Does your age have an affect on which characters you like best?

Hello all!

I was adding comments to the story of Lucius being in the SFChronicle's list of Sexiest Men Who Were Never Alive and there was a comment about the people who said Lucius was attractive likely all being in the same age group. This sentiment was an echo of feelings in the threads to do with 'Why Aren't Ron/Harry More People's Favourites?', saying that it seemed that people of a certain age group (in this case, younger HP fans) seemed to favor Harry, Ron or Hermione, while older fans choose the side characters, like Sirius or Lupin.

So my question came down to what do you think? Does your age affect your choice in favourite characters? And if age does affect who you choose, what would you say are the age groups that tend to select certain characters? Ie, Younger fans favoring the Trio, Older teens favoring Sirius/Lupin/James etc.

(For the record, at 19, I like Snape, Lucius, Lupin and Luna)

For me I don't think age makes any difference. Ron and the Twins are my favorite characters and I am 33. I actually am pretty fond of all the Weasley's. In terms of girls I think they go with the characters they find a connection with or find to be sexy. That I believe has alot to do with so many younger girls also liking Snape. Alan Rickman makes Snape seem sexy in the movies and younger and older alike are attracted to him.

I dont think Age matter at all, it is a matter of personality far more then age. I've seen a lot of younger people liking the same characters as older ones. I notice alot of girls liking Sirius(sexyness probably) but also Lupin(cuteness probably) so I think your sex matters more then your age but still not significant seeing I like but Sirius and Lupin as a guy:D.

I don't think age really matters. I'm 16 and my favorite characters (in order) are: George, Fred, Sirius, Dubmledore, Luna, Ron, Lupin, and Tonks. So I've got a mix of both groups you talked about.

Nope, not at all. Personally, the twins rock for me. I like how they're powerful wizrds and yet humorous (reminiscent of dumbledore). I also like hermione since I have a sort of connection with her. I can see how younger people might like harry more, though, because there takes a certain level of maturity to really get into the "grittier" characters, or the side characters, for that matter. Snape, in particular, since we are given the perspective that he is a horrible person.

I'm 15 (just turned it ^^), and my favourite characters are Lupin, Tonks, and Cedric.
I think there is something with age, but more with personality which is somewhat effected by age, and a person's favourite characters.
A lot of girls my age really like Sirius, because they go more for looks and the sort of "bad" personality. I personally have little tolerance for Sirius and find my self the exception to a lot of the sterotypes about favourite characters. Sure Lupin, Cedric and Tonks are popular characters to like, but I find my reasons for liking them are different (Lupin and Cedric, at least, not Tonks so much) I think Lupin's really kind, and am very interested in the werewolf aspect of him, something my friends who like him seem to ignore completely. Tonks I found myself liking because she was a female auror. My liking grew for her in the 6th book as we saw a different side of her character. Cedric I admired for his fairness, first during the match in the 3rd book, then through out the tournament in the 4th book; rather than for how "awesome/powerful" he was or how good looking the actor was.
I think people my age often don't look to deep into their favourite characters, or they try to pick ones without huge flaws. For example, one of my favourite characters is Percy because I feel, in a very weird, twisted way, that I can actually identify with him (oh boy, that's not a good sign!). One of the reasons I like Percy is because of his flaws. It makes the character more interesting.
I think here on COS there's going to be more abnormalities because we're all pretty big HP fans, not just someone who watches the movies (where they'll base things more on looks) or has read the books just once or twice.

I think sometimes it does. However, it may (again) depend on what sites you visit. Immeritus (Sirius fansite; winner of JKR's fansite award) seems to have less younger people, last I checked, for example, and LJ seems to be have more people over 30. Although for me, there's no pattern that I've noticed. I like Lupin, Luna, Dumbledore, Harry and Neville, and as far as I can see, they're more based on what I like in a person than how old I am.*

*But maybe what I like in a person is based on how old I am... ooh. Paradoxical.

i think age definately has to do with who you like, i am 15 and have to say lupin is my favorite, sirius is cool too tho. I mean if you are nine years old, you just think oh, its harry potter he is the hero, hes the main character, i love him, or the other stars of the movies and books. but when you are older you can actually consider the character of people and form new ideas from them

edit: no offense to 9 year olds....

edit: no offense to 9 year olds....

:rotfl:


It tells the age difference actually to see that so many people don't have Harry as their favorite character. In alot of cases with stories the main character is usually the favorite. It's nice to see so much variety.

I don't think age is a factor in favoritism. It's more about personality: I'm 21 and my favorite is Lupin, with Ron and Sirius as close seconds; I also like Snape, Harry and Luna.

I think age is more of a factor when it comes to 'who do you have a crush on' or 'Who you relate to'. Much as I love Ron, I don't feel particularly comfortable openly oggling over him - at least in the earlier books. And I think it's easier to relate to characters closer in my age - the older adult characters (DD, Miverva, Moody, etc) I don't think much on because I don't really connect with them.

I'm sixteen and my favorite character is Albus Dumbledore.

So no, I don't think age matters much. :) I think it's mostly just personality.

I don't think age matters i'm 14 my favorite characters in order Bellatrix, Snape, Lucius, Narcissa, Hermione, dumbledore So no I really do not think it matters at all.

Yes my age DOES affect who my Favourite Characters are. I'm 35 and my FAVOURITE Character as you may know is Severus Snape. I relate to him and the fact he was singled out and Bullied makes me identify with him. I also like his surliness and the fact he can obtain control over a classroom by whispering. Alan Rickman makes him really sexy. He adds a sex appeal to him. The way he moves and talks speaks volumes. I also love Fred and George Weasley--they are so funny. I love how they add mischief WITHOUT bringing others down. Okay, so they do tease Ron and Harry--but it's all in fun. It's not done to make them feel small or worthless.

My other favourite Adult Character is Remus Lupin. He's a really cool character, fun to be around, but is honest with people. He is a voice of reason in times of tension. Hagrid is another favourite beause he's so innocent. He's innocent in that he's still a kid himself and also has a wise mind--when Harry is down and stuff.

Okay, I just realized I posted two replies here. My bad, I deleted the first one.

Leslie33 I don't think Snape is 35. he is a cool character though but Bellatrix is my favorite.

I would say it does. I'm 14 and I'm just starting to not like the cleche characters(Ron, Harry, Hermione) and now I think that Lupin is a very interesting character, along with Severus and Albus.

14 is nowhere near Albus' age so age does not matter for you either.

Leslie33 I don't think Snape is 35. he is a cool character though but Bellatrix is my favorite.

Actually the time frame in the book would make Snape around 35. He went to school with James and Lily which would make him about what their ages would be. They had Harry when they were 23 so add 11 years to that when Harry started at Hogwarts and you have 34. Lexicon gives Snapes birth year in 1958 or 1959. The books are taking place in the early 90's. Hope that helps.

I think it does to a certain extent, I mean I'm 29 and feel positively icky at the thought of being all fangirly over Harry or Ron, coz to me they're just babies who I completely adore. I like Hermione but to me she's like a favourite cousin or something, actually that's really how I think of all the younger characters in the books.

Now Sirius and Remus, they're a completely different matter entirely :lol:

Actually the time frame in the book would make Snape around 35. He went to school with James and Lily which would make him about what their ages would be. They had Harry when they were 23 so add 11 years to that when Harry started at Hogwarts and you have 34. Lexicon gives Snapes birth year in 1958 or 1959. The books are taking place in the early 90's. Hope that helps.That's just what I was about to say..Snape is roughly 35 at the time of Harry starting at Hogwarts. :)

I wouldn't have said it really matters. My two favourite characters are Sirius and Remus; on the other hand I also adore Ron. Dumbledore I also have a soft spot for, and Snape is one of my favourite characters because of his character - he's so intruiging. I like all different characters of all different ages for all different reasons. Age doesn't have to factor in who you like.

Now if you'll all just let me go back to my Time Turner search so I can go back to the Marauder era and therefore be of suitable age to date Remus ... :p

I think that many of the characters have been made a bit sexier by the actors who protray them in the films. If I had never seen any of the films I doubt I would have found Severus or Lucius very sexy but the actors who protray them have made them sexy for me at least. However I liked Lupin before I saw him in the film. It made no difference to me who played him as I liked him anyway. The way he was protrayed and who played him in the film enhanced even more though I must admit. Much the same with but to a lesser extent with Sirius.

Personally I dont think age matters with which characters you like, Im 39 and my favourites are Hagrid, Lupin, Luna, Ron & Neville although there are other characters I like in the stories all of different age groups and for different reasons, so I dont think age matters :D

14 is nowhere near Albus' age so age does not matter for you either.
*sigh* No-one said that if you're f.e 60 you should only like someone who is 60.... It has more to do with the fact that when you grow older your personality often changes, or atleast how you think of people.

I have nothing against her, but what to people like so much about Luna? Do you like her because she is an odd character or what? Also, I'm a guy and dont like guys (i mean that in the like.... im not attracted to them way) but i never even thought of snape being "sexy" or lucius either for that matter... I live in the US so that could have something to do with it I bet, but I just wanted to say this - I know what sexy people look like, I see one of them every time I look in the mirror.

I think so, because i like the kids, and then the marauders as teenagers, but i don't think i would like them as adults, in terms of romantic feelings. in terms of just general fondness of the characters mine goes from ginny to dumbledore, so in that case it doesn't matter to me.

Yeah sort of. Draco's not far from my age essentially. LOL. I'm a Draco fangirl.

I always hope people won't think I'm 'too old' for him by being 22. :lol:

The characters were essentially born in 1980 right? That would techniqually actually make him 4 years older than me. :lol: Well and his actor being 19, not too young there I'd say. That's my sister's age.

Anyway, I consider the Harry Potter students to be in the same generation as me. I do admit that it's a factor. That's not to say I don't like any of the older characters at all, it's just that I view them more like in the age group of my parents. So I don't connect quite as much in the same way.

This is interesting though, I've never really thought about it. Overall, although it's a factor for me I wouldn't say it's really huge or anything but definitly there.

I honestly don't think age matters when it comes to someones favorite character. I see a lot of young girls drooling over Snape, Sirius and Lupin all the time. Plenty of younger fans (teenage or younger) are fans of the older characters and plenty of older fans are fans of the school age characters of the books. My mother is 50 and her favorite character is Ron!!

I'm 26 and my top 3 favorite characters are Harry, Lupin and Ron. (I also love the characters of Lucius, Snape, Nevile, Bellatrix, Arthur and Dumbledore.) I like all of these characters for different reasons and none of their ages make a difference in that.

As for Lucius being attractive.... well, before Jason Isiccs played Lucius in the films I never even considered Lucius as being "sexy" but Jason Isiccs portrayal of of Lucius makes the character very sexy in my opinion, because 1.) I find Jason Isiccs to be extremely sexy. 2.) Along with him looking sexy he portrays Lucius as a sexy bad boy, "sexy evil". that I can't help but fawn over a bit.

Now, does any of this have to do with my age? Not at all. Like I said earlier I have seen plenty of teenage girls who are fans of Snape, mainly because of Alan Rickman's portrayal and he's 60 years old.

Nope, since I was about 10 or so, I've always loved Remus the most. He's still my favorite character.:love:

Interesting all around!

I had kind of figured there would be more people fitting the *stereotypical* descriptions but, as was said very early on (posts 7 and 8), it's possible because of the nature of all of us being Potter geeks, therefore we don't fit the conventions.

Harping back to *when I was young* (:lol:) I just remember watching Disney movies and always connecting with the lead female of the story (Jasmine, Ariel etc.) and it wasn't until I was older and was watching the movies again with younger family members or babysitting, that I paid attention to the background characters and began to like them more.

So maybe it does all come down to just how involved you are in the story? Something that you analyze is going to create interest in different characters, whereas simply viewing/reading a story may not take you quite as far into the side-character development.

And Kaneha? Yeah, totally agree. Never had much fangirl interest in Sirius either. :no:

Until Book 6, Hermione was my favorite character (I started reading the series in my 30s). So I guess my age did not prevent me from liking one of the 'kid' characters.

My favorite is now Snape, but that's not because I changed my mind about Hermione. I just thought Snape was amazing in HBP, and the book has changed how he seemed in the earlier books for me, too.

In addition to the above, the other characters I really like are Tonks, McGonagall, and Neville, so I guess I like characters from all sorts of age groups. It's what they are like, what they get to do and say in the books, that really matters to me, I guess.

I really don't think that age is the primary reason for a person's choice in characters. You might relate to a character more if they are around your own age group, but then again you might not.

I'm 19 and my favourite characters are Neville, Luna, Lupin, Harry and Ron. I know that I am drawn to characters that I can relate to for the most part, it doesn't matter what age they are. Neptune was talking about the choice perhaps being influenced by the actor who portrays the character but I find that doesn't affect me because the films and books are seperate in my mind.

My favourite character has always been Dumbledore and I'm nowhere near 150!

Being of different age doesn't necessarily change one's mentality.
I've always thought Dumbledore was awesome when I was younger, and now that I'm older I've learnt to appreciate him even more!

Apparently, my age doesn't affect my choice in favourite characters, because I'm 33 and I love characters of all ages. My top favourites are Dumbledore and Harry, how about that? I like all the characters except Percy, Fudge, Bagman and Umbridge. I especially love the Trio, the Weasley twins, Snape (I don't find him the least bit sexy, he's just fun to tease!), Draco (might have something to do with Tom Felton:blush: ), Lupin, and Tonks. All sorts of ages. I am drawn to characters who are either similar to me, (like Hermione, Lupin, and Dumbledore), funny, (like the twins or Tonks) or intriguing as a person (Snape and Draco).

Well, I'm 22 and my favorite charcters are Ginny and McGonagal.

And my Mom likes Ron.

Well, I'm 16 (17 in about 2 weeks) and my favourites are Snape and Harry.

Now that that's out of the way, I don't think age really has anything to do with it. I think it's more how we grow with the characters. For example, when I first started reading the books, I was (I think) about 10 years old and I hated Snape. Then it sort of seemed that by the end of PoA he didn't annoy me as much, and by the end of OoTP he had become a favourite. I think the same sort of process would have happened to me if I had started reading the books when I was, say, 14, because it wasn't my age that determined who I liked, it's how I got to know the characters.

I think it doesn't matters if you choose your favourite by looking at their personality but it does matter if you choose your favourite by looking at their looks because Severus and Lucious, whom many have claimed to be sexy, doesn't look sexy to me at all! On the countary, I found Draco and Hermoine to be better :D

My favorite characters were Hermione and McGonagall prior the book 5 coming out as I identified with parts of each of the character's personality. After book 5 came out, Luna quickly became my favorite because of her eccentricity, not her age.

Now that that's out of the way, I don't think age really has anything to do with it. I think it's more how we grow with the characters. For example, when I first started reading the books, I was (I think) about 10 years old and I hated Snape. Then it sort of seemed that by the end of PoA he didn't annoy me as much, and by the end of OoTP he had become a favourite. I think the same sort of process would have happened to me if I had started reading the books when I was, say, 14, because it wasn't my age that determined who I liked, it's how I got to know the characters.

Funny about the Snape thing. That was me too. All through PS and COS I despised him. Then in PoA I decided he was alright and by the time I hit OOTP, like you, I was a Snape fan.

(For anyone) Has anyone liked the same character from the time we met them to now? Like I was always a Lupin fan. Like him since my first reading of PoA. But I didn't decide out-and-out I liked Snape until OotP, and didn't pick up on Lucius until my second readings and Luna until my fourth reread of OotP. Like we were all a few years younger when we started reading them, so has anyone's taste changed since then?

Some years ago, say, 7, I used to like the Trio and their adventures. Now, being an experienced married woman :P, I'm rather keen on the older generations, on the background of their stories. I'd rather dig into their characters than focus on the evolution of the main protagonist(s) from sixth grade.

So I guess my age does influence my views on certain matters.

I don' t think so. I'm 12 and I'm more interested in Snape than the trio :D

Age matters to me, I think. If I had read the books at Harry's own age, I would probably have liked him and his fellow students much better. Meaning, I would probably have a crush or him, or Draco, and seen Hermoine as a possible friend or something.

As it is now, when I'm closing up on my thirties, I think Snape, Lupin and Sirius are more interesting as persons and characters than the children themselves.

good point...my guess is that the more a person grows is the more that he/she notices about a certain character's personality...anyone who is younger (like 7-9 years old) would love harry, ron, and hermione, but i guess as they grow older, they would start to like ginny, sirius, even draco, because they start knowing what kind of personalities they like.....

Maybe it maters more on how old you were when you started reading the books. I was 21 the first time I read books 1-4 (back in 2001). I'm not 26 and my opinion and favorites have not changed much. As the characters grow I do come to enjoy some character more then others, or more then before.

The first time I read books 1-4 I knew that Harry, Ron and Lupin were my favorite characters, and that hasn't changed for me, but I have gained other favorites as the books go on and the characters develop.

In my case, age did not matter at all.

I'm not sure. I started reading the books when I was maybe 17 or 18, and like Neptune, the characters I enjoyed most have stayed the same and I've come to like other characters as I read along. Generally, the characters I enjoy are the ones I can relate to - and my list of favorite characters range from Dobby to Snape, so it's really hard for me to say whether or not my age has an effect on which characters I'll end up liking.

No, I don't think it does. By the sound of what was said, you'd have to be in, at the very least, your 30's to like characters such as Lucius, Snape, Remus, and Sirius when I'm no where near 30 and some of those characters are my very favorite.

My new favorite character is Greyback. Im 16, and he is the most interesting character i think. I hope we learn more about him!

After Greyback I like--Sirius,Voldemort, and Harry.

I'm 17, and my favorites are Hermione, Ron and Harry. And yes, I do think age affects your choice. If I were older (aka above 30) I might like one of the proffessers more. At my age, naturally, I like characters my own age.

Perhaps... I like reading about the kids despite finishing school eight years ago, I can still remember what it was like and so can still associate myself with that and the characters. i'm not as old as the older generation so I wouldn't say I relate to them yet. The story's so unreal and fantastical that we're removed to a certain extent anyway, so i don't know if it effects my favorite characters (which are Sirius, Dumbledore and Snape), I think it's more about how they're written. And also Dumblodore reminds me of my late Grandfather so maybe personal experiences effect our favorites.

I love reading all the stories because I think Jo has written them well, so that people can generally enjoy the books from different angles at different ages and stages of our lives.

I'm sure there are people who are drawn to characters who are more their own age. But, it isn't always the case. My favorite character is Harry and I'm an adult. My next two favorite characters are Dumbledore and Voldemort, and they are both much older than I am.

Yeah, I do think that age has some affect on what characters are your favorites. For example, I love the MWPP era peeps, but on the other hand, I'm in love with Dumbledore, Snape and McGonagall. I really enjoy reading about Harry, Ron, and Hermione, but I also like Arthur and Molly.

To an extent, people like characters who are their own age because they can relate better. But they also like characters who are older/younger just because they are funny, mysterious, dead, etc.

Im 23 and I love the Weaslys. I just think they have the cutest family and they crack me up.

I think it would be true in a way.. I mean, I can like Harry, Ron, and Hermione but for example... I feel more attracted by how Bill is described of Lupin

My favorites are Harry and Lupin, and I'm 15. I guess I'm just weird.:D

My age does not affect which characters I like. I am fourteen years old and my favorite character is Remus Lupin, because he is mature and intelligent. Also, Dumbledore, because of his witty responses and calm way of handling any situation.

I don't think age affects it that much, but I don't really know. For the record, I like or find interesting... Andromeda, Bellatrix, Narcissa, Tonks, Ted Tonks (I know we know nothing about him, but that's what makes him interesting!), Hermione, Arthur Weasley, Draco, Snape, Neville, Lupin, Lily and a few more, so I have quite a range of ages and personalities. And I'm 16.

I think age has some effect but is not the only or even the main factor.

My favourite characters are Snape, Sirius and Lupin. I'm more interested in characters who are morally and psychologically complex than in characters who can easily be categorised as "good" or "bad" (which explains Snape and Sirius) and I like Lupin because he's not your typical young, athletic hero. I'm guessing that this will make my choice different from that of very young readers (e.g. those under 12, maybe), but probably not that different from the way teenagers pick their favourites.

If attraction to the actors in the films does influence favourite characters then I think age will be a factor as, although I'm sure it's true that 13-year-olds as well as 40 year-olds fancy the very lovely Rickman, and so will be drawn to Snape as a character, it's also true that a lot of 13 year-olds fancy Daniel Radcliffe (while any 40-year-olds who do should probably be on the Sex Offenders' Register!), so proportionately more actor-influenced teenagers will pick Harry as their favourite than actor-influenced older people.

I'm 29 and my favorite characters are, in this order...

1. Lupin
2. Harry
3. Tonks
4. Hagrid
5. Neville

Three adults, two kids. Honestly, I think those five are the five I find the most things about their personalities that I can identify with out of all the characters in the series. So I don't think it's so much my age but my personality. My favorite characters seem to be those I can somehow identify with.

Okay, so does someone want to tell me what my personality is like if those are the five I most identify with? :)

I don't know that it has as much to do with age as it does character personalities/flaws. I am 21 and tend to enjoy the more in-depth characters that still have a mystery around them. I love reading about Lupin and Snape because there is more involved than what is on the surface.

Your emotionall age may affect the character/s you care about most. I have friends who are completely wrapped up in Snape because of what they perceive is the burdens he bears. I'm older yet it is Ron , Harry, and Hagrid that I care about most. For me it is not the age but what I see in them that makes me protective of a character.

I don't think age matters at all as to who you choose as your favorite character. At 22 my favorite character overall is Hermione. I chose Hermione because I see a lot of characteristics that I had at her age. My second favorite character would be Harry, then Ron, Sirius, Luna, and Dumbledore. As my choices prove most of my favorite characters are in the younger category.

i think age does effect in a way, but i think it includes other factors such as who you relate most too.

i come from a huge family, i have ginger hair... i really like ginny. i had a school crush that didn't like me back... i can relate to ginny, i know how she feels.

I think age matters in a certain way.
I have noticed for example that the liking for some characters are sometimes movie based and this is mainly found in the younger (teenager) group, for example Cedric, Draco, Ron, Hermione, Oliver.
It's more common for teenagers to like actors or characters because of their looks, than it is for older people. (not that it doesn't happen, but I think it's less common) :)

For the book characters I can understand that one can relate easier to characters of their age group. I personally have no patience or understanding for Ron's teenager behaviour in HBP, but I also almost double him in age, so that could be why ;)

On the other hand I really like Hermione and Ginny and Luna, although my favourites are probably found in older age groups (or in non - humans like Grawp or Dobby ).

No, in my case age does not affect which characters I like. Molly and Snape are closer to my age and I like them but I also like Ginny and Neville and they are much, much younger than I am. I like Dumbledore because he is a father-figure and admits that he is not perfect. If I feel like I can relate in some way with a character, then the fact that the character is younger, older or my age is unimportant.

I think age affect which charcters you like. But I don't think the age at the characters matters when you like a character. You have different opnions on things when you grow older, and I think you have different opnions on the characters when you grow older. I like characters that are close to my age, but I like the grown up people too. And I think Dumbledore is very interesting. So: Yes, I think your age affect which characters you like.

For me my favorite characters are Fred and George, I don't think age really plays a role, its more about the personalities of the characters. I do have to say that Snape is definately NOT a favorite of mine for many reasons, but mostly because I just can't stand his greasy hair!

I think age does play a part, but not a huge one. It's just natural really...e.g. if an 11 year old reads HP:PS, who's he/she going to identify with more, the characters their own age or the adults? However personality is a much bigger factor.

As for myself, I'm almost 18 and my favourite characters are Snape, Ron, Sirius, Hagrid and Krum.

*But maybe what I like in a person is based on how old I am... ooh. Paradoxical.
LOL hmm...could be. I mean, I think that's why some people like Draco so much. Outside of being an interesting character in the way he's written and Tom Felton being hot I can't see much to like about him, but he's the favorite of a lot of younger fan's.

I think that many of the characters have been made a bit sexier by the actors who protray them in the films. If I had never seen any of the films I doubt I would have found Severus or Lucius very sexy but the actors who protray them have made them sexy for me at least.
Yea, I definitely think the films have a lot to do with it.
It's the same as anything I suppose--my favorite color is purple but I wouldn't want a purple house! Snape is one of my favorite characters mainly because of how well JKR writes him and the depth of his character (and I think Rickman does a great job portraying him), but I would NOT want to know Snape in real life or meet him in a dark alley, eek!
Hermione is a favorite because she reminds me of myself a lot of times. And I like Molly and Arthur Weasley because they're such amazing people that I would really love to know.

So, related to age, I think it has more to do with why certain characters are your favorites. You might choose certain characters as your favorites because of how you'd relate to them if you knew them (friendship/romantic or otherwise). Most people relate better to people around your age, but then, through the books, we know Snape and the Marauder's as teenagers and as adults so maybe that's why they are more widely popular. ?

I've always liked the older characters more, like Sirius and Snape, although Hermione's one of my favorite characters, too. I have no idea if that's because of my age, because I'm not really in either age group. I think it must depend on who you personally relate to the most, and I guess one of the factors in whether you relate to a character or not is age, since if you're around the same age, it's likely that you're experiencing the same kinds of things in life.

I think age plays a larger part in our opinions when we are young, and as such, would be more likely to influence our character choices when we're kids rather than when we're grown up. I can clearly remember being 15 and thinking 30 was ancient, but now that I'm 45 (the same distance away from 30 that I was at 15), I'd merely note that a 30 year old seemed a bit younger than me. If I were 10, I'd probably look up to Harry, Hermione & Ron and lump all the parent/professor age group together as old folks. But at 45, they're just grown-ups, whether you're talking about a 30-something Snape or 150 year old Dumbledore.

On the other hand, I can tell you that how I view the younger characters has changed somewhat with the age of the character. How many adult female fans who have children of their own could watch the first 2-3 films and not want to protect Harry and hug him and tell him things would get better? But starting with the 4th film, and particularly with the clips I've seen from the 5th, I don't see Harry as a child who needs protecting...even though we know his age is supposed to be 14-15. I see him more as an unlikely hero whose manners, personality, and moral/ethical characteristics deserve our respect. While I doubt if the respect Harry commands will have changed much as the series progresses, I suspect by the time Harry hits 17 in the last film (particularly since Daniel will be even older than that...I'm guessing around 19-20), Harry will have become both a hero and a heartthrob for us older fans because the kids in the series have (at least to me) always spoken/behaved as if they were older than their character's literal ages and it will be so easy to just lump him into the group with the grown-ups and age will seem less of a factor. He'll be like James Bond (a role which I think would suit Daniel quite well in a few more years), or Indianna Jones, or any other number of on-screen heros ... someone to dream about in spite of your age or his.

I don't think age played a factor in my favorite characters. I am seventeen and yes, my favorite character is Ron, but it has nothing to do with his age. I like him because he is the type of person I would be friends with, in fact he is like most of my friends. It's not the age, its the personalities that attract us.

I agree that it has more to do with your personality. Harry has always been my favorite character and I started reading the books when I was 22, I'm now 24, and my opinon on harry has not yet changed.
However along the way I have loved other characters, such as Fred and George, Lupin, and of course Ron and Hermione.
However I didn't love that character because of age, it was because of their personality, the way they were written.

For me, the age does effect my choice in characers, like for instance, my favorite is Harry just because he's my age and cute (lol) but my favorite adult character is Sirius only because he is so awesome! :lol: but for others i think age has alot to do with the Harry Potter characters they like.

I don't think my age has affected my choice.
I think that it is the way that he stands up as a character that has done that.

I think your age can affect who your favorite character is, but I don't think it necessarily does. I like a lot of different characters of a lot of different ages.

no i don't think so. me being 16 i like hagrid, lupin, sirius, and dumbledore. but i also like the trio.

For some it may, but for me, age really doesn't hold any importance because one of my favorite characters, ever since he was introduced in the series which was years ago when I was quite young, is Sirius. Moony is also a favorite of mine, which means thata character's personality is what matters to me :)

I personally like all the characters and the way they interact. I first read the series when I was 8, and originally adored the trio... now that Im older I appreciate the love relations and triangles and especially Hermoine's position... definitely been there :p. I also enjoyed Sirius's role, although his death kind of ruined it for me... hopefully everyone discovers that he was a good guy after all, not just the Order. then Ill feel better :). so overall I like all the characters and how the books rotate through "modes" (romance, mystery, action, fantasy) and dont always retain one genre throughout.

My favourite character is Dumbledore, and it goes without saying that he is an awful lot older than me. But the books certainly became more interesting for me when more adult characters were introduced in OotP, so I think age does make a difference.

I like the trio, and Dumbledore.
Dumbledore is a heck of a lot older than me, but Harry, Ron, and Hermione aren't.

I relate most to Hermione, because we're somewhat similar in our approaches toward academic work. However, I also respect McGonnagal's expertise in her field, as well as how she balances her loyalty to Gryffindor with a strict rule of impartiality in dealing with students, and hope that when I'm old I'll be somewhat like her. McGonnagal would be an excellant judge, by the way.

I don't really think your age affects who your favorite character is. I think it depends more on your personality than your age.

I've noticed that younger readers preference in characters often tend to be to based on the actors that portray them in the movies. This is why there have been so many threads going on, and on about how great Ron is. But if you look at their signatures, you see expressions of undying love for Rupert Grint. They prefer the characters that they think are the cutest.

I however am older, and I base my preference on the books. Harry is the main character. He's the hero, and I always route for the hero. Don't get me wrong, I think that Ron's an O.K. character. In fact, I like a most of the characters. But it's really all about Harry.

I think if you look at the forums as a whole, the older age range are the ones most interested in the adult characters, ie Snape and the Marauders, while the teenagers identify more with Harry and co. But there are loads of exceptions to this, and I do think personality and personal experience make a bigger difference. For example, if one of the characters reminds you of someone you dislike in real life ...

I don't think age matters in who you like.I'll turn 60 at midnight tonight(no I wasn't the first, I got beat out by a girl ;-P) but both Ginny and Luna make me wish I was 17 again and at Hogwarts. Ginny because I've always had a thing for redheads and Luna because she's my kind of people.

I don't really think age matters as much as personality or whether you're a boy or a girl.
It may play a small part in whether some people choose characters their age or some that they look up to or something. But mine are a mixture, being Ron, Sirius, Fred and George, Snape (esp in the films, cause hes a great actor) and Luna (and that is mostly becuase of her personality, which is so different to everyone elses, though she is still a great, caring person)

As an adult, I love all the kids, yes, even poor draco, but find them sweet and unfinished. I have hopes that they'll survive and have a good future ahead of them, but the adult characters fascinate me. I want to know Dumbledore's whole life story and I want to invite Minerva to hang out and we can talk about what she's thinkin' about things. Maybe mock Gilderoy Lockhart a bit and talk about how absurd Divination classes are. I adore Filius Flitwick too!

Then, of course, there's Severus Snape and his splendid sarcastic attitude. I'd happily browse his library any time! :D

Happy Birthday, Fostwolf! Woo Hoo!

I dont think that age matters, I love the Weasley Twins. They are funny they make me laugh and they have great sense's of humor. In these books there is all this dark stuff happening and they are comic relief. I don't think that the books would have been the same with out them. I only wish that they would have done more with them in the movies.

My favourite character is Hermione. I don't think age matters here, but my sex does, because I'm oversensitive on gender issues - I think that's why I love the only female lead character.

Like most everyone else has said, I think personality is a greater influence on which characters a reader most prefers. For example, I've always related most to Hermione becasue her bookish-ness and the fact that she is a perfectionist but still willing to do just about anything for her friends.

I also love the twins, Dumbledore, and the Marauders, so age is obviously not a huge factor, for me at least.

Then, of course, there's Severus Snape and his splendid sarcastic attitude. I'd happily browse his library any time! :D


I don't blame you. ;)

I dunno, alot of people I know that like HP are usually fans of either Draco Malfoy, the twins, Sirius or Prof. Snape, and they range from 14 - 19.

Myself...I'm 17 and I simply adore Prof. Snape. Was always very interested in the book version of him, then the movies came out and well...Alan Rickman portrays his character admirably.

[:love:]

I don't think age has anything to do with anything, in my opinion I think people choose who they can relate to the most; who they feel the most "connected" with. I also think a lot of people go for the character they would like to be or the character they would like to be friends with or have a relationship with, etc.

As a middle-aged married gal with kids I identify most closely with Molly, but the stories are told through the "Harry filter"... so I can't help but choose him as one of my favorites. My other one is Snape -- his past, present and future are just so mysterious -- makes me want to tie him down and phychoanalyze him for about a week! :evil:

I don't think age is much of a factor. I'm eighteen and my favorites are Dumbledore and Snape, and I also love Sirius (I think I have a bit of a crush on him---which is interesting since my age would probably suggest I would like Draco or Ron or something in that regard instead) and Lupin. I also liked Hermione because I identified with her in some ways, I always thought the twins were awesome, and I always liked Professor McGonagall quite a lot. I guess basically I seem to like everyone who isn't a Death Eater, but my favorites are in approximately this order.

I never disliked Snape as much as Harry or many readers did at the beginning. By OotP I was definitely starting to like him, and I trusted him, so when I first read HBP I felt a bit betrayed at first, but in my opinion it became clear that it was very ambiguous and he probably was on the good side.

As a middle-aged married gal with kids I identify most closely with Molly, but the stories are told through the "Harry filter"... so I can't help but choose him as one of my favorites. My other one is Snape -- his past, present and future are just so mysterious -- makes me want to tie him down and phychoanalyze him for about a week! :evil: Thanks for reminding me, piky. How could I have forgotten Molly??? With Molly, I want to invite her on a weekend vacation, so she can put her feet up and have a house elf or a cabana boy bring her tall, refreshing drinks while we giggle! And of course Harry is lovely too. He needs a mum in the most desperate way, doesn't he?

Yes and no. Your character is suitable to which era of your life you are in. Teens seem to like Rupert/Emma. The older characters seem to go for Sirius and Remus, while the adults go for Minerva and the like. But this is not always the case, but I do see it in peoples profiles and it does sort of seem like it does. But hey, my favorite characters are Sirius and McGonagall, and I bet (unless you know me :grumble:) you can't guess how old I am.

Yes and no. Your character is suitable to which era of your life you are in. Teens seem to like Rupert/Emma. The older characters seem to go for Sirius and Remus, while the adults go for Minerva and the like. But this is not always the case, but I do see it in peoples profiles and it does sort of seem like it does. But hey, my favorite characters are Sirius and McGonagall, and I bet (unless you know me :grumble:) you can't guess how old I am.

I kind of agree with you there Mike, different generations do seem to choose different characters. I do however think the movies do influence a lot of fans these days, Dan, Rupert and Emma being the main actors which people do seem to associate to their book characters. Personally my perception of the characters in the books and how they look/are in the films is often very far apart. My favorite characters are probably Dumbledore (he IS alive ;)) and Sirius, I really warmed to McGonagall in OOTP though as she seemed to become a lot more "motherly" :)

I can't say that. I like some adults like Remus and Fenrir, but also kids as Hermione and Seamus. I only look at how they act and not the age. I prefer serious characters as well as funny and silly one. So no preferences in this case.

Well I'm 18 and my favourite characters at the moment are Harry, Ron and Hermione. Now don't thinnk that's because of the actors who portray them because 'm not mad on the films and didn't even see Goblet until reciently. For people like me we've grown up with these characters. I started out a year younger than them and now I'm a year older. By the end of Deathly Hallows we should be about the same age.

At the same time as them really liking those characters I have really strong wishes for others e.g. Tonks and Lupin which almost go over my "favourite characters" catagory but as they aren't mentioned all the time...

So yeah I think my age has a lot to do with which characters I get.

~TheInvisibleFiend~

Well, hmmm, I'm 23, and I don't really have a favorite character. Of course, I'm fond of the trio, but I'm fond of most characters. I've never really had an ultimately favorite character either. So, in my guess, I guess my age hasn't affected which char I like best :P.

I don't really think so...........atleast not for FICTIONAL characters:)

well i think you could like a character better beacuse they are closer to your age. maybe they remind you of a friends or something? jsut the fact that they relate more to your peer group could have an effect on how much you appreciate a character.

I can see age being a factor to a certain extent. The younger readers (you know, the age group the books were actually written for -- 9 to 12) favoring Harry and Hermione because Harry's the hero that everyone's supposed to like, and Hermione's the girl. Not a whole lot of depth into the real hearts of the character.

Then I can see high school age kids more into Luna and the Weasleys (especially the twins), because for some reason that age of people lately are really into misfit or class clown types of characters.

Then I can see as you get older you can read more into the different characters and start branching out past the characters you're "supposed" to like, or that get the most screen time (so to speak).

Abviously these are very broad generalizations, and I'm not saying everyone in those age brackets prefer those characters. It just seems that it would logically follow.

In the end, I think everyone just likes (as far as the books go) the character they see themselves (or what the want for themselves) the most in. Obviously with the movies it's also going to be somewhat based on physical appearance as well.

There's just so many factors that would go into picking your favorite character, so you can't really predict who it's going to be for anyone.

Personally, my favorites are Hermione (seriously, studying habbits aside, we're like the same person), Doby (although I do have just a general elf fixation), Hagrid, Snape (even though I'm convinced he's a bad guy), Draco, and Voldemort (true, he's anything but loveable, but he's just such an intersting character!)

I agree, I think that the trio are more liked by a younger age. I know there are people who are older that like them too (mainly because of the movies), but I could see why the younger ages would favour them. Characters like Sirius/Lupin have more depth than younger kids can appreciate. (in my opinion) I certainly agree with the fact that they like Harry because he's the hero and Hermione because she's the girl. But I think that's mainly for the younger girls who like that combination. The guys I think would be more drawn to Harry/Ron.

My favourite characters are Sirius, Lupin, the twins. I love Sirius because he's just amazing...there's no other way to describe it lol. Lupin because he's just wise and shows a lot of care. The twins because they add the funniest comic relief in the books.

I'm fourteen and I love. He's so annoying but without Ron, Hermione would go insane with her constant 'studying', which is something I try to avoid doing. He's also very moody.

I also love Luna! She's so unique and not afraid to speak her mind and dress weird! We are sort of like twins except that I chose to dress up as Larry the Cable Buy (goatee and belly and catchphrase included) to school instead of wearing turnip earrings. The result was the same though.

I was one of the four eighth graders in my class who dressed up for halloween. There are 150 of us.

Isn't that sad? People are so boring (except my three weird friends and I!)

I'm fifteen, and my favorite character has been Ron since I was nine and started reading the series. I'm also quite partial to Hermione, because she reminds me of myself a lot, (though I hope I'm not as annoying) and Professor Snape, because he's so mysterious and such a complex character. I don't know if that has anything to do with my age, but I suppose it might.

I say it has something to do with it; my favorites are the trio, especially Ron, probably because I am their age and can relate to them.
But my 2nd favorite character besides Ron is Dumbledore, and I'm no where near his age.

i think it does because the movies have an effect on which character you like best so age does also........

for example

i like ron the best partly because of his character and partly because rupert grint is hott :D

I would have to say no, because many people can relate to characters, even if they are older/younger.

I don't know. I'm 17 (not sure where that would place me demographically), and my favourite character is Severus

However, my second favourite characters would be a tie between Ginny and Hermione (each for different reasons...)

So I guess I sort of trancend the boundaries a bit. I do agree that a lot of older people (mostly like, college aged) tend to be more fond of the older characters. That's only natural, though. We tend to like book characters because they identify with something in us. It's more likely that a character portrayed as older (and age in books is a device of juxtaposition) will be written with qualities found in the typical older person, whilst younger characters will be portrayed with younger characteristics.

I also think that gap blurs as the series continues - the capital letters Harry of book three, for example, is nothing like the Harry in book 6. Going back to my favourites, I really didn't like Ginny until about book 5 or so.

I like the Trio, Ginny and Dumbledore best.

Age, really doesn't have anything to do for me. I have always loved Tom Riddle's character, and we have seen him when his was 11, 15+. I, being 13, am nowhere near his age. It's more of a personality thing for me. But to support your idea, I do like the Marauders portrayed as school students, rather than older men...

I dont think it does but i think it has an effect on the way you relate to characters . . . ill come back later and give lots of beautiful examples of this, but for example, many of the younger age group 14-20 maybe, have lots of signatures with Ron loves Hermione, etc. and then you can also see on the threads the way older "students" have more thoughts on harry killing, and it not being as easy as some of the younger students make it out to be . . .

Or am i just being ageist???

I think you are being ageist, along with a heap of other people who have posted on this thread. Just because you are thirteen does not mean you automatically fancy a character from the movie or are completely obsessed with one aspect in the book ( Ron loves Hermione). I think age only maters a little bit- I started reeading the books when I was 8 and like most 8year old girls, my favourite charachter was Hermione. Over the last year or so I have began liking Ginny. More recently I have added Snape, Tonks,Lilly and neville-I'm 13. I think it depends more on how obsessed you are with the books, how many times you have read the books and how often you think about the characters.

Dumbledore is my favourite character, and I assure you I am nowhere near 150!!! But I do find the adult Marauders more interesting than the teenagers, as a general rule.

I think you are being ageist, along with a heap of other people who have posted on this thread. Just because you are thirteen does not mean you automatically fancy a character from the movie or are completely obsessed with one aspect in the book ( Ron loves Hermione). I think age only maters a little bit- I started reeading the books when I was 8 and like most 8year old girls, my favourite charachter was Hermione. Over the last year or so I have began liking Ginny. More recently I have added Snape, Tonks,Lilly and neville-I'm 13. I think it depends more on how obsessed you are with the books, how many times you have read the books and how often you think about the characters.
Well I think personally that age has an influence on how you see or perceive certain aspects in the books. It has nothing to do with being ageist, but with different perspective due to different experience.

And allthough being 13 doesn't mean that you automatically fancy Ron or Draco or Ginny or Hermione, it is more likely that you'll find persons with this sort of interest in this age group. It's only natural.

I think that age has an affect on who everybody likes. When I first started reading HP I really liked the Trio, but the twins were my favorites. About the time the fourth or fifth book came out I fell in love with Sirius. I also thought Tonks and Luna were so cool in the fifth book. Now I really like Lupin, Harry, and Ginny. Of course, I'm not sure that the age of the characters actually affect who you like. Like I said, I think Lupin is great and I'm only 16. It's maybe more of a personality thing? When you're younger you may relate better with Harry, Ron, and Hermione, but as you get older you start looking at personalities and stuff.


Ageist??? :lol:

I'm a self prophessed kid-ult, an adult who is proud of not completey acting my age! I don't think its your age that makes you drawn to any charcter, but whether you are able to put yourself in the charcter's shoes, and really allow yourself to be emerged in the situations they face.

I can relate to many of the characters roles, as while I'm defiately a muggle, I know what its like to be a friend, feel like like the fate of the world is in my hands, watch people who are close to me go through something bad and have them try to hide it, have to choose between two sides and have my hand forced... all those experiences come with age, so I guess that kind of affects being able to relate to the characters. I don't know if it makes you choose favourite charcters though.

I dont think age has anything to say, maybe for some. My favourite characters are Ron, Hermione, Fred and George. To me they are what makes the books woth reading over and over...Not that I dont like the other characters, such as sirus,snape,lupin.

Hi. I think age does have an affect on which characters you like best. Younger generation likes Hogwarts students, young wizards and the older people like Hogwarts Teachers and older wizards. It affects me, but I still like for example: Dumbledore, Sirius, because they were strong and wise wizards. :)

I think it has an effect on how you see many of the characters. I know, my 10-yr. old cousin last year said she didn't like Luna. She is my favorite Ravenclaw. My cousin just think she's a weirdo. When I see that Luna has extraordinary faith (e.g. the veil and comforting Harry) and unique insight.

I am 24 and my fav characters are Harry, Ron, Fred, George, Hermione, Ginny, Neville and Luna.

To an extent, I believe it does. I am not saying that this is always true, but a reader the same age as the character tends to connect better than a reader a different age from the character. For example, many youths' favorite characters are Harry, Ron, Hermione, Neville, Luna, etc., for they can connect with their emotions, difficulties, etc. However, with the main characters like Harry, Ron, Hermione, etc., older readers can connect as well because of the incredible amount of insight, that JKR gives us, into those characters' thoughts, feelings, etc.

As for me, my favorite characters are, like me, of the older 'variety,' simply because I can connect with them better. However, I do enjoy Hermione and Luna, for I can remember when I was young and like them.

I don't think it does for the most part. I was eight when I started reading Potter and I'm sixteen now and I still like the same characters, I just developed more connections and parallels.
I don't think that Severus Snape is a character that is much appreciated by the younger Potter fans. The complexity and darkness of his character that makes him who he is also makes him difficult for most younger people to relate to and understand.

For me, age doesn't really come into play when I consider which characters are my favourite, but I do think that it can be that way for a lot of younger people. I usually just choose my favourite characters based on personality.

And oh yeah, my favourites are Sirius, Fred and George, Dumbledore and Harry.

I don't think age matters to much.I'm pretty old and I lvoe Harry.Some of his "life" reminds me of my childhood,so I connect.Then again,I also love Snape,who's older.But he's grouchy like me so thats why I like him.


Oh,and I'm MADLY in love with Alan Rickman!that might have something to do with it too.

I think you are being ageist, along with a heap of other people who have posted on this thread. Just because you are thirteen does not mean you automatically fancy a character from the movie or are completely obsessed with one aspect in the book ( Ron loves Hermione). I think age only maters a little bit- I started reeading the books when I was 8 and like most 8year old girls, my favourite charachter was Hermione. Over the last year or so I have began liking Ginny. More recently I have added Snape, Tonks,Lilly and neville-I'm 13. I think it depends more on how obsessed you are with the books, how many times you have read the books and how often you think about the characters.

True: but if you notice, Im not saying its the only characters they like, i just think as you get older your experiences, and relationships change, and i think the same applies for relationships with the character.

I also don't think there is a definitive answer: everyone reacts differently depending on their own experiences/maturity/interpretations.

For example, a younger person may like the Ron/Hermione Harry?Ginny storylines because they think they'll live happily ever after and its a fairy tale, but someone older may like this because it reminds them of being young and in love.

I know when i started reading i was really into the whole love triangles that may or may not have been developing; now i just like harry because he reminds me (if u take out the saving the world bit) a bit of myself in the way he reacts to adults, his stubborness....

I dont think it is possible to define which age group likes which; but IF i was to argue it, i think my previous statement about the younger generation liking the romantic bits would stand. You only have to read the threads on this board to see that; some people get genuinely (or seemingly) upset when you dare to suggest that Ron and \hermione are not going to live happily ever after, or that they won't get their big romantic moment (And yes i know older people do as well. . . )

It might not be your age, but your experiences that make you like a character in a certain way.

... I'm 22, and I'm a fan of Harry, and Luna... I don't really like the adult characters much...

I think alot of younger readers cannot understand the brilliance of some of the lesser characters because they havent had much life experiance yet.

Lupin and Luna Lovegood are great examples of this.
Lupin appeals to many older readers because he is everything a woman wants. He is underlined as chivalrous and romantic yet dangerous at the same time. I know I wanted him to sweep me off my feet even before I found out that he was a werewolf!
Most of the younger readers probably cannot see this yet.
Luna is another character that appeals to older people. She is such a mysterious character and is the exact opposite of Hermione! She is there to let the world know that one cannot base life around facts and face value. There is another world out there that we may not be able to see and touch but that doesnt mean it may not be out there!
I love her character because i think she speaks to the real world by challenging us! Everyone in our world knows that there really is no such thing as another world of witches and wizards that go to school and are secretly battling a huge war but when we read the books its hard to convince ourselves otherwise!
So if we can believe that a wizarding world exists why isnt it so far fetched that a world of Crumpled-Horned Snorkacks and the like exist in the wizarding world?!
Most younger readers would just dismiss Luna as weird!

On a simpler note, I think its easier to assume that many of the older readers have an easier time relating and enjoying the older characters such as the Mauraders as opposed to the younger readers enjoying the current gang of kids

As for me...I'm 23 years old and I started reading the books when I was 16. My favorite's List hasnt changed that much over all this time. I've always been a huge Fred and George fan from the start and I'd say my favorite character has always been Remus Lupin. Characters that have been added to the list have been Luna and Ginny. Luna struck me after the third or fourth read of OOTP because that was when I finally felt I understood her.
Ginny's spunkiness has grown on me as well because she reminds me of me when I was her age...minus all those boyfriends!

No, I like DD and i am certainly not 150+ yrs old.

To answer the question:for younger kids yes, they can relate, but the older the kid the more they look at other factors not just similarities.

Maybe some like how one charicter acts in certain situations. remeber as kids we had friends based on, "oh we both like cars, lets play together."

kids like similarities it makes the world easier if we are in catagories, the less complicated the better


unfortunatly i just way overanalysed that.

I think alot of younger readers cannot understand the brilliance of some of the lesser characters because they havent had much life experiance yet.

Lupin and Luna Lovegood are great examples of this.
Lupin appeals to many older readers because he is everything a woman wants. He is underlined as chivalrous and romantic yet dangerous at the same time. I know I wanted him to sweep me off my feet even before I found out that he was a werewolf!
Most of the younger readers probably cannot see this yet.
Luna is another character that appeals to older people. She is such a mysterious character and is the exact opposite of Hermione! She is there to let the world know that one cannot base life around facts and face value. There is another world out there that we may not be able to see and touch but that doesnt mean it may not be out there!
I love her character because i think she speaks to the real world by challenging us! Everyone in our world knows that there really is no such thing as another world of witches and wizards that go to school and are secretly battling a huge war but when we read the books its hard to convince ourselves otherwise!
So if we can believe that a wizarding world exists why isnt it so far fetched that a world of Crumpled-Horned Snorkacks and the like exist in the wizarding world?!
Most younger readers would just dismiss Luna as weird!

On a simpler note, I think its easier to assume that many of the older readers have an easier time relating and enjoying the older characters such as the Mauraders as opposed to the younger readers enjoying the current gang of kids

As for me...I'm 23 years old and I started reading the books when I was 16. My favorite's List hasnt changed that much over all this time. I've always been a huge Fred and George fan from the start and I'd say my favorite character has always been Remus Lupin. Characters that have been added to the list have been Luna and Ginny. Luna struck me after the third or fourth read of OOTP because that was when I finally felt I understood her.
Ginny's spunkiness has grown on me as well because she reminds me of me when I was her age...minus all those boyfriends!

I agree :lol: . When I first read POA, I was 12 years old and I did not find Lupin remotely attractive (I kind of pictured him an old man, to my embarassment now). It was not until I saw the movie that I realized he could not be that old and could be quite handsome.

By the time OOTP rolled around, I was 16, which is a big difference from 12 in maturity, and I fell in love with Luna (even though I am a big Hermione Fan!). I think with age and experience people can generally relate to her better.

So I do think age has a big effect on the characters you favor. I literally grew up with the trio and other kids in their year, so they are nearer to the top of my favorites list than the adults.

That's just me of course.

I agree :lol: . When I first read POA, I was 12 years old and I did not find Lupin remotely attractive (I kind of pictured him an old man, to my embarassment now). It was not until I saw the movie that I realized he could not be that old and could be quite handsome.

By the time OOTP rolled around, I was 16, which is a big difference from 12 in maturity, and I fell in love with Luna (even though I am a big Hermione Fan!). I think with age and experience people can generally relate to her better.

Lupin is only around thirty something in the books but to a 12 year old that is near ancient. In fact, the kids I teach all thought I was 18 or 19 years old because they couldent picture anyone in there twenties or thirties. When I told them I was nearly 10 or 12 years older then they were they were genuinely shocked!

Lupin for me isnt that much older now and very easy to crush on! I was your age when I began to like Lupin...just wait until you get older and watch that crush grow! :love:

12-16 is a big age difference based on maturity. But I was thinking more along the lines of 8-35. I do believe age plays a big part on the whole when it comes to characters because harry potter appeals to such a huge age gap! One the transends generations! That is why I love harry potter so much!

Perhaps, but it also has to do with personality. I never was into swooning over hot rock stars and idols or the male characters of the HP series :P
There are teenage girls madly in love with the character of Harry / Draco (although that might have a lot to do with Dan and Tom :P). I feel more interested in the strong female characters in these books like Hermione and Ginny. (okay I confess! I am from the Spice Girl generation! :P), but that might not have to do with age...dunno...Im rambling...time for bed...still...insomnia tonight...

I think age matters to the extent that younger children (say, age 7 - 12) tend to like the Trio best, because to them, they are the obvious heroes, and they don't really consider liking any of the others best. After that age, I think it's much more based on personality (For me, for instance, my age doesn't have an effect on my favorites at all).

Anyway, that's just my personal experience...

I certainly think that your age affects your view on the characters... As some people say, 'the older, the wiser...' so maybe as you get older, you see some aspects of the characters that you overlooked when you first read the book, years ago... That's why I think it's nice to re-read books once in a while; you may have a different opinion about it after you read it again!

I don't think age really affects who your favourite characters are, at least not in my experience. I started reading the series when I was 12 and my favourite character list hasn't changed, except for some additions.

What I think does change is the way we view characters. I think older readers do tend to read into and analyse characters a bit more than say 6 or 7 year olds. My 6 year old cousin, for example, loves all the "good" characters and hates all the "bad" characters because to her that's the way you're supposed to react, but I think older readers (and by "older" I mean anyone over 10) appreciate even the villains as being interesting and complex characters.

Having said that though, I still think it would be a generalisation to assume that age affects who your favourite characters are.

I definitely think your age would affect which characters you like more. I think that people's favorite characters are usually the ones they identify best with, and it's harder as a child to identify with someone who is more than twice your age, even within a book.

For me, Hermione has always been my favorite character because I feel she is my paper twin. However, it's only recently, as I've gotten older and been rereading the series for the umpteenth time, that I have started to really appreciate and identify with Dumbledore. I used to look at him and ask how he couldn't understand Harry and wonder why he was so removed, but now that I've gotten older, I feel more connected with him, and I really love his character.

In general, I would say, yes, your age can affect which characters you like best and the way you identify with them.

Reading these comments have helped me understand why it is Lupin that I like best....I am...cough,cough, 41 and he and the rest of the "slightly" older characters are who appeal to me.

I like Harry as well but he seems like an "old soul" because of his childhood which was no childhood in the first place.

I even have a bit of compassion for Aunt Petunia because she is a mother and she is dealing with not only a difficult husband (which she totally enables in his terrible personality) but she has knowledge of the wizarding world that she would rather forget about, that she has to deal with as well.
Don't get me wrong her treatment of her nephew is dispicable no matter what his blood ties are. She has no excuse there but I can still relate to her on a small level.

Biki_Cat

I even have a bit of compassion for Aunt Petunia because she is a mother and she is dealing with not only a difficult husband (which she totally enables in his terrible personality) but she has knowledge of the wizarding world that she would rather forget about, that she has to deal with as well.
Don't get me wrong her treatment of her nephew is dispicable no matter what his blood ties are. She has no excuse there but I can still relate to her on a small level.

Biki_Cat

You know whats interesting? My mom said the exact same thing to me when she read the books. I told her she was crazy. My mom also predicted that Petunia had some repressed magical ability as well and I told her she was crazy again! That was until we all read book five.
My mom explained that mothers will do close to anything to try and protect their children, especially from what they believe is morally wrong and potentially hurtful. That is what Petunia's definition of magic is, wrong and hurtful.
Don't get her wrong, mymom definetly dislikes Petunia's character but I think it definetly takes a certain level of life experiance to see the other side of her struggle.

I think it might, since depending on your life experiences you'll probably find a character that you relate to or whatever, so if you've felt ostracized then you might sympathise with, say, Draco, and so your age might play a role in that.

I bet age also effects how you connect the character to the actor who plays them in the movie, because I definitely know a bunch of teenage girls whose opinions about characters are based solely on the looks of the actor who portrays them.

To a certain extent maybe, just because different expierence can make you sympathize with a certain character. For example, if a guy you liked didn't/couldn't like you back, you'd feel closer to Tonks than say Dumbledore. If you've been mistreated, you can head towards Harry, Draco, or Sirius.

But most of my favourites are the adults, and I'm a youn-ish teen so i dunno if it means that much.

No not really, I love Dumbledore and he's/was like 150 years old, I also love Luna and she like 15/16. I don't think it matters!

I'm 24 and my favorite characters are Hermione & Dumbledore .

I share similarities with them both.

I don't think age matters, but I do think young girls may like certain characters because of the actors that portray them in the films.

Hmm... I don't know if age has anything to do with it, really. I agree with those who say it's more personality... but then, I don't think that applies all the time either??

Let's see, I'm 17 and an only child who's only life is chatting on the computer to people in other countries. Right. My favorites characters are The Malfoys, Snape...Cedric... Hermione... Luna... McGonagall...and Bellatrix. :err:

Maybe I just need a personality adjustment. Then again, I am a Gemini. You know, split personality and all. :lol:

I think to a degree your age does affect which characters you like more than others. You can relate to them, and compare yourself to them and know who they are, probably better than someone younger than that particular character. Most of the time, I find that I often relate to Luna and Ron, mainly because of their personality an how they act. Their age does impact how I view them and how they affect me. Then again I can also relate to younger characters in the books because I can see and feel what they are or have been through.

Hmmm.... for me I don't believe that age makes any difference at all.... my favorite characters are of course Fred and George. I personally think that they are the best characters in the books. I like them because they are not only very talented, but because they are a great source of humor. Next to the twins my favorite characters in order are DD, McGonagal, Hermione, (Ron and Harry of course, but I like them exactly the same-- not one more than the other), and Dobby of course. That's not to say that I don't really like any of the other characters--- it's just that they are not my favorites.

I'm a teenage girl, and my favorite characters are Dumbledore, Remus, and Luna. Minor age differences there. :lol:

I do think I tend to prefer the school-aged characters, although I have positive feelings toward most of the characters.

I'm not really sure. I was just out of my teens when the series started and I immediately loved Harry Potter - a mere by - out of sympathy with his lousy home life - but I also loved Dumbledore - a wise old man