r/ATLA • u/JustAPerson_YesOrNo "Hello, it's Zuko here" • May 25 '25

Question What ATLA take make you like this?

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Posting here bc mods are (not) mean

590 Upvotes

85% Upvoted

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137

u/starbunny86 May 26 '25

Someone told me that the only Asian part of the show was the martial arts, and that I was racist for saying the show was intrinsically Asian.

50

u/Freedom1234526 May 26 '25

How did they come to that conclusion? Most of the characters are Asian.

61

u/starbunny86 May 26 '25

Yeah, I don't know. The writing is Chinese, all the nations except the water tribe are based on Asian cultures, including the clothing, architecture, food, etc. It was the strangest thing, and they were irrationally angry at me for suggesting it.

29

u/Freedom1234526 May 26 '25

It seems as if they were racist and were trying to ignore the characters being Asian to still enjoy the show. I can’t think of anything else to explain how they couldn’t realize the characters are clearly Asian. Toph (my favourite character) definitely isn’t white.

12

u/ImpGiggle May 26 '25

That... Makes a sad sort of sense.

1

u/Freedom1234526 May 29 '25

Unfortunately I’m able to recognize it because my brother is that way. He’s very racist but is able to compartmentalize it if he enjoys something enough.

8

u/Digit00l May 26 '25

They do mix and match, like a lot of fire architecture is Thai for example

6

u/No_Persimmons May 26 '25

I think it's also worth noting that different regions of the nations also have different clothing styles, weapons, bending styles, and architecture as well.

6

u/starbunny86 May 26 '25

Yes, definitely. The Earth kingdom has so many different influences, too.

1

u/Foloreille May 29 '25

If the only thing they can associate with Asia is martial arts they are the ones who are spreading racist ignorant ideas 😅

2

u/erik_wilder May 26 '25

I don't know how culturally accurate it is outside of the visual designs though.

3

u/starbunny86 May 26 '25

It's pretty accurate, at least according to my husband. He's Korean, so not one of the major cultural influences, but everything Korean they did they did well. And the general philosophy and lore of the world is pretty steeped in Asian mythology and certain Asian religions. It's very well done, in my opinion.

1

u/Thank_You_Aziz May 28 '25

Sounds like someone who really wanted to imagine most of the characters were white.