The Way to Your Heart
Website | Read on Webtoons | Read on Tapas | Year: 2002 - Current | Genre: Romance & Drama | Rating: Older Teen
Yumi, a book-smart girl with zero experience with boys, has just transferred to the prestigious St. Othello Academy. She quickly discovers it's the four attractive musicians of the aspiring visual kei rock band Orochi that truly make it a unique place. As Yumi traverses her new school and literally bumps into Miyabi, Orochi's rather ill-tempered but supremely talented vocalist, a roller coaster of tension, angst, and passion sets off at full speed. I started creating The Way to Your Heart (TWTYH for short) around the year 2000. At the time, I was obsessed with Japanese visual kei bands and shoujo manga/anime, specifically the series "Hana Yori Dango." I wanted to create a comic merging my interests together, and so this story began to take shape.
Being just 18 at the time, my skills have grown and evolved so much. I'm grateful for the practice this comic has given me as it started off hand-drawn with mechanical pencils and Copic multiliners, and now it's created digitally with Clip Studio Paint EX and Photoshop CC. I've learned so much about comic creation and art in general thanks to TWTYH!
As for the characters, Yumi is loosely based on me and Toshio has some things in common with my husband. Nastasiya was inspired by a friend and co-worker I had once from Ukraine. Orochi has been inspired by several real J-rock bands like X Japan, BUCK-TICK, Luna Sea, Girugamesh, D'espairsRay, Schwarz Stein, etc. and ~PHANTASM~ is mostly inspired by Alice Nine.
TWTYH has some mature content. I wanted the story to reflect what young people have to deal with in the real world each and every day. The characters are free to choose what they will and then deal with the consequences that follow, just like every living human being. And in time, the choices the characters make shape them and refine them into better, more complete versions of themselves.
