Here at Nerdist, we’re huge fans of Avatar: The Last Airbender and pine for the groundbreaking Nickelodeon cartoon on a daily basis. That’s why we were so excited when we saw that RE: ANIME had turned their extensive skill set to one of the most haunting and memorable moments of the series: Azula and Zuko’s final comet-enhanced Agni Kai!
The stunning short centers on the fan favorite siblings’ iconic showdown, which occurs in the third season of the series, just as Azula is about to be crowned as Fire Lord. Before she can take her crown, her brother and the WaterBender Katara show up to stop her. Director Josh Mabie’s RE: ANIME team has done an incredible job at crafting an impressive, martial arts-heavy fan film here—and one that also looks surprisingly professional. Let’s put it this way: it’s much better than the previous attempt Hollywood made to bring Avatar: The Last Airbender to life.
RE:ANIME
What really makes this rad fan film stand out is the cast. Azula is played by Nikki Soohoo (of Star Wars Resistance fame) and Zuko is brought to life by Yoshi Sudarso (from Power Rangers Dino Charge). Both are talented actors who sell the friction, trauma, and impact of the fight. Though she plays a smaller role, Yasmine Kassim does a great job of bringing some grounded emotion to the vital part she plays. The framing of this short will be particularly exciting for fans of the wider world of Avatar: The Last Airbender, though for the sake of surprise we’ll leave it at that.
Honestly, this is such an exciting take on one of our favorite series, that we’re officially petitioning Netflix to make sure that they’re keeping creators and actors like this in mind as they start putting together their highly anticipated live-action adaptation.
Feature Image: RE:ANIME
