Would Avatar The Last Airbender Be Considered Anime

Avataris i of the near critically-acclaimed cartoon franchises of all fourth dimension, and decriers calling it "an anime" will have fans violent them a new one. Essentially, being Western-made,The Last AirbenderandThe Legend Of Korraare by all means cartoons. And creative style aside,The Last Airbenderand itsKorrasequel have some of the almost compelling narratives for an animated serial geared towards younger audiences.

Of course, the "is it an anime?" contend can immediately spark a state of war inside the fandom. Yet, people who loveThe Last Airbender andKorracan't deny seeing some show elements that may as well make information technology an anime from the West.

10 FLCL: Character Design, Blitheness

Anyone who watches an episode ofAvatarwould notation its singled-out "Westernized" grapheme designs. Yet, eagle-eyed fans might find that a few tweaks of Aang and the gang's character designs and blitheness styles may have them similar to a pop anime:FLCL.

Despite its short six-episode run,FLCL'south slice-of-life narrative mixed with thrilling action proved to be plenty to catch most viewers. In fact, creators Bryan Konietzko and Michael Dante DiMartino confirmed thatFLCLinspiredAvatar'southward blitheness and character pattern to some degree. Moreover,Avatarmanager Giancarlo Volpe claimed the staff had to watchFLCLduring the prove'southward creation.

9 Princess Mononoke: The Lack Of Villains

Granted, any fan asked to recall "a villain" ofAvatarwill name multiple characters and factions across the two series. However, villains such asThe LastAirbender'southward Azuka or Korra's Zaheer are far from stereotypical drawing bad guys. Interestingly plenty, creators DiMartino and Konietzko confirmed in a magazine interview that this concept is intentional.

Moreover, Konietzko stated that Miyazaki'southwardPrincess Mononokeplayed a huge role in this narrative direction.

As fans call back, this film shows the perspective of both forest gods and humans who want to turn a profit from said forests. Similar toPrincess Mononoke,Avatar'southward villains only become equally such due to their conflicting interests with the protagonists. Nevertheless, some aspects of their viewpoints – even backstories – have a way of resonating with fans and realistic ideologies.

8 Spirited Away: Spirituality, Environmentalism

DiMartino and Konietzko also cited another Miyazaki work,Spirited Away, equally an influence while conceptualizingThe Last Airbender.

"The stories and emotional depth ofSpirited AwayandPrincess Mononokewere large inspirations for united states," they said. InSpirited Abroad, young Chihiro Ogino ends up working for the witch Yubaba after the latter turned her parents into pigs. She has to work and find a way to opposite the spell and go dorsum to the human being world.

Interestingly, fantasy and environmentalism stay as focal points in this Miyazaki film. Chihiro encounters individuals in her run a risk, which turn out to be environmental spirits. InAvatar, spirits in the Spirit Globe likewise represent concepts and metaphors. Moreover, interacting with these spirits ofttimes serve every bit a way forAvatar's protagonists to detect new aspects of themselves.

7 Shinichiro Watanabe: Fight Scenes

Any otaku who asks for a driving narrative or a compelling story would nearly probable accept recommendations in the form of Shinichiro Watanabe'sSamurai ChamplooandCowboy Bebop. Later all,Cowboy Bebop'southward take on a neo-noir infinite western andSamurai Champloo's alternating have on Edo-era Nihon are fresh takes on conventional anime setups. However, more notable are the iconic and fluid fight scenes of the ii serial.

In plough, it's no surprise that evenAvatar's creators establish inspiration in the two anime. Bated from their desire for grounded fight scenes,Avatar's mode of making fight scenes as a fluid substitution between two characters tin can be considered a homage to Watanabe'southward signature manner.

6 My Neighbor Totoro: Appa And The 6 Legs

Appa is hands 1 of the almost recognizable creatures from theAvataruniverse. Afterwards all, no one could imagine whatsoever hero riding a half-dozen-legged flying bison-manatee, and somehow there'due south Appa. And to those saying Appa looks strangely like the Catbus from Miyazaki'sMy Neighbor Totoro, then they're correct.

As per Konietzko inThe Art Of The Animated Series, he just found himself a floating hybrid bison-manatee. This concept slowly evolved from Aang shepherding a herd of them to a family then just trusty Appa.

5 Cowboy Bebop: Cabbage Merchant

Fondly called Cabbage Human being, this innocent merchant'south cabbage virtually always ends up becoming a victim of fights betwixt Aang's crew and their enemies. This recurring character comes as a homage to one of the creators' favorite series:Cowboy Bebop.

In the neo-noir space western, Fasten Spiegel and his crew finish up doing odd jobs to make exercise in a futuristic earth. Thing is, three old men just keep on running into the crew beyond their adventures. Funnily enough, these old men don't add anything to the plots of the episodes. However, they're entertaining enough to become memorable side characters.

Thankfully, their influence transformed Cabbage Man into the iconic side character he is today.

4 Cowboy Bebop: The Case Of Jet

In Season 2, Jet and his Freedom Fighters endeavor to fight the ongoing Fire Nation occupation in the Earth Kingdom. Jet's natural roguish charisma even gains the interest of Katara. Unfortunately, Jet meets an ambiguous fate almost the end of the season.

Anime fans might compare Jet's appearance toCowboy Bebopprotagonist Spike Spiegel. While their personalities differ a lot, the cryptic fates of both characters seem besides like to be simply coincidences. Admitting there'south no confirmation from the creators, Jet may very well be based on Spike.

3 The Tournament Of Power: Earthbender Fights, Pro-Bending Tournament

Tournaments are a staple in shonen anime, especially when in that location's a ton of characters with a ton of power to show off. When washed right, a tournament is also a great excuse to help characters show "hidden power" or even evolve. At its core, a straightforward ball becomes less disruptive than a pure narrative arc. In turn, information technology makes sense forAvatarto take some cues with this trope.

Granted, it's Aang's journey to find an Earthbending teacher (before finding Toph) that brings him in a short stint in an Earthbender tournament. Moreover, information technology'sThe Legend of Korrathat actually had a formal tournament arc in the grade of Pro-Angle. While creators have not specifically mentioned following anime for these tournament stories, the medium certainly has a history of following this tendency.

2 The Recap Sequence: The Fire Nation Play

Information technology'due south a mutual technique in tv set shows to have a epitomize sequence explain what'due south currently going on. Withal, some older anime have an episode or two entirely dedicated to summarizing the events so far. This commonly happens before entering more serious storylines. For instance,Gundam SEEDhad 2 recap episodes explain the stakes before proceeding to the more than climactic portions of its storylines.

However,Avatardidn't even need a strict recap episode per se. Rather, in Season 3, a Fire Nation play explained the fashion the world saw events happen across the seasons. In turn, this play demonstrated a hilarious parodied version of the character'southward personalities and their have on the stories, even Uncle Iroh!

i The Embankment Episode: Calm Before The Tempest

Nigh anime deliver fanservice in the form of a beach episode. Somehow, protagonists – and sometimes, even villains – deserve a suspension from their abiding battles. And in this episode, they unwind with a short holiday. Narrative-wise, this helps flesh out their characters and provide much-needed funny moments for the anime.

Granted,Avatardidn't follow the usual purpose of a beach episode. However, the prove certainly delivered an impactful embankment-centric episode for Zuko and his friends. When Zuko accompanies his sister and their friends on a trip, the evidence reveals the more human side of their villainous selves. In plough, viewers get more insight into their personalities, with this episode serving as an instrument to demonstrate Zuko's decision-making procedure.

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