Ming Ue
Haru
MingZula: The one true ship!
Posts: 341
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Post by Ming Ue on Oct 11, 2007 20:03:01 GMT -5
This question has been buzzing in my head. Have the writers ever stated that Katara was a prodigy? Or have they ever stated that she wasn't?
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SpiritBender
Buzzard Wasp
Ya tvoy hozyayn!!! (May The Force serve you well...)
Posts: 537
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Post by SpiritBender on Oct 11, 2007 20:09:31 GMT -5
^^They haven't overtly stated it, but it's pretty obvious that she is. From the very first episode when she cracked open the iceburg, it was evident that she had incredible amounts of undeveloped raw power. The fact that we've seen her progress so quickly, and Master Pakku's comment about how she's the best student he's ever had, are clear indications that she is a prodigy. More so than Azula, in fact, considering how Katara's skill has outstripped hers and how much raw power she has displayed in season 3.
-- SpiritBender
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prowlowl
Aang
just waiting at the air temple to ambush sokka and teo. the usual :P
Posts: 57
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Post by prowlowl on Oct 12, 2007 0:23:35 GMT -5
I think she is extremely powerful, undoubtedly, but not a prodigy. If she was truly a prodigy, like Azula, her power would have been more precise, controlled and mastered than raw and destructive. SpiritBender, when has Katara's power outstripped Azula's?
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Firework
Avatar Aang
Free like a butterfly instead of a flying boar... butterflies are prettier anyway.
Posts: 1,172
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Post by Firework on Oct 12, 2007 0:54:10 GMT -5
I think she is extremely powerful, undoubtedly, but not a prodigy. If she was truly a prodigy, like Azula, her power would have been more precise, controlled and mastered than raw and destructive. SpiritBender, when has Katara's power outstripped Azula's? In the "Crossroads of Destiny" Katara could have actually beaten Azula if Zuko hadn't intervened. Katara is a prodigy, a subtle one as she never came across as such a skilled bender until she reached the North Pole; in fact, she seemed average or even below average in comparison to Aang's amazing speed at learning Waterbending moves which took her months to perfect. The problem is, is that all of the actual training in which Katara went from talented to butt-kicking prodigy who defeated benders who trained for years went unseen. We were only told of all her hard work; this is a cop out. I don't care if Mike and Bryan didn't have time or no one in the Avatar crew wanted to make an episode showing this development, it was incredibly important to Katara's character. She got such a huge confidence boost and suddenly went from the nurturing one who occasionally helped out to being nurturing and a bodyguard. But yeah, Katara is a prodigy but she worked really hard (at least as far as we definitely know- before the North Pole) to become as strong as she is.
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Post by UnKnownShadow on Oct 12, 2007 1:20:45 GMT -5
Katara is a water bending prodigy. Master Pakkun told her, she almost beat Azula, she took out the entire Dai Li Agents wit a wave to rescue Aang. She still has a lot more in store, she hasn't mastered water bending yet. So imagine wen she does, what sort of damage she will be doing. There's a reason why she is Aang's water bending teacher.
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Post by grandmaster192 on Oct 12, 2007 8:25:14 GMT -5
I'm not sure. Katara's skill is so inconsistent that it's hard to judge her. Plus, unlike the other characters, the creators always put her in a position where she is able to use everything she has. You never see Katara have to use any sort of finness. Instead, she always has a large source of water, so she's able to just overpower everyone she fights. When she fights against someone that she can't overpower, she doesn't do as well. Because of this, I have my doubts about her skill. I don't think she's any where close to Azula's skill level, for example. To be honest, I think she's even inferior to Zuko, who isn't a prodigy himself. As of now, I'm going to have to say no. Katara is not a prodigy. If you want to see what a Water Bending prodigy is, watch Aang when he was first learning Water Bending. He was able to master the moves on his first try, unlike Katara, who took months to master the same exact moves.
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SpiritBender
Buzzard Wasp
Ya tvoy hozyayn!!! (May The Force serve you well...)
Posts: 537
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Post by SpiritBender on Oct 12, 2007 10:20:31 GMT -5
^^Right, she has no finesse. That's why she nearly killed Azula twice using just the water from puddles splashed around her! That's also why she was able to smack elite palace guards out of her way in The Earth King LIKE TOYS using a fairly small amount of water, or bend herself over the moat, swirl water around her and swipe the guards away ALL IN ONE MOTION. Extremely clumsy there. Oh, her lack of finesse also is what enabled her to strike a board up with the water from her skin and catch Mai's knives and throw them back at her in Return to Omashu. Then there's also the water blades she used against Hue in The Swamp, or the column of ice she used to knock Zuko's feet out from underneath him in Seige of the North. And how could I forget about the icicles that Katara threw at Jet to precisely pin him against the wall in Lake Laogai? Yeah, every time Katara fights she always has TONS of water and never does anything except throw huge waves around. She definitely has no skill at all... -- SpiritBender
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Post by conspiracytheorist on Oct 12, 2007 16:31:59 GMT -5
Is Katara a prodigy?
Nope, she does all those awesome waterbending moves through *McGonagall voice* sheer dumb luck!
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Post by mahatista on Oct 12, 2007 16:58:37 GMT -5
Yes, I'm sure she is. She had no training at all, but with just the scroll she learned enough for Pakku to compliment her bending ability. Then he told her she was the best student he'd ever had. And he was the one who dubbed her "Master Katara" in The Avatar State, so I'd say she has "mastered" it.
And we have indeed seen her with little to work with. She didn't have a fountain or anything when they stormed the Earth King's palace, just her water skin. She also saved Aang in the chase with just her water skin.
She's got finesse and I think her rate of learning shows that she would have long ago matched Aang's airbending abilities or Azula's fire or Toph's earth had she been training with a master early on. As it is, the short training time she's had has brought her up to their abilities and maybe even past them.
The problem is that she is able to do some incredibly powerful things, but if they had her do them every time, the fights would last a split second. Why didn't she just run huge waves back and forth across the crystal cavern to take all the Dai Li, Zuko and Azula out instead of going straight to the octopus form? Because they wanted to show her doing the octopus form and give Aang a reason to go into the Avatar state.
She's only hampered by the demands of the story, as are they all.
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Post by Empy on Oct 12, 2007 17:14:00 GMT -5
She is a prodigy and I dunno, that part of her character has bothered me a bit. I think she's over powered because she's never been described as a prodigy. Azula may be a prodigy but she's trained her whole life to get where she is and Katara has almost beaten her with training of a months. I just don't think it's entirely fair and I don't really know if she'll be able to develop her bending further in the future with the point she's at now.
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Post by yoshiko on Oct 12, 2007 18:37:09 GMT -5
Katara is a master bender. We have seen this from the first episode, but a prodigy? Yes. She has clearly shown herself as good as Aang and Azula. She would have beaten Azula if Zuko didn't turn to the dark side. And she may have a chance on Aang (that would be a fight worth seeing). So yes, I do think Katara is a prodigy.
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prowlowl
Aang
just waiting at the air temple to ambush sokka and teo. the usual :P
Posts: 57
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Post by prowlowl on Oct 12, 2007 18:38:51 GMT -5
^^Right, she has no finesse. That's why she nearly killed Azula twice using just the water from puddles splashed around her! That's also why she was able to smack elite palace guards out of her way in The Earth King LIKE TOYS using a fairly small amount of water, or bend herself over the moat, swirl water around her and swipe the guards away ALL IN ONE MOTION. Extremely clumsy there. Oh, her lack of finesse also is what enabled her to strike a board up with the water from her skin and catch Mai's knives and throw them back at her in Return to Omashu. Then there's also the water blades she used against Hue in The Swamp, or the column of ice she used to knock Zuko's feet out from underneath him in Seige of the North. And how could I forget about the icicles that Katara threw at Jet to precisely pin him against the wall in Lake Laogai? Yeah, every time Katara fights she always has TONS of water and never does anything except throw huge waves around. She definitely has no skill at all... -- SpiritBender First of all: I did not say at any time that she has no skill at all, or that she is clumsy. So please stop trying to put words in my mouth. I just said that she lacks the fine control of another prodigy. I know she [could easily achieve that fine control, but until she does i don't think she's quite Azula-level.
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SpiritBender
Buzzard Wasp
Ya tvoy hozyayn!!! (May The Force serve you well...)
Posts: 537
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Post by SpiritBender on Oct 12, 2007 22:31:50 GMT -5
^^Um, I was replying to Orochimaru's post...no need to get bent all out of shape, or take what I say personally. *Snickers at people getting caught in the "crossfire" in the ongoing battle between him and Orochimaru/grandmaster192*
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Post by Tungsten on Oct 13, 2007 15:09:00 GMT -5
I don't think Katara is a prodigy per say mainly from season 1. In season 1 Katara had a good connection with water and was able to bend it but she wasn't naturally gifted in picking it up. Remeber in the Waterbending scroll, Katara said the moves she was teaching Aang took her months to master. While Aang a prodigy was not only able to master it in seconds but was able to suppass Katara's months of training.
Finally at the Siege of the North Pole, Paku said that Katara has worked harder than any pupil he has other seen. That her hard work and determination easily outshined anyone that had natural talent. Katara's not a master because she's a prodigy but rather she worked hard at it.
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Post by tonbo on Oct 13, 2007 18:09:24 GMT -5
I don't think that Katara is a prodigy. The girl's got talent, and I do believe that she possessed a lot of raw power. However that does not equal prodigy. In season 1 Katara was definately connected to her element, but she was sub par when it actually came to bending it. Remember on the ship in "The Avatar Returns"? She couldn't really even bend the water in the right direction. But she constantly trained and honed her abilities, and whith proper training from a real master, it's no wonder she advanced so quickly.
I'm pretty much comparing Katara's bending progress with Azula's, who happens to be stated as a firebending prodigy when she is still very young. The talent she showed in "Zuko Alone" I believe far surpassed what Katara was capable of in the first few chapters of the series. Until it is specifically stated that Katara is a prodigy, I'm sayng that it is hard work and determination that have gotten Katara to where she is today.
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