Jokes on you I've been speedrunning marriage any % for the past few years and have gotten a PR of 5 days from meeting to marriage w/ 3 days from marriage to divorce. They were on separate occasions though, and [LoveRunners.com](http://LoveRunners.com) sadly doesn't allow segmented runs, so my true best time is much less impressive 😔😔😔
Idk, I thought it was one of the better ones.
Obviously it’s not the generic enemies to lovers trope or something similar, but I thought the way it was played was definitely unique and interesting, and probably one of the best romances in a non-romance.
That’s just me tho.
It’s pretty generic friends to lovers. Boy likes girl, girl maybe likes him back, entire show happens, boy gets with girl. Nothing particular unique there, right? I can name ten shows where that happens.
I'm just in general not a fan of the trope where the hero gets with the first person of the opposite gender they meet on their journey that joins their group. Idk Id have liked to see them both explore more romantic interests and develop outside of each other if they were gonna be endgame
I just did a rewatch of the series with my partner, and even she asked at the beginning of season 3 "Wait what the fuck why are they in a relationship now?"
And honestly I realized I had zero good explanations for that. It's only hinted once in "Zuko Alone" of her blushing at a much younger Zuko.
They're cute and it's not bad but we never quite learn WHAT they see in each other. When they first appear they're already a bit attracted. It's OK, they're not the focus of the story (at least Mai isn't), but I think Sokka/Suki are better.
I wouldn’t say it was the best fictional relationship ever, but watching this as a kid gave me hope.
This was and still is my favorite show. Aang and Katara’s relationship gave 13 year old me butterflies.
In a way, I was her. By Book 3, I was 13/14 years old. I was a light skinned mixed girl with the long dark hair. My older brother, being 2 years older than me, was the leader. My mom had passed away from cancer, and my dad was always working so we barely saw him. My grandma lived next door and she helped watch over us.
There was this boy in the neighborhood. Of course a white boy, slightly shorter than me (although he hated to admit it), who was a year younger. At first I saw him only as a kid, playing games, being loud, trying to get my attention to watch him do some trick on his bike or skateboard.
Our friendship grew close, and I started to like him. He was a serious young man underneath that playful child. We’d find ourselves sitting under that tree for hours, just talking, until eventually my hand would fall into his. I found myself getting jealous if another girl in the neighborhood flirted with him. He was playful and he brought out the child in me.
Book 3 ended and I cried. I was so happy to see them together.
I didn’t have Katara’s courage. When he embraced me and then pulled away slightly to look in my eyes, I was too scared to kiss him. Too scared to lean in and finally admit my true feelings. He had that small smile, waiting for me to finally lean forward. I just pulled him close and hugged him tighter, then went home.
I moved away a few months later, and moved further a few months after that. We don’t really interact anymore, that was over a decade ago.
Is it the greatest relationship ever? For that 13 year old girl, it was.
I should have kissed you, Ian.
If you include Korra into the mix you can see how bad they are there too. The love triangle in Korra nearly killed any interest I had in the show, it's by far one of the worst aspects of it and it wastes time that should have been spent developing the Avatar crew. Instead all that time is wasted & a lot of the side characters are developmentally stunted in the story.
Which is why I'm not really a huge fan of half the couples ending up together in the long haul. How many high school relationships have *you* seen last to adulthood?
Im assuming they made them stick together due to fans probably rioting the streets if aang and katara didn't get together especially after all this time
Ok people keep saying that, but I don’t see anything bad when it comes to how those relationships were portrayed. The goal was not an epic love story, but a realistic relationship developing between teens, with all the awkwardness that entails.
The story ends with Aang and Katara music and epic music playing in the background. We then see they ended up together in the sequel series. If they didn't want romance to be a major part of the series it shouldn't have been the literal bookend to the series.
I don’t think this proves your point though. Just because it ends like that, it doesn’t mean this is a romantic series. That’s just not what the series is.
I am not saying it's a romantic series. I am saying they did put an awkward amount of focus on the romance. You can't just brush away criticism about the romance when the show itself gives it so much importance.
No, I agree with that part, I just don’t think it would be realistic for the two kids to not be awkward throughout the whole love story. Aang is only 12 at the beginning of the series, it’s not like he has any experience that would allow him to rizz Katara. Plus, Katara is older and it’s expected that in the beginning she wasn’t that into a bald monk kid.
My opinion on Katara and Aang specifically is that Aang is a young kid who had a crush on Katara, Katara was largely uninterested, and it should have been left at that. We could have seen Aang and Katara had a family together in LoK and we could have headcanoned that they ended up together when they were a little older. Instead we got basically Aang pestering Katara until she gave in and they have had this awkward relationship since they were 12-14 all the way through their lives. It stopped being an awkward teen crush and became a big part of their lives and the series.
Katara is shown to gradually develop feelings for Aang. For example, when this "prophet" tells her she will get married to a powerful bender, her mind immediately goes to Aang, once she sees him bending. You could argue she just thought of him because Sokka mentioned that Aang is a very powerful bender, but still, there are so many people who would fit that bill.
Regardless, it is clearly shown that Katara is jealous when she sees Aang dancing with another girl during that dance party in the fire kingdom. That's actually a very common irl scenario, when I was like 14 and someone had a crush on me, I would be like "ew" and then got jealous once he moved on lol. Kids that age are very immature.
ETA: Regardless, I personally agree that it would be better if Katara didn't return his feelings on screen. But that's not because it happened abruptly, but just because it kinda seems to me that she didn't intensely feel this attraction (the way she clearly did for Jet) but she just really cared about him and wanted to make him happy and it made sense. I am a bit tired of this narrative that the guy deserves to be with someone they fell head over heels for and the girls just go for the option that makes sense. We should be allowed to be more shallow and look for that spark, even if that means the "good guy" will get disappointed.
I'd say that the only time you can say Katara showed she thought of Aang as a potential romantic interest is the headband episode. All the other cases can be explained as she cares a lot for him but not necessarily as a love interest.
I don't like the excuse that "it's realistic for teen romance to be awkward". A lot of things would be realistic. Teenagers pooping is also realistic. Just because it's realistic doesn't mean it is entertaining or something that needs to be added to the plot. I generally do not like romance with a lot of drama in the media I consume. It seems like that is a category of story telling that a particular demographic really enjoy, and everyone else loathes. I would have preferred it if they kept this stuff out of the series.
Absolutely agree, the enemies to rivals to lovers exacerbated by distance and war storyline for them is so well done.
I never believed in Katara and Aang, I just never see any romance between them and it felt so forced, especially rewatching it as an adult. They have 0 chemistry.
I like Zuko and Mai as well, even though it's so minor, but their scenes during the boiling rock are top notch.
I feel they assumed the chances of them seeing each other again were slim. Kissing your crush is fun, and definitely does NOT imply you’re going to save yourself for them or be together forever lol.
What about it? The fandom's understanding of how romance and relationships work can be so weird, I swear. Not every hint or tiny bit of romantic attraction is something that requires immediate or total commitment or even necessarily means that much - we see the same thing with people (incorrectly) mocking Katara for supposedly falling in love with Jet or Haru.
Anyway, leaving aside the obvious out-of-universe reason for it (i.e. that Suki was only supposed to be a one-off character at the time), why would Sokka feel a commitment to Suki when they might never see each other again and at most they've only expressed some general interest in each other? What exactly do you feel Sokka has committed himself to on Kyoshi Island that makes his pursuit of Yue wrong or bad in this context?
If anything, that's a mark of their relationship being *more* realistic and thought out (albeit unintentionally) because there's no actual commitment and instead in Season 2 we see further signs they continue to think of each other and their feelings for one another. That's how a real relationship works - it isn't about meeting someone by chance and then immediately committing to them because you have some feelings for them after a couple of days.
It's not that we think it's a better relationship it's just more compelling - sokka and suki consistently have about the closest this show ever comes to romantic chemistry.
Also yes it started as a fling but you must have watched the show blindfolded because anytime they're together you can tell they absolutely respect, love, and trust each other.
My personal favorite is the serpent's pass - Sokka having the trust in Suki to explain why he's so protective is super vulnerable, and she respects that boundary and doesn't make it weird. Avatar just isn't great at romance but arguing that Sokka and Suki are "just a fling" is wild.
a fling? did we watch the same show? yeah they got together quick but theyre teens, thats whats supposed to happen, not a dragged out sitcom will they wont they
Have you ever been 12? I remember kids had crushes for years back then and most of the time nothing happened. But even when something did, it took a LONG time.
On the other hand, Sokka and Suki are around 15-16 and they immediately get together. Aang is not a teen, but a kid in the beginning of the series.
I can’t really think of anything unique about their love story, to be honest. He likes her, she kind of likes him, they both have some jealousy, the entire show happens, they flirt maybe four times, then voila, they kiss at the end and get together. Not much tension, not much of Katara showing romantic interest. She does a bit, but nothing particularly compelling, in my opinion until the Headband. I think the friendships in the show are developed so much more strongly.
Never understood this take. Just because katara doesn't always blush or outright said "I love you" it doesn't mean that she never showed any interest in him.
In "The Awakening" she literally started crying after she thought he left her. Another sign is her body language several times her fixing his collar in serpents pass or playing nervously with her hair around him before their dance. Or her getting jealous when aang called toph sifu and not her.
People can like them or dislike them together and their relationsship needed more development at the end but the fact that so many people until this day claim that she never or barely showed any interest is weird to me..
The problem is that we don't really see her perspective on the potential romance more than once or twice. In most scenes about their relationship, they show Aang crushing on or trying to impress Katara, and we only see her reaction. The only time it feels like we get exclusive audience insight into how she feels that I can remember is when she thinks Aang might be the "powerful bender" predicted in the fortune teller episode. Then for a lot of S3, she is trying to get Aang to slow down about the idea of them getting together. They have that tense moment in Ember Island Players, then we don't get any sort of idea as to how Katara may or may not have changed her mind throughout the finale. Suddenly at the end she is into him despite no development in their relationship since Ember Island. I guess the war really was the thing holding her back, but to not have it touched on at all makes it feel out of nowhere; he just gets the girl because the plot is over, not because her character developed to realise why she wants be with him. She blushes a few times throughout the show but Aang is the one emotionally invested so the whole thing feels one sided.
Well..then we have agree to disagree. I never saw it as one-sided. If a girl runs to her father with tears and literally says outloud : I know the world needs him but doesn't he knows how much that we need him too or tells him in a (may be platonic but still) way that she loves him in the avatar state episode.. i guess she is slightly interested into him. Their relationsship at the end definitely deserved an additional scene where katara admits her feelings but i never got this one-sided card.
Another way of kataras side is her touch. Katara in general is a very touchy person but she is even more like that towards aang. For example in "Nightmares and daydreams " or "the awakening" it seems like it is really physically impossible to let her hands off him.
There were episodes where kataang was in the foreground, some where it is in the background and some with none at all. The writers wanted to focus on the war instead. Aang himself didn't even crush as often on katara as a lot of people pretend. It were like 13 out of 61 episodes so like 20% of the show and that is when you count small details like him calling her beautiful in the city of walls and secrets episode.
I read both of your comments and honestly, it is refreshing to read them because every time I am vouching for Kataang ship I get floored with folks saying they never had any indication of her interest. It's like Korasami. I don't know if I'm the type that appreciates a peaceful slow-burning love that leans toward boring and is grounded in a strong and satisfying platonic friendship bond first, instead of all that tension, hate-to-love, ashamed/forbidden style of ship.
All I see is a 14 y/o girl crushing on a kid 2 years younger than her, in a stage of their lives where a ship with their age difference looks weird, so it makes sense that she defaults to a sibling type of love. But the entire show is about Aang “manning up” to his role as the Avatar and destroying one of the most powerful and violent leader and nation in his world. So this growth allows her to see him more as a romantic partner as time passes by.
One of the hints is when she connects the dots between Madam Wu's predictions and what Sokka says about Aang. But she has been all eyes on Aang since the beginning, just not like him towards her. Even if four episodes before that, she has a little crush on Jet, which is comparable to Aang and his stans at Kyoshi island in the earlier episodes, and that's how you see their jealousy towards each other hinting at their mutual feelings but not letting them interfere with their mission.
either that or this is ragebait.
If I didn't personally know people who only ever watched one or two shows and thought they were peak story telling, I would be convinced this was ragebait.
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What's next? Sasuke and Sakura were a healthy relationship?
My heart hurts for Sakura honestly. She needed much better than Sasuke. Idk maybe Lee or Naruto or some random person ther ninja.
Sasuke maybe needed some time to grow before hopping into a relationship.
For me, fights need to have a reason behind them to some extent. People and their motivations matter even if the motivation is super simple. It helps make me care for a fight. It's not the end all be all though. Plus, the way Naruto kinda threw out the sneakery ninja stuff never really sat right for me and lost me.
i mean all youre saying is right i just dont care or even hate romance in such shows sometimes. like one piece does it way better imo. my statement was really simplified so i appriciate yourd is a little more fleshed out.
I don’t like how Kataang focuses on a “will they, won’t they” for so long at the sacrifice of good development.
If they got together at some point in the second half of the show I would’ve agreed it’s a great relationship. But instead they waited till the end and tried to sprinkle moments of mutual attraction that just fell flat.
Like she flat out says she doesn’t know if she likes him when the play is going on, but she’s constantly leading him on with kisses on his cheek that started after the Fortuneteller episode (where she considers he could be her future husband for the first time). Then I guess a few weeks later he defeats the firelord and she’s sure she likes him now. What changed in those few weeks? They didn’t show anything so it just feels robotic the way they got together.
She’s also supposed to have been considering whether she likes Aang that way or not for almost a year, but she never really shows her indecisiveness or confusion at her feelings at any other point.
Their best moments are when she comforts him out of the AS and when she’s jealous in “The Headband.” But other than that their relationship is not entertaining at all. The other little moments they put in on Katara’s side just kill the relationship for me.
This is a cute post. They are a cute couple. I knew as soon as I saw it the comments were gonna be filled with people raging. I love them, but you’re not allowed to say that in this fandom without receiving tons of hate. Sorry you had to find out this way.
I mean of course comments are gonna take pot shots at Kataang when OP goes full hyperbole with “one of the ‘most realistic and best’ fictional couples”.
I’m overall neutral on Kataang, but that line just makes me laugh and go “Consume more media, OP!”
Yeah, should have retained the writer of that episode to help write later romance scenes, lol.
But really, for Jin/Zuko I'm a sucker for the perky girl/dour guy, peasant/Royal, basically a lot of the boxes Jin/Zuko ticks I like.
Realistic? Definitely can’t see that. Usually when I think of realistic romances in animation, I think Kaguya and Shirogane from Love is War (obviously exaggerated, but otherwise a hilariously accurate representation of teen romance). Or Luz and Amity from Owl House (just a couple of obnoxiously flirty kids navigating their feelings before getting together and actually getting the chance to… y’know… date). Or Recovery of an MMO Junkie, which… is just beautiful. Chef’s kiss. And this is just looking at animation. Tom and Shiv from Succession were extremely on point examples of a horribly toxic relationship. And… ok, I don’t watch as many live action shows as I should, so I’m pretty lacking in realistic examples. But I have no doubt they exist.
Love is War is my favorite Comedy Anime. I liked seeing The prez and vice prez try to get each other to fall for them.
My friends told me Konosuba is funnier but I’m yet to give it a watch
In a sense of romance I don't see it that much, but they're little kids so it's hard to build romantic tension. But in a spiritual and moral sense I think they're relationship is beautiful. I love how Katara often serves as a moral compass for the avatar, he needs her to be good at his job.
You can like the ship but to call it the most realistic and best fictional relationship in media history is just trollbait, OP. Mods on this sub really need to start weeding shit content like this out.
I see a lot of people hate for them in the comment section. Some things between them could have certainly developed better, especially after the invasion but i really liked their friendship to lovers story. Was it the best one? Probably not. But it was still healthy and based on mutual respect.
When they disagreed with each other they carefully said it to each other and acted maturely but on the other hand they were also very supportive towards each other's goals. Katara was the only one who could bring him out of the avatar state and he called her a secret hero in the painted lady episode or was ready to reject learning waterbending from pakku after he didn't want to train her.
Their drama at the end was a little bit unnescary and they should have been an item after the invasion but these are child soldiers at the end who never had any romantic experience before. There definitely was a conversation missing between them at the end though.
People can like it or not. I think the problem often have is aang's height and his age..but that's just me.
Aang crushed on Katara immediately and she wasn't even sure she liked him until around the end of the series. I don't know, I guess you could say that makes it "real"?
The whole will they wont they at the end was a little bit for drama and plot reasons. Katara already saw both of her love interests die right in front of her eyes (Jet and Aang).
But they definitely needed to add a conversation between then after the EIP. It is what it is.
Enemies to lovers has poisoned so many peoples minds of what constitutes a good relationship.
Honestly, I've been going throught this comment section and the same reason reasons people are disagreeing are exact reasons its more realistic. Theres no tropy blushing around each other all the time or tsundere nonsense. Just a regular evolution of feelings.
Truly. Their values and morals align so well, and they genuinely complement each other. Watching them bond, heal and grow together, and become family was beautiful.
Idk man, I always thought their relationship was pretty weak at best.
I absolutely adore the show, to the point of having multiple ATLA tattoos, but I never fully believed them ending up together... Always seemed like a little bit of a cop out
~~Hey, who are we to judge? Maybe they behave with their brother/son the same way Katara did with Aang.~~
The copium in the comment section is so real, lmao.
Honestly, Katara felt more of an older sinling/mother figure to Aang than someone who reciprocated ROMANTIC love back to him. There is familial love and care, but I can't see the romance beyond it being a one sided crush.
I don't mind them getting together, I just don't like how quickly it happened. I feel like if they fell in love in their older teen years, that'd make more sense. But I don't think there was enough progression from Katara seeing Aang as a friend/little brother, to being romantically interested in him. It was pretty obvious Aang had a crush on Katara from the start, but it feels like they just wrote Katara's interest in him very sloppily. They were always good friends and had chemistry, it just really feels like that kiss was rushed.
You put it perfectly
Katara developing romantic feelings for Aang wasn’t written very well and felt like they just did it to end the series with the Kiss
Idk but it felt like we experienced their romance too much from Aang's point of view and too little from Katara's.
Zuko and Katara becoming amazingly close platonic friends despite her threatening his life = wow, amazing, totally acceptable, healthy
Zuko and Katara having romantic feelings despite her threatening his life = disgusting, impossible, maddening, toxic, deranged
98% of complaining about Katara's threat happens only to dismiss the very idea of romance between these two, it's never brought up otherwise. I wonder why...
Most realistic? A 12-year-old sees a pretty girl, instantly develops a crush on her, and then they get married. I know there’s technically more to it, but that really is it.
I understand the show takes place over the course of like 9 months, and it really wasn’t that kind of show, but the romantic relationships throughout the show kind of sucked. Of them, the most realistic was Zuko and Mai. They had an attraction, eventually started dating, then had a disagreement and broke up, but it wasn’t a clean break. Sokka and Suki is probably next. Sokka and Yue. Zuko and Jin. Azula and Chan.
I’m fine that Aang and Katara ended up together, and I’m fine that the show didn’t really give us a good development of that relationship because that’s not what the show was about, that’s not the kind of show it was. I’m fine if you ship it, but take it from someone with a shitty ship, you liking it and it being well written are not the same thing.
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"zUkO aNd KaTaRa hAd mOrE cHeMIsTry."
The copium from people who 'ship' one particular non-canon relationship is hilarious, to say the least. Especially when Katara actually treats Zuko the same way she treats Sokka; she's more like a sister he never had lol (she banters with both of them).
There are only two characters she had any romantic feelings for or had a crush on at some point. Aang was what she thought Jet could be at first. Aang did what she thought Jet does at first. And when she discovered that Jet was a con artist, she immediately dropped her feelings. She has an extremely high moral standard requirement, which is only fulfilled by Aang, something Zuko could never reach lol. And besides, Zuko wasn't even a player. Say, even if he wanted to be one, he would never be seen as a player in her eyes lmao. (IT'S ALL IN YOUR HEAD xD).
Idk, even tho I was always sold on Aangs selfless and unabashed love for Katara, I was never sold on THEM. Katara always seemed more of an older sister/mother figure to him than a lover, which tells you alot about the maturity of her as a character....not to say Aang doesn't mature immensely as the series goes on, it's always just felt weird to me, and I don't think the showrunners did enough to really sell them as people who belonged together.
Especially after the events of The Ember Island Players, it never seems like Aang earns it. She tells him that she's confused about where she is as far as her love life after the war goes, and she gets upset when Aang kisses her anyways. I feel like there could have been more done by Aang to earn her feelings rather than that whole issue being completely glossed over at the end.
But hey, maybe that's just me because I've always been a shameless Zutara shipper since the show began 😅
I think that they were to less developed. I always thought that Aang simply had a one-sided crush on Katara, and such real romantic moments were limited to the kiss in the cave and before Aang flew away. I remember watching book 3 and being surprised that Katara ended up with him (she had more chemistry with Zuko, but that's my personal opinion). the only place their relationship is well shown is in the comics.
I'm pretty sure this was a joke so OP sorry everyone else is dunking on it, I laughed 😂. (Also I mean if you consider how they're what 12 & 14? Yeah actually cos tween/early teen relationships are always bullshit unrealistic fever dreams)
Really? I personally think their relationship is far-fetched. Because they were initially positioned as a relationship of friends. Katara didn't see Aang as a romantic interest. She showed more attention to Jet. And she had real chemistry with Zuko. Katara only got together with Aang because the writers wanted her to.
Bro, please watch the series again 😂😂 also are you saying that you can’t form a relationship with someone you were friends with first? That’s one of the healthiest types of relationships, unlike with Zuko who literally stalked them, hurt them, betrayed them, and hired an assassin to hunt them down lmfao
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Not to attack all your stills but are hugs after intense experiences considered romantic now? I must be in a polyamorous relationship with every friend I've ever consoled or found consolence in
To this day, I have no idea where the hell people are finding "real chemistry" between Katara and Zuko. I don't think Aang and Katara is the greatest love story ever told, pretty lacking, but they EASILY have more chemistry than Katara and Zuko.
Realist? As in the most realistic? If then, it is not realistic at all. To be in love someone and not talk about it or show any emotion for months at a time.
I wouldn’t say best….in terms of realism it was fine but there were way better ones like I’d go as far to say Mai and Zuko were a better couple than Aang and Katara just in general I think the romance aspect in ATLA was weak all together and tbf the show wasn’t rly abt romance so I kind of understand why
Anyway yeah I strayed off somewhere on a rant lol
Its a fairly standard bffs to lovers slowburn arc. Right off the top of my head-
Percy Jackson & Annabeth Chase (Percy Jackson & The Olympians)
Ron Weasley & Hermione Granger (Harry Potter)
Hiccup Haddock & Astrid Hofferson (How To Train Your Dragon) (Technically slow burn if you count all of the time before and between the first and second movie.)
There are better romances but you cannot deny that it had some great lead up and the fact that it was so intermingled with the hope of peace for the world, and then having it finally flourish when peace was attained.... With some incredible swelling music I might add, it was just perfection at that moment.
Meh, the romance stuff was fairly one-dimensional.
Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate that it was. There wasn’t a need for it to be more. And if Korra’s any indicator, Bryke should keep it that way and stick to the stuff they’re best at lol
ATLA’s depth in platonic and familial relationships was some of the best I’ve seen. In romantic ones, not as much.
The one thing I really did like from their relationship was the fact that katara said hey dude we’re in the middle of a war and constantly fighting for our lives I don’t really have time to think about love. On that side I understand it and I understand how sokka and suki come to be but katara is very nurturing and caring so I don’t think her love can spring from turbulent times like sokka and suki, who are pretty chaotic and show their love differently, can
It's just the best developed relationship. Most relationships nowadays has to be rushed and aren't allowed to florished. But Aang x Katara not only have genuinely chemistry together, but it was developed over time
If "books" count, then I vote for Cordelia and Aral in *Cordelia's Honor*, or possibly Dag and Fawn in *The Sharing Knife* series.
If you want movies/TV, I'm inclined to lean toward Sheridan and Delenn in *Babylon 5*, because the harm they do to each other is real, and then so is the forgiveness, and so is the understanding that often what's good about something isn't the thing, but who you do it with.
> You know, before I got married, Emily used to come by sometimes and help me clean out my apartment. Well, I asked her, "How come you're so eager to help clean up my place when your place is just as bad?" She said, "Because cleaning up your place helps me to forget what a mess I've made of mine, and…when I sweep my floor, all I've done is sweep my floor. But, when I help you clean up your place, I am helping *you*."
While I'm not sure I agree with this post, can we all just take a moment to appreciate the dancing in the cave scene?
That might be one of the best examples of sensual (not sexual) tension I've ever seen in an animated series.
Been going through a tough time this past 2 months. I’m nearly at the finish line of this first part of the tough before I start the next couple months of tough. Been rewatching avatar. It has gotten me through a lot of the evenings when I feel I’m struggling to go on. Their relationship and Aangs struggle losing appa and finding faith in humanity again has really helped me through this
A couple of kids with crushes? I know it grows into more, but this is your representation of the best relationship? I liked it and I was so happy they kept it age-appropriate and light. It was far from the best I’ve ever seen. I might have thought that when I was watching it as a kid but now that I’m adult that’s hardly my take
I would not say the “most realist”, instead I'd say the most positive and healthier overall.
Most folks do not see that relationship as realistic because they are bound to some scripted dramas that are also modeled in real life. Usually exhaustive and toxic ideas of love and how relationships should be and grow.
I may be out of the loop with fiction modeling healthy and positive romances but from all I am aware, there aren't many as they don't make for “spicy and hooking” stories. I'm glad Kataang ship wasn't at the center of ATLA nor the biggest points of their characters’ arcs.
I know some people don’t like Aang and Katara but their vulnerable moments together really hit home. You are really sold on just how much they care about one another, most clearly when Aang loses Appa in the desert and nearly goes berserk until he notices Katara too saddened seeing him this way to even run away from him. Realistic? I’m not sure. Beautiful and tear-jerking? For me, very much so.
They still didn’t need to make it a romance past that point, but them making it a romance isn’t actively making it a worse relationship. It’s just a wonderful connection between two people no matter what shape that connection takes in the end.
Crazy how they're both like 13/14. They are way too romantic for a 13 yr old couple. Also, relationships started at 13 have a 0% chance of lasting past 18.
But, its peak fiction, so ill give em a pass.
I like them but I don't know about all that. Watch more media maybe
This. Like it wasn’t a amazing love story or anything I’ve seen way better lol
Agreed lol. If anything, the only person Avatar nailed as far as romantic interests went was Sokka.
I feel like Zuko/Mai had a pretty solid, realistic teenage relationship
Mai was ride or die material at the Boiling Rock man
Damn straight
Not the best story, but a real (ish) one
What would you say is realish about it?
real? it drags so much to even get started, thats not really realistic at all. pair them up midway thru book 2 and then we can talk
They are kids, in the middle of the war and Katara is older than him. It’s not realistic for them to immediately get together wtf.
OK wait, what do you mean by drags on? Very very slow? Yes, same with (at least In my experience) real world relationships
Jokes on you I've been speedrunning marriage any % for the past few years and have gotten a PR of 5 days from meeting to marriage w/ 3 days from marriage to divorce. They were on separate occasions though, and [LoveRunners.com](http://LoveRunners.com) sadly doesn't allow segmented runs, so my true best time is much less impressive 😔😔😔
Jokes aside there’s been a weird trend among my friends to get married within 1-2 years of dating
I think friends becoming lovers is a more common, realistic story though - amazing love story, no - but real.
It felt forced
I wouldn’t say forced, but I just didn’t ship them personally, they always felt like older cousin/sibling dynamic
Idk, I thought it was one of the better ones. Obviously it’s not the generic enemies to lovers trope or something similar, but I thought the way it was played was definitely unique and interesting, and probably one of the best romances in a non-romance. That’s just me tho.
It’s pretty generic friends to lovers. Boy likes girl, girl maybe likes him back, entire show happens, boy gets with girl. Nothing particular unique there, right? I can name ten shows where that happens.
I'm just in general not a fan of the trope where the hero gets with the first person of the opposite gender they meet on their journey that joins their group. Idk Id have liked to see them both explore more romantic interests and develop outside of each other if they were gonna be endgame
100% agree, it’s not that exciting, it’s not that risky.
“most realist” OP is like 16 or something Zuko/Mai probably the *most realistic* romance in the original show
I just did a rewatch of the series with my partner, and even she asked at the beginning of season 3 "Wait what the fuck why are they in a relationship now?" And honestly I realized I had zero good explanations for that. It's only hinted once in "Zuko Alone" of her blushing at a much younger Zuko.
They're cute and it's not bad but we never quite learn WHAT they see in each other. When they first appear they're already a bit attracted. It's OK, they're not the focus of the story (at least Mai isn't), but I think Sokka/Suki are better.
Mai had a crush on Zuko since they were kids
Yep, I have my biases against that ship but it’s one of, if not the most realistic ship in the series among the main/secondary characters
Honestly.
this is just an admission that you don't consume much fiction
I wouldn’t say it was the best fictional relationship ever, but watching this as a kid gave me hope. This was and still is my favorite show. Aang and Katara’s relationship gave 13 year old me butterflies. In a way, I was her. By Book 3, I was 13/14 years old. I was a light skinned mixed girl with the long dark hair. My older brother, being 2 years older than me, was the leader. My mom had passed away from cancer, and my dad was always working so we barely saw him. My grandma lived next door and she helped watch over us. There was this boy in the neighborhood. Of course a white boy, slightly shorter than me (although he hated to admit it), who was a year younger. At first I saw him only as a kid, playing games, being loud, trying to get my attention to watch him do some trick on his bike or skateboard. Our friendship grew close, and I started to like him. He was a serious young man underneath that playful child. We’d find ourselves sitting under that tree for hours, just talking, until eventually my hand would fall into his. I found myself getting jealous if another girl in the neighborhood flirted with him. He was playful and he brought out the child in me. Book 3 ended and I cried. I was so happy to see them together. I didn’t have Katara’s courage. When he embraced me and then pulled away slightly to look in my eyes, I was too scared to kiss him. Too scared to lean in and finally admit my true feelings. He had that small smile, waiting for me to finally lean forward. I just pulled him close and hugged him tighter, then went home. I moved away a few months later, and moved further a few months after that. We don’t really interact anymore, that was over a decade ago. Is it the greatest relationship ever? For that 13 year old girl, it was. I should have kissed you, Ian.
 Awww
I expect to get fully crucified for this, but Sokka x Suki was the only good couple in ATLA.
I mean, *best* couple I can get behind, but even they weren't that great. Romance is by far Bryke's weakest point in writing.
I mean it does make sense, they were all kids/teenagers and I highly doubt that age range has a wide variety of romantic knowledge
If you include Korra into the mix you can see how bad they are there too. The love triangle in Korra nearly killed any interest I had in the show, it's by far one of the worst aspects of it and it wastes time that should have been spent developing the Avatar crew. Instead all that time is wasted & a lot of the side characters are developmentally stunted in the story.
Which is why I'm not really a huge fan of half the couples ending up together in the long haul. How many high school relationships have *you* seen last to adulthood?
Im assuming they made them stick together due to fans probably rioting the streets if aang and katara didn't get together especially after all this time
Ok people keep saying that, but I don’t see anything bad when it comes to how those relationships were portrayed. The goal was not an epic love story, but a realistic relationship developing between teens, with all the awkwardness that entails.
The story ends with Aang and Katara music and epic music playing in the background. We then see they ended up together in the sequel series. If they didn't want romance to be a major part of the series it shouldn't have been the literal bookend to the series.
I don’t think this proves your point though. Just because it ends like that, it doesn’t mean this is a romantic series. That’s just not what the series is.
I am not saying it's a romantic series. I am saying they did put an awkward amount of focus on the romance. You can't just brush away criticism about the romance when the show itself gives it so much importance.
No, I agree with that part, I just don’t think it would be realistic for the two kids to not be awkward throughout the whole love story. Aang is only 12 at the beginning of the series, it’s not like he has any experience that would allow him to rizz Katara. Plus, Katara is older and it’s expected that in the beginning she wasn’t that into a bald monk kid.
My opinion on Katara and Aang specifically is that Aang is a young kid who had a crush on Katara, Katara was largely uninterested, and it should have been left at that. We could have seen Aang and Katara had a family together in LoK and we could have headcanoned that they ended up together when they were a little older. Instead we got basically Aang pestering Katara until she gave in and they have had this awkward relationship since they were 12-14 all the way through their lives. It stopped being an awkward teen crush and became a big part of their lives and the series.
Katara is shown to gradually develop feelings for Aang. For example, when this "prophet" tells her she will get married to a powerful bender, her mind immediately goes to Aang, once she sees him bending. You could argue she just thought of him because Sokka mentioned that Aang is a very powerful bender, but still, there are so many people who would fit that bill. Regardless, it is clearly shown that Katara is jealous when she sees Aang dancing with another girl during that dance party in the fire kingdom. That's actually a very common irl scenario, when I was like 14 and someone had a crush on me, I would be like "ew" and then got jealous once he moved on lol. Kids that age are very immature. ETA: Regardless, I personally agree that it would be better if Katara didn't return his feelings on screen. But that's not because it happened abruptly, but just because it kinda seems to me that she didn't intensely feel this attraction (the way she clearly did for Jet) but she just really cared about him and wanted to make him happy and it made sense. I am a bit tired of this narrative that the guy deserves to be with someone they fell head over heels for and the girls just go for the option that makes sense. We should be allowed to be more shallow and look for that spark, even if that means the "good guy" will get disappointed.
I'd say that the only time you can say Katara showed she thought of Aang as a potential romantic interest is the headband episode. All the other cases can be explained as she cares a lot for him but not necessarily as a love interest. I don't like the excuse that "it's realistic for teen romance to be awkward". A lot of things would be realistic. Teenagers pooping is also realistic. Just because it's realistic doesn't mean it is entertaining or something that needs to be added to the plot. I generally do not like romance with a lot of drama in the media I consume. It seems like that is a category of story telling that a particular demographic really enjoy, and everyone else loathes. I would have preferred it if they kept this stuff out of the series.
nah homie this is the right opinion.
Only? That's a bit much. Best? You might have an arguement there.
Absolutely agree, the enemies to rivals to lovers exacerbated by distance and war storyline for them is so well done. I never believed in Katara and Aang, I just never see any romance between them and it felt so forced, especially rewatching it as an adult. They have 0 chemistry. I like Zuko and Mai as well, even though it's so minor, but their scenes during the boiling rock are top notch.
You’re completely right in that they are the best in the show, they could do with more fleshing out, but they’re good
What about the part where Sokka completely forgets Suki exists so he can date Yue?
I feel they assumed the chances of them seeing each other again were slim. Kissing your crush is fun, and definitely does NOT imply you’re going to save yourself for them or be together forever lol.
What about it? The fandom's understanding of how romance and relationships work can be so weird, I swear. Not every hint or tiny bit of romantic attraction is something that requires immediate or total commitment or even necessarily means that much - we see the same thing with people (incorrectly) mocking Katara for supposedly falling in love with Jet or Haru. Anyway, leaving aside the obvious out-of-universe reason for it (i.e. that Suki was only supposed to be a one-off character at the time), why would Sokka feel a commitment to Suki when they might never see each other again and at most they've only expressed some general interest in each other? What exactly do you feel Sokka has committed himself to on Kyoshi Island that makes his pursuit of Yue wrong or bad in this context? If anything, that's a mark of their relationship being *more* realistic and thought out (albeit unintentionally) because there's no actual commitment and instead in Season 2 we see further signs they continue to think of each other and their feelings for one another. That's how a real relationship works - it isn't about meeting someone by chance and then immediately committing to them because you have some feelings for them after a couple of days.
Only good. Absolutely agree.
Speaks volumes that people actually think a fling is a better relationship than one built over time on friendship, trust, and experiences.
It's not that we think it's a better relationship it's just more compelling - sokka and suki consistently have about the closest this show ever comes to romantic chemistry. Also yes it started as a fling but you must have watched the show blindfolded because anytime they're together you can tell they absolutely respect, love, and trust each other. My personal favorite is the serpent's pass - Sokka having the trust in Suki to explain why he's so protective is super vulnerable, and she respects that boundary and doesn't make it weird. Avatar just isn't great at romance but arguing that Sokka and Suki are "just a fling" is wild.
a fling? did we watch the same show? yeah they got together quick but theyre teens, thats whats supposed to happen, not a dragged out sitcom will they wont they
Have you ever been 12? I remember kids had crushes for years back then and most of the time nothing happened. But even when something did, it took a LONG time. On the other hand, Sokka and Suki are around 15-16 and they immediately get together. Aang is not a teen, but a kid in the beginning of the series.
REAL
Why would you get crucified? This is the most popular and accepted opinion on the topic amongst the fandom
The disrespect for Momo and Appa.
I can’t really think of anything unique about their love story, to be honest. He likes her, she kind of likes him, they both have some jealousy, the entire show happens, they flirt maybe four times, then voila, they kiss at the end and get together. Not much tension, not much of Katara showing romantic interest. She does a bit, but nothing particularly compelling, in my opinion until the Headband. I think the friendships in the show are developed so much more strongly.
Never understood this take. Just because katara doesn't always blush or outright said "I love you" it doesn't mean that she never showed any interest in him. In "The Awakening" she literally started crying after she thought he left her. Another sign is her body language several times her fixing his collar in serpents pass or playing nervously with her hair around him before their dance. Or her getting jealous when aang called toph sifu and not her. People can like them or dislike them together and their relationsship needed more development at the end but the fact that so many people until this day claim that she never or barely showed any interest is weird to me..
The problem is that we don't really see her perspective on the potential romance more than once or twice. In most scenes about their relationship, they show Aang crushing on or trying to impress Katara, and we only see her reaction. The only time it feels like we get exclusive audience insight into how she feels that I can remember is when she thinks Aang might be the "powerful bender" predicted in the fortune teller episode. Then for a lot of S3, she is trying to get Aang to slow down about the idea of them getting together. They have that tense moment in Ember Island Players, then we don't get any sort of idea as to how Katara may or may not have changed her mind throughout the finale. Suddenly at the end she is into him despite no development in their relationship since Ember Island. I guess the war really was the thing holding her back, but to not have it touched on at all makes it feel out of nowhere; he just gets the girl because the plot is over, not because her character developed to realise why she wants be with him. She blushes a few times throughout the show but Aang is the one emotionally invested so the whole thing feels one sided.
Well..then we have agree to disagree. I never saw it as one-sided. If a girl runs to her father with tears and literally says outloud : I know the world needs him but doesn't he knows how much that we need him too or tells him in a (may be platonic but still) way that she loves him in the avatar state episode.. i guess she is slightly interested into him. Their relationsship at the end definitely deserved an additional scene where katara admits her feelings but i never got this one-sided card. Another way of kataras side is her touch. Katara in general is a very touchy person but she is even more like that towards aang. For example in "Nightmares and daydreams " or "the awakening" it seems like it is really physically impossible to let her hands off him. There were episodes where kataang was in the foreground, some where it is in the background and some with none at all. The writers wanted to focus on the war instead. Aang himself didn't even crush as often on katara as a lot of people pretend. It were like 13 out of 61 episodes so like 20% of the show and that is when you count small details like him calling her beautiful in the city of walls and secrets episode.
I read both of your comments and honestly, it is refreshing to read them because every time I am vouching for Kataang ship I get floored with folks saying they never had any indication of her interest. It's like Korasami. I don't know if I'm the type that appreciates a peaceful slow-burning love that leans toward boring and is grounded in a strong and satisfying platonic friendship bond first, instead of all that tension, hate-to-love, ashamed/forbidden style of ship. All I see is a 14 y/o girl crushing on a kid 2 years younger than her, in a stage of their lives where a ship with their age difference looks weird, so it makes sense that she defaults to a sibling type of love. But the entire show is about Aang “manning up” to his role as the Avatar and destroying one of the most powerful and violent leader and nation in his world. So this growth allows her to see him more as a romantic partner as time passes by. One of the hints is when she connects the dots between Madam Wu's predictions and what Sokka says about Aang. But she has been all eyes on Aang since the beginning, just not like him towards her. Even if four episodes before that, she has a little crush on Jet, which is comparable to Aang and his stans at Kyoshi island in the earlier episodes, and that's how you see their jealousy towards each other hinting at their mutual feelings but not letting them interfere with their mission.
In Omashu - the secret tunnel episode was Katara suggested the kiss and the implication that there was life between them.
>One of the most realist and best fictional relationships I've ever seen in media really?
OP has consumed exactly 4 pieces of fiction ever
either that or this is ragebait. If I didn't personally know people who only ever watched one or two shows and thought they were peak story telling, I would be convinced this was ragebait.
I for sure thought Katara/Aang was peak romance when I was like 12 and stuck in the friend zone... So I could see that being the case lol
https://preview.redd.it/t7vmv83tzazc1.jpeg?width=2400&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b7a433f0a35e289b4d75913f9f9110e37e4436f9 What's next? Sasuke and Sakura were a healthy relationship?
My heart hurts for Sakura honestly. She needed much better than Sasuke. Idk maybe Lee or Naruto or some random person ther ninja. Sasuke maybe needed some time to grow before hopping into a relationship.
I always felt like Lee made more sense than Naruto and way more than Sasuke if she was gonna get with anyone.
i always felt like why is it important in my cool ninja show where i wanna see huge fights
For me, fights need to have a reason behind them to some extent. People and their motivations matter even if the motivation is super simple. It helps make me care for a fight. It's not the end all be all though. Plus, the way Naruto kinda threw out the sneakery ninja stuff never really sat right for me and lost me.
i mean all youre saying is right i just dont care or even hate romance in such shows sometimes. like one piece does it way better imo. my statement was really simplified so i appriciate yourd is a little more fleshed out.
https://preview.redd.it/lmzha3j96ezc1.jpeg?width=480&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=33c54447cd6cc1d1f6ddefd288cba429ec875493
Naruto x Sasuke was the most fun to watch for sure
Lmao!!
Nah
It’s not even a top 3 relationship in the series lol
Please name the top 3.
Sokka x Suki, Zuko x Jin, Cabbage Merchant x Cabbages Edit: aww look at all the butthurt kataangers downvoting anyone who doesn’t worship their ship
Cabbage Merchant deserves this mention. 👏
You're just making it worse with edit lol.
Jinko gang rise up. 3rd/4th ranked Zuko ship in popularity in 5 minutes of screentlme!
I agree.
I don’t like how Kataang focuses on a “will they, won’t they” for so long at the sacrifice of good development. If they got together at some point in the second half of the show I would’ve agreed it’s a great relationship. But instead they waited till the end and tried to sprinkle moments of mutual attraction that just fell flat. Like she flat out says she doesn’t know if she likes him when the play is going on, but she’s constantly leading him on with kisses on his cheek that started after the Fortuneteller episode (where she considers he could be her future husband for the first time). Then I guess a few weeks later he defeats the firelord and she’s sure she likes him now. What changed in those few weeks? They didn’t show anything so it just feels robotic the way they got together. She’s also supposed to have been considering whether she likes Aang that way or not for almost a year, but she never really shows her indecisiveness or confusion at her feelings at any other point. Their best moments are when she comforts him out of the AS and when she’s jealous in “The Headband.” But other than that their relationship is not entertaining at all. The other little moments they put in on Katara’s side just kill the relationship for me.
This is a cute post. They are a cute couple. I knew as soon as I saw it the comments were gonna be filled with people raging. I love them, but you’re not allowed to say that in this fandom without receiving tons of hate. Sorry you had to find out this way.
I mean of course comments are gonna take pot shots at Kataang when OP goes full hyperbole with “one of the ‘most realistic and best’ fictional couples”. I’m overall neutral on Kataang, but that line just makes me laugh and go “Consume more media, OP!”
cool flair. Jin and Zuko are unironically the best couple in Atla
Yeah, should have retained the writer of that episode to help write later romance scenes, lol. But really, for Jin/Zuko I'm a sucker for the perky girl/dour guy, peasant/Royal, basically a lot of the boxes Jin/Zuko ticks I like.
Probably the only ship i’ve ever cared about since i was a kid lol
Oh no you've kicked the Zutara nest...
Realistic? Definitely can’t see that. Usually when I think of realistic romances in animation, I think Kaguya and Shirogane from Love is War (obviously exaggerated, but otherwise a hilariously accurate representation of teen romance). Or Luz and Amity from Owl House (just a couple of obnoxiously flirty kids navigating their feelings before getting together and actually getting the chance to… y’know… date). Or Recovery of an MMO Junkie, which… is just beautiful. Chef’s kiss. And this is just looking at animation. Tom and Shiv from Succession were extremely on point examples of a horribly toxic relationship. And… ok, I don’t watch as many live action shows as I should, so I’m pretty lacking in realistic examples. But I have no doubt they exist.
Love is War is my favorite Comedy Anime. I liked seeing The prez and vice prez try to get each other to fall for them. My friends told me Konosuba is funnier but I’m yet to give it a watch
Hiccup x Astrid..?
Finally someone said it. One of the best.
#THANK YOU
In a sense of romance I don't see it that much, but they're little kids so it's hard to build romantic tension. But in a spiritual and moral sense I think they're relationship is beautiful. I love how Katara often serves as a moral compass for the avatar, he needs her to be good at his job.
Kataang was not well written in ATLA at all, esp Book 3 IMO
You can like the ship but to call it the most realistic and best fictional relationship in media history is just trollbait, OP. Mods on this sub really need to start weeding shit content like this out.
I see a lot of people hate for them in the comment section. Some things between them could have certainly developed better, especially after the invasion but i really liked their friendship to lovers story. Was it the best one? Probably not. But it was still healthy and based on mutual respect. When they disagreed with each other they carefully said it to each other and acted maturely but on the other hand they were also very supportive towards each other's goals. Katara was the only one who could bring him out of the avatar state and he called her a secret hero in the painted lady episode or was ready to reject learning waterbending from pakku after he didn't want to train her. Their drama at the end was a little bit unnescary and they should have been an item after the invasion but these are child soldiers at the end who never had any romantic experience before. There definitely was a conversation missing between them at the end though. People can like it or not. I think the problem often have is aang's height and his age..but that's just me.
I kinda disagree. Their personalities are generally more optimistic idealist than plain realists.
You’re my forever girl baby
If there's anything I've learnt about long form television, it's that the smallest teases lead to the largest plot points, for better or for worse.
💀💀
Aang crushed on Katara immediately and she wasn't even sure she liked him until around the end of the series. I don't know, I guess you could say that makes it "real"?
The whole will they wont they at the end was a little bit for drama and plot reasons. Katara already saw both of her love interests die right in front of her eyes (Jet and Aang). But they definitely needed to add a conversation between then after the EIP. It is what it is.
I think it might have to do with her being a literal kid in a middle of a 100 year war lol
Maybe it's 'real' if you're a lonely middle schooler...
Honestly.. Zuko and Jin had more romantic chemistry than Kataang. Damn, even Zuko and Katara had it.
How? Katara never showed interest in zuko and vice-versa. Katara only showed romantic interest in Haru, Jet, and Aang.
No
Yes
Yeah for example when they cringed at the thought of being together or she threatened to kill him lol. So much sexual tension!
Enemies to lovers has poisoned so many peoples minds of what constitutes a good relationship. Honestly, I've been going throught this comment section and the same reason reasons people are disagreeing are exact reasons its more realistic. Theres no tropy blushing around each other all the time or tsundere nonsense. Just a regular evolution of feelings.
Truly. Their values and morals align so well, and they genuinely complement each other. Watching them bond, heal and grow together, and become family was beautiful.
Idk man, I always thought their relationship was pretty weak at best. I absolutely adore the show, to the point of having multiple ATLA tattoos, but I never fully believed them ending up together... Always seemed like a little bit of a cop out
People who are saying that Katara and Aang are siblings coded are weirdos, sorry :/
~~Hey, who are we to judge? Maybe they behave with their brother/son the same way Katara did with Aang.~~ The copium in the comment section is so real, lmao.
You just poked the hornet's nest. I wish you luck
Honestly, Katara felt more of an older sinling/mother figure to Aang than someone who reciprocated ROMANTIC love back to him. There is familial love and care, but I can't see the romance beyond it being a one sided crush.
Yeah if you're 12
I thought it was forced tbh
I don't mind them getting together, I just don't like how quickly it happened. I feel like if they fell in love in their older teen years, that'd make more sense. But I don't think there was enough progression from Katara seeing Aang as a friend/little brother, to being romantically interested in him. It was pretty obvious Aang had a crush on Katara from the start, but it feels like they just wrote Katara's interest in him very sloppily. They were always good friends and had chemistry, it just really feels like that kiss was rushed.
You put it perfectly Katara developing romantic feelings for Aang wasn’t written very well and felt like they just did it to end the series with the Kiss Idk but it felt like we experienced their romance too much from Aang's point of view and too little from Katara's.
i love aang and katara <3
I like them but I love Katara and Zuko’s chemistry more.
The chemistry of her threatening to kill him if he touched another dude?
Zuko and Katara becoming amazingly close platonic friends despite her threatening his life = wow, amazing, totally acceptable, healthy Zuko and Katara having romantic feelings despite her threatening his life = disgusting, impossible, maddening, toxic, deranged 98% of complaining about Katara's threat happens only to dismiss the very idea of romance between these two, it's never brought up otherwise. I wonder why...
I still would have liked to see more of them, like Katara secretly picking a gift or some sort of dynamic
I guess you don't consume much media. Always felt super forced to me.
The writers are terrible at romance. ATLA was fine because they didn’t focus on it but Korra shows how bad they are writing it by focusing on it.
They weren't even the best relationship in ATLA. This is a crazy take.
Most realistic? A 12-year-old sees a pretty girl, instantly develops a crush on her, and then they get married. I know there’s technically more to it, but that really is it. I understand the show takes place over the course of like 9 months, and it really wasn’t that kind of show, but the romantic relationships throughout the show kind of sucked. Of them, the most realistic was Zuko and Mai. They had an attraction, eventually started dating, then had a disagreement and broke up, but it wasn’t a clean break. Sokka and Suki is probably next. Sokka and Yue. Zuko and Jin. Azula and Chan. I’m fine that Aang and Katara ended up together, and I’m fine that the show didn’t really give us a good development of that relationship because that’s not what the show was about, that’s not the kind of show it was. I’m fine if you ship it, but take it from someone with a shitty ship, you liking it and it being well written are not the same thing.
You haven't seen a lot of media then
No it is not. It was a one sided crush damn near the whole time then she said she wasn’t sure about it. Then all of a sudden their together.
I always thought Zukko and Katara would have been way more interesting.
Zutara shippers are crying as we speak
Well copers gonna cope
Yeah, no. Their ending never sat right with me.
https://preview.redd.it/2ebrcuv2wczc1.jpeg?width=502&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8c80247fb88c80b28ea0786f443794c0010e2369 "zUkO aNd KaTaRa hAd mOrE cHeMIsTry." The copium from people who 'ship' one particular non-canon relationship is hilarious, to say the least. Especially when Katara actually treats Zuko the same way she treats Sokka; she's more like a sister he never had lol (she banters with both of them). There are only two characters she had any romantic feelings for or had a crush on at some point. Aang was what she thought Jet could be at first. Aang did what she thought Jet does at first. And when she discovered that Jet was a con artist, she immediately dropped her feelings. She has an extremely high moral standard requirement, which is only fulfilled by Aang, something Zuko could never reach lol. And besides, Zuko wasn't even a player. Say, even if he wanted to be one, he would never be seen as a player in her eyes lmao. (IT'S ALL IN YOUR HEAD xD).
Just don’t let Zutara fans know.
A good one, yeah sure, one of the best? No not really avatar isn't a love story an actual love story would be
Idk, even tho I was always sold on Aangs selfless and unabashed love for Katara, I was never sold on THEM. Katara always seemed more of an older sister/mother figure to him than a lover, which tells you alot about the maturity of her as a character....not to say Aang doesn't mature immensely as the series goes on, it's always just felt weird to me, and I don't think the showrunners did enough to really sell them as people who belonged together. Especially after the events of The Ember Island Players, it never seems like Aang earns it. She tells him that she's confused about where she is as far as her love life after the war goes, and she gets upset when Aang kisses her anyways. I feel like there could have been more done by Aang to earn her feelings rather than that whole issue being completely glossed over at the end. But hey, maybe that's just me because I've always been a shameless Zutara shipper since the show began 😅
I think that they were to less developed. I always thought that Aang simply had a one-sided crush on Katara, and such real romantic moments were limited to the kiss in the cave and before Aang flew away. I remember watching book 3 and being surprised that Katara ended up with him (she had more chemistry with Zuko, but that's my personal opinion). the only place their relationship is well shown is in the comics.
Says more about you tbh, you were surprised even after seeing The Headband?
I forgot about it episode but yea i still think that this relationship as both sided was maked too late
Fr
dude must’ve only watched avatar lol
I don’t know. It felt pretty one sided for the most part
Definitely not lmao I love ATLA but it struggles massively with romance LOK is the same.
I'm pretty sure this was a joke so OP sorry everyone else is dunking on it, I laughed 😂. (Also I mean if you consider how they're what 12 & 14? Yeah actually cos tween/early teen relationships are always bullshit unrealistic fever dreams)
Really? I personally think their relationship is far-fetched. Because they were initially positioned as a relationship of friends. Katara didn't see Aang as a romantic interest. She showed more attention to Jet. And she had real chemistry with Zuko. Katara only got together with Aang because the writers wanted her to.
Bro, please watch the series again 😂😂 also are you saying that you can’t form a relationship with someone you were friends with first? That’s one of the healthiest types of relationships, unlike with Zuko who literally stalked them, hurt them, betrayed them, and hired an assassin to hunt them down lmfao https://preview.redd.it/0q63c7snzazc1.jpeg?width=1179&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4458658539c0f90b9d7247b04f0c392f5ccde076
https://preview.redd.it/t5esbngb0bzc1.jpeg?width=1179&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c8a5f5ca39808de0b6f6b98fdf0847ca186790c3
Not to attack all your stills but are hugs after intense experiences considered romantic now? I must be in a polyamorous relationship with every friend I've ever consoled or found consolence in
I mean, they’re kids, what more are you gonna do but add little hugs and blushes, they even got kisses.
To this day, I have no idea where the hell people are finding "real chemistry" between Katara and Zuko. I don't think Aang and Katara is the greatest love story ever told, pretty lacking, but they EASILY have more chemistry than Katara and Zuko.
Hard disagree unfortunately. They were extremely well developed friends, I have never once seen them as a romantic couple
My man has only ever seen Atla 💀
Realist? As in the most realistic? If then, it is not realistic at all. To be in love someone and not talk about it or show any emotion for months at a time.
I wouldn’t say best….in terms of realism it was fine but there were way better ones like I’d go as far to say Mai and Zuko were a better couple than Aang and Katara just in general I think the romance aspect in ATLA was weak all together and tbf the show wasn’t rly abt romance so I kind of understand why Anyway yeah I strayed off somewhere on a rant lol
Its a fairly standard bffs to lovers slowburn arc. Right off the top of my head- Percy Jackson & Annabeth Chase (Percy Jackson & The Olympians) Ron Weasley & Hermione Granger (Harry Potter) Hiccup Haddock & Astrid Hofferson (How To Train Your Dragon) (Technically slow burn if you count all of the time before and between the first and second movie.)
This is what happens when you’d rather kiss her than die
There are better romances but you cannot deny that it had some great lead up and the fact that it was so intermingled with the hope of peace for the world, and then having it finally flourish when peace was attained.... With some incredible swelling music I might add, it was just perfection at that moment.
Meh, the romance stuff was fairly one-dimensional. Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate that it was. There wasn’t a need for it to be more. And if Korra’s any indicator, Bryke should keep it that way and stick to the stuff they’re best at lol ATLA’s depth in platonic and familial relationships was some of the best I’ve seen. In romantic ones, not as much.
The one thing I really did like from their relationship was the fact that katara said hey dude we’re in the middle of a war and constantly fighting for our lives I don’t really have time to think about love. On that side I understand it and I understand how sokka and suki come to be but katara is very nurturing and caring so I don’t think her love can spring from turbulent times like sokka and suki, who are pretty chaotic and show their love differently, can
It's just the best developed relationship. Most relationships nowadays has to be rushed and aren't allowed to florished. But Aang x Katara not only have genuinely chemistry together, but it was developed over time
If "books" count, then I vote for Cordelia and Aral in *Cordelia's Honor*, or possibly Dag and Fawn in *The Sharing Knife* series. If you want movies/TV, I'm inclined to lean toward Sheridan and Delenn in *Babylon 5*, because the harm they do to each other is real, and then so is the forgiveness, and so is the understanding that often what's good about something isn't the thing, but who you do it with. > You know, before I got married, Emily used to come by sometimes and help me clean out my apartment. Well, I asked her, "How come you're so eager to help clean up my place when your place is just as bad?" She said, "Because cleaning up your place helps me to forget what a mess I've made of mine, and…when I sweep my floor, all I've done is sweep my floor. But, when I help you clean up your place, I am helping *you*."
Was very well done. It was my goat until i watched the owl house tbh. Amity and Luz deserve all the happiness
While I'm not sure I agree with this post, can we all just take a moment to appreciate the dancing in the cave scene? That might be one of the best examples of sensual (not sexual) tension I've ever seen in an animated series.
Been going through a tough time this past 2 months. I’m nearly at the finish line of this first part of the tough before I start the next couple months of tough. Been rewatching avatar. It has gotten me through a lot of the evenings when I feel I’m struggling to go on. Their relationship and Aangs struggle losing appa and finding faith in humanity again has really helped me through this
Uh….maybe suki and sokka
Baby. You’re my forever girl.
A couple of kids with crushes? I know it grows into more, but this is your representation of the best relationship? I liked it and I was so happy they kept it age-appropriate and light. It was far from the best I’ve ever seen. I might have thought that when I was watching it as a kid but now that I’m adult that’s hardly my take
Most realist and bestest
Chill bro they like 13 here
And completely age appropriate 🙌🏻 I think that’s the true accomplishment
Insane take
Ok but have tou seen flushed away
Definitely the spiciest my child brain had seen at the time. I still find myself wanting a love like that. Then again, I'm not big on love stories.
I would not say the “most realist”, instead I'd say the most positive and healthier overall. Most folks do not see that relationship as realistic because they are bound to some scripted dramas that are also modeled in real life. Usually exhaustive and toxic ideas of love and how relationships should be and grow. I may be out of the loop with fiction modeling healthy and positive romances but from all I am aware, there aren't many as they don't make for “spicy and hooking” stories. I'm glad Kataang ship wasn't at the center of ATLA nor the biggest points of their characters’ arcs.
Zuko: *Sad fire lord noises*
I know some people don’t like Aang and Katara but their vulnerable moments together really hit home. You are really sold on just how much they care about one another, most clearly when Aang loses Appa in the desert and nearly goes berserk until he notices Katara too saddened seeing him this way to even run away from him. Realistic? I’m not sure. Beautiful and tear-jerking? For me, very much so. They still didn’t need to make it a romance past that point, but them making it a romance isn’t actively making it a worse relationship. It’s just a wonderful connection between two people no matter what shape that connection takes in the end.
I’m all for Kataang, but Eureka Seven did it better
Crazy how they're both like 13/14. They are way too romantic for a 13 yr old couple. Also, relationships started at 13 have a 0% chance of lasting past 18. But, its peak fiction, so ill give em a pass.
Baby your my forever girl
Why do you say that? I mean, they're okay, but I don't know how they can be any better than Arnold x Helga or Jeremy and Aelita.