The shift in subtlety is especially noticeable since there are instances they get it so right. As for those feminist issues, I remember that there were very similar things in shows from my own childhood... ten years ago. It's sad that there hasn't been much improvement since then, but I guess children's stories are where gender issues are free to be at their most violent (all the kids I know revel in that stuff). So that, too, could be argued to be a genre failing rather than a writing one. Still, looking forward to the new and improved, cautious of the new issues.

(What I saw of Azula in S02E01 was already very promising. And all the buildings and backgrounds are so gorgeous. Gah.)