Avatar: The Last Airbender is a show that came out in 2005. Not counting random clips and the 2010 film, I didn't start watching the show until 2020. You might be wondering why it took me so long to watch the show and I don't really have a good excuse. The show came out when I was a kid and back then, I was very quick to judge shows and films based on their visuals. Avatar: The Last Airbender's visuals didn't interest me and neither did the character designs. Even when I was a kid, I was never really a big fan of kid characters. I did have exceptions, like the cast of Ed, Edd and Eddy. Also, I thought Aang was kind of icky-looking. I know that's pretty shallow of me, but I was a pretty shallow kid. XD

After watching the show, I came to appreciate the animation. The creative and detailed character-expressions are excellently done. Also, the show has a very exciting and emotional plot, along with an amazing voice cast.

This article is about listing my top 6 favorite characters in the show. I was considering making this a top 10. In fact, I could make it a top 15, because there's a lot of characters I like. However, I wanted to give special attention to my personal favorite characters. I should warn you that I have a long-running reputation, for having unpopular opinions. In other words, some beloved characters are missing and some less popular characters made it to my list.

6. Azula

Azula seems to be the show's most popular villain and although she's not my favorite, I like her a lot. First off, she's crazy and I as a longtime fan of the Joker, I greatly enjoy fictional, crazy villains. Another thing I like about Azula is her bluntness. As someone who loves dark humor, I find Azula to be quite entertaining. She practically seemed excited, when she found out about Azulon dying. That is so messed-up, but it was a pretty amazing scene. Azula's the second most evil character in the show, only beaten by her father and while she's not exactly winning a likeability contest, she did win herself a spot on my list.

5. Ozai

Ozai is the show's main villain and because of that, he's one of the most interesting and exciting characters in the series. He's a terrible person. He forced a woman to marry him, he tried to take his brother's royal rank away while the brother was grieving over his dead son and he even tried to have Zuko killed in his sleep. He's the 2nd most evil dad in fiction, only topped by Charles from Code Geass. In other words, he's kind of a jerk and his absolute evilness makes him a great antagonist. Also, he's arguably the best-looking character in the show.

4. Zuko

Including Zuko in best characters list is hardly controversial, but since he's the most popular character, a lot of people will probably wish he was higher on the list. Zuko started off as a very sympathetic antagonist and as the show went along, he was a flawed person, but he was also a likeable one. The poor guy has been through a lot and seeing him grow and learn is always great. A lot of the other main characters had moments and subplots, that weren't as exciting as what the villains were doing, but Zuko remained a strong and fascinating character.

3. Mai

The Last Airbender has a lot of good female characters, but my favorite is Mai. This might seem like a strange choice, since she's not a main character. However, I love everything about Mai's personality. Unlike the other antagonists, she's motivated by boredom, rather than power. Also, I love her stoic nature and deadpan way of speaking. She and Zuko are adorable and every scene with the two of them is priceless. Also, she's very well drawn. She looks cool, calm and cute, which is an impressive combination.

2. Zhao

This is probably my most controversial pick. Zhao's not exactly a fan-favorite, but I love him. I love villains (fictional villains) and Zhao was a great villain throughout Book One. He was Book One's true villain and he was the most exciting part of the show's early episodes. A lot of villains came around later on, but in season one, Zhao was the only truly imposing and menacing villain in the show. Without him, Book One would of likely have been a little dull. His extreme loyalty to Ozai contrasts well with his petty hatred for Zuko. Zhao was voiced by Jason Isaacs, who's an incredible actor. He played Draco's dad in Harry Potter and he voiced Superman and Dick Dastardly. In other words, he was a great choice to voice Zhao.

1. Iroh

Iroh is the most loveable character in the show. He lost his son, when his son was a young man. This tragedy prevented him from being the Fire Lord, but it gave him the motivation to look after Zuko, who needed a father figure. Iroh's loyalty to Zuko is touching. He was the only family member, who stayed by Zuko's side and always looked after him. Iroh is very much the wise mentor. However, he's more than just a character who gives a bunch of motivational speeches. He's a very calm and peace-loving man, who only resorts to violence when necessary. He's an incredibly friend and easygoing man, who shows kindness to just about everyone he comes across. Also, he has a good sense of humor and is certainly one of the show's wittiest characters.

If all that wasn't impressive enough, Iroh was voiced by Mako. Mako is one of my absolute-favorite actors. Mako got my attention, for voicing Aku in Samurai Jack. I didn't think Mako could ever top his Aku performance, but I think his Iroh performance comes pretty close. Aku is an incredibly sinister villain and Iroh is a kind, loving father-figure. Being able to voice characters, that are basically opposites, is an incredible feat. Mako was one of the best actors of his generation and in our current generation, there's very few, if any, actors who can compare to him. In a season 2 episode, Mako as Iroh sings and it's one of the most emotionally-moving scenes in animation history.