Spoilers will be below!
Oh youtube. It frightens me how well you know my preferences.... I type 'character' into their search bar looking for a video and the first thing that pops up is a musical number from Bollywood. It's insertion is totally justified because it has the word 'character' in its name so they're probably singing about it too! Or at least mentioning it. I need to learn Hindi one of these days to feed my now not-so-secret Bollywood obsession.
So what were we supposed to be talking about again? Oh yeah! Character! Favorite one!
Wait. I HAVE TO CHOOSE AGAIN!?!?
.....Would another flashy Bollywood musical number distract you all from the question? No? Well it's worth a shot anyway!
Be distracted by the pretty! No? Crap.
Then I guess that my favorite character has to be Toph. Why?
Well... (highlight) What other character rocks as much as she does? She's a little girl, raised in a family that expected her to be a wilting flower, blind, and does that slow her down at all? Nope! Instead she kicks ass, takes names, and when she's captured becomes the first ever metalbender to destroy the morale of her captors even more! I know that originally the show was planning that Toph would be an adult guy so let me just say this; BEST AND MOST JUSTIFIED SWITCHING OF CHARACTER GENDERS EVER. (/highlight)
So what about you? Who is your favorite character?
Tomorrow: Least Favorite Character
Logging you in...
@redbeardjim · 724 weeks ago
hpfish13 115p · 724 weeks ago
Favorite member of the the Gaang: Sokka!!! (though good Zuko and Toph are pretty close!)
Favorite Older character: Uncle Iroh -- It is impossible to deny the awesomeness that is Iroh
Favorite villan: Azula - I love that she is a skilled villan (plus her character's slow loss of control is fascinating to watch)
Favorite Minor character: The Boulder!!! I absolutely adore every single thing this character says.
affableevil 107p · 724 weeks ago
echinodermata 118p · 724 weeks ago
This is actually not a hard decision for me. I think I have a type.
Toph. Just, I love her so much. She's amazing and fierce and basically represents the ultimate in gender role subversion since she was originally conceived as a great big muscley dude. She is a fighter, and is practical, and is snarky, and is funny, and she pleases me on so many levels.
I also love her story - she's this young, rich, pampered blind girl whose parents basically smothered her, but she secretly went out and kicked the shit out of some dudes and is the victor of the earthbending challenge thing. And then goes home and pretends to be someone else. And then she finds an airbender, who's basically the only person to be able to circumvent her method of sensing people, so she gets angry. But she learns to accept him, and they go off on lovely adventures in Team Avatar.
AND THEN SHE FUCKING METAL-BENDS LIKE A BOSS. "Toph, you rule!"
Minish · 724 weeks ago
'Nuff said.
Depths_of_Sea 88p · 724 weeks ago
Favorite Male Character: Aang
Favorite Female Character: Mai
Ha ha, my two favorite characters are the ones that get the most hate in the fandom. Why does that always seem to happen to me?
Aang I love because he's just genuinely sweet and charming and endearing. And he's one of those rare Chosen Ones that doesn't whine constantly about being the Chosen One. He's so remarkably angst-free for the most part, and that's such a breath of fresh air. He's kind and compassionate, he likes having fun but he knows when to take things seriously, and he's just got such a pure soul. Can't help but love the little sweetheart.
And Mai... oh Mai... HATERS TO THE LEFT I LOVE THIS GIRL TO PIECES. I love her. She's a badass knives ninja with a perfect snarky sense of wit and humor (I bust a gut every time I rewatch The Drill and hear her completely deadpan and nonchalant "We lost."), stellar aim and skill with her arsenal of various sharp pointy things, she's exotically beautiful, and I love her constant boredom and malaise with everything (except Zuko of course :D ). I love love love her backstory and how emotionally repressed and damaged she is from constantly bottling up her emotions, and I love that she's able to eventually break free of that and start expressing herself more. I love her loyalty and devotion to Zuko, and that she never stopped loving him, even when he'd been banished and sent on a snipe hunt, and even when he'd apparently betrayed their nation. (I have this weird fondness for Mai's sense of patriotism too. She loves the Fire Nation and hated being shunted off to Omashu in the Earth Kingdom, and the happiest we saw her was at home in the capital city. Fascinating stuff that.) Plus... she's just got a very soothing and intoxicating voice. I dunno, Cricket Leigh's just very easy on my ears.
Sparkie · 724 weeks ago
nochenne 81p · 724 weeks ago
Apologies in advance for this (probably repetitive) monstrosity!
Oh Zuko, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
1. Bryke could have taken the easy road and simply made Zuko "the bad guy," but instead they chose to make him the most complex character in the series. A for character development.
2. When it comes down to it, Zuko just wants to be loved and accepted. For as long as he can remember, Azula has been his father's favorite. He could never live up to her achievements, which must have been especially frustrating as her older brother and the Crown Prince. His mother, who is the only constant, loving presence in his life (Iroh is off being a general in the war), disappears unexpectedly. So he turns to his emotionally-distant father and tries desperately to gain his love, because even though Ozai's a terrible person and a miserable parent, he's still Zuko's dad. As "The Storm" explains, this is a huge part of why Zuko is so driven and determined to find and capture the Avatar; bringing the Avatar to the Fire Nation means he regains his honor, regaining his honor means his father will accept him, and his father's acceptance means finally getting the love he's been wanting all these years. Which brings me to my next point:
3. Iroh and Zuko's relationship. What Zuko doesn't realize until roughly "The Day of Black Sun" is that he's always had the love of a father - just not his biological father. Even when Zuko was a whiny, angsty brat back in Book One, Uncle's obvious affection for him kept me interested. For all his gentle ribbing, it's evident he cares a great deal for Zuko. Iroh sees Ozai's true colors and doesn't want Zuko to go down the same path, but I think he also understands why Zuko feels the way he does. He knows Zuko will never truly gain his father's acceptance, and yet at the same time he knows what it's like to lose someone you love. Zuko is not Lu Ten's replacement, but Zuko needs a father and Iroh needs a son, and they can be there for one another through their feelings of pain (Iroh) and abandonment (Zuko). Which is what makes their reunion in "Sozin's Comet" all the more poignant. Iroh was never angry with Zuko, just sad that he had lost his way. Contrast this with Ozai's constant anger, and ALL THE TEARS really is the most appropriate sentiment to attribute to that scene. *sniff*
4. Zuko is so utterly adorkable. I just watched "The Western Air Temple" again the other day, and I wanted to give him a hug basically the entire episode. As I said above, Zuko wants to be accepted, wants others to acknowledge him as a person worthy of respect and self-improvement. He's a great person in a lot of ways; he's honorable, disciplined, full of heart, and willing to admit when he makes mistakes (although this is a trait that evolves over the series, so it's not especially evident in Book One). His people skills, however, are lacking (to put it kindly), which makes for some really awkward interactions with the Gaang. But his intent is good, and the audience knows he's sincere, so you just want him to succeed and finally be accepted by everyone. This is why I love moments like Katara forgiving him and the rest of the Gaang persuading him to join the group hug; Zuko's adorkable-ness (adorkability?) has paid off at long last.
5. Zuko's journey. Compare "The Boy in the Iceberg" Zuko to "Sozin's Comet" Zuko. What a night and day difference! Yet, in essentials, Zuko always had a good heart. He just needed to make some mistakes (I believe that every headdesky moment was completely necessary, even in the S2 finale) to become the person he always was, deep down inside. Bravo, Bryke. And thank you for changing Zuko's character design. That shaggy mop definitely suits him better than the samurai ponytail.
EDIT: Which actually ties in quite beautifully with his character growth. S1 Zuko was harsh and uptight, intently focused upon one goal, and he had a severe sort of ponytail to match. S2 Zuko starts by symbolically cutting ties with the Fire Nation by literally cutting his hair, and as he becomes more and more conflicted, he lets his hair grow out naturally (but it's still pretty short, to symbolize his continued severity). In S3, his hair has grown long enough to tie into a topknot, and he is finally beginning to embrace his true destiny of becoming Aang's firebending teacher. His longer hair makes him look a bit softer around the edges, and it's true that S3 Zuko is not so quick to anger and tries to think his decisions out before he goes through with them. So Zuko had to learn to let his hair down a bit, har har. /wordvomit.
In summary, <3 Zuko <3 .
doesntsparkle 93p · 724 weeks ago
TDM · 724 weeks ago
Toph is honourable second place.
chichichimaera 93p · 724 weeks ago
It's really a toss-up between Zuko and Iroh. Zuko for his great character arc, adorable Fail!ness, and Iroh because he is made of pure badass, trolls his nephew, has an awesome nickname, can see spirits, and is always totally chill.
But truthfully it's hard to think of characters I don't like...
Manself 84p · 724 weeks ago
Close 2nd Placers: Iroh, Jeong Jeong, Longshot, Long Feng, Katara, Azula, Sokka, Momo, and Zuko.
MichelleZB · 724 weeks ago
I have an affection for all the Gaang members. The writers really give them all integrity as characters and they're all interesting in their own ways.
I'm going to give a shout-out for Sokka, champion of the skeptical community. He does not get enough love.
Villain-wise, you don't get better than Azula. I love everything about her--especially the talented actress who does her voice. She turns any Princess tropes on their heads, and I love her for that.
Medli 141p · 724 weeks ago
__Jen__ 99p · 724 weeks ago
How do I choose? Depending on the day/episode that I'm watching it fluctuates. I guess I could just list those that are most frequently at the top?
Katara- I love this girl and probably identify with her a bit too much. /o\ I like characters that struggle with being the responsible one, have a drive to prove themselves and have anger issues and Katara fits that pretty well. I love that she doesn't find it necessary to give up her more traditionally feminine traits in order to be a badass-she can be the Mom of the group and a fucking ninja. Additionally, water bending is probably my favorite type of bending so she scores extra points there.
Sokka- I love his humor, his skepticism, his ingenuity and his story arc. His growth re: masculinity and feminism is awesome. The ladies love him for good reason. :D
Toph - Pretty much what everyone else has said. SUCH A BADASS
Azula- She is the greatest villain. She is such a brilliant sociopath and can be fun to hate (admire?) through so much of the series, but still manages to make me feel tremendously sorry for her by the end. :(
Zuko- nochenne summed up beautifully the many ways that Zuko's story is awesome, So I'll just put this pic here.
Iroh- Everyone knows that he is awesome. His relationship with Zuko is just so sweet (and filled with delicious trolling!), especially as his backstory is revealed. He gives the impression of a harmless old man with a penchant for tea and pai sho, yet he manages to be a complete BAMF at the same time. <3
mkjcaylor 87p · 724 weeks ago
As much as I love Sokka, I am choosing Zuko as my favorite character. There are many reasons mentioned above, but he beats out Sokka because of his character arc and the fact that while he comes off as a complete evil ass for most of season 1, I begin to understand that he is in fact a really interesting person that covers up his emotions by being a pissy teenager. And I knew pissy teenagers like him! And he finally comes to grip with his emotions, finally understanding why he feels like a pissy teenager all the time, and is so incredibly adorable the day he chooses to be part of the Gaang. Not to mention, his "bad" choice at the end of season 2. It was an appropriate choice and I'm glad he made it, because then he got to find out that being at the right hand of the Fire Lord was not exactly what he wanted. Not to mention, as a child he was deluded into believing that his father was an honorable person, and the time he spent away from his dad helped him realize that Ozai was in fact a complete maniac.
Second place is Sokka. I love humor and funny and Sokka has all my favorite scenes of every episode. I always laugh so hard at his sarcasm. And CACTUS JUICE. OHMYGOD.
lossthief 111p · 724 weeks ago
One word: TOPH
Seriously, I was roughly 12-13 when she was introduced, and I'll admit it, I had a crush on her almost immediately. She was tiny, but had the attitude and power of an 8-foot tall bruiser, not to mention the power to back it up! I also liked how, despite her attitude she was able to be feminine at times (Along with Iroh's Tale, Her and Katara's is my favorite part of "Tales Of Ba Sing Se" ) without it ever being demonized as anit-feminist for it.
Her certification as the biggest BAMF in the GAang is also cemented in her invention of metalbending. Seriously, when I watched that scene in "The Guru" for the first time, I immediately rewound my DVR and watched it again. And again. It's absolutely AMAZING.
Dragon Elexus 124p · 724 weeks ago
Sorry, that’s just not possible. I kept thinking about what character was my favourite, but everyone has such awesome personalities and stories and actions and how am I meant to choose? With that in mind, I’ll list my top favourites, with a short explanation why for each.
Zuko: Yes, for the majority of the show he’s whiny and can’t listen to his uncle even when its good for him, but I can’t help it; ever since I heard his back story, I’ve just wanted to envelop him in a big hug. People love redemption stories, and I’m no exception. When we see him make a good choice you can’t help but cheer with him; when he finally smacks down Ozai you feel proud; and when he finally joins that gAang he’s so wonderfully adorkable, I just want to see him be awkward with the team for episodes and episodes.
Iroh: Come on, do I have to explain this? He’s kind and lovable, he just wants to have a tea shop, but he can SHOOT LIGHTNING OUT OF HIS FINGERS. Not to mention, any guy who can put up with SeasonOne!Zuko deserves respect.
Toph: Distilled epic in the shape of a tiny blind girl. I love how exceedingly bad ass she is, but even more, I love her cruel humour and how she really isn’t a perfect person. She can be selfish and uncaring, but at the same time just wants to be loved, and in the end, she really gets to bond with everyone else. Its awesome to watch.
Sokka: He’s the character who’s probably most like me in personality, although he’s definitely more exaggerated. His dry sarcasm and occasionally goofiness is probably how I’d be reacting in most of these situations. I respect so much of his character; how he can be the goofy one and the smart one. I love how he has problems with his machismo which are fully explained and thought out, but at the same time the writers have no problem with him liking matching clothes and retail shopping.
Azula: She is my favourite villain in basically anything. Cold, calculating, manipulative, just the type of threat which makes a show like Avatar so good. The authors did well to make her sympathetic, and I remember watching the finale thinking “I never thought I’d be sorry for this character.”
fantasylover120 77p · 724 weeks ago
Toph. I just love her. She's badass, she's funny, she stands up for herself, doesn't have the best of social skills but doesn't really care, doesn't let her blindness define who she is as a person, isn't perfect but does try and it becomes a treat watching her open up later on but that doesn't make her less awesome, just more so.
echinodermata 118p · 724 weeks ago
sundaycoma 74p · 724 weeks ago