TV Characters Rankdowns (One Tree Hill)

[Steven_]

10. PRINCESS YUE

 

9.14

DEREK: 6
SOLA: 9 

STEVEN: 9

ALEX: 10

DIANA: 10 

MEGAN: 10

NICO: 10

 

 

DEREK

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Pleasantly surprised she made it here! Poor Sokka hahaha. I love all the moon memes that came from this. I believe she is the only girl with light hair in the whole series?

 

 

SOLA

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Not sure how she got here over King Bumi but she is comfortably the worst of this Top 10.

 

 

STEVEN

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I voted against Princess Yue as I thought it would give Appa a better chance at advancing, but I'm not mad that she made it here to the Top 10. Although Suki should've been here instead, I did like Princess Yue in her two episodes. She and Sokka had a sweet yet ill-fated love story. She was likable and brave, and it's a shame what happened to her. But since she was only in two episodes (if we don't count whenever the moon appeared in future episodes lol), I can't rank Princess Yue higher than here. 

 

 

ALEX

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I love her randomly showing up in the endgame out of nowhere thanks to 2 episodes . But unfortunately I LOVE all the main characters of Avatar so I physically couldn't put anyone else last. Yue is such an amazing and brave character, but like I said she only has two episodes.

 

 

MEGAN

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How is Yue here? She was my last advancement. Or close to it. How did she sneak by! LBR Suki should be here.

 

 

NICO

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No.
Literally why is she here? She’s a nice side character (even that's pushing it, she borders on extra for me) but the show has way better in pretty much every sense (and it’s not even just Suki, you have Zhao, Long Feng, Bumi, Kyoshi, Roku, Ursa… even Momo is better than her and I will argue about it). Easily the only miss in the Top 10.

 

 

 

9. MAI

 

7.57

ALEX: 5

MEGAN: 5

NICO: 7

DEREK: 8

DIANA: 8

SOLA: 10

STEVEN: 10

 

 

ALEX

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Everyone involved in my favorite episode ever, The Beach, is getting pushed up in an effort to help them survive last place.

 

 

NICO

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I love her deadpan demeanor and her IDGAF attitude. Ty Lee definitely outshines her since she’s a ball of energy, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t anything to root for or like in Mai’s aloof personality. Lovely side character and glad she’s here.

 

 

DEREK

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The whole trio making the finals is super fun! Azula, Mai, and Ty Lee were always great to watch. Mai's crush on Zuko was a bit random but it definitely gave the character some interesting motivations.

 

 

SOLA

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I liked her dreary personality and her throwing knife style fighting.  But very one note as a character and not that interesting as Zukos one-time-girlfriend.

 

 

STEVEN

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Mai's my least favorite character in this Top 10, but I don't dislike her either. Her monotonous and apathetic nature just didn't make her too exciting or interesting for me. However, I was impressed when Mai stood up to Azula at the Boiling Rock. That was my favorite Mai moment as she finally stood up for something that mattered to her. But overall, I can't say Mai was a character I liked enough to rank her higher than anyone else in this Top 10.

 

[FrogLenzen]

Well Yue is certainly a memorable character for her limited amount of episodes! Probably the love interest effect. There are a number of other characters I would have been happy to have in the Top 10 instead of her, but unfortunately Appa is not one of them lol

[Steven_]

8. TY LEE

 

7.14

ALEX: 6

NICO: 6

DEREK: 7

SOLA: 7 

STEVEN: 7

MEGAN: 8

DIANA: 9

 

 

ALEX

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Everyone involved in my favorite episode ever, The Beach, is getting pushed up in an effort to help them survive last place.

 

 

NICO

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LMFAO what a weirdo but she’s such a fun side character that you can’t help but smile when she’s happy or on the screen. Plus I loved her and Mai being 2 non-benders that could legit throw it down and make benders sweat bullets in a fight, especially Ty Lee with her chi-blocking. Also the end of her arc is such a neat twist on her origin that I can’t help but like her.

 

 

DEREK

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The whole trio making the finals is super fun! Ty Lee has a fun back story, the chi blocking skill made for interesting moments, and her fighting style is fun to watch.

 

 

SOLA

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One of Azula’s childhood friends and allies.  She doesn’t bend but her acrobatics and her knowledge of pressure points make her easily able to incapacitate her enemies.  She’s pretty one dimensional on the show.

 

 

STEVEN

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I like Ty Lee. Even though she was recruited to be on the villains' side, she had a cute and upbeat personality. She was a strong fighter thanks to her acrobatic skills and chi blocking. Despite not having any bending powers, she was a formidable opponent whenever she went against Team Avatar. My favorite Ty Lee moment was when she betrayed Azula at the Boiling Rock. She used her chi blocking to stop Azula from hurting Mai, even though it led to her imprisonment. But since I like so many characters here, Ty Lee lands at #7 on my list by default.

 

 

 

7. SOKKA

 

6

DEREK: 3 

NICO: 4

STEVEN: 5
DIANA: 6 

ALEX: 7

SOLA: 8 

MEGAN: 9

 

 

DEREK

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Hilarious. So fun to watch his journey trying to find his place with no bending powers and still be useful and contribute to the team.

 

 

NICO

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I have multiple reasons to have him as high as I have him (this is borderline my “In defense of Sokka” moment). When we met him, he sucks. He was borderline sexist, and had such a warped view of what a leader and a man should be that it was a miracle that Katara didn’t freeze him to death before the events of the show lbr. But that’s such a great part of his character journey that looking at the whole thing I wouldn’t take anything out of it. Literally everything that happens throughout Book 1 & 2 serves to challenge Sokka’s notions of what a leader, a warrior and a man are. He is beyond outclassed by Katara early in the show, and Suki could have beaten him to death if she cared to try. This doesn’t really get better when Toph, Azula, Mai and Ty Lee enter the story. Legitimately all the best fighters on this show were females outside of Iroh (and all of them outclass Sokka in a 1-on-1 match). Most of them were also fantastic leaders and shrewd strategists. 

The show borderline revels in showcasing Sokka’s worldview and tearing it down before his very eyes. But the counterpoint is how much better he becomes because of it. He takes most of his shortcomings in and looks for a way to bypass them. He learns that his strength as a fighter is never gonna match that of his teammates since they are all benders, so he becomes an incredible strategist. As much as Katara represents water, Sokka does too. He showcased the ability to transform and grow as much as any character in the show. He’s probably the hardest to love from Team Avatar, but looking at his entire journey I can’t help but feel like if you don’t look at Sokka from where he started to where he ended, you are missing the entire point of the character development that was done with him.

 

 

 

STEVEN

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Sokka is one of my favorite characters. Sokka is so likable, and I enjoyed what he brought to the show. He managed to be a great comic relief character. He was legitimately hilarious and never became annoying. He had a great character growth too. He first had an archaic view of masculinity and what it means to be a warrior, but he matured as the series progressed. He also found his role in the group as the only non-bender. Aang is the Avatar, Katara is a very talented water bender, and Toph is an exceptional earth bender (she invented metal bending too). It's understandable why Sokka felt inadequate at times, but he becomes a master swordsman and a clever strategist. He's also a very loyal friend and becomes a great leader by the end of the series. His relationships with Princess Yue and Suki were nice too. Overall, Sokka is a great character who I feel like I'm ranking too low, but I do happen to slightly prefer the four I ranked higher than him.

 

 

ALEX

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My water-bending siblings  . I adore them both. Sokka's so hilarious and lovable. I love his struggle with wanting to be "the man" of the group, but learning his weaknesses and his female allies are stronger than him and they don't need to rely on him. Such a refreshing storyline for boys to learn at a young age watching this show.

 

 

SOLA

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Sokka provided good comic relief, and he turned into a good warrior as the series progressed.  His journey as a whole left me underwhelmed compared to others.

 

 

MEGAN

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Love Sokka and his rank at 9th truly just speaks to how strong this cast of characters is.

 

[Steven_]

Tagging the rankers to let you all know results are being posted.

 

@Alex95 @FrogLenzen @*Diana @totes4totes @NGM @Solaris

[Solaris]

yes nothing surprising so far

[Alex95]

Yup, pretty fair bottom 4. I predict next set is when I start protesting eliminations!

[FrogLenzen]

Sokka robbed! Not really tho everyone is pretty good. We stan Nico for the dissertation 

[Steven_]

6. AANG

 

5.71

STEVEN: 1

DIANA: 3 

NICO: 5

SOLA: 6 

MEGAN: 7 

ALEX: 9

DEREK: 9

 

 

STEVEN

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Aang is my favorite character. He may fall under the "Chosen One" trope, but he remains a lovable character throughout the entire series. He's a good-natured and well-meaning kid. I think his character arc is appropriate for him too. He sometimes gets overwhelmed and makes mistakes, but it makes sense as he is still a kid. He learns to accept his responsibility as the Avatar, but he manages to defeat Ozai in his own way. Despite others pressuring him to end Ozai's life, Aang's decision in the final battle was fitting for his character. I also like the relationships he built throughout the show, and his bond with Appa was especially touching too. Aang is a goofy kid with a heart of gold, but he's an excellent Avatar with great combat skills. The air bending sequences were always fun to watch, and it was great seeing how Aang learned to master the other elements too. Overall, Aang is super likable and my favorite character out of a cast of several fantastic characters. 

    

 

NICO

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Aang is a fantastic lead but he def has main character syndrome in that his struggles feel completely out of the scope of what a normal person deals with, so I think that’s why it was so easy for other characters to leave larger marks on me. That’s not to say that Aang doesn’t have any relatable struggles (he deals with abandonment, predetermination vs free will, growing up, and other stuff), but a lot of that is kinda locked away in small bursts, instead of letting them flourish in a more cohesive arc (and I won’t even go into the Deux Ex Machina ending bc why bother, his arc is good even without that).

 

 

SOLA

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I would love to put Aang higher, but as a character I felt he was defined by the mentors around him.  I just don’t love him as an avatar, and as a bender he was the least exciting one to watch.

 

 

MEGAN

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Says a lot that the titular character ranks 7 on my list. I like Aang. He was never my favorite though.

 

 

ALEX

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I love Aang, but I just love everyone else more. Literally anyone could win this round and I wouldn't be upset. Aang is the Avatar. This show is nothing without Aang. A lot of his jokes are a bit too little kiddish for me, but I suppose it is a kids show technically. And him kissing Katara at the ember island players was nagl. I'm nit-picking though, he's still great.

 

 

DEREK

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So lovable. I'd prefer another winner so I'm dropping him a bit, but obviously he's the lead of the whole show and is fun to watch.

 

 

 

5. KATARA

 

5

DIANA: 2

SOLA: 2 

ALEX: 4

MEGAN: 4

STEVEN: 4

NICO: 9

DEREK: 10

 

 

SOLA

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Zutara was the appropriate ending for this season.  Katara had way more chemistry with Zuko then with Aang, and that is the ending that should have been pushed. She is likely my second favorite character, and shes the one who with the best bending growth throughout the season.  Katara as a bloodbender?  I love it!  She will likely dominate the final vote it won’t even be close.

 

 

ALEX

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As the main female lead of the show, Katara is one of the most polarizing characters because male fans of these shows tend to always hate the female leads. I’m so glad Katara made it to the end, and she’s easily my favorite character on Team Avatar. Warm and motherly, but also a HBIC who takes absolutely no shit. Katara is one of the most powerful characters on the show. She’s also one of the most interesting as she’s also kind of the most morally bankrupt member of Team Avatar while I love (until Zuko joins them). Katara searched for peace, but also wasn’t afraid to cut a bitch when she had to.

 

 

STEVEN

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I really like Katara. She's an amazing character, and I enjoyed watching how powerful she becomes with her water bending. The water bending sequences were always great to watch (I think the water bending is the coolest bending power). Katara is kind, clever, and often the voice of reason in Team Avatar. She's usually always right, but she does make reckless decisions at times too. But her heart is always in the right place. Katara is never afraid to stand up for what she believes is right, and she always stood up against any sexist traditions. Katara is an easy character to root for. She's an instrumental part of Team Avatar, and they would not have succeeded a lot of the times without her. Katara is awesome and great part of what makes Avatar: The Last Airbender such a great show.

 

 

NICO

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I love her to death, and I would have her much higher, but I think she’s one of the biggest threats to getting a Fire Nation win, so I will tank her and if she wins oh well, she phenomenal so it’s not a big loss anyway. IMO Katara is the easiest character to love from Team Avatar, and for good reason: she was strong and caring in equal measure, as well as ridiculously determined to achieving whatever she set her mind to, and as much as Sokka wanted to be a leader during the first book (he gets there eventually), she was clearly better suited for the role at that point. She also has a ton of great character moments throughout the entire run of the show, as well as some of the best fight scenes (she was borderline OP on Book 3 but who cares it was great to watch anyway). I’m trying to avoid spoilers for the most part but she’s a big part of why the show is as great as it is.

 

 

DEREK

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She's fine lol. Kind of a nag and it's weird that she has a romance with Aang imo. But besides that she's a great character, has a great storyline of developing her skills, she's fun to watch, etc.

 

[Solaris]

Shocked I figured she was going to win.  I love seeing a surprise winner!

[Steven_]

4. TOPH BEIFONG

 

4.71

MEGAN: 1

DEREK: 2
DIANA: 4

SOLA: 4 

STEVEN: 6

ALEX: 8

NICO: 8

 

 

MEGAN

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Straight up came late and then owned the show.

 

 

DEREK

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Hilarious. Whoever came up with the concept for this character deserves an award.

 

 

SOLA

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Who is the best non-avatar bender and why is it Toph Beifong?  The age-old question, with a million reasons why.  Invented metal bending, moves more like an air bender then an earth bender due to her blindness.  She utilizated seismic sense, and shes got so much attitude.

 

 

STEVEN

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I like Toph. I thought she was going to be a temporary member of Team Avatar when she was introduced, but I'm glad she stayed with the group for the rest of the series. Toph is an incredible earth bender with abilities that become a huge asset for Team Avatar throughout the series. She even invented metal bending. In addition, I like Toph's spunky personality. She's unapologetically herself while remaining very likable. It's easy to like Toph, but there are a few characters I prefer. Nonetheless, this Top 10 would be incomplete without Toph.

 

 

ALEX

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Toph is such a fun and badass character. Quite possibly the strongest character in the show. BITCH LITERALLY INVENTED METAL BENDING! I think the fact that she wasn't in S1 hurts because I spent more time with most of the other characters, but I still love Toph with all my heart.

 

 

NICO

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I love her to death, and I would have her much higher, but I think she’s one of the biggest threats to getting a Fire Nation win, so I will tank her and if she wins oh well, she phenomenal so it’s not a big loss anyway. Toph has a very different journey than pretty much everyone in Team Avatar. Compared to everyone else on the team, she doesn’t really change much from where we met her till the final episode. Toph is Toph, and her unchanging nature is one of the core elements that make her who she is and makes her great. She faced everything with the same attitude and strength that we saw from the first time we met her, and it was just so easy to be on her side since she was often in the right (her execution with words sometimes made it hard for the characters to handle that, and that tension was lowkey fascinating to see). Plus she's a f*cking badass and invented metalbending, so like... icon status? Also her complete trust in Sokka and Zuko towards the end made her super endearing. Idk, she doesn't have a ton of struggles (and even the ones she has, she just press on, she's not gonna let them get to her, she's Toph after all) but she managed to weave herself so tightly into Team Avatar's DNA that it's hard to even think of the time when she wasn't there.

 

 

 

3. UNCLE IROH

 

3.42

DEREK: 1 

NICO: 2

STEVEN: 2

ALEX: 3
DIANA: 5

SOLA: 5 

MEGAN: 6

 

 

DEREK

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The epitome of a good character. Interesting background, thoughtful, lots of agency and ability, fun to watch. Makes you laugh and cry. Plays a huge role in the Zuko storyline which is probably more interesting than Aang's storyline.

 

 

NICO

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He and Azula are kinda tied for me as for who gets the title of my favorite character. Also his short story in Tales of Ba Sing Se is probably one of the best things in the entire show, like come on. He’s such a large part of Zuko’s journey, and as a character I don’t think Zuko story would work at all if Iroh wasn’t at his side for the entirety of Book 1 & 2, plus how large his presence loomed on Zuko during Book 3. He was the father Zuko needed at the worst time of his life, and he did it beautifully. And that’s not even going into how much of a care-free good person he was and how his lowkey humor cracked me up every single time. He’s not a main character, but god he managed to steal the spotlight for me every time.

 

 

STEVEN

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Uncle Iroh is an awesome character. He's extremely likable; it's no wonder he's so beloved. Uncle Iroh is a good-natured and humorous man who loves tea, but he's also a wise and capable mentor. Uncle Iroh's relationship with Zuko is an integral part of the story. Uncle Iroh is the father figure Zuko always needed. He always wanted the best for Zuko while still staying supportive of Zuko's journey. One moment that stands out is when Zuko was questioning his decisions and Uncle Iroh told him "It's time for you to look inward and start asking yourself the big questions: who are you and what do you want?" After Zuko turned his back on Uncle Iroh, it was a touching moment when Zuko returned and Uncle Iroh forgave Zuko without a second thought. Uncle Iroh is easily one of the most likable characters on the show. Aang ended up outranking Uncle Iroh for me, but Uncle Iroh is a very close second for my favorite character of the series.

 

 

ALEX

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Tales of Ba Sing Se. Enough said. Uncle Iroh was the moral compass to Zuko. He stood by him through good and bad, hoping to impart his wisdom on him and show him the light. I love how Uncle Iroh treated Zuko. He never forced Zuko to do anything. If Zuko was gonna do the right thing, he was gonna have to do it on his own. I think that was some amazing parenting from Iroh. I wish he was as helpful to Azula as he was to Zuko because she could’ve used a parental figure as well . But I still love him!

 

 

SOLA

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Stan Iroh, such a welcome character to this show and brought something we weren’t getting through anyone else.

 

[FrogLenzen]

Top 4 is pretty flawless but ngl this hurt a little haha

[Steven_]

Our Top 2.

[totes4totes]

10 minutes ago, Steven_ said:

STEVEN: 6

ALEX: 8

NICO: 8

[Alex95]

THIS GODLY TOP TWO I'M CRYINGGGGGGGGG

[*Diana]

KATARA WAS ROBBED. I will die on that hill.

[Steven_]

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