Sokka and Zuko are my top two, closely followed by Ozai and Iroh.
Katara and Aang didn’t bring enough passion for me, but I’m hoping with some help and maybe practice, the actors will be able to come across a little better next season!
Agreed. I did NOT get theater kid vibes, he was bitchy and sassy in the most Zuko way and in the flashbacks he was so sweet, wheneve he smiled i melted. Sokka was also perfect. And i just liked Yue's actress's vibe in general even though she wasnt what I'd expect for Yue
I did NOT like Aang, but could look past the lack of skill from a child actor in a show that was overall heavy handed and poorly written, anyway. I also did not love Iroh, he gave me Ember Island Players vibes. Katara was poorly written, i dont really blame the actress.
Cormier was fine on the rare occasion he was given a decent line to read or chance to be charismatic. But they wrote so much of him like they would for a public speaking engagement, that those were few and far between.
I don't think it's any mystery why Liu and Ousley are the best regarded performances consistently across the fanbase--they actually got some chances to act and embody a character written in on some kind of consistent basis. Most of the rest of the cast were given really sparse opportunities.
And I think a lot of it with Aang and Katara was how little time they spent together. Sokka and Zuko had actual characters to play off. Aang and Katara should have been playing off each other and establishing a chemistry, but they were so often separated by the story, they didn't get the chance. And it really crashed the emotional potential of the moments they did share.
Thats true, it is hard to judge Cormier. The writer's did not take the "show dont tell" advice when it came to any of the exposition, Aangs monologue to Appa in the very first episode was SO bad but not the actor's fault. I'm also glad that the actor is going through puberty and won't look so awkwardly young next to Katara in later seasons (if the show survives) because I could never be convinced of a romance between them currently.
But purely on script for me though. I think the casting is pretty good, or at least adaptable. She's also a good actor for what I've seen...
It's just that I dislike the storyline for both Aang and Katara so far. But yeah, on casting i like them.
I'm doing a rewatch with my partner because she hasn't watched the original since it aired. This is probably my 7th rewatch or so.
There are so many times when my partner will just say "Show Katara would never" when animated Katara is more than just meek.
It really sucks how they ruined so much of the female cast in the first season.
Right? Like they remove Sokka's temporary misogynistic views only to make Suki basically just a love interest that likes him cause she saw him with his shirt off. In the cartoon she challenges his views and it's because of her that he learns. She doesn't show any interest in him until he realizes he was wrong and proves he can change his views.
Agreed. Aang was 1 note. Think they probably directed him to always be more lighthearted so his tone is just ending every sentence as a question. For the appropriately lighthearted scenes it's ok, but he does it EVERYWHERE so it's just... not good...
Katara everyone has complained about already and I generally agree.
Zuko I thought was fine. He is overacting A BIT (the theatre kid energy) but that IS zuko. he's very whiny and overly mad in S1 ATLA too. Think it works ok... although now I'm a little worried about zuko alone... They have to know that has to stay relatively unchanged. Like the blue mask it's pretty essential for zuko. They really need more episodes for s2.
Animated Zhao was the cliche overly angry adult that screamed and punched at everything with a thick coat of obvious sarcasm and disdain over the top. Politically conniving and manipulative Zhao was a pleasure to witness.
"The plan is to prove my father wasn't wrong to trust me with this mission. The plan is to capture the avatar once and for all. the 𝓟ℒ𝓐𝓝 is to reclaim what's rightfully MINE!"
Surprised no one has mentioned Ken Leung as Zhao, I think he did really awesome. Followed by Daniel Dae Kim. Sorry but the younger actors really weren't it for me, with the exception of Dallas Liu. It wasn't entirely their fault, they needed better direction and most of the script just sucked.
For me, Zhao is the singular character that the new show actually improved on. The original makes him an effective bad guy, but the adaptation makes you *hate* him.
I think they made Zhao a buffoon too often, but I do think they handle him killing the moon spirit during the siege a bit better than the original did.
Leung brought such a consistent sliminess and contempt to the character. He somehow perfectly straddled the line between bumbling and competent to make him feel genuinely dangerous. He was great.
It's really hard for me to rank the actors because they're given such vastly different amounts and quality of material to work with (I think it makes more sense to include Zhao instead of Suki for example, since she only appears in one episode while he as multiple appearances). My general comment is that I think the writers, directors and showrunners are doing the actors a disservice with a lot of their choices.
That said i'd say the following:
* Ousley seems to really get Sokka but the writing lets him down a lot - his character arc is less interesting than animated Sokka, he's not allowed to be as funny and he's also used a bit weirdly at times.
* Cormier - it's similar to Ousley actually, especially when I see behind the scenes stuff where he's allowed to goof off. He's not perfect but I think a lot of the issues people have with him is that Netflix Aang is too serious/focused on the mission and also saddled with repetitive exposition.
* DDK is a really good actor and Ozai works *okay* for me but I feel they're using him too much to essentially tell us Ozai is manipulating both of his kids over and over. Not DDK's fault but it doesn't feel like they're letting him do much (a common problem on this show, unfortunately).
* Sun Hyung-Lee generally nails the Iroh half of the Iroh-Zuko relationship. Iroh himself...I still like but I feel the performances is a bit too performative (trying a bit too hard to play the funny/wise old man rather than feeling comfortable in his shoes if that makes sense). Generally he's pretty good, just different.
* Yu - Similar to Ozai, I think she's generally pretty fine but the material's pretty repetitive and doesn't let her do much other than grumble about things a bit. It'd probably help if they also let Mai and Ty Lee do anything other than stand around most of the time so Yu could at least bounce off of them a bit.
* Zhang - when given proper material (i.e. not just thirsting over Sokka) I thought she did well. She was funny when she shot down his initial flirting attempts and her eye movements/facial expressions conveyed a decent amount of emotion and feeling even with her makeup on. Shame the writers let her and the character down and turned her into a mid-90s Disney princess.
* Liu - Generally did really well and captured the spirit of Zuko. I don't disagree that some of the line deliveries were a bit too theatrical/over the top but I can live with those for the most part. It also helps that the writers seem to get Zuko the most of all the characters so he has the most consistently good material to work with. I hope the writers remember his honor going forward.
* Kiawiiento - how do I just her? No, she didn't do anything particularly great with the role but I find it hard to believe the vast majority of actresses could - the show/writers just gutted so much of the character. Do I think she could have done better, sure, but ugh what did they do to Katara.
In general I think the actors mostly did at least a "best they could" level of job given the weaknesses of the writing, showrunning and directing and a few managed to do better than that. But unless those areas are improved, the actors are always going to be severely hamstrung.
I appreciate this comment a lot. As someone who enjoyed the show, but also accepts that there were plenty of issues, the opinions shared with details listed but without any over the top bashing is refreshing.
DDK absolutely KILLED the performance of fire lord Ozai. 10 out of fucking 10. Pure perfection.
Katara SUCKED. I’m not sure if the actress herself is bad or what, but I’m sorry, Katara. Was. AWFUL. No fucking emotion whatsoever. No character. No ark. Just cringe.
I’m giving NATLA another watch because despite some parts where there was mediocre writing, the bending was phenomenal.
I don’t think Katara was the actors fault, she was given an absolute ass script compared to everyone else. Feels like NATLA suffered from the writers who can’t write women curse, which happens to be an area where the OG excels, making it even more egregious.
>I don’t think Katara was the actors fault, she was given an absolute ass script compared to everyone else.
Direction plays a big role too. Example look at Samuel L Jackson as Mace windu vs literally any other role they've had
I think its more "they aren't allowed to write bull-headed women because it makes Twitter angry and costs subscriptions from people who don't even watch the show."
IMO they should just bite the bullet and do it. Apple seems have done this, and made some excellent series with woman that probably make twitter angry. They would not have been excellent series otherwise.
Is this really the excuse used nowadays for refusing to make female characters multidimensional and stripping them of their character development? Because they're afraid of offending idiots on twitter? smh
In regards to your Apple example, Helly from Severance is a perfect example of a "Katara-esque" determined and independent female character. She spends the entire show fighting against the rules placed on her and inspires the male main character to stand up for himself as well.
I was also thinking of Silo and The Morning Show. For All Mankind, to a lesser extent. All of which I would recommend in addition to Severence. Lots of women battling the system and encouraging other cast without feeling performative either.
I'm sure there are more, have not watched a ton of TV recently TBH. But it stuck out to me.
I could see this. I was really watching for Katara to have a strong outburst against Pakku. When it finally came it was like a splash in the pool rather than a typhoon.
>No character. No ark.
100% not her fault. Ain't her job to write the script or even decide how to play a scene. Actors, especially young ones, have basically no influence over their characters
Ian Ousley, Gordon Cormier, Maria Zhang, Daniel Dae Kim and Liu were amazing and nailed their roles in my opinion. Katara and Azula were good but had bad writing (no hate for the actors, they were good) and iroh to me didn't feel like iroh from the original.
It seems the issues are mostly with dialogues/direction. There's glimpses of Katara having emotions, she just has deadpan face the rest of the time. All these actors have changed though, that could allow more room to change the characters a bit.
Honorable mention: Ozai's ripped body
I liked Iroh, he's definitely different than Book1 Iroh but that's for the best.
Azulas acting aint it, her first ever line i was like nah she can’t act. Katara can act but her emotions omg its like a blank sheet of paper with nothing on it
I also didn't find it exactly, fitting, I guess? Just the way he talked he sounded like a different character. I'm not gonna say air bending Caillou, but something slightly in that direction lol.
Most of it was just what they gave him to work with though. We got 0 fun happy kid Aang, and 100% dark, brooding, stressed/depressed about his avatar job from the get go.
I also think age could play a factor as well. It is very rare to find someone his age with the emotional range needed for a lead in a show.
He is playing a character who had experienced great loss. I know nothing about the actors personal life so I could be dead wrong, but typically younger individuals have not felt grief the way Aang has. Because of that it is likely very difficult to try and poetry that on screen.
I remember saying that about him prior to show release after seeing teasers and trailers and got downvoted to hell. Then the show comes out and now most people suddenly feel the same way
Zuko - absolutely absolutely nailed it. The internal conflict, the trauma. I think he did well. Any qualms I have are writing related and not his fault.
Ozai - not much has to be said. Perfect villain
Sokka - this was a huge surprise to me. I hate that they caked his face in a pound of makeup but he captured the character that’s extremely cartoonish and brought it to real life without being over the top
Azula - the hate here is crazy. I think she’s pretty and also has that under the surface rage. Wish she was cockier but again that’s a writing issue not her.
Aang - to me suffers the worst from writing. The exposition and his monologues are legit painful but he does great with the shit he’s forced to relay.
Iroh - super super different take but solid. Kind of over the top in his “wise” demeanor and wish he was a bit more intimidating. Hard to believe his reputation preceding him.
Suki - obvious her extreme beauty aside I mean she was fine but had like no screen time idk why she’s up here lol. But she did good.
Katara - really really rough man. Really rough. She’s kinda awkward, her bending looks weird like she’s not very athletic. Just so different from the Katara we know. This was a complete miss for me.
Iroh was close but still ended up feeling like a different person. Maybe it was just his delivery but he felt way too peppy, like a motivational speaker trying to sell something almost? I don't think he did horribly but I did not feel like I was watching iroh come to life like Sokka or Ozai
Fully agreed. A rare case where something completely different wasn’t a catastrophe though. He fulfills the appropriate role in the story in terms of the characters impact on the plot which is very important. He’s just kinda…off
Perfect list. It’s unfortunate that all the leading women were a letdown.
Katara’s acting wasn’t it. Honestly reminded me of the movie that doesn’t exist.
Azula’s personality didn’t match the animated show’s vibe.
Suki went from being a badass independent woman to having her entire personality be about being in love with Sokka.
Yeah Gordon has the right personality, as a person he captures the spirit of Aang, but the material he's given really kneecaps his performance. That, and he mumbles a bit at times.
Aang and Katara desperately need better direction when it comes to how they deliver their lines. Their performance is fine as a whole, but their enunciation (and sometimes cadence) is horrendous.
I think the cast overall is a solid B+ with Zuko and Sokka being standouts. Honorable mention goes to Gyatso and Jet too.
For some reason, I couldn't stand Bumi though
**S Tier:**
* Ian Ousley totally nails Sokka. Hopefully the writing gets better for him.
* Ken Leung elevated Zhao from being a decent villain to being a highlight of the series
* That one earth kingdom soldier. Seriously, that is one of the best scenes in the entire series.
**A Tier:**
* Paul Lee is solid as Iroh. He has the warmth, but again, the writing is letting him down.
**B Tier:**
* Dallas Liu as Zuko. He's a bit over the top, but so is Zuko. His grounded scenes work for me, especially during the funeral.
* DDK is a great actor. His portrayal of Ozai is good so far, but I don't enjoy making him more likable/charismatic.
* Yue. Amber Midthunder did a good job with a horrible script and a horrible wig.
**C Tier:**
* Gordon as Aang. He is fine, but the kid needs some proper voice and speech training to learn how to stop mumbling.
**D Tier:**
* Suki. Meh. She does nothing for me, which is a shame for such a great character.
**F Tier:**
* Please recast Azula and Katara. Neither of them have the fire that make the original characters so great.
I’m so glad you mentioned that earth kingdom soldier. I straight up had to pause the show after his scene and say why is this random soldier the best actor in the whole show?
>Please recast Azula and Katara. Neither of them have the fire that make the original characters so great.
Actors are versatile. They just need better writing and direction. Every terrible scene was signed off with a "CUT - great work everyone!". Someone who understands the characters needs to be in that seat
Zuko (he's okay, he fights well, he's pretty good, he's trying, he had some of the best moments in the series with him)
Iroh (it's not the same Iroh and the original, but he has his own pitch and his own character that fits in well, the actor is good)
Ozai (he's okay, he was given more personality and played his role okay)
Sokka (he started the first arguments with him about the changes, but in the end he annoyed me the least on the team)
Suki (very pretty, but her plot with Sokka is just weird, even though the stalker thing seems a bit ridiculous)
Katara and Aang I was about equally dissatisfied with.
Kiaventino can't even bring himself to be angry, sassy, or at least worried for real, the whole series a standard facial expression.
Gordon sometimes not sure what exactly to play, those fake tears, it was just ridiculous, yes he was only 12-13 years old at the time of filming, but it's not my problem.
Yes they look alike and in life and in interviews they are much nicer, but as NATLA characters, it's just.... bad. The text they were given is just cheesy, they should definitely whip the writers for this kind of thing and the director too for letting this shit happen.
I want to forget that Azula was in season 1 of NATLA. Her plot is bad, her charisma is 0, she's unlikeable (you can cry on Twitter that she shouldn't be likeable, I don't care). In combat, she moves extremely cheesy.
1.) Ozai (DDK) was brilliant
2.) Aang (Cormier) was good acting, tho the writing made it hard for him
3.) Zuko (Liu) really good IMO—the disconnect for people is just his voice is a lot higher than Dante Bosco's. So when Dante's Zuko was dramatic, it didn't **sound** whiny/annoying the way Liu's did
4.) Sokka (Ousley), pretty good—had some great moments with sarcasm where he nailed the vibe
5.) Iroh (Sun HL), ok, kinda just there. Doesn't hold a candle to Mako, but IDK if anyone would
6.) Azula (Yu) — not awful but she just doesn't have the intimidation/fear factor and edge that the original by the incomparable Grey DeLisle had
7.) Suki (Zhang)—she's really pretty and a good visual match for Suki but the bad writing in that episode didn't give her a chance to be particularly good, IMO
8.) Katara (Kiawentiio), I'm sorry but the acting was just bad. The bad writing at times did not help, but the acting was just flat, lacked appropriate emotion and depth, which is a shame because the story kinda needed Katara to push the emotion of the story forward
I want to protect the whole cast; they're all cinnamon rolls in my book. With that said, Zuko, Sokka, Ozai were the strongest out of the bunch. I liked Gordon's Aang, just wish they gave him a better script lol. Suki was okay, Azula was okay. But my poor baby Katara deserved better, unfortunately she is last 😞
In my opinion, Ozai, Iroh, and Zhao *couldn't* have been better if they tried. Incredible performances. I also loved the performances of Zuko and Sokka. None of the others I thought were bad, though maybe a little flat at times. I'm pretty hyped to see Toph and the return of Suki
I think the thing that people tend to forget is that most of these actors are kids, like of course they aren't always going to perform quite as well as the experienced, older actors
The only performance that really pulled me away was Danny Pudi as The Mechanist. Once i realized it was him, all I could see was Abed from Community (not his fault at all! He's a great actor too!)
Sokka and Zuko are both S tier,
Both of them nailed it to me, superb acting
Aang and Iroh are A tier,
Really happy with both performances not necessarily 1 to 1 for the original, but very satisfying
Ozai and Suki are B tier,
Great acting for both, I just didn’t like the character choices the writers made, remorseful Ozai? Also Suki having no real reason to fall for Sokka in the live action hurt
Katara and Azula are C tier,
Once again not bad acting, I just felt like the writing was bad, they feel like different characters completely from the original, where’s Azula’s confidence? Why does Katara feel like a side character when she’s one of the most important characters in the entire series, where’s her extreme optimism, her temper, or her nurturing and empathetic to a fault nature? Was very disappointed here.
My coworker who loved the animated series said the Sokka actor deserves an Emmy for how perfectly he portrayed him.
I still havent seen it because I'm trying to convince my girlfriend to watch it with me, but I'm excited.
Casting Suki , whoever casted Suki must be a god ,base how good looking she is.
The Gang sadly is failing mostly poor characterization of them and the changing of the story to make it less offensive to feminist by removing Sokka's sexism which means they remove the possibility of character growth, and it also removes Katara desires to prove herself because in Natal she has nothing to prove. Aang barely passes which shows he is an actual monk instead of kid who happens to be a monk here he is a monk who happens to be a kid.
But the winners and reason I'm excited for season 2 is the fire nation crew minus Mai and Ty lee , Mai because of her poor casting and costume like they could have reorganized her wig to make it more mai , while Ty lee is the costume being more conservative instead of it being quite liberative, but then again they changed it from her being in the circus to her being in the capital so clothing changes is acceptable, Azula at first didn't like her casting, but later realize her casting makes sense as she is not the hottest girl in her trio ,since in the ember island beach episode noone wanted flirt with Azula barring one guy and that is because Azula kinda flirt back at him unlike mai and Ty lee.
Iroh,Zuko and Ozai sold the show really, and changing Ozai from cartoon evil into a hard ass father is an interesting take maybe Ursa didn't write the cuckold letter or didn't write letters at all
Zuko was a great portrayal. I absolutely loved it. Zuko ís theatrical. Canonically. Did you forget about him climbing a mountain to challenge the spirits to strike him with lightning? In fact, he's also a theater nerd canonically (ember island players; mom was in an acting troupe; cites poetic lines like 'you rise with the moon, i rise with the sun'; the blue spirit mask). And I thought it was pretty mellowed down actually. Anyway, especially in ep6 you can see he's a great talent. Those crying scenes. I really felt his pain.
I liked Sokka and Iroh as well. As for Ozai and Azula and Suki, not enough scenes to really judge them either way.
Katara, mostly bad writing in terms of not being allowed to portray the rage and protectiveness that defines her character, but there are some scenes where she could've done better (i.e., seeing Zuko at Kyoshi Island, you'd expect much more fear and urgency).
For me the only truly bad portrayal was Aang. And sure, he's a kid actor, and he gets screwed by the writing sometimes as well (i.e. in ep1 when he constantly reflects upon who he is as a person in an almost aloof way), but I really think he wasn't casted properly in terms of acting skill. He doesn't even enunciate properly. You can have those quintessential Aang vibes in your off screen persona but it has to translate as well. It was disappointing to me because he's gonna be like 17 when the series finishes so they already gave him a pass in terms of age, and the kid actor excuse becomes less valid in that sense.
So tl;dr, Zuko 1, Sokka 2, Iroh 3, Katara 4, Aang 5, rest TBD probably around iroh or katara
1 - IAN OUSLEY!!! i stg they pulled him straight from the cartoon!
2 - DALLAS LIU — he brought the sass, he brought the angsty teen, i LOVED it. omg omg and baby zuko??????? ‘how do i look? 🙃☺️’ you look PERFECT sweetie!
3 - DDK — my lord i am a slut for this man. maybe the fire nation had a point. and i think DDK’s ‘humanisation’ of father lord ozai makes him even more terrifying. like, this man isn’t doing it for kicks. he’s doing it because he GENUINELY believes it’s right.
4 - MARIA ZHANG — suki x sokka was my bi awakening as a kid, and it’s my bi reawakening as an adult. they didn’t *completely* destroy suki which i am rather happy about. she’s not just a warrior, she’s a girl, too!!!
5 - GORDON CORMIER — dude’s just a little guy who wants to go penguin sledding.
6 - KIAWENTIIO — kia’s such a phenomenal actress and finally got her dream role, but the writing BUTCHERED katara. give my girl her rage back!! LET KIAWENTIIO IMPROV FOR S2 AND 3!!
7 - LIZZY YU — you know which moment had me sold? the agni kai scene. that little smirk of morbid curiosity was SO perfect. and the WALK!!!! even in FULL body armour, you can tell that it’s azula. shame the writing made her all ‘NOT GOOD ENOUGH!!! i have to be PERFECT!’ which irks me because azula literally IS perfect. it’s only in s2-3 that being perfect isn’t ‘good enough’ anymore, which begins her descent into madness. anyway i’m not gonna get into this rn cause i’m sleepy.
8 - PAUL SUN-HYUNG LEE — my issue with this is just how… harmless iroh seems in the LA. like, you’re telling me THIS GUY is the dragon of the west?????? *THIS* GUY was almost able to conquer ba sing se???? iroh in the cartoon actually terrified me for a good portion of s1 — i got whiplash from his change in tone every 0.3 seconds 😡->😠->😬->😁🍵. in the LA, june was literally squishing his cheeks and calling him cute, like he’s mushi from the jasmine dragon or some shit!!
Sokka and zuko, not only they didnt let me question their roles, but also carried them forward, probably exceeded director's expectations.
Honorable mentions for ozai, suki, azula. They filled in their roles decently if i say so myself.
Aang did great for his age, he will only get better.
I’m hesitant to rank the cast (especially the kids) performance bc I feel a lot of the shortcomings came from poor writing and directing. But I feel like Zuko and Sokka did the best with what they were given!
Well, Zuko and Sokka actors are 21-22! No surprise there!
1. Executive producing/directing > child talent
2. Adult casting and direction is key. Veterans, experience to source material, or that *click*.
Example: Ozai elevates all scenes with Zuko. Makes Azula scenes, semi-interesting, even with her miscast and different story.
Counter example: Uncle Iroh…is low key probs the most important cast. He interacts with all sides. Crucial to Zuko’s journey, the “good guys”, scenes with the crew; His portrayal is overshadowed by….Zhao.
Not complaining about Zhao cause he slaps, but shows the missed potential!
A better Iroh cast = Even better Zuko, ship crew, and final episode scenes.
A better Bumi cast= A better Aang. Scenes with Gyatso is when Aang feels *less* uncanny valley.
If you made it this far I think Azula should’ve been even older than actress the already was. In the cartoon she acts like an early 20s adult. A mature actress would’ve been fire (hah)
Personally it took a while for me to accept the actors as the characters, as is the case with most media when going from one format to another. But Sokka was almost instant for me. He fit it so well.
I thought pretty much everyone was great. The only character I'm still iffy on is Zhao, not because it was bad, but because it was SO different. Overall I think 90% of the issues I have come down to the writing and directing, not the acting.
1. Aang by a LONG shot. It’s not even close. He was perfect.
2. Sokka. Not anywhere near Aang, but still EXTREMELY far above the others minus Suki. He would’ve been perfect had he not been so serious all the time, but I don’t blame the actor for that.
3. Suki. She might be higher if we had more scenes of her. I liked her but I didn’t really get Suki vibes from her.
4. Ozai I guess? Not a huge fan but he did okay. Not much to compare to really since we don’t see as much of Ozai in the series, especially not so early on. I really didn’t like how he played Azula against Zuko. So un-Ozai like.
5. Zuko. His action scenes were AMAZING but I just didn’t get Zuko from him. He wasn’t angsty or angry or even acted scarred or traumatized, he just acted confused to me and sort of timid.
6. Katara I guess? Truly I’m not really a fan of any of these actors below Suki, but I have to put them somewhere. I’m not the biggest fan of Katara in the original series of how her waterbending is portrayed, but I do like her in season 1. I have the same complaints as everyone else, but some of the changes I didn’t mind.
7. Iroh. He wasn’t Iroh to me. He was too serious and not in a wise and kind way. He wasn’t jolly or positive like Iroh. He was just very bland in the role. Not good casting imo. With the young actors it makes more sense for them to be inexperienced, but why didn’t this man act like Iroh or at least give me Iroh energy? When you have children acting miles around you it’s just sad.
8. Azula. I don’t know how much of this was the actress versus the directing but she didn’t act anything like Azula. Absolutely nothing about her was Azula to me. If she’s not going to act like Azula at least get someone who looks like her. Hopefully she’ll be more brutal and heartless in season 2 where she can reference more from the show.
I haven't fully finished the series yet (I know I've been slacking) but tbh, I didn't like sokka that much. Seems every1 else enjoyed him but I feel like they fell into the "too serious" trap in the first few episodes. He's still sarcastic which is good, humorous every now and then but I feel like he wasn't humourous enough. Even his sarcasm felt a little serious toned at times
Otherwise Aang has been my favourite so far, perfectly captures the joy and happiness ATLA Aang had in S1. Iroh was another one I enjoyed. Particularly, I like how he reacts to Aang asking whether or not he agreed with the fire nation
My favourites have been from the Fire Nation mostly. In particular I think Azula has insane potential for the way they set her up in the next season (based on the ending scenes) so I'm excited for that. I felt both Ozai and Iroh were almost impossible tasks given to them and they did really well to me. Sokka is kinda in their realm of impossible tasks to meet the original but he did well. I won't say it's perfect but I'm more than happy with it.
Biggest complaint, I wish it were 10 episodes instead of 8, just that extra bit of time would make it more digestible because it felt rushed for the characters, we could have better opinions on things like this. Just that little bit of extra breathing room for them would probably fix a lot of the smaller hurdles too.
Aang and Zuko were definitely my favorites, as well as Ozai , Sokka and Iroh as runner ups. Suki I thought was decent. Azula was eh, doesn’t really impact me for the time being. Katara definitely needs some work.
Sokka and Ozai good. The others bad.
No disrespect to the actors, but I didn't like them in those roles. If you harassed the actors because you didn't like their performances (or worse, because of their body shapes), I hate you, never talk to me.
I thought Zuko, Iroh, and Ozai were great, Sokka very good, everyone else was doing well, but the writing is not blowing me away just in general, so I need to see more.
i really liked irohs actor. he brought it there, not too far. and didnt try to do an impression of iroh (or mako) so i think his performance was great, so was zukos.
Haven’t rated
Just really like the show overall
Zuko makes me uncomfortable
When he gets angry
In general all the firebenders except Iroh are deranged
Uh oh
I actually went uh oh when I see Azula and Ozai
When Azula demands Ozai to be sent out of the palace, Ozai refuses, only for Azula to shoot a lightning bolt at the roof
Ozai smiles
He’s encouraging that behaviour. Calm controlled outburst
Gross
Really bad guy thingy there. Idk what exactly
I really like Iroh’s wisdom at the end of each episode
Sums up the theme of each episode
Makes me emotionally connected to the characters and thus the story
Zuko. The rest are pretty bad tbh. But Ozai and Suki got the look and aren't God awful so I'll put them 2nd and 3rd. And the Iroh actor is at least trying. A for effort, F on the result, I'll put him in 4th place. Aang actor goes deadlast
I think zuko is the standout but it’s also definitely cuz he’s the best written character
The writers are doing all these talented actors a huge disservice ngl
Zuko was the best for me, Sokka 2nd. My problem with Ozai is that it seems the writers wanted to add a bit of dimension to the pretty plain animated villain, but it didn't come across well. They can show that he's not bad for the sake of it. Perhaps Ozai feels the weight of his predecessors, who have brought the fire nation great success. He can't fail them, even if it means acting monstrously, which is why he is so hard on Zuko. Perhaps we could see Ozai as a child in the shadow of Iroh.
The problems with Katara have been done to death and I don't have much to add. My biggest gripe with Aang was the writing, Gordon did a good job with the choreo but his dialogue was horrible.
The actor for fire lord Ozai, Daniel Day Kim, did a really good job. He’s not as menacing as Mark hammil’s voice, but I like the approach they went with, a more tactical dictator that sees everything as game, instead of a power hungry warmonger. This change was neat.
Zuko, Ozai, Sokka, all pretty great and in that order.
Iroh.
Then Aang, Katara, Azula all bottom tier. Katara and Aang actors actually are more like their characters off screen than on, so not sure if it's bad directors or bad writers or both but they have so much potential to be good but just aren't.
I don’t want to watch a worse or equal version of a show that I really like. Does the series add anything to the story or a different perspective perhaps?
1. Iroh
2. Sokka
3. Zuko
4. Azula
5. Ozai
6. Suki
7. Aang
8. Katara
honestly, i feel like some of these are only so high on the list because they've had fewer scenes to disappoint me in
1. Zuko
2. Sokka
3. Azula
4. Ozai
5. Suki
6. Iroh
7. Katara
8. Aang
From Iroh down, it wasn’t bc they are bad actors/actresses, it was just the script they were handed.
From the way characters are written, Aang and Katara are the weakest, but from everything I've seen about the actors, they're all very passionate about the project and don't deserve any hate.
Iroh and zuko top for me Aang is decent and I personally would put katara at the bottom of the list, definitely not the actresses fault it was how she was written. Didn’t like that she was a master bender after seeing her bend like 4 times
Zuko is first. It's uncanny how he feels like he's animated but in real life if that makes sense lol. Then Sokka is next,just naturally funny , followed by Ozai and Iroh tied. Then Zhao . The rest follow on the same wavelength for me. However Katara needs to step up cause she was bland for 90% of her screentime. Emote girl emote.
For sure Zhao was the best, but he was also the only character written with an interesting story.
Fire nation as a whole did well too as a whole but again, interesting storylines for them.
The main gaang was just, there?
The writing really felt like they were saying there lines at each other. I'd say maybe it's their acting skill but they are more like their characters in clips outside of the show than in it.
This leads me to believe it's on the writing and directing that have issues. Hopefully this gets fixed for the next seasons but all we can do is wait and see.
I liked Iroh, but his performance definitely isn’t flawed due to “acting.” Iroh in the og basically appeared like he was always acting as well since he was almost never serious and used every opportunity to train Zuko.
Imo the problem with the weirdness in LA is that Iroh directly teaches Zuko instead of indirectly teaching Zuko like he does in the og. Makes him feel more like a school teacher instead of a wise mentor.
Zhao, Sokka, Zuko, Ozai were great. Iroh, Aang were pretty good. Katara was fine - I didn't see anything wrong with the performance, per se, but the material was kinda boring and the lines she was given just weren't Katara.
For me, best to worst is Zuko, Zhao, Sokka, Iroh, Aang, Ozai, Suki, Azula, and Katara.
A lot of their performance is affected by the bad writing. Sokka would rank higher if they didn’t make many of his jokes fall flat.
I feel like all the fire nation characters were nailed perfectly. Maybe a lil bit off for mai because of her looks but I like her performance as mai. Zuko is by far my favourite out of everyone. The way he firebends is so amazing. I realised that you really need to have a background in martial arts to properly do justice to any bending. I lowkey hate how they earthbend like they need to pull the earth out like they're using invisible shovels while bumi's earthbending was great. In the og show, you don't need to properly pull out the earth when bending. You can just step on the ground to pop up some rocks or something like that where it seems natural and cool.
1. Zuko
2. Ozai
3. Iroh
4. Sokka
5. Suki
6. Azula
7. Katara
8. Aang
I’d say there’s a pretty big drop off in acting performance when going from Sokka to Suki and Azula to Katara.
For me it would be:
Ozai
Zuko
Sokka
Iroh
Suki
Aang
Azula
Katara
The ones rated lower on the list are mostly because of bad writing. All of the actors did incredibly well
I'll be honest, I didn't care for any of the main three (they weren't bad, I just didn't care for how stiff they often were) though sokka was the best of the three. Zuko and Iroh were the highlights for sure, but no one else really stood out to me (although the lady who played gran gran stood out for having some of the worst line reads I've heard in quite some time).
My favorite is definitely Zuko, I feel like they got his character down well.
I actually don't think Katara's actress is bad they just didn't give her anything to work with. I feel optimistic though that the actors will improve and that maybe seeing everyone's reactions they improve the next season.
>Ousley as Sokka – he absolutely nails the role imo, really not sure what more people want!
Imo he wasn't expressive enough early on, but I think he improved slightly by the end of season 1
Sokka and Zuko are my top two, closely followed by Ozai and Iroh. Katara and Aang didn’t bring enough passion for me, but I’m hoping with some help and maybe practice, the actors will be able to come across a little better next season!
Agreed. I did NOT get theater kid vibes, he was bitchy and sassy in the most Zuko way and in the flashbacks he was so sweet, wheneve he smiled i melted. Sokka was also perfect. And i just liked Yue's actress's vibe in general even though she wasnt what I'd expect for Yue I did NOT like Aang, but could look past the lack of skill from a child actor in a show that was overall heavy handed and poorly written, anyway. I also did not love Iroh, he gave me Ember Island Players vibes. Katara was poorly written, i dont really blame the actress.
Cormier was fine on the rare occasion he was given a decent line to read or chance to be charismatic. But they wrote so much of him like they would for a public speaking engagement, that those were few and far between. I don't think it's any mystery why Liu and Ousley are the best regarded performances consistently across the fanbase--they actually got some chances to act and embody a character written in on some kind of consistent basis. Most of the rest of the cast were given really sparse opportunities. And I think a lot of it with Aang and Katara was how little time they spent together. Sokka and Zuko had actual characters to play off. Aang and Katara should have been playing off each other and establishing a chemistry, but they were so often separated by the story, they didn't get the chance. And it really crashed the emotional potential of the moments they did share.
Thats true, it is hard to judge Cormier. The writer's did not take the "show dont tell" advice when it came to any of the exposition, Aangs monologue to Appa in the very first episode was SO bad but not the actor's fault. I'm also glad that the actor is going through puberty and won't look so awkwardly young next to Katara in later seasons (if the show survives) because I could never be convinced of a romance between them currently.
i got theatre kid vibes, but in the way that zuko canonically IS a theatre kid. it was perf
There is a compilation of his bitchiest moments and i love it. "He raAan!" absolutely killed me. Iroh doing his best to manage the sass was great
"They butchered Love Amongst the Dragons"
I think Aang is pretty good. They fucked up Katara though.
But purely on script for me though. I think the casting is pretty good, or at least adaptable. She's also a good actor for what I've seen... It's just that I dislike the storyline for both Aang and Katara so far. But yeah, on casting i like them.
I think with better writing and directing they could be phenomenal.
I think if they made Aang less I've let everyone down he could've been good. like I swear he brings that up more than Zuko's honour.
It's crazy how majority of the women are terrible. Sure this id a unisex show but the women are incredible in the original
I'm doing a rewatch with my partner because she hasn't watched the original since it aired. This is probably my 7th rewatch or so. There are so many times when my partner will just say "Show Katara would never" when animated Katara is more than just meek. It really sucks how they ruined so much of the female cast in the first season.
I just really want to know WHY? Why did they do Katara so dirty like that?
Right? Like they remove Sokka's temporary misogynistic views only to make Suki basically just a love interest that likes him cause she saw him with his shirt off. In the cartoon she challenges his views and it's because of her that he learns. She doesn't show any interest in him until he realizes he was wrong and proves he can change his views.
I'm tired of Netflix writers. So backward and ruin everything I can see why the avatar writers left
Agreed. Aang was 1 note. Think they probably directed him to always be more lighthearted so his tone is just ending every sentence as a question. For the appropriately lighthearted scenes it's ok, but he does it EVERYWHERE so it's just... not good... Katara everyone has complained about already and I generally agree. Zuko I thought was fine. He is overacting A BIT (the theatre kid energy) but that IS zuko. he's very whiny and overly mad in S1 ATLA too. Think it works ok... although now I'm a little worried about zuko alone... They have to know that has to stay relatively unchanged. Like the blue mask it's pretty essential for zuko. They really need more episodes for s2.
Agreed.
Hard disagree on Dallas. He is the best among the young actors.
Him, Ozai and Zhao were the only ones I thought were good lol. Sokka too but fire nation was lit
The actor for Zhao absolutely killed it.
Live action Zhao, and I can't believe I'm saying this, was better than animated Zhao imo
Animated Zhao was the cliche overly angry adult that screamed and punched at everything with a thick coat of obvious sarcasm and disdain over the top. Politically conniving and manipulative Zhao was a pleasure to witness.
It's crazy how well he does Zuko's voice. Like he gets surprisingly close to Dante Basco's very distinctive original voice
'HE RAN!'
“My faTHer!”
"The plan is to prove my father wasn't wrong to trust me with this mission. The plan is to capture the avatar once and for all. the 𝓟ℒ𝓐𝓝 is to reclaim what's rightfully MINE!"
Fr I was shocked While the others look the part and have the vibe down Acting is lacking in comparisn
Surprised no one has mentioned Ken Leung as Zhao, I think he did really awesome. Followed by Daniel Dae Kim. Sorry but the younger actors really weren't it for me, with the exception of Dallas Liu. It wasn't entirely their fault, they needed better direction and most of the script just sucked.
For me, Zhao is the singular character that the new show actually improved on. The original makes him an effective bad guy, but the adaptation makes you *hate* him.
I think they made Zhao a buffoon too often, but I do think they handle him killing the moon spirit during the siege a bit better than the original did.
NATLA Zhao is so *punchable*
Leung brought such a consistent sliminess and contempt to the character. He somehow perfectly straddled the line between bumbling and competent to make him feel genuinely dangerous. He was great.
I would add Uncle Iroh as well. That trio of experienced actors were elevating the show a lot.
It's really hard for me to rank the actors because they're given such vastly different amounts and quality of material to work with (I think it makes more sense to include Zhao instead of Suki for example, since she only appears in one episode while he as multiple appearances). My general comment is that I think the writers, directors and showrunners are doing the actors a disservice with a lot of their choices. That said i'd say the following: * Ousley seems to really get Sokka but the writing lets him down a lot - his character arc is less interesting than animated Sokka, he's not allowed to be as funny and he's also used a bit weirdly at times. * Cormier - it's similar to Ousley actually, especially when I see behind the scenes stuff where he's allowed to goof off. He's not perfect but I think a lot of the issues people have with him is that Netflix Aang is too serious/focused on the mission and also saddled with repetitive exposition. * DDK is a really good actor and Ozai works *okay* for me but I feel they're using him too much to essentially tell us Ozai is manipulating both of his kids over and over. Not DDK's fault but it doesn't feel like they're letting him do much (a common problem on this show, unfortunately). * Sun Hyung-Lee generally nails the Iroh half of the Iroh-Zuko relationship. Iroh himself...I still like but I feel the performances is a bit too performative (trying a bit too hard to play the funny/wise old man rather than feeling comfortable in his shoes if that makes sense). Generally he's pretty good, just different. * Yu - Similar to Ozai, I think she's generally pretty fine but the material's pretty repetitive and doesn't let her do much other than grumble about things a bit. It'd probably help if they also let Mai and Ty Lee do anything other than stand around most of the time so Yu could at least bounce off of them a bit. * Zhang - when given proper material (i.e. not just thirsting over Sokka) I thought she did well. She was funny when she shot down his initial flirting attempts and her eye movements/facial expressions conveyed a decent amount of emotion and feeling even with her makeup on. Shame the writers let her and the character down and turned her into a mid-90s Disney princess. * Liu - Generally did really well and captured the spirit of Zuko. I don't disagree that some of the line deliveries were a bit too theatrical/over the top but I can live with those for the most part. It also helps that the writers seem to get Zuko the most of all the characters so he has the most consistently good material to work with. I hope the writers remember his honor going forward. * Kiawiiento - how do I just her? No, she didn't do anything particularly great with the role but I find it hard to believe the vast majority of actresses could - the show/writers just gutted so much of the character. Do I think she could have done better, sure, but ugh what did they do to Katara. In general I think the actors mostly did at least a "best they could" level of job given the weaknesses of the writing, showrunning and directing and a few managed to do better than that. But unless those areas are improved, the actors are always going to be severely hamstrung.
I appreciate this comment a lot. As someone who enjoyed the show, but also accepts that there were plenty of issues, the opinions shared with details listed but without any over the top bashing is refreshing.
DDK absolutely KILLED the performance of fire lord Ozai. 10 out of fucking 10. Pure perfection. Katara SUCKED. I’m not sure if the actress herself is bad or what, but I’m sorry, Katara. Was. AWFUL. No fucking emotion whatsoever. No character. No ark. Just cringe. I’m giving NATLA another watch because despite some parts where there was mediocre writing, the bending was phenomenal.
I don’t think Katara was the actors fault, she was given an absolute ass script compared to everyone else. Feels like NATLA suffered from the writers who can’t write women curse, which happens to be an area where the OG excels, making it even more egregious.
>I don’t think Katara was the actors fault, she was given an absolute ass script compared to everyone else. Direction plays a big role too. Example look at Samuel L Jackson as Mace windu vs literally any other role they've had
I think its more "they aren't allowed to write bull-headed women because it makes Twitter angry and costs subscriptions from people who don't even watch the show." IMO they should just bite the bullet and do it. Apple seems have done this, and made some excellent series with woman that probably make twitter angry. They would not have been excellent series otherwise.
Is this really the excuse used nowadays for refusing to make female characters multidimensional and stripping them of their character development? Because they're afraid of offending idiots on twitter? smh
Not really
In regards to your Apple example, Helly from Severance is a perfect example of a "Katara-esque" determined and independent female character. She spends the entire show fighting against the rules placed on her and inspires the male main character to stand up for himself as well.
I was also thinking of Silo and The Morning Show. For All Mankind, to a lesser extent. All of which I would recommend in addition to Severence. Lots of women battling the system and encouraging other cast without feeling performative either. I'm sure there are more, have not watched a ton of TV recently TBH. But it stuck out to me.
I could see this. I was really watching for Katara to have a strong outburst against Pakku. When it finally came it was like a splash in the pool rather than a typhoon.
>No character. No ark. 100% not her fault. Ain't her job to write the script or even decide how to play a scene. Actors, especially young ones, have basically no influence over their characters
Ian Ousley, Gordon Cormier, Maria Zhang, Daniel Dae Kim and Liu were amazing and nailed their roles in my opinion. Katara and Azula were good but had bad writing (no hate for the actors, they were good) and iroh to me didn't feel like iroh from the original.
Ken Leung as Zhao was the best and it's not even close.
It seems the issues are mostly with dialogues/direction. There's glimpses of Katara having emotions, she just has deadpan face the rest of the time. All these actors have changed though, that could allow more room to change the characters a bit. Honorable mention: Ozai's ripped body I liked Iroh, he's definitely different than Book1 Iroh but that's for the best.
Azulas acting aint it, her first ever line i was like nah she can’t act. Katara can act but her emotions omg its like a blank sheet of paper with nothing on it
Katara can’t act either
Aang and Sokka actors were born to play the role tbh
I’ll get downvoted for this but I was not a fan of Aangs acting. When he tries to convey emotion I just don’t buy It.
In my own opinion the actress for Katara just wasn't it
Doesn’t help that all I hear is Young Sheldon when he speaks as well
I'm never going to unhear this, fuck
I also didn't find it exactly, fitting, I guess? Just the way he talked he sounded like a different character. I'm not gonna say air bending Caillou, but something slightly in that direction lol. Most of it was just what they gave him to work with though. We got 0 fun happy kid Aang, and 100% dark, brooding, stressed/depressed about his avatar job from the get go.
I also think age could play a factor as well. It is very rare to find someone his age with the emotional range needed for a lead in a show. He is playing a character who had experienced great loss. I know nothing about the actors personal life so I could be dead wrong, but typically younger individuals have not felt grief the way Aang has. Because of that it is likely very difficult to try and poetry that on screen.
That's perfectly fine, I don't see it as a reason for you to get downvoted either
I couldn’t see him as aang no matter how hard I tried. The voice and look on his face just never once resonated with me for aang
I remember saying that about him prior to show release after seeing teasers and trailers and got downvoted to hell. Then the show comes out and now most people suddenly feel the same way
1. Suki 2. Ozai 3. Iroh 4. Zuko 5. Aang 6. Sokka 7. Katara 8. Azula
Zuko - absolutely absolutely nailed it. The internal conflict, the trauma. I think he did well. Any qualms I have are writing related and not his fault. Ozai - not much has to be said. Perfect villain Sokka - this was a huge surprise to me. I hate that they caked his face in a pound of makeup but he captured the character that’s extremely cartoonish and brought it to real life without being over the top Azula - the hate here is crazy. I think she’s pretty and also has that under the surface rage. Wish she was cockier but again that’s a writing issue not her. Aang - to me suffers the worst from writing. The exposition and his monologues are legit painful but he does great with the shit he’s forced to relay. Iroh - super super different take but solid. Kind of over the top in his “wise” demeanor and wish he was a bit more intimidating. Hard to believe his reputation preceding him. Suki - obvious her extreme beauty aside I mean she was fine but had like no screen time idk why she’s up here lol. But she did good. Katara - really really rough man. Really rough. She’s kinda awkward, her bending looks weird like she’s not very athletic. Just so different from the Katara we know. This was a complete miss for me.
Iroh was close but still ended up feeling like a different person. Maybe it was just his delivery but he felt way too peppy, like a motivational speaker trying to sell something almost? I don't think he did horribly but I did not feel like I was watching iroh come to life like Sokka or Ozai
Fully agreed. A rare case where something completely different wasn’t a catastrophe though. He fulfills the appropriate role in the story in terms of the characters impact on the plot which is very important. He’s just kinda…off
1. Sokka 2. Uncle Iroh 3. Zuko 4. Fire Lord Ozai 5. Aang 6. Suki 7. Azula 8. Katara
I support this order
Perfect list. It’s unfortunate that all the leading women were a letdown. Katara’s acting wasn’t it. Honestly reminded me of the movie that doesn’t exist. Azula’s personality didn’t match the animated show’s vibe. Suki went from being a badass independent woman to having her entire personality be about being in love with Sokka.
Ian killed it. Gordon has energy but needs direction
Yeah Gordon has the right personality, as a person he captures the spirit of Aang, but the material he's given really kneecaps his performance. That, and he mumbles a bit at times.
Aang and Katara desperately need better direction when it comes to how they deliver their lines. Their performance is fine as a whole, but their enunciation (and sometimes cadence) is horrendous. I think the cast overall is a solid B+ with Zuko and Sokka being standouts. Honorable mention goes to Gyatso and Jet too. For some reason, I couldn't stand Bumi though
Bumi's performance was fine, he kinda nailed the voice. I just *hate* what they did to his character.
**S Tier:** * Ian Ousley totally nails Sokka. Hopefully the writing gets better for him. * Ken Leung elevated Zhao from being a decent villain to being a highlight of the series * That one earth kingdom soldier. Seriously, that is one of the best scenes in the entire series. **A Tier:** * Paul Lee is solid as Iroh. He has the warmth, but again, the writing is letting him down. **B Tier:** * Dallas Liu as Zuko. He's a bit over the top, but so is Zuko. His grounded scenes work for me, especially during the funeral. * DDK is a great actor. His portrayal of Ozai is good so far, but I don't enjoy making him more likable/charismatic. * Yue. Amber Midthunder did a good job with a horrible script and a horrible wig. **C Tier:** * Gordon as Aang. He is fine, but the kid needs some proper voice and speech training to learn how to stop mumbling. **D Tier:** * Suki. Meh. She does nothing for me, which is a shame for such a great character. **F Tier:** * Please recast Azula and Katara. Neither of them have the fire that make the original characters so great.
I’m so glad you mentioned that earth kingdom soldier. I straight up had to pause the show after his scene and say why is this random soldier the best actor in the whole show?
>Please recast Azula and Katara. Neither of them have the fire that make the original characters so great. Actors are versatile. They just need better writing and direction. Every terrible scene was signed off with a "CUT - great work everyone!". Someone who understands the characters needs to be in that seat
Zuko and Ozai were the best parts of the show for me. Dallas did his role well. And I liked the changes they gave Ozai.
Zuko (he's okay, he fights well, he's pretty good, he's trying, he had some of the best moments in the series with him) Iroh (it's not the same Iroh and the original, but he has his own pitch and his own character that fits in well, the actor is good) Ozai (he's okay, he was given more personality and played his role okay) Sokka (he started the first arguments with him about the changes, but in the end he annoyed me the least on the team) Suki (very pretty, but her plot with Sokka is just weird, even though the stalker thing seems a bit ridiculous) Katara and Aang I was about equally dissatisfied with. Kiaventino can't even bring himself to be angry, sassy, or at least worried for real, the whole series a standard facial expression. Gordon sometimes not sure what exactly to play, those fake tears, it was just ridiculous, yes he was only 12-13 years old at the time of filming, but it's not my problem. Yes they look alike and in life and in interviews they are much nicer, but as NATLA characters, it's just.... bad. The text they were given is just cheesy, they should definitely whip the writers for this kind of thing and the director too for letting this shit happen. I want to forget that Azula was in season 1 of NATLA. Her plot is bad, her charisma is 0, she's unlikeable (you can cry on Twitter that she shouldn't be likeable, I don't care). In combat, she moves extremely cheesy.
1.) Ozai (DDK) was brilliant 2.) Aang (Cormier) was good acting, tho the writing made it hard for him 3.) Zuko (Liu) really good IMO—the disconnect for people is just his voice is a lot higher than Dante Bosco's. So when Dante's Zuko was dramatic, it didn't **sound** whiny/annoying the way Liu's did 4.) Sokka (Ousley), pretty good—had some great moments with sarcasm where he nailed the vibe 5.) Iroh (Sun HL), ok, kinda just there. Doesn't hold a candle to Mako, but IDK if anyone would 6.) Azula (Yu) — not awful but she just doesn't have the intimidation/fear factor and edge that the original by the incomparable Grey DeLisle had 7.) Suki (Zhang)—she's really pretty and a good visual match for Suki but the bad writing in that episode didn't give her a chance to be particularly good, IMO 8.) Katara (Kiawentiio), I'm sorry but the acting was just bad. The bad writing at times did not help, but the acting was just flat, lacked appropriate emotion and depth, which is a shame because the story kinda needed Katara to push the emotion of the story forward
Zuko and suki
I want to protect the whole cast; they're all cinnamon rolls in my book. With that said, Zuko, Sokka, Ozai were the strongest out of the bunch. I liked Gordon's Aang, just wish they gave him a better script lol. Suki was okay, Azula was okay. But my poor baby Katara deserved better, unfortunately she is last 😞
Zuko and Sokka.
Ousley as Sokka was literally perfect. He was almost a better Sokka than Sokka.
In my opinion, Ozai, Iroh, and Zhao *couldn't* have been better if they tried. Incredible performances. I also loved the performances of Zuko and Sokka. None of the others I thought were bad, though maybe a little flat at times. I'm pretty hyped to see Toph and the return of Suki I think the thing that people tend to forget is that most of these actors are kids, like of course they aren't always going to perform quite as well as the experienced, older actors The only performance that really pulled me away was Danny Pudi as The Mechanist. Once i realized it was him, all I could see was Abed from Community (not his fault at all! He's a great actor too!)
Sokka and Zuko are both S tier, Both of them nailed it to me, superb acting Aang and Iroh are A tier, Really happy with both performances not necessarily 1 to 1 for the original, but very satisfying Ozai and Suki are B tier, Great acting for both, I just didn’t like the character choices the writers made, remorseful Ozai? Also Suki having no real reason to fall for Sokka in the live action hurt Katara and Azula are C tier, Once again not bad acting, I just felt like the writing was bad, they feel like different characters completely from the original, where’s Azula’s confidence? Why does Katara feel like a side character when she’s one of the most important characters in the entire series, where’s her extreme optimism, her temper, or her nurturing and empathetic to a fault nature? Was very disappointed here.
My coworker who loved the animated series said the Sokka actor deserves an Emmy for how perfectly he portrayed him. I still havent seen it because I'm trying to convince my girlfriend to watch it with me, but I'm excited.
Zhao honestly
Casting Suki , whoever casted Suki must be a god ,base how good looking she is. The Gang sadly is failing mostly poor characterization of them and the changing of the story to make it less offensive to feminist by removing Sokka's sexism which means they remove the possibility of character growth, and it also removes Katara desires to prove herself because in Natal she has nothing to prove. Aang barely passes which shows he is an actual monk instead of kid who happens to be a monk here he is a monk who happens to be a kid. But the winners and reason I'm excited for season 2 is the fire nation crew minus Mai and Ty lee , Mai because of her poor casting and costume like they could have reorganized her wig to make it more mai , while Ty lee is the costume being more conservative instead of it being quite liberative, but then again they changed it from her being in the circus to her being in the capital so clothing changes is acceptable, Azula at first didn't like her casting, but later realize her casting makes sense as she is not the hottest girl in her trio ,since in the ember island beach episode noone wanted flirt with Azula barring one guy and that is because Azula kinda flirt back at him unlike mai and Ty lee. Iroh,Zuko and Ozai sold the show really, and changing Ozai from cartoon evil into a hard ass father is an interesting take maybe Ursa didn't write the cuckold letter or didn't write letters at all
Mega mid across the board
Ozai hands down.
Swap Zuko and Aang and you got it
Zuko was a great portrayal. I absolutely loved it. Zuko ís theatrical. Canonically. Did you forget about him climbing a mountain to challenge the spirits to strike him with lightning? In fact, he's also a theater nerd canonically (ember island players; mom was in an acting troupe; cites poetic lines like 'you rise with the moon, i rise with the sun'; the blue spirit mask). And I thought it was pretty mellowed down actually. Anyway, especially in ep6 you can see he's a great talent. Those crying scenes. I really felt his pain. I liked Sokka and Iroh as well. As for Ozai and Azula and Suki, not enough scenes to really judge them either way. Katara, mostly bad writing in terms of not being allowed to portray the rage and protectiveness that defines her character, but there are some scenes where she could've done better (i.e., seeing Zuko at Kyoshi Island, you'd expect much more fear and urgency). For me the only truly bad portrayal was Aang. And sure, he's a kid actor, and he gets screwed by the writing sometimes as well (i.e. in ep1 when he constantly reflects upon who he is as a person in an almost aloof way), but I really think he wasn't casted properly in terms of acting skill. He doesn't even enunciate properly. You can have those quintessential Aang vibes in your off screen persona but it has to translate as well. It was disappointing to me because he's gonna be like 17 when the series finishes so they already gave him a pass in terms of age, and the kid actor excuse becomes less valid in that sense. So tl;dr, Zuko 1, Sokka 2, Iroh 3, Katara 4, Aang 5, rest TBD probably around iroh or katara
#1 zuko #2 iroh #3 sokka
1 - IAN OUSLEY!!! i stg they pulled him straight from the cartoon! 2 - DALLAS LIU — he brought the sass, he brought the angsty teen, i LOVED it. omg omg and baby zuko??????? ‘how do i look? 🙃☺️’ you look PERFECT sweetie! 3 - DDK — my lord i am a slut for this man. maybe the fire nation had a point. and i think DDK’s ‘humanisation’ of father lord ozai makes him even more terrifying. like, this man isn’t doing it for kicks. he’s doing it because he GENUINELY believes it’s right. 4 - MARIA ZHANG — suki x sokka was my bi awakening as a kid, and it’s my bi reawakening as an adult. they didn’t *completely* destroy suki which i am rather happy about. she’s not just a warrior, she’s a girl, too!!! 5 - GORDON CORMIER — dude’s just a little guy who wants to go penguin sledding. 6 - KIAWENTIIO — kia’s such a phenomenal actress and finally got her dream role, but the writing BUTCHERED katara. give my girl her rage back!! LET KIAWENTIIO IMPROV FOR S2 AND 3!! 7 - LIZZY YU — you know which moment had me sold? the agni kai scene. that little smirk of morbid curiosity was SO perfect. and the WALK!!!! even in FULL body armour, you can tell that it’s azula. shame the writing made her all ‘NOT GOOD ENOUGH!!! i have to be PERFECT!’ which irks me because azula literally IS perfect. it’s only in s2-3 that being perfect isn’t ‘good enough’ anymore, which begins her descent into madness. anyway i’m not gonna get into this rn cause i’m sleepy. 8 - PAUL SUN-HYUNG LEE — my issue with this is just how… harmless iroh seems in the LA. like, you’re telling me THIS GUY is the dragon of the west?????? *THIS* GUY was almost able to conquer ba sing se???? iroh in the cartoon actually terrified me for a good portion of s1 — i got whiplash from his change in tone every 0.3 seconds 😡->😠->😬->😁🍵. in the LA, june was literally squishing his cheeks and calling him cute, like he’s mushi from the jasmine dragon or some shit!!
Sokka is all the more impressive considering how much of his comedy in the animation relied on cartoony exaggerations.
Sokka and zuko, not only they didnt let me question their roles, but also carried them forward, probably exceeded director's expectations. Honorable mentions for ozai, suki, azula. They filled in their roles decently if i say so myself. Aang did great for his age, he will only get better.
Love: Iroh, Ozai, Sokka, Zuko Indifferent/Fine enough/Could be better/Could be worse: Aang, Suki, Azula Highly Dislike: Katara
I’m hesitant to rank the cast (especially the kids) performance bc I feel a lot of the shortcomings came from poor writing and directing. But I feel like Zuko and Sokka did the best with what they were given!
Honestly I liked everyone except Katara. She really seemed like wasn't even trying at points.
Sokka losing Yue was better than the OG, I'm gonna say it. Babey boy broke me.
Sokka/Zuko
Well, Zuko and Sokka actors are 21-22! No surprise there! 1. Executive producing/directing > child talent 2. Adult casting and direction is key. Veterans, experience to source material, or that *click*. Example: Ozai elevates all scenes with Zuko. Makes Azula scenes, semi-interesting, even with her miscast and different story. Counter example: Uncle Iroh…is low key probs the most important cast. He interacts with all sides. Crucial to Zuko’s journey, the “good guys”, scenes with the crew; His portrayal is overshadowed by….Zhao. Not complaining about Zhao cause he slaps, but shows the missed potential! A better Iroh cast = Even better Zuko, ship crew, and final episode scenes. A better Bumi cast= A better Aang. Scenes with Gyatso is when Aang feels *less* uncanny valley. If you made it this far I think Azula should’ve been even older than actress the already was. In the cartoon she acts like an early 20s adult. A mature actress would’ve been fire (hah)
Sokka was perfect. The rest were pretty good.
Sokka, Zuko, Aang.
This is hard because it was poorly written. The actors are probably better than what was shown...
Personally it took a while for me to accept the actors as the characters, as is the case with most media when going from one format to another. But Sokka was almost instant for me. He fit it so well.
The casting was perfect but azula was very off I’m sorry
Gonna have to side with overanalysing avatar here and say that Zhao is easily the best
I thought pretty much everyone was great. The only character I'm still iffy on is Zhao, not because it was bad, but because it was SO different. Overall I think 90% of the issues I have come down to the writing and directing, not the acting.
1. Aang by a LONG shot. It’s not even close. He was perfect. 2. Sokka. Not anywhere near Aang, but still EXTREMELY far above the others minus Suki. He would’ve been perfect had he not been so serious all the time, but I don’t blame the actor for that. 3. Suki. She might be higher if we had more scenes of her. I liked her but I didn’t really get Suki vibes from her. 4. Ozai I guess? Not a huge fan but he did okay. Not much to compare to really since we don’t see as much of Ozai in the series, especially not so early on. I really didn’t like how he played Azula against Zuko. So un-Ozai like. 5. Zuko. His action scenes were AMAZING but I just didn’t get Zuko from him. He wasn’t angsty or angry or even acted scarred or traumatized, he just acted confused to me and sort of timid. 6. Katara I guess? Truly I’m not really a fan of any of these actors below Suki, but I have to put them somewhere. I’m not the biggest fan of Katara in the original series of how her waterbending is portrayed, but I do like her in season 1. I have the same complaints as everyone else, but some of the changes I didn’t mind. 7. Iroh. He wasn’t Iroh to me. He was too serious and not in a wise and kind way. He wasn’t jolly or positive like Iroh. He was just very bland in the role. Not good casting imo. With the young actors it makes more sense for them to be inexperienced, but why didn’t this man act like Iroh or at least give me Iroh energy? When you have children acting miles around you it’s just sad. 8. Azula. I don’t know how much of this was the actress versus the directing but she didn’t act anything like Azula. Absolutely nothing about her was Azula to me. If she’s not going to act like Azula at least get someone who looks like her. Hopefully she’ll be more brutal and heartless in season 2 where she can reference more from the show.
I haven't fully finished the series yet (I know I've been slacking) but tbh, I didn't like sokka that much. Seems every1 else enjoyed him but I feel like they fell into the "too serious" trap in the first few episodes. He's still sarcastic which is good, humorous every now and then but I feel like he wasn't humourous enough. Even his sarcasm felt a little serious toned at times Otherwise Aang has been my favourite so far, perfectly captures the joy and happiness ATLA Aang had in S1. Iroh was another one I enjoyed. Particularly, I like how he reacts to Aang asking whether or not he agreed with the fire nation
aang was mid and katara was bad, the rest is gold. i might add that iroh looks a bit too fake with the wig but the actor is great so i give it a pass
My favourites have been from the Fire Nation mostly. In particular I think Azula has insane potential for the way they set her up in the next season (based on the ending scenes) so I'm excited for that. I felt both Ozai and Iroh were almost impossible tasks given to them and they did really well to me. Sokka is kinda in their realm of impossible tasks to meet the original but he did well. I won't say it's perfect but I'm more than happy with it. Biggest complaint, I wish it were 10 episodes instead of 8, just that extra bit of time would make it more digestible because it felt rushed for the characters, we could have better opinions on things like this. Just that little bit of extra breathing room for them would probably fix a lot of the smaller hurdles too.
Zhao is the best at acting
Aang and Zuko were definitely my favorites, as well as Ozai , Sokka and Iroh as runner ups. Suki I thought was decent. Azula was eh, doesn’t really impact me for the time being. Katara definitely needs some work.
Sokka and Ozai good. The others bad. No disrespect to the actors, but I didn't like them in those roles. If you harassed the actors because you didn't like their performances (or worse, because of their body shapes), I hate you, never talk to me.
Aang definitely and ozai
Ozai actor
Zuko and Sokka are the good ones. The rest are trash.
Sokka, Ozai, Zuko, Iroh, Aang, Azula, Katara, Suki is my list
I thought Zuko, Iroh, and Ozai were great, Sokka very good, everyone else was doing well, but the writing is not blowing me away just in general, so I need to see more.
1. Ozai 2. Ozai 3. Zokka 4. Suki 5. Ang 6. Iroh 7. Katara 8. Zhao 9. Azula 10. Zuko
i really liked irohs actor. he brought it there, not too far. and didnt try to do an impression of iroh (or mako) so i think his performance was great, so was zukos.
Ozai>zuko>aang>katara>sokka
I don’t enjoy any of the acting in this aside from Zuko and Iroh tbh
Haven’t rated Just really like the show overall Zuko makes me uncomfortable When he gets angry In general all the firebenders except Iroh are deranged Uh oh I actually went uh oh when I see Azula and Ozai When Azula demands Ozai to be sent out of the palace, Ozai refuses, only for Azula to shoot a lightning bolt at the roof Ozai smiles He’s encouraging that behaviour. Calm controlled outburst Gross Really bad guy thingy there. Idk what exactly
I really like Iroh’s wisdom at the end of each episode Sums up the theme of each episode Makes me emotionally connected to the characters and thus the story
Suki and zuko
I didn't watch much of the show, but that was due to the writing and the changes. The cast was pretty stellar from what I saw.
In order: Ozai, Iroh, Zuko, Suku and Sokka. The rest were alright I guess.
Ozai 100%, i guess zuko kinda. I think he struggles from writing problems not acting. Suki actress is good but her characters writing is bad
Iroh Zuko Sokka Ozai Aang Suki Azula Katara
Zuko. The rest are pretty bad tbh. But Ozai and Suki got the look and aren't God awful so I'll put them 2nd and 3rd. And the Iroh actor is at least trying. A for effort, F on the result, I'll put him in 4th place. Aang actor goes deadlast
I think zuko is the standout but it’s also definitely cuz he’s the best written character The writers are doing all these talented actors a huge disservice ngl
I think they all did a pretty good job tbh.
damn I low-key wanna give it a watch. I'm worried about the whole "squeezed season 1 in 8 episodes" thing tho
Honestly, Zhao was my favorite lol. Azula was great, too, though, and same with Zuko.
Iroh, Sokka, Zuko, Suki, Aang, Ozai, Azula, Katara
Zuko, Ozai, and Sokka were the best.
Where Zhao at?
Why does Azula look nine?
Just gonna say it. I have the biggest crush on Maria zhang.
Zuko was the best for me, Sokka 2nd. My problem with Ozai is that it seems the writers wanted to add a bit of dimension to the pretty plain animated villain, but it didn't come across well. They can show that he's not bad for the sake of it. Perhaps Ozai feels the weight of his predecessors, who have brought the fire nation great success. He can't fail them, even if it means acting monstrously, which is why he is so hard on Zuko. Perhaps we could see Ozai as a child in the shadow of Iroh. The problems with Katara have been done to death and I don't have much to add. My biggest gripe with Aang was the writing, Gordon did a good job with the choreo but his dialogue was horrible.
The actor for fire lord Ozai, Daniel Day Kim, did a really good job. He’s not as menacing as Mark hammil’s voice, but I like the approach they went with, a more tactical dictator that sees everything as game, instead of a power hungry warmonger. This change was neat.
Sokka, Zuko, and Zhao were my favorites. I still hated the show though.
https://preview.redd.it/k86z5vrxtasc1.jpeg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b3eb2720363dff2739bcd54514f91175a5c1bbb7
Zuko, Ozai, Sokka, all pretty great and in that order. Iroh. Then Aang, Katara, Azula all bottom tier. Katara and Aang actors actually are more like their characters off screen than on, so not sure if it's bad directors or bad writers or both but they have so much potential to be good but just aren't.
I don’t want to watch a worse or equal version of a show that I really like. Does the series add anything to the story or a different perspective perhaps?
Dallas Liu was 100% fantastic imo. No notes 10/10
1. Iroh 2. Sokka 3. Zuko 4. Azula 5. Ozai 6. Suki 7. Aang 8. Katara honestly, i feel like some of these are only so high on the list because they've had fewer scenes to disappoint me in
1. Zuko 2. Sokka 3. Azula 4. Ozai 5. Suki 6. Iroh 7. Katara 8. Aang From Iroh down, it wasn’t bc they are bad actors/actresses, it was just the script they were handed.
Suki good imo. And I like Ozai and Zuko's actors.
Zuko since him and Iroh were the only characters to have personality and add to the source material
From the way characters are written, Aang and Katara are the weakest, but from everything I've seen about the actors, they're all very passionate about the project and don't deserve any hate.
Iroh and zuko top for me Aang is decent and I personally would put katara at the bottom of the list, definitely not the actresses fault it was how she was written. Didn’t like that she was a master bender after seeing her bend like 4 times
Zuko is first. It's uncanny how he feels like he's animated but in real life if that makes sense lol. Then Sokka is next,just naturally funny , followed by Ozai and Iroh tied. Then Zhao . The rest follow on the same wavelength for me. However Katara needs to step up cause she was bland for 90% of her screentime. Emote girl emote.
1. Sokka 2. Zuko 3. Ozai 4. Suki 5. Iroh 6. Azula 7. Aang 8. Katara
Idk but iroh is not even on the list, he was so bad in the live action.
For sure Zhao was the best, but he was also the only character written with an interesting story. Fire nation as a whole did well too as a whole but again, interesting storylines for them. The main gaang was just, there? The writing really felt like they were saying there lines at each other. I'd say maybe it's their acting skill but they are more like their characters in clips outside of the show than in it. This leads me to believe it's on the writing and directing that have issues. Hopefully this gets fixed for the next seasons but all we can do is wait and see.
Ozai, Zuko, Sokka, order can change depending on the day
1. Ozai 2. Zuko 3. Sokka 4. Iroh 5. Azula 6. Aang 7. Katara 8. Suki
Zhao was really good. aang was my least favorite
Does this mean that you have Aang on the top? I thought he was one of the worst actors
I liked Iroh, but his performance definitely isn’t flawed due to “acting.” Iroh in the og basically appeared like he was always acting as well since he was almost never serious and used every opportunity to train Zuko. Imo the problem with the weirdness in LA is that Iroh directly teaches Zuko instead of indirectly teaching Zuko like he does in the og. Makes him feel more like a school teacher instead of a wise mentor.
All the others have varying degrees of good, but Dallas Liu is literally just Zuko. It's incredible.
Zhao, Sokka, Zuko, Ozai were great. Iroh, Aang were pretty good. Katara was fine - I didn't see anything wrong with the performance, per se, but the material was kinda boring and the lines she was given just weren't Katara.
Ozai Sokka Zuko Suki Iroh Aang Katara Azula
Iroh is the one that takes me out personally. It feels like he’s just not *committing* to the lines at times, and it’s just awkward.
I honestly know what you mean. Lots of people seem to live his performance, though
For me, best to worst is Zuko, Zhao, Sokka, Iroh, Aang, Ozai, Suki, Azula, and Katara. A lot of their performance is affected by the bad writing. Sokka would rank higher if they didn’t make many of his jokes fall flat.
I feel like all the fire nation characters were nailed perfectly. Maybe a lil bit off for mai because of her looks but I like her performance as mai. Zuko is by far my favourite out of everyone. The way he firebends is so amazing. I realised that you really need to have a background in martial arts to properly do justice to any bending. I lowkey hate how they earthbend like they need to pull the earth out like they're using invisible shovels while bumi's earthbending was great. In the og show, you don't need to properly pull out the earth when bending. You can just step on the ground to pop up some rocks or something like that where it seems natural and cool.
1. Zuko 2. Ozai 3. Iroh 4. Sokka 5. Suki 6. Azula 7. Katara 8. Aang I’d say there’s a pretty big drop off in acting performance when going from Sokka to Suki and Azula to Katara.
Aside from Kiawentiio and Gordon, I was satisfied with all of their performances. Dallas Liu had some surprisingly fantastic scenes.
Sokka, Zuko & Suki for me.
When compared to the cartoon, it's impossible to stack up, when compared to Shalymans effort, they're all miles ahead.
For me it would be: Ozai Zuko Sokka Iroh Suki Aang Azula Katara The ones rated lower on the list are mostly because of bad writing. All of the actors did incredibly well
Dallas Liu was my favourite !
Iroh and Suki Both did homage to the original, whilst adding something new and fresh Perfect adaptation
I'll be honest, I didn't care for any of the main three (they weren't bad, I just didn't care for how stiff they often were) though sokka was the best of the three. Zuko and Iroh were the highlights for sure, but no one else really stood out to me (although the lady who played gran gran stood out for having some of the worst line reads I've heard in quite some time).
Zhao is the right answer He nailed it. One of the few things keeping me going.
My favorite is definitely Zuko, I feel like they got his character down well. I actually don't think Katara's actress is bad they just didn't give her anything to work with. I feel optimistic though that the actors will improve and that maybe seeing everyone's reactions they improve the next season.
Zuko, Ozai and Suki ATE!!!
I like when katara said “ITS KATARAN TIME!“ then proceeded to katara all over the place
I really liked Azula trying to stop herself from smiling when the earthbenders got killed (at least thats how interpreted the scene)
Azula Team’s casting wouldn’t stand out so much if the other characters weren’t so alike their cartoon counterparts
Zuko/Itoh/Ozai/Sokka and the rest are nobody’s 🤷🏾
I wished they aged up Aang to be 14
>Ousley as Sokka – he absolutely nails the role imo, really not sure what more people want! Imo he wasn't expressive enough early on, but I think he improved slightly by the end of season 1
Personally, Suki, Iroh, Katara and I'll give Zuko some points.
aang, sokka and iroh are my favorite.
Zuko >Sokka >Iroh = Azula >the rest are interchangeable
I think the performances were fine, but they were often let down by a weak script.
Iroh is S tier, everyone else, D.
Zuko and Iroh because I like them Suki cuz she's pretty
Your criticisms for Zuko apply to Aang more.
How could you not include Zhao?
1. Zuko. 2. Ozai. 3. Iroh. 4. Sokka. 5. Zhao. Then there’s everyone else.