"Heartstopper” brings forth a totally queer coming-of-age love story that is so good you won't be able to stop watching it.
This series is based on the graphic novels by Alice Oseman, and while the series is amazing to read, the show brings it to another level of enjoyment. The graphic novels make you laugh, cry, and smile and this series brings forth that same energy.
Synopsis
Teens Nick and Charlie realize their unlikely friendship may be more than a friendship, and must navigate school and young love. With other relationships unfolding, all of the characters must figure out how to traverse teen friendships and romance.
What I loved
The visual effects in the series were spectacular. There were certain things they brought from the graphic novels like little sparkles when certain people talked, or hearts when characters looked at each other that just made it so special to watch. It felt visually fulfilling and I love how it related back to the graphic novel with these effects, fonts, and overall things added that just make it visually more enjoyable and different than other shows.
I really enjoyed the plot of this series. Now it follows roughly along with the same plot as the graphic novel, which I love, but the tv series makes certain changes to make it more interesting. I enjoyed the characters they added and the plot that was focused on all characters in the friend group and not just Nick and Charlie.
What I didn't love
Honestly and truly the only thing I didn't like about this series was the length. I wanted so much more from this series than I got (and I know I always want more), but each episode was less than 35 minutes long and we only got 8 episodes. Reading the graphic novels puts this show into more perspective, but if you don't read the novels, you don't get all that backstory, that the show lacked in places. For example, there are different characters added to the show that are not in the novel, but they're kind of just there with no explanation. I just wish there was more information given about secondary characters and characters in general.
Now, this isn't so much a negative, but the show heavily relies on, in my opinion, reading the graphic novels beforehand and knowing these characters. It kind of feels like overall you don't get backstory for all these characters in the show (I relied heavily on my prior knowledge), so for a first-time watcher that could be confusing.
Verdict
I highly recommend this show, it made me laugh, cry, and just made me feel happy inside the entire time. It’s very short so you can finish it in one day, or a couple of hours in my case. If you haven't read the graphic novels I highly recommend reading them to better understand the show - they're very short.
I give Netflix’s ‘Heartstopper’ a 5 out of 5.
