Azula - Last Airbender

*Camps out and waits for Kaiser*


As for me, Azula is not the type of woman I would want to hang out with, but I do find her character to be quite compelling. It's nice to see a female villain that has some depth and is also not overly sexualized. There's also something very charismatic about her, despite the fact that she's clearly a sociopath. Some of my favorite Azula moments are in The Beach when she attempts to interact with average teens.

 

I'm with TheStormInside, I really liked her character. I think it would have been easy for them to just make her out as a two-dimensional villain for evil's sake, but they didn't. There are clear motivations for what she does, and honestly I felt a little bit bad for her in the finale when Katara chained her down. Obviously I wasn't rooting for her, but she really was a fantastic example of how villains really should be treated in fiction.

 

Whispers: ( don't say anything bad about Azula.Kaiser will read this....)

I like how human she is in a way.She's very clever but i think she is also lonely and bitter because of her relationship with her mother.Her friendships rested on manipulation and in the end you can see how mistrusting she is of others.In a way i feel pity for her because despite having great talent and charme everyone just sees someone bad in her.

 

Who doesn't love Azula? I think she is one, if not the most interesting character in TLA. She is very likable in my opinion and although she is the antagonist, she's not the one where you hate with a passion like Mrs. Hilly Holbrook from The Help because we've seen Azula's character development. She was witty, athletic, had so many memorable one-liners like this one
(What a fucking bitch, god I love her) and we learnt that she wasn't given much attention by her mum and she relied on impressing her evil father, was socially inept (see TheStormInside's post) and then things took a toll when her friends betrayed her because they all knew she was a kooky bitch(I mean who would blame them).

I love Azula's character and Grey DeLisle made a very good job of being the voice actress.

 

Oh and i always found the scenes between her and zuko the most interesting...their relationship is somehow fascinating...

 

When I clicked this thread, I thought for sure that Kaiser was the OP.

Azula. One of the best thought-out villains I've ever seen on screen. Clever, creepy, and impossible not to love. Her motivations: A+ Her dialogue: A++ Her animations during her psycho scenes: A+++

If any of you guys haven't read the ATLA graphic novels, it's a definite must for fans (there was so much unexplained by the show, and the books just complete the universe). The interactions between Zuko and Azula in The Search are SO IMPORTANT.

*starts crying due to being overwhelmed by feelings and appreciation for the creators*

 

I can honestly feel Kaiser's presence in this thread. How many paragraphs will she be using? How many gifs? Which bolded words or names is she going to bold this time but more importantly, is she going to remain using her trademark font??? Stay tuned.

 

every character from both series were epic so of course i love azula

 

I don't think in history there's ever been a bigger step up between arc villains than the step up from shitty ass Admiral Zhao to Azula between books 1 and 2.

 

This is currently my desktop wallpaper, as of typing this.

I'm tempted to present this really elaborate response, but there are two reasons why that shall not be happening. The first is, I'll be doing that elsewhere (spoiler), and the second is, everybody has pretty much addressed what makes Azula great.

I will say this, though...

It is easy to write Azula off as a sociopath, and she does meet the criteria. But there is more to her, possibly more than any of the other characters, which is impressive for two reasons: she's a female, and she's the villain. Of every character from Avatar: The Last Airbender, she comes off the least cardboard cut. While I like characters like Toph and Iroh, they often times feel trapped in their roles. Azula, though, does whatever the hell she wants.

Azula may be assigned as the role of villain, but is she really? She never had the love of her mother, which made her feel like a monster. This left her father who, while he admired Azula's prowess, never really cared for her beyond her usefulness. You combine this... lack of genuine love (as she believed) with a need for acknowledgement, and you get, as Azula herself admitted, "a monster". To get any kind of recognition, she had to appease her father, to be the absolute best. There was no other choice, but to wallow in the depths of angst and anger, withering away. That simply will not do, because to not try is contributing to the pain of your life's situation.

She never had anybody to show her otherwise, and when she found a winning formula, a.k.a. just being herself, it worked. If nobody was capable/strong/smart enough to derail or stop her, then surely she was in the right. Maybe if her father wasn't such a dick, who knows, Azula may have mellowed out. She has the potential, even if it comes off as humiliating to her, as shown in "The Beach", to be likable. But she is very aware, being like that, has brought her very little in comparison to her typical ways. Sadly, she is trapped in the battle of what works vs what helps, and this ruins a fine mind and a glorious spirit.

Azula was the best at what she did, because she worked for it. She wasn't the prodigy that relied on their natural talent alone, and while she did embrace her reputation, she improved herself, all the time, always reaching for an end goal, of becoming worthy of appreciation. In her mind, if she became the very best Firebender, as well as heir to the global Fire Nation Empire, nobody would be able to deny her the very things she sought, consciously or subconsciously, be it from her parents, peers, or even herself; that which drives everybody.

Admiration. Respect. Love. Validation.

Azula's methods are subject to debate, but she was able to see the big picture. That's why she took the Earth Kingdom, that's why she fried Aang in his Avatar State, that's why she stalled the heroes during the eclipse. If we exclude how she could treat those around her, everything she did was simply effective, even if it left people feeling stupid and aghast. As for how she treated others, well, considering her early start in life, with feeling unloved, it is easy to see why Azula is resentful towards others. It doesn't justify it, mind you, but it does explain it.

Azula thought Mai was useful, so she was respected in a way. So long as Mai proved useful, she was granted this respect. It's very similar to the relationship between Azula and her father, which is a pretty deep layer to add to a character, let alone one on a children's animated program.

And then we come to Ty Lee. I genuinely believe Azula cared for Ty Lee, more so than anybody else. I could cite a few instances, most of all of them in "The Beach", but this is already getting lengthy, so I'll just point this out:

When Mai turned against Azula, it ruffled her feathers. But when Ty Lee did it, Azula was, for once, clueless and devastated. This was the crack in her armor, which allowed the breaking to commence, from here on until the final episode.

Azula was a complex character, but it wasn't told to the viewer in the beginning, it played out over the Second and Third Books. Azula is a fantastic example of the "show, don't tell" rule, and should be a consideration for anybody, looking to write a many-layered character, and revealing them at a compelling pace.

Of course, I might just be biased when it comes to the Fire Princess Lord. She possesses many traits I find admirable in somebody:

Fortitude
Intelligence
Resourcefulness
Elegance
I'm so clever.
Determination
Strength
Wit

She is somebody I could hang out with. Sure, she might be quite a work load to win over, but so long as you show yourself as useful, and not dead weight, you're fine. Also, if some generic nobody named Chan can wow Azula, then I know DAMN WELL I could win her heart.​

 

I think you need to find a bigger word than "love" to accurately describe Kaiser's feelings for Azula.

 

I like her as a villain, she is mulch-layered like bad guys/gals should be.

 

I would classify at least 2 A4 sheets of paper elaborate. Just saying.

Oh yeah, I like her. I like the whole KILL MAIM BURN mentality.

 

When I watched the show, I saw her as another character. I didn't really care about her, at first she looked evil and vicious... But well, she was a villain it ain't that rare. But when I saw her going insane near the end, I couldn't help but relate to her. It was like seeing in front of me what I didn't want to become but was on the way to.

In the end I didn't like Azula but she was really able to touch me for that very reason.

_______________
Edit: I'm not saying that she isn't an interesting or complex character, but well... I didn't find her particularly special or impressive. Plus, she's exactly the type of villain I don't like...

 

Oh god it's been so long. How I wish I could rewatch it all...

Azusa was one of my favorite characters. Especially when she started to crack near the end.

 

Out of curiosity, what type of villain do you like?

 

I like villains like Raito in Death Note who think that what they are the good guys and that they are the Justice. Or like the Joker who realizes that nothing matters and plays a game with life.

Azula, as you said, has become a villain in order to "exist" and be part of the World. The reason I can't like this kind of villain is that they lack that... craziness ? that makes one detach himself from the world. Azula is the kind of person who grew crazy trying to fit in and to exist, and I relate way too much to it for her to be an entity that ain't part of our world. On the contrary it shows her weakness while the kind of villain that I like ain't weak or strong, they don't even know what it means in the end.

It's the way I see it though, I may be totally wrong. I plan on watching it again soon anyway.