I love the way the animators are able to capture the visual appearance of earth bending. Chunks of earth are 'torn' from the ground. Most of the time these chucks of earth are 'shaped' by the bender, and then 'slide' across the ground or launched' into the air. These earth bending animation sequences are just absolutely amazing to watch.

Toph is such a cool character too. It's really hard to choose a favorite. The writers have done such a good job giving the characters depth and unique abilities. There is something in each individual character to love about most of them.