A lot of anime (and anime-styled) series put their young heroes through the wringer, but Avatar: The Last Airbender takes things to a whole other level. Creators Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko and their writers are guilty of committing fictional child abuse for everything they put Aang and his friends — often dubbed the Gaang by fans — through across the acclaimed animation’s 61 episodes. These kids are not just frequently exposed to and impacted by the atrocities of war, they are the only people who can end it. Shame on you, all those adult characters that are happy to let these children go risk their lives for their sakes. Yeah, you deserve to have your produce ruined, Cabbage Man!
Due to everything they go through across three epic seasons, it’s easy for ATLA fans to misconstrue the character’s ages. It’s important to note, however, that the whole show takes place over the course of a single summer — we learn early on that Aang must master all four elements to defeat the Fire Lord before Sozen’s comet arrives at the end of the summer and makes him unstoppable and, sure enough, the finale is called “Sozen’s Comet.” The same will presumably be true of the largely faithful Netflix live-action adaptation. So how old are the Gaang in The Last Airbender? The answers are bound to surprise you.
Aang — 12 years old (or 112)
Aang often faces flak from certain quarters of the ATLA fandom for being too goofy or reluctant a hero. To those people, however, I say: leave the kid alone, will you? Although Aang was trapped in a sphere of ice for 100 years, which in some ways makes him the oldest character on the show, he’s still mentally and physically only 12 years old. And yet he always puts aside his childishness to make the hard choice and save the day at every turn. Plus he has a head tattoo. What were you were doing as a 12-year-old, huh? Probably watching Aang on TV. Try again when you’ve saved the world before hitting puberty.
Katara — 14 years old
Another reason folks overestimate Aang’s age is his actually fairly mature love for Katara and the slow-burn romance the two of them have across the show’s three seasons. Arguably even more so than Aang, Katara is someone who has had to grow up much faster than her years, due to her mother dying when she was young and her father leaving to fight the Fire Nation. Katara’s motherly nature and reputation for being a stick-in-the-mud is the source of much ribbing from the Gaang, but again, Katara’s immense maturity is impressive considering she’s only 14 years old.
Sokka — 15 years old
Although he is the jokester of the team, and admits to seeing Katara as a mother figure, Sokka is actually the older of the two Southern Water Tribe siblings that quickly become Aang’s best friends. Underneath his prankster personality, however, Sokka is as equally burdened by great responsibility as his sister. With his father and the rest of the men off at war, Sokka had to step up and be the alpha male of his tribe and served as the master-planner and strategist of the Gaang. Still, he was only 15 through it all. If you’re wondering, his girlfriend — Kyoshi warrior Suki — is also 15.
Zuko — 16 years old
The oldest of the “child” characters of ATLA is the one and only Prince Zuko, the Fire Lord of our hearts himself. Zuko’s often cited as possessing the finest character development on the whole show, as he goes from being ruthlessly determined to hunt Aang down to ending up joining his side and becoming his firebending master. What’s more, Zuko’s arc also feels the most in keeping with his actual age, as going through an emo phase, growing out our hair, and yelling a lot (before we get a little bit older and then realize “wow, I was an idiot”) is something many of us do at the tender age of 16.
Toph — 12 years old
Based on her character design, it’s easy to remember that Toph is 12, and the youngest member of the Gaang, due to her short stature and childlike features. Underestimate her at your peril, though, as Toph is literally the toughest 12-year-old in the world. On top of being the greatest earthbender in the lore — she invents metalbending, don’t forget — Toph also displays a remarkable confidence, strength of spirit, and sharp tongue. Toph’s character makes more sense when you find out Aang’s earthbending master was originally going to be an older male character, but we wouldn’t change her for anything.
Azula — 14 years old
Azula may not be a regular character — she’s only in 22 episodes across seasons 2 and 3 — but her widespread popularity means she’s often viewed as such. Similar to Toph, Azula’s supreme confidence in her own abilities — combined with the arrogance of Fire Nation royalty and admitted psychopathic tendencies — leads fans to believe she’s older than she is. However, Zuko’s sadistic sister is actually 14, the same age as Katara. Given her young years, it’s completely understandable that — spoilers! — she cracks under pressure when her father ultimately makes her Fire Lord. As for Azula’s loyal sidekicks, Mai is 15 and Ty Lee is 14.