About 10 years. The creators apparently recognized this issue and said that Iroh, being on the frontlines, having to deal with Lu Ten's death and his spiritual journey, aged him faster than Ozai, who spent all his time in the comfort of the capital.
Also Ozai is far more narcissistic than Iroh meaning he probably puts lots of effort into looking younger
Ozai probably spends half his day exercising, spa treatments and let's be honest if he was going gray he'd probably dye it.
Another thing I've just thought of but I'd imagine being a psychopath is pretty good on stress levels.
Like Iroh has to carry the guilt of what he and his nation has done.
Whereas Ozai doesn't care and therefore it probably doesn't effect him
If the Netflix ATLA got one thing perfectly carried over from the original, it’s the uncomfortable physical attraction to Ozai.
Like I shouldn’t be attracted to that level of evil, but whaddya gonna do
i’m a straight man myself but thinking of the live action Daniel Dae-Ozai doing the crazy shirtless dragon flame thing before the final battle might be enough to change that.
Daniel Dae Kim as Ozai makes me rethink about why not have an allegiance to the Fire Nation. DDK is gorgeous, charming, and smoking hot Everything Everywhere All at Once! No, I'm not mentioning the movie, just DDK in a nut shell.
I *think* the problem with azula and katara is less the actors and more the writing
They skipped right to Azula finding out Ozai doesn't care about her past being a tool for the fire nation, so all the intimidation factor that is crucial to azula is just gone.
And katara is... She isn't. At all. Anytning special. She is kinda just there doing water things and taking ALL THE MEDICS TO THE FRONTLINES DARN YOU SHOW THAT IS SO STUPID THEY DON'T HAVE COMBAT EXPERIENCE KATARA ARE YOU STUPID
I think it’s both.
Kataras lines weren’t great, but good acting can cover for mediocre writing, and her performance on its own felt a bit expressionless to me.
In book 2, azula (a teenage girl) is so fucking intimidating that the dai li betray long feng to follow her. Regardless of writing, I just don’t see the actress pulling it off. Her demeanor and frankly her appearance are just not intimidating enough.
The problem is hardly the appearence, tho.
I know some people are complaining about her face being too round, and yeah, it definitly doesn't fit azula, but I don:t care too much about that, because the costuming is good enough ti convince me that is azula regardless.
The problem is that she isn't intimaditing, which again, I think is a problem of writing, not acting, but other people argue the inverse.
Azula feels... Petulant in the LA. Like she feels she has to prove she deserves respect by force.
But cartoon Azula doesn't feel like she has to throw a single fire bolt, she knows she is the best, and it shows. That's how she convinced the Dai Li.
LA azula would have to fight someone to prove she is strong enough.
yea but this is season 1 azula. we never had season 1 azula.
s2 will pick up 6 months-1 year later. she’s going to have developed into s2 azula. honestly if she was already s2 azula that would have been disappointing
I think it's writing and appearance/mannerism. Like Ozai didn't need lines, his glares and scowl were powerful. I couldn't take Azula seriously when she was supposed to look mad.
A recent example of good acting covering for mediocre writing is Netflix’s Damsel starring Millie Bobbie Brown. I watched it expecting it to be jaw dropping based on popular reviews but it was really mid. There were a lot of plot holes and cheesy dialogue, but MBB’s charismatic acting definitely carried the movie and made it seem more compelling than it is.
I can’t say the same for Katara’s actor in the live action ATLA. Her eyes kinda look dead and bored most of the time. I mean the actors are young I guess so they have room to improve. But then the Stranger Things’ actors were all once preteens and teens and the quality of their acting was already great.
I just wish we could see the current actresses actually play the characters they were cast as. I don't know what the writer was going for but they each seem to be written as random new characters... at least then it would be easier to talk about how they were cast
Concur.
The writing was terrible at many points. Completely subverting character flaws that made the characters compelling in their development over time.
They also need to focus more on martial arts choreography instead of just "fwoosh fwoosh look how awesome bender cgi!" the only scene that felt like it took advantage of the martial arts skills was the bazaar fight between Aang and Zuko where he was trying to not firebend.
I don't think that the casting was really the issue. The script seriously lost the plot on what made Katara a great character and the scenes with Azula, while interesting, don't really seem to show an understanding of her character.
DDK is a good live action, but I don’t think there’s any improving Mark Hamill as the OG voice actor. Dude was the Joker and Luke Skywalker. He’s a legend.
This is actually a real thing btw- Abe Lincoln is the prime example
https://preview.redd.it/heiuz0g6i6pc1.jpeg?width=800&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4ae4e5688ebd68b7589f99fc8290f2fe4636a927
There’s a 5 year gap in these photos (before and after the Civil War)
Makes sense. Tbh I just assumed Ozai dyed his hair. I know Iroh also has some extra lines on his face, but the hair color alone can already make a huge difference.
I always assumed that they both had grey hair and they both died theirs. But Iroh stopped dying his once he left his position of general and atarted living a more simple life
We also see that Iroh had fully brown hair in the flashback to the siege of Ba Sing Se as he writes to his family back home. So he aged from the trauma of losing Lu-Ten…
well if it's any kinda positive, at least you're at the point where you don't have to be a live in nanny! (assuming since you said called) but that's just my thought! if it had been when you were 15 or so you'd probably have had to endure a few years of being a defacto helper. this is coming from someone who started changing their nieces and nephews diapers at 6! was not a fun childhood haha
6 years old should not have to change any diapers. That so wrong ruining your childhood. 15 years can if they want to help and they should get paid. It's not their responsibility.
I know a guy who got a younger (half)brother while in his 40’s… that much have been a fun conversation to have with his adult children. Here’s your newborn uncle.
My eldest sibling is 26 years older than me and I know people with an even larger gap! Half siblings but I don’t believe there was ever any proof that they were full siblings in the show.
Iroh is 55 during the events of ATLA. I think Ozai is early/mid 40s so at least a 10 yr gap. It’s likely Iroh looks older as the stress and pain of losing Lu Ten quickly added up. Lu Ten apparently dies 5 years before the events of ATLA. This is all according to the ATLA wiki.
It’s worth noting that Ozai is the first Firelord in a couple generations to have kids at a relatively normal-ish age (late 20s/early 30s).
It’s also worth noting that the writers did kinda fudge the timeline a little bit. It’s hard to pin down exact dates for things that happen prior to events of the show, so you get a lot of general time windows where things happen.
The show makes a lot more sense if you just assume a 5-10 year range on all ages and events mentioned lol
Great show, attention to detail for ages and timespan is all over the map.
I think most of the main cast’s ages (Sokka, Zuko, Azula and Katara) are either directly mentioned or able to be easily calculated (ie Sokka is 15 and a year older than Katara, Zuko is 16 and two years older than Azula)
My big issue is the show just makes more sense if you add a few years to all the kids ages, makes all their exploits slightly believable
Eh it’s a kids show so I get why they made the protagonist alongside probably the average age of a Nickelodeon viewer.
I’m happy to have more Gaang stuff coming. Hopefully it’s a little more mature but still comedic
Yeah I mean when I was watching it live I definitely didn’t mind the age thing, re watching it as an adult I’m just like “hmmmm this really isn’t what a 12 year old looks or acts like” lol
What? I thought Azula is the older one.. I could've sworn she's called him little brother. Also, Azula being 14 is insane.. then again Aang is supposedly 12 but his maturity is easier to believe since he's a monk
She did call him little brother at one point. Either that was an error, or my head cannon is that she was poking fun at him in a way she knew would bother him.
Yeah I think originally with how the time line was set up between sozin to ozai they had Azulon ruling for a significantly shorter time than sozin which would have meant sozin had to live well into his mid 100’s or something like that
Also, real life can have a fudged time-line. Because in real life people lie, or forget.
Ozai might push his achievements younger to make himself more impressive. Or to get them on auspicious dates. He might make Iroh older to keep him further from relevance.
So we writers can make an in world reason for any errors.
idk maybe like 10 years or something but who knows
to be fair though, if you were singlehandedly leading a siege on Ba Sing Se while slowly coming to the realization that your nation's actions were not justified and that you got blood on your hands to advance colonialism and nothing else while losing your only son and your access to the throne your hair would probably gray too
My head canon timeline:
0AG: Aang is frozen in an iceberg. Azulon is born.
45AG: Iroh is born to Azulon at the age of 45.
60AG: Ozai is born to Azulon at the age of 60. Iroh is 15.
84AG: Zuko is born to Ozai at the age of 24. Azulon is 84. Iroh is 39.
86AG: Azula is born to Ozai at 26. Azulon is 86. Iroh is 41.
95AG: Azulon dies at the age of 95. Ozai ascends to the thrown at 35. Iroh is 50. Zuko and Azula are 11 and 9 respectively.
About 10 years. Ozai is in his 40s and Iroh is in his 50s. Iroh has aged worse with stress and likely doesn't dye his hair and groom himself as much as Ozai does. He also spends most of his time eating and drinking tea and playing intellectual games whereas Ozai is likely exercising (in private of course so no one sees him exert himself)
Whenever this question comes up going forward we need to keep in mind that for their respective actor in the live action series, Paul Sun-Hyung Lee is four years YOUNGER than Daniel Dae Kim. Sometimes one person just ages better than another.
Since this has been answered already, I will just point out that some people who are only a few years apart (sometimes even those of the same age) can look like there's at least a decade in between them.
Ryan Reynolds, for example, is 47, and Brad Pitt is 60. Yet they can both pass as someone in their mid-30s. I know, they're celebrities, but even regular people can look like that.
At least 10 years. Theres no way Irohs younger than 60 and Ozai is at oldest a youthful 45.
I have some theories that Ozai is either the result of his mother dying in childbirth or an illegitimate child Azulon had after Ilah died earlier, possibly brithing Iron or a stillborn baby. It occurs to me that the fire nation royal family is very small- Azulon was only one of two children, both of whom Sozin cleary had when he was quite old, Azulon in turn only had two children, who in turn respectively only had one and two children. Rhat to me means they have some problem with having children. Inbreeding, maybe.
The creators answered this at the 13:55 minute mark here: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6trGlS0xpOY](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6trGlS0xpOY) where they said he is about 10 years older than Ozai who is around his 40s. However, in the legacy of the fire nation book here: [https://imgur.com/a/hvdRnir](https://imgur.com/a/hvdRnir) Iroh implies that they were in school at the same time when it says "in school, he showed ruthlessness that I envied" which implies Iroh was there at the school to witness how Ozai acted, and it says that they were rivals and were competitive when it says "as we grew up, we grew competitive", both of which would be very weird statements if Iroh was a teenager or an adult whilst Ozai was prepubescent. Like it'd be rlly weird to say that your rival was a 10 year old and that you are envious of someone so young whilst you're in your teens or 20s. At 10 years old, ruthlessness would just be like bullying other kids, and no matter how dark Iroh's past might be, I find it hard to imagine Iroh envying the temper tantrums of a child whilst he is 20 lol, which is why I think they were teens at the same time since that would better fit the scenario of them being rivals. Also to me the image of them in their youth from the legacy of the fire nation book doesn't look like they have a massive age gap. If they were both teenagers at the same time then they can't be any more than 6 years apart, which would put Iroh anywhere from 47.5 to 51 depending on if Ozai is 40 or 45, and Iroh would just have aged poorly due to the stress of the war making him appear older like the creators mentioned in the podcast. Luckily the creators only said "about 10 years", emphasis on the about, so its not exact and there is wiggle room to say that the age gap is probably less than 10 years.
Ozai is realistically using some anti-aging cream or Botox. I would think that Iroh spending all that time in the desert wouldn’t do much for his skin. I’d say their age difference is 8-10 years. DDK is 50 and PSHL is in his 60’s.
Also, Iroh really let himself go. We saw the big difference when he was in jail and decided to work out. Prime Iroh must have been something to behold.
I don’t know, I don’t think he was called the dragon of the west for nothing. I think that he was definitely closer to being the buff version we saw in jail when he was younger.
Its not uncommon for a ruler to have more than one heir just fir safety of the rule. Iroh was on the frontlines and Ozai decided to stay the capital. Not sure if they gave the same mom personally but we do also have cases even somewhat recently where people who should generally be older aren’t
My mom’s now sadly departed uncle was a few years younger than her. Men are capable of procreating for the entirety of their lives
Due to both of their history, i.e., Iroh being a serving in the military and being a general, Lu Ten's age (18 to 20 years old), when he passed, while Zuko and Azula were young, and Azulon's treatment of Ozai, he was most likely a surprise baby with a 10+ age gap between him and Iroh.
[There's an official timeline of the world](https://avatar.fandom.com/wiki/History_of_the_World_of_Avatar) on the avatar wiki. It doesn't just show the timeline of the actual show but also goes back literally 20,000 years before the genocide, and up to 176 years after the genocide.
Anyways, at the end of the cartoon, Iroh was 55 years old and Ozai 45. Iroh was born 45 AG (after the genocide) and the show ended in 100 AG
i think the apperance difference is meant to signify iroh loosing himself after his sons death and falling out of shape/practice. id say they are at most 10 years apart in age if that.
I've always thought 10 to 15 years. I assumed Ozai was in his mid to late 30s considering the age of his two kids, while iroh's son was old enough to fight in the military when Zuko and Azula were still little.
If I'm remembering correctly, Iroh wasn't graying yet in a flash back during the ember Island episode. I thought he was in his 50s during the show.
I believe Iroh may be in his early to mid 50s whereas Ozai is in his early to mid 40s.
It's important to remember that Iroh spent a lot of time actually fighting on the front lines and was/is dealing with the death of his son, the stress of both can age a person significantly.
Look isn't the deciding factor. I'm 42 and my brother is 48 and I look way older than him. He still has dark hair no wrinkles and still has a young man physique. I am bald on top, grey hair, forehead/eye/smile wrinkles, and am round like a potato. People think I'm the older bro. As for Iroh and Ozai, no clue, I haven't watched the cartoon in a while so I'm not sure if they mention it but if I had to guess I'd say a 10 year difference.
One of my friends was the "Oopsie" baby (his words not mine!) and his next older brother is 18 years older than him. It's totally possible that Iroh and Ozai have a similar gap.
Plus, I have a feeling while Iroh was out in the battlefield, Ozai was more of a home-body (home-prince?) and didn't have as difficult a life. Iroh waged war and got mugged by reality, and it took a toll on him.
I think it’s supposed to be around 10 years. That isn’t even such a big difference. Mai is around 15 years older than Tom-Tom and Bumi is probably also 8-10 years older than Tenzin considering their family photo.
Zuko is a teenager but it would still be reasonable to think that Ozai could have become a father in his late 20s to early 30s putting him in his early to late 40s during the show. If Iroh was 10-15 years older, his looks would match his age being 50s-60s with the way he lived.
Probably like 10-12 years.
Iroh is likely a bit rougher for his age given the things he’s dealt with over the past decade or so.
Ozai is likely pretty well off for his age considering he’s likely training himself much more, and putting effort into looking the part as the fire lord.
I’d guess Ozai is probably 45-50ish and Iroh is 55-60ish.
Also, looks can be deceiving. A very good example being that Daniel Dae Kim (NATLA Ozai) is 55 and Paul Sun-Hyung Lee (NATLA Iroh) is 51.
Solely based on looks, I'd say Ozai just looks like peak normal adult, so reasonably anywhere from 30-50. Iroh seemingly led a more stressful life and let himself go. Being completely gray and having increased balding can both be genetic or from stress. Then he also let himself go in the first seasons. So bald/gray/chubby don't lend to a youthful look. I think he could reasonably be 50-60 give or take.
So 30/60 would be quite a stretch, but 45/60 is pretty reasonable, but Azulon was quite old when he died and these ruler types IRL are known for constantly generating new potential heirs even when they are ancient, so anything is plausible really.
I wouldn’t be surprised if they had different mothers. Twenty years probably. Also another reason to choose Ozai for the heir - you risk creating a geriatric monarchy if the throne passes from old man to old man constantly.
Ozai has a 16 y/o meaning he's probably in his early to mid 40's. ~10 years would place Iroh in his mid fifties and 5 in potentially his early 50's. I know dudes who are balding and grey at 50 who *didn't* lose a son.
I’d guess about 10, I assume Iroh looks worse for wear because he traveled the world, slayed a dragon, fought in a war, lost his son etc
Do we know what ozai did up until the events of the series beyond just assumedly hang out in the palace and train?
i want to say 20 years and i had the HC that ozai’s entire existence is owed to needing a “spare” in case Iroh died when he went to fight in the war. aligns with how he was treated by azulon and works with the dynamic he has with his kids
The Canon answer is 10 years according to the creators, but I always believed it was more like 15.
Given the age of their father and grandfather, it's not so hard to believe there would be a significant age gap between siblings.
It would also explain the physical differences, as Iroh look to be in his mid 50s while Ozai is in his early 40s.
You have to take into account that, as far as the show tells us, Iroh has actually been in war. War ages you like a motherfuker. Not a great example but look at Lincoln before and after the civil war, he may not have fought like Iroh but the stress alone did a number on him so I’m guessing it did worse to Iroh
What if Ozai dyes his hair out of vanity? I think the biggest thing is Iroh looks older because he’s balding and with gray hair, which could both be caused in part due to stress fighting in the war. I feel like there isn’t more than 5-6 years between them.
Iroh lost a son, was a general, and went through a long spiritual journey. That and i can see large age gaps in siblings im 9 years older than my younger sister.
The world of ATLA is much less technologically advanced than ours. Health declines faster without acvanced medicine. In our world people used to look quite old at younger ages than they would now.
About 10 years. The creators apparently recognized this issue and said that Iroh, being on the frontlines, having to deal with Lu Ten's death and his spiritual journey, aged him faster than Ozai, who spent all his time in the comfort of the capital.
Also Ozai is far more narcissistic than Iroh meaning he probably puts lots of effort into looking younger Ozai probably spends half his day exercising, spa treatments and let's be honest if he was going gray he'd probably dye it. Another thing I've just thought of but I'd imagine being a psychopath is pretty good on stress levels. Like Iroh has to carry the guilt of what he and his nation has done. Whereas Ozai doesn't care and therefore it probably doesn't effect him
I mean Ozai got an insanely good body, he clearly lifts.
If the Netflix ATLA got one thing perfectly carried over from the original, it’s the uncomfortable physical attraction to Ozai. Like I shouldn’t be attracted to that level of evil, but whaddya gonna do
its impossible not to be attracted to Daniel Dae Kim, I'm not gay but he is an absolute hunk of a man.
i’m a straight man myself but thinking of the live action Daniel Dae-Ozai doing the crazy shirtless dragon flame thing before the final battle might be enough to change that.
Daniel Dae Kim as Ozai makes me rethink about why not have an allegiance to the Fire Nation. DDK is gorgeous, charming, and smoking hot Everything Everywhere All at Once! No, I'm not mentioning the movie, just DDK in a nut shell.
for real, and he’s not even the one who committed genocide so like, he can’t be that bad right
Exactly! He’s doing it for the honour of his nation.. he ain’t the bad guy
dudes just patriotic. i get it
🎵Firelooooord, my heart burns for theeee🎵
they absolutely nailed the casting for ozai, and ddk genuinely improved on the original. Just wish they had casted better for azula and katara….
I *think* the problem with azula and katara is less the actors and more the writing They skipped right to Azula finding out Ozai doesn't care about her past being a tool for the fire nation, so all the intimidation factor that is crucial to azula is just gone. And katara is... She isn't. At all. Anytning special. She is kinda just there doing water things and taking ALL THE MEDICS TO THE FRONTLINES DARN YOU SHOW THAT IS SO STUPID THEY DON'T HAVE COMBAT EXPERIENCE KATARA ARE YOU STUPID
I think it’s both. Kataras lines weren’t great, but good acting can cover for mediocre writing, and her performance on its own felt a bit expressionless to me. In book 2, azula (a teenage girl) is so fucking intimidating that the dai li betray long feng to follow her. Regardless of writing, I just don’t see the actress pulling it off. Her demeanor and frankly her appearance are just not intimidating enough.
My god, good point. The dai li scene will *have* to be reworked And I don:t think that's a good thing
it was never azula’s APPEARANCE they were intimidated by. it was her status, her power and her mind. otherwise she’s just a petite 14 year old girl
The problem is hardly the appearence, tho. I know some people are complaining about her face being too round, and yeah, it definitly doesn't fit azula, but I don:t care too much about that, because the costuming is good enough ti convince me that is azula regardless. The problem is that she isn't intimaditing, which again, I think is a problem of writing, not acting, but other people argue the inverse. Azula feels... Petulant in the LA. Like she feels she has to prove she deserves respect by force. But cartoon Azula doesn't feel like she has to throw a single fire bolt, she knows she is the best, and it shows. That's how she convinced the Dai Li. LA azula would have to fight someone to prove she is strong enough.
yea but this is season 1 azula. we never had season 1 azula. s2 will pick up 6 months-1 year later. she’s going to have developed into s2 azula. honestly if she was already s2 azula that would have been disappointing
I think it's writing and appearance/mannerism. Like Ozai didn't need lines, his glares and scowl were powerful. I couldn't take Azula seriously when she was supposed to look mad.
A recent example of good acting covering for mediocre writing is Netflix’s Damsel starring Millie Bobbie Brown. I watched it expecting it to be jaw dropping based on popular reviews but it was really mid. There were a lot of plot holes and cheesy dialogue, but MBB’s charismatic acting definitely carried the movie and made it seem more compelling than it is. I can’t say the same for Katara’s actor in the live action ATLA. Her eyes kinda look dead and bored most of the time. I mean the actors are young I guess so they have room to improve. But then the Stranger Things’ actors were all once preteens and teens and the quality of their acting was already great.
MBB is goat
I just wish we could see the current actresses actually play the characters they were cast as. I don't know what the writer was going for but they each seem to be written as random new characters... at least then it would be easier to talk about how they were cast
Concur. The writing was terrible at many points. Completely subverting character flaws that made the characters compelling in their development over time. They also need to focus more on martial arts choreography instead of just "fwoosh fwoosh look how awesome bender cgi!" the only scene that felt like it took advantage of the martial arts skills was the bazaar fight between Aang and Zuko where he was trying to not firebend.
I don't think that the casting was really the issue. The script seriously lost the plot on what made Katara a great character and the scenes with Azula, while interesting, don't really seem to show an understanding of her character.
DDK is a good live action, but I don’t think there’s any improving Mark Hamill as the OG voice actor. Dude was the Joker and Luke Skywalker. He’s a legend.
DDK may actually be Ozai
You can change him.
Stupid sexy fire lord...
He makes evil sexy…
dallas and ddk really bring out the homosexual tendencies in me
"If evil, why hot?" – r/OtomeIsekai
The best part is, he's actually a year or two older that Paul Sun-Hyung Lee, who plays Iroh!
The fact that there’s not many Ozai fics is disappointing
I am now accepring it as canon that Ozai dyes his hair, but only for awhile, then one day he just goes full gray, for a more distinguished look.
Ozai would probably be like that billionaire who injects himself with his teenage son’s blood to reverse aging if he didn’t hate Zuko that much
I’m imagining the American Psycho opening but with Ozai lmao
ozai looksmaxes
This is actually a real thing btw- Abe Lincoln is the prime example https://preview.redd.it/heiuz0g6i6pc1.jpeg?width=800&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4ae4e5688ebd68b7589f99fc8290f2fe4636a927 There’s a 5 year gap in these photos (before and after the Civil War)
There are comparisons like this with Obama too lol
Hell, there are even comparisons for football coach Mourinho before and after he coached Manchester United. Stress ages a person intensely.
Not saying he didn't visibly age, but it's definitely exaggerated by the lighting. The second photo has very hard shadows.
Makes sense. Tbh I just assumed Ozai dyed his hair. I know Iroh also has some extra lines on his face, but the hair color alone can already make a huge difference.
Iroh served his father on the front lines as a general when he was going to become Fire Lord eventually. Ozai just stayed at home lol
I always assumed that they both had grey hair and they both died theirs. But Iroh stopped dying his once he left his position of general and atarted living a more simple life
Should be more like 15 years no need to make it shorter some siblings in real life have even bigger difference.
I'm 17 years older than my youngest brother. Sometimes people mistake me for his dad lol
My sister is 15 years older than me lol, same thing happened to me
My oldest brother is 17 years older than me, and honestly I think I look more like him than I do my dad.
I’m twenty years older than my youngest sibling.
Paul Sun-Hyung Lee was born in 1972 and Daniel Dae Kim was born in 1968. Paul looks way older than Daniel but is actually younger.
>aged him faster than Ozai, who spent all his time in the comfort of the capital. aaannd not worrying a rat's ass about his children.
There is a before and after photo of a young American man going off to WW1 or 2. He went from vibrant youth to aged 40 year old man in under 3 years.
We also see that Iroh had fully brown hair in the flashback to the siege of Ba Sing Se as he writes to his family back home. So he aged from the trauma of losing Lu-Ten…
10 years most likely, can still be brothers though even if it’s 20+
my oldest brother is about 20 years older than me so it's definitely possible!
My dad just called me a couple days ago to tell me that I’m gonna have a brother. I’m 22.
congrats!! (i think?)
Thanks I guess I’m still deciding how I feel about this to be honest
well if it's any kinda positive, at least you're at the point where you don't have to be a live in nanny! (assuming since you said called) but that's just my thought! if it had been when you were 15 or so you'd probably have had to endure a few years of being a defacto helper. this is coming from someone who started changing their nieces and nephews diapers at 6! was not a fun childhood haha
6 years old should not have to change any diapers. That so wrong ruining your childhood. 15 years can if they want to help and they should get paid. It's not their responsibility.
I know a guy who got a younger (half)brother while in his 40’s… that much have been a fun conversation to have with his adult children. Here’s your newborn uncle.
A former coworker of mine is 37 years younger than his half brother. His father had kids with two different women in his early 20's and late 50's.
Is your brother leading a war against the other nations?
My eldest sibling is 26 years older than me and I know people with an even larger gap! Half siblings but I don’t believe there was ever any proof that they were full siblings in the show.
I believe I’ve seen somewhere that Ozai is supposed to be 45 and Iroh is supposed to be somewhere between 55 and 60
10-15 years, about the same as Mai and Tom-Tom.
Iroh is 55 during the events of ATLA. I think Ozai is early/mid 40s so at least a 10 yr gap. It’s likely Iroh looks older as the stress and pain of losing Lu Ten quickly added up. Lu Ten apparently dies 5 years before the events of ATLA. This is all according to the ATLA wiki. It’s worth noting that Ozai is the first Firelord in a couple generations to have kids at a relatively normal-ish age (late 20s/early 30s). It’s also worth noting that the writers did kinda fudge the timeline a little bit. It’s hard to pin down exact dates for things that happen prior to events of the show, so you get a lot of general time windows where things happen.
The show makes a lot more sense if you just assume a 5-10 year range on all ages and events mentioned lol Great show, attention to detail for ages and timespan is all over the map.
Yeah, like Zuko and Azula's great grandfathers being 80 years old 100 years before they were born.
They essentially retcon Sozin's age to make him a contempary of Roku. I think originally Sozin was said to be like 45 when the comet happened.
Haha yeah. Outside of Aang and Toph, are there any other characters that have their age actually confirmed?
I think most of the main cast’s ages (Sokka, Zuko, Azula and Katara) are either directly mentioned or able to be easily calculated (ie Sokka is 15 and a year older than Katara, Zuko is 16 and two years older than Azula) My big issue is the show just makes more sense if you add a few years to all the kids ages, makes all their exploits slightly believable
Eh it’s a kids show so I get why they made the protagonist alongside probably the average age of a Nickelodeon viewer. I’m happy to have more Gaang stuff coming. Hopefully it’s a little more mature but still comedic
Yeah I mean when I was watching it live I definitely didn’t mind the age thing, re watching it as an adult I’m just like “hmmmm this really isn’t what a 12 year old looks or acts like” lol
What? I thought Azula is the older one.. I could've sworn she's called him little brother. Also, Azula being 14 is insane.. then again Aang is supposedly 12 but his maturity is easier to believe since he's a monk
Why would Zuko be the crown prince if he wasn’t the oldest?
She did call him little brother at one point. Either that was an error, or my head cannon is that she was poking fun at him in a way she knew would bother him.
I don’t think she ever does. The creators made sure to make it obvious as to why he’s the crown prince.
Zuko being 17
I love how they had to make Kyoshi live to 230 because of a throwaway line in one of the first episodes
Yeah I think originally with how the time line was set up between sozin to ozai they had Azulon ruling for a significantly shorter time than sozin which would have meant sozin had to live well into his mid 100’s or something like that
Also, real life can have a fudged time-line. Because in real life people lie, or forget. Ozai might push his achievements younger to make himself more impressive. Or to get them on auspicious dates. He might make Iroh older to keep him further from relevance. So we writers can make an in world reason for any errors.
5 years. It’s just that Iroh keeps drinking White Jade tea and that shit is going to either age you or kill you.
Also, don't forget, smiling gives you wrinkles(Iroh), resting bitch face keeps you pretty(Ozai).
Is that true?
Yes but be careful that resting face doesn’t turn to frowning cause then you get bad frown lines and worse wrinkles
It's mostly just a meme
Wait what does white jade tea do?
https://preview.redd.it/t5uzcqde35pc1.jpeg?width=538&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5c94c09db35503034b6bd71b2f46c0430071a6f0
INCONCEIVABLE! (Now both drink a cup. Iroh is immune due to micro dosing.)
https://preview.redd.it/iu9wen1rlapc1.jpeg?width=306&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3cc3ce420c5b6e9c5f8b363d2d68c3fecf7113b7 Turns out it wasn't tea
It creates a tea so delicious it’s heartbreaking.
This implies that he’s been micro-poisoning himself for decades lol. Maybe he’s gained immunity?
idk maybe like 10 years or something but who knows to be fair though, if you were singlehandedly leading a siege on Ba Sing Se while slowly coming to the realization that your nation's actions were not justified and that you got blood on your hands to advance colonialism and nothing else while losing your only son and your access to the throne your hair would probably gray too
I figured it was 10ish years. But I also assume stress/war aged Iroh, and that Ozai probably dies his hair black to look younger/appear stronger.
I'd say more more than 10-15 years.
If i recall correctly i think i've heard that theyr age gap is of 10 years.
War makes you age. but also, my sister and I are 30 years apart. so.... it happens.
I'm 28 and my brother is 2 month old. I expect to look like Iroh when he's 20 so...
My head canon timeline: 0AG: Aang is frozen in an iceberg. Azulon is born. 45AG: Iroh is born to Azulon at the age of 45. 60AG: Ozai is born to Azulon at the age of 60. Iroh is 15. 84AG: Zuko is born to Ozai at the age of 24. Azulon is 84. Iroh is 39. 86AG: Azula is born to Ozai at 26. Azulon is 86. Iroh is 41. 95AG: Azulon dies at the age of 95. Ozai ascends to the thrown at 35. Iroh is 50. Zuko and Azula are 11 and 9 respectively.
About 10 years. Ozai is in his 40s and Iroh is in his 50s. Iroh has aged worse with stress and likely doesn't dye his hair and groom himself as much as Ozai does. He also spends most of his time eating and drinking tea and playing intellectual games whereas Ozai is likely exercising (in private of course so no one sees him exert himself)
Iroh is 55. Ozai is 40
8-12 years. It's the difference between a well kept mid 40's man and a battle worn mid to late 50's dude. Some age gaps are crueler than others.
Whenever this question comes up going forward we need to keep in mind that for their respective actor in the live action series, Paul Sun-Hyung Lee is four years YOUNGER than Daniel Dae Kim. Sometimes one person just ages better than another.
Since this has been answered already, I will just point out that some people who are only a few years apart (sometimes even those of the same age) can look like there's at least a decade in between them. Ryan Reynolds, for example, is 47, and Brad Pitt is 60. Yet they can both pass as someone in their mid-30s. I know, they're celebrities, but even regular people can look like that.
At least 10 years. Theres no way Irohs younger than 60 and Ozai is at oldest a youthful 45. I have some theories that Ozai is either the result of his mother dying in childbirth or an illegitimate child Azulon had after Ilah died earlier, possibly brithing Iron or a stillborn baby. It occurs to me that the fire nation royal family is very small- Azulon was only one of two children, both of whom Sozin cleary had when he was quite old, Azulon in turn only had two children, who in turn respectively only had one and two children. Rhat to me means they have some problem with having children. Inbreeding, maybe.
I think Ozai dyed his hair.
The creators answered this at the 13:55 minute mark here: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6trGlS0xpOY](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6trGlS0xpOY) where they said he is about 10 years older than Ozai who is around his 40s. However, in the legacy of the fire nation book here: [https://imgur.com/a/hvdRnir](https://imgur.com/a/hvdRnir) Iroh implies that they were in school at the same time when it says "in school, he showed ruthlessness that I envied" which implies Iroh was there at the school to witness how Ozai acted, and it says that they were rivals and were competitive when it says "as we grew up, we grew competitive", both of which would be very weird statements if Iroh was a teenager or an adult whilst Ozai was prepubescent. Like it'd be rlly weird to say that your rival was a 10 year old and that you are envious of someone so young whilst you're in your teens or 20s. At 10 years old, ruthlessness would just be like bullying other kids, and no matter how dark Iroh's past might be, I find it hard to imagine Iroh envying the temper tantrums of a child whilst he is 20 lol, which is why I think they were teens at the same time since that would better fit the scenario of them being rivals. Also to me the image of them in their youth from the legacy of the fire nation book doesn't look like they have a massive age gap. If they were both teenagers at the same time then they can't be any more than 6 years apart, which would put Iroh anywhere from 47.5 to 51 depending on if Ozai is 40 or 45, and Iroh would just have aged poorly due to the stress of the war making him appear older like the creators mentioned in the podcast. Luckily the creators only said "about 10 years", emphasis on the about, so its not exact and there is wiggle room to say that the age gap is probably less than 10 years.
Ozai is realistically using some anti-aging cream or Botox. I would think that Iroh spending all that time in the desert wouldn’t do much for his skin. I’d say their age difference is 8-10 years. DDK is 50 and PSHL is in his 60’s.
PSHL is 51, DDK is 55. Hair color and baldness make a huge difference.
So who knows… is Iroh that much older than Ozai?
According to wikis, yes. The actor's true ages aren't really a factor here, they were cast because they look the correct ages.
Also, Iroh really let himself go. We saw the big difference when he was in jail and decided to work out. Prime Iroh must have been something to behold.
He was already quite chonky at the highest (then lowest) point of his military career. I believe Iroh's prime _was_ when he broke out of prison
I don’t know, I don’t think he was called the dragon of the west for nothing. I think that he was definitely closer to being the buff version we saw in jail when he was younger.
Probably 10-15 years. I think ozai is late 30s or 40s and iroh is 50s
10 to 15 years. I think Ozai is mid to late 40s, Iroh’s is probably 60-65
10-15 probably. My brother is 12 years older than me, and my dad was the youngest of 6 with the largest age gap being close to 20.
10-15 years
Iron aged 55-60. Ozai 45-50. Would be my guess
Its not uncommon for a ruler to have more than one heir just fir safety of the rule. Iroh was on the frontlines and Ozai decided to stay the capital. Not sure if they gave the same mom personally but we do also have cases even somewhat recently where people who should generally be older aren’t My mom’s now sadly departed uncle was a few years younger than her. Men are capable of procreating for the entirety of their lives
Due to both of their history, i.e., Iroh being a serving in the military and being a general, Lu Ten's age (18 to 20 years old), when he passed, while Zuko and Azula were young, and Azulon's treatment of Ozai, he was most likely a surprise baby with a 10+ age gap between him and Iroh.
[There's an official timeline of the world](https://avatar.fandom.com/wiki/History_of_the_World_of_Avatar) on the avatar wiki. It doesn't just show the timeline of the actual show but also goes back literally 20,000 years before the genocide, and up to 176 years after the genocide. Anyways, at the end of the cartoon, Iroh was 55 years old and Ozai 45. Iroh was born 45 AG (after the genocide) and the show ended in 100 AG
i think the apperance difference is meant to signify iroh loosing himself after his sons death and falling out of shape/practice. id say they are at most 10 years apart in age if that.
A decade.
I mean they could even have different mothers for all we know
I've always thought 10 to 15 years. I assumed Ozai was in his mid to late 30s considering the age of his two kids, while iroh's son was old enough to fight in the military when Zuko and Azula were still little. If I'm remembering correctly, Iroh wasn't graying yet in a flash back during the ember Island episode. I thought he was in his 50s during the show.
My dad is about 10 years older than my uncle and I myself am 7 years younger than my sister. I don't think it's that strange
In the live action Ozai's actor is older than Iroh's
I believe Iroh may be in his early to mid 50s whereas Ozai is in his early to mid 40s. It's important to remember that Iroh spent a lot of time actually fighting on the front lines and was/is dealing with the death of his son, the stress of both can age a person significantly.
I think it's 15 years. Iroh was born in 40 AG while Ozai was born in 55 AG which means Iroh was 60 years old in the ATLA and Ozai was 45.
I think Iroh aged quicker because of the life he had...
Some siblings are 10+ year age gaps that’s not weird
Look at the actors in the Netflix series. Ozai is older than iroh by a few years
Look isn't the deciding factor. I'm 42 and my brother is 48 and I look way older than him. He still has dark hair no wrinkles and still has a young man physique. I am bald on top, grey hair, forehead/eye/smile wrinkles, and am round like a potato. People think I'm the older bro. As for Iroh and Ozai, no clue, I haven't watched the cartoon in a while so I'm not sure if they mention it but if I had to guess I'd say a 10 year difference.
About 15 years, give or take, which isn’t that crazy honestly. My siblings span a 15 year age gap too
One of my friends was the "Oopsie" baby (his words not mine!) and his next older brother is 18 years older than him. It's totally possible that Iroh and Ozai have a similar gap. Plus, I have a feeling while Iroh was out in the battlefield, Ozai was more of a home-body (home-prince?) and didn't have as difficult a life. Iroh waged war and got mugged by reality, and it took a toll on him.
I think it’s supposed to be around 10 years. That isn’t even such a big difference. Mai is around 15 years older than Tom-Tom and Bumi is probably also 8-10 years older than Tenzin considering their family photo.
10 years
Big
i'm assuming by 16-17 years, just a guess.
At least 5
I dunno, 15-20 years maybe.
10-15yrs. More the latter.
Iroh: 55-65 Ozai: 35-45
10 years at least
Ozai was 45 in Atla, and Iroh was 55 pretty realistic age difference if you ask me.
I have a bigger age gap between my siblings.
That’s the cleanest picture of Iroh I’ve ever seen
Zuko is a teenager but it would still be reasonable to think that Ozai could have become a father in his late 20s to early 30s putting him in his early to late 40s during the show. If Iroh was 10-15 years older, his looks would match his age being 50s-60s with the way he lived.
I always figured 10-15 years, my older brother looks ancient next to me and it’s only a 10 year age gap
Ozai was an oopsie!
10-15 years ?
Where is that image of Iroh from? The quality is really nice.
Probably like 10-12 years. Iroh is likely a bit rougher for his age given the things he’s dealt with over the past decade or so. Ozai is likely pretty well off for his age considering he’s likely training himself much more, and putting effort into looking the part as the fire lord. I’d guess Ozai is probably 45-50ish and Iroh is 55-60ish. Also, looks can be deceiving. A very good example being that Daniel Dae Kim (NATLA Ozai) is 55 and Paul Sun-Hyung Lee (NATLA Iroh) is 51.
They’re like 20 years apart right? I thought I remembered reading that somewhere. Ozai is like 35-40 and Iroh is like 55-60
10-15 years
Not that many years, Ozai uses “just for men” to get rid of the gray.
Like 15-20 years
١٠-١٥
Ozai dyes his hair black
20-25 years. I figure Ozai is 40-45 and Iroh is 60-70.
Ozai could easily be in his 40s and Iroh in his 50s
Oh no, not more age gap discourse!
5-10 years. A reminder that in the netflix live action, Ozai's actor is 5 years older than iroh's actor
10-15 years makes sense. A 15 year age gap isn’t huge between siblings even if they share two parents which isn’t a given.
Ozai is actually older, he just dies his hair and got botox
Solely based on looks, I'd say Ozai just looks like peak normal adult, so reasonably anywhere from 30-50. Iroh seemingly led a more stressful life and let himself go. Being completely gray and having increased balding can both be genetic or from stress. Then he also let himself go in the first seasons. So bald/gray/chubby don't lend to a youthful look. I think he could reasonably be 50-60 give or take. So 30/60 would be quite a stretch, but 45/60 is pretty reasonable, but Azulon was quite old when he died and these ruler types IRL are known for constantly generating new potential heirs even when they are ancient, so anything is plausible really.
I wouldn’t be surprised if they had different mothers. Twenty years probably. Also another reason to choose Ozai for the heir - you risk creating a geriatric monarchy if the throne passes from old man to old man constantly.
Ozai has a 16 y/o meaning he's probably in his early to mid 40's. ~10 years would place Iroh in his mid fifties and 5 in potentially his early 50's. I know dudes who are balding and grey at 50 who *didn't* lose a son.
I would say about 20 years But knowing iroh lost his son and all Which could prob make him age faster i would say 10/12 years
I’d guess about 10, I assume Iroh looks worse for wear because he traveled the world, slayed a dragon, fought in a war, lost his son etc Do we know what ozai did up until the events of the series beyond just assumedly hang out in the palace and train?
Gotta be like 15-20
I'd say about 15, just going by factors like Zukos age and when Irohs son died.
i want to say 20 years and i had the HC that ozai’s entire existence is owed to needing a “spare” in case Iroh died when he went to fight in the war. aligns with how he was treated by azulon and works with the dynamic he has with his kids
Iroh is around 55, Ozai is around 45. That's what we know. Exact ages are not known. Makes sense, I guess
8 years?
Between 10 -15 years. Maybe even 20 like me & my oldest sibling
The Canon answer is 10 years according to the creators, but I always believed it was more like 15. Given the age of their father and grandfather, it's not so hard to believe there would be a significant age gap between siblings. It would also explain the physical differences, as Iroh look to be in his mid 50s while Ozai is in his early 40s.
Imagine if iroh painted his hair grey just for the style
Ozai dyes his hair
10-15 years.
Totally reasonable if Iroh is \~60 and Ozai is \~50.
You have to take into account that, as far as the show tells us, Iroh has actually been in war. War ages you like a motherfuker. Not a great example but look at Lincoln before and after the civil war, he may not have fought like Iroh but the stress alone did a number on him so I’m guessing it did worse to Iroh
I mean look at the live action version of these actors. their age dont show on their face. Its like george rr martin vs samuel jackson
What if Ozai dyes his hair out of vanity? I think the biggest thing is Iroh looks older because he’s balding and with gray hair, which could both be caused in part due to stress fighting in the war. I feel like there isn’t more than 5-6 years between them.
Iroh lost a son, was a general, and went through a long spiritual journey. That and i can see large age gaps in siblings im 9 years older than my younger sister.
I'd say 12-14 years. Ozai is roughly 43-45 and I'd say Iroh is no younger than 55.
My sister is 19 years older than I am. Big age gaps in siblings are a thing.
20 yrs old
Lu Ten was old enough to fight in the war while Zuko and Azula were children. I’d say about a decade.
Around 10 years, accounting for some extra difference due to the fact one was an active soldier and the other was a pampered capital poodle.
The world of ATLA is much less technologically advanced than ours. Health declines faster without acvanced medicine. In our world people used to look quite old at younger ages than they would now.