[Kransha]

Hoom, hoom, hoom. My first post outside of the RPG Forums in a while...well...

I believe, au technicale, Harry Potter is 'more 'magical'' (that's double single quotation marks, for those of you not following me). Based on my younger brother and some of his friend's encouragement, I read the series in seven days (pretty good, non? Re-reading LotR every year has made me a fast reader). It was a nice, adventurous, interesting sort of tale, but nothing I loved. Something I merely enjoyed, and have left it behind since. In fact, I was surprised it was endorsed by my brother because he usually condemns non-Tolkien fantasy as a rip-off, in whatever way he can find. Knowledgable lad, but a bit prejudicial (he'll probably read this someday, but it wouldn't matter, since I've told him before).

Point being: 'Magic' per se is more rampant in HP. Wizards, spellcasters, hippogriffs, dementors, and the like, are more magical. The reason lies in the fact that, despite Tolkien being fantastic, fantasy, as it were, it is also strangely realistic, with a sort of pseudo-historical, epic quality that draws us in and makes us think it might be more real than imagined. No matter how much we love HP, or at least me, (actually, I don't love it, but that's irrelevant), it is magic, farfetched, illusory. Waving wands and chanting magic words is still a stereotype, no matter how much J.K.Rowling has enriched it. Tolkien wrote these things down before they were common, before they were fantasy, and created a world for us to fall into, rather than one that 'already exists' but is 'seperated from us' (I'd rather be a man than a muggle anyday).

In many ways, the Harry Potter franchise is illuminating, but, it's creatures are fantastic, it's methods more friendly towards the younger set. Yes, Balrogs and Dragons fall into the same category, but they have some incredible depth to them that is more than Rowing's description can do for her bestiary. In the world of Harry Potter, Dementors are semi-evil guards who can drain the lives of their victims, often residents of a large prison (correct me if I'm wrong). There is some eeriness there, but the Nazgul outdo them. Once men, the Ringwraiths fell into shadow, were consumed by it. Now they are the pinnacle of Sauron's evil, his power, and weild the same 'kiss' as the Dementors, in the form of there deadly, wraith-turning-into Morgul blades. I am not quite obsessed with HP, but I know this much.

In conclusion (and hoping this is not off topic), the magic of Tolkien is almost real, tangible, and spiritual, while the spiritual magic of HP is all but illusory, kind of like a fantasy placebo, but that would be insulting to Rowling, who I respect. Magic comes in many forms, and the magic of Tolkien's Middle-Earth is enough for me.