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Whether you love her, hate her, or love to hate her, you can't deny that Azula was THE villain in Avatar: The Last Airbender. Sure, Zuko tried to be the villain and Ozai thought he was the villain, but Azula was the real villain â and she was an excellent one at that. At only 14 years old, Azula consistently gave the Gaang a run for their money. Like a true Virgo, she accomplished feats almost no one else was able to accomplish. Azula is intelligent, powerful, and fully, authentically, and unabashedly herself â all characteristics we love to see in any female character, villain or otherwise. She's a certified scene-stealer and remains so even after all these years. If you're looking for even more reasons to love Azula, here are ten.Â
Azula Knows How To Dish Out A Burn
Here's a brief list of Azula's hottest burns:Â
- "I'm about to celebrate becoming an only child."
- "Don't flatter yourself. You were never even a player."Â
- "Well, then, maybe you should worry less about the tides who've already made up their mind about killing you, and worry more about me, who's still mulling it over."
Azula Is A Perfect Villain
The most memorable villains are those who could have, would have, and, dare I say, even should have triumphed over the protagonists. Azula's bending abilities are arguably unrivaled by anyone in the Gaang, including Zuko's. Controversial, I know. Don't get me wrong, Zuko is an exceptional bender but Azula consistently maintained the upper hand in all of their duels except for the last. On top of being an excellent fire and lightningbender, Azula is also adept at hand-to-hand combat. Throw in the fact that she's a skilled strategist and you have the makings for a villain who really should have beat the protagonists. The depth of her character, including her tragic backstory, also makes her a compelling villain you can't help but empathize with. All of these factors join together to make Azula a memorable and entertaining villain.
Azula Is A Compelling Take On Princesses
When ATLA first premiered on our television screens, it was during a time in entertainment when you really had to look hard for quality female representation. ATLA was different from other shows in 2005 because it hit the mark with each and every one of its female characters. Azula is powerful and knows it. But rather than fly solo, she surrounds herself with a girl gang that's just as strong as she is and isn't shy about relishing in accomplishing their goals. It's easy to forget Azula is a princess because it's the least interesting thing about her, and yet that is exactly what makes her such a unique princess, especially considering the era of entertainment she came out of.
Azula Is Self-Aware
In Book 3 Episode 5, "The Beach," Azula says, "My own mother thought I was a monster. She was right, of course." With zero shame. We stan a self-aware villain. Although, this scene is also heartbreaking. A good mother would have nurtured Azula's more "monstrous" qualities â presumably, her tenacity, cruelty, and hatred of flaws â into more healthy outlets. At the very least, her mother could have diminished the competition between Azula and Zuko, instead raising them to see each other as partners rather than rivals. Later, in Book 3 Episode 10, "The Day of Black Sun, Part 1," Azula also admits she's a pretty good liar. An understatement as she's actually one of only two characters who were able to deceive Toph. Again, we stan a self-aware villain.
Azula Is The Original Girlboss
Azula never fails to achieve her goals. She is a confident and capable person who pursues her ambitions with a scarily singular focus, which is the very definition of a girlboss. Azula does not care who or what she has to defeat to accomplish her goals, so long as the end result is that she is feared and revered by all. While the sorest loser in her quest for power ends up being herself, you can't fault Azula for knowing how to go after what she wants and then doing exactly that.
Azula Has Her Own Theme Music
ATLA has a fantastic soundtrack. Azula is one of the few ATLA characters with her own theme music â and it's glorious. Her theme music captures the fear Azula strikes in the hearts of her foes, effectively conveying the ominousness of any Azula arrival. I personally would never want to go up against Azula in a fight, and her theme music captures this sentiment a little too well.
Azula Single-Handedly Captured Ba Sing Se
Azula is the mastermind behind the coup of the Earth Kingdom capital. The coup of Ba Sing Se made Azula one of two known Earth Queens in history and the only known ruler of the Earth Kingdom without Earth Kingdom heritage. While Azula's bending abilities were front and center for most of her arc, the coup of Ba Sing Se showed just how intelligent Azula is as a strategist and future Fire Lord in training. And, just a friendly reminder that at the time of the coup she was only 14 years old.
Azula Is An Expert Bender
As the only named female firebender seen in ATLA, barring only the other female avatars, Azula is in a league of her own when it comes to bending. She is the only known character to be able to create blue fire and the first character (and sole girl) in the series to be spotted generating and redirecting lightning, a skill only a few others have in their arsenal. To top it off, her masters, Lo and Li, weren't even firebenders. To call Azula an expert bender seems insufficient considering her vast and deadly skill set.
There's More To Azula Than Meets The Eye
Nothing against sociopathic villains, but Azula doesn't fit neatly into that box. As she grows up, she becomes much more complicated. Though she never stops being driven by a need to please her father â since the only form of affection she was shown as a child was her father's approval of her firebending â we start to see Azula develop empathy for others. In Book 3 Episode 5, "The Beach," Azula feels bad about upsetting Ty Lee. Also, Ty Lee and Mai ultimately abandoning Azula was the final straw in Azula's decline. While Azula does show sociopathic traits, her friendships with Ty Lee and Mai complicate it because she does genuinely care about them, though she doesn't always show it in a healthy, unselfish way.
Azula Provides An Interesting Study On Child Prodigies
Reddit user -Uncle-Iroh- said it best: "Azula is a great character because of the lessons she instills. Despite having prodigy skills, intelligence and talent, she was still ultimately miserable due to her fragile perfectionism and emotional vulnerability. Her obsession with power and control left her vulnerable to instability when it (inevitably) slipped from her grasp. If she could have accepted her flaws nonjudgmentally and worked to change herself, her psyche may not have fallen like it had. Azula, despite her cruelty, has a lot to teach those who see her story."
It truly is lonely at the top. After arriving at the top at such a young age, Azula struggles to come to terms with realizing her obsessions and goals aren't fulfilling. I empathize with her. Some fans have criticized Azula's arc as rushed, but I think it only adds more depth to an already complicated character.
10/10
