Nakamura deserved an adaptation similar to old Rumiko Takahashi mangas, that respected the material and contributed substantially to it. The current anime just made it sappier. Nakamura as a manga worked so well because it was mostly absurd comedy, so when things got real, they felt like they had weight. The new anime gets rid of important things like the very real homophobia in that world, and literally makes everything that's true to growing up queer subtext. Lwk I don't think most new fans even care about the works that Nakamura is inspired by and is trying to reference and pay homage to, especially with its 80s endings. They just want heartstopper slop where all of that nuance is essentially displaced with the characters getting together. ┑( ̄Д  ̄)┍
Like anyone could tell that Nakamura and Hirose are more than friends, but the manga (and by extention the anime) isn't about that. It doesn't matter whether they get together yet, because they don't know each other enough yet. The story is about Nakamura reaching out of his shell and trying to take the steps to do something about his love.
Lwk wish this didn't get an anime because it's brought the worst of the retarded ass heartstopper fans into the fandom with zero media literacy (⌒▽⌒)
I felt this back in 2024 when there was news about the adaptation. When the release date got delayed i felt relieved lowkey. I knew there would be so much hate towards the author based on their other works. It was like watching a house burn down, couldn't do anything but watch :( I just didn't think she'd delete her account










For a smut, the plot is kinda fire actually
Sorry I was trying to upvote but my finger slipped