In the world of animated television, there is nary a more celebrated example than that of Nickelodeon’s Avatar: The Last Airbender. Those who grew up watching Aang, Sokka, Katara, Toph, and Appa fondly remember their exploits as much more than just a childhood distraction. The show managed to be mature enough to appeal to grown-ups, while still maintaining a watch-ability and simplicity that kept children entertained. Suffice to say, there is no shortage of reasons for the show to have retained such popularity for such a long time, what with an animated film follow-up and a live-action Netflix series both on the way.

The issue, however, is that those supplementary materials aren’t here yet. For many, there is an Avatar: The Last Airbender-shaped hole in their viewing patterns that they haven’t been able to fill. Even with so much television being pumped out in the current streaming era, there has never been something quite like Avatar, but certain things have come close. While nothing will ever replace the feeling of watching Avatar for the first time, there are certainly alternatives that can tide you over (and possibly become a new favorite) until more content in the Avatar universe arrives. So, here are nine shows like Avatar: The Last Airbender to watch next.

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9 The Legend of Korra

     Paramount Media Networks

The obvious recommendation to make to fans of Avatar: The Last Airbender is the sequel series made after that show had ended. Legend of Korra is just as good (and for some, better) than the show it shares a mythology with. The main character of Korra takes the groundwork laid by Avatar’s cavalcade of strong women characters and hits the ground running, creating one of the most nuanced and well-formed characters in all of American animation. Even more impressive is the show’s upscaled action set pieces. The action was always a highlight of Avatar, but Legend of Korra takes it all a notch up and boasts some of the most impressive animated fight choreography imaginable. Above all else, however, it maintains a lot of the tonal consistency and maturity of its sister show while carving out a path very much its own. Fans of Avatar will have undoubtedly seen Korra already, but on the off chance they haven’t, it’s worth including here to make sure they do.

MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY

MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY

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8 Young Justice

     Warner Bros. Animation

An underappreciated show in its own time, Young Justice is a special example of what happens when the showrunners innately understand what makes their show so darn good. Across its entire run, Young Justice managed to not only stand up to the other superhero cartoons of its time, but stand tall with the best of the best, like Batman: The Animated Series or Justice League. Fans of Avatar will love this show for its ragtag group of heroes, maturity, and occasional goofiness — all the things that made Avatar such a pleasure to watch. Young Justice is far above the dearth of superhero cartoons it was released around and well worth the time spent watching it.

7 Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood

     Adult Swim

The story of two brothers searching for a mythical stone, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood will delight fans of Avatar: The Last Airbender with how it handles its more serious topics. Brothers Edward and Alphonse are trying to restore their bodies after a failed attempt at alchemy. Edward lost function of his limbs during said alchemy incident and joined the local military to save Alphonse, whose soul is now trapped in an unwieldy suit of armor. The two boys aren’t the only ones in search of the Stone, however, as they’ll soon come to find out.

6 Attack on Titan

     CrunchyrollMuse CommunicationPlus Media Networks AsiaMBSNHK General TVSBS 2Aniplus AsiaAdult Swim (Toonami) 

Often considered one of the greatest animes of all time, as well as one of the best TV shows ever made, Attack on Titan really doesn’t need much of a recommendation. It’s one of those properties that has been hard to avoid in the years since it first premiered and for good reason. The show is a fascinating mix of violent action, found family narratives, huge scale warfare, and big ideas. Fans of Avatar will find a lot to sink their teeth in with Attack on Titan, especially as the show is beginning to wrap up with its upcoming season.

5 Demon Slayer

     Crunchyroll

One of the most popular currently-running anime series, Demon Slayer is a hotbed of discussion and fandom discourse at the moment. The show follows Tanjiro and his sister Nezuko, after their family is attacked by demons, and they are the only two to survive. Nezuko is turning into a demon slowly, so Tanjiro sets out to become a demon slayer in order to avenge his family and cure his sister in the process. The show captures the same kind of emotional catharsis and maturity as something like Avatar, while keeping its own vibe and tone in the same breath. The thing that really brings its recommendation to prominence is the cavalcade of characters that come in to help Tanjiro and Nezuko along their journey, which will be familiar and a welcome addition to Avatar fans.

4 Samurai Jack

     Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution

One of the many shows on Cartoon Network/Adult Swim that was created and conceived of by animation master Genndy Tartakovsky (who also did the first three Hotel Transylvania films), Samurai Jack is notable for what it accomplished at the time of its creation. It was an animated show on Cartoon Network that toed the line between children’s show and hardcore anime, rarely shying away from getting dark or approaching touchy subjects. For many, it was their first exposure to more emotional or complex storytelling, and for that reason, it deserves to be mentioned alongside all these other shows. Samurai Jack is often cited as one the best animated shows of the 2000s and it absolutely deserves that recognition.

3 Teen Titans

     Warner Bros

While there is a newer version of the Teen Titans currently on air on Cartoon Network, known as Teen Titans Go!, that is not the show that is being recommended here. The original cartoon version of the Teen Titans story is one for the ages: a legendary three-season arc that keeps it firmly in the pantheon of the greatest shows Cartoon Network ever produced. Fans of Avatar will, like many of the other shows here, gravitate toward the ragtag group of heroes at the center, and it’s more mature, emotional tone. That and it has one of the most breathtaking animation styles ever put on television, along with its incredible action choreography and vocal performances.

2 Cowboy Bebop

     FUNimation Entertainment Bandai Visual

Akin to Attack on Titan in terms of it’s almost universal acclaim, the original Cowboy Bebop anime is a legendary piece of animation. While the Netflix live-action adaptation failed to excite audiences, the OG show will always have a life of its own due to how absolutely astounding it is as a work of animation. There are similarities to be drawn between Avatar and this show, but its recommendation here is much simpler than that. Cowboy Bebop is one of the best television shows ever created, so not watching it is doing yourself a disservice, fan of Avatar or not.

1 The Dragon Prince

     Netflix

Netflix’s flagship animated series The Dragon Prince is now entering its fourth season, and it might finally be time for animated TV fans and Avatar fans alike to jump aboard. In this show, the world’s magic comes from six sources: the sun, stars, sky, ocean, moon, and earth, much like the four elements that power the world of Avatar. The Dragon Prince is written by Aaron Ehasz, one of the writers behind Avatar: The Last Airbender, and you can tell. The DNA of Avatar is all over The Dragon Prince: from its world building techniques to the ways that characters talk to one another, it is very distinctly in line with the show that came before it.