Azula's Big Shame

Avatar: The Last Airbender’s my favourite show. Despite getting into it late, it has everything I want from a series: a story with untapped lore, a conflict based in real world geopolitics, compelling action that’s unconventional, humour, drama and plenty of depth. It’s one of the best pieces of syndicated television, such that its sequel series couldn’t even live up. It’s easy to write it off as “animated children’s fodder”, but it’s more adult than many shows for adults. And all of this…while only 61 episodes.

When Netflix announced they were attempting a live-action reboot, I was skeptical. Not only had M. Night Shyamalan butchered a feature-length movie with The Last Airbender, but translating animation to live-action is often a recipe for disaster. Remember, animated ventures are animated for a reason. By porting animation to live-action, you lose some or most of the charm. Plus, it sends the message that animation isn’t worth taking seriously.

I wasn’t optimistic, basically. Compounding this was how all-over Netflix’s original programming is. I’ve enjoyed some of it, and despised some of it, and this could go either way. And now, several years after its initial announcement, we have images of the cast in action. Granted, they’re stills, but it’s something! And how do they look?

Surprisingly, really good! I’d even say they look faithful to the show they’re based on, such that I can picture them leaping out of my computer screen. This doesn’t mean the end result will be good, but it’s a start! And I especially like Paul Sun-Hyung Lee’s Iroh. He captures the perfect mix of wise and playful, and his portly belly’s the cherry on top. Out of everyone involved, he understood the assignment best.

But what stands out like a sore thumb is Elizabeth Yu’s Azula. Not because of what she’s said or done, but because of the criticism her character’s received. Remember how I dug into Princess Peach’s redesign and how the backlash was rooted in sexism? It appears I’m doing that again with Yu. Because the problem’s nearly identical, and equally absurd. Yay me!

Anyway, Azula. She was always going to be tough because she was modelled after her voice actress: Grey DeLisle-Griffin. Grey’s mannerisms embodied Azula, right down to her eyes. Grey might’ve only been using her voice, but villains are her wheelhouse, having made a career of them. She’s really good at bringing them to life while also giving them depth, and Azula, a sadistic teenager with a desire to dominate others, was made for her. So it was inevitable that her live-action interpretation would fall short.

I get that Yu’s Azula’s disappointing. What I don’t get is shaming her because she “doesn’t look like Azula”. Her cheeks are “too plump”, and her hair looks “fake”. And she lacks that instantly-sadistic look that’s threatening enough to scare you, yet not too threatening to lack humanity. It’s a tricky balancing act, and there are some who think Yu isn’t up to the task.

Here’s where I come to her defence. For one, Yu has an advantage her VA counterpart lacks: full body acting. Whereas the animated original relied on Grey’s voice, Yu has her whole body. This includes the face, which was built around Grey’s voice originally, but doesn’t have that luxury in the Netflix series. Besides, Yu might surprise us! She could capture the character’s essence while making it her own.

And two, about her face being “too plump” and her hair being “fake”? Give me a break. Yu looks like I’d expect of a teenager Azula’s age and status. She might have fuller cheeks, but 14/15 year old girls look like that in reality. This is a shameless nitpick, and that goes double for her hair.

I don’t understand what the end goal is. Are we shaming Yu because she doesn’t look like Azula? Or is it because she doesn’t look like Grey? Because if it’s the former, get over yourselves. And if it’s the latter, here’s a secret: no one looks like Grey other than Grey. She’s not even the same ethnicity or nationality as Yu, and the two share little in-common aside from both being actresses. Complaining that Yu doesn’t look like Grey is ridiculous, as is shaming her appearance.

Speaking of which, body shaming’s never cool. I went through most of my youth being chronically-underweight, and even now I’m pretty slim. I never asked for this, and I was routinely mocked by my peers. Humans often lack control over their builds. And in the case of women, who have significant barriers their male counterparts lack, this is especially true.

I don’t see Lee being mocked over his appearance. Iroh’s trademark, aside from masking wisdom with dad jokes, is his build. For over two-thirds of the original series, Iroh was fat. Yet we loved him anyway, and I’m sure Lee will embody that despite lacking his girth. So yeah, grow up.

It's not like this show isn’t worth being critical over. I’m concerned that Firelord Ozai’s being shown too early, as opposed to being a mystery until a later season. That not only made him mysterious initially, it made him threatening. By showing him now, you ruin some of the suspense. And that doesn’t show confidence, while we’re at it.

But I digress. This new series could go the Cowboy Bebop route, or it could go the One Piece route. Or it could go a third route and be mediocre. We don’t know the outcome yet, hence the intrigue. However, if we’re going to be critical, then it should be for valid reasons. Shaming an actress for not meeting an impossible standard isn’t one of those reasons. If anything, it makes you a jerk.