The following is an interview with artist Heikala regarding the recent launch of the Kickstarter campaign for the English-language edition of Keisuke Uyama’s bestselling Japanese novel, Love Like the Falling Petals, in collaboration with Shueisha, Media Do International, and Clover Press. In this interview, Fanbase Press Editor-in-Chief Barbra Dillon chats with Heikala about the themes that she hoped to cover in her cover artwork for the new book, what she most connected with in the original source material, and more!
Barbra Dillon, Fanbase Press Editor-in-Chief: Congratulations on the Kickstarter campaign launch! In having the opportunity to introduce this page-turning romance to new audiences, what themes or messages did you hope to convey through your cover artwork?
Heikala: I wanted to create a beautiful, colorful painting that would convey the emotions of budding love. I also very much enjoy creating artworks that have an underlying story behind them, so in this piece I hoped to portray the narrative of the book in a single artwork.
BD: Your initial introduction to the story was through the Netflix film adaptation. When you later read Keisuke Uyama’s book, did you feel that the change in medium allowed you to connect with the story either more deeply or differently?
Heikala: I definitely connected to the story more deeply, and I feel like the writing in some parts of the story ended up having a huge emotional impact on me. Especially the way Uyama portrays the difficult feelings of having your loved one, a family member, battle a sickness, affected me greatly.
BD: At Fanbase Press, our #StoriesMatter initiative endeavors to highlight the impact that stories can have on audiences of various mediums. How do you feel that Misaki and Haruto’s story may connect with and impact readers?
Heikala: I hope this story evokes the feeling of “wanting to seize the moment” to the readers.
BD: Are there any upcoming projects on which you are currently working that you would like to share with our readers?
Heikala: I’m at the moment working on painting artworks for my upcoming solo show which is scheduled for late August!
