Question Why isn't Buffy your favourite?

[WileyDairyGnome]

A lot of people don't choose Buffy as their favourite characters. A lot of people choose Willow/Xander/Angel/Faith/Anya, etc. Even I choose Willow and Anya as my favourites.

Why do you think Buffy isn't your favourite character?

 

[zobothehobo]

At first, she wasn't because she was so... whiny and bratty. At the beginning she is. That sounds harsh, but I feel like she is. Towards the end, she grows up and I love her so much. She's my second favorite character in the last three seasons.

 

[Joan the Vampire Slayer]

Buffy's my girl. Always has been, always will be.

Yet, if forced to choose, I'd choose Spike.

 

[caitaintdead]

I can't help but love Giles and Wesley. I find that both of them have richer, fuller backgrounds and histories. I love thinking about their past and how drastically their lives changed. Having said that, Buffy is a very close 2nd on BtVS for me after Giles. I adore that girl, she's my absolute role model in a thousand ways. I guess what I'm trying to say is I find Giles and Wesley to be the most interesting, the most complex, so that is why I name them as my 'favourite' characters. If I am basing it on who I look up to and want to be like then it's Buffy.

 

[caritas08]

Buffy is my favorite character because I can relate to her (big sister/unearthly amount of responsibilities imposed by others at a young age) She was my light in the dark and a role model I could/can depend on. I think a lot of people choose the characters that they themselves relate to, and Willow/Faith/Wesley/Spike etc. are extremely relatable.

 

[Tome]

Funny how most people who replied till now actually really like her. 😉 And I'm only gonna add to that trend, because my favorite character on BtVS is also Buffy. She's such a great character. She isn't perfect, she has flaws, but yet that's what make her so moving. She's one of the few female protagonists(not that there is that many, I'll give you that) I really looked up to.

Long live the Buffster. 😛

 

[NY State of Mind]

I can't understand how you watch Buffy and don't like Buffy...it boggles my mind 😛

 

[Deus Ex Machina]

Mostly because I don't know what it is like to have this great destiny thrust upon me and having to learn how to cope with that like Buffy has to. I've never had to deal with an older lover and losing them. I've never run away from home, used sex in a self destructive manner, or had to lead people and have them eventually take me seriously. I've also thankfully never had to deal with losing a parent either. I think the only things Buffy and I have in common are having a younger sister and having people say we're closed off emotionally (which is why in almost every conversation dealing with Buffy and whomever she's in a relationship with, I almost always side with Buffy).

With Willow I have the wanting to escape who I am/was, the wanting to control at least my life and what I do and not deal with things that hurt, and the losing control in a major way when something emotionally catastrophic happens. With Xander, I know what it's like to kind of just be there and pushed to the background (though if I were Xander, my ass would've left awhile ago).

 

[Hale Caesar]

I can't understand how you watch Buffy and don't like Buffy...it boggles my mind 😛

I like Buffy she's just not my favorite 😛

I love Buffy, don't get me wrong, but she was to...perfect, she always made the right decisions and her character growth isn't as strong as others in the Buffyverse.

My favorite character is and always will be Cordelia. Charisma is such an amazing actress (not to mention hot lol), and her character growth is arguably the best in the show (honorable mention to Wesley). She starts off as a stereotypical bitch and slowly turns into a character who I feel is as equally strong as Buffy, maybe not physically but emotionally and mentally. To simply put Cordelia was amazing, I have never seen a character like her on tv, and to watch that journey from one dimensional to hero is special

 

[Enemies]

Although Buffy has always been a character I love she wouldn't be my favourite. Faith's my favourite I like her edge and intrigue and could only wish that we'd seen more of it. My reason for Buffy not being my favourite is frankly because she is to girly for me, she also comes off quite egotistical and self absorbed at times which I don't like. However I can't imagine anyone else but SMG playing Buffy.

 

[wickedtiger86]

I love Buffy but yeah, she's not my favorite. She's great, especially in the later seasons.

But my favorite is Spike. I can't help it. And not just because he's so pretty. 😉

He's the one I relate to the most. By the time I started watching the show, my hair was blue and I was deeply enamored of the punk scene. Of course, my look and act was a bit of a front, much like his are.

Also we're both a little ridiculously sarcastic. I like sarcasm in a person.

 

[Chosen Enemy]

I love Buffy (second to Spike though), even if she's a bitch sometimes. She's really interesting and complex. And there wouldn't be Spuffy without her. Also, I've been a SMG fan for almost from the beginning. I think she's cute, and I'm always attracted to people who are cool, Buffy and SMG both are cool.

 

[sosa lola]

I love Buffy so much, she's my second favorite - and Spike - but Xander is the reason I'm still a fan. He's more interesting to me, his problems, his issues, his flaws, I can't help but be more drawn to them. I relate to him and love him more than her.

 

[OhWow]

I like Buffy she's just not my favorite 😛

I love Buffy, don't get me wrong, but she was to...perfect, she always made the right decisions and her character growth isn't as strong as others in the Buffyverse.

Buffy is perfect? It seems like she screws up all the time though. She has some serious flaws so I would disagree with that.

 

[Flannen]

Looks like I'm going to be bucking the trend 😛

I don't like her at all by the end. Hate isn't a particularly nice word and is way too strong for how I feel about her, but every shred of admiration and respect I had for her from season 1-4, and some of 5, is gone by the end of the show.

I can still watch season 1-3 and love her, the last three seasons don't change that, but I have so little sympathy for her by the end. In the earlier seasons she's a lot more fun, she's more realistic about her flaws and more grateful for those she has around her. I feel that she loses so much of that from season 5 onwards. I mean I know she has tons more stuff to deal with; much darker and more mature problems, (in some ways) but there's only so much room I'm willing to give her on that.

I have many issues with the decisions she makes towards the end, that I feel she should know enough not to make, and find her whole General!Buffy attitude about herself so off-putting. I just stopped being able to relate to her.

I do find it really odd, though. I mean, as I've got older I have changed my mind about lots of aspects of the show which are in line with the way I have matured but its the complete opposite with Buffy. Maybe in some ways I cling on to that earlier/younger Buffy for some kind of nostalgia; who knows?!

And on a side note, it's very easy to enjoy something when you don't like the main character. There are so many other aspects to BtVS that kept me watching. I also cannot stand the character of Holden Caulfield in The Catcher in the Rye but it's an amazing novel that I love. Similarly, Elena Gilbert is the protagonist (arguably) of Vampire Diaries but I am so indifferent to her in comparison to the other characters. I think its a testament to a show if people can still watch it, despite not being a fan of the main character.

 

[WileyDairyGnome]

I love Buffy, but she isn't my favourite character. Anya and Willow are my favourites. I don't know why Buffy isn't my favourite, maybe because she can be a bit%& sometimes? But that's understandable.

 

[Marisa]

Looks like I'm going to be bucking the trend 😛

I don't like her at all by the end. Hate isn't a particularly nice word and is way too strong for how I feel about her, but every shred of admiration and respect I had for her from season 1-4, and some of 5, is gone by the end of the show.

I can still watch season 1-3 and love her, the last three seasons don't change that, but I have so little sympathy for her by the end. In the earlier seasons she's a lot more fun, she's more realistic about her flaws and more grateful for those she has around her. I feel that she loses so much of that from season 5 onwards. I mean I know she has tons more stuff to deal with; much darker and more mature problems, (in some ways) but there's only so much room I'm willing to give her on that.

I have many issues with the decisions she makes towards the end, that I feel she should know enough not to make, and find her whole General!Buffy attitude about herself so off-putting. I just stopped being able to relate to her.

I do find it really odd, though. I mean, as I've got older I have changed my mind about lots of aspects of the show which are in line with the way I have matured but its the complete opposite with Buffy. Maybe in some ways I cling on to that earlier/younger Buffy for some kind of nostalgia; who knows?!

And on a side note, it's very easy to enjoy something when you don't like the main character. There are so many other aspects to BtVS that kept me watching. I also cannot stand the character of Holden Caulfield in The Catcher in the Rye but it's an amazing novel that I love. Similarly, Elena Gilbert is the protagonist (arguably) of Vampire Diaries but I am so indifferent to her in comparison to the other characters. I think its a testament to a show if people can still watch it, despite not being a fan of the main character.

Agree about Elena and Buffy. Especially the part about not having to like the main character to watch a show I would be a goner with some if that were the case lol.

I agree that in the end overall I don't like Buffy very much because at times I find her very unappreciative and very whiny. Every character will complain at one point or another but with Buffy it is always. The only reason why I probably like Buffy as much as I do is because of Sarah. If Buffy wasn't played by Sarah I would have disliked her so much more.

Also with shows it takes a lot for me to like the main character especially the female ones because I feel at times they are either the same or badly written. Buffy just doesn't stick out to me if I was naming all of my favorites and favorites out of main female characters. I would say Willow does more and Cordy female wise. I just feel like the characters I like more were either more interesting and had more growth.

I would like to add I do feel bad for Buffy most in season six. I can see why she would be upset there.

 

[Kean]

To be honest, I think I am invested in Angel and Buffy equally and I support them equally. In an debate I am always going to see it through their eyes. I relate to Angel much much more, but I empathise with Buffy completely. Even when she is at her worst.

 

[Willow My Love]

Buffy is a very strong character. She's witty, smart, powerful, and she seems to know what to say in most situations. Then there's Willow. Quirky, super smart, a little awkward at times, but seems to find who she is later on. She's way more like me. The guy best friend in high school who I never dated, the good grades, the helping other students with their homework. (The good grades until I didn't care anymore... 😛) Then, I got into some bad stuff, but my best friend was there to help me get off it. She's more like Buffy to me. Small, blonde, surprisingly strong. (She can take me down! She's 5'1'', I'm 5'8''!)

Buffy's a great character, but I feel like she's very secluded, and I don't really identify with that. I do feel like she feels like she's better than the rest of them sometimes. That annoys me, somewhat. She always goes with her gut, and that's not always a good thing. She's impulsive. She doesn't always think things through. Willow's not like that and I love it.

 

[Icarium]

I don't like her at all by the end. Hate isn't a particularly nice word and is way too strong for how I feel about her, but every shred of admiration and respect I had for her from season 1-4, and some of 5, is gone by the end of the show.

Word. A sentence even.

Late season suckiness aside, my main problem with Buffy is that her story is a bit too epic and grandiose, making it difficult to relate to. Her boyfriend doesn't just ditch her, he becomes a mass murderer too. She is not depressed only because her mother died but also because she was pulled out of heaven. Everybody in her life ends up stabbing her in the back at one point or another, she has to save the world a few times every year. Kind of an overkill, if you get my drift.

And because of that she also gets bailed out by the writers again and again as some sort of compensation for all the suffering but this only serves to annoy me some more. Like the police chasing her for the murder of Kendra, then the whole thing gets handwaved in S3. Or Angel's return from hell. Not that I want Buffy to be arrested, mind you, but a little consistency, please. It doesn't help that after S3 it always seems to me that we are supposed to be on Buffy's side when she disagreed with the Scoobies and that she was somehow always proven right in the end, often through pure writer's fiat (cough, The Gift, cough).

In the end, I just always liked Willow, Xander and Giles better than Buffy. But I tend to prefer supporting characters in general. And Buffy is the type of character I can and do admire (pre-character assassination) a lot but I don't really like her all that much, if that makes any sense.