Avatar: The Last Airbender is beloved for its dazzling, anime-style visuals – but is the Nickelodeon cartoon series actually an anime? It turns out the answer isn’t as straightforward as you may think!
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Is Avatar: The Last Airbender an Anime?
It depends on your definition of anime. If you mean “a cartoon created in Japan,” then no, Avatar: The Last Airbender isn’t an anime. It was created by two Americans, Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, and produced by an American outfit, Nickelodeon Animation Studio. As such, Avatar is technically an anime-inspired production, rather than an actual anime.
That said, in Japanese, the word “anime” applies to all animation, including works created outside Japan. So, according to this definition, Avatar: The Last Airbender – along with every other animated movie and TV show in existence – belongs under the anime banner. Purists disagree with this interpretation, though, insisting that counting the likes of Avatar as anime is a form of cultural appropriation.
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DiMartino and Konietzko themselves seem uneasy labeling Avatar: The Last Airbender an anime. In a 2007 interview with IGN, the pair ran with the interviewer’s assertion that the show is “not anime.” DiMartino nevertheless acknowledged that “a lot of Avatar‘s inspiration comes from anime” and expressed his and Konietzko’s hope that it would appeal to anime fans.
DiMartino and Konietzko were more open to the idea of branding Avatar: The Last Airbender an anime during a recent podcast appearance, however. In an episode of Nickelodeon’s Avatar: Braving the Elements series, Avatar‘s creators argued that even Japanese filmmakers would struggle to categorize their so-called “American anime.”
“You could speak to 20 top directors in Japan… and I’d bet you get 20 different answers,” DiMartino said. “That’s also not a monolithic thing.” Konietzko then added that when they were making Avatar, he was less worried about its anime status than he was about trying to capture the “magic” of the art form.
So, is Avatar: The Last Airbender an anime? Probably not – but it is a heckuva great show all the same.
All three seasons of Avatar: The Last Airbender are now streaming on Netflix. A live-action Avatar adaptation also premieres on the platform on Feb. 22, 2024.
