Avatar: The Last Airbender is officially reviving its big anime debate with an official “chibi” spinoff. Ever since the days of the original series, a major debate among fans and critics has been whether Avatar can be considered an anime, as while the writing, art style, and animation all take clear influence from anime, it wasn’t made in Japan, which most people would consider a dealbreaker.

Avatar: The Last Airbender will always be arguing over whether it’s right to call it an anime, and that debate is about to get even bigger. Avatar Studios just made a wide assortment of announcements in celebration of Avatar’s 20th anniversary, and in addition to major announcements about the new Avatar series, Avatar: Seven Havens, it was announced that Avatar: The Last Airbender will receive an anime-style spinoff series entitled Avatar: Chibi Minis. The series undoubtedly adds even more weight to Avatar’s anime debate, but it might not be in the way one would think.

Everything We Know About Avatar: Chibi Minis

What To Expect From The Next Avatar Spinoff

Avatar: Chibi Minis, has only just been announced, but there’s already plenty to know about it. Chibi Minis is set to be a short series of only 10 episodes, but rather than tell new stories, Avatar: Chibi Minis will retell scenes from cartoon and various spinoff comics, all of which will be rendered in the iconic anime chibi style. With comics being included, even older fans might see content they’re unfamiliar with, so overall, there’s plenty to be excited about.

This isn’t the first time Avatar has done something like this, of course. During the original series’ run, a trio of comedic shorts done in a chibi style, informally titled the Super Deformed Shorts, was released with the Book Two boxset, making this the second time Avatar has ventured into chibi-style comedy. That being said, Avatar: Chibi Minis’ higher episode count, combined with its title, suggests that there will be a larger focus on the chibi element compared to the Super Deformed Shorts, and it will be interesting to see what that might entail.

Does Avatar: Chibi Minis End Avatar’s Big Anime Debate (& Does It Matter)?

Is Avatar's Anime Debate Finally Over?

While getting another chibi-style spinoff is something that’s clearly in the vein of anime, Western media, especially in recent years, has repeatedly co-opted chibi and other anime aesthetics in both serious and comedic ways, with Disney Channel even recently launching a chibi-style crossover of their cartoons called Disney Chibiverse. Avatar: Chibi Minis doesn’t settle the debate on whether Avatar: The Last Airbender can be considered anime because of how common it’s become for Western media to use chibi-based comedy, and that’s as true now as it was 20 years ago.

That being said, the debate, at its core, is largely meaningless. Whether Avatar is an anime or just a Western cartoon, it’s still a story with mature and thorough writing and visuals to match, so as long as someone recognizes everything that makes Avatar: The Last Airbender special, it ultimately doesn’t matter if they call it an anime or a cartoon. That was always the case when Avatar: The Last Airbender first started, and 20 years later, it will remain the case with Avatar: Chibi Minis and whatever else might come out as the franchise gains more life than ever.