Here is Season One of The Way to Your Heart, Tracks 1 - 24 plus Bonus Tracks.
Here is Season Two of The Way to Your Heart, Tracks 25 - current.
Main Male Characters:
Miyabi
Toshio
Shuya
Akito
Haruki
Atsushi
Mitsuzuka-san
Eizo
Kazuki
Izumi
Sakuzo
Renji
Hayato
Klaus
Hugo
Side Characters:
Arisa
Chie
Minako
Atsuko
Saeko
Olena
Naoto
Alex
Ryo
Jun
Katsumuras
Natsukawas
Takuya
Satomi
Yuuta
Kenji
The Bands:
Orochi
~PHANTASM~
Scarecrow
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High school student at St. Othello Academy
Age of debut: 16 Hair: Black Eyes: Brown Height: 162 cm Birthday: July 14 Family: Arisa (mother), Naoto (father) Love interests: Toshio, Miyabi Yumi is a very kind and forgiving person, but also somewhat naive. She starts out shy with low self-esteem, but her strength and confidence grow as situations arise that force her to stretch herself. Yumi becomes a huge Orochi fan and always dresses up in her "Little Mouse" rocker persona at concerts. |
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High school student at St. Othello Academy
Age of debut: 16 Hair: Deep brown Eyes: Brown Height: 163 cm Birthday: September 2 Family: Kazuki (older brother) Love interest: Eizo Miyoko is spunky and confident--she was never afraid to confront Miyabi when he was being a jerk! She's very supportive of her friends (except for maybe Eizo's extreme Orochi fanboyism) and often helps Yumi sort things out whenever a drama bomb explodes. She loves Orochi and ~PHANTASM~ both, even when her brother Kazuki can't stand Miyabi or Orochi. |
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High school student with private tutors at St. Othello Academy
Age of debut: 17 Hair: Blonde, wavy Eyes: Green Height: 159 cm Birthday: May 4 Family: Haruki (son), Mitsuzuka-san (father) Love interest: Miyabi Nastasiya is the embodiment of obsession. Born in Ukraine, she's lived a very sheltered life due to her severe epilepsy. She became infatuated with Miyabi before ever meeting him, which only escalated into complete devoted obsession once they did meet and began to date. Her willingness to change for him and hurt others who she feels interfere define who she is. |
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University student
Age of debut: 23 Hair: Black Eyes: Dark brown Height: 165 cm Birthday: January 28 Family: Miyabi (younger brother), Atsushi (father), Saeko (mother) Love interests: Toshio, Kazuki Sayaka is the kind of big sister everyone would want: caring, patient, kind, understanding. Her warm personality means she often puts others before herself and does what she can for Miyabi in the absense of a mother. Having no musical talent herself, she's supportive of her family's pursuits while trying to find her own niche. |
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Orochi's rhythmn guitarist
Age of debut: 22 Hair: Dyed pink Eyes: Brown Height: 167 cm Birthday: February 14 Family: Shuya (husband), Ayane (daughter), parents Love interest: Shuya Musashi is the total package: awesomely quick-witted personality, uniquely wicked fashion sense, umptuous curves, terrific musical talent. She's straightforward and not afraid to tell you how it is, but always in a loving manner. Her passion for life is vivid and apparent in all that she does. |
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Age of debut: Infant
Hair: Black Eyes: Brown Birthday: January 23 Family: Musashi (mother), Shuya (father), Grandparents Shuya and Musashi's adorable little girl! Ayane's lucky enough to get the best qualities from her daddy and her mommy... sure to become an amazing young lady! |
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Gamer, translator
Age of debut: 19 Hair: Auburn brown Eyes: Hazel Height: 171 cm Birthday: April 17 Family: Parents Love interest: Akito Monique's father was stationed in Japan during his military tenure, which made Monique fall in love with the country. She also attended high school in Aomori. She is bilingual with English and Japanese and worked as Orochi's translator during Haru-Con. Monique is a huge gamer and hits it off with Akito right away. |
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High school student
Age of debut: 16 Hair: Black Eyes: Brown Height: 164 cm Birthday: November 22 Family: Toshio (older brother), Chie (mother) Love interests: Miyabi, Hugo Asami is a sweet girl with some tragedy in her past. Her abusive father drove her and her mother to a small town in Hokkaido where they lived until they got word he had been arrested. Upon moving back to Tokyo and reuniting with her brother Toshio, Asami met and became friends with Yumi and quickly adjusted to her new life. |
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Journalist
Age of debut: 20 Hair: Black Eyes: Brown Height: 165 cm Birthday: December 2 Family: Father (mentioned in track 20) Love interests: Toshio, Alex Fumiko is a very level-headed young woman and was a writer/journalist at Music Minds magazine. She takes an assignment to write an article about Orochi and had quite a blast from the past upon seeing Toshihiko (her cheating ex-boyfriend) again. Fumiko gains another assignment to write an expose on Orochi after word gets out Toshio didn't play with the band in Seattle, being told by her boss to use "creative journalism." Feeling that was wrong, she quits and shortly after meets Alex and starts a new chapter in her life. |
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High school student at St. Othello Academy, Berlin
Age of debut: 17 Hair: Strawberry blonde Eyes: Hazel green Height: 166 cm Birthday: January 8 Family: ??? Love interest: Klaus Brigitte has loved music since she was little. She plays the bass in a band formed for fun with her boyfriend Klaus and friend Hugo and is seeking to become a music major in college. She hopes to be able to teach or play music abroad together with Klaus one day. |
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Stylist
Age of debut: 28 Hair: Bleached platinum blonde Eyes: Hazel Height: 162 cm Birthday: May 7 Love interest: Toshio Erika is a stylist who met Toshio when he was modeling. They soon begin dating, which becomes dangerous once her lunatic ex-husband Ryo finds out. |
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Orochi's vocalist
Age of debut: 18 Hair: Black Eyes: Black Height: 175 cm Birthday: October 12 Family: Haruki (son), Sayaka (older sister), Atsushi (father), Saeko (mother) Love interests: Nastasiya, Yumi Miyabi is a musical genius, inheriting talent from both his mother and father. He had a very close relationship with his mother and attempted suicide after she died. That haze of depression lingered with him, often causing him to lash out in hostile ways. His friends stuck by him, however, as he was always fully dedicated to Orochi. As the story progresses, he begins to see the error of his ways and to regret very deeply. |
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Orochi's drummer
Age of debut: 18 Hair: Dyed red Eyes: Deep brown Height: 182 cm Birthday: August 22 Family: Chie (mother), Asami (younger sister) Love interests: Fumiko, Yumi, Erika Toshio is a gentleman, but holds some darker feelings within stemming from the abuse he witnessed from his father. These dark feelings sometimes surface, which causes heartache for himself and others. However, he is incredibly kind and supportive of others, especially of Yumi and her decision to wait until marriage for sex. He is also a phenomenal drummer and helps propel Orochi forward in the music world. |
| Orochi's bassist
Age of debut: 20 Hair: Black with blue streaks Eyes: Brown Height: 176 cm Birthday: December 6 Family: Musashi (wife), Ayane, (daughter), parents Love interest: Musashi Shuya is smart-witted, bold, and fiercely independent. His strong will is what led him to leave the life his parents wanted for him to pursue his passion for music, which he's valued above all else. He's had a close relationship with Musashi since before the story began, bonding with her through their shared passion for music. |
| Orochi's lead guitarist
Age of debut: 18 Hair: bleached blonde Eyes: Brown Height: 169 cm Birthday: March 9 Family: Grandfather Love interests: Nastasiya, Monique Akito is bright, bubbly, and wonderfully cheerful. His kind nature and near constant smile always lighten the mood and often balance out Miyabi's negativity. He is a trustworthy and loyal friend, and incredibly skilled guitarist. Akito's optimism usually keeps him out of trouble, but when trouble does find him, he nearly folds under the pressure. |
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Age of debut: Infant
Hair: Black Eyes: Green Birthday: April 17 Family: Nastasiya (mother), Miyabi (father), Mitsuzuka-san (grandfather), Atsushi (grandfather) Miyabi's son, whom he didn't know about at first. Nastasiya's physical and mental condition both quickly deteriorated, and she died soon after giving birth to him. To this day Haruki does not know much about her. But he is a bright and happy child, and enjoys playing cello and watching his father perform with Orochi. |
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Orochi's manager
Age of debut: 48 Hair: Black Eyes: Brown Height: 175 cm Birthday: September 6 Family: Miyabi (son), Sayaka (daughter), Saeko (late wife), Haruki (grandson) Love interest: Saeko Atsushi was greatly hurt when Saeko died. He no longer wanted anything to do with music, something that he and Saeko shared every day they were together. He took an office job and dropped out of his childrens' lives, making Miyabi completely resent him. As events unfold, Atsushi comes little by little out of the fog of despair and begins again to embrace his family and music. |
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Orochi's former manager
Age of debut: 51 Hair: Gray Eyes: Gray Height: 181 cm Birthday: November 3 Family: Nastasiya (daughter), Haruki (grandson) Love interest: His late wife Mitsuzuka-san is an elegant and classy man with pure devotion to music. He's done very well for himself and has had a successful career in performing and teaching in several countries. Soon after his wife passed away, he took a teaching job at St. Othello Academy in Tokyo and moved there with his daughter. There he met Miyabi and the other members of Orochi, saw their bright talent, and took on the role of band manager. |
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High school student at St. Othello Academy
Age of debut: 16 Hair: Dyed reddish brown and naturally curly Eyes: Brown Height: 168 cm Birthday: January 26 Family: Parents Love interest: Miyoko Eizo prides himself as being Orochi's number one fan! He is hopelessly, fanatically, obsessively dedicated to Orochi--a fact which he's not shy to let anyone know. Aside from Orochi, Eizo is dedicated to his friends and sticks up for them no matter what. He's also very studious and was able to follow Orochi on tour and stay on top of all of his schoolwork. |
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~PHANTASM~'s drummer
Age of debut: 18 Hair: Dyed platinum blonde Eyes: Brown Height: 174 cm Birthday: October 14 Family: Miyoko (younger sister) Love interest: Sayaka Kazuki is a very passionate person with huge dreams. He wanted to start a band with Miyabi after Saeko passed away because he wanted Miyabi to see he still had much to live for, thus Orochi was born. That passion became a bitter grudge once Miyabi replaced him with Toshio. Kazuki hated Miyabi after that, and was determined to create a new band to surpass Orochi. He established ~PHANTASM~ for that very purpose. |
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~PHANTASM~'s vocalist
Age of debut: 27 Hair: Dyed blonde with red tips Eyes: Brown (always wears color contact lenses) Height: 173 cm Birthday: July 1 Family: ??? Love interest: Sakuzo Izumi loves being a part of ~PHANTASM~, he's a natural confident performer. He can easily connect with others, whether they be his band mates or the audience. After revealing his feelings for Sakuzo, Izumi gains more confidence to not be ashamed of who he is. |
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~PHANTASM~'s lead guitarist
Age of debut: 27 Hair: Dyed purple Eyes: Brown (always wears color contact lenses) Height: 175 cm Birthday: August 9 Family: ??? Love interests: Kazuki, Izumi Sakuzo is extremely flamboyant, sometimes bordering on the dramatic. He's got a remarkable charm about him and carries himself with a smooth boldness and unmatched confidence. He's openly bisexual and wanted Kazuki ever since they met. Though he seems aloof, he can be very stable and mature, providing support to others when they need it most. He also claims to have an uncanny ability to sniff out pheromones, though he was unable to detect Izumi's feelings for him! |
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~PHANTASM~'s rhythm guitarist
Age of debut: 25 Hair: Black Eyes: Black Height: 178 cm Birthday: January 3 Family: ??? Love interest: Atsuko Renji is quiet, reserved, and very serious about his work with ~PHANTASM~. He seems like a complete opposite from his girlfriend Atsuko, but they make a really great match. |
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~PHANTASM~'s bassist
Age of debut: 24 Hair: Dyed silver with black stripes Eyes: Brown (sometimes wears color contact lenses) Height: 179 cm Birthday: May 13 Family: ??? Love interest: Minako Hayato is outgoing and loves being on stage with his band. Before The Way to Your Heart, Hayato made his first appearance in a comic I drew in 2004 called Charmed Reality. |
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High school student at St. Othello Academy, Berlin
Age of debut: 18 Hair: Blonde Eyes: Blue Height: 176 cm Birthday: March 18 Family: ??? Love interest: Brigitte Klaus is often seen at school toting his guitar around on his back, evidence of his lifelong love of music. He and his girlfriend Brigitte and friend Hugo jam together for fun, often covering songs from bands from around the world. Klaus loves visual kei bands and is a huge fan of Orochi, often trying to play their songs despite his less than stellar Japanese pronunciation. |
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High school student at St. Othello Academy, Berlin
Age of debut: 18 Hair: Brown Eyes: Gray Height: 194 cm Birthday: September 3 Family: ??? Love interests: Yumi, Asami Hugo plays the drums with his friends when they jam around after school, and is thrilled to have Yumi sing in her native language rather than Klaus. He is quite tall and often wears a stern intimidating expression, but is actually a tender-hearted softie. He has an interest in psychology, and uses it to give advice to others. |
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Receptionist
Age of debut: 31 Hair: Black Eyes: Dark brown Height: 165 cm Birthday: June 2 Family: Yumi (daughter), Naoto (husband) Love interest: Naoto Being a young mother with a teenage daughter has been quite a ride for Arisa! She and Naoto had Yumi when they were just 15, and she wants what's best for her daughter. She is glad when Yumi transfers to St. Othello, where she feels she'll be able to use and expand her incredible mind. Yumi didn't inherit much of Arisa's personality, but they still have a good relationship, even though Arisa does embarrass Yumi from time to time! |
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Age of debut: 48
Hair: Black Eyes: Brown Height: 167 cm Birthday: July 30 Family: Toshio (son), Asami (daughter) Love interest: ??? Chie divorced her husband after he began drinking heavily, abusing the family, and having affairs. She did what she could to protect her children from him, but was unable to gain custody of both Asami and Toshio. Seeing Toshio in Orochi gave her comfort that he was okay, and when they reunite, she becomes happier than she's ever been. |
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Age of debut: 24
Hair: Dyed burgundy, mid-back length Eyes: Brown Height: 166 cm Birthday: March 10 Family: ??? Love interest: Hayato Minako is a fashion-loving beauty with a passion for visual kei bands, fashion, and music. She loves going to ~PHANTASM~ gigs and is very devoted to her boyfriend, Hayato. She also loves being a match-maker, helping to get Kazuki and Sayaka together! |
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Age of debut: 23
Hair: Bleached with black tips Eyes: Brown Height: 163 cm Birthday: August 7 Family: ??? Love interest: Renji Atsuko is very outgoing, energetic, and fun-loving (and also maybe a bit of a blabber mouth). She loves being at concerts, especially ~PHANTASM~ concerts where she can cheer on Renji. She was very enthusiastic with helping Sayaka and Kauzki get together. |
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Musician
Age: 44 when she died Hair: Black Eyes: Dark brown Height: 168 cm Birthday: May 18 Family: Atsushi (husband), Sayaka (daughter), Miyabi (son) Love interest: Atsushi The story begins on the third anniversary of Saeko's death from leukemia. In life, she was a legendary musician with incredible natural talent for singing and composing. She had a very successful music career and passed down her talent and passion to Miyabi, who was completely devastated after her death. Her influence is still bly felt in her family's lives as they're still coming to terms with her loss. |
| Nastasiya's precious companion and best friend, Olena is a loyal and playful purebred Saluki specially trained to look after Nastasiya. Her name is Ukrainian and means "shining light" since she is a light in Nastasiya's life. |
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Civil engineer
Age of debut: 31 Hair: Black Eyes: Dark brown Height: 172 cm Birthday: February 27 Family: Yumi (daughter), Arisa (wife) Love interest: Arisa Naoto is a devoted young father, taking responsibility to raise and support his family. He doesn't much trust boys and lets Yumi know it, having become a father himself at 15. He's kind of the 'geeky intelligent' type, which Yumi takes after quite a bit. |
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Otaku extraordinaire
Age of debut: 30 Hair: Light brown Eyes: Blue Height: 177 cm Birthday: June 3 Family: ??? Love interest: Fumiko Alex is a complete Otaku! He is obsessed with Japanese pop culture including anime, manga, J-pop, J-rock, and video games. He loves going to anime conventions and works to invite various guests from Japan to attend conventions in the United States. He is bilingual and invited Orochi to play at Haru-Con in Seattle. |
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Age: 31
Hair: Black Eyes: Creepy ;3; Height: 178 cm Love interest: Erika Ryo is Erika's deranged ex-husband. He never accepted their divorce, and gets angry and violent when he learns of Toshio's involvement with her. |
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Lucidity Records President
Age of debut: 55 Hair: Black Eyes: Brown Height: 172 cm Birthday: December 29 Family: ??? Love interest: ??? Jun used to be a talent scout and discovered Saeko. He is now the president of Lucidity Records and is thrilled to work with Saeko's son and his band. |
| Shuya's parents are no-nonsense and straight-laced. His father, an attorney, is especially strict and wanted more than anything for his son to follow the family legacy and study law. But when Shuya would have nothing to do with it, and then later when they learned their grandchild was conceived out of wedlock, their relationship with Shuya deteriorated. It wasn't until much later when they finally began to see that Shuya's true place really was in music, and in Ororchi. |
| Musashi's parents are warm and fun-loving people. They own a beach house in Hawaii and held Shuya and Musashi's wedding there. They were so excited to hear that Musashi was expecting and are very doting grandparents. Mrs. Katsumura even purchased registration for Musashi to attend Haru-Con and flew herself, Ayane, and Musashi to Seattle so that Musashi could enjoy the convention with Shuya and see his first concert overseas. |
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High school student at St. Othello Academy
Age of debut: 15 Hair: Brown with a pink streak Eyes: Blue contacts Height: 164 cm Birthday: ??? Family: ??? Love interest: ??? Takuya is the charismatic guitarist and leader of high school band Scarecrow. |
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High school student at St. Othello Academy
Age of debut: 15 Hair: Dyed light blue Eyes: Purple contacts Height: 162 cm Birthday: ??? Family: ??? Love interest: ??? Satomi is the vocalist of Scarecrow, and unfortunately suffers from stage fright. |
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High school student at St. Othello Academy
Age of debut: 16 Hair: Black Eyes: Green contacts Height: 173 cm Birthday: ??? Family: ??? Love interest: ??? Yuuta is the bassist of Scarecrow, and hopes to become rich and famous. |
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High school student at St. Othello Academy
Age of debut: 17 Hair: Dyed pale green Eyes: Orange contacts Height: 178 cm Birthday: ??? Family: ??? Love interest: ??? Kenji is the drummer of Scarecrow. |
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Orochi is a visual kei (visual style) Japanese rock band made up of five members: Miyabi on vocals, Akito on lead guitar, Musashi on rhythmn guitar, Shuya on bass and Toshio on drums, who replaced ex-member Kazuki (now in ~PHANTASM~). Their music is darkly heavy, wired with electronica. It is brimming with energy, pulsing to life with the emotions of Miyabi's sensual voice and lyrics. Each song, in its own way, is a masterpiece that keeps Orochi's growing fan base hooked and hungry for more.
Orochi's popularity and talent continues to grow as they perform before larger audiences, with each performance better than the last. They're signed to the major record label Lucidity Records and have released several albums and singles. They've toured throughout Japan, Asia, and Europe, and have performed at overseas conventions, like Haru-Con in Seattle, USA. |
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~PHANTASM~ is a visual kei/oshare kei (visual style/fashionable style) Japanese rock band made up of five members: Izumi on vocals, Sakuzo on lead guitar, Renji on rhythm guitar, Hayato on bass, and Kazuki on drums (ex Orochi). ~PHANTASM~'s music is upbeat, energetic, and full of positive and fun-loving energy from Izumi's lighthearted vocals. Their flamboyant image explodes with vibrant colors, hairstyles, outfits, and wonderfully portrayed androgyny.
~PHANTASM~'s popularity has spread and they've been signed to a major record label. |
| Scarecrow is an amateur band of St. Othello students. |
Since this is a music comic, real life bands have inspired me a lot!
D'espairsRay - "Forbidden" (This has always been one of my biggest influences for Orochi! Album version can be heard here.) ギルガメッシュ - "Arrow" (Another big influence for Orochi, I've often daydreamed this song as the opening theme if TWTYH were animated.) ギルガメッシュ - "Crying Rain" (Orochi's song「時雨」("Drizzle") would have a similar feel to this.) ギルガメッシュ - 「MONSTER」Full Album (Yeah, just enjoy imagining Orochi playing this music... :D) Alice Nine (This band was my biggest influence for ~PHANTASM~)