It's kind of nice to not always have a sympathetic villain. Sometimes people are just evil for no real reason.

@Jaunyx12 ...no, not really.

On Ozai not being a well-written villain because of the lack of sympathy the audience has for him, I think that having Ozai be a sympathetic villain with pure intentions would generally be in bad taste, considering the role of the character is to build tension in the story by threatening a genocide. I think most people do not care for sympathizing with a character like that, much like with real-life historical figures who have committed the same deplorable acts. But even if most people did, I think that there exists a sympathetic reading of Ozai's character that is well-supported by the canon.

One can argue that Ozai's villainy is not so much a product of nature as it is nurture. Would Ozai have turned out the way he did if he had a family like Sokka and Katara's? If he had a father figure like Iroh? His character and actions line-up perfectly with what was expected of Fire Nation royalty, at the very least post-Sozin. Even Iroh was caught up in the Fire Nation's genocidal agenda until he went through the very traumatic experience of loosing his son; Ozai never went through such an experience, but what if he did? We assume it would not make a difference because Ozai just does not care and never cared about his children, but about Ozai being an irredeemably---if not inherently---bad father, here is something to think about:

"When he planned to cast his infant son from the palace, Ozai gave in after Ursa and the Fire Sages pleaded with him to give Zuko a chance. Ozai believed that he attempted to be a good father in his early years, a view shared by both Zuko and Azula. However, his pride, anger, and lust for power degraded his relationship with his family."

You can argue that he was ruthless, ambitious, proud and selfish because he was born and raised in an environment that encouraged and celebrated those very traits. The existing canon also implies that he was just born like that, which would also support a reading of Ozai as maybe struggling with a mental disorder, and I think some people can empathize with that.

I think that Ozai served his purpose in the story. As per the design of the creators, he was supposed to be this invisible, yet not entirely enigmatic, evil force plotting in the shadows, waiting for the right moment to emerge. All the other antagonists, like Zuko and Azula, acted as Ozai's extended organs and served their own purpose in the story. Part of those purposes required them to have tragic back stories and complex character arcs that rendered them more sympathetic. In my opinion, Ozai's role in the story did not hinge on either of those because he was designed to be a figure that Aang and the other characters feared or despised, not a lost soul to be understood and redeemed. In fact, giving Ozai something like a tragic back story might have undermined that purpose. At the end of the day, some people will vibe with that, and others won't. However, I don't think any one person's opinion and taste should become the standard, which is why I would avoid language such as "a villain is supposed to..." I don't think a villain is supposed to be anything other than what the story needs them to be.

@Arianna2516 raises a very interesting interpretation of Ozai that I have not considered but is (at least in my mind) entirely reasonable. Indeed, I would rather enjoy reading this line of thought fleshed out in a blog post.

@Electric Lemonade Making a good villain involves diversity and realism. Not every villain is alike. Some people genuinely reach a point where they are just selfish and power hungry. Go visit some prisons and meet some drug lords and you might find someone like that. That is part of what made the Joker in Dark Knight the best Batman villian and one of the greatest villians of all time. It is also what makes characters like Sidioius special.

Their sheer ruthlessness makes them great villains that you want to see fall. I felt the same about Krell in Star Wars the Clone Wars. But Ozai doesnt seem like pure evil to me. If anything he just seems like the average man who grew up in a toxic home (think of a son of an imperialist or crime lord) and wants to prove himself by excelling in all the things he was taught to value as a child.

The average person under Ozai's circumstances would have turned out that way. It is also the essence of Megatron who is the most beloved villain in Transformers (as far as I know). I still like Soundwave and Starscream (who has similar dislikable qualities) but Megatron is definitely the MVP of decepticons and one of the main reasons many people watch Transformers (him and Optimus).

On the other hand, Spiderman is a well known franchise that often had villians with clear motives that you could feel sorry for. The best story is one with both. But there always needs to be a main ruthless villain and if you ask me Ozai isn't ruthless enough to be the big fear factor villain. I want to see another who goes further and is darker. But not excessively dark like a horror film or Sion/Nihilus in Star Wars KOTOR 2.

When the OT was out and people thought of Darth Vader, most people didnt think about his past as a jedi (the PT wasnt even out yet and people had no idea what his background was) or his redemption in ROTJ. Most people thought of him being a ruthless villain is ESB. Someone who looked intimidating, fought ruthlessly, was a brilliant commander, lethal pilot, with a cold devastating voice, and someone who choked out his own officers when they failed.

When people think of Bane, they remember how he broke the Bat! They remember that he was a relentless powerhouse who grew up in darkness. In Batman, the straight up villian the Joker drawfs Mr. Freeze in popularity who is someone you can easily be sympathetic toward. Dont get me wrong, the film Joker was brilliant and a great move but when most people think of or wamt to witness him they want to see a mad fearless unpredictable killer which is the way he was potrayed in many depictions what he would have eventually turned into either way.

In the Dark Knight, the narrative seemed a bit different then. There was a scene where Alfred said not everyone has a motive like money or power and that some people just want to watch the world burn. And when you think about it, Ozai is nowhere near as unrelatable or vile as characters like Sidioius, Thanos, Ultron, the Illusive Man in Mass Effect, the Joker, Darth Nihilus, Darth Sion, Darth Nihl, Darth Talon, etc. Thanos, the Illusive Man, and Ultron might have reasons to justify what they do but so does Ozai. His excuse is that he wants the Fire Nation to bring civilization to the rest of the world, just like any imperialist and that might makes right.

Still, it is great to see villians that use relatable arguments like the Riddler in The Batman and villains like Azula that we feel sorry for at times. I even like seeing a few selfish cowards like Starscream and Nute Gunray every now and then. We need to see all of them. We need to see traggic demises, poetic justice, bad people being humbled, betrayals, and redemptions.

You should be a lawyer.

Also, people are never truly evil or truly good, thought you would know that, with all of your examples.

Well thanks, my mom was one so I guess it runs in the family. I dont like to ever say never or speak in absolutes but Ozai is not close to 100 percent evil. I think what is interesting about him is his personality doesnt really stand out much. I think he is the average person with immense power born in his environment. Most people like to see villains who stand out from most people, especially main villains. Like none of his motives or ideas seem truly special so he can come off as generic.

But some people can be more evil than others and that might even have to do with mental abnormalties. I dont know how to best scientifically word it but someone can be born with a deficiency of the part of the brain that causes moral concern, empathy, etc but it is rare. We also often call people insane because their way of thinking is extremely different from the norm. And when it comes to morals, we are just basing them off widely agreed norms (unless we use a religious argument).

To me Ozai is a good villain due to the effect he has towards the characters and plot and how they set him up. He also fits with the themes of the show very well and great final antagonist to end the show with.

Just going off what I saw in the show I found Ozai to be a meh villain. He did what he was supposed to but he didn’t live up to the hype nor meet the level of writing quality that his children have.