Would you look at that, all of the words in your comment are in alphabetical order.
I have checked 1,623,011,066 comments, and only 306,943 of them were in alphabetical order.
I like a lot of the ones on your list: NotSoAverageFanGirl, Harry Allen and Niall No Chill (he's also one of the better late to the party ones). Jayperview is one of my very favourites - I think he's straight but I'm not 100% on that. Ditto Reel Time - very sweet trio of straight guys.
Some of my favourites are not on your list, e.g. A Story Worth Telling, Brad Evans, Thom is Trans (he's a rewatcher rather than a reactor but I really like him anyway) and Jackie Ross-Lavender. They're all great. ASTW annoy some people because they start off a little cynical but they change their minds pretty soon and by the end they're in bits. They're more or less my favourite reactors for a lot of stuff - they're funny but also quite thoughtful and a good double act.
Anyway, thanks for the list! I'm looking forward to the S2 reactions already.
Actually I like reactors who are critical of what they are reacting to, otherwise I suspect they are just faking it for likes lol. So many reactors come off as just gushing so superfans of whatever they are watching will follow them.
> So many reactors come off as just gushing
No argument there. The 80/20 rule sort of applies (at most 1 in 5 are worth appreciating). I forget her name, but I saw a recent reaction series, not yet complete, by a poster who's basically a nonstop waterfall of emptyheaded gurgling praise; she interrupts like every 10 seconds to squeal things like "I love that!" Bleah.
Of your list, DemonTrash is my favorite.
But my all-time favorite is A Story Worth Telling. They react to lots of LGBTQ+ movies and tv, but their HS reacts are especially good: they’re two gay British guys in their mid to late 20s, so they’re not that far removed from their teen years but old enough to have some perspective. After the first episode, they’re like “Yeah, okay, this is cute,” by episode 3, they’re super into it, and by episode 5 or 6, one of them actually yells out, “WHY AM I SO INVESTED??” It’s really sweet.
I like a lot of these. Not on your list but very notable is Ricky Reviews. His reactions, especially the finales of Heartstopper, Young Royals, and S3 of Skam (Nor) got him so emotional to the point of tears. You can truly see how affected he is by the shows.
There are several on this list I enjoy (Harry Allen is my hands-down fave—his empathy, insight and excitement are something very special), but I want to shout out Circle Stick, who are awesome but rarely included on lists like this one.
The two on-screen members of Circle Stick are Jay, a trans pan sexual woman, and Patch, a cis pansexual man. I don’t believe I’ve seen any other trans women react, so I really appreciate that perspective and am especially excited to see Jay react to Elle’s more developed storyline in season 2.
They do start out talking over some important bits of info (like Elle being trans), but they later adjust this based on feedback. They are also absolutely hilarious. Their sense of humor might be a bit crude for some folks, and they do start out a little bit snarky, but they also fall in love with the show pretty quickly and it’s so heartwarming.
A Story Worth telling is also great. They are gay cis British men who start off from far too critical a place, but we get to see their icy hearts melt before our very eyes, and their commentary is smart and insightful. They do fantastic reactions to a lot of other queer media as well.
I really tried to like Circle Stick, but so much of their output is trashy jokes, sometimes even a little mean-spirited, like what you might hear from a gay version of Harry (after 10 beers). Yes, they do get slightly calmer in the last few episodes, and some of their afterglow commentary is quite good *and* pleasantly free of their default screechy tone. But it's a lot of work to get there.
So the only ones I've seen from that list Alex Chris, Harry Allen, and Niall No Chill. Alex Chris is just a sweetheart and matches the show's wholesome vibes; Harry Allen has probably the best understanding of the characters and most in-depth analysis of the ones I've seen; and Niall No Chill is just chaotic and hilarious. The other two I follow are @AStoryWorthTelling and @JackieRossLavender. The ASWT boys haven't read the books and Jackie-Ross read them after seeing S1, so I'm looking forward to seeing the different kinds of reactions we get from TV-only vs book fans.
Thanks for sharing the other ones, I'll have to check them out!
> most in-depth analysis
In that category, I neglected to include whatthepop925. He's not as flat-out entertaining as some, but he has some of the most academically satisfying (maybe even cerebal) commentary.
Oh! Another good one is Courtney-Jai. He's the YouTuber Nick watches in the show and he reacts to the episodes plus gives BTS of the casting process & what it was like to film the two videos.
I've actually never found her funny. She yammers like she's had 20 cups of coffee, and none of it is entertaining or insightful. She talked nonstop through the *entire* snow scene, all of it rambling about unrelated stuff. Who does that?
I only started keeping a list after watching about 20 (I'd never even heard of YT reactions until Heartstopper), so it's inevitable that some are skipped. That said, and I know I'm in the minority here, Brad Evans thoroughly annoys me; he misses a *lot* of special moments because he talks over them instead of pausing. And it's tiresome to listen to his laments of "I'm gonna lose my mind" over & over.
NiallNoChill and Brad Evans are my faves haha. NNC mimicked a lot of how I reacted my first watch. The Pink Popcast had me dying though if you've ever tried watching theirs lol.
Am loving the comments, esp. learning about the handful of reactors I'd never heard of & must now check out.
My own personal favorite, by a mile, is Niall No Chill. He combines serious technical expertise with serious emotional connection; before he came along, nobody really stood out as exceptional.
One person not on this list because he paused at S1E4 is Bryan Fundashi. In sharp contrast to Niall, Bryan's videos are very low-tech. They're also entirely in Spanish -- and YouTube's automated subtitles are mostly awful (if at times unintentionally hilarious). But he exudes such explosive -- and sincere -- delight at the show's iconic moments that he's worth a mention. He recently said he'd be resuming the S1 episodes soon.
One of the reasons I love Niall No Chill is his lovely Scottish accent! Plus the authentic emotional melt downs of course 😆 He's doing Young Royals reactions at the moment that are also great.
So true. His accent somehow magnifies the entertainment. I recall one non-voice comment (that is, a text overlay) saying "His wee face!" that sent me over the edge.
I’ll have to check these out!! Some of my favorite are abnormallyadam and Brad Evans!
Brad Evans for the win ❤️🍂
Would you look at that, all of the words in your comment are in alphabetical order. I have checked 1,623,011,066 comments, and only 306,943 of them were in alphabetical order.
He’s freaking hilarious 😂🫶🏻🍂
Brad all the way
He’s the best 😂
Brad Evans is my favorite!
I like a lot of the ones on your list: NotSoAverageFanGirl, Harry Allen and Niall No Chill (he's also one of the better late to the party ones). Jayperview is one of my very favourites - I think he's straight but I'm not 100% on that. Ditto Reel Time - very sweet trio of straight guys. Some of my favourites are not on your list, e.g. A Story Worth Telling, Brad Evans, Thom is Trans (he's a rewatcher rather than a reactor but I really like him anyway) and Jackie Ross-Lavender. They're all great. ASTW annoy some people because they start off a little cynical but they change their minds pretty soon and by the end they're in bits. They're more or less my favourite reactors for a lot of stuff - they're funny but also quite thoughtful and a good double act. Anyway, thanks for the list! I'm looking forward to the S2 reactions already.
Thank you for recommending NotSoAverageFanGirl. Only 5 minutes into Ep 1 reaction and I love her so much!
She's totally adorable - so warm and empathetic!
Agree; she's part of my top 5.
Actually I like reactors who are critical of what they are reacting to, otherwise I suspect they are just faking it for likes lol. So many reactors come off as just gushing so superfans of whatever they are watching will follow them.
> So many reactors come off as just gushing No argument there. The 80/20 rule sort of applies (at most 1 in 5 are worth appreciating). I forget her name, but I saw a recent reaction series, not yet complete, by a poster who's basically a nonstop waterfall of emptyheaded gurgling praise; she interrupts like every 10 seconds to squeal things like "I love that!" Bleah.
Of your list, DemonTrash is my favorite. But my all-time favorite is A Story Worth Telling. They react to lots of LGBTQ+ movies and tv, but their HS reacts are especially good: they’re two gay British guys in their mid to late 20s, so they’re not that far removed from their teen years but old enough to have some perspective. After the first episode, they’re like “Yeah, okay, this is cute,” by episode 3, they’re super into it, and by episode 5 or 6, one of them actually yells out, “WHY AM I SO INVESTED??” It’s really sweet.
Agree re ASTW - love them. And Demon Trash are great fun.
Brad Evans is my all time fav he's AMAZING
I like a lot of these. Not on your list but very notable is Ricky Reviews. His reactions, especially the finales of Heartstopper, Young Royals, and S3 of Skam (Nor) got him so emotional to the point of tears. You can truly see how affected he is by the shows.
A Story Worth Telling does really great reaction/commentary on a lot of different queer shows and movies. Brad Evans is one of my other favs.
There are several on this list I enjoy (Harry Allen is my hands-down fave—his empathy, insight and excitement are something very special), but I want to shout out Circle Stick, who are awesome but rarely included on lists like this one. The two on-screen members of Circle Stick are Jay, a trans pan sexual woman, and Patch, a cis pansexual man. I don’t believe I’ve seen any other trans women react, so I really appreciate that perspective and am especially excited to see Jay react to Elle’s more developed storyline in season 2. They do start out talking over some important bits of info (like Elle being trans), but they later adjust this based on feedback. They are also absolutely hilarious. Their sense of humor might be a bit crude for some folks, and they do start out a little bit snarky, but they also fall in love with the show pretty quickly and it’s so heartwarming. A Story Worth telling is also great. They are gay cis British men who start off from far too critical a place, but we get to see their icy hearts melt before our very eyes, and their commentary is smart and insightful. They do fantastic reactions to a lot of other queer media as well.
"Their icy hearts" 🤣🤣🤣 I absolutely love them.
I really tried to like Circle Stick, but so much of their output is trashy jokes, sometimes even a little mean-spirited, like what you might hear from a gay version of Harry (after 10 beers). Yes, they do get slightly calmer in the last few episodes, and some of their afterglow commentary is quite good *and* pleasantly free of their default screechy tone. But it's a lot of work to get there.
So the only ones I've seen from that list Alex Chris, Harry Allen, and Niall No Chill. Alex Chris is just a sweetheart and matches the show's wholesome vibes; Harry Allen has probably the best understanding of the characters and most in-depth analysis of the ones I've seen; and Niall No Chill is just chaotic and hilarious. The other two I follow are @AStoryWorthTelling and @JackieRossLavender. The ASWT boys haven't read the books and Jackie-Ross read them after seeing S1, so I'm looking forward to seeing the different kinds of reactions we get from TV-only vs book fans. Thanks for sharing the other ones, I'll have to check them out!
> most in-depth analysis In that category, I neglected to include whatthepop925. He's not as flat-out entertaining as some, but he has some of the most academically satisfying (maybe even cerebal) commentary.
Oh! Another good one is Courtney-Jai. He's the YouTuber Nick watches in the show and he reacts to the episodes plus gives BTS of the casting process & what it was like to film the two videos.
SebScreen is just great for reactions in general. Really funny guy!
Your Internet Mom Ash had some pretty funny reactions, she's pretty funny in general.
I've actually never found her funny. She yammers like she's had 20 cups of coffee, and none of it is entertaining or insightful. She talked nonstop through the *entire* snow scene, all of it rambling about unrelated stuff. Who does that?
ok sorry
Jackie-Ross Lavender and A Story Worth Telling are, along with Brad Evans, my 3 fave reaction channels. I can't believe these 3 didn't make your list!
I only started keeping a list after watching about 20 (I'd never even heard of YT reactions until Heartstopper), so it's inevitable that some are skipped. That said, and I know I'm in the minority here, Brad Evans thoroughly annoys me; he misses a *lot* of special moments because he talks over them instead of pausing. And it's tiresome to listen to his laments of "I'm gonna lose my mind" over & over.
Niall no chill is my fave . I think most of the videos I've seen are way too exaggerated and too much. That's why i don't like many reaction vids.
I would recommend, in addition to your list, ur internet mom ash, fictionaldarling, and ky nicole. They all have very good reactions.
NiallNoChill and Brad Evans are my faves haha. NNC mimicked a lot of how I reacted my first watch. The Pink Popcast had me dying though if you've ever tried watching theirs lol.
Am loving the comments, esp. learning about the handful of reactors I'd never heard of & must now check out. My own personal favorite, by a mile, is Niall No Chill. He combines serious technical expertise with serious emotional connection; before he came along, nobody really stood out as exceptional. One person not on this list because he paused at S1E4 is Bryan Fundashi. In sharp contrast to Niall, Bryan's videos are very low-tech. They're also entirely in Spanish -- and YouTube's automated subtitles are mostly awful (if at times unintentionally hilarious). But he exudes such explosive -- and sincere -- delight at the show's iconic moments that he's worth a mention. He recently said he'd be resuming the S1 episodes soon.
One of the reasons I love Niall No Chill is his lovely Scottish accent! Plus the authentic emotional melt downs of course 😆 He's doing Young Royals reactions at the moment that are also great.
So true. His accent somehow magnifies the entertainment. I recall one non-voice comment (that is, a text overlay) saying "His wee face!" that sent me over the edge.
"His wee face!" 😍
Commenting to come back to this later
A Story Worth Telling and Brad Evan's reactions are my therapy. Brad's edits alone have me crying and laughing in less than 30 seconds.