The Last Airbender 20th Anniversary Concert. Why I Loved The Experience

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As someone who grew up primarily in the 2000s, I cannot believe how many important anniversaries to me have been hitting the big 2-0 lately… but it’s certainly making me realize time is actually passing. One of them is Nickelodeon’s Avatar: The Last Airbender series. The show (that’s streaming with a Netflix subscription nowadays) first aired in early 2005 before concluding after three seasons in mid-2008. I was in the perfect age bracket to be glued to my TV screen over the fantasy action series, and over the weekend, I got to feel like I was experiencing it for the first time at the Avatar: The Last Airbender 20th Anniversary Concert.

I wasn’t sure what I was getting into when I walked into Los Angeles’ Dolby Theatre on Sunday night, but now that I have seen the unique performance, I want to talk about the emotional journey I went on, and why I’d recommend it to fellow fans.

It Made Me Realize Just How Epic The Series’ Music Is

Look, I love a good score probably more than the casual movie/TV viewer, but I’ll admit that I don’t necessarily think about Avatar: The Last Airbender for its music. If you feel similarly to me, then I want to walk you through this side of the Avatar: The Last Airbender concert first. The experience is very much centered on highlighting the music of the series as you take a trip down memory lane through each season of the show. There’s a lot of depth and beautiful directions the music goes in, including some unique sounds from instruments like the pipa (Chinese lute) and zheng (Chinese plucked zither).

While you see a live orchestra perform nearly forty sections of music from the series, you watch scenes from the show that go with it. Sometimes it’s all about the action happening on screen, and other times you’ll hear the music paired with the original vocals from the voice actors. At first, it was odd to me to see a series of clips that jumps around to the series, but as the show progressed (which is about two and a half hours with intermission) I found myself to be really moved by the whole experience. I realized not only had I never seen the original The Last Airbender series on a big screen (and likely never would), I was part of a really gorgeous experience that pays tribute to the show’s legacy.

I Was Reminded (Yet Again) About Prince Zuko’s Arc

It’s been a few years since I watched the original series. The last Avatar: The Last Airbender-related project I’ve watched is bingeing the live-action series on Netflix last year. The live-action show was better than I thought it would be and gave me some nostalgia for the show, but this concert had me appreciating the original animation, and realizing how incredible of a show it is in itself.

I definitely came to this realization when I rewatched the show in 2020, but it bears repeating that going to this experience had me once again thinking about the perfect character arc Prince Zuko gets. So many of the music moments had to do with his transformation from villain to hero, and I loved seeing it happen in the context of this show.

Seeing Katara Growth Was Even More Satisfying Than I Remembered

There are A LOT of well-developed characters outside of Prince Zuko, of course, and I was getting emotional all throughout the concert. But I want to highlight just one more that really blew me away: Katara. I think when you’re watching the show, you slowly see her really grow into her water bending (and ability to blood bend), but the concert does this with a quickened pace.

I had totally forgotten that she’s the one who defeats Azula during the finale, and seeing how the show morphs from this children’s series to a more mature one about coming into your own was well communicated from the point of view of her character.

I Was Crying Thinking About How Important It Is To My Generation

With those examples in mind, I have to call out how amazing in particular it was to watch this show surrounded by The Last Airbender fans like me. The Dolby Theatre holds about 3,000 people, and so many of them were dressed up in merchandise alongside their friends, partners and family to celebrate this series. Many of them were around the same age as me, and that made me realize in a palpable way how important the show is in particular for people who grew up at the same time as me.

It’s a really beautiful thing to share something like this, and I thought back to how this show really has bonded me with other people my age for my whole life. Seeing people in costume, the cheers during the show, and one person even loudly referencing “That’s rough, buddy” elevated the whole thing.

And, I Loved How It Highlighted Some Goofy Aspects Of The Series, Too

There’s a lot more specifics I could say about the show itself, but I’ll leave you with this last point. The concert experience beautifully balanced the epicness of The Last Airbender with how much fun it was. As you can imagine, with the music being center stage, it took us back to a lot of big action moments, and epic quests the characters go on. But, then there are times like when “Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall” or “Secret Tunnel” are played, and I remembered how hilarious and unserious the show could be.

I’m so so happy I got to go to this. It made me want to watch the show from the beginning along with its incredible spinoff, The Legend of Korra, and I know I will. I have a greater appreciation and gratitude for growing up with this groundbreaking series, and it felt kind of like I was getting kind of a theatrical version of the emotional beats of the series. It also got me more excited for the upcoming Avatar movie, Legend of Aang which is among the 2026 movies on the way.

You can check out if the Avatar: The Last Airbender concert is coming to a city near you at the Avatar In Concert page.