And Zoro is a honorable swordsman
And btw I'm here to take you down.
*Dio's voice*
Oh? So you want to challenge me?
Very well.
Zuko's swordsmanship is only relevant in 3 occasions. all 3 of them when he's trying to not use his firebending martial style.
When he undercovers as the BLUE Spirit (ends being knocked down by the special archers), when he tries to pass as a non-bender during Zuko Alone episode (and loses, needing to once again resort to his fire to win) and during the Day of the Black Sun invasion, when he confronts a scrub non-bending eclipsed Ozai. Every other time, his bending and brawling fighting style is more relevant.
You said also about Zuko joining Aang to defeat the main villain. Yes. By teaching Aang firebending and then getting out of the way so the Avatar can fulfill his destiny. Not by "taking down the fire lord himself". In that sense, everyone in Aang's gang joined forces to take down the Fire Lord. Are all of them "Zoro-like" as well?
Zuko went against his sister and lost because Azula cheated and tried to light up Katara's ass. Remember when Sanji fights Judge and Judge cheats using a human wall to stop Sanji's attack? Pepperidge Farm remembers.
Both Sanji and Zuko are considered "too soft" by their parents. Ozai even considered killing Zuko off, since, for Ozai, Azula was much better. Much like Judge disregarded Sanji in favor of his "perfect" siblings.
Sora and Ursa both sacrifice themselves for their children. Sora takes the medicine that makes her terminally sick to try and counter the "ice hearts", while Ursa kills the current Fire Lord and leaves the Fire Nation in exchange for Ozai not going through with killing Zuko.
Both mothers, while doing so with a heavy heart, understand that their other children are "monsters". Sora laments the fact that she couldn't educate Ichiji, Niji and Yonji like she managed to do with Reiju, while Ursa understands that Azula is becoming a monster as well. All due to their proximity with the fathers.
Zuko and Sanji find a family bond in different people. While Zuko helped Iroh fill the void left by the loss of his own son in the war, Sanji was special to Zeff due to both of them sharing the same dream, a dream that even Zeff's crew would not take seriously.
They both confront their fathers and their abusive ways.
They both are mainly a fire-using brawler type of fighter.
And, to me, that's where their characters stop being similar and the authors develop them on different ways.
For Zuko, the authors made it so Zuko would take his place as heir to the Fire Nation, and help rebuild the world after the war, while, for Sanji, Oda made Sanji cut ties with his family, so he could truly be free from them.
But Zuko's story is over, while Sanji's is still ongoing. Who knows if Oda is still gonna tackle this "Vinsmoke" subject.
