Counterpart comparison between Naruto and Avatar

Okay everyone who has seen both series has made one or two comparisons between them. I mean they both take place in a mostly Asian influenced world divided in several nations themed around the elements with characters of elemental powers. They both have simmilar themes centered around how war affects people, how the characters try to gain strenght by improving their martial skills through different training methods and how this affects people spiritually.

I don't think of this as a matter of anyone copying anyone but as a matter of archetypes. I mean, avatar draws influence from anime and had to base its characters from traditional shonen anime archetypes so its bound to happen that those archetypes end up creating characters with a fair share of simmilarities and roles in the story. Its also interesting that Naruto also has a degree of western influence, being an asian show with a caucasian looking protagonist and several characters that seem based on non asian races, in contrast with avatar which is western but has character ethnically based on asian races

Following this archetypes this is a list of simmilar characters in both series:

• Naruto to Aang

  • Vaatu and Raava to Yin and Yang Kurama

  • Messianic archetypes that shine orange and sky blue respectively when angry

    • both have taken this abilities to their limits by using a giant avatar that shine the same as their own aura's color (Koi scylla for Aang and Naruto's giant tailed beast transformation)

  • Both dress in orange

  • Both specialyze but aren't limited to wind

  • Part of their story arc involve forgiving a mass murderer

  • They both learn to meditate with a hermit to unlock a new power ups that involves connecting into the energy of nature

  • Both have a knack for taming weird animals, though in Naruto's case it involves arguing with them

  • Fighting styles envolving acrobatics

• Sasuke to Zuko

  • Fire controlling temperamental bad boys with a traumatic past, that struggle to surpass both a sibling and the aforementioned messianic archetype with whom they're related via reincarnation

  • Both swordsmen capable of using their blades alongside their elemental techniques

  • Both got estranged from their homeland, one by desserting it while the other one by exile

  • Part of their story arcs consist on outgrowing a sense of entitleness to genuinely work hard to perfect their skills

  • Alternatively Sasuke to Azula

    • blue themed lightning and fire controlling gifted individuals who constantly beat persistant types

• Sakura to both Toph and Katara

  • Both Sakura and Katara are Battlefield doctors who have a familiar bond with the more immature protagonist who has a crush on her

    • Sakura used water for healing at least once, though in her case it was in order to extract poison

    • As adults they both dedicate full time to medicine

  • Both Sakura and Toph are tsundere girls that smash into the earth with techniques that simulate impossible levels of super strenght.

  • Varying degrees of attraction to the aforementioned fire controlling bad boy

• Shikamaru to Sokka

  • Strategists with tanned skin and a ponytail

  • quite possibly the snarkiest characters in either verse

  • Specialize in throwing sharp stuff, though they aren't really the best at it

  • Innitially missogynous views that they outgrow

    • They both become strong supporters to strong women in positions of authority; Shikamaru to Tsunade and Sokka to Toph

  • Eventually become figures of political authority

• Temari to Suki

  • Metal fan wielding women romantically involved with the aformentioned strategist, who is far weaker than them

  • Best represented by this image

  • Funnily enough Temari's brother uses simmilarly weird make up mask and outfit

• Jiraiya to Iroh

  • Fire throwing old men with a thing for younger women that hide a great deal of physical strenght and who in turn guide a young man into realizing his destiny

  • Both are former millitary with experience fighting unjust wars that their nation started

  • I'm guessing Iroh would love Jiraiya's novels

  • Both of them were candidates for a position of authority; one of them got usurped while the other one rejected it

  • They both like to travel around the world and explore their spirituality, though irohnically, Iroh is much more succesful in achieving enlightment depite never making a particular effort for it like Jiraya did

• Both Itachi and Orochimaru to Azula

  • They both use a seductive tone of voice to tempt a young man into following them

    • They both have a snake motif, which is particularly shown in Zuko's dream with the blue dragon that had her voice

    • Ambiguous sexuality and gender identity respectively

  • Like Itachi, she is the more talented sibling with a knack for psychologically manipulating their more determined brother who ultimately beats them by having better endurance

• Rock Lee to Ty Lee

  • Overly enthusiastic martial artists with a chinese theme

  • They both like to walk on their hands

  • Among the best fighters in either series despite being relatively nonpowered

  • Tendency to worship those they admire

  • Alternatively to Hinata

    • Her Chi blocking is closer to Gentle fist, though

• Ten Ten to Mai

  • Sharp shooting girls that get exasperated at the aforementioned hyperactive best friend

• Kiba to Jet

  • They both have a rivalry with one of the main heroes who feels a need to prove themselves better than this guy

  • arrogant fighters who specialyze in fighting in the forest (Kiba said so in a filler)

• Neji to Toph

  • Go to guys for sensing incomming enemies

  • Naturally talented kids who feel dragged by a family who doesn't appreciate their talents

• Lady Chiyo to Hama

  • Old ladies with the ability to control the bodies of others

  • Both like to keep puppets

  • Pseudo mentor to the main healer girl

  • Alternatively, Sasori to Hama, both being depraved puppeteers

    • one turns people into his puppets while the other one is implied to make puppets that ressemble her victims

• Sasori to Amon

  • Masked men with parental issues with simmilarly power sets to the aforementioned puppet masters, whom they surpassed at a young age

• Korra to Boruto

  • Next generation characters that struggle with trying to understand the way the world works in their new more modern era

  • Both have a knack for making mistakes over naively missunderstanding a situation that puts everyone in trouble, through they gradually outgrow this tendency

  • Bonus point since Boruto's english voice actress kinda looks like Korra (sometimes) and to a lesser degree kinda sounds like her

  • When going hand to hand both have a fighting style centered on spinning around their opponent inorder to grab them to inmovilze or land blows on them

    • Hers is based on Jiu jutsu while his on Hapkido

• Mako to Sarada

  • Fire and lightining shooting tsunderes, who start developing sexual tension with the more lively protagonist

  • Striking based fighting style simmilar to boxing

  • Both wear a scarf

  • Honestly, he could pass for Sarada's big brother

  • Alternatively to Jinora

    • precocious young girls with a knack for reading who have an argumentative relationship with their respective dads

    • Both are noted to have simmilarities to the original protagonist, Sarada having the same dreams as he did while Jinora having simmilar sense of spirituality

• Asami to Sumire

  • Nice girls with a talent for science

  • Second love interest to the main character

  • Both had a chance to betray the protagonist but decided not to

  • Both had parents who grew distant to them over wanting vengeance

  • alternatively Mitsuki to Asami, considering the homoerotic (though in his case likely not romantic) nature of the latter's relationship with Boruto

• Ikki to Himawari

  • Inhumanly cute younger sibling to a main character

  • Both enjoy painting and develop a bond with an older pretty boy (Huan and Inojin respectively) with more refined tastes in art

  • Huan to Inojin

    • more experienced artist with a bond to the aformentioned younger girl due to their admiration for her enthusiastic, if innelegant painting

    • Funnily enough their relationships are inverted as Himawari's teaching Inojin to enjoy painting caused him to develop a crush on her while Huan's encouragement caused Ikki to develop a one sided crush on him

• Bolin to Chocho

  • Stout kids known for their physical strenght and silly personalities that could potentially become among the strongest characters in their respective groups

  • Both obsessed over finding love, which makes them act like idiots at times

  • Buddying relationship with the main or one of the main girls

  • Fighting styles based on a form of wrestling

    • Sumo in her case, grappling in his

• Kawaki to Kuvira

  • Anti hero foil to the main hero

  • Both were thrown away by their parents to be taken in by the leader of a group thats known for their advanced technology, the metal clan for Kuvira and Kara for Kawaki

    • Interestingly, in Kawaki's case his abusive biological father sold him to his abusive adoptive one, while with Kuvira her bad behavior caused her parents to reject her and give her away to more sensitive parent against whom she eventually rebelled anyway

    • Kuvira's relationship to Suying seems closer to Kawaki's relationship to Naruto, his second adoptive parent, both being former teen rebels themselves who were therefore capable of better understanding the child

    • Both broke something that belonged to their adoptive sister soon after being taken in

    • Both eventually betray their new positive parental figure and destroy the protagonist's home city

  • Both have powers related to metal and technology

• The Sarutobi men to the Beifong women

  • Old Toph to Hiruzen

    • an incredbly powerful and talented elderly person whose kids were never able to surpass him or her

    • Once one of the most powerful individuals in the world, now crippled by their old age

  • Lin and Su Yin to Asuma and his older brother

    • Children to the aforementioned elders who once had a bad relationship with them

    • The younger siblings rebelled and decided to be their own person by looking for a purpose outside their home city, Asuma by working with the feudal lord and Su Ying by starting the metal clan

    • The older sbling decided to stay home and continue working with their parent as a law enforcement officer, Asuma's brother by joining the ANBU and eventually becoming one of its leading figures while Lin by becoming a police officer and eventually becoming chief

  • Asuma and Shikamaru to Lin and Mako

    • A tough as nails older badass that fights with knives who becomes a mentor to a young man whom he or she taughts how to fullfill his true potential

• Red Lotus to Akatsuki

  • Secret organization full of insane badasses with unusual abilities

  • Both Obito and Unalaq want to extract an ancient spirit out of the protagonist to have it devoured by another ancient being so that he can combine with said ancient being and become a god

    • alternatively, Nagato to Unalaq since they're both millitary leaders with fanatical religious views that see themselves as messianic archetypes

  • Both Konan and Pli are women with explosive powers that are absolutely devoted to their group's leader, to whom they serve as top enforcer

  • Both Nagato and Zaheer are philosophical fighters known for their speed and power who have abilities based on repelling opponents

  • Both Hidan and Ming hua are psychotic fighters known for their use of sharp objects alongside their speedy, acrobatic and confusing fighting styles

  • Both Kisame and Ghazan are affable guys who like to strike conversations with the good guys who are particularly reknown for their raw power

• The Kage to the White Lotus

  • (Mostly) Older badasses from different nations who serve as role models to the protagonists

• Piandao to Mifune

  • Elderly swordsmen that keep up with more powered teammates

• Shin "Uchiha" to Tokuga

  • Physically misshappened bad guy who establishes an evil plot in an epilogue

• Danzo (and to a lesser degree Koharu and Homura) to President Raiko

  • Obstructive older bureaucrats that dislike the more liberal minded views of a woman in a position of authority

• Killer Bee and Gyuki to the lion Turtle

  • amphibious spirits or owners of an amphibious spirit with facial hair that serve as a mentor to the protagonist before the final battle, teaching them the skills they're gonna need for them

• Ebizu to Tenzin

  • Uptight masters

  • the little air nomads to team Konohamaru Edit:

• Katasuke to Varrick

  • Genius inventors with a corporate agenda who manipulate a main character for the sake of it

  • Both have a sexy assistant with glasses

    • Akita to Zhu Li, whom I’m now guessing will become Hokage much like Li became president

  • Both work beside the aforementioned nice inteligent girl

• Iwabe to Kai

  • Punkish, dark skinned kid (Iwabe is implied to have land of earth descent so he is likely native australian) who usually defends those weaker than him

  • talent for their respective elements (air and earth)

    • one specializes on speed and constant movement while the other one in power and defense

Honorary mentions

The following aren't all that simmilar but in my mind they kinda click together.

• Rock Lee to Toph "Rock loli" Beifong

• Unalaq gives me some Orochimaru vibes

• Ming-Hua to Suigetsu

  • water controlling sociopaths

  • Alternatively to Haku, being ice and water characters known for their speed despite their relative frailness

  • Sumire to Opal

• Shikamaru and Kuvira

  • the green clothes, ponytails and skin color make them look kinda simmilar

• Zhu li to Sarada