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| Avatar Wikia |
The characters are iconic. Everyone stands out in their own way and their different personalities are not only amusing but also empowering. Individually, they are compelling; but put them all together as Team Avatar, they become ten times better. The writers behind this surely knew how to write character arcs. It is no certain that everyone in a group have their own role to contribute. Each character teach us something very important about ourselves. Team Avatar is in a way, a symbolism of what a wholesome individual and the characters are simply the parts. They represent parts of an individual's psyche, the Avatar psyche. What is the Avatar Psyche? Well, Team Avatar has always been about saving the world from the tyranny of Fire Nation. In essence, it is a noble heroic kind of individuality, that always strives to do the right thing in the end. Now what kind of parts do these characters play in any psyche?
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| Avatar Wikia |
AANG - INNOCENCE
Aang is the main core and center of the group, not just because he is the main character. He is an air nomad, and his kind is known for being de-attached from the conventional world. This makes him carefree, non-confrontational and simple. He is basically a blank canvas that has yet to be painted with different kinds of beliefs and perspectives, that will eventually shape who he aspires and is meant to be, which is being the Avatar. In real life, we kind of start like Aang. We are clueless and filled with childlike wonder, and the way we want to retain this aspect depends on how we live our lives. Not everyone is born with the luxury to treasure innocence for a period of time, so it is easy to dismiss it as something ignorant and foolish. But Aang teaches us to not underestimate our childlike wonder. He becomes the Avatar that the world needs by bringing in happiness and possibilities into a world that has scarred with so much hatred and strife. We can turn our positive energy or childlike wonder into something more active by exercising hope in the most simplest forms of action.
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TOPH - EGO
Toph is another beloved character, because we appreciate her brutal honesty and her headstrong spirit. Just like her name implies it, she is tough and a total badass. She is the most powerful earthbender in the world, and she knows it. The secret to all of her strength is her major physical flaw, her blindness. By being barred from sight, she is able to rely on her other senses to see things, both literally and metaphorically. She recognizes that she has a better--if not, the best perspective out of everyone. This makes her very proud of herself. This is also her fatal flaw; she's so sure of herself, that it takes time for her to understand others. This is what the ego can do to most of us. It is our inner strength, and the only part of ourselves that does not waver. It can be as small as her stature, or as big as her mouth. She teaches Aang and all of us, that we need stand our ground (no pun intended) and face things head on with our beliefs in hand. We need to know what we want and what we believe in, and in life, we need to stand up for it. But don't let your ego get the best of you. Because when the ego is hurt, we can be as childish as she.
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| Fanpop |
SOKKA - LOGIC
Even though he is the source of comedy in the show, Sokka is the leader of the group. He comes up with the plans, the schedules, and the potty breaks. So it makes sense that Sokka represents the logical parts of ourselves. He is an expert on survival and he is not afraid to oppose on something that will prevent Team Avatar from achieving their goals, even if it looks like he is being ignorant or selfish. Sokka is also not a bender, making him easier to dismiss in the show. Ironically, we do that to our logic sometimes. Most of us do not like to listen to the voice of reason, especially the Team Avatar individuality. Doing the right thing is what makes Team Avatar, and they would do anything that is necessary for the sake of justice. By anything, it also means ignoring practicality. But without any sort of system in our thinking process, we become lost and aloof. Kind of like Team Avatar when Sokka was away to learn sword-fighting. This tells us that our logic grows and that it should continue to grow, with exploration and learning. This is how our lovable Sokka eventually grows from slapstick comedy to a self-realized warrior.
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| Fanpop |
KATARA - CONSCIENCE
The person who strengthens Aang, the Team Avatar's innocence, the most is Katara. The waterbender is pretty much a female counterpart of Aang. She's kind, gentle, and always sets herself to do the right thing. Her moral code is similar to that of Aang's; she does not like to take advantage of others, she refuses to take a life, she thinks violence is not the answer, and she would do anything for the people that she cares about. This alone, represents the personality of Team Avatar. When she learns bloodbending by accident, she becomes haunted by the idea that she can do harm. This is why Aang and Katara are so drawn to each other; they share similar perspectives. This is also why she is the one constantly arguing with other members of Team Avatar. Her desire to do the right thing, trumps everything that they must do. When someone they know is in danger, Katara stops the journey to help. She reasons with Sokka, on why they have to hold the mission for much more heroic deeds. She argues with Zuko and Toph, just to call out on their bullshit. But she is always at Aang's side, comforting him no matter what. The only difference lies in the emotional levels that they have, and Katara is more emotional than Aang. So emotional, that she was willing to give up her moral code even for a second. This happened twice to Katara; the time when she stole the Waterbending scroll from pirates in season 1, and when Zuko helped her find the Southern Raiders in the third season. This means that our conscience can easily be clouded when we are way too guided with our desires or emotions. Team Avatar forgets to do the right thing when it allows the hate to flow and dominate our thought process. Our conscience will be the part of ourselves that will be constantly challenged; there will be circumstances that will truly test our morality, these will reveal deepest things about ourselves. That is why we need to be reminded of who we are and what we stand for, or everything we believe in can go down the drain.
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| Buzzfeed |
ZUKO - DESIRE
Zuko is arguably the person with the best character development in animation history. His transformation is just as a drastic as his haircuts. But in the beginning, he was more of a people pleaser than a primary antagonist. His ambitions were initially derived from his desire to regain his honor, which we hear a thousand times for the next sixty episodes. To put it to basics, he only wanted to please his father, by becoming the villain Ozai (and we) expected him to be. He's kind of like the Disney protagonist, only he does not have an "I want" song about honor restoration. But we all know there's a reason behind his unreasonably selfish nature; he is torn between being good and bad, meaning he is not sure if he should do what he wants (being good) and what he is expected to do (being bad). Uncle Iroh, being the greatest supporting character ever written, points this out to Zuko in season two when he's at the crossroads of his character arc. Zuko's fire-filled passion is what makes Team Avatar the greatest squad, because his sudden change in sides is what fuels the show to its peak. He represents desire because he has always been the guy with wants and needs. His firebending is being powered by desires or goals. In season three, we see him going on these "life-changing" field trips with other members of Team Avatar. His role is metaphorically fueled the fire in the character's hearts, to remind them why they are doing the things that they do. The characters suffered from great losses in the third season, and they almost lost their drive or fire. Zuko comes in to rekindle that. He fueled Aang's desire to face the Fire Lord for the sake of the world, he fueled Sokka's desire as strategic leader by helping him make up for his mistakes. But desire can be a dangerous thing, because it is deemed to be very tempting, that it can cause unnecessary pain. This is evident in Zuko's character in the first two seasons when he was hellbent on capturing Aang. It is also evident in Zuko's field trip with Katara. He fueled her emotions and she nearly killed a man, only to remind us that we cannot have too much desire or it can destroy us or turn us into something ugly. Toph, being the ego and everything, is already self-aware so she really didn't need a life-changing field trip. Zuko not only uplifted our drive to watch the show, but he uplifted everyone else's.
And that is Team Avatar in a nutshell. A group of people aiming for peace and justice, in their own unique way. Despite their many differences, they are able to work it out together. They learned new things from one another, making them grow in the process. This makes them the greatest squad ever written in history, a squad that not only brought back balance into the world but also within themselves.
That is it for my post, I've always wanted to review Avatar. But it's a given that it is really good, so I decided to do a character analysis instead. I feel like doing more of this and possibly character comparison blogs from now on. As you can see, my comments section is fixed, so if you've got character comparison suggestions, please let me know. I got a lot of things I really want to talk about ranging from Disney to just books. Speaking of which, I also got a list of book recommendations coming up soon because I've been reading a lot of new ones that are etching away from the typical YA genre. Your girl's growing up, so she's reading some brand new adult fantasies that I am more than happy to share and recommend to y'all. But don't worry, the anime reviews will still come. I definitely have one coming this March, so stay tuned for that. But for now, I will see you till the next post~
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