Avatar: The Last Airbender (Avatar: The Legend of Aang in some regions) is an American television series that aired for three seasons on Nickelodeon from 2005 to 2008. Avatar: The Last Airbender is set in an Asiatic-like world in which some people are able to manipulate the classical elements by use of psychokinetic variants of Chinese martial arts, known as "bending". The show combined the styles of anime and American cartoons, and relied on the imagery of various East Asian, Inuit, Southeast Asian, South Asian, and New World societies. Therefore, the series regularly enters the conversation regarding its consideration as an anime work.
The series follows the adventures of protagonist twelve-year-old Aang and his friends, who must bring peace and unity to the world by ending the Fire Lord's war against the other three nations. The pilot episode first aired on February 21, 2005, and the series concluded with a widely praised two-hour episode on July 19, 2008. The show is obtainable from various sources, including DVD, the iTunes Store, the Zune Marketplace, the Xbox Live Marketplace, the PlayStation Store, Netflix, Amazon Instant Video, and the Nicktoons Network.
Throughout its run, Avatar: The Last Airbender was universally acclaimed by audiences and critics alike. Praises went to the art direction, humor, cultural references, characters, and themes. It was also commercially successful, garnering 5.6 million viewers on its best-rated showing and receiving high ratings in the Nicktoons lineup, even outside of its 6- to 11-year-old demographic. The series has been nominated for and won awards from the Annie Awards, the Genesis Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award and a Peabody Award, among others. The first season's success prompted Nickelodeon to order second and third seasons.