@aystarr:
I never saw unalaq as powerful even when in DAS, even though he was supposed to be.
Unalaq is unquestionably a top notch waterbender, but I think it is easy to overhype him because, unlike with most benders, he has fought an opponent who pushed him to his limits, if nothing else, in a location that favored his element. So, the majority of his greatest showings originate from one fight, whereas most masters we have seen have shown their finest throughout episodes, seasons, even mediums, and they never had an opportunity to take on a character like Korra in the Avatar State and fight her inside a favorable setting. Another thing that helps is the animation quality of the Legend Of Korra.
It's the villain effect, and this is the same thing going on with kuvira and zaheer. It's psychological and something we can't escape. even when we realize it, we still tend to put them on higher ground than they should be at, just that some either don't realize it or don't feel psychologically comfortable with the thought so they overhype them.
E.g kuvira being a tier higher than the beifong sisters, unalaq being the best waterbender despite having no power,versatility, or relatively enough skill feats to backup that claim.
I personally don't see why Master Pakku is lacking in feats, or anything. Simply not having access to the on screen quantity of showings the starring characters have does not take away from his impressiveness. He was described as, canonically, the greatest waterbender in the world during the series. Katara only really seemed to surpass his prowess by the time she reached the Fire Nation, even moreso after training with Hama. Pakku's waterbending has been compared to waterbending in the Avatar State in the Extras for Book 1, and Pakku's showings of power during Sozin's Comet were exceptional. Pakku raised a wave that levelled above Ba Sing Se's multi-story towers while Iroh was burning down the Fire Nation insignia from the Palace. Even Aang overpowered one of Ozai's firebending moves using waterbending, and all this was performed in a setting that severely weakened waterbenders. As for his battle with the Fire Nation in the North Pole, while he was fighting under the effects of a full moon, I don't see why it'd matter that much; for one, the full moon will simply amplify the power of the waterbender, it won't allow them to master newfound techniques. For another, people forget that Pakku's use of the spout, his slicing attacks, his icebending, they were all sourcing from snow, not actual water. He used snow to cut through steel, and to boost himself inside a spinning vortex - I personally think this would cancel out the fact that the natural conditions favored him at the time, given how much harder snow, its speed and its pressure would be to manipulate this way.
And here I was being shunned when I was making a case for pakku against unalaq. I also thought unalaq was tiers better before but when I started to ask myself and compare feats, there was literally no reason behind it.
Log in to comment