Thread by @XiranJayZhao

Okay who's ready for THREAD: CULTURAL INSPIRATIONS AND OTHER TRIVIA & LORE IN AVATAR THE LAST AIRBENDER, BOOK 1

Disclaimer: Unless cited from official sources, all musings about possible inspirations are my personal opinions, and will also skew Chinese bc that's what I am 1/?

So right away in the background writing in the opening sequence, each element is accompanied by a characteristic that generalizes their nation

Water is Kindness, Earth is Strength, Fire is Passion, and Air is Harmony (approximate translations) 2/?

The banner up top says something like "The Many Mighty Powers Divided in Four," while the bottom is "All Under Heaven Are Pacified by One" (probably refers to the Avatar)

The production team hired a master Chinese calligrapher Dr. Siu-Leung Lee, so all the writing is legit 3/?

It's really sad how the cartoon made the effort to hire Dr. Lee, but the movie we don't talk about opted to use gibberish instead. Dr. Lee has even expressed his disappointment at this.

The official artbook says the Fire Nation was originally inspired by Imperial Japan, but then EVERYTHING CHANGED so that it had more Chinese influences instead (probably bc imperial Japan committed a lot of recent atrocities still remembered by people alive)

The concept of the reincarnating Avatar is influenced by Hinduism, which has deities incarnating into mortal form on earth lifetime after lifetime. The Chinese title of the show is even "Deity Who Descends Upon the World," which is badass LOOOL

AND THEN EPISODE 1 OFFICIALLY STARTS WHEEEE

Katara is so insistent that Waterbending isn't magic bc the bending forms are based on martial arts. The Avatar martial arts consultant Sifu Kisu assigned a unique one to each bending type -

Waterbending is based on Tai Chi, which has a lot of soft, flowing movements. It's mostly done for health benefits. In public plazas in China you can often see grandmas and grandpas doing it in groups, LOL

More info:

OH BOY SOKKA U BETTER HAVE A CHARACTER ARC READY

Fun fact,,,Aang's iceberg was buried under that block of ice, so if Katara never got mad at this precise moment and split the block then the Fire Nation would've won. Katara's rage saved the world.

Another fun fact from the artbook: Aang wasn't frozen solid in the ice, but hovering in a sphere of energy

Then Korra lore had it so sustaining this state for 100 years drastically shortened his lifespan and caused him to die at biologically 66 years old : (

HI, ZUKO'S HERE

NEW LORE FROM THE RECENT KYOSHI NOVELS BY FC YEE!! His hair is so weird here bc losers of Agni Kais who are spared from death must shave all their hair except their topknot. SO THIS IS RETROACTIVELY A HAIRSTYLE OF SHAME THAT ZUKO'S WEARING EVERYWHERE LOOOOL

FC Yee's Kyoshi books are co-authored with Michael DiMartino, so everything in them is considered canon.

if i told u Kyoshi is canonically bi and gets a hot Firebender bodyguard-turned-girlfriend (see second cover), will u read them

IM SOBBING I LOVE THEM AND MISSED THEM

The artbook says the Avatar world is heavily influenced by Miyazaki films like Princess Mononoke and My Neighbor Totoro, and you can definitely see it in creatures like Appa, lol

APPA'S SO CUTE

CAN'T WAIT TO BE EMOTIONALLY DESTROYED WHEN I REWATCH BOOK 2

Aang's name may sound like one syllable, but they actually picked two Chinese characters to represent it! 安昂, Peaceful and Soaring

I won't nitpick the names or read into them too much bc it's clear they picked the names based on sound first and THEN assigned Chinese characters

I know a lot of people were mad they pronounced Aang's name UNG in the movie we don't talk about, but like...that really is how you pronounce it in Mandarin. BUT ALSO, his name isn't *supposed* to be a Mandarin name, he's not Chinese, he's an Air Nomad, so the whole issue is ehh

let us all be grateful that Zuko's character arc ended up being much more than HONOOOOORR

Aang: hey bby wyd

Katara: WHERE IS THE AVATAR WE'RE DYING OVER HERE

Aang: new century who dis

The artbook says the Southern Water Tribe is inspired by the movie Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner, which depicted life in a small Inuit village

Here's an amazing thread by @LowArctic that goes more into detail about the inspirations the creators took:

https://twitter.com/LowArctic/status/1044095357687345153

Firebending is based on Northern Shaolin styles of martial arts, which have a lot of fast strikes and aggressive kicks

More info:

This is probably a nod to the concept of chi/qi (which is confirmed to exist in the Avatar verse), which literally translates to "breath/air," but is more like a vital energy that flows through all things

OH FORGOT TO MENTION THIS but the artbook says the four element system was decided on before any Asian influences came into play. Like, the first thing they had in the beginning was the idea that a bunch of Water People were under attack by Fire people -

The creators DID research more and discovered the Five-Element System that's native to East Asia, but they ultimately stuck with the four-element system because it's more "universal" and easy to understand -

I don't exactly blame them bc the Five-Element System, or Wuxing, IS complicated as hell and not exactly "elements" in the typical Western sense, but it would've been nice to see it represented and enter the pop culture consciousness, you know?

The Five Elements are prevalent in all sorts of random places in East Asian cultures 😆See my thread on how the Sailor Scouts are named after them because the planets are

https://twitter.com/XiranJayZhao/status/1320753987327438848?s=20

HANDS UP IF UR FOREVER AN UNCLE IROH STAN ACCOUNT

getting emotional about how the war has impacted Katara's life so much that she thinks she must take on the responsibilities of an adult even though she's only 14 😭😭

These weapons are all ancient Chinese ones!!

Most left: A guandao, like the one Guan Yu may or may not have had

Middle: A fangtian ji, like a combo spear and pole-axe

2nd from right: A podao, reportedly used to cut the legs of horses during battle

(I'm not a war nerd in the slightest though so please do not expect too much about weapons or armor from me 😂😂)

OH YES...AANG THE 112 YEAR OLD...SO VERY AGILE....

you know what I'M not looking forward to, Aang? the episode where you discovered what actually happened to your people

Official lore says water tribe war paint is meant to look like a wolf and serve as camouflage against the snow. Don't think the specific look is inspired by any specific culture, or they would've said.

Artbook says fire nation armor is specifically inspired by samurai armor though, but they had to streamline the details a lot to make it easier to animate

Having skulls as your minion masks tho...

"Are...Are we the baddies??"

SO THIS IS THE BOY Y'ALL HAVE BEEN CRUSHING ON SINCE 2005, HUH?????

funny how zuko is a firebender and yet could still get roasted on a regular basis

Random fun trivia here, the Korra comic Turf Wars reveal that Airbenders are very open-minded and accepting when it comes to relationships and sexuality, so LGBT Airbenders didn't even need to have a whole coming out process

Fire Nation was super homophobic after Sozin, tho

Pot in the background is a Ge 鬲, an ancient Chinese type of vessel with 3 hollow legs to conduct heat and cook porridge quickly

IT IS SO DAMN OBSCURE YOU CAN BARELY FIND ANY INFO ON IT IN ENGLISH, SO I HAVE NO IDEA WHERE THE BACKGROUND ARTIST TOOK IT FROM LOOOL

Something to keep in mind here: there were SO MANY PEOPLE who worked on Avatar that it's impossible to really tell who got inspiration from what. The most likely scenario is that someone saw a Ge in a C-drama or something and popped it in without really knowing what it is -

I have a hard time imagining a background artist specifically Googling 3k-year-old Chinese pottery just for one shot, when this isn't even historical fiction. So like, sometimes it really isn't that deep😂

Airbending is based on Baguazhang, or Eight Trigram Palm, which uses a lot of evasive, circular movements to dodge your opponent's attacks and lure them into exposing their weaknesses. This is why you see Aang swiveling behind people a lot.

More info:

once again...so this is your childhood crush, huh

DO YALL HAVE ANY IDEA HOW WEIRD IT IS TO HAVE YOUR ONLY NAME REP IN THE WEST BE THIS GUY

but did y'all know he's voiced by JASON ISAACS??

you know, dude who played LUCIUS MALFOY?????

a;lsjfs;dlfjasf ZUKO PLEASE

!! The Potola mountain range is probably named after the Potala Palace in Tibet, which by extension is named after Mount Potalaka, a mythical mountain in Buddhism

Artbooks says air temples are for ceremonies, festivals, and training apprentice monks

OH NAOFADFNONNONONONONONON NOT THIS PEISODE NOOO

man the EFFORT this show puts into worldbuilding though, like creating this whole air ball game field just for ONE SCENE???

(but wait, how was Sokka supposed to play without airbending LOL)

WATCHING THIS EPISODE IS LIKE BEING IN A HORROR MOVIE!!!!!!!!!

Monk Gyatso is named after the 2nd name that all Dalai Lamas except the first have had. It means "ocean" in Tibetan

And guess what the current Dalai Lama's name is? TENZIN Gyatso

No wonder this show never aired in mainland China…

zuko and iroh's dynamic is my reason for breathing

MOMO!!!! 🍑

Avatar Extras say flying lemurs were originally trained by the Air Nomads to fetch their staffs

Also, apparently there was almost an episode about Momo being Monk Gyatso's reincarnation???

Agni = Fire in Sanskrit, Kai = Meeting in Japanese

when firebenders go FIGHT ME 1V1,,,they mean it

.......................😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

(WHO ELSE WAS STRAIGHT UP TRAUMATIZED BY THIS SCENE AS A KID

LIKE I HAD TO CLOSE MY COMPUTER AND RUN AWAY)

can we talk about how in the final moments of his life, Monk Gyatso took down this entire fuckin squadron of firebenders with him though??????

Artbook says the Fire Temple in the Fire Nation is based on the Yellow Crane Tower in Wuhan, China

(if you make a virus joke i WILL slap u immediately)

😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

man since air temples are for training apprentice monks the Fire Nation really came and killed a bunch of kids and that is not what I wanted to imagine today

U know what's worse,, the comic Relics reveals that some airbenders did survive the initial genocide, but the Fire Nation decorated caves with a bunch of air nomad artifacts and spread rumors that they were safe houses to lure the rest in and kill them :((

😭😭

Momo means Peach in Japanese btw. Look at the shape of his face!! 🍑

THINK GOOD THOUGHTS

THINK OF AIRBENDING COMING BACK IN KORRA BOOK 3

These are crescent moon blades / deer horn knives!!

Interestingly, it's associated with Baguazhang, which is what airbending is based on

Also, for those of you who read Daughter of Smoke and Bone, this is Karou's signature weapon

LMAOOOO

can u believe they ended up getting married

They....they didn't even spare Momo.....

(Character on their sleeve is read "Kyo" in Japanese and means "Capital," btw)

The Kyoshi warriors are heavily inspired by feudal Japan

Unagi = Japanese for freshwater eel

Or...if you've watched Friends..."A state of total awareness"

(that's not real, don't listen to Ross the Worst Friend of Them All)

The Kyoshi warriors' face paint is inspired by geisha and kabuki face paint, though IN UNIVERSE, it references the paint Kyoshi wore when she was part of a criminal organization called the Flying Opera Company. The members disguised themselves as a theatre troupe.

This organization was created by Kyoshi's criminal parents, an Earthbender thief Hark and a RENEGADE AIR NUN Jesa. Literally, Jesa was a young airbender master before she met Hark and realized she liked the criminal life better, then tattooed SNAKES over her bending tattoos 😭😭

I really like how Kyoshi island speaks to the internal diversity of the Earth Kingdom. I've seen people say the Earth Kingdom is strictly based on China. Not true. None of the nations strictly correspond to a real culture. Even Airbenders have more than just Tibetan influence.

how it started vs how it finished

I'M RANDOMLY MAKING Y'ALL LOOK @ THIS PICTURE OF ADULT AANG BECAUSE GODDAMN IS IT WEIRD AFTER SEEING HIM AS A KID FOR SO LONG

FIRST APPEARANCE OF MOUTH FOAMING GUY

THIS SEQUENCE IS RANDOMLY ONE OF MY FAVORITES IN THE ENTIRE SHOW

I MEAN IT'S JUST SUCH BRILLIANT WORLDBUILDING

I suspect the sweets in this shot were vaguely based on Japanese snacks

There's something like dorayaki at the top left? Nori maki rice crackers beneath it? And the flower-shaped things could be monaka?

(ALL GREAT THINGS TO TRY IF YOU HAVEN'T HAD THEM)

The Kyoshi warriors' metal fans are based on real Japanese war fans, though in universe, they were created by Kyoshi's renegade air nun mom bc living a criminal life weakened her innate airbending abilities, so she had to use something to supplement it

there's also a katana in the foreground but i don't think i need to explain this to you weebs

Avatar Extras say this little girl Koko is named after Kyoshi's daughter, who governed the island after she died

Coincidentally, it's also the name of my cat, though my cat is named after the Mongol princess Kokochin instead

SERIOUSLY, AANG,,,PLS

Avatar Extras say "Boys wearing dresses is scientifically proven to be funny. Even the Avatar thinks so."

This is not true. There is nothing inherently funny about this except Sokka's awkward clownery.

the way Aang's not even happy he won the fight because of the destruction to the village :(((

👏YES, YOU DO NOT HAVE TO DISTANCE YOURSELF FROM THE IDEA OF BEING FEMALE AND DOING FEMININE THINGS TO BE A CAPABLE WARRIOR TOO 👏

So glad that Avatar provides a wide variety of competent female characters beyond Generic Unfeeling Badass 😭

it is veeerry hard to not clown on Zuko when he gets dunked on every episode 😩😩

What the tourist brochures say Vs. what happens at the actual destination

Btw, the Earth Kingdom symbol is a ban liang coin, the first standardized coinage of imperial China. They were created by the Qin state and are round on the outside to represent the heavens and square on the inside to represent the earth. They're pretty iconic.

FIRST APPEARANCE OF CABBAGE GUYYYY

artbook says he was inspired by those 3 old guys who would randomly appear over and over again in Cowboy Bebop

ONCE AGAIN,,MY GOD THE AVATAR WORLDBUILDING

THEY DIDN'T HAVE TO GO THIS HARD ON THE DETAILS, BUT THEY DID

BLESS THEIR ANIMATORS I HOPE THEIR WRISTS ARE OKAY

draw the squad challenge

BUMI!!! his headdress is possibly inspired by the long feather headdresses that fierce characters wear in Chinese operas

wow...this came out of nowhere...there was absolutely no sign that Aang was an airbender before this moment...absolutely none...i am shook to the core

if Aang had slid a few more centimeters down here he really would've been the last airbender ever

(until harmonic converge, I guess)

This scene reminds me of that Kung Fu Hustle scene where Stephen Chow keeps trying to pick weak looking people to fight but then they reveal themselves as super tall or buff 😂😂

pls watch kung fu hustle it is a masterpiece

(screenshots from that shoddy quality youtube video, i promise the actual movie has no quality problems LOL)

Bumi demonstrates how typical Earthbending is based on Hung Gar, which has a lot of strong, low stances, firm kicks, and powerful punches. It's like a combo of a tiger's power and a crane's grace

More info:

Let us not EVER forget the earthbending in the movie tho

SAID IT BEFORE BUT I'LL SAY IT AGAIN

THIS KUNG FU SALUTE IS FAR MORE HYGIENIC THAN HANDSHAKES AND IT'S ABOUT TIME WE BROUGHT IT BACK INTO FASHION

i am once again crying bc MAN at least Aang has one connection to his former life in the form of Bumi

In episode 6, we meet Great Value Lan Wangji!

(I'M JUST KIDDING dfa;ljdfs Haru is great)

Katara.....pls......

I....JUST realized that Aang bought this hat to cover his tattoo.............

(also it's apparently called an "Asian conical hat" in English lol, but it's just a popular style in Asia. Not much to it.)

FOR REAL THO I MEAN I KNOW THEY'RE JUST STARTING OUT ON THIS FUGITIVE BUSINESS BUT COULD THEY NOT HAVE AT LEAST BOUGHT SOME GREEN CLOTHES

Here we see some actual ban liang coins!! They're apparently graded by different materials too

Ah yes, the first of Katara's many bonding moments with a pretty boy over how the Fire Nation destroyed their families

Katara...an icon....

LMAOOOOO

THIS WARDEN IS VOICED BY GEORGE TAKEI BTW

IT MAKES ME LAUGH SO HARD HOW THEY KEEP HAVING CELEBRITIES VOICE THESE RANDOM CHARACTERS AND THEY DON'T EVEN MAKE IT A BIG DEAL

(I wonder how actual voice actors feel about celebrities getting an easy pass into their industry)

Toph: I'm noticing

This language...very telling to the attitude the Fire Nation developed toward the Earth Kingdom to justify their invasions,, 😩

It makes such an interesting dichotomy when Katara then reveals what the Water Tribe thinks of the Earth Kingdom - bold and courageous

All it took was for one person to step up before they all gained the courage to fight back 😭😭 RIP warden george takei

OKAY SO Avatar Extras say Katara and Zuko were originally supposed to become a couple, but Bryan and Michael the creators have continuously denied this, so I'm sensing a conflict even within the production team about Zutara as a thing LOOOOOOOL

the world would be better if we were all like Uncle Iroh

I continue to be amazed at how Iroh is technically a villain and a former general who is definitely not innocent but he's so likeable that you feel anxiety @ him being captured

(I wonder if he would've continued the war if his son hadn't died and he had become Fire Lord?)

Artbook says Hei Bai was inspired by the angels in Evangelion!

(Btw, forgot to say but Bumi's physique was inspired by the Evas)

wow zuko you actually accomplished something for once!! 😭

"Also, my son died and I was devastated-"

I suddenly remembered this and you have to listen to it too now

(BRB taking a break for food)

(Also gonna cut this thread off and start a new one after I finish episode 10 because MAN doing the full 20 eps is gonna make this thread WAY TOO MONSTROUS to navigate😂)

I'M BACK AND READY TO TALK ABOUT DRAGONS

In Asian cultures, dragons are traditionally creatures of water more than fire. While this gets muddled a lot in modern Asia too, it would've been nice to see rep of benevolent water dragons instead of typical fire-breathing ones

Very neat detail that Iroh can see Roku's dragon while everyone else is like "What??" 👀

Better shot of the Fire Temple and its Yellow Crane Tower inspiration

These writings on the floor correspond to the Spring Equinox and the Winter Solstice. No big surprise there.

ZUKO, WHERE WAS THIS SMASHING-CHAINS-WITH-A-BARE-KICK ENERGY WHEN YOU'RE ACTUALLY FIGHTING TEAM AVATAR

😂😂the way they had us rooting against the earth kingdom soldiers when they were in their full right to try and capture Iroh

what are you talking about, Zuko. we liked loincloth uncle just fine.

Hei Bai was a panda all along, the symbol of conservation!

But SURPRISE, it's been 15 years since this show aired and we still haven't much better at preserving our environment!!!!

(I almost majored in biology but couldn't go through with it because half the course content was just crying @ the unstoppable loss of habitats and species)

I do appreciate how they didn't paint everyone in the Fire Nation as straight up villains

In this Fire Temple we stan SHYU, the only Fire Sage with his priorities straight

GOD this whole sequence where Sokka's plan didn't work but Katara realizes it can trick the sages anyway is TOP-TIER WRITING. This is what satisfying problem solving should look like in fiction. It actually makes the characters look clever instead of lucky.

And then that moment of suspense before it's revealed that Zuko caught Aang? The action beats in this episode are so spot on!!!

and let's not forget when the door opens and EVERYONE SEES ROKU INSTEAD AHHHHHHH

(Fire Nation soldiers:💀?)

Shyu? SHYU'S DEAD.

Just kidding, he appears in the sequel comics as the new chief Fire Sage so he was only imprisoned for this lol

thanks for the confidence booster, Sokka

The moves on the waterbending scroll are based on the 24 forms of Tai Chi!

The writing says "Waterbending Practicing, First Set"

me when i try my hand at the art of haggling

it's okay,,,u will establish a conglomerate some day

goddammit i love uncle iroh SO MUCH

I really liked Katara's character arc in this episode bc it's very easy to think people are gloating or bragging when they're just happy and excited about their achievements. Ultimately, jealousy comes from frustration @ YOURSELF, not the other person, so lashing out helps no one

dear jesus someone on the production staff shipped zutara HARD

UNCLE ASL;FJS

IT IS VERY CLEARLY ZUKO'S FAULT STOP BEING BIASED LMAOOO

zuko thinking this was a proverb is lowkey one of the funniest moments of the show a;sdlfkjasdf

Here comes your episodely Zuko clowning

NOOO ZUKO THAT'S IMPORTANT

I know right zzzz 😴

great leadership skills, Sokka

Artbook says Jet was inspired by Spike from Cowboy Bebop!!

His hook swords are based on Chinese tiger head hooks, weapons mostly used by Northern Shaolin monks

I'm all in favor of Katara's ever-expanding harem

Jet is the second hot boy Katara bonds with over Fire Nation trauma 😂

He is Jet....He is...VENGEANCE

I really like Jet's character actually bc he has almost like a cult leader level of charisma?? He so easily ropes people into doing what he wants by appealing to their egos. His psychological tactics are honestly brilliant.

Oh btw!! The artbook and Avatar Extras say this forest was inspired by House of Flying Daggers and the Ewok forest in Return of the Jedi

Each episode of the show so far has explored a different aspect of how this Hundred Year War has changed the Avatar world and the various ordinary people who've been impacted, and I'm glad they didn't leave out this type of extremist on the rebels' side

I guess this episode also explored why Katara didn't become team leader instead, though I honestly think she's the one holding it all together 😂

anyway in this house we stan katara forever

kind of a bummer that the village actually got destroyed 😔😔 The people may have gotten out but good god that is still a lot of property damage

I'm neutral on shipping issues but in hindsight, ,it's not really THAT much of a shocker that Katara ended up marrying Aang when Jet and Zuko both betrayed her trust so deeply

ANYWAY that was ep 1-10. Will do 10-20 another day bc I'm tired 😂Hope y'all all learnt some new stuff!!

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