitely some of the issues teenagers of this age face. It may appear to be a simple story of high-school romance at first but the film tackles so many complex and deep matters. It is also pretty impressive to me how an animation film is able to move its viewers so much emotionally while also making it entertaining and not boring.

In conclusion, A Silent Voice is a very heart-touching and sweet film. It is insightful and enjoyable for a wide range of age groups. I would definitely recommend it to all animation lovers. In fact, it would be a good starting point for people who have never seen Japanese animation films before.

Horticulture

Horticulture, the branch of plant agriculture dealing with garden crops, generally fruits,vegetables, and ornamental plants. The Horticulture falls between domestic gardening and field agriculture, through all forms of cultivation naturally have close links.


It is divided into the cultivation of plants for food and plants for ornament. Pomology deals with fruit and nut crops. Oliericuture deals with herbaceous plants for the kitchen, including, for example carrots, cauliflower. Floriculture deals with the production of flowers and ornamental plants; generally, cut flowers, pot plants, and greenery. Landscape Horticulture is a broad category that includes plants for the landscape, including lawn turf but particularly nursery crops such as shrubs, trees, and vines.
The specialisation of the horticulture and the success of the crop are influenced by many factors. Among these are climate, terrain, and other regional variations.


HORTICULTURAL REGIONS :

TEMPERATURE ZONES :


Temperature zones for horticulture cannot be defined exactly by lines of latitude or longitude but are usually regarded as including those areas where frost in winter occurs, even though rarely. Thus, most parts of Europe, North America and Northern Asia
are included, though some parts of the United States, such as southern Florida, are considered subtropical.
The temperature zones are also the areas of the grasses – the finest lawns particularly are in the regions of moderate or high rainfall- and of the great cereal crops. Rice is excluded as being tropical, but wheat, barley, corn and Rye grow well in the temperature zones.
Plants in the temperature zones benefit from a winter resting season, which clearly differentiates them from tropical plants which tend to grow continuously. Most of the great gardens of the world have been developed in temperature zones. Particular features such as rose gardens, herbaceous borders, annual borders, woodland gardens, and rock gardens are also those of temperature zone gardens. Nearly all depends for their success on the winter resting period.


TROPICAL ZONES :


There is no sharp line of demarcation between the topics and the subtropics. Just as many tropical plants can be cultivated in the subtropics, so also many subtropical and even temperature plants can be grown satisfactorily in the tropics. Elevation is a determining factor. In addition to Elevation, another determinant is the annual distribution of rainfall. Plants that grow and flower in the monsoon areas, as in India, will not succeed where the climate is uniformly wet. Another factor is the length of day, the number of hours the sun is above the horizon;some plants flower only if the day is long, but others make their growth during the long days and flower when the day is short.
In the tropics of Asia and parts of central and south America, the dominant features of the gardens are flowering trees, shrubs, and climbers. Herbaceous plants are relatively few, but many kinds of orchids can be grown.


PROPAGATION :


propagation is the controlled perpetuation of plants,is the most basic of Horticulture practices . It’s two objectives are to achieve an increase in numbers and to preserve the essential characteristics of the plant. Propagation can be achieved sexually by seed or asexually by utilising specialised vegetative structures of the plant or by employing such techniques are cutting, layering, grafting and tissue culture

SEED PROPAGATION :


The most common method of propagation for self- pollinated plants is by seed. In self-pollinated plants,the sperm nuclei in pollen produced by a flower fertilize egg cells of a flower on the same plant. Propagation by seed is also used widely for many cross- pollinated plants pollen is carried from one plant to another.
The practice of saving seed to plant the following year has developed into a specialized part of horticulture. Seed technology involves all of the steps necessary ensure production of seed with high viability, freedom from disease, purity, and trueness to type. These processes may include specialized growing and harvesting techniques, cleaning, and distribution. Germination in such seed may be accomplished by treatment to remove these inhibitors. This may involve cold stratification, storing seed at high relative humidity and low temperatures, usually slightly above freezing. Cold stratification is a prerequisite to the uniform germination of many temperature-zone species such as apple, bear, and redbud.


VEGETATIVE PROPAGATION :


Asexual or vegetative reproduction is based on the ability of plants to regenerate tissues and parts. In many plants vegetative propagation is a completely natural process; in others it is an artificial one. It has may advantages. These include the unchanged prepetuation of naturally cross pollimated palnts and the possibility of propagation seedless progeny.
Vegetative propagation is accomplished be use of

  1. Apomictic seed
    1. Specialized vegetatice structres such as runners, bulbs, corms, rhizomes, offshoot, tubers, stems and roots.
  2. Layers and cuttimgs
  3. Grafting and budding
    1. tissue culture.

The Nightingale Of India

“As long as I have life, as long as blood flows through this arm of mine, I shall not leave the cause of freedom…I am only a woman, only a poet. But as a woman, I give to you the weapons of faith and courage and the shield of fortitude. And as a poet, I fling out the banner of song and sound, the bugle call to battle. How shall I kindle the flame which shall waken you men from slavery…”

Introduction

She was an Indian political activist and poet. A proponent of civil rights, women’s emancipation, and anti-imperialistic ideas, she was an important figure in India’s struggle for independence from colonial rule. Naidu’s work as a poetess earned her the sobriquet ‘the Nightingale of India’, or ‘Bharat Kokila’ by Mahatma Gandhi because of colour, imagery and lyrical quality of her poetry.

Birth and death

Born in a Bengali family in Hyderabad, Naidu was educated in Madras, London and Cambridge. Following her time in England, where she worked as a suffragist, she was drawn to Indian National Congress’ movement for India’s independence from British rule. She became a part of the Indian nationalist movement and became a follower of Mahatma Gandhi and his idea of swaraj. She was appointed as the President of the Indian National Congress in 1925 and later became the Governor of the United Provinces in 1947, becoming the first woman to hold the office of Governor in the Dominion of India.

Naidu’s poetry includes both children’s poems and others written on more serious themes including patriotism, romance, and tragedy. Published in 1912, “In the Bazaars of Hyderabad” remains one of her most popular poems. She married Govindarajulu Naidu, a general physician, and had five children with him. She died of a cardiac arrest on 2 March 1949.

Work

“Tell me no more of thy love, papeeha,
Wouldst thou recall to my heart, papeeha,
Dreams of delight that are gone,
When swift to my side came the feet of my lover…”

– A Love Song From The North by Sarojini
Naidu

1905: The Golden Threshold, published in the United Kingdom.
1912: The Bird of Time: Songs of Life, Death & the Spring, published in London.
1917: The Broken Wing: Songs of Love, Death and the Spring, including “The Gift of India” (first read in public in 1915) .
1919: Muhammad Jinnah: An Ambassador of Unity.
1943: The Sceptred Flute: Songs of India, Allahabad: Kitabistan, posthumously published.
1961: The Feather of the Dawn, posthumously published, edited by her daughter, Padmaja Naidu.
1971:The Indian Weavers.

After India attained independence, she became the first woman Governor of an Indian state, Uttar Pradesh. She served as governor till she passed away in March 1949, when she was working late in office.

As a Feminist

“Sarojini Naidu inspired the Indian Renaissance Movement and had a mission to improve the life of Indian woman.”

Bappaditya Bandopadhyay

Sarojini Naidu played an important role in women’s rights struggle in India. She helped in shaping Women’s Indian Association in 1917 with Annie Besant and others. The Association sought equal rights including the right to vote and represent. She presented the need to include more women in the Congress and in the freedom struggle. During 1918, British and Indian feminists including Naidu set up a magazine called “Stri Dharma” to present international news from a feminist perspective.

Link

General knowledge

General knowledge is very important in everyone’s life. The person without the knowledge is like the bird without the wings. It is very important to know what is happening across the world. So, it is very important to attain the general knowledge. To grab general knowlede, an individual must follow some of the techniques like reading books, articles, magazines, newspapers etc.

The newspaper consists of all the important things like the business purposes, sports, entertainment, some interesting puzzles, Hindi habits, food recipes, Current affairs etc.

Reading newspaper is an important thing because whenever an individual comes across a motivational thing, he or she will be motivated and focuses on the particular aspect. The individual will get to know the current affairs. The person will get a good grip on the general knowledge. solving puzzles improves the skills of the person. Reading about the healthy habits in the newspaper makes the individual to go for good and healthier meals.

Reading newspaper is very important because gives the chance to know what is happening around us. Early in the morning or evening whatever the time maybe, sparing at least 10 to 15 minutes of time on newspaper is a very good habit that an individual can develop.

The newspaper consists of all the important things like the business purposes, sports, entertainment, some interesting puzzles, Hindi habits, food recipes, Current affairs etc.

In one of the other way the individual develops good habits and focuses more on what they are trying to do.

Individual Differences :

Intelligence :

High scores on tests of general knowledge tend to also score highly on intelligence tests. IQ has been found to robustly predict general knowledge scores even after accounting for difference in age, and five factor model personality tarits. However, many general knowledge tests are designed to create a normal distribution of answers, creating a bell shaped curve.

General knowledge is also moderately associated with verbal ability, though only weakly or not at all with numerical and spatial ability. As with crystallized intelligence, general knowledge has been found to increase with age.

Long term semantic memory :

General knowledge is stored as semantic memory. Most semantic memory is preserved through old age, though there are deficts in retrieval of certain specific words correlated with aging. In addition, stress or various emotional levels can negatively affect semantic nemory retrieval.

Personality :

People high in general knowledge tend to highly open to new experiences and in typical intellectual engagement. The relationship between openness to experieñce and general knowledge remains robust even when IQ is taken into account. People high in openness may be more motivated to engage in intellectual pursuits that increase their knowledge. Relationships between general knowledge and other five factor model traits tend to be weak and inconsistent. Though one study found that extraversion and neutroticism were negatively correlated with general knowledge, others found that they were unrelated.

Predictor of achievement :

A number of studies have assesses whether performance on a general knowledge test can predict achievement in particular areas, namely in academics, proofreading and creativity.

Academic achievement :

General knowledge has been found to predict exam results in a study of Britush schoolchildren. The study examined congnitive ability and personality predictors of exam performance and found that general knowledge was positively correlated with GCSE english, mathematics, and overall exam results. General knowledge test scores presicted exam results, even after controlling for IQ, five factor model personality traits, and learning styles.

Proofreading :

General knowledge has been found to robustly predict proofreading skills in univeristy students. A study found that proofreading had a larger correlation with general knowledge than with general intelligence, verbal reasoning, or openness to experience. In a multiple regression analysis using general knowledge, general intelligence, verbal reasoning, five factor personality traits, amd learning styles as predictors, only general knowledge was a significant predictor.

Creativity

General knowledge has been found to have weak associations with measures of creativity. In a study examining contributions of personality and intelligence to creativity, general knowledge was positively correlated with tests of divergent thinking, but was unrelated to a bigraphical measure of creative achievemnet, self- rated creativity, or a composite measure of creativity. The realtionship between general knowledge and divergent thinking became non- significant when controlling for fluid intelleigence.

Game shows and Quizzes :

Many game shows use general knowledge questions for entertainment purpose. Game shows such as who wants to be a Millionarie? and fiteen to one centre their questions on general knowledge, while other shows focus questions more on specific subjects. Some show ask questions both on specific subjects and on general knowledge .

Religion in India

Being a part of a mixed economy , where politics tend to exploit the peace between different religions and so on …….. .

“India was the motherland of our race, and Sanskrit the mother of Europe’s languages: she was the mother of our philosophy; mother, through the Arabs, of much of our mathematics; mother, through the Buddha, of the ideals embodied in Christianity; mother, through the village community, of self-government and democracy. Mother India is in many ways the mother of us all.”

Will Durant, American historian

And now you want to know why I am being so dramatic over such things . Well , if you want to know than start reading the editorial .

Introduction

Indians say it is important to respect all religions, but major religious groups see little in common and want to live separately

More than 70 years after India became free from colonial rule, Indians generally feel their country has lived up to one of its post-independence ideals: a society where followers of many religions can live and practice freely.

Religion has historically influenced Indian society on a political, cultural and economic level. There is a sense of pride associated with the country’s rich religious history as the traditions of Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism and Jainism all emerged out of India. Moreover, while a majority of people in India identify as Hindu (79.8%), the medley of religions that exist within the country continually impact contemporary society.

Census

The 2011 Indian census indicated that 79.8% of Indians identified as Hindu, 14.2% identified as Muslim and 2.3% identified as Christian. A further 1.7% of the population identified as Sikh, 0.7% identified as Buddhist and 0.37% identified as Jain. Due to the massive population size of India, religious minorities still represent a significant number of people. For example, although only 0.37% of India may identify with Jainism, that still equates to over 4 million people. While not all religions in India can be discussed in detail, the following provides an overview of the major religions in the country as well as sizable religions that originated in India.

Social beliefs

“India has two million gods and worships them all. In religion all other countries are paupers; India is the only millionaire.”

Mark Twain

Karma, Acceptance and Personal Choice . Many Indians tend to have a sense of acceptance towards one’s life position or a belief that, due to actions in one’s past life, good or bad personal circumstances are deserved. This attitude partly stems from religious ideas such as ‘karma’ (the idea that one’s actions will affect their current or future life) and ‘samsara’ (the cycle of rebirth).

The interplay of these social, cultural and religious factors allows people to be accepting of life events and trajectories. However, this is not to be interpreted as Indians being unwilling to take responsibility for life circumstances. Many often contemplate how their actions may impact their future and make decisions accordingly. Some of India’s youth are challenging a fatalistic perspective by asserting their free will to choose their vocation, spouse and other life factors. Indeed, as social mobility becomes more common, there is a growing belief that one can change their circumstances.

It’s Role

Religion plays a major role in the Indian way of life. Rituals, worship, and other religious activities are very prominent in an individual’s daily life; it is also a principal organizer of social life. The degree of religiosity varies amongst individuals; in recent decades, religious orthodoxy and observances have become less common in Indian society, particularly amongst young urban-dwellers. As of the politics , they play with religion , people’s belief and with their trust .

Link :

History Of Animation

Moving pictures are eye-catching. When this technique was used in developing characters with a story, it was known to be the greatest innovation of all time. Animation has artistically brought millions of smiles on the faces of children and adults. The power it possesses to transport you to an unimaginable world has changed people’s outlook towards its ability to create optical illusion. The evolution in animation with the growing technology has been remarkable and it’s still expanding. It has significantly attracted children of all age groups across the world. Adults are finding it fascinating too. History of animation is diverse and revolutionizing.

It all began in 1834 when Joseph Plateau from Belgium tried his hand at classical animation. He created a cardboard disc that had images. When it was spun and viewed in the mirror, it gave an illusion of movement.

Silent era was a phase from 1900’s -1920’s where the films had moving pictures with no audio. J. Staurt Blackton founded Vitagraph Studios in 1897 and created first ever animated video was created by J. Stuart Blackton in 1900, called “The Enchanted Drawing”. In this video, a drawing was made by J. Stuart Blackton which has a face reacting in different motions. He experimented with stop-motion techniques in his videos. He was considered to be the ‘Father of American Animation’.

Emile Cohl tried creating a similar video. Cohl had created first ever hand-drawn video. One of his creations was “Haunted Hotel”. He used stick figures in his videos.

Later, the animation industry outsourced services of artists to create animations like Mutt and Jeff.

Another well known animation artists in the animation industry was Windsor McCay. He created genius animated videos like Little Nemo in Slumberland and The Sinking of Lusitania. It was later developed by Pat Sullivan.

Walt Disney, an esteemed cartoonist, had given the world most unique and loved characters of all time. Oswald the Lucky Rabbit was his early creation followed by Mickey Mouse which went on to become the most beloved show. Steamboat Willie was the first sound synchronized show. The sound techniques Disney adopted in creating these cartoons brought life to the characters. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was the first hand written animated feature film that smashed the Hollywood box office. Pinocchio, Dumbo, Bambi and many others were iconic feature films that made Walt Disney the legend of animation. His achievements were phenomenal that entirely changed animation industry.

Animation industry was rapidly growing and people felt it had more to offer. Two brothers from New York took this opportunity and created even more sophisticated animation characters with more advanced technologies. They were the Fleischer Brothers. They worked on an unknown technique of rotoscoping. This technique was further introduced in their series “Out of the Inkwell”. Fleischer Brothers animation was more urban and adult.

Warner Bros. cartoon studios created even more edgy cartoons. Warner Bros. had the most talented artists like Chuck Jones, Bob Cannon, Tex Avery. The characters they had created were different and had a bit of quirkiness to them. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer’s animation studio was later joined by Tex Avery. Red Hot Riding Hood was the first ‘Red’ cartoon.

Animation industry is flourishing with advancement in technology and has become more prevalent in today’s entertainment industry. All these years, animation has given us classic shows and movies that are still being adapted in designing characters and developing fresh stories.

Short Anime series to binge watch

Most of the popular anime series like Naruto, dragon ball z, one piece etc. have more than 200 episodes. They are all great shows off course but watching them requires a lot of time. Due to this reason some people refrain from getting into these series. There are however, many series out there which are very good too and very short indeed.
Here are some of the short but great anime series. Each of these series have utmost 13 episodes which can be watched in a day or two.

• Erased (2016):
Episodes: 12
Genre: Mystery, sci-fi, thriller

Erased is one of the best short anime series out there. It is a bliss for thrill seekers and for people who like the idea of time travel. The story revolves around a 29 year old man who is sent back in time to erase the events which lead to his mother’s death, which began with a series of kidnappings. The anime has very nice soundtrack and beautiful animation and the plot is very interesting. The characters are well written and overall the series is a must watch.

• Blue Spring Ride (2014) :
Episodes: 12
Genre: coming-of-age, drama, romance

Blue spring ride or more popularly known as ao haru ride, is a very decent slice of life romance anime. It is a coming of age drama and shows how the characters grow and change over time. It depicts very well the internal conflicts characters have and is very relatable to watch. The music in this anime is used very well to emphasise the scenes. Overall it is a must watch for those who are into romance genre.

• Terror in Resonance (2014) :
Episodes: 11
Genre: psychological, thriller

This is anime is rather underrated but nevertheless it is one of the best short anime thrillers out there. This anime serves everything in just 11 episodes. Excellent storyline, great music, top notch animation etc. It depicts terrorism very differently and deals with many of the contemporary issues. This is a must watch for everyone.

• Angel Beats! (2010) :
Episodes: 13
Genre: fantasy

This anime is set in a realm of afterlife where a band of teens fight from being taken to the next level. This is a very nice series and worth your time. It has action, drama, fight sequences, tragedies, music, romance and what not. The concept of this anime is very different and it deals with overcoming the regrets of life. It is an epic journey showcased in just 13 episodes!

• Violet Evergarden (2018) :
Episodes: 13
Genre: coming-of-age

This is a more recent anime series. The story revolves around the post war life of an emotionally detached soldier who begins to reconnect with her feelings while searching for the meaning behind her commander’s final words. This anime is a masterpiece. The animation, music, pacing, character designs, backstories etc. all are done very well. It is very empathetic and sentimental anime. This anime is a must watch for anyone!!

Anime movies to watch


Anime refers to the animation works produced in Japan. There are many famous anime series like death note, dragon ball z, Naruto, one piece etc. which have successfully captured the hearts of people all around the globe. Similarly, there are a many anime films which are very good to watch.
Here are some of the greatest anime films which are worth checking out:


• Your Name ( 2016):

The first thing that comes to mind about this film is it’s extraordinarily breath taking animation. It is directed by Makoto Shinkai and has a 98% Rotten tomatoes rating. It is a one of a kind romantic fantasy film. It is a timeless tale of love of two teenagers who share a magical connection of switching bodies but things get very complicated when they decide to meet in person. This film has a very different take on love. It also depicts the power time has on us and how it changes everything. The music in this film is very stunning and makes the experience even better.

• The Garden of Words (2013) :

This is another Makoto Shinkai’s film. It is rather a mini movie with a runtime of 45 minutes. The animation in this film is very realistic. This film is very soothing to watch. The music and the scenes of rain are very relaxing. T story revolves around a teenager who skips school and meets a mysterious older women who shares his feelings of alienation. This film depicts loneliness and the need of companionship very well. It shows how insecurities can be both cause and result of loneliness. It showcases very relatable thoughts and feelings. Not being able to let go of past, inability to move forward in life, fear of failure, fear of being judged etc. are very aptly portrayed.

• A Silent Voice (2016) :

This is a very emotional film. It is directed by Naoko Yamada. This film depicts the effects bullying has both on the victim and the bully. The story revolves around a boy who bullied a deaf girl to the point where she has to transfer to another school. Years later, he sets out to make amends. It is a very powerful story of redemption of a sinful past. It deals with issues like sucide, self loathe, guilt, bullying, disability etc. This film depicts how self acceptance leads towards healing and how strong karma is. Self love, self forgiveness etc. are portrayed very well. Over all , this film is a roller coaster of emotions.

• Spirited Away (2001) :

This is an all time classic. It has a 97% Rotten tomatoes rating and is the winner of 2003 Best Animated Feature in Academy Awards. It is a Studio Ghibli film and is directed by Hayao Miyazaki. It is one of the best film studio Ghibli has produced. The story revolves around a girl whose parents get cursed when they go to a strange amusement park. Then then meets a boy who tells her about that park and how he has to work there to free her self and her parents. Just like any other ghibli film, it is very detailed when it comes to animation, the pacing is not fast which makes it very relaxing to watch and world exploration is done neatly. There are a lot of mythological referencing in the film and is perfect for both children and adults.

How Avatar became timeless series

Avatar is an American animated series which first aired in 2005. Avatar: The Last Airbender series was created by Micheal Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzto. It used to air on Nickelodeon. The show was targeted towards kids but today it has a fanbase comprising of not just kids but adults as well. It’s fandom has been growing and is quite active.
Last year, ATLA was released on Netflix and broke one of the major Netflix record.
By appearing on Netflix’s chart for 60 consecutive days, The Last Airbender set a record of becoming the show with the longest consecutive run on streamer’s top 10 TV series chart.

https://www.newsweek.com/avatar-last-airbender-show-netflix-chart-top-10-record-1519004

This show has an IMDb rating of 9.3/10, 97% Rotten Tomatoes and 9/10 TV.com ratings. These ratings are enough to prove what a great show ATLA has been. It’s last episode aired 13 years ago, still ATLA’s fanbase is continuously growing. This is because it is much more than a regular kid’s show.
The story takes place in a world which is divided into four nations: water tribe, earth kingdom, fire nation and air nomads. Avatar, the master of all four elements is the only hope for peace. The 61 episode series is divided into three seasons referred to as ‘Books’ and each book deals with avatar’s journey in mastering a single element.
What makes this series so great is the theme and it’s characters. Every single character is explored thoroughly and given relatable backstory and character development. Zuko’s redemption throughout the series is probably the best redemption arc ever.
The themes it covers are really mature. War, genocide, class inequalities, colonialization, identity crisis, gender inequality, etc. are some of the prominent themes of the series.
The world building done in this show is phenomenal. In the first 10 minutes of episode 1, the whole world of avatar is explained. Throughout the series, and especially in season 2, world exploration is done very correctly.
The depiction of cultural diversity is done flawlessly. Each nation is inspired from a different culture and the way they all are depicted make the avatar world relatable and believable.
The lessons and morals that it teaches can be easily applied to our lives. Lessons like not letting your past affect your present, choosing your own destiny etc. are really inspirational.
The animation it uses is traditional and is inspired by anime. Even though it is quite an old show, the animation is way ahead of it’s time and can be considered as good as all the modern animations. ‘The Last Agni Kai’ a fight sequence, is phenomenal both in terms of animation and music and probably the best fight of the series. The music and ost are really good which make the scenes more impactful.
Overall, Avatar: the last airbender is one of the greatest show of all times and has become timeless. There are two types of people- 1. those who love ATLA and 2. those who have not watched avatar. So go ahead and give this masterpiece a try. It is a must watch!!!
https://www.polygon.com/animation-cartoons/2020/5/15/21260461/avatar-the-last-airbender-netflix-best-episodes-characters-animation

Anime

Anime refers to the animation work produced in Japan. Over the years, anime industry has grown significantly and anime has made it’s way all across the globe. With fans all around the world, anime is one of the greatest achievements of Japan.
Anime uses traditional style of animation. It is basically like a flipbook animation where each frame is drawn by hand. Even after the rise of computer generated animation, the anime industry still sticks to the traditional method of animation. Although CGI is used for special effects but the vast majority of animation is done traditionally. Because of this, anime has a distinct animation style, it somehow looks different, far more detailed and feels like an artwork.
The stories they animate are generally taken from the Japanese comics called ‘manga’. Usually a manga is released first after which it is adapted as an anime but this is not always the case. Some anime are original i.e. without any manga source material while others are released prior to their respective mangas.
Anime originally has Japanese audio. It can be watched with subtitles. Anime is often dubbed in different countries in the language they prefer, mostly it dubbed in English.
Another great feature of anime is the variety of genres and content it offers. Since anime is an animation, most people confuse it as ‘children’s cartoon’ or a ‘kids show’ but this is a very wrong belief as it undermines the content that anime offers. It is true that anime has content for children too but it’s not entirely that. It offers content for teens, young adults and adults. In fact the mainstream anime is targeted for an older audience. Taking about the genres, it has a lot to offer. Action, adventure, thriller, fantasy, sci-fi, romance, slice of life and what not. Each single genera offers a ton of different animes to watch.
The music in the anime is also very appealing. The opening an ending songs are usually taken from the j-rock or j-pop bands. The soundtracks used in the episodes can generate hype real quick and makes the overall experience fun.
Anime is a great source of entertainment and can teach valuable life lessons as well. One can learn a lot about the Japanese culture through anime. Here are some of the greatest anime out there which are worth checking out:
• Death Note:
Genre: mystery, thriller, supernatural
The story revolves around a boy named Light who finds a book which has the ability to kill the person whose name is written in it. Using that book he starts killing criminals to build a better world. This is however considered as serial killing and the investigators with the assistance of a detective named L try to apprehend the culprit.
This anime is a delight for thrill seekers and mystry lovers. It questions what true justice is and presents different perspectives of it.
•Naruto series:
Genre: adventure, fantasy
The series tells the story of an orphaned ninja named Naruto who has a demon sealed inside him. He seeks acknowledgement from his peers and dreams of becoming the leader of his village.
This anime is a classic and teaches many life lessons the most important being never giving up.
• Your Name
Genre: romance, fantasy, drama
This movie revolves around two teenagers who share a magical connection of switching bodies. Things get complicated when they decide to meet in person.
This anime has a breath-taking animation and has a very different take on love.