The Special Ingredient In Zuko And Azula's Biggest Avatar: The Last Airbender Fight
It's been 15 years since the end of "Avatar: The Last Airbender," and this cartoon still holds up as something quite rare in American animation. Sure, other cartoons had experimented with serialization, or with aesthetics inspired by anime. "The Last Airbender," however, managed to provide a serialized story that nevertheless appreciated the value of standalone episodes. The series had a vast mythology and a larger world and history, but it didn't overwhelm the story at hand with lore, all while delivering some of the best character arcs in modern fiction.
Then there's the action. Though other shows took inspiration from anime in their visuals or storytelling (and there were shows like "Batman: The Animated Series" which literally used some of the staff that brought the iconic "Akira" to life), few American cartoons felt as kinetic as "The Last Airbender." This is in no small part due to the fact that the show was animated by Korean studios JM Animation, DR Movie and MOI Animation Studios, which clearly give nods to anime, but also added their own style and eye for action. Combined with directors like Joaquim Dos Santos, who was dubbed "Dr. Fight" by fans because of his particular knack for energetic action scenes, and you have an action-packed animated epic.
There is arguably no better example of the "Avatar" (no, not that one) approach to action than the final fight between Zuko and his sister Azula. This is considered one of the best scenes in the entire show, and while there are many reasons why, one particular bit stands out according to those who worked on the show: the use of music.
"Jeremy Zuckerman composed [the scene] and they used a live 16-piece string ensemble, which we couldn't afford for the normal series," co-creator Bryan Konietzko told IGN shortly after the finale aired.
A fiery symphony
In a documentary about the making of "Avatar: The Last Airbender," co-composer Benjamin Wynn said he and Zuckerman contacted studio executives asking if they could use live musicians, "We were gonna do it even if we had to pay for it," Wynn said. "[The president of Nickelodeon] was sort of moved by the fact that we were willing to pay for it ourselves," Zuckerman added. "This is our swan song, and we want it to be awesome."
Having a live orchestra for a TV show is very rare, especially in the '00s. It is one of the reasons why Michael Giacchino's score for "Lost" was so special, because it was not recorded on a synthesizer, but used a live orchestra. To be able to do that in a children's show was rather rare and remarkable, but it paid off immensely. Throughout the Zuko and Azula fight, there is no dialogue, and even the sound effects were pushed down to highlight the score instead. The result is a gorgeous, fiery symphony and an emotional climax to the show.
Technically, the fight between the titular Avatar and the Fire Lord was the climax to the story and what the show at large was building to, but it was eclipsed by this smaller-scale, beautifully composited, masterfully colored intimate duel between a brother and a sister, where the sound of the strings communicated more than words ever could. As Konietzko told IGN:
"We knew there'd be so much fire and explosions and loud sounds that for that scene we made a decision to push the sound effects as beautiful as they were, we pushed them very quiet and let this tragic music play and be in the fore-front, to contrast Aang's story which was so intense, it was so emotional."
The last agni kai
It is a testament to the writing of "Avatar: The Last Airbender," that the fight between Zuko and Azula did not have world-changing consequences, but it felt just as important as anything else in the show. As Michael Dante DiMartino said in the audio commentary for the finale, "It's got the most emotional weight behind it." It is a culmination of three seasons' worth of character development for Zuko the Fire Prince, who went from being a villain obsessed with gaining his delusional megalomaniac father's approval to helping the Avatar save the world.
It is also a culmination of the story of Zuko the brother who lived in fear of his younger, psychopathic sister Azula, who was always prone to violence. That Zuko was finally able to confront her and fight her without fear, aided by the music of the strings, is rather emotional.
The other aspect of it is the firebending of it all. For nearly three seasons, "Avatar: The Last Airbender" made the audience fear and hate firebending just as Aang did, seeing it as inherently evil and violent. It wasn't until near the series finale that Aang and Zuko learned the secret of firebending and how it represents life, not just violence, that it can be full of colors and not just hatred. So when Zuko fights Azula on this particular day, during a comet that grants firebenders incredible power, Zuko is not matching her hatred, but fighting selflessly to protect others, the light and color of his fire being warm and beautiful rather than cold and spiteful.