Avatar: The Last Airbender cosplayer shines bright as Fire Nation Katara

Isaac McIntyre

An Avatar The Last Airbender cosplayer has lit up the internet with her jaw-dropping Katara cosplay, unveiling her stunning take of the “inspirational” anime heroine’s iconic Fire Nation disguise on Instagram earlier this week.

Katara has been a “special” heroine for many since she first debuted in the opening episode of Avatar: The Last Airbender all the way back in 2005. The passionate water bender became Avatar Aang’s best friend, and helped him achieve his destiny against Firelord Ozai.

The heart of Team Avatar also became an icon outside of The Last Airbender too; for many, including cosplayer Sanet, Katara “held a very special place in the hearts of many black and brown girls” who watched the 2005 cartoon series.

So, when Sanet had the chance to cosplay Katara’s Fire Nation disguise, which she wears early in Season 3, the Instagram model jumped at the chance.

“Inspirational” Katara is one of the main characters in Avatar: The Last Airbender.

Avatar superfan shines with Katara cosplay

Sanet’s cosplay was certainly jaw-dropping, especially with how simple a Katara Fire Nation cosplay can be. The Avatar cosplayer paired a one-sided bright red top with a darker fabric to make the stand-out Katara outfit.

The main part of the cosplay, however, was the wig Sanet donned to create the costume. The water bending heroine wears her hair in a wound-up bun as part of her Fire Nation disguise, and the Avatar cosplayer pulled it off with style.

Finally, she added Katara’s jewelry for a finishing touch ⁠— she pulled on two gold bracers and Katara’s upper arm cuffs. The piece that brought it all together was the red and gold choker, marked with the three bronzed gems.

Katara “inspires” as Avatar heroine

Funnily enough, Katara isn’t actually Sanet’s favorite character ⁠— Toph holds that place in her heart ⁠— but she does love what Katara meant for young girls as “the only dark skin girl in a popular animated series” all the way back in 2005.

“Katara is such an amazing character… the Avatar fandom needs to cut her some slack!” she told Dexerto after posting her cosplay. “Let’s be honest, none of us could have done what she did at 14 years old.”

“She is such a passionate and strong female character who shaped her own destiny, and I love her for that. I started watching Avatar when I was 10, and Katara was one of the only dark-skinned characters. 10-year-old me saw myself in her.”

Luckily, the Katara cosplay wasn’t too hard to put together either. Once Sanet got her hands on the headpiece, she just sewed together the two pieces of the costume, and added a few pieces of jewelry to bring it all together.

“I cut a red fabric in a right triangle. Then I ended up tying two pieces behind my back and the other on my bra strap to hold it all together,” she admitted. “My favorite part of the entire cosplay was the neckpiece ⁠— I think it really gave it that Fire Nation feel.”

Good news too if you loved Sanet’s take on the Avatar heroine; she’s already teased another cosplay in the near future. “I may or may not have a Korra cosplay planned in the future,” she said. Make sure you keep your eyes peeled!

About The Author

Isaac was formerly the Australian Managing Editor at Dexerto. Isaac began his writing career as a sports journalist at Fairfax Media, before falling in love with all things esports and gaming. Since then he's covered Oceanic and global League of Legends for Upcomer, Hotspawn, and Snowball Esports.