Debuting as a manga author in 2008, Yuu Toyota has published numerous works throughout her career including Nobara wo Hanayome, Kami-sama wa Ikiru no ga Tsurai, and Papa to Oyaji no Uchi Gohan. She is currently best known for Cherry Magic!, which follows the story of Adachi, a virgin who becomes a “wizard” once he turned 30 years old and develops the ability to hear people’s thoughts when he touches them. When he accidentally discovers that his handsome, popular coworker Kurosawa has a crush on him, Adachi must navigate both his newfound ability and his own evolving feelings. The manga has rbeen adapted into multiple formats, ranging from live action film, TV, musical, and anime. The author appeared at Anime Expo alongside editors Terumitsu Ito and Mitsuha Kawai from Square Enix Japan to discuss the manga.
On making her first visit to Anime Expo, she shared, “I didn’t imagine my work would lead me here. I feel so encouraged to get comments from people all over the world. My work [Cherry Magic!] started as just four pages that I posted on social media, and it went viral. When it was COVID, people shared their warm thoughts with me and now I get to spend time with you all here.” Looking back on how she began her career, she cited Yuyu Hakusho and Sailor Moon as works that influenced her deeply when she was growing up. “They would air Yuyu Hakusho and Sailor Moon back to back [on TV] and I thought they were just so cute and beautiful. That’s what set me off on the road to becoming a manga author,” she said.
Author Toyota then proceeded to treat the crowd to a live drawing session while answering questions alongside both editors. On why editor Ito decided to publish Cherry Magic! he revealed that he has always been a fan of Toyota’s work. “Off of the four pages, Adachi is very cool, calm and handsome, but he’s always panicking inside. As an editor, it was like every piece of the story was there,” he began. “Even when Adachi acquires his magic powers and is able to know Kurosawa’s true feelings, Adachi doesn’t have a whole lot of love experience. His heart skips a beat and he’s very drawn to Kurosawa, and we’re off to the races.”
It’s been eight years since Toyota has begun working on Cherry Magic! and she recalled one of her most interesting memories from creating the manga was when she planned out Adachi and Kurosawa’s first date. “When I was researching Adachi and Kurosawa’s first date, the helicopter ride, I actually went on a helicopter ride myself. The weather was very bad, and the helicopter was shaking a lot,” she shared. “I think my personal experience really made it onto the page.”
One of Toyota’s favorite arcs is the introduction of Fujisaki, a female coworker who notices the budding relationship between Adachi and Kurosawa and encourages Adachi to be honest about his feelings. While women are sometimes portrayed as love rivals in BL, she enjoys how Fujisaki is a supportive friend to Adachi.
For the second live drawing, Toyota asked for the audience to vote between three themes: cat ears, coffee shop, or kimono. It was a close tie between cat ears and kimono, and Toyota was kind enough to draw the couple dressed in a kimono with cat ears. To round out the panel, there was a special guest appearance: Damian Mills, the English voice actor of Adachi. As it was July 3 in Japan, Kurosawa’s birthday, Mills led a happy birthday song with he crowd, ending the panel on a high note.
