Fans of Avatar: The Last Airbender and the sequel series Legend of Korra, were tempted into a new fantasy world by Netflix's new show, The Dragon Prince, created by Aaron Ehasz and Justin Richmond, the former of which was one of the writers on The Last Airbender. Even from the bits and pieces shown in the trailer, fans of Avatar already knew to expect at least a few similarities, despite the completely new world, characters and mythology of The Dragon Prince. There were enough that fans could reasonably compare the two to see which one presented their fantasy world better.

That's exactly what we'll be doing here. We've put together a list of everything The Dragon Prince does better than its spiritual predecessor and vice versa. We're not just looking at specific stories or characters, we're looking at everything each show does, from themes to animation, and comparing both shows in terms of quality and/or execution. Each show has its merits and each one has its faults and that's what we want to explore. It's also worth noting that, for the sake of fairness, we'll only be comparing the first season of each show. Now that that's clear, let's get a little nostalgic.

15 AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER - CHARACTER VARIETY

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Where Team Avatar was comprised of characters with very different, often conflicting personalities, the three main characters were introduced to in The Dragon Prince all seem far too similar. They have different backgrounds, they're different races and ages but they seem to share exactly the same views, they tell the same jokes or sarcastic comments and none of them seem to really differ aside from one quality.

Even the supporting characters seem to predominately possess the same qualities. That's fine but it makes for a group that far less interesting to follow than Aang, Katara, and Sokka, who could carry a whole episode on the strength of their personalities alone, even we're just looking at the group in the first season. In The Dragon Prince, we're often presented with a character's desire and asked to assume personality.

14 THE DRAGON PRINCE - MATURE THEMES

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Avatar: The Last Airbender dealt with some pretty heavy themes over the course of its three seasons. It became obvious that, were it not for the censorship guidelines of Nickelodeon, the show might have gotten even darker where appropriate. Legend of Korra inched even closer in that direction with dark scenes like the demise of the Earth Queen.

Thanks to the creative freedom offered by Netflix, The Dragon Prince doesn't have those same limitations. It may not have given audiences anything as violent as that but it clearly isn't afraid of it. Each scene is much more intense because of it and characters can be that much more complex. Harsher themes such as greed, war and betrayal feel that much more real.

13 AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER - VILLAINS

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The main antagonist of The Dragon Prince, Viren, is quite clearly an evil mage. He's far from being a one-dimensional evil wizard like those of other fantasy cartoons but he's not quite as deep or even as evil as any of the villains in The Last Airbender.

While it's true that The Dragon Prince has only had one season to establish its characters, by the halfway point of their first seasons, The Last Airbender had already been able to introduce a variety of interesting villains such as Prince Zuko, Jet and of course the curio-selling pirates. Both of them showed a lot more depth in motivation and characterization. Viren, as he has been depicted thus far, simply cannot compete.

12 THE DRAGON PRINCE - CHARACTER COMPLEXITY

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While the villains of The Last Airbender may have been more diverse and interesting, the protagonists of The Dragon Prince seem to have more to their stories, aside from the journey they share out of necessity. Callum wanted to fight and serve his kingdom, but he can't do it with a sword, he has to learn to use his wits and reading skills. Rayla was trained from a young age to end lives, which evidently goes against her nature. These are interesting inner conflicts.

Throughout its first season, The Last Airbender seemed to focus on building its world. Make no mistake, we saw different sides of each of the main characters, but there just wasn't as much depth as there would be in later seasons. If The Dragon Prince is developing in the same way, it's clear that its protagonists have the potential to be even more complex and interesting than those of Avatar.

11 AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER - ADAPTING MYTHOLOGY

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Obviously, these two shows draw inspiration from two very different sources. The Dragon Prince is steeped in the classic elements of European mythology while Avatar: The Last Airbender features a world constructed from elements taken from Asian cultures, including their myths and legends. The story of Princess Yue, for example, is similar in some ways to the ancient Chinese myth of Chang'e, the moon goddess.

The problem is that European myth -- dragons, elves and Tolkien elements -- has been reinvented so many times and in so many different ways that is has all become a blur. It's difficult to adapt myths without allowing them to blend in with everything else to the point at which they become unnoticeable and somewhat unimpressive for the simple reason that mainstream audiences have been inundated by them already.

10 THE DRAGON PRINCE - MAGIC

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The world of Avatar: The Last Airbender isn't one of magic, per se. Spirits and Chi follow a certain logic, unlike magic as it's usually depicted. When something mystical is introduced, it's usually discovered that some use of chi or an angry spirit is behind it, or just Katara in a large hat and some water for healing. The use of spirits and chi energy has roughly the same effect, but it's not as mysterious.

That's not a problem for The Dragon Prince because, through its use of magic, it has more freedom to create fantastical beings and spells. It can have mysterious elven spirits atop mountains and dark, magical wolves because the nature of magic as a concept allows for all of it.

9 AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER - SPIRITUALISM

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One of the reasons why The Last Airbender is so special is because a lot of it is based on concepts, beliefs, and tales that have been in existence for at least a thousand years, maybe more, such as Taoism, which is a belief that instructs or encourages subscribers to live in harmony with the universe, which is essentially what the Avatar must learn to do. Obviously, there are other elements taken from other beliefs here and there but the point is that it's all relatively grounded.

Magic is a fun concept but people can't really connect to it because it isn't rooted in the human condition at all. There's no understanding of it required. That's why The Dragon Prince, which features magic as a core concept, cannot draw its audience in on a deeper level, like Avatar managed to do.

8 THE DRAGON PRINCE - CLIFFHANGERS

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Shows made specifically for streaming services like Netflix are at an advantage because they have no need for filler episodes. A show can be as long or as short as it needs to be. The Dragon Prince is a perfect example of that. Every episode of the eight-episode long season moved the story along. Each one could end on a great cliffhanger that left viewers wanting more.

By comparison, The Last Airbender, in its first season, usually consisted of small self-contained stories as we followed the gang on their journey to the North Pole. The only real cliffhangers were those that connected two-part episodes in the beginning, the middle and at the end of the season and while they were important, their intensity was usually marred by the rest of the season because everyone had already seen it coming, like the "Siege of the North."

7 AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER - WORLD BUILDING

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Across the eight episodes of The Dragon Prince, we saw very little of Katolis, mainly just the castle, bits of a small village and a lot of forests. Despite the gargantuan map in the opening sequence, the world feels small and somewhat empty in the show.

Avatar: The Last Airbender, on the other hand, made sure to start building its world from the very beginning. The introduction gave us a map and the borders of each of the four nations and the first season took Team Avatar, along with the audience, through each continent, which allowed everyone to get a good look at what life was like across the globe. Everyone had their own problems, even those in the Fire Nation. It was a living, breathing world.

6 THE DRAGON PRINCE - TENSE MOMENTS

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Whenever there was any kind of confrontation in The Last Airbender, it was exciting, but there was very little suspense. The show was hesitant to bring about the demise of any one of its characters, the exception being Jet, whose end was implied but never made clear, something the show joked about in "The Ember Island Players."

Whilst The Dragon Prince has only terminated one character, it doesn't shy away from brutality, so even if we know that certain characters won't necessarily perish, we're still very much afraid for them. It's why the imprisonment of Gren was that much tenser, because Viren proved with Runaan that he does not shy away from using cruelty to get what he wants.

5 AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER - BLENDING DIFFERENT TONES

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Even though The Last Airbender starred kids, its themes and oftentimes its tone were quite mature and heavy. It's easy to think that a show like that would have trouble balancing that with juvenile humor and childlike sensibilities, but there didn't seem to be any trouble at all. Each time the show switched, it was seamless. The same cannot be said for The Dragon Prince.

There is a clear attempt being made to include the same kind of blend in The Dragon Prince, but it doesn't work quite as well, mostly because when it gets mature, it gets really mature. When it switches to something more lighthearted, it's just jarring and oftentimes takes from the suspense of a scene. Scenes including Viren's children are especially guilty of this.

4 THE DRAGON PRINCE - POLITICAL INTRIGUE

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One thing that's notable about The Dragon Prince, is its ability to convey the complexity of power. Viren played a part in the removal of King Harrow but he doesn't immediately become the regent, a fact made very clear by General Amaya, who makes sure to remind him of that. Viren is careful to at least pretend that it's not what he wants, though it's obvious he's trying to consolidate power in preparation. It makes the show that much more interesting to watch.

Avatar: The Last Airbender came close to that level of complexity with its brief focus on characters such as the Earth King and Long Feng, but it just didn't reach the same level of depth that The Dragon Prince has with its characters, with regard to politics. It's understandable, as the focus was on the threat of the Firelord and politics didn't generally interest the target audience. It's still a shame that it couldn't take that concept as far as The Dragon Prince has.

3 AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER - UNIQUE WORLD

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One reason why The Last Airbender stands out among every other fantasy cartoon out there is because its world is truly unique. We've mentioned before that the creators, Michael DiMartino, and Bryan Konietzko took inspiration from Asian cultures and concepts, building a world that mainstream television or film had never seen before, which is why it's so memorable and why people still hold it in such high regard a decade later.

The Dragon Prince tries to create something special but it's more or less a rehash of everything audiences have seen dozens of times before. Even the spells aren't unique since many of them sound more or less like spells you'd find in Harry Potter. The world of the show is new, but it's not unique.

2 THE DRAGON PRINCE - STORY FLOW

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Fewer episodes mean less time to waste. The Dragon Prince has a story to tell and it feels that way. Each episode leads smoothly into the next. It's easy to follow the development of each character as they progress through their journey. It's easy to see how each bit of story connects and where it will lead. The show is that much easier to follow and therefore, just slightly more engaging.

Avatar: The Last Airbender is a great show overall but there are certain episodes that feel slightly disjointed; included for no other reason that the season needed another episode to fill it. Episodes such as "The Great Divide," for example, weren't relevant to the greater plot in any way and because of that, hindered the flow of the story.

1 AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER - ANIMATION

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Traditionally animated cartoons are quite expensive and time-consuming to make, which is why films and television shows are often rendered in 3D. Unfortunately, that isn't a great option for shows since there isn't time to add enough detail. The Dragon Prince found an alternative by blending 2D and 3D animation. It's better, but it still looks off. For example, the animators said that reduced frame rates were necessary in order to mimic the look of a traditionally animated show. That much is clear to viewers.

The Last Airbender felt a lot more organic with its 2D animation and everything was a lot smoother, despite being animated without the aid of a computer. None of it felt visually out of place, which is an issue The Dragon Prince has a problem avoiding at times, particularly when it comes to rendering magical monsters.

Which animated show did you enjoy more? Let us know in the comments!