Harry Potter is magical
25 May 2025
Although it is one of the most popular franchises, it is critically underrated. The plot arc is too simplistically good versus evil, the magic system is not complex enough or whatever.
But it has a couple of great tricks up its sleeve that make the Harry Potter experience magical. I noticed this two decades late, and several rewatches later.
First, it is a fantastic format for teens because each book is one school year. That’s Mallory Towers style. The best time to read the Harry Potter series is when you are in school. You are excited about all the new stuff that’s going to happen in a new school year for both yourself and Harry.
Secondly, and this is my main point, you get to experience the world of magic in sync with the main character. For example, at the beginning of the fourth book, “The Goblet of Fire”, Harry is learning about Quidditch World Cups and Portkeys and the Triwizard tournament. I mean, three years being a wizard, you ought to know some of this. But he is running around constantly confused about what’s what, and everyone, to the point of even Voldemort’s avatars at various points, just explains things to him. But I was ye years old when I realised that they’re really explaining things for the audience. That’s just the exposition style, but it works wonderfully well for a soft magic system.
This contrasts well with the Fantastic Beasts movies, where the Polish sidekick brings a sense of wonder but the main character knows what he’s doing. He doesn’t even learn more about beasts; already an expert. The movie feels like an average fantasy production.