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Avatar the Last Airbender is an absolutely incredible TV show produced by Nickelodeon; the show first aired in late 2005, and finished it final season (or “book”) in mid 2008. While the vast majority of the show is not centred at all on worldbuilding, and is in no way an alien/sci-fi planet, I would like to touch on it here because of a few things. Number one, the animal design in this series takes a lot of inspiration from real-life animals, just like in Subnautica. Number two, the culture that this show develops takes a lot of inspiration from real-world cultures, which is something I'd like to experiment with in my alien world.
I will still be asking myself the three questions I laid out at the beginning of my worldbuilding section; how does the Last Airbender lay out its culture and environments? How does this culture inform the aesthetics of the show? And how do these aesthetics and cultures connect back to the real world as their source of inspiration?
The Four Nations
The Four Nations
Long ago, the Four Nations lived together in harmony — but everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked. This is the plot of Avatar, and the Four Nations, and their relationship with each other and our main characters, is pretty much the main focus of the show. I will be expanding on the three questions I laid out at the beginning, but having a deeper look into architecture, outfits, and cultural practices. I will then use this to inform whatever alien race I will be creating in my own production section.
The Air Nomads
The Air Nomads
The Air Nomads are wanderers who live a monk-like theocratic lifestyle, and practice airbending. The Avatar Wiki describes them as such: “The Air Nomads were a peaceful race […]. They lived in large temples and travelled the world on flying bison. They were the most spiritual of all the cultures and lived in harmony with nature.” During the Fire Nation's conquering of the world, all the airbenders were wiped out in a genocide, except for the protagonist Aang, who is (of course) the last airbender.
The Air Nomads had a very notable way of dressing; their clothings mostly consisted of orange, yellow, browns, and red. This gave them a very consistent look that is warm and grounded. They also have very distinctive arrow tattoos, which according to the wiki “signifies that they have mastered airbending. This is an emulation of the natural arrows on the heads of flying bison”. I will discuss the flying bison later on, however they are representative of the ultimate airbenders. All of these aesthetic qualities are reflective of the Air Nomads' carefree and natural lifestyle.
According to an interesting article, the Air Nomads are primarily meant to be based upon the real-world cultures of Buddhism and Tibetan monks. There are other influences, of course — the nomads meditate and discuss chakras, which are themes from Hinduism, for example.
Even the role of Avatar (which is of course not exclusive to the Air Nomads, but in the show our Avatar is Aang) is similar to the Buddhist role of a Bodhisattva, who is a person that delays their nirvana to enlighten others around them. The role of the Avatar is to allow the four nations to live in harmony, and is something the Air Nomads put great emphasis on — Aang is unwilling to kill the Fire Lord due to his pacifist beliefs, and is forced to find a different way around the problem. This is similar to many Buddhist beliefs around peace, and mercy even towards your enemies.
The Water Tribes
The Water Tribes
There are two Water Tribes in the world of Avatar, located in the icy north and south poles. The Southern Water Tribe (where two of our main characters are from, and from where we start the story) is a lot more of a small village, where the Norther Water Tribe is more of a city. According to the wiki, “The people of the Water Tribe are generally peaceful, and strive to live in harmony with nature and the other nations of the world. Living in the harsh conditions of the poles and the swamp has made the people of the Water Tribes resilient to hardship and respectful of the world around them.”
Of course, the Water Tribe clothing matches with the blue and white of their icy homes, and is covered in fleece and fur to keep out the cold. They are often embellished with gems or teeth, especially in the slightly wealthier Norther Water Tribe.
As for their hairstyles, they are quite distinctive — men will usually be seen with their hair up in a warrior's wolf tail, and women tend to keep it in braids or loops, as seen with Katara.
According to the article that I referenced earlier, the Water Tribes are meant to bed based off arctic tribes, most notably Inuit. You can really tell this based off their outfits and colour choices; white lined coats with embellishments are commonly found in Inuit culture, since they (like the Water Tribes) live in the frigid cold. Even the concept of waterbending is a reference to Inuit culture; the connection people have with fishing, canoeing, and being one with the earth's natural water cycle is very reminiscent of waterbending.
There are, of course, other aspects of the Water Tribes that are influenced by cultures outside Inuit; for example, Sokka's boomerang is inspired by native Australian culture, and the Southern Water Tribe's boats take inspiration from Polynesian traditional canoes.
The Earth Kingdom
The Earth Kingdom
The Earth Kingdom is probably the second strongest of the four nations, behind the Fire Nation, and is the largest of the four nations geographically. The wiki describes it as such: “The people of the Earth Kingdom are proud and strong; they usually adhered to a philosophy of peaceful coexistence and cooperation with the other nations of the world." The Earth Kingdom is made up of a huge variety of different ethnicities, subcultures, and governments, given how vast the Kingdom is. It is reigned over by a single King.
To correlate with their element of earth, the Earth Kingdom residents tend to wear a lot of green and yellow, and sometimes muted beiges and browns, with large draping cloths and belts. Many Earth Kingdom workers will don more practical clothes and hairstyles, however aristocratic style changes depending on the area you are in. Many noble women in Ba Sing Se (the Earth Kingdom capital) for example, will wear their hair in elaborate patterns, up-dos, and styles.
The Earth Kingdom soldiers will wear bright green uniforms with spears, and adorn their heads with a conical helmet.
The Earth Kingdom takes inspiration from many cultures, the main one being Imperial China. The architecture, the soldier's uniform, and even the societal structure and culture all takes inspiration from ancient China. The capital city of Ba Sing Se has many similarities to Beijing, however it also has similarities to other historical cultures. The city's great walls can be compared to Constantinople, and the fashion in Ba Sing Se can be compared to Chinese royalty during the Qing Dynasty, with Korean influences. Some regions, such as Kyoshi Island, have slightly different inspirations — the Kyoshi warriors paint their faces to resemble Japanese traditional dances, and perform a martial style similar to karate.
There are so many influences that inspire the Earth Kingdom; I think it's safe to say, however, that because of both the social structure and also the naming conventions we see in the Earth Kingdom, Imperial China is its main influence.
The Fire Nation
The Fire Nation
The Fire Nation served as the main villains in Avatar the Last Airbender, starting the war that Aang and the main cast have to stop, and attempting to conquer all the other nations. The wiki describes them as “The Fire Nation is the second-largest nation in terms of area, following the Earth Kingdom, while its economy is the most powerful in the world; its strong industrial sector and extensive technological developments not only enabled the Fire Nation to create an extremely powerful military, but also initiated worldwide modernization and globalization.” Of course, by the end of the show the Fire Nation is ruled by Zuko, who is one of the main characters, and so is not explicitly characterized as an "evil" nation.
The Fire Nation's people tend to be shown wearing armour — they are, of course, a mostly military-based nation, and their armour is always very angular, with spikes and sharp edges. They are, of course, adorned with a lot of red, however they also tend to wear lots of black and gold. These colours are proven to be representative of power and wealth. Fire Nation nobles tend to wear their hair up with elaborate headpieces and interesting hairstyles, and show off their power and status with intricate clothing and armour.
There are many influences the Fire Nation takes from different real-world cultures; the nobles tend to dress in Hanfu clothes, which take inspiration from the Han Dynasty of ancient China, and many pieces of Chinese architecture are what inspires a lot of the landmarks of the Fire Nation (the Yellow Crane Tower, for example). In its military structure, however, it is definitely meant to emulate Imperial Japan. Many things point to this; their use of propaganda, their use of fire and sun iconography, and even their genocide of the Air Nomads. Their naval power is also meant to emulate Imperial Japan, as they are the only nation to utilise metal and steam power in their army, to create these giant imposing warships. Even the Fire Nation's geography screams Japan, as the nation sports a large amount of volcanic islands and other interesting land formations.
Animals
Animals
The world of Avatar the Last Airbender doesn't have much in the way of completely unique animals; it is more of a fantasy than a sci-fi, and this is not an alien planet, and so most of the animals in the Last Airbender are combinations of two, sometimes more, real-life animals. It's even used as a gag in one episode, where the cast are confused by the existence of the Earth King Kuei's pet bear; the team were sceptical that there was such a creature as “just a bear” and suggested that perhaps it was another type of creature, such as a platypus bear, skunk bear, armadillo bear, or gopher bear.
The flying bison lives alongside the Air Nomads in their temples, and was thought to be the original airbenders. Appa, Aang's flying bison in the show, is mostly used as a method of transport for the main team, and serves as a secondary character in his own right.
The flying bison is of course primarily a bison, however a friend of mine related it to a tardigrade in its body shape and six legs, which I think is super cool — the flying bison's round body shape and six legs makes it look a lot more friendly than a regular bison.
A slightly more obvious example of this show mixing two animals together to make a new creature would be with the badgermoles of the Earth Kingdom. These are known as the original earthbenders, and can feel their way around the pitch black tunnels underground using their earthbending (this is something that Toph, the party's blind earthbending master, learned to do from the badgermoles).
These animals have a very distinctive aesthetic — like moles, they live entirely underground and are completely blind, but their stature and markings are more akin to badgers.
There are, of course, some creatures in this show which are not necessarily based off real-life animals. The firebenders, for example, get their abilities from the dragons. Now, of course, dragons are a well-known type of mythological creature that exist in many cultures. However, the dragons of the Avatar world look very similar to traditional Chinese dragons, which makes a nice change from the wyverns and fire-drakes more commonly seen in western media.
Bending and Martial Arts
Bending and Martial Arts
Something that I absolutely love about this show, that really shows their attention to detail, is in regard to how each of the bending styles are portrayed. Almost immediately after the show was green lit, the creators hired Sifu Kisu, a Canadian fighting instructor who spend his early life learning and studying various forms of martial arts at a young age, including karate, jujitsu, taekwondo, and more. He has worked as an actor, a stuntman, and a stunt coordinator before he was hired to help work on Avatar.
He used his knowledge on different kinds of martial arts to influence the fighting style in the Last Airbender, and in doing so correlated each type of bending with a different type of martial art. This keeps the show's fight scenes flowing in a fast-paced way, and given that martial arts is of course an art, it means that a lot of the more complex fight scenes almost look like dances.
Airbending
Airbending
Airbending is based off the Chinese martial art of baguazhang — this fighting style uses a lot of circular spinning motions and long flowing arcs, as well as more commonly seen strikes, kicks, and joint locks. This form of fighting involves a lot of flexibility and balance, which matches up well not only with the flowing movement of air needed to execute airbending, but also the fluid and balanced lifestyle of the Air Nomads.
Waterbending
Waterbending
Waterbending is based off the Chinese martial art of tai chi, known for its slow, intentional movements. There's an emphasis on breathing and changing in response to outside forces. Tai chi movements were inspired by animals, such as birds and leopards. The flowing, intentional movements of this martial art style fits well with the flowing movement of water, and we can see loads of examples of this when people practice waterbending in the show.
Earthbending
Earthbending
Earthbending is based off hung ga, a southern Shaolin style of martial arts that is very strong and grounded. Kisu took particular inspiration from the Gung Gee Fook Fu, and for Toph's ability to see through earthbending he took inspiration from the Praying Mantis style. Hung ga is a lot more brute-force based than the other martial art styles we see in the Last Airbender, and the movements are a lot more stance-based than flexibility-based.
Firebending
Firebending
Firebending is derived from the Northern Shaolin form of kung fu, which apparently was Kisu's favourite kind of martial art. The movements feature extended poses with quick, fluid transitions and directed force. This style of kung fu is very fast, and is thought to have influenced other, non-Chinese styles of martial arts such as karate and taekwondo. These fast jabs and long stances are very influential for the firebenders of Avatar.
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