Hi!, I'm queer too, and honestly, I love overanalyzing and overthinking everything , it’s just how I process stories like this.
What I’ve been saying is simply what I inferred from chapters 119-121, 125, and 194.
It’s not like the author is intentionally trying to create a piece of queer representation, there're no trans characters, and the protagonists never explicitly say whether they’re gay, bisexual, demisexual, or anything else.
They just… live.
Throughout the story, Takamada’s insecurities reflect the emotional weight that often comes with being in a same-sex relationship, the fear, the silence, the need to downplay what you feel. But the story never says it outright. You have to read between the lines. And with Yu, it’s even more subtle. He hasn’t really shown whether issues like parenthood, legacy, or expectations actually affect him yet.
He’s confused , not necessarily about who he loves, but about why he can’t bring himself to tell his family. Especially his older brother figure, the one he used to tell everything to.
So why can’t Yu just say that Takamada is his boyfriend?
We do know what kind of environment Yu lives in. And Takamada knows what Yu’s family expects from him it’s been made clear in the story how they say "Yu will be a great father someday", or "how naturally good he is with kids".
Maybe Yu doesn’t want to confront all that yet. Maybe he’s not ready to admit that the life people imagine for him isn’t the life he wants.
And even if this conflict does get resolved eventually, I think it’ll be done implicitly in small, quiet ways. That seems to be the author’s style. In fact, they’ve said in tweets that their goal, together with their editor, is to keep the story as grounded and realistic as possible, blending it with slice-of-life.
So no, I don’t think the author is trying to take on the responsibility of representing the queer experience directly. Instead, they’re simmering it slowly, letting it unfold gently, without the pressure of labeling or being “the voice” for anyone.
And I kind of respect that. (⌒▽⌒)
Also, let’s be honest — the company publishing this story is WWWAVE, and their brand focuses heavily on erotic content. So I’m sure there are editorial expectations too, the characters have to look aesthetically pleasing, and there has to be a sex scene every 2–3 chapters.
That’s why I find it so interesting that almost every time the characters have sex, it happens when one of them is going through emotional turmoil it's not sometimes just for the sake of lust, it’s often a form of escape, control, or comfort.
But like I said, I tend to overanalyze everything in any fandom I get into, LMAO.
Sorry if it sounds like I’m trying to frame this story as a fully queer narrative, I know nowadays, for something to be considered queer, it’s like there’s this invisible checklist you have to meet. Not too perfect like Heartstopper, not too messy, not too fetishized, not too tame…
And maybe that’s why a lot of gay men dislike Heartstopper cauze they don’t feel represented by it either.
the mangaka and editor saying they want this to be a grounded slice-of-life story is SO FUNNY TO ME bc like, did they forget how the story started??
I kinda wish they talked more about queer struggle and problems in this story and the current situation.
Takamada is kinda there about it but not as much as yu. I feel like the author could have explained the "embarrassment" yu feels as maybe not being accepted for being gay by his friends and family. Or maybe he just doesn't realise it yet and I'm hoping thats the case.
Takamada's feeling about the matter is also kinda getting lost to "am I gonna be replaced cuz I'm not someone important enough to tell your friends?" Which i kinda get because he wants to be a part of yu's family but compared to his inner monologue before of "im stealing his opportunity to live a "normal" life and having his own family". I think that it just hits more as a queer person especially since he was "straight" before everything that happened in this story. It would have been nice it they talked more about how hard it is to be and feel accepted and how hard it is to come out to people cuz you never really know how they will react and treat you afterwards.
Idk just my own thoughts. Lmk if you feel the same way.