Could not find any topic about this, so I am going to assume it was not made before.
As far as I go, I am sorry to say that I have not seen Harry Potter, nor I have read the books, so obviously I can’t compare them.
Anyways Let’s see which is better: LotR or Harry Potter? You can compare both the Books and the Movies and discuss your opinion about which is better.
While they are not related in any way, they have some similarities between them, like a good wizard
Gandalf - Dombledore (sorry If I spelled that wrong)
And other small things like this. In my opinion, while I have not seen Harry Potter or read the books, is probably going to be LotR, just because it is considered one of the most successful movies of all time and from other people I have asked.
So, here we go!
Aight I’m a fan of both so I may be able to help settle this. I think the main difference is the basics of the story, LOTR is a pure fantasy setting, dwarves, elves, dragons, orcs etc. Harry potter is magic in the real modern day (1990s) setting, there’s everyday things intertwined with the magic. There’s the journey of learning magic in HP and the journey of the fellowship in LOTR. I think the Potter books might be better since tons of kids read them.
I don’t think they can accurately be compared because of this but I prefer LOTR.
Seriously why this topic a thing, LOTR and HP are two very different genres entirely, in LOTR is a story about a Hobbit who tries to destroy a evil powerful ring, with help for his fellow Hobbits, a lot of men, a lot of elves, a dwarf, and a op wizard to also defeated a powerful warlord’s army of orcs, and other evil beings, awhile Harry Potter is a story about a boy who going to school of wizardry for 7 years to defeated a evil dark wizard and his army of other evil beings, along other adventures, however LOTR is offered compared with GOT and Harry Potter is offered compared with other YA stories, while look at there’s prequels one got the main character’s uncle bring the hero and entire history of Middle Earth, but one got a dude with a briefcase full of animals and other thing happening. So there’s comparetion between these two stories, just a honest trust, that’s all.
I personally never read Harry Potter, so I can’t quite speak to the quality of that series. I know quite a few people who like it, though, and I trust their opinion. As such I’d say Harry Potter is a pretty good series; easier to read, I think, for general audiences and kids. I did see the movies, however, and enjoyed them for the most part.
Lord of the Rings, on the other hand, I have read (multiple times, go figure), but I’m not a die-hard fan like some are. The movies are pretty great, and I enjoy both the Lord of the Rings trilogy and the Hobbit movie trilogy, for what it’s worth. Overall I think I actually like the Hobbit (book, not movie) better, because it’s a pretty short, enjoyable read; if you want to read the Lord of the Rings you gotta sink in quite a bit of time and energy.
In the end, though, I’d argue that neither is objectively “better” than the other; they were written in different time periods, with different styles, for different readers. Some like them, some don’t. That’s how life works. You could argue that J.K. Rowling stole ideas from Tolkien, but it’s not like Tolkien was the first to ever imagine a fantasy world; he took ideas from those before him just like Rowling.
People are certainly welcome to their opinions, but I feel like it is somewhat pointless to argue too much over which is “better” when it really doesn’t matter in the long run. You just end up creating animosity between the different fandoms (or whatever you want to call them) and it can get very toxic, very fast.
Lord of the Rings:
I’ve seen every Hobbit and LotR movie, and I like all of them. Especially the third LotR movie. That remains one of my favourites. I’ve read the Hobbit book and I have the full LotR trilogy. I was surprised how good the Hobbit book was. However, Tolkien have his own way to tell the story, a very complicated one. I tried to read the first LotR book twice and failed after the third or fourth chapter. I really really really have to prepare myself before trying to read it again. Harry Potter:
I’ve read the first and second book, and I have a few more. However, I don’t have the third and the fourth, and I don’t want to skip them, so I have to buy them first. I haven’t seen any movie, other than Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, which was cool.
Middle Earth
I’ve seen every Hobbit movie. I’ve seen every LoTR movie. I adore them. They capture the world of Middle Earth almost perfectly, and the soundtrack is to die for. I also own at least one copy of all the books, first read the Trilogy over the span of a rainy weekend. However, Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit are nothing in the story that is Middle Earth. Read the Silmarillion folks. That is the story Tolkien was telling. The War of the Ring is a tiny segment of a much, much larger history.
Harry Potter
I grew up with Potter. At eleven, I was heartbroken when I didn’t receive my Hogwarts acceptance letter. I still read far more Harry Potter fanfiction (and no, not that kind) than is healthy. The world of Potter captured my imagination like none have before, or since. Yes, it’s not the only world to have drawn me in to a probably absurd degree. But it’s the only one that I’ve managed to stick with for my entire life.
The only ones that come close are Star Wars, Bionicle and Doctor Who. I’ve fallen out of Star Wars in recent years, due to the ever-increasing politicisation of the franchise, the decrease in stories of actual good content, as well as the de-canonisation of the EU.
With Doctor Who, it’s only been in the past two years or so that I’ve really immersed myself in it, in part due to the “loss” of Star Wars. This was also the same time when I started to get into Warhammer 40,000, Star Trek, among others.
And well… I don’t think I have to explain why my interest in Bionicle waned.
Potter… My interest in Potter never really waned. It’s only increased over the years, and yes, it’s had it’s ups and downs, but it’s been a constant for pretty much all of my life. Even today, Hogwarts is one of the fictional settings I want to live in most, even though I would in all likelihood have less chance of passing my OWLs than a Squib.
The Comparison
There is just something to Potter that LoTR never had for me. A certain magic, if you will. Middle Earth fascinated me as something to study, a history to unravel, but Potter… Potter fascinated me as something to dream about.
I think LOTR is better, just because there is such a large universe based upon Tolkein’s writings. There are also several video games based upon it, most of which are extremely well done.
Harry Potter hasn’t really gotten past the books and movies. If Rowling was to expand the universe, maybe with something like what they’re doing with Newt Scamander, then I think that would help.
I don’t think Potter really needs expanding. And this is from a guy who has read… yeah, over ten million words of Potter fanfiction in just the last six months. Yes, you’ve got the Silmarillion, which spans what, like ten thousand years? But that’s because Tolkien wanted an excuse to world-build so he could come up with languages and have history behind them. Potter… it’s about driving your imagination. Leaving sparks to kindle a fire.
Even though the Harry Potter books are considered for kids, I was told that they get darker and darker as you progress through the movies/books.
I had read The LotR Trilogy when I was like 12 years old, and Understood it perfectly. But for kids I would recommend The Hobbit to read, since it’s very short and easy to read compared to LotR. To be honest, If I had to give a kid to choose a book, I would tell him to read Hobbit rather than Harry Potter.
Definitely keep LotR till your a little more mature, though. But the Hobbit Book is perfect for kids 11+