#kyoshi novels animated series when

[saijspellhart]

Things I liked about the Netflix ATLA and some critiques:

Before you read. Please go watch the series, take off your blinders and keep an open mind. It’s surprisingly good. This review has spoilers.

They reordered some scenes so that emotional moments would have a larger pay off. Like getting to see and experience Aang’s relationship with Monk Gyatsu, and seeing his tribe before it was destroyed. So when he has his breakdown in the air temple with Sokka and Katara later, you really feel and understand his agony.

Azula is introduced earlier, with a story running simultaneously with the Aang’s journey but not involved with his. So she has a chance to be more fleshed out and explored before she becomes a major threat. Only time will tell if this more complicated Azula comes close to the animated one. Big shoes to fill, but not a bad start.

Fire Lord Ozai plays a more sinister and oppressive role. Not a faceless boogeyman anymore. You get to see his machinations and the cruel games he’s playing with his family, and see the emotional abuse that warps them.

Appa is adorable as fuck, and so is Momo. So well animated, such gorgeous care put into them.

Kyoshi, Kuruk, and Roku make more of an appearance. With Kyoshi narrating the prologue. And if you loved the novels you’ll see they incorporated more of Kyoshi and Kuruk’s backstory from the novels than what we saw in the animated cartoon.

The acting was competent, even if a little wonky at times. I found Sokka very endearing, I loved the kid they cast as Aang and you can tell they really tried to find a balance between serious and playful. They didn’t always hit it, but the effort was there.

Zuko was great. I think they nailed him and he had great chemistry with the actor playing Iroh.

King Bumi was great, I love how they made his internal struggles more complex. He wasn’t just a crazy old man anymore. He was a crazy old man who was weary and worn down by the horrors of loss and war. A crazy old man who struggled to reconcile that the best friend he lost is the avatar and wasn’t there for him.

I loved the costume and set design. It was like stepping into the actual world of ATLA. Cities were complex and well constructed. Every setting was incredible and the attention to detail was intense.

Zuko’s boat is full of artifacts he pilfered from the Air Nomads while hunting for the avatar.

They changed how Aang got the bison whistle so it makes more sense and fits more seamlessly into the story. It never made sense why a random peddler would be selling a bison whistle if air nomads and bison have been gone for 100 years. Not impossible for a peddler to do, but not probable. The Netflix series actually gave more meaning for the artifact and changed how Aang received it.

Emotional points in the show are now more intense and brought me to tears.

Commander Zhao is more competent and conniving, and his presence felt more dangerous and less comedic.

Sokka’s outright sexism was changed from putting girls down, to just manly machismo, talking himself up. Not gone, but not degrading. They decided to let the sexism message shine more prominently with the northern water tribe, rather than tackle it twice with Sokka too. (Sokka’s sexism being solved in one episode was never well written to begin with. And the animated series quickly forgot about it and moved on to him tackling more important issues, like his being a non bender inadequacy, his leadership journey, his physical combat journey, and him finding himself as more than just the funny sarcastic guy.) For time constraints, it was better the Netflix series did not to tackle the same problem twice, especially when you might not have the resources to give both sexism issues the gravity it deserves. By focusing the sexism problem to the northern water tribe they were able to give Katara more attention.

We got to see Katara’s water-bending go from being ultra sloppy and weak to badass. It feels like they are spending more time focusing on her developing into a warrior rather than being the mom of the group. I’m honestly not sad about it. She’s still the hope ridden, emotional glue, but now it feels like she explores that warrior side a little deeper. It felt so earned when she got the title of master at the northern water tribe finale.

The actor playing uncle Iroh nailed the role. I couldn’t think of a better live action adaptation of Iroh. I love him so much.

The shirshu looks fucking phemonal.

Koh was scary as fuck and I love it. They really nailed his horror elements. Even if I’m a little sad that they changed some things about his face stealing. (He eats faces now to steal them, rather than stealing when someone shows emotion.)

The three actresses who play Mei, Azula and Tailee actually look appropriate for their age. Since they are introduced earlier, they are clearly younger, and since this show is intended to get more seasons, the casting choice made sense as we are intended to watch these girls grow up over the course of the entire show. These actors will get older, and the characters will get more menacing and sharper. It’s great. It’s thoughtful. I love it.

We get to see Zuko’s dynamics with his crew more. And find out that he did more than just speak out against his father at that meeting. His outburst at that meeting saved an entire squad of soldiers, and they don’t even know it. Zuko feels such disdain and bitterness because of the situation, and his crew doesn’t even know why. It’s so complex, you can see how the abuse Zuko endured causes him to take out his anger on his crew, and in turn they are bitter back. And it’s this cycle, that festers. But the crew also grows with Zuko, they change and evolve as he evolves. And it’s such a delight to watch.

They could have cut the Secret Tunnel minstrels altogether, given the time constraints and that the episode was mostly fluff in season two. A fun romp, but not necessary. But the creators knew people loved the minstrels so they found a way to use them anyway. Because they knew they were special. I am thankful for that, even if they show up waaay earlier than they should.

I was honestly more sold on Sokka and Suki’s relationship in the live action. It’s was so adorkable. Do I wish it had more time to develop? Yeah, of course I love a good slow burn. But that didn’t mean it wasn’t fun as hell watching the two flirt so badly with each other. Sokka being a buffoon, and Suki overstepping and being too rough, before realizing she was being too hard.

Some Critiques:

They reordered some episode storylines to happen at the same time, and while it does bloat some episodes. it’s understandable due the episode and budget limitations. In the cartoon, during the inventor episode Katara didn’t have a lot to do, and during the freedom fighters episode Sokka didn’t have a lot to do. So they ended up combining both stories into one hour long episode in the live action, so that both Katara and Sokka would be involved in something. Is it the best? No. But it makes sense. I get it.

Katara starts off bland in the first episode and it takes a bit for her to grow into the character.

The past avatars can be a bit strong with the doom and gloom, and I wish they’d toned that back.

Koh and Heibei (I dunno how to spell the panda spirit’s name) got combined to the same episode, and Koh stole Heibei’s spotlight. Again, I understand why these got combined, but I think it could have been handled a little better and Heibei should have gotten more closure.

There should have been a ninth episode, placed between the two episode Koh storyline, and the Northern Water Tribe storyline. Why? Because the Koh storyline was really heavy and intense. And it leads right into the season finale. An extra ninth episode should have been added with a more lighthearted tone. Something to ease the tension between the two very intense storylines.

Aang should have been using a glider to flit about the temples in the first episode. But it’s not something that ruins the whole show. It was a dumb that only happens in a single episode in the season.

I really missed Momo and Appa’s presence. They appeared atleast once in every episode, but it was still sad they weren’t more of a presence. Again I understand why. They were so beautifully animated that everytime they were on screen it (without a doubt) cost the production thousands of dollars. They were generous including as many of the unique animals and creatures as they had.

I still don’t think Sokka had enough time to develop a relationship with Yue at the northern water tribe. It was rushed and contrived in the animated version, and it was rushed and contrived in this Netflix version. There also wasn’t any of the chemistry like Sokka had with Suki to make the whirlwind romance work. I never liked the romance from the original, and I wasn’t a fan of it here. But that’s ok, because it’s such a small and insignificant thing.

In conclusion most of the changes I can see made were due to budget, and episode limitations. The creators were clearly trying to bring theater-cinematic quality to what was essentially an eight hour long film. And you cannot deny that this show is stunning. Absolutely breathtaking. Most of the episodes cut were filler, and while hilarious and mostly loved by fans, were stories not as necessary in the grand scope. You could feel the love and appreciation the creators included in this series. It wasn’t soulless, it wasn’t a heartless cash grab, it wasn’t a shot for shot (thank god) but it also didn’t butcher the source material.

I understand that the animated show creators had creative differences with the live action Netflix adaptation creators. But that doesn’t mean that the Netflix series completely failed. As every fanfic writer out there knows, the original authors are not going to love what you create based on their works. Tolkien hated every adaptation of his works, HATED them. But no one is going about saying that the Lord of the Rings trilogy movies were hot garbage. A creator doesn’t have to endorse a project for it to be good.

Netflix ATLA is good, it’s not perfect. And it never was going to be perfect. The cartoon it was based on wasn’t perfect either. But the ATLA cartoon was definitely some huge shoes to fill that set a bar very high. Any adaptation was going to struggle to be just as good.

I think the Netflix adaptation was a treat and a pleasure to watch. I think people should go into it with an open mind and see that it’s not trying to replace the cartoon. It’s a love letter to the cartoon.

PS: According to behind the scenes commentary on the Nickelodeon ATLA cartoon, the reason we didn’t get a season 4 was because the creators wanted a live action film. Nickelodeon offered the original cartoon creators the option to make season 4 or to spend the budget meant for season four on a live action ATLA film. The original creators chose the live action film directed by M. Night Shamalan. They wanted a live action for their show over a 4th season. They had no idea M. night would butcher their baby with his pathetic film all those years ago.

This show was a second chance after the M. night abomination. And you know what? It’s a pretty decent adaptation. And guess what? With a resurgence of interest in the series, we are getting more animated content for the original animated series. There’s definitely something for everyone on the horizon if this succeeds.

#netflix atla #avatar the last airbender #atla #live action adaptation #live action avatar #review #my thoughts #positive #loved it #it was great #go watch it #recommendation #pros and cons #a thoughtful and positive breakdown from someone who is generally picky and pessimistic about adaptations #spoilers #many spoilers

[thegirlwiththeskybison]

My general consensus on the live action Avatar: the Last Airbender series is that I liked it, I liked it a lot the more I think about it. There are things I didn’t like, but there are things I loved, and a couple things I think were improvements on the animated series.

That being said, spoilers ahead, so tread carefully friends.

My first concern was how they were going to cram twenty episodes into eight. And I am happy to report that they managed this BEAUTIFULLY. The storytelling was my favorite part of the live action. While things were rushed in some places and compressed, they told a cohesive story that took things that shouldn’t necessarily go together and made them work. Where the animated series used chapters, these are episodes. It's strange, but it works.

Episode 1 Aang covers: The Boy in the Iceberg, The Avatar Returns, The Southern Air Temple, and half of the Storm

Episode 2 Warriors covers: A bit of the Southern Air Temple and The Warriors of Kyoshi

Episode 3 Omashu covers: The King of Omashu, Jet, The Northern Air Temple

Episode 4 Into the Dark covers: The King of Omashu, Jet, The Northern Air Temple, and weirdly the Book 2 Episode The Cave of Two Lovers

Episode 5 Spirited Away covers: The Spirit World, Avatar Roku, and has elements borrowed from Siege of the North

Episode 6 Masks covers: Bato of the Water Tribe and The Blue Spirit

Episode 7 The North covers: The Waterbending Master and Siege of the North

Episode 8 Legends covers: Siege of the North, and includes elements from the Book 2 episodes The Avatar State and The Cave of Two Lovers.

Look, if you’d told me they were sticking Jet, the Mechanist, and Teo in Omashu, I would have been horrified. It was probably my favorite episode.

We also got some original content. Azula has a storyline set in the Fire Nation and we see a whole lot of Ozai. While I’m not fond of adding content when other canon things had to be cut for time, I was a big fan of this. It makes Azula much more interesting, and Ozai was probably the best casting in the whole show. There are also references to elements from The Search comics and the Kyoshi novels.

Zuko has what is arguably one of the best character arcs I’ve ever seen. I wrote an essay on his journey for an AP English class my senior year of high school. The live action show made it better. I wouldn’t have thought that was possible. But the emotion this kid had was phenomenal, and they added pieces to his story and rounded things out. We get to see Ozai banish him instead of hearing Iroh tell the crew about it. (Show, don’t tell, first rule of storytelling!) We get to see more why this matters to him. We get to see how he spent the time searching for the Avatar, three whole years instead of two like in the cartoon. Aang swipes a notebook of Zuko’s where he’s been studying the history of the Avatar, so Aang gets a look into Zuko, and he understands him a little better. Zuko is probably the world’s leading expert on the Avatar, and he can draw! The poor kid probably needed a hobby, let’s be real. His crew even gets some backstory.

They chose to take out Sokka’s sexism, which I feel was a mistake because that character growth was so important. He went from “There’s no way a bunch of girls took us down!” to “My girlfriend is a better warrior than I am!” And that’s so cool because hey, if you were raised with some incorrect beliefs, you can learn and you can grow and change! And that is an important message! But Sokka was still the best written of our three good guys and stole pretty much every scene he was in. He’s not the sarcasm and meat guy anymore. In fact, there’s almost no sarcasm and honestly I don’t remember much in the way of meat.

The costume design was fantastic, oddly with the exception of Aang, Katara, and Sokka. Frankly, I’ve seen better cosplays. But I love how much of everything else they got right design wise. Suki’s makeup was perfection, the Firebender helmets were accurate, and Jet’s armor was an exact replica.

Katara’s fight with Pakku was almost a shot for shot recreation. Some of the positioning was reversed, but we even got the ice disc almost taking his head off.

Somehow they made Yue’s fiance likable? I wasn’t prepared for that. 

Cabbage Merchant. Amazing. 10/10. No notes.

Avatar Roku’s temple has a shrine to all past Avatars, with collected relics. I really need someone to get some high quality screenshots on that so I can pour over it. The temple also somehow replaces the Spirit Library from Book 2, and Wan Shi Tong showed up in the Spirit World.

This show managed to tell a fantastic story. It’s easy to focus on the bad and the things that made me angry, but honestly I liked so much more than I didn’t. 

Now it wasn’t perfect, and I’ll admit to that. I spent a lot of my day yelling like Harrison Ford in The Force Awakens, “THAT’S NOT HOW BENDING WORKS!” Aang can fly without his glider, except when he can’t for plot reasons. Ozai can set someone on fire just by touching them. People aren’t wet after Katara hits them. Aang puts out fires by throwing air at them rather than draining the air from the fire.

The CGI is rough in some places and flawless in others. Appa and Momo were not… loveable. Nyla? The Shirshu? Looked like she was a real creature. The bending effects were pretty solid all the way through.

Aang, Katara, and Iroh all felt super flat to me. If you take a drink every time Aang says “save the world” or “I’m the Avatar”, you will have an Appa sized hangover. There’s nothing fun loving about Aang. Katara is just sort of… there. She’s not passionate. She’s not driven. She’s not even particularly powerful. We only got like two hope speeches. Sokka got more funny lines than that and he barely got any funny lines. Iroh isn’t cunning. His silly old man act is just that, an act, at least most of the time in the cartoon. He’s not silly in this, but he’s also not the Dragon of the West of legend.

They erased Zhao’s backstory in that he already knew Zuko and Iroh. He was there the day Zuko got his scar in the cartoon, and yet in this he’s a “nobody in the Southern Seas”. It makes him both less interesting and less of a threat, so his whole “Moonslayer” speech is really weak. Also, this man can’t project to save his life when addressing his troops.

I would really like to know who picked these fonts and send them back to design school.

My biggest complaint is that there is no build up and no pay off. Everything is revealed from the very beginning. We see Sozin’s Comet in the very first episode in a flashback, and Gran Gran talks about it as soon as Aang wakes up as she reveals he’s the Avatar. We don’t get to learn that Appa is a flying bison and then see him fly, he just zooms on up. (Yet we don’t get a “Yip yip! Until like episode four.) Aang recognizes Bumi almost immediately, and he’s not a clever old man or a mad genius. He’s just a bitter old asshole. Katara sees her mom die in a flashback, and she knows her mom said she was the last Waterbender so there goes that big season three storyline. We meet Kyoshi in the second episode, and even Kuruk by the last. There’s no foreshadowing, no promise of things to come, because it’s all just handed to us from the start. 

The season does end really well, I will give them that. It sets it up perfectly so we can dive right in on the next season, skipping the first two filler episodes because we’ve already covered them. I’m really looking forward to Book Two. I like the pieces we’ve got in play and the story blocks where they are. Whenever we get it.

I hope it's sooner than 2026.

#avatar #avatar live action #avatar live action spoilers #avatar spoilers #atla

[toph-bi-fong]

This dislike and aversion from the Netflix series is less coming from me being worried that they’ll change the endgame couple (I honestly don’t care if they do) but more from the fact that I am annoyed that they are trying to retell this already amazing series through a live-action medium. (For a second time)

And that stems from just being sick of Live-Action adaptions from popular animated shows/movies in general.

Obviously, I have the choice not to watch it. And maybe I’ll watch it when it’s all been finished with and I have nothing else to do.

As I keep saying, I feel like this potential would’ve been better spent on making a series based on the Kyoshi novels (and by extension, Yangchen). I have nothing against live action adaptions based on books. I’m just tired of them rehashing from an animated property.

If you’re excited for it, then by all means, I hope you enjoy it.

#ventbending #netflix’s atla #I think their take on ASoUE was good #I have mixed feelings on FMA because- while it’s nice to see these characters re-imagined in real life- there were a lot of writing issues #and missing scenes #and I mean- the point of live action existing is- to make companies money- #but also reimagining how an animated character would look in real life #but I could just look at cosplay for that- lol

[sewercentipede]

i reeaaallllyyyy want an avatar kyoshi show based on the f.c. yee novels ….. adult animation is a common thing and the ppl who grew up on ATLA are in their late 20s early 30s now, so having a show about kyoshi’s murderous lesbian ass just makes sense. netflix is so fucking stupid for trying to make a live-action version of ATLA when the existing show is already perfect and there is zero benefit to making it live action, that seems so unnecessary and expensive as fuck. especially when the dark fucking crystal age of fucking resistance is sitting right fucking there on the canceled shelf with 3 more seasons of story already outlined …,,…… like go uncancel that masterpiece of a show instead of remaking shit that doesn’t need remaking u stupid fucks!!!!!! and then let some other production company (not nickelodean) make an animated avatar kyoshi series that’s like, 3 seasons long. or netflix could even do that too with the money theyd be saving from not making a pointless live-action remake of ATLA. god i should just be CEO of whatever company has power over this shit because im fucking right

#JUST GIVE ME A KYOSHI SHOW!!!!! #ranting and raving #lunatic hours #atla #kyoshi #the dark crystal #age of resistance #f. c. yee #avatar the last airbender #tdc:aor

[natlacentral]

Exclusive Interview: Yvonne Chapman Talks ‘Avatar: The Last Airbender,’ Channeling the Avatar State in Her Craft, ‘Superman & Lois,’ and More

Yvonne Chapman, much like a skilled bender mastering the elements, excels in her craft. Whether she’s directing, writing, acting, or producing, her purpose and mission as an artist is to serve the stories she tells. She’s best known for transformative performances in projects including Kung Fu, The Stranger, and Family Law.

Currently, she can be seen starring as Avatar Kyoshi in Netflix’s critically-acclaimed hit new series, Avatar: The Last Airbender. A live-action reimagining of the beloved animated series following Aang, the young Avatar, as he learns to master the four elements (Water, Earth, Fire, Air) to restore balance to a world threatened by the terrifying Fire Nation.

Pop Culturalist was lucky enough to catch up with Yvonne to discuss Avatar: The Last Airbender, her preparation in bringing Avatar Kyoshi to life in this live-action adaptation, channeling the Avatar state in her craft, Superman & Lois, and her love for filmmaking.

PC: We find worlds colliding with your latest project, Avatar: The Last Airbender, and Michael Goi, with whom you worked on Kung Fu, championing you for this role. Is there an added sense of pressure when someone is recommending you for such an iconic character? Yvonne: Yes! [laughs] Also because it’s somebody that I truly respect. Michael is fantastic. I really didn’t want to let him down. I didn’t want to let the fans down or anybody. Kyoshi is such a beloved character, as you said. It was a lot of pressure, but the team is so good. It’s everybody coming together, not just me. It’s everyone who brought this together. Thank goodness. I’m not alone in this, that’s for sure.

PC: Not only were you a fan of this franchise, but you also did so much research in your preparation to play Avatar Kyoshi. As you brought this beloved character onto the screen, what’s something you wanted to make sure was translated from the novels and animated series to this live-action adaptation? What’s something new you brought to her? Yvonne: I really wanted to strike that balance. I wanted to explore what she would be like as a mentor because that’s a new capacity that we’re seeing her in as opposed to the original source material. But I also wanted to honor what the fans saw and what I saw in the novels.

In this particular circumstance, there are so many ways that Kyoshi could have interacted with Aang, and a lot of them would have been true because, as we see in the novels, there are so many facets to this character and woman. But given the circumstances at the time when Kyoshi Village was under attack, literally as we were talking, tough love was needed. I feel like that’s very true to who she is, especially as we’ve seen her before. She’s a no-nonsense, get-to-business kind of woman. I really wanted to make sure that was part of the characterization of her.

PC: You also get to narrate and kick off this series in Episode 1. How did they reveal that news to you? How different is that filming experience when it’s just your voice as compared to Episode 2 that has all of those intricate fight sequences? Yvonne: It’s very different. First, the ask came from Michael and Albert [Kim], who again, have been such wonderful caretakers of the series. They used the original source material as their Bible. The original had Katara’s voice. They still wanted to keep it female, but Kyoshi is someone who has been around for 230 years. She would be somebody who would know what’s going on, and they thought the narration would suit her well. That’s why they asked me to jump in on that.

It’s very different because when you’re acting or doing action sequences, you’re in the embodiment of the scene. You’re working off somebody else. You’re in a different environment that lends to a more reactive response whereas this, we did tons of iterations of the voiceover and tried different things. It’s the sound technicians who brought it all together. So kudos to them. But it was fun. It was a different experience being in the sound booth and trying out different ways of saying that intro.

PC: Kyoshi and Aang have a conversation about the Avatar state, and how it’s the place where they can access the energy of past lives and thousands of Avatars. What is the creative equivalent to that? What was a scene that you filmed throughout your career where you were in a similar state and felt that magic? Yvonne: That’s such a good question. In general, in acting, we always talk about a toolkit of different things that you need to use on set. Sometimes one thing doesn’t work, and another thing will work another time, but it’s a mixed bag of everything. If I had to compare it to the Avatar state of being able to use all elements and channeling all your lives and everything, it would be that. It’s the part of the work where you’ve got to try whatever works at the time because you’ve got to get the job done.

PC: Kyoshi really drives home to Aang what it means to be an Avatar. Gordon [Cormier] is someone who’s getting his big break with this project. Did you share any words of wisdom with him as he traverses this industry and what it means to be an artist and storyteller? What was that point in your own career when you defined what this craft and its responsibility means to you because you’ve always brought such an empathetic quality to the roles that you’ve played? Yvonne: Thank you so much. I feel like I learned something from him. Honestly, Gordon is wonderful. He’s so giving, kind, and professional, especially at the age that he is. I don’t need to tell him anything. The support system he has is fantastic. His father was with him on set all the time. They’re such a wonderful presence through and through. As we’ve all seen, he’s played Aang beautifully and perfectly. I am so thrilled that they’re getting Season 2 and 3.

As far as traversing this thing, at the end of the day, I’m so happy that I get to do what I love. Each and every project that I get, I am so grateful for because being an actor, it’s more rejections than acceptances. There are more times that you’re not working than when you’re working. So whenever I get the chance to work, that’s always at the forefront. Each and every job is so difficult to get that when I’m there, I want to show up and do the best that I can. I’m so grateful that I get to work.

PC: Something that you did so brilliantly with this role is the ways in which you were able to infuse hints at Kyoshi’s past because there’s only so much that you can fill into a show. There’s a moment when she shares a bit of tough love with Aang, which for those familiar with the source material, feels as if she’s projecting her own shortcomings in her journey. Was that contrast something that was written in the episode or was it something that you brought to it having done that prep work? Yvonne: It was definitely written in there with that intention in mind. Then, having those discussions and performing it, it’s definitely something that I wanted to bring to her as well because it is a projection. She had such a hard time finding out that she was an Avatar for those who read the book.

She has a very tumultuous childhood and upbringing, and then figuring out that she was the Avatar on top of all that with the very few people that she trusted, betraying her, all of those things she had to learn the hard way. Her saying that to Aang in that moment is definitely a projection. Because right after she says, “I was like you once.” This is where that’s coming from. You hit the nail on the head. That’s exactly what that was.

PC: The series is so well done, and it’s so cinematic. It feels like you’re watching eight films. What was it like getting to see that final product and collaborating with everyone to bring Kyoshi to life on the screen? Yvonne: I was so happy at the premiere because we all got to celebrate with each other. That hasn’t been a thing for a few years because of COVID and everything. To be able to meet people that I didn’t get to meet on set was so special. Every single time someone new appeared on screen, we cheered. It was so wonderful to do that with the whole team.

The hair, makeup, and wardrobe were everything. You can’t not feel like Kyoshi in that hair, makeup, and costume. It completes everything. Like I’ve said before with any project, when you step into the hair, makeup, and wardrobe, it’s like putting on a different skin. It’s putting on the skin of that character. It completes the whole deal.

PC: It’s transformative. You’re a multifaceted talent who has such a strong affinity for writing and directing. What are the types of stories that you’re most interested in telling through those disciplines? Yvonne: I’m a sucker for those kinds of stories that really delve into the quiet moments in life. Because there’s so much to be said about those little quiet moments that we have when interacting with one another or even with ourselves that sometimes don’t get enough airtime to be shown. I love that kind of style, but I also really love the epic stuff too.

If I could do that in a sci-fi, I’d be totally down for it. A huge comedy as well. For me, at the end of the day, what it really comes down to is sharing the human experience and seeing those full colors on screen. If I can participate in that in any way, whether it’s through writing or acting, I’m on board.

PC: Your 2024 is off to the strongest of starts with Avatar, and then it was recently announced that you’re joining Superman & Lois. Amanda has a very small role in the comics, but through the screen adaptation, you’re going to get to write a new chapter for her. How different was that character development and preparation process compared to Kyoshi, where you have this wealth of source material? Yvonne: It’s quite different. Because, as you said, with Kyoshi, there’s a wealth of source material. I can pull from so many different things. With Amanda, what I had to go by were the scripts for Superman & Lois and my discussions with the showrunners who were wonderful. Anyone who is a fan of Superman & Lois, oh my gosh, you’re not going to be disappointed with this final season. It’s so good. There was more than enough, honestly, reading the scripts. It’s so clear to me who she is, and the showrunners are so great at breaking it down for me in that sense. In their description to me and what was released of the role, it made perfect sense with the world-building of it and the final season of it with Lex Luthor. It was very different but still enough to work off of.

PC: Similar to many of the characters you’ve portrayed, there’s also a significant contrast in the types of projects you’ve worked on, from bigger budgets like Avatar and Kung Fu to indies like The Stranger and Dragon Fruit. What is it about independent filmmaking that excites you as a creative and a storyteller? Can you share some of the indie projects you have in the works? Yvonne: With the indie projects, I love doing them because I’m usually working with really good friends. Dragon Fruit was done with Jeremy Brown, who wrote, directed, and produced the short film. He is such a force, and oh my gosh, the amount of work that goes into an indie project because you’re wearing a thousand different hats all at once. I wasn’t part of that project for the full four years, but it took him four years to finish the project from inception to the final product.

On The Stranger, it was a friend of mine, Curtis Lum. I worked with him on one of the first things I ever booked as an actor. We kept in touch. He was like, “I’m producing this short film and I’m acting in it too. You’d be really good for it.” When it’s your friends and it’s a passion project, I love those sets because you get to work with the people around you. We always hope for that.

I send so many auditions to my friends and I’m like, “You should go out for this. You should go out for that because we’re just hoping to be on set together one day.” So when projects like that come and you can support somebody that you know and really care about, it’s a win-win.

To keep up with Yvonne, follow her on Twitter and Instagram. Watch Avatar: The Last Airbender on Netflix today.

#Youtube #interview #yvonne chapman #pop culturalist #natla #netflix atla #atla netflix #atla #avatar netflix #netflix avatar #avatar the last airbender

[low-budget-korra]

What I would do if I was Bryke

1) The first thing that I would do was adapt The Search, since Zuko's mom story was the one plot hook Atla left. And we all know that most of people didn't read the novels.

But I would do some changes, The history would focus mainly on Azula mental state and the sibling relationship with Zuko. No bullshit like Zuko holding her by the neck in front of a clift or everyone being okay with Azula' sad mental state. Is not about her and the Gang becoming friends, is about them at the very least show concern/compassion to her. They did show that to former enemies before.

This could be a movie but I would rather if it was a miniseries of like 10 episodes of 30 minutes.

2) My second ideia was to give the fans what I couldn't back in the day: Korrasami animated content. Is not about being a shipper, is about doing things the right way and continue what started in 2014. The fans are waiting for this for almost 10 years. Doesn't need to be a full movie or a full series, I think one well done short film will be enough for now.

3) If we need to do a new series about one earth Avatar, there's no reason to not adapt Kyoshi Novels. They are amazing and Kyoshi is a fan favorite since her first appearance in Atla.

Is quite a few years before Aang and Korra,so the world is possible different than we see, btw, we only know the Evil Fire Nation Empire from atla and the most modern politics in tlok, what it came before atla is still quite a mystery. Plus we would see the Airbenders before the genocide l, which for sure is a win

4) So, we got a mini series, one short film and a whole new show. Now I would do the always requested Adult Gaang movie. Can be about them making Republic City, that would also ties with the end of The Search by bringing Azula back as enemies or unexpected ally

As you guys can see it's not that difficult. These topics would make 90% of the fandom happy and hyped, having no seconds doubts about what I would come from each one of them.

I don't know, it feels like Bryke got caught by the hype of Avatar renascence and want to give the more content as possible but as we learned with Netflix, quantity does not equal quality and since Avatar Studios is a newer thing that will both bring old fans and add new ones, they should bet on the better horse. After the Avatar Studios is well stablesh as a fav favorite and critically acclaimed Studio, than is the time to push things and try new things. Let's also not forget that today we have more competition when it comes to cartoons, so it wouldn't be that easy to beat or at least top the others (or Avatar previous shows)

Anyway basically is just : Give the fans what they want, especially when the material is top tier excellent, stablesh yourself as a new big dog in the industry and then push things forward. Because a fail now can end Avatar Studios.

#avatar studios #avatar #avatar: the last airbender #avatar korra #avatar aang #avatar the legend of korra #the legend of korra #korrasami #asami sato #wlw relationship #azula #zuko #katara #toph beifong #sokka #suki #avatar kyoshi #kyoshi novels #the last airbender #atla #tlok #lok #tla

[thejourneyofwan-fanproject]

The Journey of Wan Premise+Masterpost

Almost 2 years have passed since Wan became the first avatar. In that time, the spirits were guided back home in the spirit world, Wan closed the spirit portals, and the lion turtles retired as guardians of mankind. Since then, humans have been free to roam the earth again without fear of the spirits, but new troubles arise when humans wage war with eachother, hunt hybrid animals, and abuse the elemental powers bestowed upon them. As the first human to have power of all four elements as well as the world on his shoulders, Wan does whatever it takes to restore balance to the world.

Main Cast: Wan, Mula, Raava, OCs

Pairings: OCxOC, Wan/OC

~~~~

4 books/seasons with 15-20 chapters each:

Book One: Light

chapter 1 (under construction)

chapter 2 (completed?)

chapter 3 (TBA)

~~~

Q&A/FAQ:

How long has this project existed?

I started this project 2015-2016, after the release of the "Beginnings" episodes of LOK, which basically started from me creating OCs that existed 10,000 years ago, for no other reason than for the fun of it. I made friends with a shared interest in ATLA/LOK/Beginnings whom also created ocs for Wan's time period and their own takes on the lore behind the spirits and we collaborated with eachother. I had started the first two chapters of book one, that can be found on deviant art and wattpad (plus a few written prompts that featured ocs and wan's relationship with Raava) but with the newer updates, will also be posted here and archive of our own. After writing and publishing the second chapter, I began to focus on other priorities in my life, as I was taking classes in junior college, dealt with deaths in the family, and got caught up in other fandoms.

I never lost interest in this project, ocs and concepts that had yet to be fully fleshed out, however, they were always in the back of my mind and I would occasionally draw my Wan/oc ship, but not much further. Now with the release of the Kyoshi and Yangchen novels, comics and shows/movie announcements, I started to feel more compelled to revisit and commit to seeing this project through, even if friends I once collaborated with moved on or lost interest. I am taking this as an opportunity to redesign ocs or do some rewrites of old prompts and make any needed adjustments to the plot/characters/etc.

Are you doing this project alone?

As it stands, it appears so, but this is on me due to my own inactivity.

How many books are there going to be?

It has always been four: Light, Renewal, War, Legacy

Each with a varying number of chapters, but ideally the goal is 20 max. per book/"season"

Are you open to collaborate/form a writing team?

It is a possibility. As of now, I would like to reconnect with former peers and see if they would like to revisit this story or not, and seek consent on use of their ocs before moving any further.

Can I submit fanart to this blog?

Fanart is absolutely encouraged and welcome, once I have some art of my own and OC designs up of course. If you like what you see, then you are most welcome to draw and submit fanart.

Where can I find the story?

You can find it on:

deviant art: the-journey-of-wan and wonderpepperboops

wattpad: zhervey06

archive of our own: thejourneyofwan1006 (currently has short story prompts)

You can also find my inspiration board on Pinterest!

~

Thank you for your time!

(last update: August 23, 2023)

#legend of korra #avatar the last airbender #avatar chronicles #avatar wan #raava #vaatu #beginnings #fanfiction #beginnings ocs #avatar wan x oc #waava #rise of kyoshi #dawn of yangchen #first avatar wan #text post #questions and answers

[katara-aang]

I killed Chin the Conqueror.

#atlaedit #kyoshi #avatar: the last airbender #airbendersource #atladaily #tusersammy #tuserdan #tusercilla #usernaiomy #userkataang #userahzulas #usermaxine #uservickytoria #kahtaras #zuzuthefirelord #* #*gifs #kyoshi novels animated series when

[runephoenix6769]

I am super itching to find out more about this armless firenation avatar.

https://avatarnews.co/post/672380316343812096/new-chronicles-of-the-avatar-series-continuing

Why is she wearing a royal head dress? (Was she a princess who was kept out of sight for her own safety? Or so the royal family wouldn't look weak? Was she a hidden avatar? Or did she wreak the joint n just take over as the next in line? Did she marry into the royal family to bolster the bloodline? -- we know the fire nation royal family isnt above doing shiz like that , lookit Ursa, lookit Xu.)

Was she born without arms like Ming Hua and used bending as an extension of herself? Or did she have an illness/accident or did something far more insidious befall her in a bid to stop her realising her avatar potential? Its been heavily implied that not everyone sees the avatar as a good thing and some might even seek to end the cycle entirely or control the avatar for their own nefarious ends. I’d really like to see what it’s like when an Avatar is entirely rejected or deliberately put out of commission. What that would that world look like? What leads up to it? Is it a direct strike by a foreign leader for political gain? A tyrant who seeks to remain in power n removes what they think is their only obstacle? Someone looking to weaken the Fire Nation. Or simply a case of she needed to be stopped at all costs? (though I’d hope they wouldn’t villainize a differently abled person by making her evil.) What does bending look like when you don’t have the ability to create the traditional stances/katas/forms needed or previously taught to you to perform your job? Imagine the possibilities if they animated her? Imagine being the worlds most powerful Adult bender, maybe a bit arrogant about it, n then boom you have to start from scratch n learn unheard of forms or even create forms. (We’ve kinda already been given Roku’s main conflict n resulting legacy in ATLA Kurek’s story/legacy and the consequences of Yang Chen’s era in The Rise Of Kyoshi/Shadow of Kyoshi, so a revisit with their own novels might be a little redundant. And quite frankly I’d kill for more Kyoshi novels/ content tbh cause theres still so much we dont know. So that leaves reaching even further back and an Avatar entirely different from what we’ve ever seen would be a great place to start. ) Like, not every Avatar made it adulthood. And imagine hearing the previous child avatar was murdered and you find out your child is the new reincarnation? You’d have to go into hiding? What if its the heir to the god damn throne? Assassins n plots are already your worst enemy, but what if it comes from within your own royal court? (Like, ex airbender nun Jessa and Hark abandoning Kyoshi cause the Gravedigger and authorities were trying to track the new Avatar -- and just missing them -- and some dao fi are deeply spiritual n they genuinely thought she would be found and cared for. N they couldn’t sully her legacy .Or at least that's what I parsed together, though its never explicitly explained.) There are so many possibilities!

#sok #rok #the rise of kyoshi #shadow of kyoshi #avatar the last airbender #avatar last airbender #atla #atlab #chronicles of the avatar #michael dante dimartino #bryan konietzko #bryke

[avatar-news]

The Fire Nation Awaits 🌺 An in-depth look at the ever-elusive islands in the era of Korra and when we will finally pay them a visit

[Artwork by Avatar News; not official.]

Note: This article was published before the official announcement of Avatar Studios at the Paramount+ investor day.

“Water. Earth. Fire. Air. Long ago, the four nations lived together in harmony. Then, everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked.” We’ve all heard those words a million times. The four elements, and the power to control them bestowed by four subspecies of giant lion-turtles, are at the very heart of the world of Avatar. The balance between them was once upon a time broken by one of the four, the Fire Nation, forming the main conflict of Avatar: The Last Airbender. For much of Aang and the Gaang’s quest at the close of the Hundred Year War, the Fire Nation was a forbidden, far-away location, until the curtain was finally drawn back in the aptly-named Book Three: Fire when our heroes entered the inferno, undercover behind enemy lines. A dramatic tropical destination! New outfits! Culture shock! Needless to say, it was a big deal.

→ 🌺 The big reveal of the Fire Nation in Book Three: Fire had its own marketing push, matching public anticipation.

When the Hundred Year War ended, the newly-instated Fire Lord Zuko dedicated his life to righting the wrongs of his forefathers and working with Avatar Aang to bring the Fire Nation back into the fold under peace. By the time Aang’s successor debuted as the next Avatar in the titular The Legend of Korra, Zuko had abdicated the five-pointed crown and his daughter, Fire Lord Izumi, took the stage leading a reformed, rebalanced Fire Nation.

There was no more war, no more enemy lines, yet the Fire Nation became more distant and mysterious than ever before.

Korra’s close encounters with the land of fire

To this day, Korra has never visited the Fire Nation, nor has it been seen at all, nor do we know anything about it in her era. In fact, practically the only thing we do know is that its leader is a noninterventionist, which conveniently gets it out of the way of making an appearance in Korra’s journey as the Avatar so far.

The closest we have come to seeing the Fire Nation in The Legend of Korra was in Book Two: Spirits, Chapter Five: Peacekeepers. In the midst of the Water Tribe Civil War, Korra sets out across the sea to get help from the royal family, however, she is intercepted by a dark spirit and never makes it to her destination. In the next episode, she washes up on a secret island home to the Bhanti sages, which probably technically counts as Fire Nation territory, but as we know from The Shadow of Kyoshi (more on that later), this faction predates the Four Nations themselves so it doesn’t really count.

→ 🌺 Korra washes up on the beach of Bhanti Island in Book Two: Spirits, Chapter Six: The Sting.

No, as cool as that location and the events of the Beginnings two-parter that happened there were, it wasn’t the main draw of seeing the Fire Nation that we’re still waiting for: seeing how the Fire Nation, which was already industrializing in Aang’s time, changed over the decades, compared to places like Republic City and Ba Sing Se; meeting new characters; visiting new and familiar locations; worldbuilding both new and expanding on what we already learned.

After this aborted tease in Book Two, we never come close to the island country again (at least not with this Avatar and in her era; yes I’m leading up to something...). Instead, the focus turns strongly to the Earth Kingdom in the third and fourth Books, and beyond.

Keep in mind that The Legend of Korra aired for about two-and-a-half years total from 2012 to 2014. Since then, the story has continued in comics. The comics era has lasted from 2015 to present-- seven years to the animated series’ two. In that time, there have only been two comic trilogies due to various production troubles, and neither have touched the Fire Nation. Instead, they directly continue the Earth Kingdom-focused threads started in Books Three and Four of Korra, both originally airing in 2014. Or, in perspective: we had a focus on Republic City in 2012, the Water Tribes in 2013, and the Earth Kingdom from 2014-2021.

Will we finally see the Fire Nation in the next graphic novel trilogy?

This question comes to mind every time new Korra content is supposed to roll around, and the powers that be know it-- it’s a pretty obvious gap in the world of Avatar right now. This franchise is iconically built around four elements and the Four Nations based on them, so one of them being MIA is quite glaring, and for that reason everyone is understandably always asking about it.

The most concrete confirmation we’ve gotten was this AMA answer from franchise co-creator Michael Dante DiMartino in 2016, two years after the show ended and a year before the first graphic novels did come out:

“Yes, hopefully in the [Korra] comics, we’ll have a chance to go to the Fire Nation and see how it has changed since A:TLA.”

Since then, as previously discussed, two comic trilogies have come and gone, obviously not getting closer to the Fire Nation-- and I would actually argue entrenching themselves further away from it.

I want to make it clear that I’m against fan entitlement. Creatives telling the tales they want to in service of the story and the artform is how the industry should run. I’m just hoping to offer some perspective on how we got to where we are almost a decade into the era of Korra and the metatextual pacing of the franchise itself.

Either way, the next Korra comic trilogy has been official confirmed by the editor for Avatar at Dark Horse Comics in this informal statement on Twitter:

We’re not ready to announce any details yet, but we are working on the next trilogy. I really appreciate your patience and hope it’s worth the wait! ✨

There’s currently some kind of holdup for which we really have zero context or information, and we of course have no idea what this next trilogy will be about. (I do speculate a bit on what it could be a few paragraphs down.)

But, like what turned out to be Ruins of the Empire before it, I faithfully made a mockup graphic for my post announcing the confirmation of the next The Legend of Korra graphic novel trilogy. And like before, I chose to completely speculatively and blindly make it Fire Nation-y, as if the next comic could/would(/should?) feature it. This is mainly because I feel like that’s what most people’s eyes would be caught by and thus result in the most successful post (hey, at least I’m honest), but also because it’s just fun.

Here are both images, from 2018 and 2020 respectively:

→ 🌺 Speculative edits I made for my posts on the announcement of previous and upcoming Korra comics before we knew anything about them.

In both cases, the response was huge, and people were super excited about the prospect of Fire Nation content just from my quick speculative mockups. I am of course hoping that the new artwork I made of the Krew for this post will have a similar effect (it’s the first time I just straight-up drew it instead of editing existing images) but again it’s really mostly just for fun.

Anyway, until the next trilogy is properly revealed, we’ll just have to wait and see.

However, that’s not the only place this could happen.

Are they saving the Fire Nation for an animated movie?

With Avatar’s HUGE success on Netflix last year, interest in the franchise rocketed to an all-time high. The streaming wars have begun, and Avatar’s owner and its parent company, Nickelodeon and ViacomCBS, have finally started to notice.

ViacomCBS is launching Paramount+ on March 4th, a relaunch of its existing streaming service CBS All Access. Paramount+ is meant to be a big expansion and refocus to compete with the big hitters: Disney+, HBO Max, and, yes, Netflix. (There’s quite an entanglement there, with Netflix being the home of Avatar’s big year and the upcoming live-action series.)

One of the keys to a successful streamer today is high-profile originals to drive new subscribers. ViacomCBS knows this and they know Avatar has just become among the highest profiles a property can have, breaking records and going toe-to-toe with other big-hitting sci-fi/fantasy/genre franchises. This knowledge goes right to the top of the food chain: the CEO of ViacomCBS mentioned Avatar by name when discussing potential originals for Paramount+.

I have previously discussed how The Search relates to this. The Search was the second ATLA comic trilogy, focused on the search for Zuko’s mother in the thick of the Fire Nation, and if you didn’t know, it was originally pitched by Bryke as an animated movie after the original series ended.

I just want to be clear that what I’m discussing here is purely speculative, but this is the only other piece of the Avatar franchise that we know was optioned for animation besides the shows themselves. It’s possible they would be interested in going back to this idea as a Paramount+ original (and it would certainly be popular among audiences), but it is of course set during the era of Aang and thus covers both a time period we’ve already seen, and also by nature of already being released as comics, events we’ve already seen too.

However, the whole point of this article is that there is one major, huge thing we haven’t seen yet, with massive anticipation building for a decade behind it: the Fire Nation in the era of Korra. So, again, this is just speculation, but it’s also possible that they could return to the very smallest seed of the original idea for a The Search movie, and do a Fire Nation-focused Korra movie now.

→ 🌺 ATLA’s Fire Nation-focused The Search was originally pitched as an animated movie.

You can skip this next part if you don’t want to see me embarrassingly promote my fan idea 😆 but this is where the artwork I made for this article comes into play. The general idea for it, and the reason I tried to replicate the show’s style as much as possible, is that it’s what a Fire Nation-focused movie could maybe look like. Something as standalone and unrelated to Earth Kingdom drama as possible, with fresh new looks for the Krew to get people excited for something fresh and new! I really feel like the Avatar franchise has so much potential for expanded content like this, that’s why I have high hopes that Paramount+ will make the most out of it! You can see the individual characters’ artwork in larger size here. Ok I’m done back to business.

If the idea of a movie seems too impossible to you, we can also take a deeper look at Bryke’s involvement with upcoming comics instead.

After Korra ended, they officially each went their separate ways. They vaguely consulted on Avatar stuff, and Mike of course wrote the Korra comics, but Bryan was planning on writing and drawing his own original non-Avatar comic series and Mike was releasing his own non-Avatar novels. This all appears to have come to a stop when they signed on to showrun the live-action retelling of ATLA at Netflix, officially reuniting the partnership and committing to Avatar again in a big way. Of course, they ended up leaving that project over creative differences, but it did result in a big, lasting change: this time they remained official creative partners and have indicated they’re still working on Avatar now, together. This is a far cry from the official breakup after Korra, so it begs the question what exactly they’re working on. I of course have my fanciful predictions of a sprawling expansion of the Avatar franchise at Paramount+, but what if it’s actually a combination of the ingredients from before the live-action series...

More speculation, but what if the reason for all the mystery behind the next Korra comics is because they will be made by Bryke, with the two of them co-writing and Bryan doing the art for the first time? If that’s the case, they could want to make them a bigger deal than the other Avatar comics have been so far, and maybe that’s why it’s taking so long to iron everything out, have a more significant story, have more of a marketing push, etc. If they’ve been saving the Fire Nation for something big, this could be it.

I personally think this is less likely than a show or movies or something, but it is possible. Anything is possible right now since we know so little about the large-scale direction of the franchise moving forward, just that it’s gonna get big.

⛰️🌋 The Fire Nation in the era of Avatar Kyoshi

We’re not done! Despite everything I’ve written here, believe it or not, the Fire Nation was actually the star of the show in the last year.

With the debut of the Avatar franchise’s first original novels, Kyoshi made a huge splash (in a way only she can). If you haven’t read them yet, you NEED to-- they’re some of the best Avatar content EVER. The Rise of Kyoshi hit shelves in 2019 and The Shadow of Kyoshi followed in 2020. The latter is of particular interest here, because it was almost entirely set in the Fire Nation and featured practically everything and anything you could want from a visit to elusive islands. Though obviously set in a historical period some four hundred years before Aang’s time, Kyoshi’s sojourn in the Fire Nation gave us a huge amount of new information, a depth and breadth of worldbuilding, culture, and character we’ve never really seen in Avatar before. It truly makes the most of the literary medium, so hats off to author F. C. Yee for the passion and effort he put in.

In The Shadow of Kyoshi, we learn about the era of the previous fire Avatar before Roku, Avatar Szeto. Through Kyoshi and her own Team Avatar, we learn about the different clans and islands of the Fire Nation, as they experience the fraught early reign of Fire Lord Zoryu and the conflict between the Keohso and Saowon clans, culminating in the Camellia-Peony War. We get a multitude of fleshed-out perspectives from the upper crust to the flea-bitten underworld, matching the heights of the worldbuilding quality of Republic City. It’s such cool, intricate stuff, and really shows Avatar’s potential (and that’s all just the worldbuilding-- the character work is also top-notch).

That’s not the only place the Fire Nation has shone recently. One of Insight Editions’ awesome scrapbooks, Legacy of the Fire Nation, gave us a tour through the royal family’s history, including never-before-seen looks at young Iroh and Ozai and much, much more.

All this just goes to show that the Fire Nation has been a hot ticket throughout the ages and there’s one conspicuous gap in that history: the era of Avatar Korra. With so much recent expansion and development of the Fire Nation in our world, it would be perfect to see the culmination of it all in the current time period in the world of Avatar too.

If this made you excited for the potential of what the Avatar franchise could look like in the coming years, same boat!

The next concrete date where something could be announced is February 24th, when ViacomCBS will host their investor day and present their streaming strategy, including Paramount+ originals. There’s no guarantee Avatar is mentioned, but I’m keeping a hopeful eye out.

As for comics, Dark Horse’s schedule marches to its own beat, so there’s no way to know when the next drop of information is coming our way.

Could this finally be the comics that take us to the Fire Nation, or could the much-anticipated visit be in another medium like animation? Stay tuned-- as always I’ll post as soon as we learn anything new!

#korra comics #paramount plus #the fire nation awaits

[folklorin]

you know how azula's theme automatically starts playing whenever she's on screen? i kinda want rangi to have that treatment too when the kyoshi novels get their own animated series.

"Peace was no longer an option. Because now Rangi was here."

*cue rangi's theme*

#rangi #atla #avatarverse #kyoshi novels

[ferrouskyra]

Dragon's Breath

So, I was thinking about how Iroh is the Dragon of the West because he breathed fire, & how breathing fire is pretty commonly used & known in A:tLA. So, what makes him so special?

Note: I found all of these by searching for “breath” on the Avatar wiki’s episode transcripts. The only fight I rewatched was the finale, in which I caught an extra one. I also got the “roar like a tigerdillo” scene. Both of which were written as “fire [comes out of Aang’s] mouth.” Sorry if I missed any. Of the 16 instances of fire breathing I found in the main series, one was done by dragons (Yes, I’m only counting it once despite Ran & Shaw both doing it), one was a puppet, & two were dreams: Aang in the Avatar State & a giant flying hippo cow.

Of the 16, only 5 were during combat, not before (& not including the puppet or hippo cow). & only tree were attacks. Of those three, one was only steam; no fire was produced. That only leaves the time Iroh did his demonstration for Azula; & the time Ozai was captured by Aang, right before his bending was taken away.

If I wasn’t reading the transcripts, I would have never realized that Ozai had done that. (I might have the 1st time I watched but I was 8 so...) That leaves the one time Zuko breathed fire in response to Iroh’s antics; & the time Azula was chained. & both times Aang “roared like a tigerdillo” during training. It also leaves the three times Zuko used the “breath of fire” to stay warm in the north pole & the freezer. The last three are before combat shows of power. These seem to only be an intimidation tactic. One is dream Aang; the other two are during Sozin’s comet.

Now, Iroh makes a considerably powerful blast for a long duration in Ba Sing Se. If you exclude the demonstrations during the comet, it’s easily the most impressive display. The only things that comes close is Zuko’s huff of frustration- which was out of combat, short, & mostly smoke; as well as Aang’s training at the beginning of the finally- which was post-dragon revelation, done by the Avatar, & under the Dragon of the West’s beloved nephew’s instruction. It seems Iroh earned his title. & the in-universe explanation of learning it from the Sun Warriors fits the bill.

But what about Korra? Well, she does it six times, herself. For four, she’s bound up; & for the remaining two she’s poisoned. No one else does it in the show. Most of them were pretty impressive though-- comparable in size to Azula’s during Sozin’s Comet, but even with the show being set long after Iroh’s time, I’m still chalking it up as a difference in the animation style. Also, she’s the Avatar.

Either way, this still leaves Iroh as the only person to voluntarily use “dragon’s breath” without outside influence (read: being poisoned or restrained) during a combat situation. What about extended canon? I can’t be bothered to check the comics, but I do love the Kyoshi novels so, [SPOILERS FOR SHADOW OF KYOSHI] There is one more instance of fire breathing in the Avatar canon. Rangi makes (nearly) white dragon’s breath in the final fight. This can be explained by her emotional state, talent, & power; but let’s have some fun with some other reasons she & Iroh are such good fire breathers.

Side note: I am quite font of smithing, & I can tell you from experience that a blue flame is much, much, much easier to make than a white flame. I’ve made blue flames on accident; I’ve never made white. [spoiler over] Between Ty Lee’s chi blocking, Iroh’s explanation of lightning redirection, & Guru Pathik guiding Aang through Avatar state mumbo-jumbo; we can pretty safely assume that bending is about moving chi throughout a bender’s body. Which means chakras probably have a lot of bearing on a person’s bending. Pathik said that “the Sound Chakra [is] located in the throat. It deals with truth and is blocked by lies. The ones we tell ourselves.” We know Iroh had completely changed his outlook on life after Lu Ten died. & even though he still had some issues during the show (ex: June), he reached some form of enlightenment before his death & shows up in the Spirit World somewhat often in LoK. So this all tracks with him being truthful with himself; not to mention the other chakras.

[spoiler BACK]

But is this applicable for Rangi?

Now, it’s been awhile since I read the books, so if I’m off-base here, feel free to call me out.

Rangi’s never really shown to be spiritual, & her short fuse doesn’t lend itself to a more mundane version of enlightenment (The fight with Koulin; flipping a table off of a balcony at the Fire Nation Palace,). So, purposeful chakra manipulation is pretty much out the window.

But Pathik said the throat chakra was only about not lying to yourself. & we never really see Rangi have much self-doubt, or overestimating her abilities (The lei tai; jet-stepping,). The only time we really see her doubting herself or her place is when she’s worrying about (failing to protect) someone else; or becoming accustomed to the Flying Opera Company, & even those are a direct result of being the Avatar’s bodyguard.

Now, we don’t know when the Sun Warrior’s technique stopped being common in Fire Nation culture, & dragon’s weren’t extinct until Aang’s time, so it’s possible that it can be partially assumed as a lost art. But in Rise of Kyoshi, Xu Ping An was the only person who knew lightning generation. (The wiki doesn’t say anything, but I could’ve sworn I remembered Rangi doing it at some point.) She also invented jet-stepping after seeing a waterbender & two earthbender do similar techniques one time.

Actually, now that I think about it, I think that the pure amount of time Rangi was able to maintain a near-white flame with a little used technique makes this the most impressive display of firebending done by a human (without the aid of Sozin’s Comet) in A:tLA canon.

Tl;dr Kyoshi’s girlfriend is the Dragon of the East.

#avatar the last airbender #atla #uncle iroh #avatar iroh #general iroh #the dragon of the west #a:tla #TLOK #the legend of korra #rangi #kyoshi novels #rise of kyoshi #shadow of kyoshi #rangshi #firebender #dragon's breath #fire breathing

[zuzuslastbraincell]

IMO, if you’re going to criticise the way zukka’s booming popularity ties into the racialised fetishisation of mlm (great article on this as a phenomenon here), you should make that the core focus of your critique? I’ve seen some takes recently that try to critique it from additional angles but I feel these arguments are 1. borne out frustration 2. flawed 3. miss the point.

For example, I’ve seen some posts criticising zukka that are frustrated with people not for giving the canon wlw representation in the avatar universe the same kind of popularity and attention. I’m sympathetic to this frustration (I share it), but I think framing it in this way fails to recognise that neither of these ships are in ATLA itself. One is from a different show, that has far more inconsistent and arguably poorer writing, whose world-building has been critiqued from anti-imperialist perspectives and anti-capitalist perspectives multiple times, and critically, the canon wlw ship, while groundbreaking in children’s animation for its time, was poorly developed and foreshadowed. While you could attribute this to disputes with the executives at nicklelodeon, it doesn’t change the fact that as a viewer it’s not as compelling as it could have been. I personally love korrasami but I think there are good reasons to be disappointed or underwhelmed by its portrayal, there are good reasons why fans might not care much for Legend of Korra; indeed there are ATLA fans who haven’t even watched LoK. The other pairing is from a spin-off novel series about an important minor character, which hasn’t received anywhere near the publicity as ATLA or LoK. Again, I adore Rangi/Kyoshi, but we should be realistic about how much we expect casual viewers to read a spin-off novel series and how much attention it should garner without its own TV series. To some extent we need to be realistic – why should we expect people who are fans of ATLA, and only ATLA, to give as much attention to ships that are not part of ATLA?

I’ve also seen some posts that question why people don’t find the canonical m/f relationships appealing, and urge people to reconsider them, often stating gay =/= better, or more politically correct. While it’s true that liking ships absolutely should not be a measurement of how progressive you are, I find this perspective fails to recognise that there are actual genuine critiques that you could level at kataang, sukka, and maiko respectively? In each case you could make an argument for lack of development, that these relationships tend to centre the male character and their feelings? There are genuine reasons why viewers might be put off by these dynamics (in fact, there is no obligation for them to care, there never is), and I think we shouldn’t overcorrect and ignore the flaws in the dynamics’ canonical depiction that people might take issue with. I am also skeptical of the implication offered by this line of critique, where these canonical m/f relationships are all more politically correct – even if that’s true, I really don’t think that a lone is a good reason why people should be more invested in them (especially if the viewer finds their dynamic otherwise uncompelling flat etc.). We shouldn’t confuse shipping children’s TV characters with activism; taking an anti-imperialist, anti-racist, and feminist approach to media is more to do with accountability than activism and about ensuring fandom cultures do not only only cater to white cishet men. 

The last argument I’ve seen recently has been to do with the fact that mailee shouldn’t be compared too closely with zukka – agreed, in that they’re very different dynamics, and again, I can understand the frustration there. But mailee is not “more canonical” than zukka simply because the former were childhood friends. Firstly, neither of these relationships are canonical (may I remind you that Mai ends up with Zuko). Furthermore, there also no firm, rock solid, near indisputable evidence that Mai and Ty lee always cared for each other more deeply or fully than Azula; there is no firm, rock solid, near indisputable evidence that Mai and Ty lee always knew they were going to betray Azula and were leading her on the whole damn time. This is an interpretation of the text based on some circumstantial evidence and body language. It is a potentially an interesting, compelling interpretation of the text that has some limited evidence suggesting it could be true - but it ultimately relies on conjecture and extrapolation. It is not canon. There is also space for an interpretation of the text where Mai and Ty Lee never particularly liked each other or understood each other, and largely tried to get along for Azula’s sake. We should be careful to ensure that we don’t treat our headcanons as if they are ironclad canonical fact. There is space for a variety of interpretations of Mai and Ty Lee’s dynamic and to call it “more canonical” presents an interpretation of mailee as fact in a way I think not only is just kidding ourselves / exaggerating what we saw on screen, but also I think doesn’t allow for alternate interpretations that more broadly, impacts fandom negatively.

Like, ultimately I feel that all of these arguments are flawed, but also I think they miss the point! None of these things have much to do with zukka’s sudden popularity or why a lot of interpretations of zukka delve into racist fetishisation and mlm fetishisation. If you want to criticise zukka and its sudden rise in popularity, talk about the key factors at play. Talk about how migratory shippers latch on to new fandoms without much care for the context and detail of the source text, treating characters like blank slates they can attach tropes to without regard to their actual characterisation, either latching onto white characters no matter how minor their role is, or, as in the case of atla, either erasing & “whitening” the cultural background of the characters or just perpetuating racist perspectives.

We could also talk about how there is not much space or resources in fandom in general for wlw ships and discussions and spaces. We could talk about how women are more willing to work with and interpret male characters than vice versa, in part due to the lack of interiority and complexity often given to female characters in children’s animation historically but also due to misogyny and the male audience’s unwillingness to treat women like people even when presented with complex and layered female characters. We could also talk about the history of whiteness in fandom and how the source text was written by white american men and is a limited western interpretation of asian cultures and how that impacts the fandom and the reception and treatment of said cultures.

Like. I think there are more important factors at play and we shouldn’t make these flawed arguments simply out of frustration that what we care about and what we’re passionate about isn’t getting the reception we think it deserves. Because I get most of this, most of these arguments are borne out of frustration, but we shouldn’t exaggerate, mistate the case, or leave no room for critique.

#long post #i have no idea how to tag this #this is probably fandom wank ? #but i fucking hate that term it's so 00s livejournal #anyway i'm just frustrated by seeing these arguments

[ideas-of-immortality]

Mega book haul came in today.

I bought a bunch of ATLA comics, and am super psyched I got the collectors edition of the Kyoshi novels, can’t wait to read about such a Bicon.

Also bought more Rising of the Shield Hero LNs. I bought one extra since the anime only goes to book 6 and I plan on hopefully getting far enough ahead in the series that when the anime second season comes out I can enjoy it more.

Also bought more one of my OG fave mangas, Rosario + Vampire. I hate to say it but despite the gratuitous fan service it does actually have a really good plot.

Finally I have a Shinto book from Living With Kami’s reading list. I wanted to get the sister book “Shinto: A Visual Guide” sadly it was out of stock. I’m excited because I hope to take more comprehensive notes and maybe post them to a side blog. For those who are new to Shinto, I also strongly recommend y’all check out their beginner guides here

Anyways I’m excited and now I have reading material for the next 3 months

#avatar: the last airbender #AtLA #atla comics #rosario vampire #rosario + vampire #the rising of the shield hero #Shinto

[morporkian-cryptid]

13. 20. 38. 39. 42.

sorry I hope its not too much.

<3

P.V.

Of course not! And thanks for the ask ^^

13 - Did an actor/actress catch your attention for the first time this year?

Do voice actors count? If yes, Richard Epcar, aka Jigen's voice actor in the English dub of Lupin III, and also the person who directed the dubbing process of Part 2, and is thus responsible for the Legendary Red Jacket Geneon Dub (and all the dick jokes in the outtakes). Love the guy.

And Kyoshi Kobayashi. Also Jigen's voice actor (the Japanese one). (yes I know I'm mono-obsessive, it's called a special interest, leave me alone) (the guy has voiced Jigen for FIFTY. ENTIRE. YEARS. This man is a legend and I love him so much)

20 - Did you develop a new obsession?

Hmm... I think my obsession with medieval Japan started this year? More or less. It started with trying to figure out which of the two options from the anime were the Ishikawa clan's actual historical family crest, and then I fell down the rabbit hole and ended up listening to podcasts about Japanese history and yokai legends, and buying books upon books about irezumi tattoos and the yakuza.

38 - What was the best moment of the year for you?

It's hard to pick just one moment, but I think it's safe to say my first date(s) with my partner. Those will stay with me for a long, long time.

Close second is the first week of the Kickstarter of Ewilan's Quest animated series. For context, an independent studio is seeking to adapt my Childhood Absolute Favorite Novel Series, aka my very first hyperfixation, the books than made me want to write, and that played a huge part in shaping my personality and aspirations during my formative years. Those books mean the WORLD to me, and an adaptation is basically a childhood dream coming true. The Kickstarter was the moment when that concept stopped being a silly dream and actually started to have a serious chance of becoming reality.

39 - What was the worst?

Oh, definitely the medical problems I had while abroad. I seriously thought I was going to lose a finger. That shit lasted FOUR ENTIRE MONTHS and I'm still dealing with the financial issues.

42 - What are you most proud of accomplishing?

Hib asked me this one already, so I'll copy-paste it:

Finally having the guts to ask my crush of five years out on a date. Best decision I've made in a long time. A, I love you so much <3

Also writing Bad Blood. This fic has been (and is still being) a big challenge, and I'm honestly proud of myself for not giving up halfway through.

EDIT: OH and ALSO getting my first serious long-term job!! That's an accomplishment!

#ask meme #ask game #new year

[opbackgrounds]

So I read the Ace Novel (Part 2)

I’m going to be level with you, if I hadn’t said I was going to do a write up for the novel, I don’t think I would have finished this one. The first fifty or so pages are terribly boring, and while it picks up considerably toward the end, I don’t think I can recommend it, for one reason and one reason only:

It reads like a freaking wikipedia article. And I hate it. 

I described Part 1 of the Ace novel like three separate one shots with the barest hint of continuity between them. That’s not the case this time around, as most of what it covers are events mentioned in the manga: The fight with Jinbe, Ace’s 100 battles with Whitebeard, Ace formally joining the Whitebeard Pirates. Comparatively speaking, that’s a lot of canon material to get through. Consequently, it’s also quite a bit longer than Part 1, about 200 pages. 

(some of those pages happen to be longer than others)

(yes this made me literally laugh out loud)

The problem is there is a metic ton of manga recap that has nothing to do with this novel, especially in chapters 1 and 2. This was baffling to me, as it seems unlikely that someone would pick up a One Piece magazine (where the novel was originally published) or a One Piece side story without bing familiar with the manga. Yet concepts like the Four Emperors, Celestial Dragons, and even the Grand Line were laid out in meticulous detail.

I am going to be unfair for a moment and compare the Ace novels to my favorite spin-off series of all time, the Kyoshi duology that takes place in the Avatar universe. 

Unlike the Ace novels, they take place several centuries before the main series, so there aren’t a lot of plot details that overlap with the animated series in the way the Ace novels do to the main manga. What is in common, however, isn’t repeated. Nowhere in the two Kyoshi books does she learn the story about Avatar Wan or any of the same lore details that are important to Aang and Korra’s stories. Instead it expands on the world building details laid out in the main series and deepens them. 

For example, do you want to know how the Fire Nation royalty got so good at lightning bending, or how the greater Earth Kingdom political landscape works? Read book 1. Do you want to know how the Fire Nation went from a fractured clan system to a strong centralized government or how advanced water bending healing techniques work? Read book 2. It’s exposition that fleshes out the system already in place, rather than retreading what’s already been established. 

Part 2 of the Ace novel does this a little bit when it develops the Pirate Code, something that has never mentioned in the manga, and even if it was Luffy’s not the sort of character that’s going to care to adhere to it. The strongest portion of the novel shows Ace going out on a mission on Whitebeard’s behalf, showing some of what it’s like to maintain the vast territories that he keeps under his flag.

But mostly...mostly it’s just recap. Literally the entire Fishman Island backstory is written out in some of the blandest narration I’ve ever read, paragraphs upon paragraphs talking about Queen Otohime and Fisher Tiger and the civil unrest of the Ryugu Kingdom, including but not limited to Vander Decken stalking Shirahoshi and her subsequent imprisonment in the royal tower. 

There’s also the wholesale recycling of gags straight from the manga that 1) don’t necessarily work as well in written format, and 2) show no originality or creativity on the part of the author. In my opinion, recurring gags are funniest when a writer can contrive different variations and circumstances around the base joke. Instead we get scenes like this beat-for-beat copy of Ace’s narcolepsy gag in Alabasta, down to using the waitress’s skirt as a napkin

I noticed in Part 1 that the author had snuck some canon elements in, such as Deuce and Ace building Striker—the one man, fire-powered boat he showed off in Alabasta—when I personally didn’t think either of them were smart enough to think up, let alone construct, anything that sophisticated. I didn’t mention it in my previous write up because there are a lot of fans that enjoy those kind of Easter eggs, and it’s a novel that runs on manga logic so it’s not exactly breaking my suspension of disbelief either. It was a minor quibble that didn’t really detract from my overall enjoyment. 

But the story of Fishman Island is at best tangentially related to the events of the novel. The only reason Fishman Island is important at all is because Ace decides to burn down Whitebeard’s flag on his way into the New World. 

Which brings me to perhaps the most interesting aspect of the novel: Ace himself. 

Even in the manga, you can make the case that there are two Aces, the happy-go-lucky, cool, and mysterious older brother of Luffy seen at Alabasta/post-Enies Lobby, and the angsty, existentially depressed young man with daddy issues that shows up during Impel Down/Marineford. 

The novel leans much closer to the latter. More than I expected it to. The Ace of Part 2 is hotheaded and a bit of a jackass. Whereas Luffy tends to go after people he has a personal beef with, Ace specifically targets Whitebeard because he was the closest to Roger, and he thinks that defeating Whitebeard will somehow bring him fame greater than his father. He ignores the concerns of his crew and the repeated warnings about how Emperors control vast armies...because of daddy issues. The novel goes out of his way that Ace’s dreams made him better suited to be a Revolutionary than a pirate, and it’s only because of his childhood promise that he became a pirate at all. It wasn’t something born out of true conviction or desire.

Laying it out like that, it might seem like this is a negative, but to me it’s one of the most interesting things the novel has to offer. I thought Part 1 worked best when it acted as a character study for Deuce, Ace, and the marine girl whose name I have already forgotten, focusing on how Ace brought together degenerates unwanted by even other degenerates. The same is true here: Once the exposition dumps are over and the focus returns to the titular character, the author is able to dig a little bit deeper into into Ace’s psyche, and he takes it in a direction I didn’t expect, but was consistent with his manga portrayal. 

I just wish I could have seen a little bit more of it. 

And speaking of characters I wish I had seen more of, after focusing so much on Deuce and Marine Girl in Part 1, they have a much reduced role in Part 2. In fact, Marine Girl isn’t seen or mentioned even once, which I thought was kind of strange. I guess I don’t see the point in putting so much effort was put into her only for her to be thrown away without even a cameo. Likewise, after spending Part 1 as the principal POV character, Deuce is set aside for Thatch and Teach. Whether that’s a good or bad thing will depend largely on how much you enjoy those individual characters. 

I don’t say this often, but these are books that can be judged by their covers. Part 1, Ace is more jovial—the burning flame that attracts others to his greatness—while introducing two major new characters to his journey. Part 2, Ace is grim and angry—the dark, smoldering flame burning with the desire to destroy the system that would have killed him for being the wrong man’s son—while focusing much more on the Whitebeard Pirates and what makes them great. 

It’s an interesting contrast, the two sides of Ace’s character as seen in the manga given a little bit of limelight. But damn if it wasn’t tedious to get through. 

#long post #opbackgrounds #ace novel #analysis #review