Without turning this into yet another "Hurr Rowling sux" thread, what exactly was the cause of her success...

STFU, the german harry potter covers are kino

I like the OVAs but no. Little Witch Academia doesn't even come close, the tv show was horrible.

>kino
/tv/ has shit taste, and no on is surprised

>Sense of Humour
Rowling's humour appeals to both children (in its absurdity) and adults (in its subtle euphemisms and insights into the common failings of adults). It is also distinctly British, i.e. very dry, eccentric, often bizarre, and tending towards a sort of romanticized misery. While a child may laugh at Hermione claiming that being expelled is worse than death, an adult may laugh at Uncle Vernon's pretensions or Ginny referring to her accidentally walking in on Ron masturbating in such a way that only people above a certain age would get the joke. She knows the world, and is familiar with the "types" of people who make it such a bore, from the officious middle-manager types, to the egotistic tryhards, etc. Rowling has made the effort to properly conceive of a well-functioning and thus plausible / realistic magical-muggle universe but also frequently reminds us of the absurdity of this premise so as to maintain the balance between a plot worthy of sincere investment (i.e. the laws of physics, or here magic) and also things like a Quidditch match lasting hundreds of years because nobody could find the Snitch, or someone in a Hogwarts portrait having an affair with someone in another portrait. She is a very funny woman.

>Characters
The characters are not only very diverse, but Rowling is careful not to make any of her characters simple representations of certain moral states (e.g. evil / good) or merely representations of certain vices or virtues. Voldemort is provided with a rather touching back-story, and individuals like Snape, Draco and so on are over time illustrated in such a way that means they are somewhat worthy of empathy. Perhaps Gilderoy Lockhart is portrayed in the least compassionate manner (i.e. having few virtues displayed) though even he is overall just a laughable buffoonish type. And what's more for a children's book Rowling both offers us character "types" in fairly rudimentary forms, e.g. "nerdy Hermione", "poor scoundrel Ron", "oppressed diamond-in-the-rough Harry" but over time again she allows children to understand that there is depth to each character (e.g. Neville serving as the hero of the first book) and that these characters develop, reveal their flaws, and so forth. The naming of characters is also very important, and are only rarely so outlandish as to render them incapable of being related to. Names like "Crabbe and Goyle" (e.g. Grab and Coil, as a snake does) are just genius in that they are phonetically rather repulsive, but also perfect representations of the general type that these two characters represent (the servile bully). Dumbledore, Hagrid, Hermione, Severus - they are all names which are aesthetically pleasing, contextually fitting and also again not so weird that they could not plausibly be come across in daily muggle life.

"No!"

>Harry,this isn't the time to update your Instagram!

>Ginny referring to her accidentally walking in on Ron masturbating in such a way that only people above a certain age would get the joke
I clearly was too young when I read that passage.

In which book did that happen? i've only read the first and second one.

>and yes, the world building is imo, largely very impressive. the other aspects of the book are actually pretty subpar for YA books
I would say the character writing is also very strong. There are dozens of unique and distinguishable characters, many with long but consistent character development.

Can someone post the passage? I don't remember this at all

Why is Harry Asian in this cover?

* Simple yet effective character arcs.
* A "what if?" situation; one where the imagined scenario is right next to a real life stand-in. (i.e. what if magic existed right under your nose?)
* Instead of exploring this world strictly through adventure (which, admittedly, would work, but not to HP's degree), it goes about it through something that most/all children who can read know well: school.
* Hogwarts isn't merely a backdrop, either (unlike, for instance, many anime/manga with main characters in school): Rowling is good at including actual school-like events (sports, dances, competitions, field trips) at points in the stories.

With this in mind, I think it's clear that the series wouldn't have been as popular if the earlier books had the same tone, scope, and settings as the later books.

he looks like a qt secretary in her mid-30s

Don't talk shit about Hally Pottel

Pic related. It was Percy not Ron.

This is just one of the reasons, but instead of exploring her admittedly cool premise (boarding school for witches and wizards!) through nonstop action packed adventure, she does it through slow burn adventure: characters are just chilling most of the time until they find something that'll lead them to the next clue. It's pretty comfy and more relatable.

I doubt LWA would've existed without HP so for that I thank her

This

He looks like albino coolio

wow, i can't believe i didn't notice that

Haha, as a kid I thought it was something like posing in front of a mirror with his prefect badge on, practicing speeches and stuff like that.

To be fair even now I don't think Percy would be that careless, I see him allowing himself a fap every fortnight in the shower, with or without a picture of Penelope Clearwater.

It is what Rowling probably intended though, and I applaud it.

Cliché-peddling mixed with genuinely cute and imaginative ideas

The best Harry Potter chapter was not written by J.K. Rowling.

I was pretty sure he was kissing Penelope that she walked in on pretty sure it even said so... either later on in the book or next book. Not to mention it was when she was about to mention she was being possessed by the diary, but Percy being the goodie goodie, she was afraid to say in front of him.

Page 250

"Ginny - what did you see Percy doing, that he didn't want you to tell anyone?"

'Oh, that, said Ginny, giggling. "Well Percy's got a girlfriend'...
"...I walked in on them kissing in an empty classroom one day.

JKRIDF please leave.

kek
where is this from?

...

All I'll say is that someone programmed a bot to scan the entirety of the HP series, then generate a chapter based on what it learned.

jon lajoie-tier

also
>ginger kid
>handsome one

>Harry tore his eyes from his head and threw them into the forest. Voldemort raised his eyebrows at Harry, who could not see anything at the moment.

Very good timing. The books were released in prime years where the Millennials could still pick up the books and enjoy them. They in turn passed on the books to their kids who grew/have grown up as the HP world developed both on-page and on-screen.

Wish fulfillment
>shit parents, sucky school life
>actually have superpowers and have a trust fund
>go to superhero school and learn fun stuff instead of reading and maths

Nobody gives a shit about world building.

Rowling was a success because her writing is very fluid and easy to read, the humor endeared people to the characters, and it followed a standard hero's journey plot.

Also, it was good time in the sense that the books came out just before the movies came out, so people didn't watch the movies first and then feel like they already knew the story so avoided the books. It's lucky timing really.

The aggressive blandness of her work gave it mass appeal.

It's a wizard slice of life with likable characters and some minor overarching action plot to round it up.

As it turned out people in the west liked that combination. The slice of life theme was more to the liking of normies that are usually not into fantasy. It was a deviation from the usual hero's journey / self-insert power fantasy plot line that dominated the western fantasy market (and still does).

I never connected that with masturbation because the books were always so clean.

They really weren't. Ron especially employs euphemism as a comedic device on numerous occasions.

Goblet of Fire

>"Oh, Professor, look! I think I've got an unexpected planet! Oooh, which one's that, Professor?""It is Uranus, my dear," said Professor Trelawney, peering down at the chart."Can I look at Uranus, too, Lavender?" said Ron.

Half-Blood Prince

>"And where exactly were you last night?" said Hermione in exasperation. Harry turned to leave but the portrait had already closed behind him. "I, er.." Harry attempted. "Last I saw you, you were sneaking out of the Great Hall with Ginny. Where is Ginny, anyway?" Ron enquired. "She's still...I-I mean I've no idea, I barely-" before he could finish speaking the portrait swung upon once again and all three turned to see Ginny stepping through, clutching the walls as she did so. Hermione's eyes shot open as she glared at Harry, who was rubbing his scar unsconsciously. Behind Ginny appeared Dean Thomas, his shirt half-unbuttoned. "Eer 'arry," said Dean, grinning widely. "I think you forgot this!" Dean threw a small plastic object towards Harry, who was too slow to see it fly past him and into the hands of Hermione. "A male chastity device!" Hermione cried. "Really Harry, I expected better of you!"

Deathly Hallows

>"This isn't your average book," said Ron. "It's pure gold: Twelve Fail-Safe Ways to Charm Witches. Explains everything you need to know about girls. If only I'd had this last year I'd have known exactly how to get rid of Lavender and I would've known how to get going with... Well, Fred and George gave me a copy, and I've learned a lot. You'd be surprised, it's not all about wandwork, either."

Exactly. There's literally nothing stopping any author from utilizing the same tactic as Rowling and becoming just as successful. Right now is a perfect time for a new breakthrough author to establish themselves as Generation Z is reaching late adolescence/early adulthood - the optimal age where one can still enjoy YA junk. Cassandra Clare seems to be the author doing just this right now, the only difference being that the movie adaptations of her books are apparently fucking terrible (not to say the books are likely any good either, but you get the point). The Harry Potter movies were brilliantly made (not so much early on, but were still fantastically done) and absolutely did more in aiding Rowling's success.

It's the ultimate fantasy for the coddled helicopter parented fuckchild of the 21st century.

>google Cassandra Clare
>is this monstrosity going to be the next pop idol?

wtf does the half-blood prince example even mean?

Her success was that she wrote a book of a world in which reading books and being good at school becomes a source of power and heroism rather than the domain of losers and nerds.
Then just sprinkle in some Biblical and Nazi allusions and BLAM you got a hot fucking seller

Can we at least all agree that the character development was amazing? Especially the kids, even Harry got to go through proper teen angst and be horribly unlikable for a decently long period. I also love how she handled their burgeoning sexuality. Adding romance to the mix was really messy and confusing for them instead of an automatic oneitis when puberty hits that's never fullfilled until the end like other coming of age series.

its cute. if you cant see why its cute youre probably an asshole and no-one can stand to be in a room with you.

Never thought of it that way. It really did make a 14 year old me feel more like a badass than a nerd for being like Hermione at school.

wow I guess I shouldn't have skipped the Half-Blood Prince.

what the fuck is going on

tv show is garbo

I vaguely remember one in the 90s, on HBO maybe. I think I liked it as a kid

I've always been kind of interested to read the books. Everyone else I know loves them and is familiar, I'm just kind of curious about them and what I'd think. Might pirate them on my kindle.

It was a fantasy series that I could insert myself into and imagine happening to me that didn't devolve into the typical 'it was just the childs imagination' garbage that was so prevalent back then.

They really are so fun, even as an adult.

luck

Man child detected

Sick incendio!

Not really. She was really unknown when the first one dropped

*flipendos you off*

*diffindos finger*

try me bitch

Harry Potter
and them whack ass dreads