Was Anya Modeled After Cordelia?

[THE BLUE]

Was she modelled after Cordelia and did you think that she was a nuisance or did you simply love her and what did you didn't AND did love about her?

[PrincessZombie]

Was she modelled after Cordelia and did you think that she was a nuisance or did you simply love her and what did you didn't AND did love about her?

I don't think she was modeled after Cordelia, but they do have some similarities, such as their love for money and ever-present bluntness. And of course, dating Xander. But other than that, they're very different, in my opinion.

I don't think Anya was a nuisance, she's one of my favorite characters. She's really funny, and always good for some comedic relief. And she can be very endearing at times, with her lack of knowledge about being human, and her trying to understand. I really liked her right after Joyce died, when she was so confused about how to act.

I don't think there's anything I didn't like about Anya. She's a good character, and I think she added a lot to the show. Yay Anya!!! :)

[Allycat]

I don't think she was fully modelled after Cordelia, because she was introduced when Cordelia was still on the show, but I did think they intended her to fill the gap Cordelia left when she went to LA. So, in that sense, they must've given her some of Cordelia's properties intentionally, but I also think that they designed a character in its own right, rather than a clone.

[eponinethen]

No I don't think she was... But:
but I did think they intended her to fill the gap Cordelia left when she went to LA
This is of course true. But Anya was in many ways a lot different from Cordelia, and I have to say I liked Anya way more, she was her own real character, and I doubt I would've loved her half as much if she was just modelled after Cordelia, and was only there to be the new Cordelia-character.

[Winifred]

Was she modelled after Cordelia and did you think that she was a nuisance or did you simply love her and what did you didn't AND did love about her?

I loved Anya! She was one of my favourite characters, so I don't think she was a nuisance and I also don't think she was modelled after Cordy. I saw them both as different characters, and I think the only thing they had in common was they both dated Xander!

[SpikedBuffy]

I don't think she was entirely modeled after Cordy. She was sort of like 'the replacement', but other than that, I think they fulfilled different roles on the show.

Anya bothered me sometimes. She always came off righteous to me, and I never liked that. But she did provide comedic relief that everyone needs.

[Kimm]

I liked Anya a lot.....how naive she could be about being human was really sweet. I loved her bluntness, how she always just said whatever she thought.

[Xin Rong]

I think they had similar qualities and I dont think she was modeled after Cordy because she entered Buffy while Cordy was there. I think I read somewhere she wasn't meant to be a permanent character. I loved everything about Anya, I have never found her annoying or not loved her.

[VisionGuy]

I don't think that she was modeled after Cordy but I do think that she was there to fill the gap that Charisma left when she went to Angel.Even though Anya is way more extreme and outspoken than Cordy.

[Bored of the Dead]

Ohhh i think that Anya was definately Queen C mach 2....
They needed her character type in the show as comic relief..and to do something with Xander for seasons 4...and most of 5.
Its not a bad thing.....
and as for those who say that Anya and Cordy overlapped.....so what.
By the time of Dopplegangland(she wasnt the Anya we know in the wish) Charisma had already signed to Angel.
They realised that they had a winning combination of Cordeliaesqueness and the possible play with a demon 1100 years old in one body....

I love love love Anya, she is one of my favourite characters because she is beautiful and feisty.

Some of my favourite episodes have her center stage...and some of the worse episodes(Him) are made better because of her being super ace.

So does it matter if she is Queen C mach 2...no because both turn into truly individual characters and entertained us all.

[WatcherWes]

yeah, she was modeled after her. They just made her less attractive, less funny and more annoying.

[JollyApe]

Sure at first sight Anya's got a lot of character traits charecteristic to Cordelia, but closer look, not so similar.

Personally I think that Spike was the Cordy substitute. Not afraid to be brutally honest, doesn't really fit into the group, but then again when push comes to show actually got a lot bigger heart than you might give him credit for.

[watcher1006]

I don't think Anya was modeled after Cordelia, but after Cordelia's departure she certainly did take her place in some ways. Clueless in her perspective and about how she should behave in social situations. She became a new source of tactless remarks.

I also suspect that the funny, clueless Anya was not in the original plan, but was realized when the Buffy creators saw how talented Emma Caulfield was in that department-certainly shows in "Doppelgangland". The Anya in "The Wish" is dark and powerful, more powerful than Anya would ever be again in the Buffyverse, even when she returned to D'Hoffryn's vengeance fold.

[fivebyfiveanyanka]

I don't think she was modeled after her but she did "replace" her in the sense of someone to compliment Xander, although I do think Anya and Cordelia were rather similar when Cordelia was possessed in season 4 of Angel

[Randy Giles]

I love Anya, she's like my favorite character. I also loved Cordelia (but more on Angel than on Buffy), so I think there was an intent to bring Anya back to fill that gap, yet make an entirely new character as well.

I would have loved to see Cordelia and Anya hang out together.

[KarrinMurphy]

Cordelia and Anya could never have been friends. By the time Cordelia had gone to Los Angeles she had changed so much. Anya was funny because of her bluntness and she could be vulnerable especially with Xander but she lacked compassion, or I should say she was written in a way that showed little or no compassion.

[watcher1006]

In her role on Angel Cordelia evolved a long way from the character in the early BtVS. I actually find it kind of hard to imagine what it would have been like for her to come back to Sunnydale in the late seasons to meet the Scoobies again. But it might have been fun to see her crossover in, say, Season 4 of Buffy to commiserate with Anya about Xander. It might also have been interesting for Cordelia to have finally learned what brought Anya to Sunnydale in the first place.

I suspect though that if Charisma Carpenter had stayed as Cordelia in the cast of BtVS after Season 3 there wouldn't have been room to develop Anya the way they did. Everything would have been different.

[Randy Giles]

Cordelia and Anya could never have been friends. By the time Cordelia had gone to Los Angeles she had changed so much. Anya was funny because of her bluntness and she could be vulnerable especially with Xander but she lacked compassion, or I should say she was written in a way that showed little or no compassion.

I don't think Anya was compassionless, I seem to recall quite a few times when she showed it. And I took her breakdown in "The Body" as evidence that she usually just hides her TRUE emotions out of fear or something, because before the breakdown she was being her usual self.

[Your Creamy Coolness]

I love Anya and Emma plays her so well. :) I think she added so much to the show. I love the fact that she is really soft on the inside it, but she tries to hide it. Ie. Joyce's death, Being left at the altar, etc.

[GATEGOD]

Was she modelled after Cordelia and did you think that she was a nuisance or did you simply love her and what did you didn't AND did love about her?

How could she be modeled after Cordelia? Cordy was a biatch, a prom queen, and a put downer :p But still great. Anya was witty, outspoken, and loved Xander more!!! Okay so there may be one or two similarities and they both were good looking, joke toting women. But still Anya was a demon, Cordy wasn't a demon.. yet. And when Anya came on it seemed like she was a one-er but then she was so amazing!! ;) they brought her back and She became a great completely different Character than Cordy. Cordy at the end of Angel and Anya at the end of Buffy were way different from when Cordy left and Anya joined. So maybe in the beginning there was a few similarities, that over time developed and sprung two different characters with different circumstance. Well my point is in between one of those lines somewhere, I hope. Anyway I don't think she is anything like Cordy. Wouldn't I love Cordy alot too if she was modeled from Cordy?

[palabravampiress]

They both filled a certain role on the show, yes: Xander's blunt, funny girlfriend.

Those similarities come from very different experiences, though. Cordy was the b****y prom queen type. She was afraid, deep down inside, that she didn't deserve her privilege, and so she went about forcing herself and everyone else to bow to her "obvious" greatness. To that end, her sense of humor was intentionally biting and mean. She understood the world around her. She understood the emotions of the people around her. She manipulated those people and that world to suit her purposes. Her attraction to Xander was, to Cordy, a weakness. He was beneath her. It wasn't until she lost everything and got out on her own that she began to mature out of this very immature, very selfish, and yet very human mindset. If her parents had never lost their fortune, I don't think she ever would have matured out of that mindset.

Anya was "new." She was blunt and funny, yes, but she didn't understand the world around her. She didn't understand the emotions going on inside her or inside anyone else. She was not intentionally mean. She stated the things that no one else would state not to prove she had the stones for it, but because she didn't know she wasn't supposed to state those things. Anya was a very honest character. She didn't really hide anything. She didn't try to manipulate people, either. She didn't know how. Her attraction to Xander was equally honest and new. She didn't understand it. She just loved him. She was a work-in-progress, always maturing and always learning.

So even though I think they fit a certain niche in the group dynamic, I can't say Anya's character was modeled on Cordy's.

[Bangelxx]

Anya was a great character and yes she is very different from Cordy! I'm not exactly a fan of Anya. I find her kind of a nuisance sometimes but shes ok!

[Randy Giles]

They both filled a certain role on the show, yes: Xander's blunt, funny girlfriend.

Those similarities come from very different experiences, though. Cordy was the b****y prom queen type. She was afraid, deep down inside, that she didn't deserve her privilege, and so she went about forcing herself and everyone else to bow to her "obvious" greatness. To that end, her sense of humor was intentionally biting and mean. She understood the world around her. She understood the emotions of the people around her. She manipulated those people and that world to suit her purposes. Her attraction to Xander was, to Cordy, a weakness. He was beneath her. It wasn't until she lost everything and got out on her own that she began to mature out of this very immature, very selfish, and yet very human mindset. If her parents had never lost their fortune, I don't think she ever would have matured out of that mindset.

Anya was "new." She was blunt and funny, yes, but she didn't understand the world around her. She didn't understand the emotions going on inside her or inside anyone else. She was not intentionally mean. She stated the things that no one else would state not to prove she had the stones for it, but because she didn't know she wasn't supposed to state those things. Anya was a very honest character. She didn't really hide anything. She didn't try to manipulate people, either. She didn't know how. Her attraction to Xander was equally honest and new. She didn't understand it. She just loved him. She was a work-in-progress, always maturing and always learning.

So even though I think they fit a certain niche in the group dynamic, I can't say Anya's character was modeled on Cordy's.

Very, very well put. I agree.

Although I must say that - despite Cordelia being a biatch sometimes, I liked her from the very first episode, she was very funny. Mean, yes, but written and portrayed in a way that makes you (well, me, at least) feel sorry for her in a way, and she's very human. She can be mean, but she's good inside, she just has to mature, but to be honest I like both Biatch Cordy and Nice Mature Cordy.