One of the small details I most love about the final Agni Kai: Both Iroh and Jeong-Jeong have always made clear how fire bending comes from the breath. During the fight, you can see Azula desperately grasping for air. Her breathing is labored and unstable, whereas Zuko's is the opposite. Even while he's getting ready to deflect the lightning, he just takes one deep breath, steady and focused. It's even scarier that, even while being at the disadvantage of her own discipline, Azula kept being a menace, capable of still generating lightning, something that was said to require a "peace of mind".
I think when the show said about zuko's turmoil and to creat lightning needed a " peace of mind" it meant you have to be sure of your convictions, and sure of who you are and what you want, Zuko at that moment was completely lost in his mind, but Azula, even how she is now, never changed her mind and her conviction, she knows who she is and know what she wants
One thing I liked is how they showed Zuko was stronger in terms of raw power. When he shot that massive fire blast, you could see the fear in azula’s eyes before she jumped out of the way. She probably decided to dodge it because she wasn’t confident she could stop it or match it.
@@marcusadrielsalesramos9601 It more comes from an actual peace of mind. There must be complete focus, minimal thought, and no conflict. It also requires one to split their chi into two pools to properly execute. Which makes Ozai's usage of two bolts of lightning more impressive since it means he's splitting his chi four times. Conviction does not enter into the equation.
What's sad about Azula's breakdown just isn't that she was betrayed by her friends, it's that her father molded her into a weapon he could wield, that is what she lived to be, and now that he has spurred and abandoned her, you see what she really is, a traumatised damaged girl alone in the world, unable to function as a normal person and plagued by the same doubts and worries Zuko had, but without Iroh to help her to be more than what her father wanted her to be. Ozai broke Azula, and then tossed her aside once her use was up.
I was about to comment this, you are absolutely right, siblings will always fight for simple things, but when the fight involves the approval of a parent or because of a power dynamic with in the family it will always be wrong and sad
Yeah, everything about this (and the next) episode is just TOP NOTCH! But the Agni Kai is just SO heartbreakingly BEAUTIFUL! The visual style, the sound score, the action, it all comes together to be something that is not JUST a "cool" action scene, but a emotionally MOVING scene. (it feels almost "Operatic".)
The best part of the Zuko vs Azula fight is the fact that you can SEE Zuko applying the lesson Iroh taught him in Book 2 of drawing other bending style forms into his firebending. He uses firebending techniques that look like Aang could have used in his airbending forms, or other moves that look like what Toph would do with her earthbending. And then of course there's Lightning redirection which Iroh developed by watching waterbenders.
You can see him applying lessons he learned even before that! The move he uses to “finish” her is the same sort of capoeira move he used against Zhao in book one with Iroh’s lesson to “break their roots” Edit: I just got to the part where she points that out herself in the vid 😅
@@bradstrife2211 one of the key signs of how much he's improved is that he no longer grunts or yells whenever he does a move. He's completely silent and because he's no longer using rage he plays much more defensive.
Another fun highlight is the shocked face of Ozai when Aang redirects the lighting. It wasn’t because Ozai was scared for his life, it’s because the only other time he saw that technique is when Zuko redirected his lightning so he knows Zuko trained Aang to counter his most powerful strike.
The Iroh Deep Breathing scene was so good to show how powerful they become with the Comet. Remember when a Drill was needed to penetrate the Wall of Ba Sing Se? This man blew up a chunk of the wall with one attack.
You might bring this up in the next episode, but it's worth pointing out that Agni Kai are a way to handle dishonorable behaviour. In the three Agni Kai Zuko participates in, his opponents attack him after he surrenders, attack him after the fight is decided, and attack bystanders. Zuko has always been the most honorable on the field.
I LOVE how they handled the Zuko vs Azula showdown. The visuals are gorgeous and everything, but how they chose to use the audio was brilliant. Lowering the audio from the sound effects and adding sad, somber music. Even though we may celebrate this showdown, when you really think about it, this is a really sad thing. This is two siblings from a broken family in a fight to the death. It's genious and effective direction.
Im glad to see your comment, cuz this is from 11months ago, if you hadnt left it I wouldve. Because I think that is the reason the music is the way it is. Every other fight had the music in full like normal, this is the only somber one with muffled sounds. Showing how sad this really is when you take a step back and think about it. They by all rights, shouldnt be doing this...but here they are.
The thing to remember and that is often overlooked is that Azula is 15 and she was abused. Not like Zuko, but she understood clearly that if she didn't live up to her father's expectations she could be discarded just like her brother. There was no one in her life who could teach her to be more compassionate, to be kinder to herself and people around her. As far as we know, not even her mother did it for her
Yeah, basically she experienced the fate of being a daddy's girl while having Ozai as a father... Honestly Ozai has my top 2 of biggest bitches in fiction as far as I remember right now.
@@Philthorn Belos, both him and Ozai have basically arround the same list of sins but the fact that he has his righteous hypocrisy all the way trough gives him a little more of an edge to me.
@@matthewpopow6647 Ging had good intentions like training Gon but the methods were abysmally wrong. Ging loves Gon but still a bad father for abadoning Gon for his dream. Ozai just wants what he wants and doesnt care for Azula.
The name of that song is The Final Agni Kai. It's a fan favorite. Anyway, you seem to know this, but to clarify, an Agni Kai is a fire bending honor duel. It can only occur between fire benders and there is a strict honor code to it. In fact, it is common for the loser to get struck in the face, like Ozai did to Zuko. Hence why Zhao told Zuko to "Do it" way back in Season One. Zuko had every right to scar Zhao in that moment. Zuko was clearly winning this duel. He took a root and barely moved from it, while he forced Azula to move. It's even arguable that Azula was fighting dishonorably by intentionally moving into Zuko's left field of vision to take advantage of his bad eye, he's half blind in the left eye. Once he knocked her down, it was clear he held every advantage. Azula knew this and chose to attack Katara. In this moment, she officially lost the Agni Kai. An Agni Kai is a one-on-one duel. Attacking an outsider is a violation of the honor code. Zuko even showed greater honor by defending Katara. TLDR: Zuko was winning the duel. And by attacking Katara, Azula dishonored herself. Any Fire Nation citizen would declare Zuko the winner. I understand you feeling sympathy for Azula as the episode goes on, but I want to make it clear that she was never truly friends with Ty Lee or Mai. She was their bully. And as the Fire Princess, they had no recourse to deal with her. Whatever friendship she thought they had was one sided. The one time we see fear on Ozai's face was when Aang was redirecting the lightning. He knew he had lost there and would die. However, Aang refuses to kill. Even if he would be using Ozai's own attack to do it. See you in the finale. Hope you have tissues. You'll probably need them.
Zuko being so worried about Aang and being so adamant about his training takes on a whole different level of meaning when you consider he's literally sending a child, who's even younger than he was when he got his scar, to fight his abuser, the person who _gave_ him that scar.
28:45 I actually love that you commented on Azula's form, because in any other fight - she really would be better. However, after Iroh's lessons about redirecting lightning and how he learned it by watching waterbenders, Zuko has actually been implementing techniques from other styles into his own! At 28:54, his head-on block is an earthbending motion. At 29:02, the helix attack he uses is very reminiscent of waterbending. The "diving" block he does at 29:43, where he splits Azura's attack in two, is also likely inspired by earthbending. And lastly, the radial block he does at 29:49 where he seems to disappear in a "bubble" of fire? That's an airbending move! Aang uses that same technique multiple times, creating an orb of air around himself and expanding it outward to deflect attacks from all around himself - and it's the very same technique he used to freeze himself in the iceberg! Azula's firebending form may be perfected, but she is specialized. Overspecialized, one might even say. Every time Zuko uses a non-traditional technique he learned from another bending style, she's the one being put on the backfoot. He has a counter for her every move, and she can do nothing but run from his.
@@bthsr7113 Blue firebending is actually explained in the art book to be a sign of "firebending prodigies". In her childhood, Azula's flames were red like any other firebender's. She cultivated them over the years and they've grown so hot they have turned blue.
Why isn't this the top comment??? This is the most clear breakdown of Iroh's lessons from season 2 that I have personally seen. Gold star, fellow enthusiast.
18:00 Favorite moment, hands down. Everything about this hits- the music building up, Ozai’s crazy smirk, the way his fire starts small with this whistling sound before *absolutely decimating everything it touches.* It just shows how powerful he is. They could’ve just had it explode off the rip, but no. They had to make it POP. It gives me chills and I fucking love it!
27:17 i remember this was explained in the bonus book popups or whatever its called. basically the reason aang lost consciousness temporarily is because he redirected it through his ear, and not his stomach. remember when iroh was bugging zuko about that? its so cool that they actually kept that detail and proves that this is a really well thought out power system
This episode had one of my favorite fights in the series. The animation,the colors and music. Azula had blue fire because she’s stronger and blue flames usually means it’s hotter. Zuko was just a better fighter and more calm and focused. This show was a masterpiece when it aired and still in today’s times. Zuko sacrificing himself for Katara was just beautiful and heart breaking.
At this point in the story, I wouldn't even call Azula "stronger" than Zuko; they are roughly equal in terms of firepower at this point. Even back in The Southern Raiders, when Azula was still her chill crazy self, they were pretty evenly matched in the 1v1. The blue flames, compared to Zuko's flames remaining orange-red, just says to me their goal and source of their firebending. For the same reason as Azula taking to lightning with ease compared to even a post-dragon Zuko which is called the "cold-blooded fire" by Iroh, her flames are blue to represent increased heat because that's all her firebending is to her - a means to destroy and to harm as much as possible by being as hot as possible. Compared to Zuko, who post-dragons, sources his fire from a pure source, not purely from strength or rage or need to destroy because that's not all fire is. His fire is just as much about energy and life, the true essence of fire, with his able to meet the challenge in a fight but not necessarily burn everything indiscriminately. *(Also, if blue fire was all about pure power of firebending, that's implying Azula's bending strength is greater than Iroh's and even Ozai's)
My fav part of Ozai vs Aang will always be Ozai's face @27:11 lookin' like "Oh shit ...I think I f***** up!" He must've just remembered Zuko redirected his own lightning back at him before leaving to literally teach Aang how to do it. Ozai didn't have that look when Zuko did it. Ozai didn't use anymore lightning after that.
The fact that her hallucination actually acts like her mother and not like her, suggests that on some level Azula knows her mother loved her despite her flaws, but has so many years rejecting love and relying on fear that she refuses to accept that one solitary voice of reason she has.
The cold way that he is, when Azula says "I'm sorry it has to end this way brother", and he says "no you're not." It's like he's accepted her nature, he knows that there isn't any chance at reconciliation with her and he might have to kill her. Good time to say that in these previous episodes and this one, Zuko's fighting style has been different since the dragons, he's calmer his steps and stances are more deliberate. Just another in a long line of things you can say, "They didn't have to do that, but they did." Alicia is the only one I've seen reactung to this show to have noticed that Zuko was doing what Iroh told him to do way back in book 1, when he fights Zhao, "break his root!" They brought it back for the final battle.
16:15 Azula’s ambition was what drove her. It’s what kept her pushing forward even after losing her only friends. But once she achieved everything she wanted, it didn’t bring her happiness. Because she had no one left to share it with.
Gotta love how its clear Zukos bean learning from the Gaang and their bending styles. And how his temperament and breathing are calm and collected. All great little nods to everything hes been learning throughout the series.
What’s really cool is that the look on Ozai’s face when Aang redirects the lightning isn’t just shock that he did it. It’s shock knowing that Zuko fulfilled his claim to Ozai that he was going to help Aang defeat the fire nation because Zuko is the only other person to redirect lightning. Also, Azula’s mental breakdown doesn’t actually start in the finally. It starts with Mai’s betrayal and Mai telling her “I love Zuko more than I fear you” because Azula has always valued fear over love.
Now that i'm watching it again, i love the detail that Jeong Jeong's firebending moves kinda look like waterbending, it just makes sense considering the philosophy behind the white lotus, the four nations are one and in order to master the art of bending one must learn different things from the other nations, exactly what Iroh taught Zuko back in book 2
Honestly what I love about this fight is that it kind of shows how far zuko has come as a fire bender Like normally Azula would crush him with just pure power but here we see him actually holding his own and even trancing her in some places it’s really satisfying to see
I gotta give it up to grey delisle. One of the sweetest human beings on earth. Hard to believe she played azula. One of the most sinister villas in the history of animation.
I love how we only have one real example of Ozai fighting, and even if it is under the comet, we don't doubt his skill presence or the threat he holds as the strongest firebender in the show.
I suspect Toph could sense through her feet where Soka was pointing. And maybe she could roughly guess the distance from the sounds from the airship and just went for it.
Did you notice during the Zuko vs Azula, Zuko utilized forms of the other nations in his fighting form. Earth Bending in standing his ground and barely moving from his starting point. Fluid motions like water bending, And using that final move that Aang did when they 1st met for Air Bending. Then he completes his story arc by jumping in the way of Azula's lightning to save Katara. This is why Zuko is the true protagonist of this show.
I can probably imagine what was going through those fire soldiers minds when they saw a 10 year old girl kick down the door, transform into said door, crawl across the ceiling like a spider monkey, and use metal to beat their asses: “Why are we not wearing brown pants?”
I saw someone point out that in the fight with Zuko and Azula, Zuko was using different bending forms to fight, showing that he's fighting with care of his friends
I love the sound design in both fights and the contrast between them when they cut from one to another, Aang Vs. Ozai has this menacing drum beat as Aang is fighting on the defensive, cutting only when Aang has the chance to shot the lightning back at Ozai, and we all know how great The Last AgniKai is, how from the melancholic music to the muffled sound effects, everything treats this moment not as an epic fight but as what it really is, a tragedy
20:32 - Speakling of shirtless royals. During the episode "Nightmares and Daydreams" Zuko appears in one of Aang's dreams in his Agni Kai outfit. However Aang has never seen Zuko in that outfit, in fact up until that point he's never seen Zuko shirtless at all. Meaning in that moment Zuko's abs were 100% the product of Aang's imagination.
Not gonna lie, Azula was my first summer's animated crush. 😂 Her story is a tragedy. Ozai was terrified when he saw Aang about to hit him and Aang realized what would happen if he hit him with it, and your could see him choose not to, even knowing it would end the fight.
21:33 Yes, their is avatar: the last airbender for xbox, ps2, gamecube, ds and game boy advance. Which covers book 1. Their the burning earth (wii, ps2, xbox 360) which covers book 2 and “into the inferno” (DS, wii, ps2) that covers book 3. Their also one for the sequel series (the legend of korra) but that one has a original story. I think
Interesting thing to note: during the Agni Kai, Zuko was implementing stances and forms akin to other bending styles. Strong eartbender stances, swirly airbender motions, and wide, fluid waterbender motions.
Over the last few episodes, I've absolutely loved your empathetic understanding of Aang. His absolutely unbreakable resolve to stay true to himself and his people is what makes him such an incredible character.
I always loved how centered and grounded Zuko is during this fight, he fights like Iroh here, whereas Azula gets more and more desperate in any attempt to land a hit. She is not in control and that terrifies her.
1st: You are gonna love the next episodes!!! 2nd: HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ANT!!! Congratulate him from our part!!! 3rd: As a birthday plan you could play Cards Against Humanity. That is always fun!
a thing I love is how different Jong-Jong firebending is, in book1 he said to Katara that he disliked the destructive power of fire and was jealous of water bender, and so his firebending is way closer to water bending, just with fire instead. It's really obvious here when Pakku created a wave of water and then froze it to block the fire attack, then Jong-Jong did basically the same thing but with fire
I agree with you about Aang, he should never compromise his ideals for victory. Not killing Ozai when he had the chance was right as long as he did so for the right reasons. Poor Azula, I feel bad for Zuko but Azula is so broken that they will have to kill her. Azula was turned in to a weapon by her father, abandoned by a mother who choose Zuko over her, abandoned by Iroh who chose to leave with Zuko and betrayed by her best friends when they picked her brother and each other over her. She is a monster but is a monster her family created by action and inaction. can't wait to see your reaction to the conclusion.
The writers did a great job at making the defeat of Azula feel very bittersweet. We see Azula in emotional anguish and we feel sad for her situation, but at the same time, she has to be stopped and her emotional pain isn't the fault of Zuko or Mai or TyLee. It's the fault of Ozai. Perhaps once Ozai's influence is taken out of her life, she can start to heal and become a better person.
A lot gets said about the top-notch world-building and character development in Avatar, but the Agni Kai at the end also happens to be one of the greatest pieces of animation ever put to film; it is, in a word, beautiful.
What makes this fight so good is you see Zuko's maturity in his Fire bending. Each element has its own fighting style. Fire bending has strong deliberate strikes while Air bending is about redirection and dispersion. Zuko took Uncle Iroh's teachings of learning from the other elements to heart... because Zuko's using Air bending techniques in his fire bending.
I'm so excited to watch the finale again with you! There's something REALLY important you need to know about Legend of Korra before you watch it (no plot spoils)! The show was bought ONE season at a time by Nickelodeon; it was originally a single season miniseries. The show is great but you'll be confused if you expect a single overarching narrative like in this show.
Even before her breakdown during the Agni Kai, Azula pretty much fired everyone around her at the slightest offense. She was devastating in battle, but didn’t know the first thing about treating others with respect. She most reminds me of Cersei Lannister from Game of Thrones; cruel, two faced, willing to let the nation she inherited burn to ash so long as she can get her way. These people need spankings, not validations.
This is how you can tell good writing. Literally making you feel bad for even someone on 'monster' levels of evil like Azula. People are still people. No matter how you slice it. Every person started as a child capable of everything and many paths before going down the one you decided. And thus, Avatar goes back full circle.
This episode explains Azula in the beach so well. She wants to be loved and accepted, but the only way she has ever been shown love is through the accomplishments she has had with violence. It is why she wants to be accepted for her not for being the princess, it is why she made sure they were at the party punctually, it is why she gets jealous of Tai li. But her father only gave love to the weapon she could, and she believed her mother thought she was a monster and ACCEPTED that.
8:38 NO BUT REALLY this is one of the best pay offs to a long running gag. For like 2 whole seasons at this point we've gotten punchlines about how the group forgets Toph is blind in funny ways. Like asking her to write or her faking people out on seeing things etc etc. SO AT FIRST you think "oh this is another one of those moments" and they set it up perfectly as well because when Sokka says "alright take the wheel" we're on a close up of Toph so we're tricked into thinking he's saying it TO HER when in actuality the purpose of that is to give us the same perspective of who sokka is facing in that moment as Toph has, she can't see that the's probably turned his head to motion to Suki anymore than we can because of the camera work.
In the end you end up feeling bad for azula because her whole life she's lived in the shadow of being second in everything or not being good enough. Her father ozai never saw her as the real fire lord he wanted zuko to take that position but how ozai was. The only person who truly cared and loved her was her mother
I love that Zuko isn’t just using firebending techniques. Since Iroh taught him how to redirect lightening he’s been paying attention to the other elements. While Aang learned the elements, Zuko learned them right along side him.
The sorrowful music of the last Agni ki is because brother and sister are brought to this because of the actions of their ancestors and the abuse of their father. Azula is as much a victim of the fire nation as she is a collaborator. She is a child that wanted what all children want, the love of her parent her father. Who only showed approval for cruelty. What would that do to a child?
One neat little detail: when Azula attempts to strike Katara with lightning at the end and Zuko runs to intercept the attack, he yells out "NO" in a very similar way as the way he did when he received his scar from Ozai. Both the exact same scream, both during an Agni Kai where a family member does something dishonorable. The writing team is absolutely goated
The reason for Ozai to strip is for the robe not to get in the way. It's a long robe and I'm surprised he didn't trip on it and fell over when he was going up the stairs last episode. I give him credit for that. Of course you're free to enjoy it anyway.
"there is no way they will believe in that!" Well, remember in season 1 when the guards thought Momo was earth bending? Fire nation guards are built differently.
So, I adore Azula as a character and a villain because of how nuanced she is and this episode and her words in the beach episode, which we now know was a genuine moment of vulnerability she let through, shows that. Azula didn't have the support structure that Zuko had to help him grow. Iroh never really paid much attention to her, as could be seen when he gave her a doll. If he knew anything about Azula he would have known she wouldn't have been interested in a doll. Her mother seemed to connect more with Zuko than with Azula and spent more time with him and distanced herself from Azula. Something Azula herself noticed. This left Azula to go to the only one who gave her approval, her father. Who then proceeded to enforce his views on to her. I love comparing Azula to her father. Azula really meant it when she called herself a monster back on the beach. She knows the things she does is wrong, but does them anyway because she desires Ozai's approval, perhaps even stronger than Zuko did because unlike Zuko all she HAD was Ozai. So, she was willing to do things that even she privately disliked doing. Comparing her to Ozai who never questions what he does and never considers what he does as wrong. To him the strong rule the weak, that's the end of it. Ozai would never consider himself a monster. It's possible that if Iroh or Ursa had shown the same sort of interest towards Azula as they did Zuko, she might have turned out differently. While she's still very much responsible for her own actions, Azula is just as much a victim of her father as Zuko is.
I heard a really cool take about how they characterized Ozai. Despite being held off-screen until S3, we can get a rough idea of who he is based on how he treats his minions. He valued Azula and molded here into a weapon. In comparison, he saw no value in in Zuko. Even if he was a weak firebender as a kid, he was still a prodigious swordsman and he couldn't see that. If he played his card right, he would have invested time and make himself a scary blade-wielding assassin.
My theory about toph, is that she can use the position of two people to find things in the air. She doesn't wait for sokka to answer, possibly because she triangulated the position from the angle of sokka and sukis heads.
I've been waiting for this episode to come. One of the most beautiful scenes out there, and not just from animation, the build up, story, the sound design, the music, and the feelings behind the Azula fight makes this my favorite and most memorable scene of the show. I feel the tears behind the eyes every time I watch it. I just wish they would have kept the whole scene uninterrupted.
Compare how Azula fights in this Agni Kai vs how she fought throughout book 2 and book 3 before Mai and Ty Lee turned on her; she was always so precise and controlled. That was what always made her such a beast to fight; the way she turned and controlled Zuko's movements when they fought on her ship, the way she could hold her own against benders even under an eclipse, if you go back you'll see that she strikes with two fingers instead of a fist to create pinpoint, precise fireblasts. But now; her attacks are wild and all over the place (You could argue that this is a result of Sozin's Comet turning all the firebending attacks into giant flamethrowers and fire walls, but imagine if Azula had that power AND her control). Zuko sensed that when saw her; that her control and precision were gone, and now he was the better firebender. The only way Azula could win was by falling back on the only one of her qualities left to her; her ruthlessness.
Late to this reaction party but if you want to see a great video on just how badly Azula was losing it there's one out there called "The Psychology of Azula" which breaks down her symptoms and tries to understand what mental illness and trauma she has. Like medically. Because her behavior was super consistent throughout the series its shocking how in depth it is. There's also a comic where Zuko goes to find what happened to his mother and it also explores what happened to Azula after the series. Edit: There are several Avatar video games. None of them are really all that good except for the Legend of Korra game which is a platinum game (Nier Automata, Okami, Metal Gear Rising, etc). It's not sold in many places anymore but if you can track down a copy its a fun play.
You may notice here, the usual sonds of fire-bending are replaced with the noise of gas or liquid being released from a high pressure valve, likening itself the the sound of a real-world heavy-duty flamethrower.
I know somebody else has probably mentioned it by now, but I love how Zuko remains in the same spot for most of (if not all of) the Agni Kai while Azula is moving all over the place.
The final Agni Kai is, in my opinion, the best fight scene in ATLA. It's got an incredible musical score, great sound effects/sound mixing, and phenomenal animation. The massive billowing fireblasts of contrasting red and blue is very stunning.
One of my favourite I guess callbacks, it's can at least be seen as a reference to Book 1, is in this episode In the very beginning of the series, Sokka starts off as a sexist, believing that men are warriors, and that women can't do the same things men can And here, at the second to last episode, Sokka is putting his entire faith in the hands of two girls to help him get through this battle That is amazing character growth, and I love it
21:31 Yes, there are several, one based on this, another based on the live-action that's surprisingly decent, both of which played on the original Wii console, and the newest one is mobile with chess-style turn-based mechanics from what I've seen of it.
A cool detail when Azula talks with Lo and Li (the old twins) is how the whole scene is approached - two siblings come in front of the fire lord, one speaks out of turn and is ordered to fight an agni kai - just like Ozai did with Zuko. When the agni kai doesn't resolve the situation Azula banishes one of the siblings. She learned so much from Ozai, too much. She can't show weakness.
she's 14 trying to appease the family member that's been there for her, Iroh was an adult who talked about burning down Ba sing sa and it took his son's death to change zuko had his mother's teachings, his father blatantly not caring about him, Iroh's teaching, a solo journey, his time in Ba sing sa, and yet he still ended up making the wrong choice at first
One cool thing that was pointed out to be the last time I watched the show is that Zuko is as much of the avatar as Aang. As Zuko grows as a person the more of his uncles advice he takes, on of which is to not limit your self with just the firenations teaching. In the fight against Azula, Zuko not only uses fire bending techniques but techniques from all the other nations. He uses earth bending stances to block Azula’s attack, he uses Aang airbending breakdancing technique and some water bending technique in the fight as well
Something just occurred to me watching this. I don’t think we ever see Ozai and Iroh in the same physical space in the entirety of this series. Iroh is either away from the fire nation, or in prison while Ozai is in the palace, or taking back Ba Sing Se.
28:47 - 28:50 Maybe I'm just reading too much into things, but I can't help but think that Azula's sanity took another major hit when she saw that Zuko's fire had burned the palace. Ozai gave her his post of Firelord. HER, not the scarred, banished failure that was her brother. But now, seeing that same brother's bending has set fire to HER palace - he's practically spitting in her face in such a way that no mere verbal taunts ever could.
Damn I Love that confidence you have! The courage to let the world see that you are who you are and dare anyone to try and change that. I dont know how to express how amazing it was to see you go totally "I need ta jus pause dis here moment y'all to say a few words of appreciation". Ive paused a few scenes over the years myself to uh "say a few words of appreciation" myself so you have nothing to be ashamed of in my book.
We are staring today's feast with the "Azula unravels before flat out snapping" portion after a brief appetizer tying in to the maid dish of Aang's doubts and hangups. Ozai is ready for destruction. Good thing he has no idea about the infiltrators. The Fire Nation only managed to punch through that wall twice in the course of the war. Once with a 600 day siege, and the other with the Drill. And Iroh blasted it down in 1 shot. I said before Azula can't fly. And she's the only one I've ever seen produce blue fire. But today? Today is special. Any skilled and relatively strong firebender can fly with the power of the comet. Remember when Zuko was having fever dreams back in Ba Sing Se? Somehow I don't see this being equally constructive. Azula's rapid decline does hurt to watch, but there is no saving her. At least not until after the dust settles. Zuko has a duty, and that duty is to defeat his sister. There is not way to talk her down. Aang V Ozai It's been a long wait, and now you get to see it. No, there is a reason, All that armor is ceremonial. He's going to want his full range of motion and minimal encumbrance for this throw down. Aang you are such a summer child. Did you really think that there was any real chance that THIS guy could be reasoned with at the height of his power while he was already enacting a plan to inflict mass destruction on an unmatched scale? There are multiple Avatar video games, but the overwhelming trend is disappointment and mediocrity or worse. Zuko is at his best going into this fight. With Azula snapped, this is possibly the best chance he's ever had to 1 v 1 her and win. On top of that, a fair Agni Kai for the throne is going to play better with the Fire Nation than their errant prince ganging up on the princess and almost fire lord with some "savage" from the Southern Water Tribe. Ugly biases, but Zuko winning this solo could reduce the number of incidents he'll have to quash as Fire Lord. If he wins. Azula's erratic movements really stick with you. Like parallel lightsaber duels before them, these two fights are designed to flow into each other. Well, Ozai is using a similar thrust layout to an Iron Man armor. After all, the bulk of thrust for Stark's armors usually comes from the feet with hands providing course adjustments or additional forward thrust. Her form is not as good as it once was, and Zuko has learned from seeing other benders. He has grown more flexible in his style and thinking. This is why you save animation time and budget in low draw scenes. So you can pour the savings into these powerful scenes. You don't skimp on finales, you skimp to build up finales as high as they go. Attacking a witness on the sidelines during an Agni Kai? A most Dishonorable display, Azula. At the end of the day, we've known these to be Azula's true colors all along. A cold blooded monster who'll do anything to win. She just covered it up with confidence, poise, and charisma. She threatened her own warship's captain. She tired to lure her brother and uncle onboard to be captured under false pretenses. She endangered Ty Lee until pinky came along. She fired on Iroh to cause maximum distraction. She usurped control over secret police with a stolen name and identity. She just wasn't cackling her sadism and underhandedness to the world. These scenes are also why I couldn't see Azula the way you did. I knew how fragile her mind was, and how thin the layer of princess was painted over monster. Deep down, there is a teenage girl in deep pain, but she can't be helped. Only stopped. Next episode, the finale. Looking forward to it.
I forget what video it was, but i was watching someone talk about Zuko's character ark, and discovered a screen rant article, pointing out that Zuko is the only one we see keep his honor in all three Agni Kai's we witness. Zhao attacks after the duel should have ended, trying to hit Zuko in the back, Ozai mares not only a child, whom he challenged to an Agni Kai, but one that refused to fight back. At last, we come to Azula, who attacks a bystander in order to "win" a duel of honor. On that note, I love this music, it really hammers home the situation. you are watching a pair of children, a brother and sister no less, actively trying to kill each other. This isn't exiting, or fun ( i mean, it is, but that's not the point) this is horror. The music makes sure you understand that, what your watching, is the result of a hundred tragedy's, and in a good world, should never have come to pass. Yet here we are, watching them fight to kill each other. (ok, watching Azula fight to kill Zuko, i Don't think Zuko plans on killing Azula)
