r/ATLA • u/Crafty-Farm2415 • Jun 09 '25
Information Zutara has the same age gap as kataang
Alot of zutara fans claim that kataang doesnt work due to the age gap, but zutara has an equally big age gap
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u/OopsAllTistic Jun 09 '25
People freak out when the woman is older
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u/geek_of_nature Jun 10 '25
Even when the age gap is so small it's completely irrelevant. When I was 22, I dated a girl who was only a year older than me, and when my mum found out she acted like she was a whole decade older than me. And not like she was against it, but like she was pleasantly surprised that I was, and I quote "going for an older woman."
Again. I was 22. My girlfriend was 23. For all intents and purposes we were the same age.
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u/Shlero Jun 09 '25
Zukka is the real ship
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Jun 09 '25
[removed] â view removed comment
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u/ATLA-ModTeam Jun 09 '25
Your post/comment was removed per rule two, "Be Nice".
Don't purposely try to upset somebody. Racist, sexist, homophobic or otherwise abusive posts and comments will result in a ban.
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u/mortalitasi473 Jun 10 '25
i'm a zutara shipper but i do agree. i don't honestly really consider two years to be much of an age gap in any relationship. i can't even remember a single time in school that it mattered to me that like, a freshman was dating a junior, or something. seems like a nonsense thing for people to worry about for zutara or kataang.
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u/Actual-Pirate4695 Jun 10 '25
Something to keep in mind when it comes to the in-universe relationship with age is that itâs not comparable to our American, 21st century ideas of what high school age romance should be.
In the show, Yue is betrothed at 16 and people donât look twice at Katara wearing a betrothal necklace in the NWT. So itâs reasonable to expect that expectations for relationships arenât predicated on âfreshman dating juniorâ type archetypes. Instead, people are implied to be getting married in their teens in this show.
I understand people who want to say Aang wasnât âmatureâ at the beginning of the series, but by the end of the series heâs just as mature as every other kid in the series. The arguments that he isnât are not backed up by evidence at all.
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u/AdCompetitive5427 Windy boy Jun 09 '25
I'm definitely NOT a Zutara shipper but I think 14 and 16 isn't as bad as 12 to 14. I think 12 is still pretty young and your brain isn't quite their yet while 16 is a lot more mature. 16 and 14 are mentally a lot closer in age.
Though in the Avatar universe Aang is super mature obviously and this isn't high school so I'd say the age gap between him and Katara is whatever.
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u/reapertuesday Jun 10 '25
Honestly 16 is not âa lot more matureâ than 14, itâs just perceived that way because of culture. 16 year olds are still kids.
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u/Polistoned Jun 10 '25
it entirely depends on whether puberty has hit you, but 12 and 14 is middle school here while 16 is undoubtedly high school, so I disagree with you for that alone
edit: actually a third grader dating a first grader would so so weird lool
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u/dr_Angello_Carrerez Jun 09 '25
Every time I see the words "age gap", me hand starts seeking for me cutlass.
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u/celis9 Jun 10 '25
It's not because of she being a woman, at least for me. I love Star Wars, and there is a couple in which the woman is 24 and the men is 19, and it's fine by me. The problem it's that it is not the same being 14 and 16 than 12 and 14. The older you get the less it is important the age gap. Aang has not being through puberty while Katara and Zuko have. Aang has demostrated a larger maturity gap with Katara than she has with Zuko. And I'm not talking about book 1, but about the end of book 3, where he was still a kid who wanted to fly around when they had issue they hadn't solved, a kid who didn't understand bondaries and how romantic feelings and relationships work. This is not hate against Aang. At the end of the show he is just a kid who is not ready for a romantic relationship. I don't like Aang being with Katara for the same reasons I wouldn't like Toph being with her.
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u/Av13theGreatest Jun 11 '25
The thing is that katara has a much more motherly personality so she seems older
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u/Mean-Choice-2267 Jun 10 '25
Aang hasnât hit puberty yet so there lies the problem. Obviously
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u/powderherface Jun 10 '25
Theyâre older, so not comparable.
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u/Crafty-Farm2415 Jun 10 '25
12 to 14 is the same as 14 to 16
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u/powderherface Jun 10 '25
No, it really isnât. 14 & 16 are people in their midteens, probably having started to explore their sexuality and so on. 12 is really more of a child than a teenager, and probably has not entered puberty properly yet (particularly boys). Age matters when considering age difference.
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u/Crafty-Farm2415 Jun 10 '25
Have you met 12 year olds? They explore their sexuality alright
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u/powderherface Jun 10 '25
Yes, but they are not as mature. I don't know why you're trying to argue for something I doubt you even believe in. There is a bigger social gap between a 12 year old and 14 year old than there is between a 14 year old and a 16 year old. Source: talk to any teenager. The end.
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u/Kollie79 Jun 09 '25
I mean the younger the lowest age gets in a hypothetical ship the weirder it gets
To me thereâs a big difference between a 12 and 14 year old dating and a 14 and 16 year old dating
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u/DebateObjective2787 Jun 09 '25
Yeah. It'd be a high school freshman dating a high school sophomore vs a high school freshman dating a seventh grader.
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u/Y-Woo Jun 09 '25
Naw. 2-year age gap is only normal starting 20 and 22. Before then it's all equally large and significant
In fact I'd even go as far as claiming 12 and 14 is actually less problematic than 14 and 16, the former is just two little kids experiencing puppy love, but you actually mature significantly and become more romantically and sexually aware around 15/16 so 14 and 16 is a more significant age gap imo. But ofc culture plays a big part and i'm basing this off of modern day western culture in our world so let's give both ships the benefit of the doubt and say it's actually exactly the same.
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u/Kollie79 Jun 09 '25
A 14 and 16 year old can meet in high school, thatâs the equivalent of a freshman dating a Sophomore or junior, something that happened pretty often when I was in high school.
A 12 year old would be like new middle schooler with someone about to leave middle school at best
Which is kinda the point, you have to preface the 12 and 14 year old as some sort of more innocent love to justify it
I think in general Iâd prefer both people in a relationship on the older end of whatever hypothetical spectrum
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u/Quartia Jun 09 '25
Huh. I always remembered Zuko as being 15 and Suki as 16 but they're both 16. Is there anyone in the series who is 15?
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u/EyeSimp4Asuka Jun 11 '25
what about the age gap between Azula and Aang
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u/Maleficent_Park5469 Jun 09 '25
Thank you bruh I've always said this when they point that out as if the age gap isn't the exact same for Zuko and Katara lmao
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u/AdScared717 Jun 09 '25
As toxic as Zuko and Mai are, I like them since most of my relationships end off that way
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u/BananaDressedRedMan Jun 11 '25
The younger you are, the bigger is the equivalence of age gap. 10 to 12 is like 20 years age difference, while 20 to 22 is actually 2.
What? I don't make the rules.
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u/Juliette_ferrers Jun 12 '25
Why does anyone care about this 2 year age gap? It really doesn't matter for either ship. 14 and 16 is fine, 12 and 14 is fine. Honestly the show portrays katara and Aang at a similar level of maturity (or immaturity at times) to each other. Why is everyone acting like miniscule age gaps in fictional relationships matter??
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u/veroverse Jun 12 '25
People make a big deal about fictional characters' age gaps in relationships yet do nothing to help real kids who are victims of pedophiles/work to make sure pedophiles are put behind bars and unable to re-offend. Hell, people get their Jimmies rustled over two consenting adults in an age gap relationship.
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u/Shigeko_Kageyama Jun 09 '25
I think it's more of the fact that zuko and katara are a lot closer in maturity levels, and they're both clearly getting to the other side of puberty. Aang looks and acts like a 12 year old and especially in season 1 his maturity level just wasn't there.
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u/reapertuesday Jun 10 '25
Zuko is the most immature of the three of them, idk what youâre talking about. Katara and Aang are basically equally mature. Both act kiddish (naturally, since they ARE kids), while also being capable of deep empathy and seriousness when called for. Zuko lags behind due to his past as an abuse victim manifesting as anger issues and violent tendencies. He doesnât really approach Katara and Aangâs level of maturity until the middle of S3.
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u/Shigeko_Kageyama Jun 10 '25
Zuko is a lot more mature than ang. Aang gets sidetracked a lot, he ran away from his duty as the avatar, and he's a lot more Goofy and jokey. Zuko knows the same lost katara knows, even as the prince of the fire Nation he's been touched by the war, and they have much better chemistry for it.
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u/Juliette_ferrers Jun 12 '25
Aangs entire culture died cuz of the fire nation and zuko lost his mother and then got her back. That's not even remotely comparable but ZUKO understands katara's loss better
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u/NormandyKingdom Jun 14 '25
If you think about it Zuko lost Ursa also because of Azulon ordering his death specifically
Katara lost her mother to Azulon soldiers
Azulon caused them to lose their Mother's
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u/Juliette_ferrers Jun 14 '25
Zuko got Ursa back tho, kataras mom died. Those 2 are not the same
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u/NormandyKingdom Jun 14 '25 edited Jun 14 '25
Yeah in a comic where Zuko mom Ursa literally decided to Endanger her own Beloved Son Safety by "Claiming" He isn't Ozai Son and EVEN said SHE WISHED ZUKO ISN'T OZAI SON
To his face
To a Deeply Insecure dude
For a Loving Mother this sure seems odd
The only reason Ozai didn't straight up kill her is Plot let's be real and so Zuko isn't another one that has his mother killed
Also she LITERALLY TOOK A DAMN DEAL WITH KOH TO FORGET HER TWO CHILDREN'S
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u/reapertuesday Jun 10 '25
Youâre saying Aang doesnât understand loss as much as Zuko? He lost his entire culture and every single last Airbender. Katara lost all Waterbending culture in the south due to the fire nationâs raids. They relate heavily to each other because of that and lean on each other in times of hardship.
Aang and Katara have MUCH better chemistry than Katara and Zuko. Katara only ever tolerates Zuko, and she only learned to trust him like what, four episodes before the finale? Puh-leeze. Ship what you want but donât argue with the facts.
EDIT: That is not even to mention how immature Zuko is for two seasons straight. He didnât care if his crew lived or died. He hunted the Avatar purely so that he can go home and hopefully not get abused by his father anymore. He blows up at everyone over every little thing. He spent the better part of book two complaining about being poor. And just to be clear, this isnât Zuko hate. I love Zuko. But calling him âmatureâ is such a stretch. He does not reach full maturity until the war is OVER.
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u/Shigeko_Kageyama Jun 10 '25
Yes. Aang has no clue what it's like to lose her mother. Losing a mother is its own thing and he never even knew his mother. He doesn't have the same cultural frames of reference that zuko and katara do. It's no better or worse, it's just different. Like how losing to your arms is different than losing your legs. Zuko and katara have that shared pain, they both lost mothers and had their lives upended. And aand katara have zero chemistry. That kiss at the end of the series? Awkward as all else.
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u/reapertuesday Jun 10 '25
Aang lost Gyatso, who was like his father. How is that not comparable? Like bruh. What cultural frame of reference do Katara and Zuko share??? Her culture was decimated for a hundred years by Zukoâs âcultureâ. And Zuko reunites with his mother in the canon comics, she is not dead. Katara will never get her mother back and Aang will never get Gyatso back. But Zuko gets his mother back and gets to rekindle his relationship with her.
As for your opinion on their chemistry, thatâs just it. Your opinion. I think Aang and Katara have crazy chemistry from the very second they meet. But whatever. Iâm not gonna lobby my opinion about the chemistry as fact.
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u/Shigeko_Kageyama Jun 10 '25
It's not comparable because that was not his mother. Air nomads don't live in the same family systems the rest of the world does. It's not better, it's not worse, it's just different. Why is that so difficult for you to understand?
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u/reapertuesday Jun 10 '25
Because youâre arguing that Aang and Katara canât relate over loss when thatâs just not true. Youâre straw manning and arguing over semantics instead of true emotions and grief. Aang knows grief, grief comparable to Kataraâs. I keep pointing out that their grief is comparable because of the destruction of their cultures by the Fire Nation. They do understand each other. Just because Aang never had a mom doesnât mean that he doesnât understand loss and grief. Katara has experienced more loss and grief than just the murder of her mother. These are all points that youâre ignoring.
Honestly Iâm gonna stop replying now because I know you donât really care and youâre just trying to justify why you ship zutara. which you donât have to justify to me or anyone, ship what you want. but youâre trying to twist canon in order to fit into your idea of Katara and Zuko instead of engaging with the actual canon.
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u/avatars_love Jun 10 '25
trauma bonding is NOT romantic chemistry and it should not be considered as romantic chemistry.
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u/Crafty-Farm2415 Jun 10 '25
That is s1 aang, aang from s3 was very mature, but made time to be fun, and he never stopped. Btw, aang was arguably the one who had the biggest war scar (he was the last airbender afterall)
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u/Xenozip3371Alpha Jun 09 '25
Age of consent in my country is 16, so it would be illegal for Zutara to happen here.
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u/Killer-Wave Jun 09 '25
It's a weak argument in either direction. If anything Katang would have felt more earned by the end of the series if they resolved their conflicts in the second half of season 3 and Aang had moved passed his idolizing of Katara. The character growth that was set up but not paid off đ¤ˇ
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u/Prying_Pandora Jun 09 '25
This argument is so bizarre to me.
âOh they never grew past their childish view of each other!â Theyâre kids. Their relationship is innocent and simple because theyâre literally 12 and 14. Expecting mature adult romantic stability and sentiments is silly.
Theyâll grow up and mature together.
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u/Killer-Wave Jun 09 '25
I didn't say they should not end up together...I'm just saying the journey to Kataang would have benefited from completing their arc which the writing set up for them in the way that ties to the main plot as it focused on their relationship to unlock the Chakra.
Just an odd missed opportunity to bring it full circle.
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u/Prying_Pandora Jun 09 '25 edited Jun 09 '25
Iâm saying thatâs an unfounded criticism IMO. Their arc did complete.
Expecting them to be fully mature or adult in their relationship wouldnât have made any sense. Their love is innocent and silly and childish because they are children.
And part of the reason for them to end the war was so they could enjoy whatâs left of their childhoods, if they can, while they can, when they can.
They have the rest of their lives to grow and figure the rest out. Why does it all need to be resolved when theyâre 12 and 14?
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u/rocketaxxon Jun 09 '25
It's interesting because Ember Island Players directly brings up the conflict of Aang 'being like a little brother' to Katara, but have to agree, it's never really resolved. Aang does act immaturely in the episode (hardly a dealbreaker for them working as a couple, as the scene is sometimes argued that it does), but it's left somewhat unclear whether he learns or grows from it, since it's not brought up again
Seems also like one of the big things for a lot of people (both Zutarians and non-Zutarians) seems to lie in not giving much insight into Katara's perspective on things. It hints at things (mostly from Aang's outside pov), but ultimately mostly goes from Katara saying she's confused (so many possible interpretations on this) to getting together at the end.
It's largely left up to the viewer to imagine and fill in the gaps on what's going on in Katara's mind, how her feelings might have shifted or evolved, which works for some viewers but not others
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u/Killer-Wave Jun 10 '25
I think Katara's ambiguity was intentional to keep the "will they, won't they" suspense going until the 11th hour. But by keeping her wants ambiguous going into the finally, it unintentionally backfires with the overall lack of emotional closeness for season 3.5, making the kiss at the end feel a bit out of left field. With where their dynamic stood, I fully expected a hug like they always did, the kids could fall in love off screen post war, but alas that's not the direction they took and skip ahead to a kiss.
If they had a heart to heart conversation like what Sokka and Suki had going into the finally viewers could root for Kataang with more certainty on behalf of both characters, not just Aang.
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u/rocketaxxon Jun 10 '25
True, and the tension of Kataraâs feelings being left somewhat unclear can be a compelling aspect of the series. It really does feel like it brings the audience more into Aangâs head and how the situation feels from his perspective, that mix of hope and uncertainty as sometimes the clues/hints can feel contradictory.
While I personally didnât mind Kataang not getting much focus on the finale (for various reasons, might have even preferred it), definitely wouldnât have minded a more open ending like that, leaving the romance to have concluded in the future, or an end conversation definitely has potential to go multiple possible ways.
Have tended to gravitate to the idea that Kataraâs reasons for avoiding it for so long could be in part tied in with guilt over how things ended up at the end of Book 2 (after all, Aang struggling to let Katara go was part of his going into the Avatar State late and getting injured). Thematically, the idea that Katara has been holding back because sheâs afraid Aang will let himself get distracted from his duties could tie in with a character arc for her in that it would be a kind of another form of being an overprotective older sister-ish figure (still seeing Aang as a kid who she needs to protect and guide to be responsible), and a conversation about it could be a chance to see her growing away of that.
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Itâs an odd thing, I see why Kataang is loved as a ship so much (it did have a lot of buildup and sometimes leaving something unexplained for the audience to fill in the gaps for themselves can actually ironically drive more story engagement, and does for other aspects of ATLA, at least for me), but also genuine that there are reasons that such a large part of ATLAâs fandom struggled to connect with how it ended.
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u/Killer-Wave Jun 10 '25
I think you raise a great point of the season 2 finally having a lasting impact on Katara's feelings towards Aang. I think it really colours her behaviours moving forward.
Seeing him in those short moments of mastering the avatar state imo could have been the moment she was the most proud of him she ever was, only for him to be killed before her eyes, is so deeply traumatic. The emotional weight on her trying to escape the catacombs with his body would have a cascading effect.
While she is able to revive him a bit later with the spirit water, it doesn't remove the trauma from that day, she might feel responsible for not being able to save him as "she got lucky" that the spirit water worked.
That would also explain why she gets viscerally protective about Aang moving forward, it's her second chance to keep him alive.
I can imagine Katara having bittersweet feelings about the relationship after the season 2 finally, if he was ripped away from her the same moment she realized she had serious feelings towards him, and internalizing responsibility for letting her feelings somehow be why he died.
So she focuses on the mission first, because it's too painful to explore feelings she thinks might be the death of him, throughout season 3.
Her reaction to the kiss on the day of black sun could also be explained by this mind set, like she's interpreting the kiss as his farewell, because he very well could die. It seems any time their feelings come up for her, it just brings up the trauma of losing him.
So maybe the war ending is what finally relieves that weight. That would seem most likely.
What the show decides to focus on and what they leave up for interpretation is a conscious choice.
I feel like Katara being a main character but not getting to explore her perspective feels like a missed opportunity . The romance is usually a tertiary subplot in the show (which is fair the show is not a romance) but when it comes to light there is so much we don't get to see, especially from her side of things.
Man I just need a fanfic exploring season 3 from Kataras POV. Let me know if you have any recs!
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u/rocketaxxon Jun 11 '25
A Katara pov fanfic of Book 3 would be amazing, I'd love to see that too, feels like there could even be a lot of different versions with different headcanons
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u/Crafty-Farm2415 Jun 10 '25
Would love to see kataang from kataras POV. We really shoild have seen katara slowly fall in love with Aang, and get rid of the little bro relationship. It would contrast Aangs POV, since he was in love from the get go. Personally i think it was at the back of her head and was teasing aang since aunt wu, started to think a little more about it since the cave of 2 lovers, but she had the realisation she loved him since his "death", and your theory on why its complicated is really good, and i do believe we should have seen what she meant before the chat with aang. Also i believe we should have seen aang apologising, and talking to katara about the matter, since there was a massive leap that wasnt explained.
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u/Prying_Pandora Jun 09 '25
Ember island players brought it up to make fun of. Because itâs a silly criticism.
He doesnât act like her little brother. He acts like a kid, and so does she. Theyâre both kids.
Itâs normal that they act like kids.
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u/rocketaxxon Jun 10 '25
Would have to agree that critiquing the Kataang ship as not working because of the dynamic of Katara possibly seeing Aang like a younger brother doesnât make for a well-grounded critique of the ship itself working.
Instead I would say the existing dynamic from earlier in the series, where it did genuinely feel like Katara was treating Aang like a kid to be sheltered and affirmed in a protective older-sister kind of way, makes for an interesting character/story conflict to be overcome.
In spite of their ages, the dynamic between them is in many ways still nuanced and complex. Aang acts childish in many ways in the episode, but itâs coming from an understandable place, he worked up the courage to confess his feelings and now heâs been left hanging and waiting for an answer all this time. On top of that, heâs been made aware that Katara may be avoiding answering him because she sees him as a kid, and itâs a genuine fear/conflict for him, which may have led to acting more forceful than usual in a misguided desire to seem more âadult.â
Kataraâs thoughts, meanwhile, are left uncertain, whether she is genuinely struggling with how sheâs always viewed Aang versus her imagined version of romance or if she meant what she said about just wanting to wait until after the war or if thereâs something else entirely sheâs running away from.
Fan reaction to the ending of Kataang is often mixed because for many, the shift from this Kataang scene to the ending of their being together doesnât need to be explained, itâs showing that Katara doesnât see Aang as a little brother, whether because she had other reasons for avoiding the conversation before or because something about seeing his courage/standing up for his principles during the finale changed her view of him. For others, going straight from this scene to their getting together feels like a jumpcut, without a clear resolution to the existing conflicts the scene draws attention to.
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Basically, just all the usual complexity of individual audience interaction with a creative work.
Everyone should be free to like or dislike whatever ships they feel like, whether because of a weird age difference or perception of maturity levels, etc., but would have to agree that those shouldnât be arguments for why a ship shouldnât have been the canon ship or objectively bad somehow for everyone who did connect with it. Aang is immature in Ember Island Players in some ways thatâs not always well received, but Katara has her share of mean moments where Aang is the voice of reason (Southern Raiders comes to mind). Itâs complicated, and thatâs why the show makes for such interesting character discussion
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u/avatars_love Jun 10 '25
fandoms love ambiguity and subtext. people have spent the last 15+ years analyzing every single interaction between katara and zuko to deduce any form of romantic subtext, any potential hint. how come when it comes to kataraâs side of kataang, people want to turn their thinking caps off? kataraâs feelings for aang isnât just presented in the subtext; itâs presented in the text as well (not as much as aangâs, of course, but itâs still there).
and yeah, media is subjective. but given that the series ends with her kissing him as soon as the war is over, isnât the more accurate conclusion that she genuinely did not want to get into a relationship during the war, and that aang needed to embark on his final arc hence the lack of interaction?
why is that other pairings in the franchise are easily accepted despite there being next to no romantic feelings for one another, but katara and aang require all the romantic build-up in the world for people to accept that she liked him back? like, it never dawned upon me that her confusion in EIP was because she didnât have feelings for him, but because she genuinely didnât want to embark on a romantic relationship at that point in time. maybe because she, idk, saw her first love (jet) get killed in front of her eyes? who else does she date during that time period? no one! so why is there still doubt that the war isnât an acceptable reason?
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u/Crafty-Farm2415 Jun 09 '25
Ik, it wasnt weitten very well, but katara and aang have more chemistry
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u/YamiMarick Jun 09 '25
Isn't the 'problematic' age gap between Aang and Katara refering to the fact that Aang is biologically 112 old because he spent 100 years frozen in an iceberg and not the fact that Aang is 12?
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u/TisBeTheFuk Melon Lord đ Jun 09 '25
I don't think so, as both physically as well as mentally Aang is a 12 yo boy. I think it's more the fact that he is only 12 yo.
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u/Gemnist Jun 09 '25
No, itâs always been portrayed the other way around, coupled with the idea that Katara is the âmotherâ to the group in order to try and portray Aang as having an Oedipus complex. I wish I was joking.
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u/Y-Woo Jun 09 '25
I was an older girl who dated a younger boy (2 years below me) back in secondary school. I was made fun of and called a loser and a nonce (british slang for pedo) while several guys in my year dated girls from the same year my then-bf was in and nobody batted an eye. Same ordeal here i thinkđ¤ˇđťââď¸