Avatar: The Last Airbender - How To Write A Compelling Backstory 

Wow that's a great point

OMG you're right!!!! FANTASTIC point!!

Whoah. That contrast juxtaposing the two characters. That's brilliant. Thanks for pointing that out.

agreed. it was kind of an ironic little 'chiasm' or ying and yang thing, where Aang chickened out like a child, and Zuko decided to finally grasp all 'mature' courage to speak up, both were punished for their actions.

*mind blown*

“Zuko, you have to look within yourself to save yourself from your other self. Only then will your true self reveal itself.”

I think the funniest part is that he’s actually right. That advice is what he really needed. He needed to look within himself, to save himself (Zuko’s true image) from your other self (the self that is perceived by others). Only then will his true self (self explanatory) reveal itself.

1 like = 1 hug

If someone ever makes another Avatar show it should be about Iroh, there is so much to tell (but the risk of ruining one of the best characters ever).

"Happy birthday, my son. If only I could have helped *you*." Goddamn smoke in my eyes.

I some what agree, But i think Zuko isnt a surrogate son (well kinda at surface level). I think Iroh sees his younger self in Zuko. he walked the same path for the fire nation, but everything he once thought brought him honor, only brought him tragedy and despair. He realized the error in his ways. were with zuko, he cant just tell him, he tries but his main focus is for zuko to see it himself.

@@eungeran07 Idk man. I know Iroh's history has been complicated, and he definitely feels guilty about that, but it feels pretty explicit that they are surrogate father/son. There's a conversation Between Iroh and Zuko when he leaves to infiltrate the North Pole: Iroh: "It's just, ever since I lost my son..." Zuko: "Uncle, you don't have to say it." Iroh: "...I think of you as my own." Zuko: "...I know uncle." And then there's the line that Zuko throws at the Firelord about how Iroh is the one "who has been a real father to me."

I think Gravity Falls puts up a good fight to be honest.

Modus Ponens oh I've never seen it but I'll believe you.

Clearly you've never seen Widget the World Watcher

B. Jr. No I haven't. Is it good? And what is it about?

Modus Ponens gravity falls is great but I️ don’t think it deserves to be contended with Avatar. Tho I️ can see it contending with Rick and Morty. I️ think something like Bojack Horseman could compete with Avatar.

Sharlene Gray How dare you do this to me I didn't want to be sad today.

Sharlene Gray Didn't expect to be crying this early today

Heard the music... got feels. :-/

My eyes got a bit wet when that song started playing.

Has it started raining indoors for anyone else? Cos me too thanks :)

24 Frames Of Nick This is so true

That's the best part of this show and Korra. It IS a show for kids (despite how much or when have we here watched it), but it doesn't dumb down. Even though it is directed at kids it treats the audience as inteligent people. It's far from an R rating but it doesn't shy away from grimm mnaginery or dark and complex themes

Ugitzu That is the thing. That expresses it better. A show for kids can still horrify its audience or make them cry. Usual shows are afraid of inspiring emotion to kids, they're afraid it's gonna traumatize them. The end result is fluffy and bland

24 Frames Of Nick i was an adult when i saw that, i wasnt shocked but i didnt expected it and i cried out in sadness that aang had to see that.

Aw, man, you had it easy. Once when I was sick at home from school I went through the old VHSs we had and didn't want to watch the movies I'd seen 7855567 times, and saw one I never heard of, 'The Lord of the Rings' the animated one. Holy shit, those orcs may look dorky to an adults eyes, but I'd never seen rotoscoping so horrific. I didn't sleep well for like a year after that.

Didn't expect you here.

Vicente Ortega Rubilar I strongly agree man :)

HONOR.

+

Luke Skywalker the 2nd me 2♡

HONOR. (Aren't Avatar memes the best?)

Some how makes sense even when it doesn't

trust nobody, even yourself self

What episode is that one?

Book 3 Episode 12

Vicente Ortega Rubilar I never realised it actually made sense!!!

There's also the sequel series Legend of Korra which is worth a watch. Not as high quality and there were budget issues with the final season but still covers some complicated topics.

Sharlene Gray Good to know you liked it. I have been hesitating because I heard some harsh critics of the sequel and I usually find it hard to watch a follow-up of lesser quality to something I thoroughy enjoyed. But I might give it a try anyway since you and other people think it's worth it!

I remember watching the first season and enjoying it. I don't think I saw it for the brilliant show it was at the time...but I _did_ remember it long after many other cartoons had faded from my memory.

WowlxX I think because Korra was a fully realised Avatar by the end of the first season, there just wasn't as much drive to the other three seasons. But they still cover some decent issues. There's a reason Nickolodeon took it off TV and put the episodes online instead after the first season. There's also a few comic books out that cover what happened to Zuko's mum, how the world recovered after the war, etc. Worth a look :)

Sharlene Gray Awesome! That's good to know I'll give it a try :) Thanks!

Still the only thing that can bring me to tears just by thinking about that vignette.

I honestly teared up a bit just because he was playing that song.

I completely lost track of what he was saying at that point because I was trying not to lose it

Scrolling the comments to make sure i was not the only one. phew

same here

We just don't see character development like his anymore...

I'd definitely dare to say he is the best character ever written, period.

Unpopular opinion here: I like Aang better than Zuko. Zuko's too angsty and in the beginning of the show he was too moody and (honestly) acted like a spoiled brat a lot, while towards the end he became a bit emotionless. I just never felt a connection with him. As a child I could relate to Aang's Optimistic and pacifistic lifestyle much more easily, and I still can. Aang lost everything he'd ever known, but he was able to remain true to himself in spite of that. It would have been so easy for him to become bitter and resentful, but he didn't, he never sought revenge against the fire nation because he knew it would cloud his judgement. And he didn't get stuck in his ways either, which is another thing that would've been so easy to do. Instead he continued to grow and take on his responsibilities more and more seriously. That takes incredible strength. Although it made his character growth a lot more subtle, instead of a long series of more specific, very obvious moments that defined Zuko's growth. Where Zuko had to fight through his other self to get to his true self, Aang remained true to his true self while his true self grew, if that makes sense. And I just related to Aang's way of growing more easily. I also like Iroh better than Zuko, because he faced adversity (at least as much of it as Zuko) and he came out a kinder, wiser man. He was able to learn from his past in a way no one else on the show did. His story touched me more than any other. Of course I love Zuko too. I love all the characters of A:TLA.

Esmée Bruinsma It‘s not necessarily about who you like more, I prefered Aang as a kid too, but rather about appreciating how very fleshed out zuko‘s character is. Especially emotionally. But of course Aangs is as well. They‘re both amazing. Most characters in this show are honestly...

Zukos arc is a masterpiece!

Dyo read the comment before I got to that part... So I guess I received a warning from you😂

i cried for ten minutes straight

Andreas Scott If it's filler, it's the best goddamn filler ever.

The fact that the first few seconds when that song started playing almost made me tear up says quite a lot

@@Sco10 It's also 1000% more devastating when you know that Mako, the actor who played Iroh, passed away before the series was done, and that episode is the last time you hear his voice. They dedicated that episode to him and it destroys me every time.

Iroh truly is a properly formed mature character, and it's interesting that this entails him being silly, and at times seemingly unprofessional, and so on. He's not caught up in trying to prove himself. As a character in ElfQuest once said (paraphrase) "You ever see a wolf pick a fight to prove it's no longer a cub? Those who keep fighting through the years are trying to prove their place. I know who I am; I need resent no one." I forget which writing resource had it this way... possibly Power Screenwriting and/or The Seven Basic Plots?... but the idea was that you see the story, the true plot, from different points of view. And seeing it from outside or after gives you the Mentor, a character who has already gone through the hero's journey and emerged out the other side, and now is there to pass along wisdom to the next generation going through the same journey. Iroh has had his journey; now he calmly waits for his wisdom to be called upon, and offers hints of it to see whether Zuko is ready to receive it. This is also how Iroh can be a character who exists without direct enmity toward the main team. He even shares tea with Toph, and in a later episode talks to the team (I forget why, I just remember their surprise when he was at their door). He is not precisely free of ties to nation, family, etc., but he is free to think outside the box and to accept that those not directly attacking him can be interacted with as friends, without fear or tension or resentment.

There should be a short series of Iroh's story

He liberated Ba Sing Se with the white lotus to completely redeem himself. If you ask me, Ba Sing Se's liberation is one of the most underrated battles in the show.

@@Arkylie I also like how the show makes him seem as just a unimportant comedic character whilst also giving hints as to his wisdom and power

@@Arkylie The point where he goes to the team was actually to beg them to help save Zuko, which shows how deeply he cares about him.

Think it prob would have a deep meaning behind it and would made the whole thing less funny ("Great, now I am feeling guilty of laughing of the cabbage man, since his dead wife used to plant cabbages").

João Caju dude Issa joke

You talking about rip off Adachi?

Ah, yes, the TRUE main character

Cabbage Merchant's ghost? Huh. He blames himself for not being able to patch up his cabbages to fix them. He left his cabbage patch at home.

If you like Avatar, I would STRONGLY recommend looking into a series called "Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood"! And I can tell... you DO like Avatar!

Arif Ahmed Ikr :)

most overrated show ever probably. not bad, but definitely far from perfect.

@@holyX There is practically not a single bad episode. What, according to you, doesn't make it perfect?

Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood, Death Note, Cowboy Bebop, One Piece, Rick and Morty. Need I go on?

All great, but all have their flaws. Death Note is considered the best anime by many yet it falls so flat after (you-know-which-episode). Avatar seems like an ageless masterpiece although FMA Brotherhood does come close.

Its just one of the greatest cartoon series there is, not the greatest.

Alex Majin It's the greatest TV show of ALL TIME.

Definitely my favorite kids show so far, but Avatar has its shortcomings. The Fire season could have been written better, the romance between Aang and Katara wasn't believable, and the Fire Lord didn't feel like nearly as good a villian as Azula. Those are my biggest gripes. I also wish Legend of Korra had MUCH better writing, but that's a different story

Greatest writing is quite an overstatement tho. Book of Fire was pretty entertaning but in writing terms it was lame.

I aspire to write an animated show or movie as great as Avatar one day.

Envy West that would be because an antagonist opposes the protagonist. He or she doesn't have to be a "bad guy" or even the villain of the story.

headbite alien yeah, I know what you mean. I watched this show blind at 18 years old and I was blown away. This episode thoroughly convinced me that Zuko was not a bad person. The Agni Kai scene really surprised me. It wasn't the blatant child abuse, which would have gained my sympathy anyway, that changed my view of Zuko, but why it happened. These bad things happened to Zuko not because he did something bad but because he did something good. And he was punished for it.

"No good deed goes unpunished" is key to the backstories of any number of tragic figures. I'm glad that Zuko was able to grow beyond it. I didn't think about Zuko defining honor the wrong way until this video pointed it out, but yeah, absolutely. That scene was so key to Zuko's growth. There's this principle where the hero (or any character, really) is seeking a Goal that he thinks will make him happy, but his goal is mistaken, and at a crucial point he's going to have to decide between seizing the original goal (and ending up with unhappiness or frustration -- a bad ending) or accepting that the goal is not his to take, and changing to a different goal (but ultimately winning the thing he thought the goal would bring him, thus ending up with happiness and completion -- a good ending). For example, in "Arms and the Man" by George Bernard Shaw, the character Raina expects to marry her fiance, Sergius, but in the end ends up losing him and marrying instead Sergeant Bluntschli. She thought that happiness was to be found in Sergius, but in fact her future was to be different, and she still found fulfillment in the end. Same thing if the hero has to give up on a treasure -- or accept a finale where he doesn't get the praise he rightly deserves for saving the world. He can still find meaning and happiness within a different sort of ending. Zuko let go of his father's approval as a goal, but then, in the end, took his father's place and led his nation into a true prosperity -- a far more worthy goal, and one that provided him with happiness and peace of mind, without the kind of internal conflict that he had while he was trying to be a good little boy for his warmongering dad.

Julie K AHHH SO GREAT TO SEE SOMEONE AS CONSUMED BY THIS SHOW AS I AM

It's a 7/10 show. Nothing too special.

How's your story telling going?

Ah yes, the narrative trio.

Oh man, I haven't thought about that. You're so right

Liam Jones I understand what your trying to say but maybe its like a cycle, jet wanted to destroy that fire nation village using water but Ang beats him with air, later jet dies at the earth kingdom.

Wow, I've watched this show dozens of times, its my favorite show, and my youtube channel is even about Avatar and I never realized that irony. I feel like there's always something new to notice or realize about this show. Update: I made a video based on this comment ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-G14RwERNUKU.html

It was one man that killed him not the Earth Kingdom as a whole though.

AvatarCritic that's one of the things that proves how amazing Avatar is. The show has such a level of depth and complexity that it not only warrants analysis videos like this very one, but it also requires several plus viewings in order to fully realize some of the small thematic snippets in the storytelling that make the show's overall narrative and everything that contributes to it that much more masterful. Truly the best work of fiction that I have ever experienced

I know, it's just fucking evil :'(

Yoooo are you taters, from the chat?? I didn’t know you’d watched Avatar! (If you aren’t the person I think you are, pls disregard lmao)

Good one

sum CLINT I strongly agree :)

BK only one there that comes close for me is Rick and Morty, but their latest season was pretty shit so yeah nah

Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood, Death Note, Cowboy Bebop, One Piece, Rick and Morty. Need I go on?

Rick and Morty might make me laugh but I don't give two craps what happens to the characters or find their backstories compelling. Not like Avatar TLA.

And it's why I don't care for the Joker/Jack Napier being the killer of his parents, as in "Batman (1989)" - it does tie them together in a personal way yes, but it doesn't really challenge Bruce/Batman beyond making him fixated on his nemesis; not only does he outright kill the Joker in the end (unlike in "The Dark Knight", where he still saves his ass), not only does it arguably validate personal vengeance... but it ends his arc there. It's not a bad idea in theory, but in execution there are many better ways to go about it.

arrow too

Felix Hill I do too Just makes some of the greatest videos about Avatars brilliant writing ever IMO :)

Absolutely!

Urjit Sardesai It's great and so insightful! My writing feels like it's growing from a seed into a flower whenever I follow the steps in the book. I highly recommend it!

OMG I KNOW RIGHT!

www.pixellized.com/assets/the_anatomy_of_story.pdf

carmen a. gonzalez rios Thank you 😊

Wow thank you!

BK Those all suck

None of those have the compelling story telling that this show does.

Have you watched all of them? A couple of the shows he listed are some of the best examples of storytelling in animated television.

+TechNomad Many of them do.

Batman TAS, JL/JLU, Spectacular Spider-Man, etc., are all up there

I'd say you are looking at Darth Vader in a wrong context. Darth Vader existed long before any of the things you just stated had ever been decided or likely even imagined. Yet Darth Vader has been a great and iconic villain since his inception. Why? Is it because of the depth of his motivations? Hardly. What was his motives in Episode 4-6? More or less serve the Empire and conquer the galaxy. Yet he was a great villain from the moment he walked on screen. Why? Its many things but a large amount of it is simple. He is menacing looking. He is shown to be a powerful warrior both physically and in space combat. He's ruthless. He's incredible clever. So clever that he manages to trick the main cast into revealing the location of their entire forces without them ever knowing it. He actively pursues and engages his opponents instead of simply sending mooks to do it. He wasn't a great villain because of his backstory or motives but because he was powerful, intelligent, and posed a clear and present danger to the hero's. No one doubted that Darth Vader catching the main characters would mean their doom. Luke never defeated Darth Vader until Episode 6 in the final act in a battle that I would argue Darth Vader simply didn't want to win. All of the motives and back story they added to Darth Vader in the prequels was unnecessary to making him a complex and great villain. Darth Vader isn't shown to have any doubts about his actions or motives until he realizes that Luke is his son. His betrayal of the emperor hinged only on him being incapable of allowing his son to be destroyed and his son's mutual will to not destroy him.

Kekkersboy I know this is late but I have to agree. In a way his “backstory” was something incredible avoidable. If he went to save the dog nothing would have happened. Is someone would have seen him he could just say: yah I was lucky we all made it. I hate that movie so much.

Same.. It leaves a bad taste in my mouth when people call it anime because it's good. Especially since, I, myself aren't a particularly huge fan of anime overall. (There are still anime's that I absolutely adore though, it's just that just because it's anime doesn't make it great. Same of course goes for cartoons, but yeah). Cartoons can be just as good. It all has to do with the creators, not whether or not it's anime or a cartoon. And it makes me kind of sad that people seem to view it that way.

Yep, and cartoons don't suck either. Steven Universe, Adventure Time, Rick and Morty, Bojack Horseman, Batman, Teen Titans, etc. Cartoons are actually, in my opinion, better than most animes.

Anime is short for animation therefore, Avatar IS an anime. On the flip side, what we consider anime are just Japanese cartoons. So really, they are not that completely different types of entertainment.

Plenty of anime is utter shit. I don't see why the title of anime is a title at all. It's like considering "TV Drama" to be an honorary; there are good TV dramas and terrible TV dramas. It's just a genre.

Did you not read my comment? It's short for animation as in animated. It makes sense.

Along with Storytellers and Lessons from the Screenplay

Nerdwriter too.

XxD3c0y26Xx ._. It's going up. I have great plans (which are in the making) and I'm meeting a lot of great people. I even think I'm falling in love again. Have a great day ^^

You ain't never lied Hippie Ganjalord Zuko