“The “Asian Look” in the animated series grew out from the Aang Character, who was drawn from my old son Arjuna (six years old at the time) His mother is Chinese.” – Sifu Kisu [source]
Aang’s food, dress, culture, tribe elders, and language all point to his Asian heritage.
official poster by series co-creator B. Konietzko, July 2009
Aang - ān áng – “peaceful soaring”
(as written on the show)
  |
  |
The controversy is about Aang’s eyes.
People think Aang is white because of the anime-influenced art style.
His eyes aren’t “Oriental” enough.
So let’s look at his eyes.
Aang’s eye shape varies with emotion.
  |
Color is linked to the show’s different nations:
|
|
Air is GRAY |
|
|
Fire is GOLD |
|
|
Water is BLUE |
|
|
Earth is GREEN |
Eye color in Avatar has nothing to do with race or ethnicity. And in the real world, Caucasians do NOT have a monopoly on blue, gray, or green eyes.
The protagonist in 2005′s Memoirs of a Geisha has blue eyes, but every other aspect of her character makes it evident that she is portraying a culturally and ethnically Asian woman.
To say Aang must be Caucasian because of his eyes ignores the context of the show – its art style and mythology.
To look at his eyes and ignore every other aspect of Aang – his name, dress, mastery of ba gua kung fu, food, upbringing – borders on willful ignorance.
Asian Eyes
For some, nothing less than this looks Asian:
But there is a wide variety of eye colors and shape to Asian eyes.
2 out of 3 people in the world are Asian. To imagine that all Asians must match the Western stereotype of “Oriental eyes” is a little naive.
        |
