Avatar Yangchen was the Air Nomad Avatar  that succeeded Avatar Szeto and came before Avatar Kuruk. After she mastered all the four elements in her youth, she was quite eager to make a difference in the world, despite  the fact that she was inexperienced.

She would eventually become a respected figure and was hailed for her wisdom, determination, and power. Air Nomad culture placed a lot of emphasis on pacifism and the sanctity of life, but Yangchen was feared for being fierce and willing to do whatever it would take to keep the world peaceful and balanced in her duty as the bridge between two worlds.

Due to this, Avatar Yangchen’s time as Avatar ensured that the world was free of wars for an entire generation even after her death. After dying, she was seen as a holy individual and even the people in the Earth Kingdom would pray to her for protection. However, her actions had a side effect; contributing to a rise in dark spirit attacks during the time of her successor Avatar Kuruk. 

The graphic novel Shadow Of Kyoshi reveals some unknown facts about Avatar Yangchen, which we will now discuss.

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The History of Avatar Yangchen

Avatar Yangchen was born and raised by Air Nuns in the Western Air Temple. She performed her first act of waterbending on a small island in the Mo Ce Sea and, like all Avatars, mastered the elements and the Avatar State in order to maintain world peace.

Over time, she also became well learned and studied many different philosophies, including the writings of Gurus Laghima and Shoken. Avatar Yangchen was also well known for making pacts between humans and spirits, such as in the case of the Heartwalker of Yaoping Mountain, and the phoenix-eel spirits living under Ma’inka Island.

Avatar Yangchen died in 345 BG and was reincarnated as Kuruk of the Northern Water Tribe in accordance with the Avatar Cycle.

Aftermath of Avatar Yangchen’s Death

After her death, Avatar Yangchen became considered as a figure of holy reverence, particularly amongst the Air Nomads and the Earth Kingdom. People from these kingdoms, especially the Earth Kingdom, would pray to her to give them luck and protection. They constructed wayside shrines dedicated to her all through the Earth Kingdom. Avatar Yangchen received such devotion that even when people faced Avatar Kyoshi, they would be praying to Yangchen. 

Her legacy as a compassionate person became legendary. In remembrance of how she handled the issue with General Old Iron, the Air Nomads made yearly pilgrimages to the statue of Lady Tienhai. They renamed the ritual as Yangchen’s Festival. Even the island where Avatar Yangchen had first practised waterbending became a holy site, that is until it was accidentally destroyed by Avatar Kuruk. As time went by, the Air Nomads eventually constructed two statues of Yangchen. One was located in the Eastern Air Temple and the other in the Western Air Temple. 

Yangchen’s decisions when it came to politics also had long-lasting impacts. Her time as the Avatar brought a prolonged period of peace, as no threats of war occurred for an entire generation after her death. Scholars also analyzed her decisions, and they wrote treatises on this subject. All of these were studied by the earthbender Yun, who was thought to be the next in line after Kuruk.

Avatar Yangchen and Aang

When Aang needed advice from his past lives on how to handle Firelord Ozai,  each avatar he met encouraged him to choose the path of violence. He surmised that Avatars Roku, Kyoshi, and Kuruk could not understand his pacifist stance, as they believed it would affect his restoring of balance in the world. Hence, Aang sought out Avatar Yangchen, believing that as a fellow air nomad, She would understand. 

Avatar Yangchen did understand Aang’s hesitation, but her advice was not exactly what Aang wanted to hear. She said “Selfless duty calls you to sacrifice your own spiritual needs and do whatever it takes to protect the world”. To Aang’s understanding that meant that Avatar Yangchen’s role as the Avatar took precedence over her Air Nomad ways.  Here, we can see what Avatar Yangchen’s character is truly like. It is clear she is far more violent than anyone thinks her to be.

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Avatar Yangchen In ‘The Rift’

Yangchen had a firm hand on the world’s politics, and in the tie-in comic “The Rift”, we can see how it affected her successor, Kuruk. There was an era of peace and much of this can be attributed to her direct and powerful intervention as well as her diplomacy. In her confrontation with the dark spirit General Old Iron, who believed that humans did not consider the spirits and their land with reverence or sanctity, Avatar Yangchen entered the Avatar State, and leveled the surrounding city. After tensions had cooled off,  Avatar Yangchen struck a deal with the spirit, agreeing to start a ritual in honor of Old Iron and that would serve as a testament to humanity’s goodwill.

Those same qualities of brokering deals and diplomacy with spirits were the background for Yangchen’s character in the novel, Shadow of Kyoshi.

Avatar Yangchen In ‘Shadow of Kyoshi’

In the previous novel ‘Rise of Kyoshi’, we do not see very many details about Avatar Yangchen. She is established as a revered figure, and her era of prosperity made her an idol to Kyoshi herself. Kyoshi sought to speak to her, but it wasn’t until she could hone the spiritual connection to her past lives that she could speak with Yangchen personally.

Kyoshi had such a hard time making this connection, owing to the fact that she was still very cross with Kuruk and how he left the world. It blocked her from connecting with him and the rest of the past Avatars. Eventually, she came to terms with Kuruk, after she learnt of his secret missions hunting bad spirits.  However, she learnt of the real reason but it was not until Kyoshi spoke with Yangchen that she learned the reason evil spirits were invading in the first place; Avatar Yangchen.

While Avatar Yangchen was a powerful Avatar and an even greater diplomat, it turns out that she had regrets.In her admonition to Kyoshi, she reveals that she spoiled the Four Nations of humanity,  providing them with everything that they wanted, at the expense of the spirits. Even her broker with General Old Iron may have come a little too late, because her indulging humanity  caused them to mine the world for its resources greedily while paying little homage to the spirits themselves.

Conclusion

The Avatar series and comics have always been crafty with how it weaves its complex characterizations, giving us in depth looks on various characters. This exposure on  Avatar Yangchen reveals a side to one of the most revered Avatars of all time. It is further proof that the Avatar really is just human, and that each Avatar has as many flaws as they do strengths. The novel, ‘The Shadow of Kyoshi’ continues a great trend of fleshing out Avatar’s many characters, and we love to see where exactly the next story takes us.

Team Avatar certainly did a lot of travelling in their day, and this applies to both incarnations of the Team as seen in The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra. With the world very vast and hazardous, surely they must have had something to use as a guide. And rightfully so, they did. Right up there is the Avatar The Last Airbender map. 

But this map isn’t just a guide through Aang’s world. It also shows the world he created after the Hundred Year War, as well as various key monuments and locations where important events took place. 

Our version of the map is numbered, but not to worry, it’s to help you pinpoint where is where, and what exactly is what. The known lands in the world are shown here. The specific locations of certain landmarks are marked down as well. Each marking is represented by something. You can find out what is used to mark a location in the map legend below as follows.

Avatar The Last Airbender Map Legend

The legend for the Avatar the Last Airbender map are as follows;

• The zoomed-in square holding numbers 62 to 69 marks the different locations in Republic City.
• The blue circles represent the locations that the original Team Avatar visited in their journeys in the Winter of 99 AG
• The green circles represent all the locations that the original Team Avatar visited during the Spring of 100 AG.
• The red circles are the locations that the original Team Avatar visited in their journeys in the Summer of 100 AG
• The gold circles are a representation of the locations that Korra visits in 170 AG.

Locations On The Avatar The Last Airbender Map

The entire series and the events that transpired therein took place in the numbered locations on the map. Each of the numbers represents a particular place on the Avatar The Last Airbender Map. You can match the number to the location below.

Show Love and Respect to Appa

When you see the map of the world you quickly understand how much Team Avatar had to travel. A lot of the show would not have been possible or as exciting without Appa because they would not have been able to get all over the world so quickly.

Appa really carried the team on his back. There are some episodes where they have to travel from the Fire Nation to the western air temple. They also had to to go from the Earth Kingdom to the Fire Nation which is no small distance. All of these world travels are due to the Appa.

The Earth Kingdom is Massive

The Earth Kingdom is similar to Africa. It does not get enough respect for the size it is. On the flip side of this, you would think that the Fire Nation was this massive set of land but it really was not. It also explains why they were so hungry to expand and take over the Earth Kingdom.

People always want to have the most land to represent the most power. The Fire Nation was not as most would think. In our world Africa is the largest continent by far but many will make it look smaller than it is in order to make more powerful countries look bigger.

Blue Circles On The Avatar the Last Airbender Map

1. Southern Water Tribe
2. Southern Air Temple
3. Patola Mountains
4. Kyoshi Island
5. Omashu
6. Mining village
7. Senlin Village
8. Mo Ce Sea
9. Crescent Island
10. Seedy merchants pier
11. Gaipan
12. Great Divide
13. Harbor town
14. Taku
15. Pohuai Stronghold
16. Makapu Village
17. Abbey
18. Fire Nation colonial village
19. Northern Air Temple
20. Northern Water Tribe

Green Circles On The Avatar the Last Airbender Map

21. General Fong’s fortress
22. Cave of Two Lovers
23. Kolau Mountains
24. Foggy Swamp
25. Chin Village
26. Gaoling
27. Plains village
28. Tu Zin
29. Quarry campsite
30. Library
31. Si Wong Desert
32. Full Moon Bay
33. Serpent’s Pass
34. Outer wall of Ba Sing Se
35. Ba Sing Se
36. Agrarian Zone
37. Lake Laogai
38. Chameleon Bay
39. Eastern Air Temple
40. Earth Kingdom Royal Palace

Red Circles On The Avatar the Last Airbender Map

41. Fire Nation bazaar
42. Jang Hui
43. Shu Jing
44. Ember Island
45. Roku’s Island
46. Fire Fountain City
47. Hama’s village
48. Black Cliffs
49. Great Gates of Azulon
50. Fire Nation capital
51. Fire Nation Royal Palace
52. Western Air Temple
53. Sun Warriors’ ancient city
54. Boiling Rock
55. Yon Rha’s village
56. Wulong Forest

White Circles On The Map

57. Eastern Sea
58. Whaletail Island
59. This was Aang’s favorite spot to ride elephant koi
60. Aang’s favorite spot to ride hopping llamas
61. Represents Aang’s favorite spot to ride hog monkeys

Gold Circles On The Map

62. Air Temple Island
63. Aang Memorial Island
64. Pro-bending Arena
65. Police headquarters
66. City hall
67. Avatar Korra Park]
68. Central City Station
69. Future Industries

The Team Avatar is a legendary team that started with Sokka, Aang, and Katara, and of course, Appa. The Team grew as the quest and their needs grew.

Team Avatar is the name used to refer to Avatar Aang and his companions. They put together this Team on Aang’s journey to master all four elements and defeat the Fire Lord. Balance was much needed during and after the 100-year war. Aang and his friends started out to restore the balance that the fire nation had upset but wiping out the Air Nation (Nomads), taking Earth nation territory, and waging war on the Water tribe. 

Team Avatar consisted of Aang, Sokka, Katara, and Appah but was later joined by Toph, Suki, Zuko, and Momo. The latter members all became equally important as the first set of people in the Team. 

The Team’s constituency varied a little bit all through Aang’s journey across the world. This was until the invasion of the Fire Nation when a much larger number of people began to join and leave the group.

By the end of the war, the group was known to have had at least a bending master of all four bending arts. They had at least one member from each of the four nations, which inadvertently spoke balance itself. If they were to bring balance to the world, they had to have balance themselves. The Guru Patik once told Aang when he was trying to open all seven chakras to freely go in and out of the Avatar State. 

The balance and mastery of the elements by its individual members made Team Avatar a formidable fighting group. One that was even capable of assaulting even the Earth Kingdom Royal Palace, which they did without much stress or destroying an airship fleet without any outside assistance.

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Origin Of Team Avatar 

The name of the group Team Avatar was originated by Sokka, who was inspired by a group of elite Earth benders. They were introduced into the scene as the Terra Team. He was inspired by their catchy name and wanted one for Team Avatar as well. He first suggested a few other names. He suggested the “Boomeraang Squad,” a clear merger of “boomerang” and “Aang”; the “Aang Gang”; and the “Fearsome Foursome” before settling on Team Avatar.

Even after he had created the name, Katara would not have it as she told him it would not catch on. 

Formation Of The Team

During the Hundred Year War, started by Fire Lord Sozin in 0 AG. AG is is an Avatar timeline representational reference used to refer to before and after the genocide of the Air Nation. AG is After Genocide. BG is Before Genocide. 

Sozin used the comet to wipe out the Air Nomads, hoping to kill the Avatar in the process and begin the war. A move, ensuring that no one could stand in his way. He did this so there would be no chance. Not even the infant Avatar could stand against him. It is used to pinpoint and make this reference. He wiped the air nation and then began waging war on the other two great nations. 

Pre this genocide of the Air Nomads; Avatar Aang fled the Southern Air Temple shortly before the Air Nomad Genocide occurred.

After being caught in a storm, Aang went into the Avatar State and encased himself in an iceberg. This was a self-imprisonment that lasted for a hundred years.

Eventually, Katara and Sokka discovered the iceberg, and Katara unintentionally used waterbending to release him. A blinding ray of light suddenly shot out from the encased shell, and the two siblings met Aang for the first time. This was the first meeting of the Team Avatar. 

They later discovered that the young boy was indeed the Avatar. After he gave himself up to save their village, they went after him and tried to save him from the Fire Nation. After the debacle, they decided to accompany him on his journey to the Northern Water Tribe, where he would master waterbending.

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Team Avatar’s First Journey

During their first long journey, Team Avatar met with a lot of people. These people became friends, allies, and trusted backup. People like Suki, a Kyoshi warrior who led a group of elite warriors with a unique fighting style. They were named in honor of the Avatar Kyoshi.

Haru, who Team Avatar helped free their town from the clutches of the fire nation. He was in a town where Earth bending was forbidden, but Aang, Sokka, and Katara helped change that by driving out the fire nation. 

The Freedom Fighters, Teo, escaped Zuko a few times on this journey and Zhao. They also visited the Northern and Southern Air Temples. When they visited the Southern Air Temple, they found a winged lemur whom Aang decided to adopt as his pet, naming him Momo. 

Team Avatar subsequently took a route up the western Earth Kingdom, meeting many people and visiting several villages. Upon arrival at the Northern Water Tribe, Aang began training with Master Pakku and was later accompanied by Katara.

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Recruiting Toph Beifong to Team Avatar

The Team journeyed to Omashu with hopes of having Bumi be Aang’s earth-bending teacher. 

When they arrived, they discovered Omashu had been captured by the Fire Nation and renamed New Ozai. When Aang and his friends asked Bumi’s advisors that they found in hiding what had happened, they said King Bumi surrendered before they could do anything. 

The Team quickly launched into action and rescued Bumi. He was the one who later advised Aang to search for someone who waits and listens before striking. He explained that he was practicing and honing his Neutral Jin. A jin was employed to minimize causalities. This Jin involved not doing anything but waiting till it was right to strike. 

Eventually, traveling to the city of Gaoling, they met Toph Beifong, a powerful blind girl, who joined them in an effort to leave her overprotective parents and save the world. This was not without much drama in itself, but the Team successfully added one more member, growing stronger than before. 

Aang began learning earthbending under Toph and continued practicing waterbending with Katara as his master. The Team decided to take vacations leisurely until they arrived at a secret library in the Si Wong Desert. When Toph asked when she would get her own vacation, Sokka casually said, “You have to work here a little longer to qualify.”

In the spirit library, they learned of a solar eclipse that would render all firebenders powerless. 

The group decided to bring this information to the Earth King before discovering Appa had been captured. They eventually crossed the Serpent’s Pass, where they reunited with Suki and arrived at their destination: the Earth Kingdom capital, Ba Sing Se.

Getting Appah back was no easy task but with the help of Zuko, even though they didn’t realize it at that time. 

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Recruiting Zuko to Team Avatar

This was a particularly tricky one for Team Avatar as they had long since their inception all known Zuko to be the hateful prince who would stop at nothing to kidnap the Avatar. 

Zuko, after realizing who he is, decided to join Team Avatar. 

After the failed invasion of the Fire Nation, Team Avatar and the other younger participants of the invasion, like Haru, Teo, and The Duke, journeyed to the Western Air Temple.

Zuko followed them, resolute on joining them, and helped them take down his father. He attempted to explain to the group that he was better now, but it was only after he saved them from the mind fire bender did they take him in. Sokka named him Combustion Man. It was only when Zuko made a statement, saying, “Fire can be dangerous in the wild and so is a fire bender” did Aang understand that he was meant to be his teacher. Aang understood what it meant to hurt his friends with fire, and Zuko did too, having suffered at the hands of his father. 

Zuko joined the Team even with the disgruntled voices of the other members of Team Avatar. 

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They banded together and efficiently took down Zuko’s father, Fire Lord Ozai. 

Team Avatar still stands to be one of the greatest teams ever. When you watch the final episode of Avatar, you see how the team had to work together. Zuko and Katara went to get the Fire Lord title back, Iroh went for the Earth Kingdom, Aang took care of the Fire Lord, and everyone else was dealing with the airships.

Everything they did required teamwork. They needed different bending forms and nonbenders to get the job done and bring peace and balance back to the world.

The Avatar cycle is a cycle based on the four seasons and the passage of these seasons. It coincides with the order that the first Avatar; Avatar Wan first mastered the elements. It goes thus; fire (representing summer), air representing autumn, water representing winter, and earth standing for spring.

How The Avatar Cycle Works

When the current Avatar dies, a new Avatar will be born, usually into the next nation in the Avatar Cycle. For example, Avatar Yangchen was an Air Nomad, died and was reincarnated as Avatar Kuruk from the Northern Water Tribe. Avatar Kyoshi was next, hailing from the Earth Kingdom and then there was Avatar Roku, a Fire Nation indigene.

The Avatar Cycle also determines the order in which each Avatar is supposed to learn the four bending disciplines.

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How The Avatar Cycle Determines the Order In Which Elements Are Learnt

The nation where the Avatar comes from is obviously the first element that they will master, prior to the bender being identified as the Avatar. For instance, an Avatar born into the Water Tribe will learn to master waterbending first, before taking on the next three bending elements in the cycle. In this case, it would be earthbending, firebending and finally airbending. This order is not set in stone however, as there have been  instances where an Avatar has learnt the elements out of order.

Kyoshi’s Avatar Cycle

Having begun with mastering the earth element, Kyoshi started learning firebending with her friend slash bodyguard Rangi. At the same time, she was learning how to bend water from another friend Kirima. However, in a bid to keep the order snake, Rangi made Kyoshi bend a little breeze so she could have a bit of airbending mastery before she would begin waterbending. 

Aang’s Avatar Cycle 

Aang was in a similar situation. As the Avatar, he tried to learn fire under the mentorship of Jeong Jeong, as his second element. Jeong Jeong initially objected to this, considering the avatar cycle of the elements would have been disrupted.  Aang eventually learnt to create fire, but things didn’t go as planned, as he lacked the spiritual maturity to handle firebending.   After Jeong Jeong’s camp was attacked by Zhao, Aang’s firebending training ended. Later in the series, we see him learn the element under Zuko; but only after he had mastered the other elements in the proper sequence

Korra’s Avatar Cycle

Korra had a similar fate as the aforementioned Avatars before her. At a young age of four, she was already able to bend water, earth and fire to some extent. Despite this skill, Korra was discouraged from continuing her bending of the other elements until she had been able to master her native element; waterbending.

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Difficulty of Learning Elements Within the Avatar Cycle

Each Avatar has a peculiar difficulty mastering a particular element during training. They often have a low affinity for that element based on their individual personality. This element can be difficult to learn, sometimes proving impossible to control until faced with a situation in which the Avatar is forced to reach within and manifest power. 

It’s been found that the bending discipline an Avatar finds it hard to learn is the element that is in direct opposition to the Avatar’s birth nation. Avatar Roku for example, found waterbending to be rather difficult. For Avatar Aang, earthbending was his biggest problem. This was due to the fact his personality centered on evading problems or not engaging in fights as much as possible. 

For Korra, however, the case was slightly different. Korra loved firebending, despite the fact that she was  anative waterbender. Her most difficult element was instead air; and she found airbending the most challenging. This was attributed to the fact that she was brash and direct person – a sharp contrast to the airbending philosophy of contemplation, measured action, and avoidance of conflict.

Now let’s take a look at the Avatar Cycle and how it affected every Avatar

How Each Avatar Cycle Influenced The Next Avatar In Line

One interesting thing about the Avatar cycle is that the accomplishments of one Avatar only create some interesting conflict for their successor. 

Avatar: The Last Airbender was full of recurring themes. But one of the most interesting ones was the cycle of change; which we saw embodied in the Avatar cycle. Beyond their ability to master the four elements, the Avatar serves as a balancing force for the spirit and human worlds.

The goal is to keep the four nations in harmony. Now, although all Avatars in the 10000 years of their existence are linked in knowledge and experience in the Avatar state, each reincarnation seems to have world issues to deal with that are a direct result of the strength and failures of their predecessor.  Every generation has its own new conflict, and with each new conflict brings about a redefinition of the Avatar’s role.

Let’s take a look at how this has happened with the known Avatars. 

How The Avatar Cycle Affected Each Avatar

Yangchen

For Avatar Yangchen, the stakes were rather difficult for her. Her conflicts put her spiritual upbringing in great contrast with her duty as the Avatar. Eventually, she put the world’s needs ahead of her spiritual teachings. The result was that she achieved long-term peace for humanity. But it came at the great cost of alienating the spirits, a fact that bled right into Avatar Kuruk’s tenure. 

Kuruk

Kuruk’s case was the exact opposite of Yangchen’s conflicts, possibly a byproduct of her way of handling things. While he leaves humanity much to its own devices, he is more involved with dealing with  the proliferation of dark spirits. Of course, this has dire consequences, such as his fiance Ummi being taken by the malevolent spirit, Koh the Face Stealer. He would spend the rest of his life seeking to bring her back but would only end up dying at a very young age. He left behind a lot of conflicts between the human races; something that spilled into Kyoshi’s time. 

Kyoshi

The militaristic conflicts that formed in the absence of Kuruk thanks to his untimely death would create a world that was nigh chaotic. To rise to the occasion, Kyoshi approaches matters as the Avatar in a manner you could describe as a hardline perception of forceful justice. She was a very brute-ish Avatar, enforcing balance to the world’s conflict. This would in turn create an adverse approach for her successor, Roku.

Roku

Kyoshi’s no child’s play approach in turn influenced Roku in great contrast. As her successor, he seemed to possess a commitment to moderation and mercy. When he handled the world’s problems, he wasn’t particularly soft, but he gave leniency where he deemed it fit.

Aang

When he wakes up from his hundred year long slumber in the iceberg, Aang sees that the world is very different from the one he left behind. 

The world has been thrown completely out of balance by the Fire Nation’s totalitarianism. His people have faced genocide and have completely wiped out. The other nations are also being largely subdued. His mission is pretty clear, with him having to master the remaining elements, taking on the Fire Lord and ending the war. But there’s more. For Aang there is the emotional trauma he faces. This is because he recognizes it is his absence as the Avatar that has led to the state of things.

The interesting thing about this realization is the fact that this failure is something that extends to his past life. With Avatar Roku, there is a huge case of failure, as his long time friendship and near brotherhood with Fire Lord Sozin blinds him from being more decisive when the latter expresses the desire for world conquest. He did not take the necessary actions, and he could have ended the war before it could have begun.

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Korra

Aang’s accomplishments might have been lauded by fans and the show’s characters altogether, but they were not without faults. In fact, just like his predecessors before him, he seemed to have created the same cycle of change for his successor in the Avatar cycle. 

Aang was able to not only unite the four nations so that they effectively co existed with one another, but he also established  the United Republic of Nations. This new republic offers a haven for benders and non-benders. It also boasts of mass industrialization and technological advancements. It was definitely the utopia Aang would have wanted it to be. 

And yet it still had its own problems. Surprisingly, many of them came from the systems Aang and Team Avatar put in place. First things first, Republic City’s bureaucracy was grossly incompetent. The bender inhabitants are obviously recipients to some form of favoritism, creating a divide between classes.

With the older forms of governance like the Earth Kingdom monarchy, there seemed to be more interest in preserving the rule of power than there was in actually helping the people. Where his predecessors have failed in some aspects, Aang’s world was also flawed. It refused to have balance.

We all know that the Avatar state is considered a power-up for Avatars as they gain immeasurable power. You definitely do not want to be close to Aang when he slips into the Avatar state in his early days. Well, there was a time that no one had access to such powers.

The giant turtles were the protectors of the world, so they allowed people to build cities on their backs. When people ventured into the spirit world, the giant turtles would bestow them with powers to navigate through the spirit wilds and protect themselves. Dependent on the kind of turtle they encountered, they were bestowed with the power to bend certain elements. These powers were collected when they get back into the physical realm.

However, something drastic occurred that caused them to turn to sieve their interaction with the human populace; the emergence of the Avatar. Once they turned their backs on the human world, the people scattered and formed the four nations.

Wan, the first Avatar, fixed up the rift between the physical and the spiritual realm after Wan permanently bonded with Raava, the Spirit of Light and Peace. Thence, the giant turtles stopped their interaction with the human world, leaving the responsibility of maintaining balance in the world to the Avatar.

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Understanding the Avatar State

In order to understand a few things about the Avatar state, we have to go to the 2nd book in the Last Airbender series. In the first episode, after the team defeated Prince Zuko, they all venture to the Earth kingdom so Aang could begin to learn earth bending.

However, the meet up with General Fong, who was all too happy to meet with the team. He talked to Aang and offered a solution to end the 100-year war induced by the Fire Nation. His plan was for Aang to get into the Avatar state and face the Firelord. Aang informs Fong that he could only go into the Avatar state at will. The few times he had gone into the Avatar state were triggered by certain emotions. Fong would not be deterred as he promised that he would help Aang find the key to triggering the Avatar State. Sokka was cool with it, but not Katara.

After series of trials and a nightmare, Aang decides that it was wrong to toy with the Avatar state. He told this to Fong, who in turn sends a series of earth bending attacks towards Aang to induce him into the Avatar State. However, Katara gets in the crossfire as Fong captures her and uses the earth bending technique to make her sink into the ground. Aang begs for her life, but Fong is adamant, telling Aang to go into the Avatar State. Katara ends up fully immersed, and Aang goes into the Avatar state, thinking Katara had been killed.

The Misuse of Power

Fong is initially delighted until he experiences the devastating power of the Avatar State. He brings out Katara. Telling Aang that it was just a ploy and Katara was safe. But Aang is far gone and could no longer listen to anyone, leaving destruction in his wake.

During this devastation, Aang is transported into the Spirit realm, where he sees Avatar Roku. Roku tells Aang that the Avatar State is simply a defense mechanism that gives the current Avatar the skills and knowledge of all the previous Avatars. He warns Aang, however, that as powerful as the Avatar state was, it had a weakness. If the Avatar is killed in the Avatar State, the Avatar will cease to exist. He later comes to and regains control of himself.

As the series went on, even spilling over to the Legend of Korra, we began to discover a few other things about the Avatar state. Some of which are:

If An Avatar dies In The Avatar State, The Avatar Cycle ends, But Raava will remain alive.
As earlier stated, Roku revealed that the Avatar cycle would cease to exist in the current incarnation is killed in the Avatar State. However, that does not mean that the spirit responsible for the Avatar’s powers would cease to exist.

Viewers assumed that the Avatar spirit would end up dying as well. But that is not the case. In the Legend of Korra, Raava was forcibly removed from Korra’s body by Unalaq, who was possessed by Vaatu, the dark spirit of Chaos. She was killed soon afterward, but we find that she was immediately reborn from a residual light found in Vaatu.

This means that the Avatar Spirit would not have died when Azula shot Aang down in Ba Sing Se. The Avatar Cycle would have just simply ended, and Raava would have ended up being reborn with the then trapped Vaatu in the Tree of Time.

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Aang Stayed In The Avatar State For Hundred Years

Being told you are the Avatar can be a daunting thing to face, especially if you are just a kid. The pressure got to Aang when he got to know that he was the Avatar, causing him to run away with Appa. When he encountered a storm that could possibly take his life, the Avatar state kicked in.

He ended up freezing Appa and himself in a block of giant spherical ice for a hundred years. Most would remember this scene but would definitely have forgotten that his tattoos were still glowing while in the ice. Being in this state for so long was perhaps what caused him to die at the age of 66, which is quite early for any Avatar as it would have taken a toll on his body.

Avatars access the skills of previous incarnations they haven’t learned before in the Avatar state.
As we all know, the Avatar state enables the Avatar to access the powers and knowledge of the past Avatars, causing them to have immense strength and technique they do not possess ordinarily.

An obvious example was when Aang used water bending on Zuko in the Avatar state when he had not even had not learned any water bending yet.

Avatars have the ability to Channel A Specific Past Life via the Avatar State.
It is possible to use the avatar state to channel a specific past life, becoming that person for a specific period. This was obvious in the “Winter Solstice, Part 2: Avatar Roku” episode, as he accessed Roku and gave him control so as to get Aang and his friends out of a bind with his fire-bending prowess. The enemies, who were of the priests of the Fire nation Avatar temple, recognized Avatar Roku as he rampaged on them.

Only the Avatar State Can Trump Psychic Bloodbending

This technique is up there as one of the darkest and strongest techniques in Avatar. Amon and Yakone were even able Bloodbend with their minds surpassing Katara and Hama, the progenitor of the technique.

Korra saw how Aang dispelled the technique in a flashback by using a short burst of the Avatar state. Even its users did not have a defense mechanism against it when the tables are turned, as Katara used it on Hama.

No Otaku can claim not to have been plagued with this question at least once or twice. Of course, Avatar: The Last Airbender is one of the greatest anime series ever to grace our screens. But the question that begs to be answered still hangs over our heads like the sword of Damocles.

Over the years, we have witnessed the evolution of animation. We have seen Traditional animation, 2D animation, 3D animation, Motion Graphics, and Stop motion. Anime adopts 2D animation. There have been a few calls for animes to be created in 3D, but faithful anime viewers have gotten used to being entertained in 2D.

First off, isn’t anime just animation? What is the difference between the two? Well, anime is simply the Japanese word for animation. Japanese call all kinds of animations anime. However, transporting this word to non-Japanese natives, they simply call all animation productions made in Japanese anime.

So, technically, the answer to Avatar: The Last Airbender being an anime is no… and yes. From the non-native Japanese perspective, it has all the characteristics of the average Japanese anime. However, it was not made in Japan, so it fails the ‘right to be called an anime’ test. But from the Japanese standpoint, any animation, irrespective of the nation it was created, is an anime.

However, we understand that the animes (we call Japan-made animation that from now on) have a few characteristics that make them distinct from other anime kinds. We discuss some of these characteristics below.

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Is Avatar Anime? Understanding What Makes Anime!

COMPLEXITY IN ITS PLOTS

We know animes have a distinctive plot type that takes some time for their viewers to grasp. These plots are not like normal animation plots. Typically, it could take 50 to sixty episodes in order to properly exhaustively develop a storyline. Plot development itself takes dozens of episodes before it is adequately developed before the viewers catch a whiff of the direction that the anime is taking.

Also, the anime characters tend to be complex as well. Contemporary animated movies have their characters develop a personality trait or two and lay emphasis on these personalities. On the other hand, the design of anime characters is more complex. They tend to develop these characters in a way that they have different layers. This helps them to present the viewers with a person with various personality traits.

For instance, Yagami Light in Death Note is a very complex character whose character was so complex, a faction loved him so much and wished there was someone like him in reality, while another faction out-rightly condemned his actions and said the world does not need a human being having such powers.

Also, different characters are also introduced to the storyline to make it rich and fascinating. This causes the length of the story to be satisfactorily stretched without it being too excessive.

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FOCUS on Adults

The traditional animations are usually made for both young and old to enjoy. It is the same with anime. There are even anime specifically made for kids. However, the characteristics of the plots in the world of anime reach the adult populace better than the children.

If we take into consideration the attention span of children, they will find it difficult to complete some anime. For instance, the length of the likes of ‘Naruto’ and the almighty ‘One Piece’ (which is yet to be completed, by the way) makes even a few adults grumble. Only adults can easily keep up with the lengthy episodes and engage the plot twists encountered in various arcs properly.

Most anime storylines are adult-themed. Most anime have the ability to reach different kinds of people of various age ranges and cultures. However, anime often places its focus on adults. The humor incorporated into it is majorly enjoyed by the adult populace as it is mostly injected to lighten up the dark theme that only adults can comprehend.

EXAGGERATED PHYSICAL FEATURES

Another distinctive feature of anime is the character’s physical features. While most of the characters may have a normal body outlook, there are a few exaggerations and peculiarities of their facial expressions or reactions. Facial expressions, actions, and the colors used are exaggerated to show the state of mind of a particular character at that moment.

For instance, in some animes, one way to know if an anime character is thinking about something rated 18+ is the blood running down the nose of the individual without physical violence inflicted in them. Another instance is the use of a large teardrop to depict embarrassment.

One of the most visually noticed physical exaggerations can be found in the eyes of the character. Sometimes, these eyes can be depicted on the character’s face larger than usual. To show more emotion, the eyes are the main outlets to depict what the character is going through or what is going through his/her mind.

Another physical feature that anime have that separates them from other animation types is the wide variety of hair types of their characters. Most of the characters have unnaturally wild and colored hair types. For instance, Naruto has spikey orange hair that fits well enough with his outfit, Yuji Itadori from Jijutsu Kaisen has pink hair, Khun Aguero from Tower of God has rowdy blue hair, among others.

LIMITED ANIMATION

One last characteristic of anime is something known as limited animation. Amines are 2D animation productions, so they are created with certain techniques. Unlike other animation types, anime uses Limited animation. The limited animation technique is the utilization of certain pieces of a scene that are reused in the next scene.

This way, all the artiste needs to do is to draw new elements in the former scene instead of creating a new scene every time.
One of the advantages of using limited animation is that it basically reduces cost. It also takes lesser time, unlike other animation techniques.

Having learned what an anime is and what it is not, so we ask the question once again…

Is Avatar an anime?

Even though Avatar tends to have a sprinkle of a few of the characters above, and it borrows a lot of cultural connotations from the Asian culture, it cannot be categorized as what the West calls anime. It is obvious that Japanese anime heavily influenced the creation of Nickelodeon’s Avatar. Here are a few similarities it has with the traditional anime that makes people think it’s anime.

CULTURAL INFLUENCE

As stated earlier, Asian culture heavily influences the creation of Avatar. It didn’t adopt one particular culture. For instance, the Earth Kingdom has its roots in Chinese culture, and the Southern Asian Cultures are sources of inspiration for the Fire Nation.

Most animes come from Japanese culture, so it is no surprise that people think of Avatar as an anime also.

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ARCS AND STORY ELEMENTS

Anime has this similarity in their storylines that their main characters have to go through great trials until they reach the peak of their strengths and stand above all else. Avatar has the same walkthrough as Aang had to overcome a lot of fears and obstacles and to develop into a person strong enough to overcome the fire nation, and of course, not forgetting the place of the power of friendship.

Anime is known for diving into various story arcs that seem of the trajectory of the actual storyline. However, these serve as a sort of a reveal of certain personality traits that will make the viewers understand a few decisions that a character might make that seem out of character. Avatar has that also, and an example is in Book Three, where Zuko, Azula, Tai Lee, and Mai had a whole episode dedicated to them chilling at the beach.

So Why is Avatar The Last Airbender Anime?

The fact is Avatar is extremely similar to anime as it checks most of the boxes. However, people need to understand that anime is an industry. The Avatar franchise was not made in the anime industry. It’s almost like saying an Indian Super Hero movie like Krrish is a Hollywood movie simply because of its similarities to Marvel or DC comic movies. This can be said in the case of Avatar: The Last Airbender.

The question everyone wants to know is, How did Aang die? Avatar Aang was one of the most beloved avatars in history. Granted, the fact that he was the avatar most people got introduced to at the start of the franchise helped his popularity, but other factors really endeared him to the people of the four nations. When we first met Aang, the world had been plunged into a century-old war, and the Fire Nation had taken over most of it, waiting to deliver the final blow and assume full control of things.

Through the events of the Last Airbender, we see Aang get discovered by Sokka and Katara and begin their quest to train the Avatar so he can take down the Fire Nation and restore balance to the world. They succeed, and Team Avatar works towards rebuilding their world in a better image. By the time we see Avatar Korra take over the mantle, the world has definitely undergone a massive change. It also means Aang is no more. But one question remains; How did Aang die? 

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So How Did He die?

We never really get an answer from the series, but from tie-in comics and speculation from different sources over the two series, we can piece together the events that transpired in Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra. Let’s dig into the life and death of one of the greatest airbenders in history as we answer the question: How did Aang die?

The History of Aang

Every true Avatar fan knows how Aang was born. He was the next in line after Avatar Roku of the Fire Nation was killed by an erupting volcano in his old age. Roku was 70 when he died, and his death heralded the time of the Fire Nation’s attack; Firelord Sozin realized the absence of the avatar would leave the fire nation almost untouchable. His death also brought about the birth of the new avatar; Aang. But Sozin already predicted the avatar cycle, and so to avoid having problems with a new avatar, he murdered the entire 

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How Did Aang Die After Avatar: The Last Airbender?

Though Aang does appear in The Legend of Korra in Korra’s visions, the first Avatar we knew and loved died long before the events of the series. So just how did Aang die? Well Essentially Aang’s death can be attributed to a complicated form of old age. 

Avatars generally live long lives.  Even Kiyoshi lived to be as old as 230. Aang could have lived just as long, but he was not so lucky. Because he spent a hundred years frozen in the iceberg, even though he was a kid at the time of his discovery, those years began to catch up to him.

His life energy became drained, and at the rather young age of 66, Aang finally died. This makes him one of the youngest avatars to die, second only to Avatar Kuruk who passed at the age of 33 after spending years trying to save his fiance Ummi from Koh the face stealer.

Despite dying so relatively young, Avatar Aang left behind a powerful legacy.

Before he died, Aang tasked the Order of the White Lotus with finding the next avatar. Because of the cycle, we knew that it would be a waterbender. The White Lotus eventually located Korra, a young but very skilled and talented bender. She would go on to carry the Avatar Legacy, and would even contact Aang for advice and spiritual guidance from time to time. That is, until she lost her connection to every other Avatar and became the progenitor of a new avatar cycle. 

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How Did Aang Die: Avatar Aang’s Legacy

A person’s greatest legacy is often who he leaves behind and the ideology he instills in them. For Aang, his legacy consisted of his family. Together with his close friend and wife Katara, Aang continued the race of the formerly extinct Air Nomads. He and Katara had just three children, Bumi, Kya and Tenzin, and of those three, two became airbenders.

Although only Tenzin showed his affinity for bending while Aang was alive, it was enough to start the air nation all over again. Eventually, several people in the world would gain air bending after Korra reopened the spirit portal. Tenzin himself went on to have four children who all became airbenders, thus continuing the legacy of the Air Nomads naturally before the spiritual imbalance was corrected by Korra.

Book One

Even in his death Aang was still a very important character. His spirit served as the spiritual advisor to  Korra, then seventeen years old, just like how Roku was an advisor to him.  Initially, he is only able to give her glimpses of his memory concerning Yakone.

This was about her issues with his two sons, Amon and Tarrlok, who were Yakone’s Bloodbending vendetta products on the Avatar. Only after she loses her ability to bend when Amon takes it from her that things change. Korra allows herself to listen to her past lives, at which point Aang restores her powers by triggering the Avatar State and teaching her to Energybend.

Book Two

In the second season of the Legend of Korra, we find out that Aang and his children had a very warped relationship. Apparently, Aang treated Tenzin differently, making him his apparent favorite, perhaps due to the fact that they were both airbenders.

But it’s revealed that Aang was very negligent of his other children, to the point that even the Air Acolytes did not know about Bumi and Kya. 

Aang himself later appears, along with Roku, Kyoshi and Kuruk to Korra in a vision. He encourages her to learn the origins of Wan (the first Avatar) and Raava. Aang also appears in the Spirit World, encouraging Tenzin to move past the legacy of being Aang’s son to find his own path. 

The Death of the Avatar Cycle: How Does Aang Die Again?

Korra loses her connection to Aang and the other preceding Avatars when Vaatu the dark avatar takes Raava and kills her. Even though Korra does get the Divine Avatar spirit when she is reborn, fusing with her does not restore the connection. To her dismay, she finds that her spiritual connection to the past avatars is lost forever. 

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Book Three

When Zaheer gives an ultimatum for Korra to surrender to him or lose the new airbenders, Korra meditates into the spirit realm. She expresses her wish to call upon Aang’s spirit and ask his advice in saving the new Air Nomads. Iroh’s spirit appears to her, and assures her that, even though Aang is no longer able to guide her, she could always ask one of Aang’s closest friends his nephew, Lord Zuko.

They say a dog is a man’s best friend, and most times that’s a very valid statement. Since the days of the early man we’ve seen the dog become an integral part of human nature, from Hunter to helper to protector and friend. But if the dog is revered as man’s best friend, what is the Avatar’s best friend? The answer to that is what we call animal guides. For Aang, it was none other than the flying bison; Appa Avatar.

Most avatars we know of have an animal companion. Korra had Naga, Wan had the deercat, Yangchen was revealed to have had a sky bison as well, and Roku had Fang. While Kyoshi and Kuruk weren’t shown to have an animal guide, we can still conclude on the importance of the animals. They are often a symbol of the avatar’s connection to nature. Let’s take a look at the animal guides, especially Appa, Avatar Aang’s best bud.

Now let’s focus a little more on Appa himself. 

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Appa Avatar

Appa was Avatar Aang’s loyal sky bison. The bison shared a very strong relationship with the Avatar, as well as a flying lemur by the name of Momo. Together, they were all that was left of the air nomad nation. Appa’s most key feature came from the fact that he could fly, despite how big he was. This was all thanks to the sky bisons’ natural ability to Airbend. Appa served as a primary means of transportation for team Avatar, very much like a mobile, flying home. 

Early life of Appa Avatar

The air nomads had always bonded with young sky bison calves, who would grow to become their lifelong companions. When Appa was still a young calf who lived around the Eastern Air Temple, young airbenders would meet these young calves and bond with them. The herd’s mother would willingly direct her calves to meet the young monks. And this was how Aang and Appa met. Aang came forward with an apple, offering it to a young Appa. Appa took it from the boy and the two immediately became the best of friends.

A few moments before Sozin attacked the air nomads, Aang heard that the monks had decided to separate him from his mentor, Monk Gyatso. He made up his mind to run away with Appa, and it was in this fleeing that the Fire Nation attacked.

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Journey to the North and Subsequent Discovery

Aang and Appa flew over the ocean, but they were caught in a storm that sent them straight into the bottom of the sea. The waves threw them back and forth, and as a response to the danger, Aang entered the avatar state, freezing himself and Appa. This was how they got stuck in the iceberg for a hundred years.

Exactly a hundred years later, the two were discovered by water tribe siblings; Katara and Sokka. They set on their quest to help Aang fulfil his destiny as the avatar, and Appa served as their transportation as well as home. He was a regular fixture in most of Sokka and Princess Yue’s dates, always bickered with Momo over food, but overall was a beloved friend for all members of Team Avatar.

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Appa Avatar’s Disappearance

Appa became lost for a short while in the Earth kingdom. It is revealed he was kidnapped by a group of sandbenders in the middle of the Si Wong desert. At this time Aang, Katara, Sokka, and Momo were trapped in an underground Spirit library.

We later find out that Appa was sold to beetle-headed merchants, who in turn sold him to a Fire Nation circus. There, a sadistic trainer attempted to make him part of his show. Appa escapes, and hurries back to the desert hoping to find Aang and the rest of the team, but they are long gone. He journeys throughout the Earth Kingdom until he encounters the Kyoshi Warriors, who healed his various wounds sustained on his travels. They would have escorted him back to Aang, but they were attacked by Azula and her friends. Suki forced Appa to flee, while she and the rest of the Kyoshi warriors took on Azula.

On his journey, Appa travelled to the Eatern Air temple, where he met Guru Pathik. The guru was able to tell Appa where Aang was, by reading the avatar’s spiritual energy. Appa then flew to Ba Sing Se, but ended up being captured by Long Feng and kept in a secret location under Lake Logai. It was Zuko who discovered him, subsequently freeing the bison. Zuko had planned to use Appa to lure Aang out, but upon speaking with Uncle Iroh, he decided to do the right thing and let the Avatar’s animal companion go.

Escape from the Earth Kingdom

Appa found the group cornered by Long Feng and the Dai Li and was instrumental in their defeat, biting Long Feng on the leg when confronted by him. Once safe, Aang welcomed him in a tearful display of affection. Appa took part in forcibly entering the Royal Palace of Ba Sing Se, providing the first key piece of evidence to King Kuei of Long Feng’s subterfuge since Long Feng’s bite mark still lingered.

When the Dai Li’s cover-up efforts left the Earth King skeptical of Team Avatar’s claims, Sokka made a last-ditch effort to show the king the ruined Fire Nation drill by enticing him with a ride on Appa. Since his saddle was lost during his capture, the group was forced to ride bareback on him. After the fall of Ba Sing Se, Appa was seen spiriting Team Avatar, including a near-fatally wounded Aang, the Earth King, and his pet, Bosco, out of the now-captured city

Appa Avatar’s Personality

Appa seemed to have a reasonably trusting attitude towards people. He did not hesitate to collect the apple from Aang when they first met. And he became incredibly loyal to the airbender. The bison also took an immediate liking to Appa when they first encountered each other. He however loses this trusting trait after his experience with the sandbenders and the circus trainer. He showed human emotions when he was without Team Avatar, and seemed to care for them a great deal; always coming to their aid at various occasions. It also appeared that Appa was incredibly intelligent; and while he could not speak, he clearly understood human language.

Let’s take a look at other animal guides. 

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The Sky Bison: Appa Avatar and Boma

The Air Nomads raised herds of sky bisons for travel and companionship. Humans originally learned bending from sky bisons. Sky bisons are able to form close, lifelong bonds with humans. Appa is initially the only known bison to accompany an Avatar. However, in the tie-in comic, we see that Yangchen, the only other known airbending avatar also has a sky bison named Boma, as well as two flying lemurs. Although this was probably thought to be due to the fact that most air nomads had a bison, regardless of their avatar status. Nevertheless, it seems likely other Avatars from the Air Nomads would also bond and travel with sky bisons.

Dragons: Fang, Ran and Shaw

Roku is the only known avatar to ride a dragon. Firelord Zuko also rides a dragon, however he is not an Avatar. Similar to Sky bisons, humans originally learned to bend by observing Dragons. The Fire Nation originally worshipped dragons. Firelord Sozin started the tradition of dragon hunting. Killing a dragon meant your firebending was better than theirs and your firebending skills became legendary.

Ran and Shaw, the dragons who showed Aang and Zuko the true meaning of Firebending, never bonded with humans. Also, because people had to go hunt dragons, it seems logical most lived in the wild. People have only ridden on dragons twice in the show.

There is no reason to think other Avatars rode dragons.

Badgermoles

Badgermoles were the original Earthbenders and, like sky bisons and dragons, humans, including Toph, learned to bend from them. No Avatar has ever ridden a badgermole. The only tame badgermole was seen at the Earth Rumble VI tournament where Aang meets Toph.

Kiyoshi is the only Avatar from the Earth Kingdom shown in the series and she was never seen travelling with an animal guide.

There is no reason to think Avatars rode badgermoles.

The Moon and Ocean Spirits: Tui and La

There are currently no known animals which bend water. Tui and La, Moon and Ocean, are two spirits who became koi fish in the mortal world. It is said waterbenders learned their bending by watching these spirits and the movement of the tides with the moon, not from a bending animal like the other nations.

Polar Bear Dogs: Naga

Naga is a polar bear dog. The Water Tribe has historically feared them. Korra is the only known human to ever tame and ride a polar bear dog. 

There is no reason to think Avatars rode polar bear dogs besides Korra. Even Avatar Kuruk, the only other waterbending avatar, seemed to be wearing a polar bear dog pelt. This probably means the waterbenders used to hunt these vicious animals.

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The Legend of Korra is the sequel to the Last Airbender Series. The Legend of Korra is a TV animation series that aired after the Last Airbender series. It is a series that showcases the next Avatar’s life, her struggles, and her life’s battles. Avatar Korra is a young Avatar who excelled at all the bending disciplines at an early age. She met opposition from a man named Zaheer and his team that was called the Red Lotus.

Avatar Korra was born in the Southern water tribe in the south pole. To understand who Zaheer is, it goes long before Korra was born as the Avatar when the Red Lotus formed. The Red Lotus is an organization operating as direct opposites of the White Lotus. They are an organization that is obsessed with restoring to the natural to the world. Their belief is the natural order is the best way for evolution. 

Zaheer is the leader of the Red Lotus Gambit.

Zaheer explaining his ideals to Korra, said

“The Idea of having nations and governments is as foolish as keeping the human and spirit realms separate. You’ve had to deal with a moronic president and a tyrannical queen. Don’t you think the world would be better off if Leaders like them were eliminated?”

– Zaheer

This what they believe and what they stand for. Korra retorts, telling him that chaos would run wild. He tells her that this is the plan. 

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Who is Zaheer?

Zaheer, as earlier stated, is the leader of the Red Lotus. He is also an anarchist and a martial arts expert. He believes in the foundation of new world order, one that exists without the Avatar, The Order of the White Lotus, or the four nations. After harmonic convergence in 171 AG, Zaheer was also one of the individuals that were blessed with air bending.

He was and is a knowledgeable person in the ways of the air nation and their traditions. He was also fascinated by Guru Lahima, the only spiritual guru to have achieved flight. After the death of his girlfriend and the love of his life, he attained flight by letting go of his earthly tether and entering the void. He unlocked the ability of flight, making him the second person to have done that in all of history. 

The Plan to Take Out The Avatar

Before he achieved this, Zaheer and the Red Lotus planned to capture a young Korra and raise her. Chief Sokka, Lord Zuko, and others banded together to stop him and his three accomplices. They were all imprisoned in high-security prisons that were designed to hold just them. They possessed special abilities that made them formidable. Almost unstoppable, too, but they were defeated by the combined forces of Chief Sokka and the rest of the older Team Avatar. 

When he became an Airbender thirteen years later, this enabled him to escape the custody of the Order of the White Lotus. Also, subsequently, he was able to devise a plan to free his allies from the various prisons that they were being held in, including his girlfriend P’Li.

He threw the Earth Kingdom into chaos by killing the Earth Queen and attempted to end the Avatar Cycle by killing Avatar Korra while she was in the Avatar State, as Roku told Aang in the Last Airbender series. “If you are killed in the Avatar State, the Avatar cycle will cease to exist.”

Zaheer was going to capitalize on this and end the cycle permanently. 

This attempt failed, and Zaheer’s comrades were killed, leaving him as the only survivor of their group of four. He was later defeated and imprisoned again. 

After his defeat, Zaheer was once again imprisoned. This time, he was imprisoned in a new facility near Republic City. To his disappointment, he heard of Kuvira placing the people of the Earth Kingdom under her military dictatorship, thus rendering his attempt to free them from oppression futile. Hoping Korra could stop her, Zaheer helps Korra in 174 AG to meditate into the Spirit World and let go of her fear of him and of “what might have been,” as he explained to her.

Red Lotus’ First Kidnap Attempt 

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Zaheer joined the Red Lotus as a teenager. He then learned about Raava and Vaatu and Avatar Wan’s decision to separate them. Zaheer strongly believed that this action had disrupted the world’s balance. When he was in his youth, he met a young fire bender.

 Her name was P’Li. He had saved her from the clutches of a warlord who intended on making her his personal assassin. 

After this, Zaheer convinced P’Li to join him in the ranks of the Red Lotus. Soon after, the two of them eventually formed a romantic relationship. In 158 AG, Unalaq, a fellow Red Lotus member, devised a plan to kidnap Korra. Unalaq was also Korra’s Uncle. This was a plan which Zaheer supported, as they intended to use her to re-open the spirit portals and free Vaatu while at the same time training her in bending and the ways of the Red Lotus. 

Although Unalaq ultimately did not go through with the attempted abduction and remained hidden and shielded. 

Zaheer, Ghazan, P’Li, and Ming-Hua, however, did go on with his plan, though they were captured and imprisoned by Tenzin, Tonraq, Zuko, and Sokka. Despite being subjected to relentless interrogation, Zaheer and his associates refused to budge or reveal their true motives at any point during their captivity. 

Zaheer Releasing His Friends 

Soon after Zaheer was able to escape from captivity due to his newly found gift, he was scheming to free his friends from the hold of the White Lotus. He managed to disguise himself as a White Lotus member. He used the uniforms from the guards he had fought off and stolen a speedboat, which he used to make his way to Ghazan’s prison. 

On getting there, he fought off White Lotus sentries and supplied his friend with a few rocks to help him escape. Ghazan is a lava bender, and he was able to utilize this assist properly. After Ghazan used his lava bending to release himself from his cell and dispatched the remaining guards, the two friends heartily greeted each other. When he asked Zaheer how he became an Airbender, Zaheer explained that he believed it was a gift bestowed upon him after Harmonic Convergence to indicate that their path was the righteous one. 

The Journey Continues for Zaheer…

Afterward, the two of them journeyed to the volcano in which Ming-Hua’s prison was located with the intent of freeing her. Once they were within range of the water bender’s cage, Zaheer sliced the barrel of water that Ghazan had thrown in the air in half, enabling Ming-Hua to utilize it to escape. Their individual prisons were designed to keep them away from bendable elements.

After the trio took care of the remaining sentries, Zaheer announced that they would head to the Northern Water Tribe in order to free P’Li.

As they neared P’Li’s prison, Zaheer created a snowstorm to mask their approach before engaging in battle with Tonraq. The newly gifted Zaheer evaded all of Korra’s father’s attacks before knocking him down with an air blast. 

After P’Li was freed by Ming-Hua, the four members of the Red Lotus made a clean getaway. Happy to see each other again, Zaheer and P’Li embraced, the Airbender saying he never doubted he would see her again before sharing a passionate kiss.

Zaheer is one of the most formidable, if not the most formidable, opponent that Korra faced in her time as the Avatar.

The Legend of Korra: An Avatar's Chronicle

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