Oh, AtLA. I initially felt the same desire to steer clear thanks to fandom and ship wank, but genuine fans both on my flist and IRL convinced me to give it a go. Sokka was my immediate favorite as well, very closely followed by Iroh and Toph (and Appa and Momo... oh why are they so lovable?) Both my parents are now four episodes away from the end of season three, and are loving it to pieces. Not getting too much into movie wank, I'll just say here: I'm very disappointed in what I've seen/heard about that.

But the animated series is a real gem. I've watched it through twice and am on my third run. There are so many things to love. After becoming accustomed to Star Wars: The Clone Wars on Cartoon Network, I can recognize Dave Filoni's directing in AtLA Season one right off. And many of the voices are amazing. Grey DeLisle's Azula at the end of season three sent chills up my spine. She really nailed "crazy". She's amazing.

Ack, this is getting long, sorry! But I'm glad to see more people bypassing the wank and enjoying the series, regardless of its targeted demographic. :) (And seriously, Iroh? I'd love to be even half as cool as he is when I get old. Heh.)