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  4. 'Avatar: The Last Airbender' comes to Netflix on May 15. Revisit some the series' iconic moments through GIFs and memes.

'Avatar: The Last Airbender' comes to Netflix on May 15. Revisit some the series' iconic moments through GIFs and memes.

'Avatar: The Last Airbender' comes to Netflix on May 15. Revisit some the series' iconic moments through GIFs and memes.
"Avatar: The Last Airbender" has an animation style inspired by Japanese anime.Nickelodeon Animation Studios
  • "Avatar: The Last Airbender" is one of the most beloved animated series of all time.
  • The show, which is returning to Netflix on May 15, has been survived by a variety of sequel, prequel, and spin-off projects ranging from full-length series to graphic novels.
  • The original series has also been survived since its finale in 2008 by a slew of reaction GIFs and memes that have permeated the internet.
  • Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.

"Avatar: The Last Airbender" is one of the most beloved and critically acclaimed animated series of all time. Set in a fantastical world in which certain people possess the ability to "bend," or manipulate, one of the four elements, a single individual known as the Avatar possesses the ability to bend all four. In return, they are tasked with serving as the bridge between the human and spirit worlds as well as maintaining balance. In the original "Avatar" series, that individual is Aang, a plucky 12-year-old airbender who must bring peace between all four nations.

The show, which began airing on Nickelodeon in 2005 and released its final episode in 2008, has lived on over the past decade and changed through a variety of spin-off projects like "The Legend of Korra," a full-length animated series that takes place 70 years after the events of "Avatar," and "The Rise of Kyoshi," a prequel YA novel series penned by F.C. Yee. There's even a 2010 live-action adaptation directed by M. Night Shyamalan, but... we don't talk about that one too much. Now, the series is finally coming back to Netflix on May 15 in its three-season entirety, with a live-adaptation currently in the works at the platform as well.

"Avatar" has remained such a beloved part of the internet zeitgeist as a result of its incredibly involved, and still-devoted, fandom. The series' influence is seen not only in the thousands of fan-fiction stories to its name, or in the continued interested in adaptations, novels, and comics that have emerged over the years, but also in the ways that the series pops up on social media platforms through reaction GIFs and well-known memes.

The series aired during the nascent stages of social media as we know it today: Twitter launched in 2006; Tumblr in 2007. GIFs are an integral part of how we talk online, and as social media became crucial to communication, "Avatar" was in its heyday. Now, moments from the show are not only well-known in fandom circles, but also online as reaction GIFs or one-line phrases that have become a part of internet-speak. That's both a testament to the continued popularity of the show itself, but also to the ways in which it's permeated internet culture in the 15 years since its first episode aired.

Here are some of the best, and most recognizable, "Avatar: The Last Airbender" reaction GIFs, moments, and memes, to serve as a refresher of the series' impact on internet culture in the years since its debut.

Read the original article on Insider

Last but not least... "cabbage man."

The "cactus juice" GIF series belongs in the hall of fame.

Zuko throwing his beach shawl off is another perfect moody GIF.

In fact, most of the series' best reaction GIFs come from either Zuko or Sokka.

Another Sokka and Zuko classic, "that's rough buddy" is one of the series' oft-quoted lines.

Sokka the surprised love-master is peak thinking-you-look-hot before getting caught off guard.

Toph waving her hand in front of her face is a flippant classic.

"Foaming Mouth Guy" is arguably "Avatar's" best-known meme.

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