Buffy the Vampire Slayer / Harry Potter similarities

[Bella_Luna]

Hiya everybody!! *Waves* Newbie here.

I don't know if this has ever been brought up before, and I apologize if it has. I know that people make comparisons between HP and LoTR and HP and Star Wars, but has anybody ever noticed the many similarities between the Harry Potter series and the T.V. show Buffy the Vampire Slayer? Being a fanatic of both, I suppose I would tend to notice these things more than others would, but oh well :)

Some comparisons (Warning: Possible spoilers ahead!):

The Hero:
Buffy/Harry

The Loyal Buddy:
Xander/Ron

The Knowledge Girl:
Willow/Hermione

The Younger One (who has a crush on a main character):
Dawn (who had a crush on Xander) /Ginny (who has a crush on Harry)

The Mentor:
Giles/Dumbledore

The Snarky Blonde:
Spike/Draco

The Werewolf:
Oz/Remus Lupin

The Villain:
Various Big Bads/Voldemort

Both Buffy and Harry lack parental figures.
Both knew nothing about their unusual abilities until they were told of them.
Both Ginny and Dawn's lives have been put into mortal peril by the Villain.
Both Willow and Hermione believed themselves to be normal humans until they were both revealed to possess magical ability.

And so on, and so on....

See what I mean?

[Guardian Angel]

Okay, I am not into this Buffy thing, so I am not the right person for this threasd at all! I just wanted to say :welcome: ! It's always nice to see new people in here! What can I say, except - Happy Posting! ;)

[lanifiel]

Sorry Bella_Luna, I'm going to have to say your reaching to find connections. Lets break it down.

The Hero:
Buffy/Harry - Ones a girl ones a boy, Harry is just one wizard amongst many, Buffy is a Slayer, there is only one (well two) of her. Buffy started as a teenager, Harry started as an 11-year-old.

The Loyal Buddy:
Xander/Ron - Not much to fault on in this point, both offer good comic relief. However, Ron is a wizard, just the same as Harry. Xander is just a human with a good heart, not a slayer.

The Knowledge Girl:
Willow/Hermione - Again this might seem like a good comparision, except that Hermione was a Witch from Birth Willow had to study to become one.

The Younger One (who has a crush on a main character):
Dawn (who had a crush on Xander) /Ginny (who has a crush on Harry) - You said it yourself, the crush is on the wrong person.

The Mentor:
Giles/Dumbledore - Is Dumbledore a mentor? He doesnt really teach Harry anything, all he seems to do is be there at the right moment. Also Dumbledore is a big time Witch, Giles is just a dabbler.

The Snarky Blonde:
Spike/Draco - Spike likes Buffy and Dawn and was cool when evil, Draco hates Harry, Herimone and Ron and would willingly Kill them, he's not cool when being evil, hes just a little punk that needs to be slapped.

The Werewolf:
Oz/Remus Lupin - Oz now has control of his werewolf tendencies (so long as hes not around Willow). Remus is Wizard as well, then theres the age differnce. Besides Oz plays in a band :D

The Villain:
Various Big Bads/Voldemort - Well I guess I would say that it would be the Master and Voldemort, but theres no connection there either. Buffy only fights the Master, what Twice? And is killed once. Harry only has problems with Voldemort (so far).

Both Buffy and Harry lack parental figures - Harry was an orphan from birth (pretty much), Buffy and Dawn's Dad is still alive. Also Buffys Mum only died recently.

Both knew nothing about their unusual abilities until they were told of them - I'm fairly certain Buffy would of noticed something was amiss when she started benchpressing over 350Kgs. Harry also noticed wierd and strange things happened around him as well :)

Both Ginny and Dawn's lives have been put into mortal peril by the Villain - :lol: so has the rest of the cast as well though!

Both Willow and Hermione believed themselves to be normal humans until they were both revealed to possess magical ability - Its been said that Willow would not be a witch without Buffy, She'd be a Vampire Queen :D Herimone was a witch from birth

Other Problems I see: Harry has no Brothers or Sisters. Buffy now has Dawn. Buffy is a Mother figure to Dawn, Harry is not a Mother or Father figure to anyone. Xander does not have a large family like Ron does, the Scooby Squad (the true one anyway) consists of Giles, Buffy, Xander, Willow and Angel...

I dont mean to shoot you down, but I really cant see it... :)

[Bella_Luna]

Well, I never said that my comparisons were perfect, lanifiel. I am aware that Harry is an only child and Buffy is not, and that the characters are different ages, etc., etc. What I said was that there were similarities between BtVS and Harry Potter, not that they were exactly the same thing. Are Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter perfectly the same? Certainly not. There are many similarities between the two, though.

All I was saying was that there are certain aspects that are similar between the two. Sheesh.

[Sola]

Ehh.... Like I've said before, you can find similarities between almost anything.

[Jinxie Cat]

I guess this thread isn't turning out the way you wanted it to is it Bella? :) Anyways, I never have actually watched Buffy, but good comparisions! :bigtu: Oh and welcome!! :welcome:

[Bella_Luna]

And a nice big hello to you, too! :D

[Rowena Ravenclaw]

Originally posted by lanifiel (original post (http://www.cosforums.com/a/showthread.php?postid=213772#post213772))
The Knowledge Girl:
Willow/Hermione - Again this might seem like a good comparision, except that Hermione was a Witch from Birth Willow had to study to become one.

But if Hermione hadn't studied, how much use would her powers have been? She had to learn how to use them, like Willow.

The Snarky Blonde:
Spike/Draco - Spike likes Buffy and Dawn and was cool when evil, Draco hates Harry, Herimone and Ron and would willingly Kill them, he's not cool when being evil, hes just a little punk that needs to be slapped.

I don't know that we've seen Draco in truly evil mode yet: just extremely punkish. Maybe if he does go all-out evil, he'll get cool. (Somehow I doubt it, but it's worth considering.)

Both Buffy and Harry lack parental figures - Harry was an orphan from birth (pretty much), Buffy and Dawn's Dad is still alive.

I don't know. I've seen some heated debate elsewhere on whether or not he is.

Both knew nothing about their unusual abilities until they were told of them - I'm fairly certain Buffy would of noticed something was amiss when she started benchpressing over 350Kgs. Harry also noticed wierd and strange things happened around him as well :)

Both Ginny and Dawn's lives have been put into mortal peril by the Villain - :lol: so has the rest of the cast as well though!


So doesn't that support the theory? ;)

In conclusion, while I agree that you can pretty much connect anything with anything else, there's a slight case here. (Then again, maybe I'm just trying to justify the time I mixed up Remus and Oz's histories. :o )

[lanifiel]

Oh come on Harry's parents are dead...

Bella, I'm not trying to be rude or mean and I'm sorry but to me theres absolutley nothing to make the claim that they are similar. Buffys hunts Demons and Vampires. Harry Goes to school to learn to become a wizard. Oh and one more thing, I hate people who claim that LotR's and Hp are simialr as well... :)

:welcome: to the forums :D

[Rowena Ravenclaw]

Originally posted by lanifiel (original post (http://www.cosforums.com/a/showthread.php?postid=214427#post214427))
Oh come on Harry's parents are dead...

Oops. I meant Hank Summers.

[TheShadow]

:welcome:
Woah! I never realized they had so many simalarities.

[Dedalus]

Good observations, but I think many stories will share some of the qualities (a lot of stories have a hero, a loyal friend, a love-struck person, a knowledgable person (often to explain their own plot) big bads etc ... ) but the biggest connections are simply because the both delve into magic, and some things are going to be similar (werewolves, witches, mortal peril etc), but again a lot of stories include this, if they have any focus on folklore, myth, magic or demons, in any way. So it's not that Buffy the Vampire Slayer doesn't share these similarities, but others do too.

[go_anna40]

I was never Buffy fan, I don't think I've watched any of it's episodes.
But there does seem to have a few similaraties.

But then again, Buffy can be the opposite of Harry.

[lorna]

I actually rather like Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I started watching it in reruns and kind of got hooked. The writing in some of these episodes is awesome even it the setting and the storyline is a little goofy at times.
I can't say I see alot of similarities between the two but they could change. After all, didn't Stan Shunpike in GOF claim he was a vampire
"hunter"

[Cat]

I don't think there are an astounding amount of similarities in your list. I think some of them are basic elements of a working fiction compound.

However, there are still more real similarities here than between Harry Potter and The Lord of the Rings. I wish people would get over that one.

[FoolOnTheHill]

Yay Buffy! Well like any Good vs. Evil story there are some similarities.

But Spike is way way cooler then Malfoy that punk. Spike has a leather coat. Aahhh Spike.....

And although I'm not a huge Ginny fan, I like her alot more then Dawn and it pains me to see them compared to each other....

But you do have some good points there. :D

[She's Crafty]

I'm not sure if this really belongs in the Common Room, but -

I’ve stated several times in the past that I often see great similarities between Faith, the rogue Slayer from Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Draco Malfoy from Harry Potter. Recently I’ve been reading over the HP novels (in time for the fifth instalment, yay!). I also re-watched Season 3 of Buffy in preparation for the end of series; I needed something to remind me that at one time this show was not so exceptionally God-Awful. This has given me an opportunity to do a proper analysis of both characters, and draw up the similarities I see.

So, the similarities. Let’s start with attitude.

Quotage: “You can’t stop the Ascension, Mayor’s got it wired B! He built this town for demons to feed on and come Graduation day he’s getting paid.” – Faith, Enemies.

“Too late now Potter! They’ll be the first to go now the Dark Lord’s back! Mudbloods and Muggle-lovers first!” – Draco, The Goblet of Fire.

Both are not only cocky individuals who also believe very strongly in the infallibility of their ‘bosses.’ Both seem to believe this not just because they want too, but also because they know it makes them the unquestionable nemesis of the heroes.

In Faith’s case, she never really understood what evil would do to her. She thought it would be great, that it was what she wanted, what she was. Faith ended up being badly mistaken (see Who Are You? And Five By Five) and in the end, she’s had to pay for this mistake. Faith lost her freedom to earn her penance in jail. End of her story.

Draco on the other hand, is not as far into evil as Faith was by, for example, Graduation Day, but he’s slowly sinking down that path. I for one think that, like Faith, he doesn’t fully understand the true consequences of evil. Draco thinks it’s what he wants because his father has instilled that idea into him. Whenever he has been faced with evil though, Draco has shown what a truly scared little child he is by fleeing, suggesting that not only does evil in fact frighten him but that he hasn’t got the kind of gall to actually be truly evil.

In both cases, it’s fine and dandy as long as there’s someone big backing them up. Faith may seem far braver than Draco could ever be, but I’ve often wondered if she would mouth off so much is she didn’t have super powers? It’s a known fact that Draco only mouths off Harry when he has Crabbe and Goyle around to protect his ***, you have to wonder if she didn’t have super powers to fall back on whether Faith would be quite so cocky. Then again, there was the story about the quarry that she told the Mayor, which would suggest I’m going down the completely wrong path here so maybe not.

So, they are similar here. They think because they’ve got the ‘Baddest of the Bad’ baddie backing them up that they can’t be harmed. Faith however, saw that idea blow up spectacularly in her face when Buffy stabbed her and put her in a coma for eight months, only to wake up and find out the Mayor also failed. Buffy, again, won, and took away what Faith saw as the only real parental figure she ever had. Draco believes that being on Voldemort’s side will protect him from harm, and it goes without saying that one day this is going to blow up in his face, but exactly how I can’t speculate just yet.

Anyway, more Quotage:

Faith: What isn't? You know, I come to Sunnydale, I'm a Slayer, I do my job kicking *** better than anyone, and what do I hear about, everywhere I go? Buffy.
Buffy: That's not my fault.
Faith: Everybody asks, 'Why can't you be more like Buffy?' but did anyone ask if you could be more like me? – Enemies

“Harry Potter got a Nimbus Two Thousand last year. Special permission from Dumbledore so he could play for Gryffindor. He’s not even that good, it’s just because he’s famous… famous for having a stupid scar on his forehead…everyone thinks he’s so smart, wonderful Potter with his scar and his broomstick.” – Draco, The Chamber of Secrets.

And this is to evidence one feeling that, above, seals their animosity for the heroes of the stories – jealousy. They see their ways as being the be all end all, and it grates their cheese that Buffy and Harry respectively are completely opposite to them, and better for it. Everyone turns to Buffy when it comes to the crunch; Faith was always just there to back Buffy up. Everyone at Hogwarts admires Harry, he’s popular, well liked, everything that Draco isn’t but does want to be. Faith wants to be the lead Slayer but isn’t.

To Faith, that jealousy was the clincher in turning her towards the Mayor and away from Buffy’s side. At this point in time in the HP books, Draco has the potential to go either way but if he were to finally become a Death Eater (like his father Lucius) then I think his supreme jealousy of Harry would be what tips the scales. In both Faith and Draco’s minds by being their enemies their ‘showing’ Buffy and Harry that they better than them, that they are the ones fighting the winning battle and that all their good will come to nothing. It goes without saying that both are badly mistaken and we all know how it turned out for Faith.

Jealousy destroyed Othello; jealousy did destroy Faith (I feel Enemies showed her entire corruption in all it’s glory), although she has the chance to work for redemption now. Time will tell with Malfoy, but the signs certainly do seem to be pointing down that same path walked by the Rogue Slayer.

Lastly, like Faith, I believe Draco is redeemable. Now, before all the dissenter come a leaping out of the wood work to tell me otherwise, consider this – Faith never gave many signs of wanting to be redeemed, for example:

"I'll be sittin' at his right hand. Assuming he has hands after the transformation. I'm not too clear on that part. And all your little lame-*** friends are gonna' be Kibbles and Bits." – Faith, Enemies.

To be perfectly frank, I never expected her to be until she came back out of her coma and we saw her self-hatred clearly. Like Faith I really don’t think Draco is clear cut evil, I see him as an insecure character whose parents don’t give a fig about him and whom is ruled by his jealousy of another. Mmm, very much like Faith.

Redemption for Malfoy is extremely possible. However, how far will he go before he ever realises what he’s got himself into?

“You have no idea what its like on the other side. When nothings in control, nothing makes sense. There’s just pain and hate and nothing you do means anything.” – Faith, Five by Five.

So, how’d I do? Anything you want to add.

[rotsiepots]

Oddly enough, there's already a thread on similarities between "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and Harry Potter. This thread is entitled Buffy the Vampire Slayer/Harry Potter similarities (http://www.cosforums.com/a/showthread.php?s=&threadid=6843) and can be found in the Common Room.

If you're unsure whether a topic has been discussed previously, please use the search (http://www.cosforums.com/a/search.php) function located at the top left-hand corner of your screen.

Thanks -- I'll merge these threads now.

[Loz]

Bella_Luna - I'll support you! I agree that there are similarities between Harry Potter and BtVS!

[WhiteSlash]

The movie or the TV show? I've only seen the movie, which was like last week because my mom was watching it. I was never really into Buffy, but I see the similarities.

[RonFan24]

I am a die hard Buffy (the series, Meli :) ) and HP fan and I have to agree with everyone who said you can pretty much find simliarities in any two things you look at. And I have to say, Buffy didn't have her powers until she was called. Yes, she was destined to become the slayer, but she wasn't born with the slayers essence because that was still in the previous slayer. As for Harry, he was born a wizard. And how can you say Buffy had lack of parental figures? Her mom was always there for Buffy, even though she didn't understand. And even though her birth father wasn't around, Giles has always served as her father figure. Whereas Harry never knew his parents and was sent to the Dursleys who don't care for him at all, leaving him with no one.

The Snarky Blonde:
Spike/Draco - Spike likes Buffy and Dawn and was cool when evil, Draco hates Harry, Herimone and Ron and would willingly Kill them, he's not cool when being evil, hes just a little punk that needs to be slapped.
Not to mention that Spike was extremely dangerous before he got chipped and resouled and fell in love with Buffy. Remeber, he did kill two slayers. Draco isn't exactly evil, he's just a snot-nose brat who thinks he's better than everyone else.

[Ferrik]

I don't know. There's a lot of similarities between Buffy and HP but more on a thematic level and less on a straight up character comparision. I really liked She's Crafty's post on Faith/Draco. Those two fall squarely in the "POssibly-redeemable bad guy" category.

Geez. I wish I could think of more examples for this. I seem to have a lot of posts that include "It's just like on that Buffy ep where...", but I can't think of any of them now. :shrug:

[Bella_Luna]

There's a lot of similarities between Buffy and HP but more on a thematic level and less on a straight up character comparision.

Yes, the two shows are similar on a thematic level, but they're not exactly similar, just like you said. That's just what I've been saying.


The movie or the TV show? I've only seen the movie, which was like last week because my mom was watching it. I was never really into Buffy, but I see the similarities.

Ack! Not the movie! Not that horrid monstrosity!:wow: Repress! Repress!

[Drusilla]

I'm a huge fan of Buffy the Vampire Slayer,Season 6 of which is currently airing here-so no spoilers please-and I've just observed similarities between the books and the TV show.Both have protagonists who at first glance are unlikely heroes,who have to struggle with their inner darkness and their fights are their own-as of OotP,Harry has even been told he is the only one who can defeat Voldemort,just as Buffy is the only girl in the world who can fight vampires,demons etc.-each has turned out to be a Chosen One of sorts in his or her own fight,thanks to a prophecy.And also,Buffy had 7 seasons and Harry's going to have 7 books.What says everyone?

[Cat]

I don't think it parallels anything. A few coincidences are a few coincidences. It's hard to have two things containing monsters and magic that don't have share similarities. That doesn't make a parallel, though.

[Oompsty]

The unlikely hero and the hero who has to fight the demons inside of him/her are fairly common themes. Besides, there are many individuals in the Buffyverse other than Faith and Buffy that can fight vampires, both Buffy and Angel fit the role Harry plays in his world, and...Spike ends up defeating the First Evil, not Buffy. So if Harry Potter does indeed parallel Buffy someone other than Harry will end up defeating Voldemort. I do see some major similarities between the two verses but I just can't see how HP parallels Buffy.

[Hammi]

I had to laugh to myself when I read your post being that I know the series finale for Buffy. I want to say so much, but I don't want to give anything away to you. So, on a different note, no Harry and Buffy though slightly similar circumstances, are in no way related.

[A_Reck]

Is that show even on in England?

[Jinxie Cat]

Grr... I know for a fact that there was a thread around here somewhere talking about this because I posted in it! It's probably closed now... Anyhoo, I've never seen Buffy so I can't give you my opinion. Although in the old thread I think most of us agreed that the similarities between the two are purely coincidental! Oh and Drusilla, please watch those spoilers! :)

[Mochie]

I think the similariities are merely coincidental and also that this should be in one of the book 5 forums as there is spoilers.

[Drusilla]

OK sorry everyone,this was absurd and I'm really sorry if I offended anyone-it's true the similarities are coincidental,I just wanted to point them out when I couldn't find the thread mentioned by OreoCookie05.I think parallel was really the wrong word to use.And A Reck,I don't live in England,but I know the show is on air there.

[leenielou]

I loooooove Buffy sooo much and have always thought that there are similarities. The biggest similarity though is my hypothesised ending for HP that would fit perfectly and is just like Buffy at the end of season 5 when she kills herself to save the world. But that isn't the point of the thread, the point is I support the similarities!

[TheBoss]

<useless post>
havent seen Buffy, but from what i've heard maybe its something i should start watching!
but still, from what i've read, looks like most of it is just coincidental, i mean think about it, its a very popular template for a story/movie! both are doing incredibly well!
</useless post>

[Catgirl]

Buffy the Vampire Slayer, first episode of series seven (possible season six spoiler)
Willow: When you brought me here I thought it was to kill me or at least lock me in some mystical dungon type prison for all eternity, instead you go all Dumbledore on me.
Giles: Do you want to be punished?
Willow: I want to be Willow.
Giles: You still are Willow. In the end we all are who we are, no matter how much we appear to have changed.Does anyone else think that last line is very Dumbledore?

I don't think that Giles is generally like Dumbledore. I do however think that Giles is very like Sirius.

Their Pasts
Sirius/James/Remus/Peter use their magic to illegally become animagi.
Giles/Ethan/Deadrie/(Peter?)/(someone else) use forbidden magic to create a deamon.

The Maruders' magical mischief almost leads to Snape's death.
Giles and co. cause the deaths of three of them by raising the deamon, as well as almost causing the deaths of Buffy and Jenny.

Sirius lost his best friend.
Giles says that he has 'buried too many people'. He also lost his girlfriend.

Sirius was betreyed by one of his best friends. (Peter)
Giles was betreyed by one of his best friends. (Ethan)

Peter almost got Harry killed.
Ethan almost got Buffy killed.

Their Roles
Giles is a father figure to Buffy. When her mum dies he ends up taking a lot of responibility for her and Dawn.
Sirius is Harry's godfather. After PoA he becomes very close to Harry and starts to take responisbility for keeping an eye on Harry.

(book five)I think we can probably say from the way Harry reacted to Sirius's death, that he had become the one person Harry would most hate to loose.
Buffy remarked (in series five) that Giles was the one person she would most hate to loose.

There are other simularities of their roles, but I can't quite put them into words.

Their Characters
Both of them are father figures and yet both of them have a rebellious streak in them.

They both have a serious yet slightly light-hearted attitude towards life.

They have simular attitudes towards their friends and their enemies.

They are both capable of killing someone.
Sirius would have killed Peter if Harry hadn't stopped him.
Giles killed Ben to stop Glory coming back. He gave him a speech about how Buffy wasn't capable of taking an innocent life, but he was.

Also I think their characters come across as generally the same.

I will post some quotes as soon as I can think of some.

[MoonyX]

I definately think there are similarities between the two. I mean, nothing is gonna be exact but it's pretty close. Since I was once a huge Buffy fan, I can see where everyone's coming from. I also see similarities between Harry Potter and Smallville but I won't go into details because as some said, you can find similarities w/ pretty much anything.

[journal415]

i don't know but...
if Harry's 'The Slayer', would Malfoy be the 'VAMPIRE'. hehe... joke, joke, joke!

[RyanMalfoy]

Ok I'm sticking with Bella because I am obsessed with Harry Potter and love watching Buffy and I have noticed some similiarites between the two. So the people that say that she's wrong well check your facts HP and LoTR arent' exactly the same and neither are HP and BtVS so just go along with it and at least be happy that if you need a Harry Potter dosage once you can turn on Buffy. :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :welcome:

[Angora]

I agree that the similarities are coincidence (meaning, I don't think anybody coppied anybody) but I've always thought there are some really good ones.

1. The hero starts off with an unusual lack of knowledge about the field they're hero-ing in: It's weird that Buffy didn't have a watcher before she was called; it's weird that Harry grew up in a house where magic was completely and totally hidden from him.

2. Some snooty rich kid tries to befriend the hero but then turns on him/her when the hero makes friends with "lesser" people instead: Cordelia and Buffy; Draco and Harry.

3. All of the hero's problems come to a head at the end of the school year.

4. The hero is in constant jeapordy of getting into trouble at school because some aspect of heroic duties must be kept secret for the time being.

5. Hero befriends brainy but geeky girl and well-meaning but unlucky boy who sort of have a thing for each other.

6. There's a guy with a tattoo on his arm that symbolizes his time as a dark wizard when he did some things he'd rather not talk about: Giles; Snape.

7. There's a werewolf who's a nice guy, but he has to be covertly locked up once a month or he'll kill his friends.

There are more, and there are some really good ones that involve OotP. But if you go through basic story elements rather than nitpicking details :) they're similar stories.

[Catgirl]

3. All of the hero's problems come to a head at the end of the school year.Isn't that nice and conveaniant? The seasons/books all end with the school years too.

[Drusilla]

Have to mention this: Joss Whedon (the creator of Buffy) is a huge Harry Potter fan.And it's kind of ironic that one of the most awesome female characters ever written was created by a man,while Harry-one boy I'd certainly love to meet-was created by a woman,and both Buffy and Harry,though they're likely never to win any major literary/TV awards,are going to be remembered and read far longer than the award-winning stuff-Buffy is certainly watchable,it was 41st on the list of 50 greatest shows of all time.It's a pity stuff aimed at young people isn't usually taken seriously.

[Catgirl]

Harry Potter has won awards. The Prisoner of Azkaban won the Whitbread Childrens Book Award and as far as I can tell the Whitbread Book Awards are like the Oscers of the literery world.

I don't know if Buffy the Vampire Slayer has won anything though. (Besides the Class Protector Award.)

[Alchemist]

Ok, i am SO in the camp of both being similar, not intentionally, but bird of a feather flock together, and tehse are two stories about heroism, frienship, love, determination and never giving up. Plus they are both BRILLIANT, so there's bount to be SOME similarities...

Oh, first off, buffy has won a TON of awards, but none of the "highly respectable" type ones, why? Well because those thing usually have really old panel of judges who think "a show about a girl who is a slayer of the vamPIEers!? What you sya old boy! A gilr fightinG! hahaha" :) Those awards go to shows about the white house and gansters! Buffy is a fan fave tho... and it IS a cult phenomenon, completely, and extremely worthy of it... as years pass i just hope that it will be remebered as one of the greats.It's also prettymuch teh only isnatnce of a musical being done to absolute perfection on a tv show:p

Now as to the "similarities", like i said, i feel that the CORE of the show and the book is what they share. These are worlds of amazing thing and being, where there are forces that the "Muggles" of the world constantly choose to ignore because their life i difficult enough without having to accept that there'sso much more to the world.

The similarities between Harry and Buffy come from their burdens, their approach to their brudens, their need for their friends, but ultimately knwoing that at the end of the day they will be alone in their duty... Also, both want normality, not to be "special"...

How ever, i think, and hope, that the biggest similarity will be that of Willow and Harmione (minus the evil phase); Normal girl, no friends, extremly intelligent, too intelligent for her own good, meets the hero, befreinds them, longs for the love of "comic relief" guy, as the years pass their abiloties grow, they become stronger, until themoment hwere something really jump starts them and they go all supernova (willow s5, yet unseen hermoine?)... as i said, i see book seven as season5. Maybe Ron's death (first to get up from table of 13) will push hermoine into overdrive and really kick voldermot's ***, she will max herself out but really do some significant damage, giving harry to finish him off?

Anyway, like people have said, there are a lot of possible similarities here and there, maybe it's nothing, maybe it is, maybe we look too hard... but i just really hope we see a Willow like growth in Hermoine, no exactly the same (no evil and no lesbianism i imagine), but still, that would really be cool... then again i am a huge Willow fan and Hermoine fan so go figure;)

Other similarities not mentioned? DA and stuff in s7... also, ultimately the baddie in S7 IS the big baddie... I dunno it's all very confusing...

k.

[Kelpie]

Major Buffy fan here, but other than the fact that Draco Malfoy kind of looks like a Baby!Spike in the movies, I see no out of the ordinary connections. The thing is, you get certain themes and archetypes in most stories and so you can stretch to find similarities in almost anything. It has been said that there are only a handful of stories in the world and they are simply told in many different ways. I used to go on a lot of Buffy boards and people there were always making parallels to books and films (especially if one happened to be referenced) and seemed to think the entire future plot would match the story in question :rolleyes: The closest character match in BTVS and HP, is the Ron/Xander one I think. But as I said, that's because they're both a standard archetype.

Not saying anyone's wrong, on the contrary, the similarities are many. Just that most stories have (often uncanny) similarities on the surface. But they also have a lot of differences in detail. Both HP and BTVS are about a hero's journey set in a world where fantasy meets contemporary reality, so they share a lot of core elements, but are also completely different. Kind of like comparing apples and oranges (to use a cliche).

LOL - If you want a completely pointless, yet uncanny connection; my favourite character in BtVS is Spike and in HP, it's Snape. Both begin with 'S' and both have 5 letters. Bizarre! (Both also fit the morally ambiguous 'Shapeshifter' archetype - the one the hero is unsure whether to trust.)

[Belatrix]

I'm also a big Buffy fan (a few days after I saw Buffy for the first time I had a crazy dream that Harry Potter was the Vampire Slayer) There are a lot of similarities between Buffy and HP. and a lot of people have brought up really interesting points. I love the fact that Draco and Spike are a lot like each other (theyre even both English) but I think its just coincidence. But any story along the line of HP LotR etc. are probably going to have similarities and its always fun to point them out.

[Drusilla]

Another similarity I have to point out is the one between the circumstances of Lily Potter and Buffy Summers's deaths-in Buffy's case,her second.Remember Lily refusing to stand aside to let Voldemort kill Harry even though-since she couldn't know about the protection her death would give Harry-there was absolutely no hope in the situation,everything pointed to Harry dying the minute after Lily,as soon as Voldemort turned his wand on him.In the Buffy Season 5 finale-The Gift-Buffy refused to let anyone even think of killing Dawn after the ritual started,even though Dawn would've died anyway if the apocalypse resulted from her blood being used to open the portal,and ultimately sacrificed herself so Dawn could live.They're not exactly the same but I just thought I should point this out.And Glory was after Dawn,Voldemort was after Harry ....I'll stop here.

[Elocin4684]

I think all good sci fi/fantasy story lines that follow more than one character share these common threads:
lead character that's different from most others
know-it-all character
goofy, normal, good friend character
younger, vulnerable character that is forced to be protected sometimes
and so forth

I think you could draw this conclusions about a lot of stories that fit into these categories, but it's nice to know that there are Buffy/HP fans out there and I'm not the only one.

[Lilly Evans]

Well, nobody's posted here in ages, but I thought I'd drop in and say my own opinions *Warning SPOILERS!*:

I do think that there are similarities between HP and BTVS. They are both about good versus evil, there's magic in both of them, the core groups are very similar, they both have werewolves...

I think that Faith and Sirius are similar characters, in that they were both in jail and broke out only when they were needed. I mean, Sirius was in Azkaban for years, he could have escaped whenever he wanted by turning into Padfoot, yes? Hmm, that just make me wonder: why didn't he, if he was innocent? Oh darn, I'll have deep thoughts now! And Faith escaped only when she found out that her help was needed.

Willow reminds me of Hermione and Severus Snape. She reminds me of Hermione when she was younger and a real bookworm, and she reminds me of Severus after she turned evil at the end of Season Six. She had touched the dark side but came back and now fights good.

Xander totally reminds me of Ron, in that they are both loyal friends and quite funny.

Spike and Draco are my favorite though. They look so alike! And they're both really sarcastic and cocky.

Well, must dash now...I'll try and post some more theories tomorrow.