Yes, I *read* those links -- that's where I got the smiley face point /from/. Honestly.
There are young characters with epicanthic folds. (Including, oddly enough, one of Aang's airbending playmates.)
Zuko-- even eliding eye color the characters are still ethnically blurry. Fire Nation have black hair, may have epicanthic folds or not, and show a wide range of facial features -- Zuko looks vaguely NE Asian but (for instance) Admiral Bad Guy from Season One does not. Similarly, even without blue eyes, the Water Tribe aren't just Inuit -- Katara with brown eyes would look French or Spanish; give Magic Moon Princess dark hair and eyes and she'd look like Romy Schneider. On the other hand, Sour Old Water Master looks like a blue-eyed Fu Manchu.
Also, not to belabor the point, but why does "overriden for world-building purposes" take eye color off the board? All Fire Nation have black hair. That's probably another aesthetic worldbuilding choice; should we ignore that too, and try to guess what Zuko would look like blonde?
no subject
There are young characters with epicanthic folds. (Including, oddly enough, one of Aang's airbending playmates.)
Zuko-- even eliding eye color the characters are still ethnically blurry. Fire Nation have black hair, may have epicanthic folds or not, and show a wide range of facial features -- Zuko looks vaguely NE Asian but (for instance) Admiral Bad Guy from Season One does not. Similarly, even without blue eyes, the Water Tribe aren't just Inuit -- Katara with brown eyes would look French or Spanish; give Magic Moon Princess dark hair and eyes and she'd look like Romy Schneider. On the other hand, Sour Old Water Master looks like a blue-eyed Fu Manchu.
Also, not to belabor the point, but why does "overriden for world-building purposes" take eye color off the board? All Fire Nation have black hair. That's probably another aesthetic worldbuilding choice; should we ignore that too, and try to guess what Zuko would look like blonde?
Doug M.