To no one’s surprise at all, I like Avatar: The Last Airbender, a lot. I could talk about this show for hours, how the characters in it have truly changed my life, and how I have seriously come to consider it one of the best animated shows of all time, behind ones such as Arcane and BoJack Horseman. And, one of the big reasons I love it is that it has some sick fight scenes.
To be honest, the bending Avatar: The Last Airbender, combined with the fight scenes, is one of the things that got me into anime, so of course I was going to give them the light and praise they deserve. So, let’s get into the ten best fight scenes from Avatar: The Last Airbender. Some entries might surprise you.
10. Toph’s Entrance
Yeah, I freaking love Toph.
I actually just did an article about how she’s one of the best characters in the show as a whole, but her entrance is arguably one of the best for any character in the entire series. It’s just this little girl, who is blind and looks to be so helpless at first. Then all of a sudden, she is taking on men who are literally three times her size with ease.
That’s just who Toph is, and she’s outstanding. I could do a whole list of just her badass moments as a whole, but I’ll save that for another day. For her sick entrance into that fighting ring, she gets number ten.
9. Aang Vs. Zuko Vs. Azula
“The Chase” during Season 2 of the show is one of my favorite episodes of the series for many reasons, because it always felt like the plot was moving so quickly and there was always trouble near, but the ending is really where it shines.
Everything comes to a halt in an abandoned city as Azula finally catches up with not only Aang and his friends, but Zuko and Iroh, and while the fight does occur between Aang and Zuko, soon enough, it also turns to Azula – who ends up escaping despite it being a five on one battle. She's a crazy bender and scary.
8. Azula Vs. Mai And Ty Lee
Azula’s plot in Season 3 of the show is one of the best parts, because it shows just how fragile she really can be. In the “Boiling Rock” episodes, Mai and Ty Lee end up turning against Azula because Mai wanted to protect Zuko (who, at this point, had already gone through his redemption arc and was helping Aang), and Ty wanted to protect Mai.
It’s a very combative fight that is short on time, but the impact of it is what makes it one of the best. It’s the true start of Azula’s downfall, where she begins to realize that all the connections she once had were made out of fear, and not out of respect.
7. Zuko Vs. Commander Zhao
The first time we see an Agni Kai was during the battle between Zuko and Commander Zhao, who was one of the generals of the Fire Nation army. I especially like this battle because there’s such a distinct difference between Zuko in Season 1 and him in Season 3.
During this fight, we see that he still pretty much relies on his anger to fuel the power behind shots, where we see him stumble against Zhao many times, and only use his Uncle’s words once or twice. Later on in the series, we can tell how much he has changed as a bender, as he's no longer relying on his anger, and uses his Uncle’s teachings. However, it’s still fun to visit this fight every once and a while.
6. Iroh Vs. The Dai Lee
Okay, okay, so this isn’t necessarily a fight, per se, as it doesn’t last very long, but I can’t not include this. When Zuko and Iroh are trapped into facing the Dai Lee, as well as Azula, who had taken the group over at this point, Iroh decides to use the sickest move in order to escape – inhaling hot tea and turning that into fire and breathing it out like a freaking dragon.
They don’t call him the “Dragon of the West” for nothing. This moment where he uses his ability to escape the fight is what makes it worthy of this list.
5. Aang And Katara Vs. Azula And Zuko
I remember Season 2 of Avatar: The Last Airbender was the first time we really started to dive into more adult-ish territory with what happened in the finale. Just when it looked like Zuko was going to really turn good, he ends up betraying Katara and Aang and working with his sister just for the chance that he could have his honor back by fighting against them.
This confrontation leads to Azula using her lightning ability on Aang, which not only severs his ability to connect to the Avatar State, but severely wounds him, only for him to be brought back by Katara so he could to heal. It was a serious fight that could have had drastic consequences.
4. Aang Vs. The Fire Nation Ships
This is such an underrated one that I feel no one talks about much, but Aang in the finale of Season 1 goes hard. It’s the culmination of all of Aang’s Waterbending training up until that point, and he uses not only the Avatar State but the entire ocean to take out the Fire Nation ships.
That sea monster he created is one that I freaking love to watch, and it’s incredibly impressive that he’s able to do that, but I would expect nothing less from the Avatar himself.
3. Hama Vs. Katara
I sometimes forget just how powerful Katara can be, and this fight is one of those. In one of the darkest TV scenes of my childhood, Katara faces off against Hama, a Waterbender who learned the ways of Bloodbending in order to escape a Fire Nation jail, something she intended to pass down to Katara.
When Katara is vehemently against this, she and Hama fight, and Hama threatens her friends' lives. Just when Hama looks ready to win, Katara figures out how to Bloodbend and stop her – only to cry afterwards for what she did.
I mean, she uses it a few episodes later on a Fire Nation man that she thought was the person who killed her mother, but she rarely uses this ability. Even so, she's a badass female bender who took down a pro.
2. Ozai Vs. Aang
I bet you thought I’d make this number one – but there’s one that’s a little better than this.
However, Ozai and Aang in their final battle is a lot of fun. It’s not only the climax for all of Aang’s training, but it’s against Ozai at his most powerful during Sozin’s comet, so they pair perfectly for an awesome fight. He’s a great villain, truly.
That, with some excellent visuals and a powerful ending, makes this fight great – but one moment beats it all.
1. Azula Vs. Zuko (And Katara)
I am going to be turning twenty-five in October this year, and now, even at this age, I still go on YouTube just to watch this fight, over and over. The final battle between Zuko and Azula, and later Azula against Katara, is just perfect. From the animation to the music to the themes, it means everything to me. It’s the ultimate battle between good and bad, light and dark, and peace and madness.
If you liked Avatar: The Last Airbender, be sure to check out The Legend of Korra.
We saw Zuko, who has gone through so much inner turmoil, using his ability to take down his sister through calm and precise movements, while Azula is the one who is losing her precision, but still so powerful.
It’s made even better when Zuko ends up getting seriously hurt protecting Katara, and Katara outsmarts Azula by using the water in the sewer down below the castle to freeze her before putting her in chains. It’s the perfect fight for Avatar: The Last Airbender, and one I will watch any day.
What do you love about Avatar: The Last Airbender? All I know is that I demand a new fight scene as soon as possible when this new movie comes out.
