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Of all the characters in theAvatar: The Last Airbenderuniverse, perhaps the saddest character with the most heartbreaking story that fans just can’t help but fall deeply in love with is none other than Aang. Yet, the debate about the character with the most painful story still rages on, with fans comparing him to another fan-favorite character: the Fire Nation royal Zuko.
But while both of these characters have incredibly heart-wrenching stories where each faced the heartbreak of losing the very thing they cherished, there is one very subtle detail that makes Twinkle Toes’ (as Toph calls him) story even sadder than his rival’s. And as nuanced as this fact may be, it is enough to make all those Sifu Hotman stans shut up.
This Detail Makes Aang a Sadder Character Than Zuko
InThe Last Airbenderuniverse, there are a lot of things that make the so-calledBonzu Pippinpaddleopsicopolis IIIthe most heartbreaking character in the entire lore. These start off with all the things he lost throughout the time he was frozen in the iceberg.
For instance, he lost his entire family and the pacifistic Air Nomad tribe during that periodat the hands of the Fire Nation. Then, he also had to embrace the complete responsibilities of an Avatar at the age of only 12 (although he was frozen for 100 years, biologically, he was still 12).
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But these two aren’t the only things. Adding to these is one other minor detail about him that sets him apart from all the other tragic characters; a detail related to his attempt at revivingthe Air Nomads‘ culture after waking up from his frozen state.
As shared by@aangdaily on X, the bookAvatar: The Last Airbender Cookbook: Official Recipes from the Four Nationsshares that at one point in time, Twinkle Toes decides to“maintain his people’s cuisine”to at least have something remaining about them.
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For this, he tries to reconstruct“old recipes based on his memories & badly damaged texts found at the temples.”However,things end up going against his favoras all the“special vegetables & fruits grown by the Air Nomads had gone extinct.”
In his journey to revive the Air Nomads' culture, Aang attempted to maintain his people’s cuisine, reconstructing old recipes based on his memories & badly damaged texts found at the temples. Unfortunately, the special vegetables & fruits grown by the Air Nomads had gone extinctpic.twitter.com/iCHOkKk6h3
— daily aang (@aangdaily)June 16, 2025
Thus, his attempt at reviving at least something about the Air Nomads’ culture ends up going to waste, makinghis story all the more heart-wrenchingthan it already was.
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Moreover, despite being absolutely minute and subtle, this detail has only further proved another fact aboutThe Last Airbenderlore:The 12-year-old Air Nomad is a much sadder character than the Fire Nation royal, irrespective of whatever the stans of the latter say.
Fans Hold More Sympathy for Aang Now Than Ever
While everyone previously admitted thatKatara’s‘Sweetie’indeed had a traumatic storyline, a lot of them still compared him to Sifu Hotaman nonetheless. But this minute detail seems to have changed that to quite some extent as fans express just how heart-rending this fact about him is.
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Sharing just how devastating they find the fact thattheir favorite 12-year-old Air Nomadhad every little part of his people snatched away from him, here’s what fans are saying on X:
https://twitter.com/lycheehive/status/1779613503860461610
Bumming me outpic.twitter.com/NTOdeMKDEb
— Xoul (@Jericho_X2)August 21, 2025
That’s actually so depressing
— SupaJota (@JotadoDaGoatado)August 06, 2025
Dontpic.twitter.com/qQgQjHM1Vx
— BELLBESSA 🔔 korrasami (@BellmanBessa)July 14, 2025
pic.twitter.com/v34MqfKoJY
— Rosy (@mpandainsilk)June 27, 2025
still can’t believe aangy had to go through so much and he still had that smile on his face😭😭😭😭😭😭💔💔💔💔💔💔
— chan always (@chanieismyhero)July 25, 2025
Truly enough, although Zuko still deserves plenty of their sympathy as well, fans now believe for sure that it is indeed Aang who owns the title of being the most pitiful character in the entireThe Last Airbenderlore.
Avatar: The Last Airbenderis available to stream on Netflix.
Mahin Sultan
Senior Writer
Articles Published :2478
Mahin Sultan is a Senior Writer at FandomWire, where she brings a fresh perspective to entertainment news. Having been in the field for over 3 years now, she has already written more than 2,000 articles across a variety of niches, from entertainment to health and fashion. This diverse experience has allowed her to quickly build a solid foundation and a deep understanding of the industry.
