Welcome back to the Restoring Balance Podcast, where Mike and Jim, two lifelong friends, rewatch and discuss why they love Avatar: The Last Airbender! In this special episode, the duo steps behind the curtain to react to the documentary Avatar Spirits, which explores the passion, sacrifice, and craft that went into making the show.

Warning: This podcast contains spoilers, jokes, and insights about Avatar: The Last Airbender. Watch it first!

Episode Highlights

Sacrifice for a "Nerdy Hobby": The hosts marvel at how the creators spent months in Korea making the pilot, with Bryan living alone in an apartment without cell phones. They talk about the risk of chasing a dream when you're young, whether you're being paid or not.

From Email to Pitch in a Month: Jim and Mike are floored that it took only a month from the opportunity to the pitch, with 15-hour days and takeout for every meal. They also wonder how the order grew from 13 episodes to a 20-episode first season, and note that Korra stayed at 13.

The Art of the Voice: Voice director Andrea Romano shows how many different ways she can gasp, and the hosts try a few of their own. They also speculate that her connections helped land Mark Hamill as Ozai.

Music, Instruments, and a Very Good Email: The hosts geek out over the unusual instruments in the score, including the duduk and a Chinese lute. They also love the clip of the creators writing to the Nickelodeon president to get live strings for the finale, and Jim's experience seeing a live Avatar orchestra.

No Violence, So Bending: Nickelodeon's no-violence rule is what led to bending, and the hosts agree you never miss the violence. They praise the choreographer's arm motions and the martial arts behind each nation: Bagua for airbending, Tai Chi for waterbending, Northern Shaolin for firebending, and Hung Gar for earthbending.

Fans, Creators, and Dissonance: Mike and Jim reflect on the gap between how fans see the creators as heroes and how the creators experience the work as a labor of love. The fan appreciation hits them both hard, though in different ways.

Specialization and Knowing When to End: The hosts reflect on how the show shows that specialization is one of humanity's superpowers, with Jim's math major as the example that you can't learn it all. They also applaud the creators for ending the show at its original length, and they come away with gratitude for the humanity behind it.

Thanks for Listening!

- Mike & Jim

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Also, check Mike out on ⁠Realms of the Lost⁠, a fantasy actual-play where portals opened all across the land, letting in the refuse of a thousand worlds, and a few unlucky individuals!