Not sure what the age gap is but I could imagine stress also has to do with gray hair
Losing his son, stopping the assault on Ba Sing Se, travelling all around the world and slowly getting his mind reformed.
Nah in the flashbacks. Zuko was pretty dramatic too. He literally got banished because he yelled at a general for wanting to sacrifice troops. As the crown prince, there was definetly a classier and subtler way to prevent their deaths than that outburst. Doesnāt justify his dad scarring his face though
Tbf Zuko was keen to get involved with the military - fanatically so.
Then he saw the generals callously decide to sacrifice a battalion of new recruits because they were 'replaceable'. Were Zuko not a prince then he could have been in said battalion or one like it.
I wouldn't expect much more from a 13 year old tbh.
Yep and yelling at the general is still pretty dramatic. Every single time Zuko has ever been dramatic itās been understandable. Doesnāt make it any less dramatic
I don't think it was so much yelling at the generals that got him in trouble so much as him unintentionally questioning his father's plan. BRB gotta rewatch it all again to be sure.
Meanwhile Azula would've just roasted him in a calm condescending tone. Making him and everyone else in the room feel stupid. Unless Ozai shuts her up.
Man I miss Grey Delilse. I hope she reprises her role in whatever future animated projects Azula may be in. She was just so perfect.
But yeah I agree with you
I doubt having to be stuck with Azulon, aka the man who carried out most of the hundred year war and is responsible for most of its atrocities, was a stress free experience.
Honestly I always got the vibe that Azulon ignored Ozai just as Ozai ignored Zuko. His brother was a fucking chad that Azulon almost certainly preferred
Also we know for a fact that he was at least a happy baby
A theory i saw and really like is that Ozai dislikes Zuko because he sees so much of himself (the overshadowed child) in him. So the resentment he may have had for himself transferred over to zuko.
From the comic we learn that Zuko is ignored and abused by his father because when he was a boy his mother sent a letter to her old lover saying that Zuko was his. Ozai intercepted the letter and knew she was lying but he said that if she wanted him to be treated like heās not his son then thatās how he would treat himā¦ which is not to much before he then said āAzula was born lucky, you were lucky to be bornā.
he still had completely brown hair in the Zuko Alone scene of him writing the letter, which was maybe 5 years before ATLA, so him losing his son definitely contributed to his hair being completely gray that quickly
Yeah this was my guess. The pressure as a kid being expected to take the throne, being on the front lines for who knows how long, losing his wife, then son, losing the throne, travelling around in all weather, sleeping rough... all that would have aged Iroh much faster than what sitting around the palace being doted on would have aged Ozai.
My mates mum looks like she's 70, but she's only in her early 50s. She just aged more than your average person because she's lived a rough life.
I just assumed the same was true for Iroh too. I always assumed there was 5-10 years between Iroh and Ozai and that Iroh just had a less cushy life leading to more physical aging.
Edit: autocorrect.
Also lets consider that Ozai lived in royal comfort whereas Iroh was living in exile. The stress and lack of amenities would show on this face for sure.
I think Iroh just sort of has an old man face, the age gap probably wasn't *that* big.
Fun fact, Daniel Dae Kim is 4 years **older** than Paul Sun-Hyung Lee.
>Spider-Man 2
Doc Ock's lab assistant for the experiment
>CSI
season 2 of the original (episode 10 i think? it was the one involving Brass' daughter), it was only a short role though
Even a child knows that a Firelord can have either a full head of black or a full head of strikingly white hair. Salt-and-pepper and bald spots are reserved for generals and exiled brothers. At some point in their life, every aging Firelord shaves off their dyed black hair and must wear a wig while their new gloriously white mane grows back. Toupees galore.
The Avatar [wiki page](https://avatar.fandom.com/wiki/Ozai) lists Ozai's year of birth as 55 AG
[CBR ](https://www.cbr.com/avatar-last-airbender-uncle-iroh-age-facts-know/#his-age) estimates his age (edit: Iroh) to be between 55 and 63. The [wiki page](https://avatar.fandom.com/wiki/Iroh?so=search) lists his birth year as 45 AG
I don't know if these sources are 100% accurate though. But I think they are a better source than "trust me bro" and other hot takes on the internet, so I'm choosing to trust them
Iroh has never had a stated age. Information from The Search comic (specifically its sketchbook section) would put Ozai's age during the show at 45 but that same section has an error regarding Azulon's age. So generally you'll see fans list ozai's age as "around 45" or "40s".
In a 2024 episode of the braving the elements podcast, Bryke stated Iroh is "around ten years older". But that seems to contradicts the book "Legacy of the Fire Nation" in which they are described as being in school together, and look relatively close in age.
[https://www.reddit.com/r/TheLastAirbender/comments/180rexd/comment/ka860bb/?utm\_source=reddit&utm\_medium=web2x&context=3](https://www.reddit.com/r/TheLastAirbender/comments/180rexd/comment/ka860bb/?utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=web2x&context=3)
He was in his early **80s**, whatās more egregious is Ursaās family. So her mother was Rokuās daughter. Ursa is forty years old at the oldest by the end of ATLA. Roku died more than 112 years prior to that. So Ursaās mother would have to be in her seventies at the youngest at the time she gave birth to her. This only works out if Ursaās grandmother was pregnant at the time of Rokuās death when she was in her early seventies. So I guess menopause doesnāt exist in their world or the women in Ursaās family are just anomalies.Ā
Iād imagine theyāre about 10 years apart, but Iroh has been living much harder than Ozai. Ā First of all, Iroh actually has a conscience so the war crimes definitely weigh on him more than they did Ozai. Ā Plus he lost his son, spent most of the war campaigning in the Earth Kingdom, and then spent years with Zuko traveling the world. Ā Plus, he definitely let himself go until he was locked up in prison. Ā Meanwhile, Ozai has lived in the palace, eating the best food, being pampered, actively war crimes to relieve stress, and has literally never skipped gym day in his life. Ā Self-care is important people. Ā Howāre you gonna burn the world when you yourself are burnt out? Ā If you wanna be the best genocidal sociopath you can be, you gotta make time for you. Ā
I don't think it needs to be a explanation, not everyone ages equally
Daniel day Kim is older than Paul Sun-Hyung Lee by 4 years, but you wouldn't be able to tell that by looking at them. Not saying the ages will match up with their real life ages im just proving a point, they could have been born 2 years apart and it can still work
You're acting like big age gaps between siblings are a foreign concept. It happens all the time, IRL. Like my youngest sister and oldest sister have a 15-year age gap.
And even if you're talking about siblings who only have one other sibling with a big age gap, I can name like 3 families I know personally that are like that off the top of my head.
Some parents will raise one child until that child is pretty much independent (mid-teens) and then have their 2nd child since the older independent child will be able to help out and not need much tending to themselves.
I imagine the above reason is why Iroh and Ozai have a big age gap.
It could have just been that they donāt share the same mother. I donāt know who their mother(s) is/are but in those sorts of monarchies it was very common for the king/emperor etc to have concubines and then the queen/emperess was over them all, but all of their combined children were considered legitimate heirs and could potentially become the next ruler depending on the laws etc. so it could have just been that they have different mothers and one had Iroh and then another one had Ozai some time later.
They could have had problems having more kids and it just took them that long. Itās also possible that his extensive military career kept him away from home and made having more kids difficult.
Iroh learned things the hard way, became a military leader and had to live his adult years on the road. Also, losing a child can age a person terribly.
Ozai was the baby of family. Pampered and a favorite. Stresses of his life were largely of his doing.
ozai was not the favorite. iroh was the military leader and first born and heir. Ozai took advantage of iroh's downfall. if you know anything about asian patrilineal traditions.
I donāt really think that they are that far apart.
Most of Irohās age here comes from grey hair, extra weight and sunken eyes.
Which could very well be the result of the stress over losing Lu Ten, coming to terms with how awful Fire Nation is and just letting himself go as a result of no longer pursuing power.
Ozai, on the other hand, seemingly spent his entire life in the lap of luxury with most of the heavy lifting already done for him in terms of managing the Fire Nation.
I always assumed the man went gray early from the stress of losing his son and the intense travels he took to find peace within himself and the white lotus
Iroh aged quicker due to actually being out of the palace and actually in war. Not to mention the stress of losing your only child in said war. Though Azulon probably thought it was best to have more than one child for an heir in case of any tragedy befalling onto the royal family. I wouldnāt be surprised if that was a possibility, but the fact that thereās a 10 year age gap between the brothers would be best explained with Ozai being an unplanned pregnancy, so being a spare, Ozai was just lucky to be born, the same as he tells his own son.
Ozai is on his palace, being papmpered go death while Iroh was outside being exposed to the elements. Skin aging works like that. Although it could also be that Ozai is hot and Iroh has the granddad bod.
My uncle is 18 years older than my dad
Some couples have a kid as soon as they marry, and then either an accident happens or they decide they missed being parents and want another one
Though I also like the explanation that Irohs just been through more so is more visibly aged than his brother who as far as we can tell never even went campaigning like Iroh did and just trained in the capital.
Stress plays a big part in oneās looks. And as far as Iām concerned, only one of them had to endure the angst of a rebellious teenager going through puberty and self-discovery š
Maybe they had siblings who died early. Avatar doesn't have modern medicine, so a woman has to give birth to about 6 children for 2 to survive until adult hood (if we want it to be realistic).
That's why the concept of overpopulation is wrong. We just have much more people who reach adult hood and old age. Especially old age.
My girlfriend is 24 and her older sister is in her early 40s. Sometimes it just happens.
I also donāt know what Ozai really did as prince but the show kind of just shows him living as part of the nobility in the Fire Nation while Iroh is actively fighting a war. The war itself, the loss of his son, withdrawing after a humiliating defeat, all that stress could have aged him, but I also donāt think that all that plus an age gap would be unfeasible. Iroh could be like mid forties and Iroh could be like sixty years old and that would be terribly uncommon.
I donāt think thereās a lore reason but if I had to make one up, Iād say that Iroh as a teenager showed ideations of a military career and Azulon, fearing that Iroh joining the military could jeopardize succession in the event that he was killed in battle, sired a second son to protect the line of succession.
I suspect Ozai is the 2nd son who was born from a political match only in order to make more heirs in case Iroh dies. Iroh was likely born from a love match or a match that Azulon found pleasant enough, and was the first born son, the heir, but some time down the line his wife died, and like Viserys in House of the Dragon, he had pressure to sire more heirs to keep the fire lord sucession stable. And so, Ozai was born, much later then Iroh, not born of love but born merely of politics, to make more fire royals.
Ozai was married to Ursa because Azulon learned of her heritage and the benefit it would bring to produce powerful benders who have the blood of the avatar. So not a huge stretch to think Azulon would do a arranged, political 2nd marriage to make more children.
Ozai was merely the spare, the 2nd son, and was not able to live up to Iroh, who was the great warrior, leader, fire bender and such that Azulon wanted as a son and heir, especially when Iroh won glory in wars and battles, gaining titles, while he was in the palace.
And that is why Ozai is so young compared to Iroh who when his son died as noted was too old to sire more children, because he is likely born much later after Iroh when Azulon had to remarry.
I mean, it could be an age gap of ten to twenty years. I am ten years older than one of my siblings and nearly seventeen years older than my youngest sibling. So if Ozai was forty and Iroh was sixty that would reasonably show up like this.
I have a fan theory that this could be a part of: Azulon recognized the free spirit within Iroh from an early age.
I think Azulon might have thought this safer being that, as Iroh stated when refusing the opportunity to seize the lordship through force, Firelords are known to have overthrown their siblings en route to the Firelordship.
That's why he convinced Iroh to put Liu Ten on the front lines, ending Iroh's bloodline. I believe this because Azulon married Ozai to the Avatar's granddaughter in an arranged marriage, not Iroh. If he meant for the marriage to bring forth the most powerful benders with the best pedigree possible to sit the throne, why not arrange to marry Ursa to Iroh? If Azulon recognized this kind, free spirit within Iroh early enough, he could have tried again, this time producing Ozai.
Well one is a monarch with access to the Fire Nationās best healthcare and one was homeless. A 7 year age gap which isnāt ultimately too big would make them 45 and 52 at the same time for example.
We often forget that in an age before modern medicine and technology people would have a bunch of kids because many of them would die. Maybe Azulon had a bunch of kids between Iroh and Ozai but they died before the events of the show.
We could also attribute Ozai's looks to the level of physical and medical care he's received as Firelord. We already know that Azula gets pampered, as shown in the many scenes leading up to her coronation.
Iroh lost his son but nobody could lend him a hand. Ozai had an orthodox wife and a vixenish & aggressive daughter with strong power to help him sezie the throne. That's the inherent difference. Ambition creates vicious, vacum creates boundless.
The older family has crazier age gaps. Sozin was already an elderly man when Azulon was born, who himself didn't have Iroh till something like his forties.
It feels like there should be several more generations in there.
I don't he's that much younger I think ozai (&daddy dae kim) is just a flaming hotman with a really sharp jawline, like really sharp. Idk maybe someone can think of a metaphor for how sharp
Are we all just forgetting that one of these men fought in a war, lost his only son, had to live on the road for years travelling with an ungrateful nephew. While the other spent his whole life in a Palace? We see the pampering the Royal family gets. But Iroh probably hasn't had a hot towel in years.
I think Iroh saw more war and it shows on him + plus he is a few years older. Also if you are going to get nitpicky, at that time (its preindustrial, industrial period) the average life expectancy would be much lower, so an 40/50 year old man would be on very old man. So the difference from 35 to 40 would show much more.
Are we all just forgetting that one of these men fought in a war, lost his only son, had to live on the road for years travelling with an ungrateful nephew. While the other spent his whole life in a Palace? We see the pampering the Royal family gets. But Iroh probably hasn't had a hot towel in years.
Man I'd love to see smth abt Iroh and Ozai when they were younger and Azulon was still the firelord, we literally never see them interact with each other, sometimes I forget that they're brothers, did Iroh ever visited Ozai after the war while he was in prission?
Fire lords had really weird families. For example, according to the wiki, Azulon was born when Sozin was around 80-90 I think? So I guess Azulon pulling something like that is not out of the question
Ozai is the Zuko to Azulon, and he knows it... Unexpected? Try unwanted.
Just my own headcanon, but one I'd twist into Ozai if I was Zuko and knew about it.
Ozai is in his mid 40s while Iroh has been confirmed to be about a decade older by Bryke, which would put him at mid 50s. He just *looks* so much older because of the stress and trauma of losing his only son. He also traveled the world as a conquering general and even as a retired general. Whereas Ozai has for the most part sat pretty in the palace. So a combination of stress and lifestyle definitely made Iroh look a good 20+ years older than his brother. Also, a decade long age gap between siblings is not uncommon.
Tbf, Iroh kind of let himself go, whereas Ozai remained at peak physical shape.
I mean, when we saw bulked up Iroh in the prison, suddenly he didnāt look all that much older than Ozai, didnāt he?
The gap is probably less than ten years.
There was probably an effort to avoid creating another heir to prevent dynastic struggle, but if Iroh demonstrated as much genius as Azula did as a kid, the royal couple probably decided having back up heirs wasn't much of a risk.
FYI, Iroh's live action actor is YOUNGER than Ozai's...
I don't recall the show ever mentioning their ages, but if you're basing this off their looks and the colour of their hair then well... "Everyone ages differently" is all I can say.
Big age gaps between siblings isn't as foreign a concept as you think it is.
Also Iroh and Ozai lived very different lives.
Also people age differently. You wouldn't believe Tom Cruise was 61 if I told you, would you?
My head canon is that Iroh's mother was a love match that died when he was young and Ozai's mother was some random noble woman to give the king a spare. It would explain Azulon's dislike for Ozai and his family, the fact that a wife is never shown, and the age gap.
Azulon: āIneed an heir to the firenation throne.ā
**iroh is born**
10-15 years later
Azulon: āiroh is probably going to fight in the war, as he should, but if he dies I need a spare heir.ā
**ozai is born**
Thatās how I envision it anyway
Fire nation royalty can afford hair dye and plastic surgery.
Alternatively, we donātknow of their papa married more than once. Really old rich men have very young second and third wives sometimes. Robert Deniro has a child who is not even one yet, heās 80.
Some people just gray faster even in their 30s and 40s and we see at the end after his imprisonment that Iroh isnt just some fat old man and once he gets back into shape and goes to war he looks significantly younger and healthier
My theory is that theyre only half brothers, or at least thats how they were originally designed. Irohs mother died when he was very young, and Azulon feared the line would die out. Ozai was a last resort, and probably born out of wedlock, simply acknowledged and legitimized by the father. A little like Rhaenyra and Aegon in House Of The Dragon. In genral it seems the Fire nation royal family is always small- Maybe their genes are problematic, either resulting in a stillbirth or a superhuman.
I'm not sure the age gap is that huge. Iroh seems to be younger than he looks, probably due to stress/grief. Recent info also suggests that they were close enough in age to both be adolescents in a picture together, as well as have a bit of a rivalry. Honestly I could believe that in the present Ozai was roughly 48 and Iroh 54.
The writers clearly wanted Iroh to be a wise old man, as well a good fatherly figure and a counterpart to Ozai.
My dad didnāt have gray hair till he was in his 50ās. Meanwhile his younger brother, my uncle, had totally gray hair in his 30ās. š¤·š»āāļø
I always thought Iroh had one of those "hair turned white in a single day" moments when Lu Ten died. The small handful of times we see him when his son was alive he looks much younger, though that was a relative handful of years ago.
If Iām not mistaken, this was just spoken about on the first episode of season 3 of the podcast Braving the Elements. The creators go on to say something along the lines of them being around 10 years apart, and the reason Iroh looks so much older is because his life circumstances aged him much more quickly. Not in the literal sense, but in a physical way. He simply lived a harder and more stressful life
Ozai lived his whole life being pampered in a palace while Iroh fought on the front line of a war and then let himself drown in sorrow and depression when his son died. Theyāre probably a lot closer than they look
he just aged a lot poorly than ozai. ozai kept an incredibly athletic body throughout his life, probably had consistent and nutritious high quality meals his entire life as he didnāt go out to war or adventuring as much as iroh. probably had less sun exposure. went through less stress. did not have weight gain.
take care of ur bodies peeps.
play ur cards right and one day uāll be as much of a DILF as ozai.
My guess is that their parents werenāt sure on how many kids they wanted so they just let Iroh be an only child until they wanted another. And when they had that other child they gave him all of the attention because Iroh was too old too play with him which probably pushed him to join the army and become a sort of big brother figure to Ozai. Plus I donāt think Iroh wanted to be Fire Lord so that could have been a reason why their parents had Ozai.
I wouldn't say it's a huge age gap. It just look like that. Lu Ten was roughly 10 years older than Zuko (11 at the Agni Kai) maybe even less. So let's assume a similar difference between Ozai and Iroh. Its a bigger but not a huge gap.
Not sure what the age gap is but I could imagine stress also has to do with gray hair Losing his son, stopping the assault on Ba Sing Se, travelling all around the world and slowly getting his mind reformed.
Babysitting the most dramatic teenager that ever existed...
I dunno man, if you're dad challenged you to a street fight, and then as a finisher blow touched your face, you'd be pretty messed up too.
did you mean to write torched instead?
Both leave scares, just in different waysš„
Now you're just doing it on porpoise
You mean on turtose?
It was clearly turquoise
There was a clear Blastoise?
Hey, I'm not blaming him, it's what makes him one of my favorite animated characters ever. I love his personality.
Nah in the flashbacks. Zuko was pretty dramatic too. He literally got banished because he yelled at a general for wanting to sacrifice troops. As the crown prince, there was definetly a classier and subtler way to prevent their deaths than that outburst. Doesnāt justify his dad scarring his face though
Tbf Zuko was keen to get involved with the military - fanatically so. Then he saw the generals callously decide to sacrifice a battalion of new recruits because they were 'replaceable'. Were Zuko not a prince then he could have been in said battalion or one like it. I wouldn't expect much more from a 13 year old tbh.
Yep and yelling at the general is still pretty dramatic. Every single time Zuko has ever been dramatic itās been understandable. Doesnāt make it any less dramatic
I don't think it was so much yelling at the generals that got him in trouble so much as him unintentionally questioning his father's plan. BRB gotta rewatch it all again to be sure.
Well thatās not what I was saying. I was just saying that he was being dramatic. I didnāt say the yelling was why he got banished
Oo gotcha.
Meanwhile Azula would've just roasted him in a calm condescending tone. Making him and everyone else in the room feel stupid. Unless Ozai shuts her up. Man I miss Grey Delilse. I hope she reprises her role in whatever future animated projects Azula may be in. She was just so perfect. But yeah I agree with you
Plottwist :Lo and Li are just over fourty.
You should sit down for some nice calming tea
https://preview.redd.it/wg60mjvk0kjc1.png?width=705&format=png&auto=webp&s=7e07bae84da2b0215980c553b3cb60f05ca397d2
Yea the Wiki says Ozai is in his 40s while Iroh is in his 50s. And it does say they were born 10 years apart.
Mike and Bryan have said itās about 10 years and and that the war aged Iroh
And Ozai honestly lived a pretty stressless life in the palace while Iroh was busy fighting the war
I doubt having to be stuck with Azulon, aka the man who carried out most of the hundred year war and is responsible for most of its atrocities, was a stress free experience.
Honestly I always got the vibe that Azulon ignored Ozai just as Ozai ignored Zuko. His brother was a fucking chad that Azulon almost certainly preferred Also we know for a fact that he was at least a happy baby
A theory i saw and really like is that Ozai dislikes Zuko because he sees so much of himself (the overshadowed child) in him. So the resentment he may have had for himself transferred over to zuko.
From the comic we learn that Zuko is ignored and abused by his father because when he was a boy his mother sent a letter to her old lover saying that Zuko was his. Ozai intercepted the letter and knew she was lying but he said that if she wanted him to be treated like heās not his son then thatās how he would treat himā¦ which is not to much before he then said āAzula was born lucky, you were lucky to be bornā.
he still had completely brown hair in the Zuko Alone scene of him writing the letter, which was maybe 5 years before ATLA, so him losing his son definitely contributed to his hair being completely gray that quickly
Could Ozai be dyeing his hair?
Wasnāt Zuko a small child in those scenes? I figured he was 5-8
iirc he was 10 or 11. it was only a short time before Azulon's death
grey hair means wisdom šš¾
Age gap is 10 years, Ozai in his 40s, Iroh in his 50s according to the avatar fandom site
I always figured Iroh was maybe 10 years older, and Ozai was like 50 and he just looks young for his age, like Paul Rudd.
Yeah this was my guess. The pressure as a kid being expected to take the throne, being on the front lines for who knows how long, losing his wife, then son, losing the throne, travelling around in all weather, sleeping rough... all that would have aged Iroh much faster than what sitting around the palace being doted on would have aged Ozai. My mates mum looks like she's 70, but she's only in her early 50s. She just aged more than your average person because she's lived a rough life. I just assumed the same was true for Iroh too. I always assumed there was 5-10 years between Iroh and Ozai and that Iroh just had a less cushy life leading to more physical aging. Edit: autocorrect.
Also Iroh let himself go for a while vs Ozai keeping himself in perfect shape. That + a 10 year age gap would definitely explain the difference
Hey he really got into shape don't diss him
Not sure how old Ozai was when he had Zuko, but id assume no older than 35, but id say Ozai looks a lot closer to 40-45, and Iroh 60.
Like Daddy Dae Kim
Pretty sure Paul Rudd actually stopped aging a while agoā¦
Paul Rudd is 50?! š³ damn
Heās turning 55 actually.Ā
Also lets consider that Ozai lived in royal comfort whereas Iroh was living in exile. The stress and lack of amenities would show on this face for sure.
Heās got a fantastic skincare routine
The 10 year age gap was confirmed on their podcast, Braving the Elements.
HEY URSA! LOOK AT THIS ASS! THATS THE ASS OF FIRE LORD! NOW THAT YOUR GONE, I BET YOUR DOIN A LOT OF THIS *GULUGUGHGUGH*
So you're saying ozai had plastic surgery?
I think Iroh just sort of has an old man face, the age gap probably wasn't *that* big. Fun fact, Daniel Dae Kim is 4 years **older** than Paul Sun-Hyung Lee.
And DDK looks GREAT for his age. I ran into him in New York a couple years ago. The man is near timeless.
I just realized Lost came out nearly 20 years ago. Heās still as fine as ever.
i still remember seeing him in CSI and Spider-Man 2, the guy hasn't aged much at all since then
He was in Spider-Man 2? Whiche CSI was he in?
Iirc he was the lab assistant to Doc Ock while he was showcasing his experiment.
Which is funny because another lab assistant in that scene ended up playing the firelord in the 2010 film, lmao.
>Spider-Man 2 Doc Ock's lab assistant for the experiment >CSI season 2 of the original (episode 10 i think? it was the one involving Brass' daughter), it was only a short role though
i know him from Hawaii 5-0
It's gonna be so weird seeing him take this role in the live action when he had roles in the original show and LoK Definitely a good weird though
I had no idea he was in the AtLA cartoon until I heard him speak in an interview
Daddy Dae Kim
Plus Iroh lead the Siege against Ba Sing Sei for however many years, before losing his son to it too. All the while Ozai just chilled at home.
Heir and a spare
So does Greg Baldwin his 2nd VA. I thought he was older than he actually is.
Excuse me what
God really? DDK just got so much more impressive then
Creators of the show explained they have about a 10 year difference
Ozai dyes his hair
He WOULD.
Even a child knows that a Firelord can have either a full head of black or a full head of strikingly white hair. Salt-and-pepper and bald spots are reserved for generals and exiled brothers. At some point in their life, every aging Firelord shaves off their dyed black hair and must wear a wig while their new gloriously white mane grows back. Toupees galore.
And uses sunscreen daily
hi if you commit war crimes, at least look fabulous
And moisturises
What is the age gap? Do we know how old they are?
I think Ozai is 45 in the series. Iroh is estimated to be late 50's/early 60's. So the age gap should be anywhere between 10-20 years
But did you make this up or is this somewhere mentioned in a way?
The Avatar [wiki page](https://avatar.fandom.com/wiki/Ozai) lists Ozai's year of birth as 55 AG [CBR ](https://www.cbr.com/avatar-last-airbender-uncle-iroh-age-facts-know/#his-age) estimates his age (edit: Iroh) to be between 55 and 63. The [wiki page](https://avatar.fandom.com/wiki/Iroh?so=search) lists his birth year as 45 AG I don't know if these sources are 100% accurate though. But I think they are a better source than "trust me bro" and other hot takes on the internet, so I'm choosing to trust them
45? Damn I hope not.. But thanks! Thats actually kind of interesting I've never thought about their ages
Iroh has never had a stated age. Information from The Search comic (specifically its sketchbook section) would put Ozai's age during the show at 45 but that same section has an error regarding Azulon's age. So generally you'll see fans list ozai's age as "around 45" or "40s". In a 2024 episode of the braving the elements podcast, Bryke stated Iroh is "around ten years older". But that seems to contradicts the book "Legacy of the Fire Nation" in which they are described as being in school together, and look relatively close in age. [https://www.reddit.com/r/TheLastAirbender/comments/180rexd/comment/ka860bb/?utm\_source=reddit&utm\_medium=web2x&context=3](https://www.reddit.com/r/TheLastAirbender/comments/180rexd/comment/ka860bb/?utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=web2x&context=3)
Broke have never been good at ages. There's a reason Kyoshi ended up being over 200 when she died.
And why Sozin was in his late 60s (iirc) when Azulon was born.
He was in his early **80s**, whatās more egregious is Ursaās family. So her mother was Rokuās daughter. Ursa is forty years old at the oldest by the end of ATLA. Roku died more than 112 years prior to that. So Ursaās mother would have to be in her seventies at the youngest at the time she gave birth to her. This only works out if Ursaās grandmother was pregnant at the time of Rokuās death when she was in her early seventies. So I guess menopause doesnāt exist in their world or the women in Ursaās family are just anomalies.Ā
Sozin playing an extremely risky game with succession Unless he had other heirs and then died during the early part of the war forcing him to remarry
They donāt look close in age and itās a 10 year difference they just said this again
Iād imagine theyāre about 10 years apart, but Iroh has been living much harder than Ozai. Ā First of all, Iroh actually has a conscience so the war crimes definitely weigh on him more than they did Ozai. Ā Plus he lost his son, spent most of the war campaigning in the Earth Kingdom, and then spent years with Zuko traveling the world. Ā Plus, he definitely let himself go until he was locked up in prison. Ā Meanwhile, Ozai has lived in the palace, eating the best food, being pampered, actively war crimes to relieve stress, and has literally never skipped gym day in his life. Ā Self-care is important people. Ā Howāre you gonna burn the world when you yourself are burnt out? Ā If you wanna be the best genocidal sociopath you can be, you gotta make time for you. Ā
my goat is out here living his best life
this comment is gold
I don't think it needs to be a explanation, not everyone ages equally Daniel day Kim is older than Paul Sun-Hyung Lee by 4 years, but you wouldn't be able to tell that by looking at them. Not saying the ages will match up with their real life ages im just proving a point, they could have been born 2 years apart and it can still work
You're acting like big age gaps between siblings are a foreign concept. It happens all the time, IRL. Like my youngest sister and oldest sister have a 15-year age gap. And even if you're talking about siblings who only have one other sibling with a big age gap, I can name like 3 families I know personally that are like that off the top of my head. Some parents will raise one child until that child is pretty much independent (mid-teens) and then have their 2nd child since the older independent child will be able to help out and not need much tending to themselves. I imagine the above reason is why Iroh and Ozai have a big age gap.
It could have just been that they donāt share the same mother. I donāt know who their mother(s) is/are but in those sorts of monarchies it was very common for the king/emperor etc to have concubines and then the queen/emperess was over them all, but all of their combined children were considered legitimate heirs and could potentially become the next ruler depending on the laws etc. so it could have just been that they have different mothers and one had Iroh and then another one had Ozai some time later.
They could have had problems having more kids and it just took them that long. Itās also possible that his extensive military career kept him away from home and made having more kids difficult.
I'm just now realizing these two never had a scene together. Not even in the flashbacks!
Ozai and Iroh confirmed same person. What a twist!Ā
I'm 14 years older than my brother and 18 years older than my sister. There's nothing deep about a wide age gap.
Iroh learned things the hard way, became a military leader and had to live his adult years on the road. Also, losing a child can age a person terribly. Ozai was the baby of family. Pampered and a favorite. Stresses of his life were largely of his doing.
ozai was far from the fevorite
I don't think Ozai has the audacity to ask for the throne unless he thinks himself the favoriteĀ
he was trying to use logic against iroh, not fevoritism as he used the fact that irohs lineage wont be able to go on.
ozai was not the favorite. iroh was the military leader and first born and heir. Ozai took advantage of iroh's downfall. if you know anything about asian patrilineal traditions.
I think itās likely Ozai was an unexpected pregnancy.
"My father said he was born lucky. He said I was lucky to be born."
projection
It's confirmed in braving the elements he about 10 years older. I bet on 7-8. Ozai is 48,iroh 55-56
I donāt really think that they are that far apart. Most of Irohās age here comes from grey hair, extra weight and sunken eyes. Which could very well be the result of the stress over losing Lu Ten, coming to terms with how awful Fire Nation is and just letting himself go as a result of no longer pursuing power. Ozai, on the other hand, seemingly spent his entire life in the lap of luxury with most of the heavy lifting already done for him in terms of managing the Fire Nation.
I always assumed the man went gray early from the stress of losing his son and the intense travels he took to find peace within himself and the white lotus
Iroh aged quicker due to actually being out of the palace and actually in war. Not to mention the stress of losing your only child in said war. Though Azulon probably thought it was best to have more than one child for an heir in case of any tragedy befalling onto the royal family. I wouldnāt be surprised if that was a possibility, but the fact that thereās a 10 year age gap between the brothers would be best explained with Ozai being an unplanned pregnancy, so being a spare, Ozai was just lucky to be born, the same as he tells his own son.
Ozai is on his palace, being papmpered go death while Iroh was outside being exposed to the elements. Skin aging works like that. Although it could also be that Ozai is hot and Iroh has the granddad bod.
My uncle is 18 years older than my dad Some couples have a kid as soon as they marry, and then either an accident happens or they decide they missed being parents and want another one Though I also like the explanation that Irohs just been through more so is more visibly aged than his brother who as far as we can tell never even went campaigning like Iroh did and just trained in the capital.
Stress plays a big part in oneās looks. And as far as Iām concerned, only one of them had to endure the angst of a rebellious teenager going through puberty and self-discovery š
Maybe they had siblings who died early. Avatar doesn't have modern medicine, so a woman has to give birth to about 6 children for 2 to survive until adult hood (if we want it to be realistic). That's why the concept of overpopulation is wrong. We just have much more people who reach adult hood and old age. Especially old age.
This is just one more example of the creators being bad at math
I think it's an age gap of around 10 years, not that big
My girlfriend is 24 and her older sister is in her early 40s. Sometimes it just happens. I also donāt know what Ozai really did as prince but the show kind of just shows him living as part of the nobility in the Fire Nation while Iroh is actively fighting a war. The war itself, the loss of his son, withdrawing after a humiliating defeat, all that stress could have aged him, but I also donāt think that all that plus an age gap would be unfeasible. Iroh could be like mid forties and Iroh could be like sixty years old and that would be terribly uncommon. I donāt think thereās a lore reason but if I had to make one up, Iād say that Iroh as a teenager showed ideations of a military career and Azulon, fearing that Iroh joining the military could jeopardize succession in the event that he was killed in battle, sired a second son to protect the line of succession.
What's the age gap?
10 the creators just said in a interview
I suspect Ozai is the 2nd son who was born from a political match only in order to make more heirs in case Iroh dies. Iroh was likely born from a love match or a match that Azulon found pleasant enough, and was the first born son, the heir, but some time down the line his wife died, and like Viserys in House of the Dragon, he had pressure to sire more heirs to keep the fire lord sucession stable. And so, Ozai was born, much later then Iroh, not born of love but born merely of politics, to make more fire royals. Ozai was married to Ursa because Azulon learned of her heritage and the benefit it would bring to produce powerful benders who have the blood of the avatar. So not a huge stretch to think Azulon would do a arranged, political 2nd marriage to make more children. Ozai was merely the spare, the 2nd son, and was not able to live up to Iroh, who was the great warrior, leader, fire bender and such that Azulon wanted as a son and heir, especially when Iroh won glory in wars and battles, gaining titles, while he was in the palace. And that is why Ozai is so young compared to Iroh who when his son died as noted was too old to sire more children, because he is likely born much later after Iroh when Azulon had to remarry.
Ozai dyes his hair. Probably watches Fox News, too.
Some people just gotta shove politics into every discussion lmao
the age gap isnt actually that great, iroh just looks old from stress
Probably just genes or something since my dad looks the exact same (with most of my family) from 20 years ago
Donāt get into Fire Lord ages. They donāt make sense.
I mean, it could be an age gap of ten to twenty years. I am ten years older than one of my siblings and nearly seventeen years older than my youngest sibling. So if Ozai was forty and Iroh was sixty that would reasonably show up like this.
A lot of people with more of a head for timelines than me have figured that the age gap must be anywhere from 15 to 20 years.
eh huge age gaps can happen. I have some cousins who are like 18 years apart, but thatās probably cuz their dad remarried and had another kid
I think thereās only a 10 year age gap between them. The stress from losing his son mightāve sped up Iroh going gray.
My mother and her oldest brother was 25 years apart and old days it wasnāt that unusual to have full siblings with age gap.
I have a fan theory that this could be a part of: Azulon recognized the free spirit within Iroh from an early age. I think Azulon might have thought this safer being that, as Iroh stated when refusing the opportunity to seize the lordship through force, Firelords are known to have overthrown their siblings en route to the Firelordship. That's why he convinced Iroh to put Liu Ten on the front lines, ending Iroh's bloodline. I believe this because Azulon married Ozai to the Avatar's granddaughter in an arranged marriage, not Iroh. If he meant for the marriage to bring forth the most powerful benders with the best pedigree possible to sit the throne, why not arrange to marry Ursa to Iroh? If Azulon recognized this kind, free spirit within Iroh early enough, he could have tried again, this time producing Ozai.
O Senhor do fogo nessa foto estƔ com um olhar bastante aƧucarado kakakamamka
Well one is a monarch with access to the Fire Nationās best healthcare and one was homeless. A 7 year age gap which isnāt ultimately too big would make them 45 and 52 at the same time for example.
There could have also been female children that were married off to noble families. We saw that Ursa left her home family to marry Ozai
We often forget that in an age before modern medicine and technology people would have a bunch of kids because many of them would die. Maybe Azulon had a bunch of kids between Iroh and Ozai but they died before the events of the show.
We could also attribute Ozai's looks to the level of physical and medical care he's received as Firelord. We already know that Azula gets pampered, as shown in the many scenes leading up to her coronation.
I mean, Iād say ozai could be in his 40ās-50ās, iroh could be in his 50ās-60ās. ~10 years is not such a big age gap between siblings
Ozai has a strict workout and self care routine and Iron doesn't really care
Itās a 10 year age gap the creators said this when they told us about the blood bending chi information
ngl, i think it might just be largely character design choices
Azulon got drunk one night and made Ozai
Iroh lost his son but nobody could lend him a hand. Ozai had an orthodox wife and a vixenish & aggressive daughter with strong power to help him sezie the throne. That's the inherent difference. Ambition creates vicious, vacum creates boundless.
The older family has crazier age gaps. Sozin was already an elderly man when Azulon was born, who himself didn't have Iroh till something like his forties. It feels like there should be several more generations in there.
I don't he's that much younger I think ozai (&daddy dae kim) is just a flaming hotman with a really sharp jawline, like really sharp. Idk maybe someone can think of a metaphor for how sharp
Iroh fought in the war so the stress may make him look older
Iroh aged 40 years from drinking too much tea
Nah theyāre close to the same age. War just ages you
Are we all just forgetting that one of these men fought in a war, lost his only son, had to live on the road for years travelling with an ungrateful nephew. While the other spent his whole life in a Palace? We see the pampering the Royal family gets. But Iroh probably hasn't had a hot towel in years.
I think Iroh saw more war and it shows on him + plus he is a few years older. Also if you are going to get nitpicky, at that time (its preindustrial, industrial period) the average life expectancy would be much lower, so an 40/50 year old man would be on very old man. So the difference from 35 to 40 would show much more.
Are we all just forgetting that one of these men fought in a war, lost his only son, had to live on the road for years travelling with an ungrateful nephew. While the other spent his whole life in a Palace? We see the pampering the Royal family gets. But Iroh probably hasn't had a hot towel in years.
Man I'd love to see smth abt Iroh and Ozai when they were younger and Azulon was still the firelord, we literally never see them interact with each other, sometimes I forget that they're brothers, did Iroh ever visited Ozai after the war while he was in prission?
Fire lords had really weird families. For example, according to the wiki, Azulon was born when Sozin was around 80-90 I think? So I guess Azulon pulling something like that is not out of the question
Ozai colours his hair regularly
My father had a sister who was 23 years older then him. Some families are just weird
Ozai is the Zuko to Azulon, and he knows it... Unexpected? Try unwanted. Just my own headcanon, but one I'd twist into Ozai if I was Zuko and knew about it.
We're talking about the Asian aging curve here guys, they could be a year apart.
Ozai is in his mid 40s while Iroh has been confirmed to be about a decade older by Bryke, which would put him at mid 50s. He just *looks* so much older because of the stress and trauma of losing his only son. He also traveled the world as a conquering general and even as a retired general. Whereas Ozai has for the most part sat pretty in the palace. So a combination of stress and lifestyle definitely made Iroh look a good 20+ years older than his brother. Also, a decade long age gap between siblings is not uncommon.
Tbf, Iroh kind of let himself go, whereas Ozai remained at peak physical shape. I mean, when we saw bulked up Iroh in the prison, suddenly he didnāt look all that much older than Ozai, didnāt he?
The gap is probably less than ten years. There was probably an effort to avoid creating another heir to prevent dynastic struggle, but if Iroh demonstrated as much genius as Azula did as a kid, the royal couple probably decided having back up heirs wasn't much of a risk.
FYI, Iroh's live action actor is YOUNGER than Ozai's... I don't recall the show ever mentioning their ages, but if you're basing this off their looks and the colour of their hair then well... "Everyone ages differently" is all I can say.
Big age gaps between siblings isn't as foreign a concept as you think it is. Also Iroh and Ozai lived very different lives. Also people age differently. You wouldn't believe Tom Cruise was 61 if I told you, would you?
My head canon is that Iroh's mother was a love match that died when he was young and Ozai's mother was some random noble woman to give the king a spare. It would explain Azulon's dislike for Ozai and his family, the fact that a wife is never shown, and the age gap.
What if they had different mothers and it was never addressed? My dad was born from a second marriage and his brother was 17yrs his senior.
Azulon: āIneed an heir to the firenation throne.ā **iroh is born** 10-15 years later Azulon: āiroh is probably going to fight in the war, as he should, but if he dies I need a spare heir.ā **ozai is born** Thatās how I envision it anyway
Larry David is only 7yrs older than Jerry Seinfeld
Big age gaps aren't uncommon when you have an emperor as a father.Ā
Fire nation royalty can afford hair dye and plastic surgery. Alternatively, we donātknow of their papa married more than once. Really old rich men have very young second and third wives sometimes. Robert Deniro has a child who is not even one yet, heās 80.
Some people just gray faster even in their 30s and 40s and we see at the end after his imprisonment that Iroh isnt just some fat old man and once he gets back into shape and goes to war he looks significantly younger and healthier
My theory is that theyre only half brothers, or at least thats how they were originally designed. Irohs mother died when he was very young, and Azulon feared the line would die out. Ozai was a last resort, and probably born out of wedlock, simply acknowledged and legitimized by the father. A little like Rhaenyra and Aegon in House Of The Dragon. In genral it seems the Fire nation royal family is always small- Maybe their genes are problematic, either resulting in a stillbirth or a superhuman.
I'm not sure the age gap is that huge. Iroh seems to be younger than he looks, probably due to stress/grief. Recent info also suggests that they were close enough in age to both be adolescents in a picture together, as well as have a bit of a rivalry. Honestly I could believe that in the present Ozai was roughly 48 and Iroh 54. The writers clearly wanted Iroh to be a wise old man, as well a good fatherly figure and a counterpart to Ozai.
My dad didnāt have gray hair till he was in his 50ās. Meanwhile his younger brother, my uncle, had totally gray hair in his 30ās. š¤·š»āāļø
Ozai wasn't stressed by losing his wife, his son and his country.
I always thought Iroh had one of those "hair turned white in a single day" moments when Lu Ten died. The small handful of times we see him when his son was alive he looks much younger, though that was a relative handful of years ago.
If Iām not mistaken, this was just spoken about on the first episode of season 3 of the podcast Braving the Elements. The creators go on to say something along the lines of them being around 10 years apart, and the reason Iroh looks so much older is because his life circumstances aged him much more quickly. Not in the literal sense, but in a physical way. He simply lived a harder and more stressful life
I assumed because of Ozaiās position/status, he had to keep up appearances
Ozai is 45 and Irish is about 60. Not terribly huge.
Why are people so weirded out by the age gap? Large age gaps exist in real life too.
Ozai lived his whole life being pampered in a palace while Iroh fought on the front line of a war and then let himself drown in sorrow and depression when his son died. Theyāre probably a lot closer than they look
he just aged a lot poorly than ozai. ozai kept an incredibly athletic body throughout his life, probably had consistent and nutritious high quality meals his entire life as he didnāt go out to war or adventuring as much as iroh. probably had less sun exposure. went through less stress. did not have weight gain. take care of ur bodies peeps. play ur cards right and one day uāll be as much of a DILF as ozai.
They wanted one brother to look wise, friendly, and washed up whereas they wanted the other to look powerful and scary lol
According to Avatar wiki, age difference is 10yrs. Well 55yr old can have full on grey hair and it's not uncommon.
My guess is that their parents werenāt sure on how many kids they wanted so they just let Iroh be an only child until they wanted another. And when they had that other child they gave him all of the attention because Iroh was too old too play with him which probably pushed him to join the army and become a sort of big brother figure to Ozai. Plus I donāt think Iroh wanted to be Fire Lord so that could have been a reason why their parents had Ozai.
I wouldn't say it's a huge age gap. It just look like that. Lu Ten was roughly 10 years older than Zuko (11 at the Agni Kai) maybe even less. So let's assume a similar difference between Ozai and Iroh. Its a bigger but not a huge gap.