Check out my breakdown of the real-world mythology behind One Piece! kzfaq.info/get/bejne/i6efdqZj1b67nYk.html Naruto kzfaq.info/get/bejne/oryFq9ylsdKuqGg.html and Coraline! kzfaq.info/get/bejne/nLKgpK6cleDZaHU.html

And the swamp people who resemble Florida men

I just love the fact that people are still talking about Avatar: The Last Airbender. Such a timeless work of Art. Hopefully the next generation will also be introduced to the show to have a chance to appreciate how much we Love this Masterpiece

I am a Tibetan American, and Avatar was the first show I felt I could relate to when I was young.

there is no war in ba-sing-se.

I feel like the sandbenders with the way they dress, live in the desert, and the way those desert towns look definitely resembles middle eastern / arabic culture

The fact that people re still talking about his made me happy.

The inner child in me wants to learn Kung fu just so I can look like I’m bending while whooping someone’s ass

Best cartoon. Let's hope it won't be butchered by Netflix.

"There is no M.Night Shyamalan in Ba-Sing-Se. Here we are free"

this show actually helped me develop my spirituality growing up, and learning to be in tune with my mind/body. lot of great fundamentals from a show on a kids network. i hope more shows have thought like this one did.

As a Mexican I was so excited when the Sun Warriors were introduced as you explained in your video, they definitively reminded me of Mexicas/Aztecs and the archeology of the temple definitively resembles Teotihuacán. And as you mentioned, Huitzilopochtli was the first image I pictured, the main deity of Mexicas/Aztecs, god of the Sun and war. I loved to see my culture in my favorite animated series, it only made Avatar closer to my heart. Btw, Quetzalcoatl it’s a hard one lol. Awesome video I really appreciated all the analysis and how in depth you investigated every culture. ❤️

I would say that the Air Nomad genocide was definitely a reference to the Tibetan Genocide in the late 40s with the rise of Mao’s Communist China.

A lot have said the Air nation culture is reminiscent of the culture of Tibet much more so than the culture of China.

More Firebender mythology: The Agni kai is named after Agni, a Hindu fire god (whose name means 'fire'), and Kai (会) meaning 'meeting' or 'gathering' in Japanese. The fans of the Kyoshi warriors is also probably a reference to Japanese war fans (called Gunsen or Tessen), with a corresponding martial art of tessenjutsu. They might also reference Onna-bugeisha, japanese warrior women, of which Tomoe Gozen is the most famous.

Yooooo I'm not gonna lie, I had goosebumps and a huge smile on my face the whole time I was watching this. Gwaaad I love this show.

You’re so wrong for showing the “leaves from the vine” scene😭😭😭 I am almost certain Iroh is the reason I tear up when someone mentions ATLA

One thing you forgot to mention in the bending section was that while normal Earthbending was based off of Southern Style Hung Gar Kung Fu (which prioritized powerful, hard punches and kicks, and a strong base), Toph’s Earthbending was based off of Northern Praying Mantis style Kung Fu (which was strictly about using the arms for powerful close range attacks and keeping the amount of leg movement to a minimum).

Man this series is one of my best childhood experiences. Even after 15 years, Can't stop obsessing it, old but gold ~

*No, Koh the face stealer is based off of James Charles.*

In many years to come, "the last airbender" will still remain my most favourite cartoon series ever...... With each viewing I learn something new. It truly is a masterpiece

growing up as an asian kid when this show first came out, I was so happy to see asian culture being represented in a popular kid's show.

Well while it was unintentional I know they didn't know about this tidbit of information. White Bison Woman is an actual deity in native american lore, she visited the people found that the people were accepting of her without prejudice and became the villager's friend especially to the children. She stayed for a time and would come whenever a child asked her to. She blessed the people with bison in the winter, there to be sacraficed for food and all of the uses bison can be used for! There's also a rumor that genetically asian peoples and the native americans come from the same line that left Africa.

The storyline where Princess Yue becomes the moon spirit reminds me of the Japanese myth of Princess Kaguya. Kaguya originally came from the moon, but she was born and raised on Earth. She's very pretty, has multiple potential suitors (she rejects all of them), and befriends an emperor. When it's time, she has to return to the moon. The emperor tries to stop her but fails. Kaguya's love for humanity is erased, and the emperor mourns the loss of his friend. This myth also inspired Sailor Moon, apparently. I don't actually watch that show, so I don't know exactly how it influenced Sailor Moon.

Avatar is ORIGINAL in every sense and a classic. An exemplary and unparalleled story. I love it so much.

I love the avatar series and just finished watching the whole series again not long ago. I’ve lived in China and learned some Chinese since the last time I’ve watched show and was really shocked at how much more I got out of it this time around. The water spirits are called tui and la which actually mean push and pull which was talked about when describing them. And Yue is actually the name for moon...just pronounced differently. Thank you for posting such an awesome video! I look forward to a legend of Korra one!

but evarything changed when the American industrial culture attacked

My god, I'm Chinese, I literally understand and able to relate with it. Feels happy that somebody understand my culture background, it also gives me a goosebumps at a same time.

The whole concept of avatar came from Hinduism even the word "avatar" itself is Sanskrit and hindu. When God comes on earth in physical form because there's unbalance on earth caused by humans.

The hand movements they do are known as " mudras" in Hinduism

Love it how he said Mesoamerican cultures and not saying Aztec or Mayan specifically. This man is epico

One weird thing I noticed, is that the palace of the northern water tribe is modeled after South Indian temples. It's strange cause it's one of the only indian buildings in the show, and the rest of the northern water tribe is inuit.

I wonder how popular The Last Airbender us in Asia. Its probably has some of the best storytelling in recent times.

I've heard stories from missionaries where they visited a hidden temple somewhere in the Tibet, and the monks there were actually able to call on the wind to try intimidate intruders.

That was brilliant! Thank you for shedding some light on this. I've recognised the Chinese, Japanese, and Indian influences in the show, but I was so unsure of how they all fit together. The overview of the martial arts styles were especially helpful. Thanks so much!

The way Uncle Iroh treat others/strangers is based on the philosophy of Moism

I love how you pronounced everything correctly, especially since there were so many cultures involved!

The Avatar universe had a lot of similarities with Hinduism. To start off, something obvious is the word Avatar itself. It was derived from a Sanskrit (Language of the Hindu Scriptures and such) word meaning ‘descent’, avatāraḥ, (Sanskrit: अवतारः). In Hinduism, Avatar’s were the embodiments of God’s. An example here would be Vishnu, The god of preservation and protection. He has many Avatar’s, an example being Rama, and Krishna. This has a lot of resemblances to the Avatar universe due to all of the Avatar’s being embodiments of the first (Avatar Wan & Raava). Another similarity is Hinduism and past lives. Hindu’s believe that their past lives influence their current one. The memories and experiences of past lives dictate the world around the individual (Maya). In Avatar, the past lives of the Avatar were able to be called upon for wisdom, etc… Another point is, balance. Hindu’s believe in balance in everything. There must be balance in all things in the universe. Avatar has many concepts of balance throughout it’s airing. The Avatar acts as the counter weight against the evil things that happen. When something bad happens (example, Amon and the equalists) a counter measure takes place that balances the chaos (Korra being there when she was needed). Another small point is rituals. A lot of religions have rituals but Hinduism seems to be the one that has many with the use of paint involved. The similarities to the Avatar, is the Airbender tattoos. At a coming of time (airbending mastery) a lot of people gather to celebrate a new (in this case) airbending master. There seem to be a lot of similarities between Hinduism and the Avatar universe. Of course, the examples I gave, were minor examples and there are plenty more that I could write but I’d like to hear your thoughts on the idea.

The Inuit and Meso-American (including plant benders, think Seminole) have genetic roots in Asia.

The bison that sang rode on us know in the Lakota, Dakota, Nakota sioux people as an ancient Creature /deity that kept the native people in peace and balance in the world as long as a lot of other spiritual beings.

I remember being a kid and this came on and I sit down and watch it cause it peaked my interest *at my grandma house* good ass times man🤧I didn’t think it’d be this big one day tho. I’m just happy I was on the wave back then and now.

Airbenders are mainly based on tibetans. You can google the following facts up. 1) Aang was selected as the next avatar based on items of the previous avatar he picked as a kid, which is how the Dalai lama reincarnations are picked. 2) Aang's teacher's name is Gyatso, which also happens to be the Dalai Lama's name and it means ocean of wisdom 3) The past Airbending avatar's name is Avatar Yangchen, and Yangchen is a Tibetan name 4)Ang's pet name is Momo, which means dumplings in Tibetan. 5) Ang's son's name is Tenzin which is a Tibetan name. Tenzin's wife's name is Pema which is the Tibetan word for Lotus. 6) Tenzin and next generation airbender's wear RED robes and Tibetan Buddhist monks wear red robes whereas other forms of buddhist monks usually wear light orange robes (it seems like they've used both here) 7) Air temples= high altitudes= Tibet (roof of the world). 8) Annihilation of Air nomads (Tibetans) by Fire nation (Red Chinese)

They put so much thought into this series. A serious gold nugget of this century.

I watch the last air bender every time I come home from school. It helps remind me to be the best most highest version of myself.

Also, Lake Laogai. The name LaoGai is an abbreviation of the phrase Laodong Gaizao, meaning reform through labor. It was a term that refered to China's prison camps where prisoners were used as slave labor. Also, wasn't the Earth King modeled after the last emperor of China, Puyi? The Cave of Two Lovers was essentially Romeo and Juliet, though forbidden love is such a common story plot that I'm guessing it could have come from anywhere. I'd be shocked if the giant rock in the middle of the Si Wong desert wasn't inspired by Uluru (Ayers Rock in the Australian outback for those who don't know the Aboriginal name). I believe Princess Yue's design once she becomes the moon spirit was a based off of Korean fairies (I can't find the article that told me this and I'm not 100% sure they are fairies, but some kind of divine being.) Bloodbending was referred to by the writers as the "stop hitting yourself technique". I know it's not a real world inspiration. I just think its funny

Idk what’s more impressive... ATLA adding all of these philosophies, cultures, region, etc. or this guy knowing all of it... cheers man 😂👍🏻

Nice pronunciation of Quetzalcoatl's name. Most people erroneously and annoyingly say the "L" at the end. Respect

This opened my third eye

This is my favorite show and I'm obsessed with this show

Avatar is timeless. It transcends cultural barriers & opens up a whole new world of imagination & creativity. 👍🙏❤ The fact that everyone is still talking about it gives me so much joy.

It’s so cool that they incorporated these concepts and life lessons into a kids show. I rewatched the entire series since it came on Netflix and its one of those shows you don’t grow out of enjoying

very great breakdown! the avatar state is indirectly the 5th element due to hang having to connect to the cosmic energy to attain it

Very nice Let me try and explain from an Indian philosophical perspective... The word "Avatar" means "descent" of energy on earth. It can also mean empty conciousness . Avatar also represents that species of animal that moves onto the next Yuga ( time) after natural catastrophe which occurs at the end of every Yuga. Natural catestrophe : the great flood ... 1st avatar: mathsya (masthya = fish) 2nd natural catestrophe : oceans too warm . 2nd avatar : kurma (kurma = tortoise) and so on... Notice how the avatars slowly move from water to ground. At the current era , already 8 avatars have passed and the ninth avatar (current avatar ) is Krishna , who represents a meditative person. The 10th avatar is the last avatar on earth and then all life in earth would end because the moon would escape earth's gravity. Avatar is someone who has mastered the four elements ( water earth etc ) and only because he has mastered them, he or she can enter the fifth state , called "akasha" ( literally means void or nothingness) . It means, at will, the mind of an avatar can reach a state of nothingness , traditionally called "Shunya"... In this state of mind, infinite energy is available and there will be no "Kala" ( Kala = space and/or time). In my personal opinion, based on what little I have studied , avatar represents the evolution of life on earth ( fish then tortoise etc ) . Since every avatar was a survivor from previous natural catastrophe, therefore, it was thought that a new avatar would mean that the earth now is in balance . So, avatar became synonymous with "balance". Currently , now we are in Dwapara Yuga , within 50 years, Dwapara will end and Kali Yuga will start, Dwapara Yuga was characterised by peace, technology and mindfulness ( hence represented by Krishna , meditative as well as practical man) , Kali Yuga ( the final Yuga) is characterised by wars, diseases .... The chakras represents potentially the avatar energy but not yet realised....so, when one moves from the ground chankra ( ground symbolises attachment ) to Agna chakra ( Agna means insight ) and beyond , avatar state ( or a state of emptiness ) is reached.... On reaching the empty state, one does not reincarnate again unless he chooses to at the end of his life. This last stage, where reincarnation stops is referred to as moksha ( Hinduism, Jainism) , Nirvana ( Buddhism ) , Mahasamadhi ( yoga ) etc.

When it comes to Avatar: the last Airbender, the plot,world, characters, and comedy is awesome,I like how they have a serious episode and then the next is comedy and overall great, I love how they created a comeplete map for avatars world, the overall creativity of Avatar is awesome as heck and if I could, I would probably buy all of them on DvD

Earth-Bending is so visually creative and interesting to watch.

Leaves from the vine Falling so slow Like fragile tiny shells Drifting in the foam Little soldier boy Come marching home Brave soldier boy Comes marching home ~ The Dragon of the West. General Iroh 🐉

I dont think its possible for anything to make justice for Avatar, there is SO MUCH in this show......

I found out that earth kingdom is more like a mixture of chinese and korean culture, in some earth kingdom village the characters seems to have a korean clothes. Also the story of avatar Kyoshi and the dictator kinda reminded me the seperation between North Korea and South Korea. But at this point it’s just speculated observations I loved your video it was very instructive and confirm some other origins that I guessed on my own.

Why do I feel like he aced every single PowerPoint research assignments in high school & college?...

the soundtrack is so nostalgic

18:20 Zhao is also a common Chinese family name. My grandmother is named Zhao, she even comes from a place called 赵堡 which literally means Zhao bastion, there was a ancient castle, and every one there is from family Zhao.

loving all the anime you've been covering recently you're really fleshing out all these series I watched when I was younger but didn't fully understand

"spoilers" bruh everyone's watched Avatar

*Admiral Zhao. Don't confuse the military branches, especially army and navy. They don't like that.

Holy heaven, you did a vast research in this video. Is interesting how this cultures are related to the Avatar's animated series pure essense. Good work man.

actually its call "Panca Maha Butha" its mean "Five Element" 1.Pertiwi (Water), 2.Bayu (Wind), 3.Apah (Earth), 4.Teja (Fire). and the series miss one element its call "Akasa (Ether/Space)". the Avatar itself is a legend/a myth called Avatar or Awatara, its a legend/a myth about someone or you could say a god who born to the world everytime the world need to be save. theres an old testament said Avatar have 10 reincarnation. 9 of them have done and the last one will return when the judgement day is come. *Why i know about this? its part of my religion*

Love the video! It’s fun to connect so much cultural references to my favorite series. You might want to check a creature called Qi Lin (麒麟) in ancient Chinese mythology, a creature that can fly by tapping in the clouds, a symbol of peace and prosperity but also strength and protection. This Qi Lin is most peaceful and never eats meat and they have a head that resembles a bull. All these characters just remind me of the flying bisons a lot.

Omg that bit about the fifth element being ether/energy was really cool

Check out my video on the mythology behind Princess Mononoke. kzfaq.info/get/bejne/nJtjjaadyZ2Wdn0.html

Uncle iroh is actually my favorite character of the whole series, such a humble and peaceful person even though he's a fire bender from the Fire Nation brother to fire lord ozai crazy, which leads me to say that the Fire Nation used anger to regress their fire uncle iroh was taught by the dragon of the West to use his fire for peace so that's why uncle iroh was more powerful than all the other firebenders because he is a peaceful version of the firebending

My only complaint is this video isn’t long enough . I love all this Information and this was my favorite show growing. I couldn’t wait to watch this when I got out of school. I’m 23 and I still rewatch this every now and then . There’s some Naruto influences in here also with the “8 trigrams” and “ Kaguya “ born from the moon

The library in the desert with the Owl guardian reminded me of a version of a library of the Akashic Records. I just wanted to mention that could've also been a possible influence in that part of the series.

As someone who was brought up as buddhist (and still is), avatar is the best depiction of buddhist philosophy in a series I've ever seen. And I've always related to Aang for his similar beliefs to me.

That intro had me like: LEAVES FROM THE VINE

ATLA is my favorite animated series and The Tale of Princess Kaguya is the Japanese myth I'm most familiar with (and it's one of my favorite Ghibli movies), but not once did I ever think that the two were connected through Princess Yue

I would take a class you’re teaching in stuff like this. Nicely explained and well done!

I felt like horoscopes would play a part in how you got what elements if we had bending in real life

Earth King Kuei is based on the Xuantong Emperor(a.k.a. Puyi) the last Emperor of the Qing Dynasty, and Earth Queen Hou-Ting is based on Empress Dowager Cixi.

Kho the Facestealer is also kind of a thing in Inuyasha, he appears already in one of the first episodes and looks nearly similar, if I dont mess things up

As a sinology student I loved this video!! Just to add, the name of the many faced insect ‘kou’ 口is actually the Chinese word for mouth, and as an extend sometimes face or person

The name Avatar comes from the Sanskrit word, Avatara, meaning the descendent. This show is truly a legend and amazing gift to the world of people of all ages, it captures not only the cultural accuracy of many ancient heritages but also the spiritual truth that would prosper the human development and the ongoing state of affairs in our world. I wish that they make this show a mandatory subject/study in every school to help guide the younger generations to gain a sense of balance in a world that is so devastatingly out of balance.

Maybe the air bisons are inspired by the yaks found in high Himalayas , like India, Tibet and others. Yaks are commonly used by villages to go around and as beasts of labour.

The series was well thought out

Mad respect for actually using clips from Chinese wuxia/martial arts film/TV!

Finally a video on mythology that inspired ATLA! Thanks so much for this video

Let's just appreciate what an amazing deep research was done to create this show! Every detail makes sense! That's why we still watch it and love it so much.

‘Tui’ and ‘La’ also both mean ‘push’ and ‘pull’ in chinese respectively, in accordance with the push and pull of the tides of the water.

The show opened my eyes to the powers of the Universe itself, and how a balanced lifestyle helps. The episode where Aang learned how to balance his Chakras really made a big impact on my current lifestyle.

Flying bison like many of the avatar’s animals are random (yet epic) combinations of animals such as my favorites the ostrich horse, armadillo lion, and possum chicken the flying bison are (I think) a combination of bison and manatee but I still am puzzled who got the idea to make this creature have flight/air bending abilities especially the fact that neither bison or manatees can fly

I just remembered that bounty hunter Zuko hired is based on a character in "The Journey to the West" a guy the Jade Emperor hired to take down Sun Wu Kong the Monkey King, even having a magical third eye. Aang kinda reminds me of the Monkey King, goofy, mischievious, flies... Team Avatar remind me of the main group in "Journey to the West".

The third eye of the Combustion man is probably inspired from the Hindu god Shiva/Shankar who has a third eye on his forehead. In Hindu mythology , it is said that opening of the third eye will destroy the world, just like Combustion man blasts what he sees.

I've started to try and find peace with myself and the world. Its funny to say that The Avatar, is where I started haha. Now that I'm older and actually pay attention to the dialog, and this video will help me. Its amazing learning all of this.

Yes Earth ie.... Boomi is from Tamil word Puvi is also represents the earth King Boomi..

In ancient time all chineys Japanese was come to bharat(india) to learn technics of Santana dharma(Hinduism )budhism and tantravidya(black magic ) but unfortunately western people label them as stupidity or superstitious etc now because of there influence people forget it😣😣

Great analysis! As a former Kung Fu practitioner, I just want to add the styles that I and my friends community noticed as bending inspiration: - Air Bending: Ba Gua Zhang - Water Bending (for combat): Tai Chi Chuan - - Water Bending (as healing): no martial arts movements (TCM/Acupuncture/Acupressure/Qigong) - - Blood Bending (Water Bending in humans/animals): no martial arts movements - - Plant Bending (Water Bending in plants): no martial arts movements - Fire Bending: Shaolin Quan - - Lightning Bending: Ba Ji Quan - Earth Bending: Hung Gar - -Metal Bending: Southern Praying Mantis (Hakka Tang Lang; Chow Gar Tong Long)

lets not forget about the library in book 2 where there was the sacred owl(the episode Apah was captured). the library existed before. it was known as Cairo's house of Wisdom which was built during the Fatimid period. the library even had an astronomical chart which was able to compare data about stars and planets(Remember how Sokka used it to find the date of the eclipse).

The pronounciation some asian words in the avatar is comic relief

the writers didn't just create a show, they created an entire universe

i literally love this show so much i just watched the whole series over again and i remembered why it will always be my favorite show. freaking love bryan and dante for doing this

Avatar, Shaman King, Naruto, Sailor Moon still shaking my heart. Such a Great Childhood 😢