Ryu

"air"

- Whatever. I didn't ask to become an airbender, you know.

Ryu is an Earth Kingdom villager who developed airbending abilities following the Harmonic Convergence of 171 AG. He lived with his parents in the basement of their house, though relocated to Air Temple Island where he commenced his airbending training and eventually became the Air Nation tour guide for the Spirit Wilds.

History
Ryu was summoned from the basement by his mother upon a visit of Avatar Korra, Mako, and Bolin, who had heard that he had gained airbending abilities. He met Korra's greeting with a stoic attitude, uninterested in learning the ways of the airbenders. As he tried to retreat into his room, he was grabbed by his collar by Korra and forcefully planted on a chair at the table, where he was lectured about his responsibility as a citizen of the world to take an interest in his new abilities. Ryu, however, remained nonplussed and said he did not ask to become one, to which Korra retaliated that she did not ask to be the Avatar, yet still had her duties to fulfill. He kept on insisting she did not have to do so, maintaining an uncaring attitude about the entire situation. He aggravated the Avatar to the point where she grabbed him by his collar and started to forcefully drag him out of the house. As both Korra and his mother tried to get him out of the front door, Ryu catapulted himself back into the house by blasting the wall with airbending. As Mako and Bolin guided a frustrated Korra back to their Future Industries airship, he was slapped by his mother for having landed on her and his overall behavior.

Ryu eventually joined the Air Nation and, two weeks after Zaheer's downfall, he was present at Air Temple Island at Jinora's anointment ceremony as an airbending master who had just received her tattoos.

Ryu continued to reside and train on the island. He eventually became the Air Nation tour guide for Republic City's Spirit Wilds, despite maintaining his generally disinterested attitude. While giving a tour for, among others, his parents, Ryu did not know what to do when one of the spirit vines moved toward them and ended up capturing them all.

Personality
Ryu is shown to be unmotivated, a slacker, whiny, and disinterested in most things in general. He is known to have a love-hate relationship with his mother, who was more than excited to get her grown son out of the house and on his own, and even threw him off her in disgust when Korra failed to recruit him to the Air Nation. Ryu is also known to be ungrateful and mopy regarding his airbending, showing no interest in his powers and even saying he didn't ask to be a bender in the first place. His personality can be surmised as being characteristic of someone suffering from either depression or just sheer apathy. Even after joining the new Air Nation and getting a job, he maintained his disinterested demeanor.

Trivia

 * Ryu is a parody of Ki Hyun Ryu, one of the series' producers.
 * Ryu is the fourth known character to have dyed their hair, the others being Ginger, Gombo, and Huan.
 * Ryu greatly resembles his father, both in appearance and general flippant attitude. They are also voiced by the same voice actor.