He's Harmless I Swear is the first webcomic I've ever read, and I'm already in love with it! To start off, I am a Black girl, and as Black girls are generally not represented enough in mainstream media, it made me happy to read a webcomic that showed a Black girl as the main character, who is allowed to be beautiful, feminine, loved, stray from the classic stereotypes, and is fully realized and three-dimensional. The artist properly and respectfully represents Black girls, from the way she does her hair(including wearing a bonnet to sleep at night, something not all but many Black girls do) to her skin tone and facial features not being whitewashed, and to her being strong and assertive but never in a stereotypical "Strong Black Woman" way. I was actually surprised that the artist was not Black, but Latina, due to how authentic Tammy's portrayal was(she does have a Black best friend, though, so that helps a lot!). I was never really that into Webtoons, until someone recommended me some webcomics starring Black girls, and this one was one of them. I chose to read it first because the name stuck out to me. I was incredibly elated because I didn't even KNOW there were Webtoons starring Black girls. If I continued not knowing, I never would have read Webtoons at all.
On top of that, her love interest is Asian, which might be par for the course for Webtoons, but in this Webtoon, it makes me happy, because Black women paired with Asian men isn't shown a lot of the time in fiction. I mean, look at even this here wiki itself. we have a trope for Black girls and white guys in love, we have a trope for Black guys and white girls in love, and we have a trope for Asian girls and white guys in love, and yet none for Black girls and Asian guys. Even in thereal world, this is so: According to Wikipedia, out of all(heterosexual, at least) interracial pairings in America, Black woman/Asian man pairings are least common. Isn't that sad? But this story centers around such a relationship, and that's refreshing for both parties!
Even better is that the story doesn't center around race in the slightest. Although both parties start off uncertain about the relationship, it is for valid reasons that aren't due to race. The story DOES address sexism(and prejudice against men) Male invariousways, but it is relevant to the story, and it's still refreshing to read a story that just lets PO Cs be people, without their race being a defining element in their characters and the storyline, but also doesn't ignore or erase their race either. There's more to being a POC then just experiencing racism.
Now that I've gotten race out of the way, I'm going to talk about the story itself. Not only is the art style adorable(although I will admit that it took a while for me to warm up to it), the characters are as well. Not just physically, but also due to their personalities! Tomoya is endearing and sweet and you just can't help but feel sorry for him after allhe's gone through, especially since due to him being a man, few will take his trauma and abuse seriously. Tammy is also a wonderful character. I love how kind and sensitive she is towards Tomoya, as well as how she isn't afraid to stand up for herself and Tomoya. Even when Tomoya protects her, she still isn't to be messed with, and rest assured that she WILL whoop Olivia's behind if need be! And Tomoya being a Yandere isn't as bad as I thought it would be. At first, I was uncomfortable with it because I wanted to read a story where Black girls are genuinely loved, rather than trapped in a toxic and abusive relationship where they are the victim. But Tomoya is actually not abusive or toxic in the slightest, and is really devoted to protecting Tammy. But ah, I can't say too much without spoiling the story.
Is it any wonder that I enjoy this webcomic? I'd recommend it to everyone I know, especially if you're a Black girl looking for a Webtoon with positive Black female representation. Remember, there's more to Black women than just sass. Still, if you haven't read this webcomic yet, then you should probably get off of TV Tropes, head over to Webtoons, and read it RIGHT NOW!!! You won't regret it!
Webcomic LOVE! THIS! WEBCOMIC!
He's Harmless I Swear is the first webcomic I've ever read, and I'm already in love with it! To start off, I am a Black girl, and as Black girls are generally not represented enough in mainstream media, it made me happy to read a webcomic that showed a Black girl as the main character, who is allowed to be beautiful, feminine, loved, stray from the classic stereotypes, and is fully realized and three-dimensional. The artist properly and respectfully represents Black girls, from the way she does her hair(including wearing a bonnet to sleep at night, something not all but many Black girls do) to her skin tone and facial features not being whitewashed, and to her being strong and assertive but never in a stereotypical "Strong Black Woman" way. I was actually surprised that the artist was not Black, but Latina, due to how authentic Tammy's portrayal was(she does have a Black best friend, though, so that helps a lot!). I was never really that into Webtoons, until someone recommended me some webcomics starring Black girls, and this one was one of them. I chose to read it first because the name stuck out to me. I was incredibly elated because I didn't even KNOW there were Webtoons starring Black girls. If I continued not knowing, I never would have read Webtoons at all.
On top of that, her love interest is Asian, which might be par for the course for Webtoons, but in this Webtoon, it makes me happy, because Black women paired with Asian men isn't shown a lot of the time in fiction. I mean, look at even this here wiki itself. we have a trope for Black girls and white guys in love, we have a trope for Black guys and white girls in love, and we have a trope for Asian girls and white guys in love, and yet none for Black girls and Asian guys. Even in the real world, this is so: According to Wikipedia, out of all(heterosexual, at least) interracial pairings in America, Black woman/Asian man pairings are least common. Isn't that sad? But this story centers around such a relationship, and that's refreshing for both parties!
Even better is that the story doesn't center around race in the slightest. Although both parties start off uncertain about the relationship, it is for valid reasons that aren't due to race. The story DOES address sexism(and prejudice against men) Male in various ways, but it is relevant to the story, and it's still refreshing to read a story that just lets PO Cs be people, without their race being a defining element in their characters and the storyline, but also doesn't ignore or erase their race either. There's more to being a POC then just experiencing racism.
Now that I've gotten race out of the way, I'm going to talk about the story itself. Not only is the art style adorable(although I will admit that it took a while for me to warm up to it), the characters are as well. Not just physically, but also due to their personalities! Tomoya is endearing and sweet and you just can't help but feel sorry for him after all he's gone through, especially since due to him being a man, few will take his trauma and abuse seriously. Tammy is also a wonderful character. I love how kind and sensitive she is towards Tomoya, as well as how she isn't afraid to stand up for herself and Tomoya. Even when Tomoya protects her, she still isn't to be messed with, and rest assured that she WILL whoop Olivia's behind if need be! And Tomoya being a Yandere isn't as bad as I thought it would be. At first, I was uncomfortable with it because I wanted to read a story where Black girls are genuinely loved, rather than trapped in a toxic and abusive relationship where they are the victim. But Tomoya is actually not abusive or toxic in the slightest, and is really devoted to protecting Tammy. But ah, I can't say too much without spoiling the story.
And even the less sympathetic characters are three-dimensional and given significant backstories. Olivia may not be a good person and she's clearly not meant to be liked, but she is more than just "that girl who abused Tomoya", she's given complex methods and motives, and even a backstory. She actually used to be a sweet and kind person before chains of events turned her into what she is now. Of course, this doesn't justify the abuse, but she was someone before she became a husbandbeater. Nobody is just one thing. Even characters with very little screentime such as Cage and Ichirou have backstories. Of course, there are some characters such as Adrian(Tammy's ex) who don't get a lot of depth, but the story's not yet finished, so who knows, maybe they will. The story also portrays DomesticAbuse and [[SplitPersonality DID surprisingly realistically, which most stories don't(especially when, once again, the abuser is a woman and the abusee is a male.)
Is it any wonder that I enjoy this webcomic? I'd recommend it to everyone I know, especially if you're a Black girl looking for a Webtoon with positive Black female representation. Remember, there's more to Black women than just sass. Still, if you haven't read this webcomic yet, then you should probably get off of TV Tropes, head over to Webtoons, and read it RIGHT NOW!!! You won't regret it!