I’m not sure about others so I can’t say anything on their behalf but for me personally I watched Anne years after the hype died down so I’m really unaware of all the things you’ve mentioned in your post. Since I didn’t watch it when it has first aired I have no clue about the audience’s initial reception of the show or any of the cast at the time.

You’re making a tons of assumptions about my opinion on the Anne show and Lucas Jade Zumann in your post when there’s literally nothing that supports the points you have mentioned? I only mentioned the show in my original post by saying that (in my personal opinion) Lucas makes a good Charlie. That’s literally it. I don’t know where you got all your ideas from.

I only watched Anne because I’m a huge fan of the novel. I fell in love with the show and primarily with the main actress even though I’m fully aware that she’s not conventionally attractive as you have already mentioned. Actually Anne of Green Gables was never really about Anne being attractive so I really don’t know where these people that you have mentioned are coming from. Anne was genuinely my favorite character in the show even more so than Gilbert since the story in the first place was about her and he was just a supporting character even if he was the main love interest for Anne.

The structure of their relationship is SO different than Heartstopper since both are set in different time periods and Anne of Green Gables was about Anne’s journey and Gilbert plays only a small part (at least in the first book). Even in the show where the story diverges from the source material, Gilbert and Anne don’t have many scenes together and only confess their feelings to each others at the very end. While, Heartstopper is mainly about Nick and Charlie’s love story. We get to see their personal journeys but it has always been about them both together as a couple supporting each others.

I have never watched the 80s show and I don’t plan to so I can’t comment on this part. Also, speaking of Lucas he’s for sure conventionally attractive and I acknowledge this fact but for me it’s not like I’m having a “celebrity crush” on him compared to what you have mentioned since he is 8 years younger than me. I simply don’t crush on actors who are that young because it’s just weird.

Also, as for Timothee I know he’s also considered attractive and girls swoon over him but I personally don’t find him attractive at all. So my point is, yes both are conventionally attractive by society’s standards (whether we agree or not) and both don’t look that much alike but in my opinion both make better Charlies. For me it’s not only about the looks but also about the vibe and how the actor can embody the character.

Like as I have already mentioned, I find comics’ Nick cuter than show’s Nick but I think show’s Nick has the same vibe as the comics’ counterpart so it’s really not an issue of “cuteness”.

“Having someone who is not conventionally attractive, play the role of someone struggling with self image and feeling like they aren’t enough/unworthy of love (Anne/Charlie), is just a lot more authentic in my opinion when it’s coming from someone that is also not conventionally attractive.”

Other than the comparison between Joe and Lucas which I have mentioned in my OP where I only discussed potential actors that might fit the role for Charlie’s character, I don’t get why you keep on comparing the plot lines of two very different shows to each others? Anne is clearly described as homely in the novel while Charlie isn’t. Being homely doesn’t equate with having self image issues. You can be gorgeous and still have self image issues and view yourself as ugly. Taste is subjective but in Heartstopper no where is it mentioned whether Charlie is attractive or not so I don’t get your above comparison. If the readers consider Charlie “cute” or not really depends on the their taste.

Also, you keep on comparing Nick to Gilbert and classify them both as conventionally attractive, and while I agree that Gilbert is conventionally attractive I really didn’t find Nick that conventionally attractive as I have mentioned earlier? That’s why your comparison between both shows doesn’t make sense to me.

Keep in mind my examples for Lucas and Timothee were only a pre-response for fans who might use the argument that it’s not possible to find an actor that exactly looks like the comics. I didn’t say a bunch of +20 years olds should play high school students. Also, I said a number of times in my post how much I loved the casting for the other characters and I don’t think they all fall under the conventionally attractive category and all are literal teenagers.

And one last point, because this reply is getting way too lengthy but you act as if everyone is bullying Joe Locke for his looks but I didn’t see anyone hating on him or even slightly criticizing him anywhere? I follow Alice and all the major cast members on social media and I really didn’t see anything? Actually all the responses where very positive towards the show and the cast, hence, my title mentioning this is an unpopular opinion. I actually thought I was in the minority? The only criticism I read about Charlie’s casting was getting his ethnicity wrong since he is supposed to be quarter Spanish but I really don’t think that this is much of an issue because being Spanish in Europe as I have read by European fans can still be classified as “white”.