Thoughts on 'Heartstopper'

After all the years of buzz I’ve heard about Alice Oseman’s Heartstopper, now I’ve finally actually sat down and started reading it (LOL).

(Disclosure: I haven’t even watched all the three seasons of the TV series adaptation of ‘Heartstopper’, nor the recently released movie. I started reading the original ‘Heartstopper’ webcomic only this month with a completely clean slate.)

And it’s only through this way that I realise I’ve had so many wrong assumptions about this work, which include the following:-

• I’d always thought that Heartstopper was originally a novel?! Apparently it’s actually a webcomic… Gosh I’m stupid.

• I’d always thought that the gay protagonist (Charlie) was closeted, turns out that he isn’t (there’s more to it actually, but I’d not spoil any further).

• I’d always thought that Charlie’s family members weren’t supportive about his sexuality, turns out that they are.

• I’d always thought that Charlie’s gonna have a looong, slow-burn development on his relationship with his crush (i.e. Nick), with a lot of constant back and forth of “will he? will he not?” and whatnot, but turns out that their (mutually romantic) relationship have actually been established pretty early on in the story.

• I’d always thought that Charlie was a weak, mediocre and socially anxious “nobody character”, but turns out that he isn’t — far from it, in fact: he’s soft-spoken yet still able to make earnest friends (in an all-boys school, mind you), humorous, open to expressing his thoughts, athletic (!), mentally resilient, and even fairly smart as well as musically enthusiastic (he plays the drums, just like me!). Darn it he’s really attractive actually!

• Instead of being all “jock-like” and “macho” like I’d wrongly assumed, Nick is actually not without vulnerabilities as well. Really, really relatable vulnerabilities even.

Basically, instead of those (borderline) cliche “timid gay in distress meets a powerful strong lifesaver” tropes, what we have here are characters that are well fleshed out. Characters that… well, feel real.

What’s even more important and highly appreciated is that, sexuality is not their only character trait in the story. In other words, they do not let their sexualities dictate their entire values and personalities. Yes, they are not straight, but they don’t make a scene out of it, and they don’t actively attract people’s attention by “showcasing” their sexualities¹. No, they just… are plain old ordinary people. Many people nowadays seem to have failed to realise that, but they really should, to be honest.

Also, (most of) the characters (main and supporting) are so emotionally intelligent! People should learn from them, really.

Well, I’d expected just way too much edgy angst from it really.

Anyway, those assumptions being proven wrong just shows that this work is actually just really wholesome and heartwarming yet still not without (narratively meaningful) conflicts and setbacks, as well as full of emotional depth (without having to resort to angst overload and/or NSFW content portrayal). Excellent stuff!

No, merely describing this work as ‘excellent’ is still a massive understatement. If you want to know what I mean by that, just go ahead and actually read the webcomic! It’d be really, really worth it.

[By the way, a sidenote: ‘Heartstopper’ started in 2016, when I was still in lower secondary, and (finally) came to an end in April this year (2026), when I’ve graduated from university. Let that sink in.]

[Another sidenote: it’s also refreshing for me seeing an English-language contemporary story taking place in and around the UK², with all the depictions of the LNER/National Rail, Channel Tunnel, London Underground and stuff, as well as the use of British English, mention of Hogwarts houses, UCAS, etc., instead of (yet again) being US-centric.]