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Post by KUNG FU ACTION JESUS on Jun 12, 2007 22:43:18 GMT -5
Exactly. I am in the minority, but I watch the show for the Gaang's story and for Aang. Zuko does almost nothing for me as a character. I understand his role in the show and portions of his story are interesting, but while a lot of people watch the show for Zuko, I prefer to watch the show for Aang and the Gaang who I get far more enjoyment out of. That's pretty much my view too. Zuko's a good character, sure, but despite being extremely well-developed as a character, I prefer the Gaang over Zuko. They're just more fun. And Sokka stole the show a loooong time ago. ;D
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Lanugi
Avatar Kyoshi
frozen made my icon. <3
Posts: 1,342
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Post by Lanugi on Jun 12, 2007 23:05:46 GMT -5
Even though I like Aang more, I think both him and Zuko contribute a lot to the show. Aang's optimism, and Zuko's angst are both pretty realistic reactions to the show's events.
Aang may act like a goofy kid at times, but that in no way means that he can't understand the seriousness of the issues at hand. I think it's important to not let life's problems bring you down, and to still have the ability to enjoy the little things, and have fun along the way.
Besides, Aang's matured a lot. As the show progesses, you notice that Aang is growing more serious, and approaching his problems in a more logical and mature way. Zuko, on the other hand, still reacts impulsively, and usually chooses the wrong option when he could of just thought things through.
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Post by luthien on Jun 12, 2007 23:25:52 GMT -5
Well, I have to admit - Aang did have plenty of "chosen one" angst in Season 1, that's for sure. He outright lied about being the Avatar to Katara, asked Gyatso if the monks were really sure he was the Avatar, and told Katara he never wanted to be the Avatar. So I'd say that's pretty standard "chosen one" angst. He definitely wanted to be a "normal" Airbender instead of the Avatar, and I think to a certain extent that desire still exists (which I'll give him a break for, since truthfully he's 12 and that's a natural reaction). He still struggles with this, which I think is why he's having trouble with the Avatar State even now. Come to think of it, the only heroes in modern stories who haven't really had angst about being chosen are Luke Skywalker and Hiro Nakamura.
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Post by almighty on Jun 12, 2007 23:56:27 GMT -5
It's more like Zuko stole the fans.
Aang still has more appearances and the story is focused around him. The fans, however, seem to be much more attracted to the brooding prince who is stuck in a world of confusion.
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Post by brilliantlygreen on Jun 13, 2007 1:50:48 GMT -5
Sorry but I don't watch the show for Zuko. I love him, his complex character, his story, and his background, but I watch the show for the character development of ALL the characters and for the amazing plotline. I have to know what happens next.
Also, I'm much more interested in Aang than Zuzu.
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Post by grandmaster192 on Jun 13, 2007 2:26:07 GMT -5
As a hardcore anime fan, Zuko was a huge turn off for me. Zuko basicly told me that Avatar: The Last Air Bender was nothing but shallow, boring, and cliched show. Zuko is nothing more then your standard done to death anti hero that you find in just about every little kid show. Zuko is nothing more then Vegeta, Seto Kaiba, Iori Yagami, Shinn Asuka, Shadow the Hedgehog, ect.....I could go on and on listing characters that Zuko has ben taking from. Zuko, along with the rest the characters I said are all one in the same. The have the exact same personalities, go through the exact same character development, and all have the same ending. The only thing different about each character is the differences of their universes. Avatar: The Last Air Bender has drawn a very inexperienced fanbase compared to the fanbases that most good anime's draw. That is the only, and I mean only reason Zuko is so popular. In a popular anime Zuko wouldn't have any thing close to the fanbase he has with Avatar. It's because Avatar's fanbase is so casual.
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Post by brilliantlygreen on Jun 13, 2007 2:51:05 GMT -5
..And you're an avatar fan?
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Post by grandmaster192 on Jun 13, 2007 3:40:25 GMT -5
..And you're an avatar fan? I consider myself a anime fan that likes avatar. I just started watching avatar in March.
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nandireya
Zuko's Path to Redemption Mod
...tickled pink...
Posts: 6,822
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Post by nandireya on Jun 13, 2007 4:59:19 GMT -5
I don't know...of the two characters in your list I actually know, both are extremely popular in their universes...and I personally think Zuko's more like Knuckles, with their preference for being alone, loyalty to their homeland, obsession with duty, overall crankiness and easy to be duped by the bad guy mentality than Shadow, who, as a video game character, I'm not entirely sure belongs on your list.
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Post by grandmaster192 on Jun 13, 2007 6:56:31 GMT -5
I don't know...of the two characters in your list I actually know, both are extremely popular in their universes...and I personally think Zuko's more like Knuckles, with their preference for being alone, loyalty to their homeland, obsession with duty, overall crankiness and easy to be duped by the bad guy mentality than Shadow, who, as a video game character, I'm not entirely sure belongs on your list. I listed the Sonic characters because of Sonic X, and I tried to list characters that the avatar fanbase may be familer with. I didn't want to get to complicated with my list. I could have used Knuckles, but I would have had to use his Sega Genises plot rather than the plot from more recent Sonic games/anime. I'm gonna assume the 2 charaters you know are Shadow and Vegeta. Like Avatar, the Sonic and DBZ fanbases are not exactly the most experienced, so it's likely that they will find the anti hero very intresting. A more hardcore fanbase like gundam fans, who have more experience with anime will find a anti hero clitched and boring. Also, if you ever went to a Sonic based message board you will see how hated Shadow is by die hard, old school sonic fans.
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nandireya
Zuko's Path to Redemption Mod
...tickled pink...
Posts: 6,822
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Post by nandireya on Jun 13, 2007 7:12:25 GMT -5
I used to be a die-hard Sonic fan and I never cared for Shadow...I just felt he was created because the Sonic nemesis they HAD created became so popular that they turned him good and they needed a replacement...though I did like how he roller-bladed around in the game. I always preferred Knuckles...why else do you think I compared him to Zuko? Besides, my nationality is so woefully under represented in popular culture, I have to go for the local boy And though it may be the Zuko fangirl in me talking, I never felt Zuko 'stole the show'...though he is more integral to the plot than most characters of his like. And I also don't think 'anti-hero' is the right term for him...an anti-hero is a character cast as the hero of a story who is devoid of heroic qualities...at least according to my dictionary. Zuko is not the hero of the story...that's Aang's role...nor is he completely devoid of heroic qualities...he's honourable, loyal and stands up for people weaker than him...but I guess it's the closet definition to who he is we've got.
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Ana
Metalbending Cop
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Post by Ana on Jun 13, 2007 13:11:57 GMT -5
Well, I have to admit - Aang did have plenty of "chosen one" angst in Season 1, that's for sure. Yeah, he did. Still, even then he was pretty optimistic and the "I want to be normal!" aangst didn’t last that long. It's more like Zuko stole the fans. Pretty much.
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Post by rocio on Jun 13, 2007 16:23:06 GMT -5
In the sense of the serie.....
They are parallel heroes: Aang is the classic hero for preadolescents, timid and amused that does not want to accept its destiny and that with the aid of his friends manages the suficient corage for that.
And Zuko is the heroic antagonist, classic hero of the adolescents, serious and full of moral, that tries to recover what by right it belongs to him. But simultaneously he must know himself better and also understand what really wants.
And both, have occupied a story of parallel course in the series; the same episode that we know of the past of Aang we knew the past of Zuko. When Aang was not fighting with Zuko, equal was Zuko in the episode, demostrating to us what kind of boy he was.
And as well as there are episodes where Zuko does not is seem, an episode became where Aang does not appear and everything is dedicated to Zuko.
Both they share the main participation; position that each one attracts target different and shares parallel time of screen.
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Post by demonofthewest on Jun 13, 2007 21:55:52 GMT -5
That's really not a fair comparison. And Harrison Ford, while hot (Oh Harrison Ford, how I loved you), is more Sokka-like sarcastic, then brooding and angsty. To claim that Zuko is just broody and angsty doesn't do justice to his character, just like saying that Aang is hyperactive and annoying doesn't do justice to his character. It's hard to explain why I like Zuko so much more than Aang. I'm considered one of the funniest kids in my school. I don't act angsty or jaded. I don't like angsty or jaded people. It would seem that I'm a lot like Aang. But is Aang one of my favorite characters? No. He's one of my least favorite. To be fair, Aang has a lot of competition. Aang is just annoying to me on many different levels. As I've said before, I don't think he's funny, and I cringe every time he cracks a joke. I laugh at Toph, Sokka, and Iroh. But rarely does Aang do something I actually find funny. Do I think Aang is a bad character? No. He's very well rounded, much like Zuko. He just isn't a character I like. So, as a guy who doesn't like broody, angsty people, why do I like Zuko? Because Zuko has something to angst about. Yes, he was royalty. Was he spoiled? Well, he was abandoned by his mother, physically abused by his father and possibly mentally abused by his sister. On the other hand, he got to wear fancy clothes and probably got free fire flakes whenever he wanted. I wouldn't consider that spoiled, but that's just me. Zuko connects with me on a deeper level than any of the other characters. I've been fascinated by Zuko's road to self discovery. I love how he tries to become a better person and learns from his mistakes, and I love that determination he has to succeed no matter what. Even though 99.9% of the world would rather see him keel over and die, Zuko desperately wants to prove that his existence isn't meaningless.
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Post by Amira on Jun 13, 2007 22:10:20 GMT -5
And Zuko isn't meaningless, he serves a purpose in the show. I disagree that he learns from his mistakes and tries to be better. If that was the case, he wouldn't have fallen back on old behaviors and patterns with the end of CoD.
And if other people like him, so be it. I'm not going to begrudge anyone a liking of Zuko. And many people see things in his character that I either don't see or don't particularly care for.
And on some level the fandom has helped push Aang far to the top of my list of favorites. Seems kind of funny for me to be admitting that on a thread about Zuko stealing the show.
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