xSpikeLovesKittens

So, I was just thinking about how much I love Anya...becuase she rocks. And everytime I think of her I think of the first time I ever saw her. It was in OMWF when she was singing "BUNNIES, IT MUST BE BUNNIES!" Becuase it was the first episode my friend showed to me. I will forever love the fact that was my first impression of Anya. ^.^

Basically, what was everyone else's first impressions...It's funny to think about my view/opinion of everyone before I actually got to know them... <3

courtneybangelcakes

Well before I actually seriously, seriously got into the show I watched reruns continously on TNT and I had this whole idea of what Buffy was and it ended up being totally different. I at first thought that Angel and Buffy were two completely different shows, that they had no connection so when I saw that I was like OMG! Angel was on Buffy, are you serious?? I was a bigger fan of Angel because I watched it more often. Like I so wish I could remember the episode where I saw Angel on Buffy, like more than ANYTHING I wish I could remember the first epiosde I saw with them but I instantly thought why two shows connects these two lovers and I remember in the episode they couldnt be together, so it was like wow. So that was my first impression.

Sin*

The first episode I ever saw of Buffy was "Surprise". I remember seeing Buffy and Angel together and thinking that they had so much chemistry and I was completely drawn into both characters. From then on I borrowed tapes from my friend who watched the episode and I saw the first season and got caught up to the second season so I could figure out what was going on with the Buffy/Angel story arc. So I would agree. First impressions are very important.

I remember Anya to. I originally didn't care for her but by the time season(s) 5 and 6 rolled around I loved her. It did take me a while to realize that she was a Cordelia replacement though.

courtneybangelcakes

Ohh and about Anya I didnt love her the first episode I saw her, but by the second I was madly in love with her. Anya rules!

sum1

Anya sucks. She was one of the most painful characters on the whole show. And she felt very unsympathetic. And we're supposed to tolerate a proud serial killer acting all cutsey. Barf me out. Very fake sort of cutesey too, because Anya had this real nasty feel to her. There was something totally revolting about her too. And her relationship with Xander was really painful. Lots of screen time given over to a relationship between two people like that. They should have given the screen time to spuffy or something. Or Dawn.

Rogue

...And this was your very first impression of her?

Impressive insight.

I always hold a soft spot for Anya, myself, but not from my first impression of her. Could have something to do with the sneaking suspicion she would become the 'Big Bad' of the episode in which she first appeared, 'The Wish'.

Rogue

...And this was your very first impression of her?

Impressive insight.

I always hold a soft spot for Anya, myself, but not from my first impression of her. Could have something to do with the sneaking suspicion she would become the 'Big Bad' of the episode in which she first appeared, 'The Wish'.

=-Kathy->

First Impressions

I watched BtVS from DVDs starting with the first episode. So I liked the core 4, found Cordy funny and bitchy but well acted, Joyce was OK, Angel intriguing. Felt sorry for Amy. By the time Anya was introduced I liked Cordy and didn't like how Harmony and their group was treating her so I liked Anya since I could see her sympathy for Cordy.

This probably won't come as a surprise, but the characters I was most impressed with on their first appearance was Spike and Drusilla.

As soon as his boot stepped down out of the car with the loud music playing in the background I knew he was a bad ass who was going to shake things up. He never let me down. When his vamp face morphs into one of fascination and concern and we see Drusilla and her entrance I became fascinated too. When they leaned their heads together and turned toward the camera they made quite an impression. 'School Hard' was when I became hooked on BtVS.

I loved both these characters and it didn't hurt that Juliet and James are such good actors.

girl, interrupted

I agree with Kathy. Spike and Drusilla were awesome because they were supposed to be bad, but you loved them anyway.

I wish I could remember when I first started watching the show and what my opinions on everything used to be. I remember before I started watching it thinking that it was a stupid show. But then I started watching it and was so intrigued.

I remember the first time I saw OMWF and I hadn't been watching the episodes in close order and I was like, "What is this?!" I was so confused, but it was neat. Sometimes it's fun watching something you've never seen before out of order because you never know what to expect from that episode.

I've always liked Anya. I agree with Sum1 a little though because I was thinking about it the other day and I was like, "Why is it so easy for Buffy and the crew to get along with Spike, Anya, and Angel who were once serial killers? I mean, are we just supposed to forgive people for mass murder and find it endearing later on?" It was a little unnerving, but that's when I reminded myself that it's just a TV show and these are people who made a change for themselves (except for Spike...until later). So...I don't know.

Anyway...I totally went off on a ramble and forgot what this thread was originally about. Sorry!

=-Kathy->

Now I'm really going to go off topic.

I've been watching Dexter ( the slightly cleaned up version that comes on CBS ) which is a very dark comedy as well as explores human behavior. I was reluctant to watch the show because I knew the main character was a serial killer and didn't want to like him. But I can't help myself. Although Dexter kills other serial killers and criminals who have escaped justice we see his current behavior as well as his defining moments from his childhood.

Because most of Angel's, Spike's and Anya's crimes occur in the past when they supposedly did not have souls or they did not have free will all is forgiven in the Buffyverse. Although I did not like how cruel Angelous was in Season 2 or how he took pleasure in doing evil and hurting people.

BTW, Drew Greenberg ( a former Buffy writer ) is one of the writers for Dexter and Julie Benz ( Darla ) plays Dexter's next-door neighbor and sort-of girl friend.

m&m fkan

I liked Anya since day one (that she was on the show) I loved how her relationship with Xander progressed. I was sad that she was killed in the last ep.

Sin*

I felt that way about Anya before they started delving into her character. I felt that the way she was in season 4 was very annoying and unsympathetic. However I felt that they did a good job in humanizing her in the later seasons. Most specifically seasons 5 and 6 where we got to see her vulnerability in "The Body" and the episodes concerning her wedding. I also thought that "Selfless" was a beautiful episode dedicated to Anya and should have been the episode where she was axed. I do believe that Anya was a sympathetic and truly beautiful person at the end. Who was made more complex and heartfelt even though she had no clue how to act and had no idea about social norms. I felt for her when he wedding day crumbled, I felt for her when she went back to darkness and I felt for her when she lost her friend and when she realized she was more human then what she originally believed.

I didn't think Anya was cutesy. I found her to be brash, frank and soberingly honest. Not really cute. Cute was more Tara.

I liked Xander/Anya in seasons 5 and 6 but they should have ended it after season 6. I felt that their connection and what not wasn't as strong as it was in previous seasons. It felt like they were forcing it. But I did love Anya. I felt she was much more sympathetic then the character she used to replace.

sum1

All that stuff you say made Anya more sympathetic, it failed to do so, because the performance was totally unsympathetic. Anya was never sympathetic. She got a bit closer to it in season 7 but she never became a genuinely sympathetic character. Her outburst in The Body was a blatant pushy attempt to make you feel for her but it failed because she came off like an unfriendly block of wood. The wedding story was a useless story about two unpleasant characters. Selfless was a pain in the butt. Anya complex and heartfelt? The attemtpts at complexity with Anya just came off false. And there wasn't enough heart in her for anything in the character to come off heartfelt. There was never much GENUINE depth in the character. They never succeeded in humanizing her, she came off like a block of wood. You may have felt for her but Anya felt to me like a person who couldn't feel for other people and as such I couldn't feel for her. Yes she was cutsey. There was an annoying cuteseyness in her manner. That's the way she was played. It annoyed the hell out of me. Tara was nothing like that. Anya was never sympathetic. She came off like a nasty block of wood. Cordelia was a far more human character.

Sin*

I don't veiw Anya as cutsy personally. I have always seen her as a replacement for Cordelia in the aspect of needing a self centered person who was brutally honest yet was able to be charming on occassion. Anya was mostly just supposed to be comic relief and she was treated as such until the later seasons. The major difference between CC and AJ was that Cordelia was just supposed to be stuck up and catty while Anya was just socially retarded and didn't care or practice ettiquette rules. I personally found Anya's reason more acceptable as she came from a time period where there was no need for pretense and prefaces and most people just went directly to the root of discussion.

I didn't see Anya as a wooden block so I can't agree.

I thought Anya was a sympathetic character. I though her love for Xander made her very human. She loved him with all that she was and she was turned away on the supposed happiest day of her life. She never got a chance to be truly happy and in that respect I thought she grew to be a sympathetic figure in Buffyverse. There isn't alot of good things in season 6 as it was one of the worst seasons in all of the series. But Anya was definetely a bright spot.

I thought Anya was complex. She had a journey and we got to see her forced to adapt to her situation of being a disempowered vengence deamon who fell in love with a mortal. She had to change her entire life style for the last thousand years and she had to adapto to new circumstances. Then after finding love with Xander he leaves her at the alter and she goes back to what is reliable being a vengence deamon. Then she makes a horriable mistake and wants to make it right. I thought Anya was one of the better characters on Buffy who was able to show humanity and depth. While she was more or less unused during season 7 during seasons 5 and 6 she was one of the better things on the show.

I thought Anya was able to feel for others after she was abandoned at the alter. I thought that was the major point when they had Spike and Anya almost sleep together. She understood Xanders anger and apologized and also saw Spike's sadness as well. Actually when Anya did try to seek understanding from Xander he was unable to give her that. Anya also was able to find understanding in Willow duing her darker arc and when they had to come together to vanquish the troll deamon.

courtneybangelcakes

I dont think Anya was a wooden block at all.

Anya was very complex and I saw a real person trying to find their way. I loved her character and her speech in The Body proved how beautiful of a character she was.