The Search Part 1 Preview
Airspeed Prime
posted Wednesday, December 19th, 2012
69 Comments
Listed as: Avatar Comics, Avatar The Last Airbender
Thanks to Kelly for informing me of this news which comes from Buzzfeed . We have a 7 page preview of The Search Part 1, the first part of the next Avatar comic series. Written By Gene Luen Yang and Art by Team Gurihiru.
I am pretty impressed by the opening 7 pages, it seems to get straight into the plot which is nice. Aang wanting to help Azula also looks like it will be an interesting dynamic. And as I suspected everyone is wary of Azula.
The Search Part 1 is out March 20th 2013 in comic stores and April 2nd from Amazon and in regular bookstores.
What are your thoughts on this preview ?
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I think Aangs and Zukos openness to Azula sets up for it to be devastating when see does the wrong thing. I kinda thought before reading this she would become good but now it is set up nicely to go either way. As far as it getting right into the plot means it will be dense reading. The Search is titled the search part one so thinking it is a three part they will need to talk slower or have Toph do a lot. As far as Toph we still have many comic books or elsewhere to learn about her job as police chief, relationship with parents and who she marry’s. It is titled the Search so it will have to focus on that could be fast plot and not Toph. If the search for Ursa has alot of twists and turns and just drags on if not done right it could make a questionably fun to read story.
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Don’t trust Azula!!! She always has an “evil” plan that no one ever knows.
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Airspeed Prime Reply:December 19th, 2012 at 5:07 pm
That is the question, does she have something planned or does she want to find her mother just as badly as Zuko, but is trying to keep up the whole “you are peasants” act.
Given that in The ATLA finale and also The Promise Part 3 she has had hallucinations of her mother and also that her one issue as seen in “The Beach” is that she wanted her mothers love and attention, I think she is eager to find her mother.
Should be interesting.
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Stella13 Reply:December 20th, 2012 at 2:57 am
maybe we can give her a chance like zuko. They thought that zuko has an evil plan but he is trying to be good.
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kabir arora Reply:April 6th, 2013 at 3:43 am
But its clear in Azula that she is not going to the good side for a long time.
I thougt this was great I can’t wait to see the rest of it!!!
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wow. i wasnt so excited until this moment. i was so dumbfounded at azula being so close to team avatar without wanting to kill them! this is going to be interesting. i hope azula changes for the better during the series, it would be a nice transformation for her.
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Katara looks way mature…. did they jump a year forward?
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Joey Reply:December 19th, 2012 at 10:20 pm
i was thinking the same thing. and aangs biceps are huge too.
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DragonMoose134 Reply:December 19th, 2012 at 10:23 pm
Haha they are! I looked it up and from the promise to the search katara’s supposed to be 15-16 and aang then im guessing would be 13-14, in which he’s too buff for
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Airspeed Prime Reply:December 20th, 2012 at 3:18 am
To be fair he had around 12 years of Airbending training followed by 1 year of non stop travelling and training so naturally he is pretty muscled. I think it would be weird if he had no muscles.
As for the age thing, we assume by the end of ATLA that most of the characters aged about a years, The Promise takes place a year later making Katara 16, Aang 14, Sokka 17, Zuko 18 and Toph 14.
The Search is set a week or so after The Promise.
10oop Reply:December 31st, 2012 at 10:07 pm
aang looks pretty beefed up though, haha… he looks about 16-17… lol
Karis .N Reply:March 3rd, 2013 at 9:13 pm
113-114
Already liking it better than The Promise, and I’m one of those people who mostly liked The Promise, but THIS is the story I was really waiting for and already the plot is getting underway and the characters are communicating better with each other. It’s nice to see the Gaang going on an adventure together again (minus Toph, but I understand why she’s not around being busy with her school.) I really like Aang and Zuko’s exchange at the bottom of page four. And Azula I think will behave herself as long as there is something in it for her which I do think genuinely includes wanting to find her mother. Appa’s reaction to Azula is priceless. Sigh, another long wait until March.
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wow, that comic looks pretty good so far
except, i dont really like the way they portray sokka. they make him seem less mature than he should be…
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Trojan People Reply:December 21st, 2012 at 6:47 pm
I do have a problem with Sokka being the flat funny guy and not the wise guy solider boy. I like the comics so much I overlook that.
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They have defiantly beefed up Aang, which I like. He looks older. As for Azula, same evilness… I don’t think shes doing this out of the kindness of her heart, something has to be in it for her. HMMM. Waiting till 2nd April seeing as my area sucks when it comes to OPEN comic stores WITH avatar in them…. FML.
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Airspeed Prime Reply:December 20th, 2012 at 11:20 am
Ask them to order it in and they will have it March 20th assuming there are no delivery delays.
I would recommend doing that ASAP especially before March so they can definitely order it.
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Meelo Reply:December 20th, 2012 at 11:41 am
The trouble is there are no open comic stores ‘nearish’ to me, the nearest comic store I can find to me is a 30 min train journey, fair enough. So I have emailed them. waiting for a reply. It is such a faff.
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kabir arora Reply:April 6th, 2013 at 3:44 am
Ya Aang dos look quite older…
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look, thats my opinion of Azula, although i dont hate her:
WHEN AZULA IS NOT TRYING TO KILL YOU, SHES PLOTTING HOW TO DO IT!
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But im really excited that soon im going to be reading the search!
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Sorry, but, this is awful. Does no one recall how completely mentally broken she was in the finale? In those final moments there was, almost, nothing of even old Azula left. Yes, I get that it’s been several years and she was, supposedly, tended to by Healers who tried to restore her sanity; but, come on.
She looks like none of that ever happened. Like she’s been living in the lap of luxury in the Palace for the last few years, not being held in a Fire Bender Psych Ward. Not a hair out of place. Not even a slightly haunted expression or even a look of remorse.
Why wouldn’t Aang take her Bending? She was, easily, as dangerous as her father and, later, Yakonne (Legend of Korra timeline) And now she’s just “tagging along” and their just supposed to watch her? And, my personal favorite, she zaps Sokka and it just, “Oh that Azula!” or “You’re so mean, Azula.” Did everyone forget that she is, or was, Bat-(*bleep*) crazy and pretty freaking evil?
Are Mike and Bryan so busy that their not even proof reading these comics? What happened to the mature nature of the last season? It’s like it back to being Last Airbender Season One.
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Airspeed Prime Reply:December 21st, 2012 at 2:58 am
7 pages out of a series that will have around 240, we have yet to see the full extent of Azula’s mental condition.
Not to mention the questions that her behaviour here bring up, what did Ozai say to her and why did he give her the information. Azula clearly is haunted by her mother and needs some resolution on that, so why would she jeopardise her chance to find her mother.
There is so much left to know about Azula and judging her in the whole series based on the opening 7 pages, especially when it seems like we have at least 1 flashback to her meeting with Ozai to see is a bit harsh.
In these pages she seems to be putting up a front around the others, why didn’t she hurt any of them here when she had the chance, she just wants to find her mother.
It is explained here exactly why Aang does not take her bending away, the look he gives to her when Iroh gestures to Azula shows that Aang wants Azula to find her way just like Azula. In 316 he advised Katara to forgive Yon Rha, he is using his own advice here. He is willing to give the person who killed him a second chance, just like he gave Zuko.
I think Zuko and where he went is in everyones mind, if he could change so can Azula.
Mike and Bryan are pretty heavily involved in the comics, the story naturally comes from them with Gene Yang forming that main story into the comic series.
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Comicfan3201 Reply:December 21st, 2012 at 2:49 pm
Apologies, but you’re reaching. Saying that Aang wants to ‘give her a chance’ as does Iroh is scapegoating the fact that there’s *no* indication or proper explanation given as to why she’s being allowed to accompany them other then ‘Ozai told her about the village.’ and ‘she has demons to work though.’ Come on. That doesn’t strike you as really poor storytelling or use of a weak plot device?
And, yes, I understand that it’s only the first seven pages or so but having Azula pop up, having everyone looked shocked, and then having everyone just go with it without really discussing the ramifications or not even having the Gaang ask a hundred questions as to her mental state? It’s just ‘Trust Zuko about this and go?’ Especially after the events of The Promise? Seriously?
Jumping back to your reasonings with Aang, again it shows how unbalanced this plot is at the start. Look at his reaction when he sees her. Then look how quickly he locks her down and joins in what the Gaang thinks is going to be another fight when she zaps Sokka. If Aang was as forgiving as you believe he would have been trying to stop everyone. Instead he was ready to drop her.
And, I’m sorry, but you can’t compare what Aang told Katara to how *everyone* sees Azula and what she did. Aang didn’t want Katara’s desire for vengeance to consume her, and he knew what taking the life of her mother’s killer would do in the long run. Yon killed Kya, but Azula killed Aang *and* tried to kill everyone else including her brother. On top of that, she went *insane.* Night and Day.
I’m sorry, but this plot seems so hastily slapped together I have a hard time believing Mike and Bryan are paying close attention. I think they gave Gene a rough outline and Gene went the *wrong* way with it. Now, perhaps things will be better explained farther on to a point where some sense is made. But, as a start, this does not make for a strong beginning.
The Promise was full of plot holes and weak moments despite being, overall, decent. But at least it started strong. The Search, so far, does not instill any confidence, which given the fact that it’s dealing with two characters the fans have been clamoring for since Book 3′s finale, i.e. Azula and Ursa, is disappointing almost beyond words.
I understand, given your constant replies to everyone who says anything even remotely negative about this comic, that you want people to like and believe in ‘The Search.’ But you really shouldn’t let your love for the series blind you to what is, frankly, terrible writing and narrative at the start. I *love* Avatar, I do. But when the ball gets dropped, as it seems to be here, I feel it’s our responsibility as fans to point that out in the hopes that mistakes won’t be repeated and the series will get even better as it did with Korra.
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Airspeed Prime Reply:December 21st, 2012 at 3:31 pm
Yes I am positive about the comics, because I honestly like them a lot and do not see many problems with them. I am not blinded by my love of the series, I readily point out flaws in ATLA, LOK and Avatar comics in my reviews for this site as well as various other forum topics and the Avatar Podcast I host. I would say I lean on the positive side of the fandom, because that is who I am as a person, optimistic. I can’t be negative for the sake of being negative.
The main reason I am responding to a lot of comments here is because it is a preview and more people seem to be thinking of what can go wrong instead of what can go right. Many people already seem to have their opinions in place about this book after these 7 pages and are ready to just rip it apart, so yes I am trying to present a more positive outlook on the book.
But if it does turn out to be a drop in quality when released I am prepared to talk about my feelings on it even if they are very negative. I am just going to go into The Search Part 1 with an open mind based on this preview that I think shows a lot of potential for this series.
As for your other points, I still think it is not the best really to completely judge the plot and characters based on the opening 7 pages. It could go either way really, from page 8 on they could explore some of the issues you have or they could not. I am just assuming that at some stage they will address some of the points you made as based on interviews with Gene Yang the focus of the book is almost completely on the search group with Zuko and Azula being the main characters.
I am just looking for some discussion on the book really, the fandom has been fairly quiet with the lack of Book 2 Spirits news
katara*s mommy Reply:December 22nd, 2012 at 2:35 am
like aang told the gang, any one is capable of great good or great evil. you still have to give that person a chance. i personally believe that azula will become good/ OR be at rest with her inner conflicts and struggles. her evil and manipulative ways are stemmed from her believing that ursa loves zuko more. she admits that.
Meelo Reply:January 6th, 2013 at 11:06 am
I agree, I think we might see more of Azula mental condition throughout the book, perhaps with Ursa ‘visions’ like we did see in book 3 when Azula finally snapped. I hope to see ‘twitches’ of Azula’s crazyness in tiny fragments. perhaps we may even get fragments of where and what happened to Ursa through Azula seeing her in these ‘vision’ like occurrences. I’M SUPER EXCITED.
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This is gonna be good.
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THANKYOU FOR THIS!! <3
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What can I say? Can’t wait to see what happens next.
The preview of the search is good.
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Rhis looks amazing and i cant wait to read it…but it doesnt seem..right..in a way. Considering azulas personality, i dont think she would be all calm all of a sudden, and i dont think she could take these supposed “peasants” talking to her the way they do (katara specifically). U would think she would be bitter about losing to katara and zuko in the agni kai. And it also doesnt seem right that shes not attacking ty lee or something because she contributed to her breakdown.
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Airspeed Prime Reply:December 21st, 2012 at 2:41 am
Well I think she is at the stage where she realises that she needs to see her mother again, so many of her issues are Ursa related. So she needs everyone elses help, despite how she feels about them.
That is what I am getting here, that she wants to find Ursa, but has to keep up appearances around them and act as they expect. She cannot bring herself to be any other way.
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Comicfan3201 Reply:December 21st, 2012 at 2:52 pm
They really are shoehorning her back into being ‘Old Azula’, and it’s, honestly, doing a great disservice to her as a character. It seems almost as if Gene was worried that Fans wouldn’t like seeing her any other way then how she was during Book 2 so they brought that Azula back as opposed to showing a much different character, one changed by a complete mental breakdown and years in isolation and psychological therapy.
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Airspeed Prime Reply:December 21st, 2012 at 3:37 pm
I agree for the most part, but there is definitely something a bit different to her. She is co operating with them and seems a bit more reserved and to herself, almost lost in thought.
For me it will definitely depend on if they are going to explore her time in the mental health institute and really present to us why she wants to find her mother outside of Iroh’s suggestion. With a lot of pages and a small cast of characters it seems like we will get many character moments, I just hope they really explore Azula here.
I do feel she is the one character that if they take one wrong step with her they could really ruin her as a character.
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Comicfan3201 Reply:December 21st, 2012 at 5:04 pm
Again, I recognize that this is just a “preview”, but, for me, they’ve already taken a wrong step. Have to, respectfully, disagree that she seems “different.” They have her speaking her mind as she did in Book 2, right down her to her “peasant” crack and the “little friends” snide remark. She is old school Azula. And that’s a problem. But, I don’t think I need to say more.
oh, that glorious awkwardness. azula joining team avatar (kind of) is even weirder than when zuko joined them. everyone´s on edge. on page 4 you can kind of see in aangs smile that he´s giving azula a second chance like he gave zuko and probably tries to make friends with her. but it could go either way. this is gonna be great.
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“Every moment of every day, at least one of us has to be totally focused on Azula.”
Go on shippers, you know you want to
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I really want azula to turn good. i also want her to expirience friendship motivated by love not fear and i hope she and zuko have the big brother-little sister relationship. I can just picture dramatic moment in the search part 3 with them finally finding their mum and azula acting like she doesnt want to hug ursa but is pulled in for a hug anyway and she just breaks down crying.
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Trojan People Reply:December 21st, 2012 at 6:50 pm
That is true. This has so much potential for drama, unlike the Promise which focused on political issues. Both r great.
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one year later and azula is so nice, she didn’t try to kill sokka
But come on…katara you have to do better then that 
And aang your horse stance need more work 
let hope this comic is worth the 4 years of waiting 
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gakgjkfljgafjahgfjkghaklhrihag! YAY
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AM789(AUDM/LF2 Manager) Reply:December 21st, 2012 at 7:07 pm
Someone’s hyper
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Whynnd Reply:December 22nd, 2012 at 11:13 am
Yes. I think I had some Mountain Dew.
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KoolKorra Reply:December 22nd, 2012 at 7:34 pm
Me too! I’m luving this! But i don’t drink mountain dew. My hyper drink is cranberry juice. … not really.
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Avatar Yangchen Reply:December 22nd, 2012 at 7:42 pm
mountain dew is good, but whenever i drink caffeine on a school night or before school, especially before a test day, i cant focus and i fail…
Avatar Yangchen Reply:December 22nd, 2012 at 7:40 pm
@avatarmaniac789 who wouldnt be excited over this news
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“Everyone has to be treated like they are worth giving a chance.” This is your chance, Azula. Take it! (Why am I talking to a character?)
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AM789(AUDM/LF2 Manager) Reply:December 21st, 2012 at 7:54 pm
Don’t let Azula take over your brain
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They-call-the-wind-Mariah Reply:December 21st, 2012 at 8:14 pm
Feeling… urge… to cut… hair! Get out of my brain, Azula!
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Im wondering why/How did ozai tell azula the information? I would expect him to be manipulating her into thinking that she failed him, i could see him shunning her and calling her a failure “like zuko” trying to put the blame on her,and mabye the fact that she lied about killing the avatar would come up and cause problem between them. So this makes me confused as to how azula got the info from him.
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katara*s mommy Reply:December 22nd, 2012 at 2:30 am
azula is much much more manipulative than ozai. he possibly brought that up to her, but think about it.. how long has she been in that mental institution , and (possibly) she has been thinking about her mother, and all the emotions and questions that arise.. i believe that she forced the hurtful subject to her father, and demanded him to start explaining what had happened.. and being stubborn, he only gave her that one clue of Ursa’s birthplace.
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Airspeed Prime Reply:December 22nd, 2012 at 4:26 am
I think from the show and The Promise we are meant to believe that Azula basically became manipulative because of Ozai, or at least him raising her pretty much alone perfected that skill.
Look at how Ozai manipulates Zuko in The Invasion to stay until the end of the eclipse. Then in The Promise he is definitely trying to manipulate Zuko’s decisions.
For me a lot of it depends on if Azula is who she is mainly because of how Ozai raised her or if she is naturally that way.
In The Beach I think it definitely points to Ozai, because she has no idea how to act normally around people, she could not just play a game without becoming a military commander, could not talk to a boy without world domination coming to mind. These moments scream of Ozai raising her to be a tool he could use to further his position.
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momo2009 Reply:December 22nd, 2012 at 8:14 pm
she made him a *best dad in the world mug*
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I can’t wait to read it the preview got me excited.
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I can’t wait to read this either. This is going to be a journey that hopefully Azula will benefit the most from. I feel that in The Search trilogy, Azula’s going to go through a huge change in character like Cameron did in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.
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Hay ! I’m so exited, and I’m looking forward to it! I love ATLA, and I think this comic will be great! I know, I know, it won’t be about romance, but I’m totally Kataanger, so I hope we can see more Kataang relationship in this publication!
And, about Aang: He’s damn hot here o, if only I could be Katara okay, enough.
Go Kataang!
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whats the thing about azula being so evil. and sokka is probably the same sokka, the only difference its that he is in a comic book. as always it good.(G)
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Aang should of debend her just to be sure
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Why couldn’t they make this into another season?! It would have been absolutely amazing!!
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10oop Reply:January 1st, 2013 at 12:46 pm
Because Zach Tyler Eison went through puberty… haha… So I doubt they’ll be making another Avatar the last airbender book, or show, At least not with young Aang. But you never know….
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Oh my gosh what a wonderful intro! I must say I’m already in love with it. I hope we can get a bit more of a link on to Azula though. I can’t wait to read the rest of it!!!!
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Oh my gosh what a wonderful intro! I must say I’m already in love with it. I hope we can get a bit more of a link on to Azula though. I can’t wait to read the rest of it!!
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I thought it wuz awesome for an opening I agree azula has an evil plan
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I think Sokka deserved that. He waved a weapon in her face. You don’t do that to anyone. I agree we don’t know anything about her mental state just yet and I like that those other than Aang are being so defensive toward her. It would be unrealistic if everyone was all buddy buddy.
I think she’s distancing herself from them and I suspect throughout the comic we’re going to see her keep a wall up between herself and the others on the trip. She’s a character I’ve always felt was taken out of context. I think she’s loyal to the Fire Nation and that she’s not ‘switching sides’. Technically the gaang is by helping the Fire Lord.
I think something that’s going to come up from time to time is the attitude that she’s there on a mission and not to make friends or bond with any of them.
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I thought azula wouldn’t stay so calm next to ty lee after the betryal… i hope they become friends again
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OMG! I can’t wait for it to come out, I’m so excited!!!!
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kabir arora Reply:April 6th, 2013 at 3:45 am
Ya totallyyy
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I’m prettttty sure that Azula has a plan. An EVIL one…
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