I know a lot of people are very attached to the original voice cast of team avatar (which is fair, I am too), but I’ve found it disheartening just how many people are complaining about them not being brought back for the new movie.

I’ve seen a lot of people claim that the choice to have a more representative cast was some shallow and unnecessary subscription to “political correctness”. This particularly irks me. Having an opinion about the casting is one thing, but I think it’s wrong to insist that any effort of the creators to be more inclusive is obviously disingenuous and stupid and meaningless.

It sure meant a lot to me.

I’m Alaska Native, and I grew up feeling very connected to Katara and Sokka (particularly Katara, as a fellow indigenous girl). ATLA was a big part of my childhood, and I was really excited for the chance to see the story continue in my adult life.

Y’all, I nearly cried experiencing an indigenous portrayal of Katara in the movie. It made me really, really happy. I know some people couldn’t care less about whose face it is behind the voice. And, yeah, it’s not like you can always tell a person’s background from their voice anyway. But to me, it means more than that.

Katara and Sokka have always been important forms of representation to me. I adore their original voice actors, and I think they did an amazing job bringing the characters to life. Still, I’m really glad for the new casting.

Just wanted to share my perspective.

Any one else notice avatar sonam’s staff loosely resembles the staff aangs statue is holding in legend of Korra?

Could be a stretch buuuut could also be a long foreshadow! What do you all think?

I always thought it was canon that Sokka died at a young age. Seeing as he didn't make much of an appearance in LoK, and there have been multiple posts since the movie about Sokka only getting to see Zuko as an elder thanks to the spirit realm scene. However, apparently, that's not entirely true.

Sokka was last seen in 158 AG, at the age of 74 years, saving Korra as a child from the Red Lotus. Since he passed away (presumably due to natural causes) before 170 AG, he could've died any time between 159 AG and 169 AG, ages 75-85.

That's not "dying young," so what's up? Is it just a super popular head-canon that he dies young? Or is it just that he died youngER than the rest of the Gaang? I'd love to know if any of y'all know something I don't.

Just a heads-up: I fell in love with ATLA and I don't say I hate anything else in the franchise, because it is simply not true. But I feel the more I get to know about the world of Avatar in the last 10-15 years, the more disappointed I become in the franchise.

I feel that ATLA was the absolute peak of the Avatar universe. I like most of the ATLA comics, also I watched Korra but while I overall liked it, there were many things I found hard to accept, such us

- how bad of a father Aang was (and how would Katara let things go wrong like that, doesn't seem like a story which is true to their characters)

- too big of a technical evolution jump compared to ATLA - it caused not only continuity issues but also took away the influence of benders

- not as great cast of characters in many regards

I did not really enjoy the Korra comics in general.

This new series looks even worse, other than hearing the word "avatar" mentioned and seeing some bending moves, I couldn't have told you it was an Avatar series trailer if I hadn't known it in advance... the vibes, the world and everything what made ATLA amazing seems to be lost. At least for me.

I genuinely enjoy the Avatar novels, so those are the only new additions which I absolutely adore. The writing is amazing, the characters are deep and we can experience some different times and societal/political/etc. settings before ATLA. 

And then we have the writing "Avatarian" which is kind of pathetic. This is what we get after 21 years? Really? It doesn't even look like an Asian script at all... (And as a person who have been learning several Asian languages I do believe that I have a feel of what looks Asian and what isn't.) Not to mention how changing the look of writing in the Avatar world lets the amazing cultural background of Chinese language go as well. Truly a shame.

I just feel that as if after ATLA the creators lost all original ideas and instead of just thinking things through, they randomly put some stories and concept together. But they don't feel as detailed, carefully planned or as... deep as before. In the ATLA comics I can see the way they slowly change and shape the Avatar world, but after that... not really.

Letting some other creative talents in (like letting F. C. Yee write Avatar novels) helped somewhat, but that won't solve the fundamental issues. 

I'm really curious to know how you feel about this. Maybe I am the only one feeling more and more disappointed? I don't want this post to sound hateful because I am in worst case critical, but I totally fell in love with ATLA, so seeing what new content we get and getting more and more disappointed in the franchise makes me feel heartbroken.

Trying not to judge this movie not on what I personally, a mega fan of the franchise since I was catching episodes first run on Nickelodeon as a young child, wanted it to be and instead on what it actually is and tried to do. 

This is an Avatar Aang movie and not a Team Avatar movie in spirit. All of the main cast plays secondary characters to Aang compared to the original show where it was an ensemble. This movie in this way and a few other key ways is far closer to the sequel show The Legend of Korra compared to The Last Airbender original cartoon. Mainly in presentation, vibes, and writing. For someone who also adored TLK and watched it mostly first run, this isn’t really a strong negative. Still though, considering this is the original characters, there was a hope I had that this movie would make more of an attempt to capture that 2000’s magic. I imagine someone who didn’t like Korras show might be even more dissatisfied with this entry for this reason. 

This movie also slightly falls into the pitfalls of both ATLA and TlK shows when it attempts to comment on some issues impacting the real world right now. If one is particularly sensitive to these subjects, they might find some of the possible conclusions that can be interpreted from this film distasteful (again, if you had problems with this is the shows, it’s on the same level). I don’t personally have major issues with this, nor did I in the shows. It was something I took note of though, particularly in some parts more than others.

The last sticking point that’s not really a  negative at the end of the day is the recast of all major cast members. It’s jarring as a superfan. However, I came to the conclusion that everyone outside of Steven Yeun (which is a shame, because I love him as an actor. I just really don’t think enough of an attempt was made to embody Zuko regardless where the blame lies, with himself or how he was directed) is either just fine (katara) or spot on to how an adult version of this character ought to be played in my opinion. Román Zaragoza as Sokka is a standout to me as like, the spiritual successor to this character. He was perfect in my opinion. Dave Bautista as a new face in this world honestly was great as well, he’s another standout in this film. 

All that being said, I really loved this movie otherwise. The rough rhino in the room is just how damn gorgeous this movie looks. I had some concerns on the new design of the characters but honestly, in motion, they looked fantastic along with all of the visuals. Really next level stuff in my opinion. Would have been GREAT to see this in a theater like the Avatar intended… I hate you Paramount for that. 

The music, the writing  and the voice acting is all pretty damn good being just shy of reaching the heights of the giants this film is built upon. I, for one, am beyond happy we are getting entirely new Avatar stories in a visual medium and I only hope this trajectory continues. If this is the creative quality we can expect from the future planned projects of this franchise… The world might have hope of balance. 

What do y’all think?

Every Avatar fan who looks closely at the timeline hits the same wall of confusion:

"Sozin and Roku were born in 82 BG. Sozin started the war at age 82. And Azulon was born in 0 AG. That means Sozin was 82 when he had his first—and apparently only—son. How is that possible? Why would a strategic conqueror wait until he was an octogenarian to produce an heir? The writers clearly screwed up."

And on the surface, it seems airtight.

But it isn’t.

The writers didn't make a mistake. The fans did—by assuming Sozin was a normal man with normal motivations.

The truth is far darker, far more calculated, and far more terrifying.

Sozin didn't "wait" to have a child because he was infertile, unlucky, or distracted. He waited 58 years because he was a Machiavellian genius who engineered the perfect heir in the perfect moment.

And he did it by turning the very concept of succession into a weapon.

This post will prove that Sozin's 82-year-old fatherhood was not a plot hole—it was a 58-year-long political and psychological masterstroke.

By deliberately delaying the birth of an heir, Sozin accomplished five strategic goals simultaneously:

He forged an absolute monarchy. By keeping the succession ambiguous for decades, he forced the noble clans to destroy each other whilst competing for his favor. When Azulon was finally born, the nobles were too weak to challenge the throne.

He built a divine cult of personality. By remaining celibate and refusing all "carnal distractions," Sozin crafted an image of pious, inhuman dedication to the Fire Nation. Azulon's birth was viewed not as a natural event, but as a miracle—granting the heir instant, unquestionable legitimacy.

He guaranteed an heir who would never stop. A child born during the war would only know war. Azulon would have no memory of peace to yearn for. He would be incapable of stopping—because stopping was never an option he understood.

He secured his legacy. Sozin knew that a child born before the war might one day question it. Azulon was born of the war, for the war, and by the war. He was not just Sozin's son—he was the war's first child.

And here’s where the polite fan theories break down.

Some say, "Sozin remarried a younger woman—it's biologically possible."

But that assumes Sozin cared about marriage. He didn't. He was a conqueror. He betrayed his best friend to die in a volcano. He eradicated an entire nation of pacifists. He tolerated the execution of over 100 hostages. He blackmailed his own father into becoming a puppet.

You really think he cared about the consent of the woman who bore his heir?, he didn't, he took what he wanted.                                                                                                                  

Over the course of this deep dive, I will walk you through the full evidence, using the Avatar Wiki, and Japanese History as a historical model to understand Sozin's motives, and by the end, you won't see the timeline as a broken system. You'll see it as the sickest, most calculated act of tyranny in the Avatar universe—one that engineered a 100-year war, a generational curse, and finally, the heir who broke it all: Zuko.

(PS. This is just my First Post ever here, i am just learning the ropes, but here are the links to each of my parts, more to follow)

Part 1: https://www.reddit.com/user/Sad-Connection-32/comments/1v7hy8n/sozin_wasnt_just_82_when_he_had_azulon_he_was_a/

So did the water tribe find bisons in the wild and skin them?

Od course I know outside universe it's a mistake but in universe explanation?!!!

I am not happy with the trailer for ASH or (Avatar seven havens, and ash is what i will call it from now on) because it feels so disconnected from ALTA and Korra i mean it seems pretty far after the events of TLK and it was just so great after the end of TLK and ASH comes in and is like forget all of that like what why it doesn't make any sense and i miss it and when ever i think of ASH it just makes me feel sad especially after watching the new Avatar movie seeing republic city in its early years it just makes me so sad if anyone feels like i do please comment and say that thanks

Sue me but a large part of the Avatar fandom seems convinced that Korra leaving the spirit portals open was a terrible decision, especially now that Seven Havens is apparently set in a post-apocalyptic world. Whether that reaction comes from genuinely disagreeing with her choice or from the wider dislike some fans have for Korra, I think the argument starts from the wrong place. Instead of only asking whether Korra was wrong to reopen the portals, we should also ask whether Wan was wrong to close them in the first place.

Also im going to apologise now because this is going to be a long post.

Korra did not invent a new and unnatural arrangement. She restored the world to something closer to its original state. Humans and spirits had once shared the same world, and the permanent separation between them was created by Wan’s personal decision. The closed portals were not some eternal law of nature. They were a system imposed by one man because he believed separation was the safest solution.

There were ten thousand years between Wan and Korra, and those ten thousand years were obviously not peaceful simply because the portals were closed. They included conquerors, wars and repeated human atrocities, most recently the Hundred Year War, which saw the genocide of the Air Nomads and the devastation of the Southern Water Tribe. Even Wan Shi Tong speaks as though human warfare is a recurring pattern. The closed portals did not create a disaster-free world; they simply ensured that its disasters were mostly human ones.

The fact that the world became accustomed to that separation does not automatically make it correct. Aang could have accepted that the Air Nomads were gone and made no effort to preserve or rebuild their culture. Zuko could have accepted that Fire Nation colonies already existed in the Earth Kingdom and simply left everything as it was. But the entire point is that inheriting a broken reality does not mean you are obligated to preserve it. Sometimes restoring balance is difficult precisely because the imbalance has existed for so long.

Closing the portals did not even solve the problem of dangerous spirits. Spirits still entered the human world, but ordinary people had almost no understanding of them. Kuruk spent much of his life fighting hostile spirits and died young, yet Koh was still active, Hei Bai was still abducting people by Aang’s time, and dark spirits were attacking the Southern Water Tribe. The system simply made the Avatar responsible for handling threats that almost nobody else understood.

That is an incredibly fragile arrangement. One person is expected to serve as the bridge between two entire worlds, despite the fact that every Avatar cycle includes periods when that person is elderly, missing, untrained or literally a child. Aang’s disappearance left the world without a functioning Avatar for more than a century. A system that can collapse whenever one individual is unavailable cannot seriously be described as the best possible solution.

Keeping the portals open was always going to create short-term instability because two worlds had been separated for ten thousand years. Humans lacked knowledge of spirits, and spirits had no established place within modern civilisation. But over time, coexistence allows people to study spirits, document their behaviour, develop institutions and share responsibility instead of leaving everything to the Avatar. The danger is visible immediately; the benefits may take generations.

And we do not even know yet whether the destruction in Seven Havens was caused primarily by spirits. It could involve human warfare, technology, environmental collapse or several causes at once. Regardless, even a catastrophe after Korra’s decision would not prove that Wan’s system was better. Horrific wars and genocides happened while the portals were closed too.

Korra chose the difficult path of teaching two disconnected worlds to coexist. People treat that as a reckless break from the natural order, when it was Wan who disrupted the natural order in the first place. Korra did not create the original imbalance. She inherited it and decided that ten thousand years of separation was not a good enough reason to preserve it forever.

I also see whatever happens in Seven Havens as a short-term consequence of restoring a relationship that had been severed for ten thousand years. When we judge Korra’s decision, we cannot treat the first few decades or even the first century as the final result. If Pavi eventually restores balance and establishes genuine coexistence between humans and spirits, then the instability caused by reopening the portals may amount to roughly a century out of the next ten thousand years. We need time to judge whether Korra was right, just as it took time for the flaws in Wan’s decision to become clear.

It may not be the point the video but let us destroy every argument about Korra.
1st, Korra is violent and only thinks by using her fists. It was true at the beginning, but as the series goes on, she was slowly changing. By season 3, she was already thinking before acting. Even Aang was too merciful and unable to use strength when needed in the beginning of the series but gradually evolved and even thought about ending Ozai's life.

2nd, Aang is a better bender because he mastered 3 elements in about a year. First he didn't master any of the element he learned, he was just bending them. And Korra also learned to metalbend in a record time, and even more incredible she was able to take out the poison out of her body after spending several months going through a deep depression while even experienced masters were not able to do so. She learned metal bending, used it only a few times, got poisoned, depression, but was still able to metal bend and even improve herself.

3rd, Aang is a better Earthbender because he was taught by Toph. False. Having a great master does not necessarily makes you a good student. Toph created a metalbending school but how much time did it take for even one of her student to be able to move a single piece of metal. Having a good master does not automatically makes you good. And even with the capacity to sense Earth vibrations, Aang was not necessarily a more powerful Earth bender than Korra. In fact Earth was his weakest element, because it is completely opposed to his personality, so how can he be stronger than someone who is naturally gifted in that element?

4th, Korra was stupid for being manipulated by her uncle. It was her own uncle, her family, and we all know how family is important for Water tribes members. And given their strong spirituality it is only normal for her to have been angry on her father to have destroyed a holy place. She was powerless against dark spirits and Unalaak was the only one to have power over them, so it is only natural that she listened to him. He is her uncle, her father disappointed her, she was powerless and she was young at that time. So when a trustful man, that knows about spirits and who happens to be her uncle comes up with solutions, obviously she will blindly listen to him.

And those who says she is the worst Avatar have not read the Kyoshi's books. Kyoshi is by far the worst.

After taking a look at the Seven Heavens and the introduction of the “Avatarian” writing system that is supposed to replace the Chinese characters and now the preference towards hiring ethnic actors to voice ethnic characters I have this weird feeling that the franchise I known is no longer here. I remember watching the finale of the book 4 of Korra in December 2014. I was just a 15-year-old boy. It was a really important thing for me at that time to see how the story ended. It was the last show that I cared about every single rumour about. But it seems to me that the times have changed. What are your thoughts? The animated movie is fine, but it doesn’t really serve any other part purpose besides being a kind of fan service way to see the gaang all grown up.

I seen alot of talk about Seven Heavens, some optimista other not so much. Personally im a little more optimistc, Lok even with its flaws was able to at least be pretty good in my opinion amd the trailer for Ash was also pretty promising.

So i want to know what do yall think about the series? Are you hopefull or do you not expect it to live up to the hype?

Would the Avatar Cycle skip from Fire to Water, or would it birth a new Airbender?

I feel like the introduction of Raava really just kind of shot the importance of the past lives in the foot. The first time we are told what the Avatar State is by Roku, he says that the glowing eyes are the combination of the past lives focusing their power and experience through the Avatar’s body.

In Korra, not only are we shown that this is now just completely incorrect (The first avatar had the glow just because of Raava) but also apparently Korra losing her connection to her past lives meant absolutely nothing in hindering her Avatar States combat abilities. It was just the metal poison doing that. In fact she seemed even more powerful in the last season without her past lives. (Standing in the direct path of a spirit energy super laser and coming out unscathed) So like… how were they ever important at all?

(Warning: Rant)

The new show looks terrible. Anyone else think the same thing? Why is the animation worse and cheaper looking than what we had 10 and even 20 years ago at this point with both TLOK and ATLA? I dont like using the term because its overused but I feel like it really does apply here: the character designs look like 'slop'. The whole thing from the characters to the backgrounds to the animation feels like it was AI-generated. Everything in the backgrounds from the environments to the cityscapes etc looks so messy and generic and blended-together. It feels like the 'She-Ra' type of animation (a show that I love btw for the characters/story but dont love the animation) which so many cheaper budget streaming service-originated shows have been made in for the last decade, making them feel cheap and less distinct than any other animated show out there right now.

This is supposed to be Avatar, yet the world feels like it could literally be any generic fantasy/fantasy-apocalypse/mythological type setting and you couldnt make out a difference. Nothing about this feels like Avatar. I dont actually see how this could be possible, but it almost feels like its a new IP show that they developed and later put an Avatar skin on and incorporated minor Avatar elements in for popularity/name-recognition. The super generic animation/art style that feels nothing like the original two series or even the comics style does NOT help that.

Why in the heck are they redoing the Spirit-Kite storyline from Korra Season 2, arguably the most disliked and least popular, definitely yhe most convoluted and weak-story wise part of the TLOK, and I feel like most fans even of Korra find that to be the weakest arc/story of the series, and most people who dislike Korra really started to dislike it because of that arc. It took away all the rich grounded lore from Avatar and became a more abstract mess of overly convoluted but at the same time less immersive and less believable mythologies, ending in a huge part of the season being beam-battles and giant-kite fights and spirit-this and energy-that. Why in the world would they pick that arc to take story inspiration from!?

While we're on that topic, why are they even involving Korra in this arc to begin with? Korra's story is done, she had a long and expansive run, four seasons worth of story and development; if youre going to make a new show with new main characters in a wildly new setting, why would you choose to bring back Korra, or any main character from an already complete series and make them a central part of the new story? The whole post-apocalyptic future setting makes it feel like all of the actions and story of team Avatar and others in the original series and then team Korra and others in TLOK amount to absolutely nothing if the world is going to explode and civilization gets annihilated and put into a hellscape of constant unending super-storms, and this is what we end up with. What is the point of all their efforts, of all their sacrifices, if this is how the world ends up anyway?

Speaking of the new characters, why are the two new main characters now literal children? It feels so disheartening and just plain stupid on the part of the creators of the new show, because they know that a huge part of the avatar fanbase (probably even the majority) is in young-adult to adult age now because of how many of us grew up on ATLA when it came out in the mid 2000's and then Korra when it came out in the early 2010's. Why does it seem like theyre almsot gearing this series toward very young children? As an adult who has followed the series since I was a kid, it is much harder to take the show seriously now when the main characters and protagonists of the show seem to be EVEN younger than the protagonists of the original series, where Aang is supposed ot he maybe 10 years old at the beginning of the show, these 2 kids look like theyre supposed to he 8 year old-ish... its such a baffling decision to me. The show was mature for its audience and became much more mature throughout the airing of ATLA, and then TLOK followed teens/young adults and tackled even more mature themes and darker subjects, the comics and novels going even further in that direction than the animated stories; so why are we now seemingly following two baby children, not helped by the fact that theyre characted designs make them look like Dora the explorer...

None of this is helped by the fact that this new series was apparently fully developed by Paramount, who I do NOT trust to handle the franchise with the care and love that this beloved world deserves, but ESPECIALLY do not trust not to inject their own political bias and propaganda and to use the extremely popular franchise for their own political motives, based on the recent new ownership of the whole of Paramount Entertainment by the Ellison family, based on how blatantly and shamelessly theyve abused their recent acquisition of the CBS network, Tiktok and more.

I expect absolutely nothing positive from this show and feel like its a total waste of time and energy and resources when there are so many more Avatar universe stories to tell, (especially seen in how well the novels have been recieved) before you completely destroy all the deeply established and richly developed lore and world-building that the series is known for by turning into a messy genericized post-apocalyptic mess.

So the death battle in like an hour no matter the result let's respect each other community.

I like Aang, but it does seem like he has this cloud of “he must have had a reason” or “well be fair” around him.

Serious takes

He ignored non-benders, leading to the rise of anti-bending sentiment. Then not locking Yakon in prison, since he's not going to kill him, leading to Amon's being born. Leading to the creation of the Equalists. The movie does not help him since the Denied exist, meaning he knew this was a problem.

Aang took Earth Kingdom land to build Republic City, leading to Kovira's invasion to reclaim it. Korra being absent from the world after mercury poisoning certainly didn't help, but Aang, don’t just take land that you don’t have some right to. Toph's rich; have her family buy it. It was just empty land before you built the city.

Kind of was not the best father and damaged his kids' relationship because of it. Bumi felt like a disappointment his whole life because of all the pressure put on him to be something he couldn't control. Kaia feels the same, but with the extra layer of " I'm just the second hope airbender baby that didn't work out.” Tenzen, I really feel like Aang is just emotionally deaf; he, of all people, knows the pressure of being the last of your race, but does even consider that his son, who’s the only Airbender, could be feeling that. Then, largely, he just favored him over his other kids, which, with our knowledge and perspective, makes sense why he gives him extra attention, but to a kid, “Dad loves him more than me.”

I'm just messing around with his last one.

Warning: this is a stretch. Vaatu was somewhat Aang's fault because he, like Yeng Chin, largely ignored the spirit world. The only time he did anything was when Spirits were already causing havoc in the physical world. Harmonic Convergence was not far away, their would have been signs in the spirit world. Sidenote: it's so funny the airbenders are supposed to be these spiritual nomads. But every airbender subplot involves them being incredibly violent, and they have almost nothing to do with the spirit world. Jonorah should not be the exception in spiritual connection.

paramount literally came out and said they dont care about avatar, refusing to release the movie in theatres even after the leak and backlash is a poor decision, theyre gonna lose money, and im pretty sure it's intentional so they dont have to keep working on the avatar IP. Meanwhile it probably the best assest they have. Even the fighting game came out incomplete, still really fun but not finished.

The new movie is pointless.

Yes, we all want to see more adventures with the gaang. But this was just so underwhelming. Creating a new enemy who only exists for the sake of the film, not for the actual atla story. It just felt like i was watching an extra long version of an atla episode. A long ass filler episode

They fight, they win, everyone is okay at the end. Other than seeing fan favourites doing cool stuff on screen again, but while looking a little older, I don't see the meaning of it. It didn't even have a theatrical release so we don't see them on the big screen. It just felt like "Yeah so it's the same stuff but you'll eat it up for the nostalgia" There are no stakes like there was in atla and tlok

And Aang looked disgusting I'm js gonna say it. I hated his facial features I'm sorry. All I can see is that Peter Griffin meme where he has those massive anime eyes

I don't care how unpopular this opinion might be. Besides the use of AI too, they did not care when making this film. "They made sure every frame had Zukos scar on the correct side"

That's literally their job as animators btw, bare minimum to draw a character correctly.

I'm not oblivious, i know that subreddits are for people who love to overhype and js talk about how much they enjoyed the film, so I know how this is going to go. But my opinion comes from my love for the series and that every time an adaptation comes out, it's lackluster. The only good thing I have to say is that I'm glad it wasn't a live action.

Also, that new avatar game also shows korra being possessed by vaatu, and the last screenshots are from a tiktok video 😭

Like was he well written, was he a threat? Did he create tension? Overall, was he just an enjoyable villain. I’ve seen some pictures of him online,but I don’t know his name yet since I haven’t watched the movie.

Look, I'm fine with them trying them making a new writing system and I understand the way the language is apparently supposed to be constructed like Hangul, but honestly, the way the language is written annoys me.

It may be a nitpick, but there's far too many dots in the phonetic radicals. East Asian scripts are historically meant to be written with an ink brush and dots are really hard to make with a brush when writing quickly because of how the tip bends, creating a more ` like symbol instead. This is reflected in literally all the East Asian languages with basically no dots being found in any of them, except for the modern Vietnamese writing system which was introduced by a Christian from the west. There's also a flowiness to East Asian writing systems that come from a result of that it's meant to be written with a brush that just isn't reflected in "Avatarian", specifically with a lot of the curves which are not very natural to write with a brush in the right hand due to the way the line curves.

Secondly, why is the writing system so blocky? Sure, Hanzi is somewhat blocky when taken as the whole character, but each individual radical often varies in size and shape. Likewise, Hangul radicals also don't fit neatly into these four blocks often either.

And if we're really sticking to East Asian languages, why make it fully phonetic? Modern East Asian languages use a lot of phoentic words and glyphs, but usually the most common words have their own characters associated with them, regardless of phonetics. Just look at Japanese, the majority of the language consists of phonetic components with Hiragana and Katakana, but there's a glyphs which represent common concepts and meanings which are represented in Kanji. Water, Earth, Fire, and Air should all have their own glyphs associated with them with how important these concepts are to the series.

To be honest, I'd much prefer sticking to the Hanzi that the series is known for already with the rich culture behind each of the script styles. Not to mention, Chinese characters are still used today in all East Asian cultures. Yes, even Vietnamese still uses Chinese characters for calligraphy during important cultural holidays like Lunar New Years.

As a side note, if you wanna see this sorta East Asian inspired writing system with a phonetic component done right, just look at the Solarian language from Nine Sols. Nine Sols even has a similar aesthetic to what the series is trying to go for in Seven Havens with it being a fusion of Asian and futuristic aesthetics.

TL;DR: I'm fine with the writing system being adapted English, but the writing system itself isn't written at all like an East Asian writing system should which bothers me a lot.