10 Best Reoccurring Jokes In Avatar The Last Airbender
Grab yourself a tall glass of cactus juice and some fire-flakes as we go through ATLA best jokes.
What made Avatar the Last Airbender so acclaimed, without a shadow of a doubt, was its ability to balance out the comedy and drama. For a show that's core objective was the concept of bringing balance, that seems fitting.
So, alongside all of the adventure and action came a substantial collection of hilarious moments, ranging from excellent character work, persuasive writing and quirky animation.
The humour helped the show to feel more believable, despite the fantastical setting, and its ability to find fun moments reflect how we all search for joy even at the darkest of times.
The creators of the show had a fantastic skill for creating moments that stood out, and then repeatedly referring to them. Even minor jokes could come back for another round, and this gave the show a sense of spontaneity.
The attention to detail was essential to carving out the show's three-season narrative, making the journey feel genuine and helping to build team Avatar as a believable unit.
This list will focus only on The Last Airbender series, without including Legend of Korra. LOK still has a lot of humour, and even features cross-overs with some items on this list - however taking the jokes and streamlining them to purely the three seasons of the Last Airbender is the best way to talk about them in detail.
10. Azula Is Scary
Hard to argue with this one. One of the jokes that makes the most sense in terms of character is everyone's reactions to Azula. She is so powerful and scary that even the characters themselves feel the need to discuss it regularly.
The two funniest moments in regards to this come from Zuko and Iroh, the first being at the beginning of season two when given a choice between becoming refugees to Ba Sing Se, the capital of the earth nation to which they are the highest of enemies, or facing Azula. Without hesitation, Zuko says Ba Sing Se.
The second comes from Iroh when Zuko claims he will have to defeat Azula and presumes that Iroh will argue with him, to which the otherwise pacifistic mentor replies "no, she's crazy, and she needs to go down!". The line is delivered hilariously by the legend that is Mako.
The consistency of this joke works from a comedy standpoint, but also in regards to narrative. It creates an ever more fearsome persona for Azula, because it's clear she is such a threat to them all that they casually discuss how terrifying she is every time she's brought up. Them regarding her in their everyday life displays the impact she has on their heads.