Quimchee Talking About His Love for Webtoons and Anime Expo

In an exclusive interview with CBR, Quimchee talks about how she made I Love Yoo and says that she is working with McDonald’s for Anime Expo.

Quimchee talks about the I Love Yoo Webtoon and Anime Expo in an interview.

I Love Yoo and McDonald’s Work Together for Anime Expo

As a longtime producer on WEBTOON, Quimchee released her hit drama series I Love Yoo for the first time in 2017. Shin-Ae Yoo, a girl whose life is boring until she meets two rich brothers who are at odds with each other, is the main character in the webcomic. I Love Yoo is still a favourite among drama fans after six years and more than 500 million views.

CBR sat down with Quimchee for an exclusive conversation where they talked about her long history as a WEBTOON creator and her upcoming appearance at Anime Expo. She talked about her love of comics and showed fans how she made her famous WEBTOON series. Along with the conversation, Quimchee shows for the first time at Anime Expo the exclusive poster for WEBTOON x McDonald’s upcoming collaboration.

The three main characters from I Love Yoo are shown in a mirror image on the face of the book.

 Quimchee: I never thought I’d work for WEBTOON. I was just glad there was a place where people like me could tell their stories. That’s what got me interested in digital cartoons and Webtoon in particular. I learned that there are stories out there written by people like me who don’t work in the comic business or have any experience with it. For a long time, people thought that you didn’t have much of a chance if you didn’t go to an art or animation school or work for Marvel or DC.

You can also forget about getting into manga. If you don’t live in Japan or have ties there and you’re not from the U.S., you don’t really have a chance of making it big with manga. It was nice that WEBTOON was able to break all of that, so now anyone can make a story.

How did the idea for I Love Yoo come about in the first place?

This was a story that was worth hearing. I began when I was a junior in high school. Furthermore, I had just started reading shojo romance books, and I would read them all to get away from the stress of high school and being a teenager. AS I couldn’t get enough, but there was nothing I could read that would give me what I wanted, so I started making my own story. I would use every cliche or trope I liked, so it was a bit crazy and confusing.

The first story I worked on for the comic when I was in high school is not at all like the current story. When I went back to the story I made back then to publish it on WEBTOON, I chose to reuse some of the tropes from that comic but give them my own twist and use them as a form of criticism or commentary. When I was a kid, I did a lot of it to make my dreams come true. Later, I chose to take it more seriously.

I Love Yoo panel with the show’s three main romantic partners.

I Love Yoo started on WEBTOON in 2017 and has had more than 200 shows so far. What are some of your favourite parts of this journey so far, and what have you learned?

Most of the time, my favourite times are ones that make me feel a lot of emotions. I like scenes that make me feel a lot, especially if they feature the two brothers who are the main characters in the comic. They don’t get along very well, especially for brothers, because they have very different ideas and values. It’s always fun for me to draw, and I especially like drawing the two of them fighting. I like that none of them are always 100 percent right. I like it when both of the figures are wrong or just a little bit right. It’s hard to choose just one side because they both have some valid points.

There are also many things I learned. You should enjoy what you’re doing. If you let other people or outside factors decide how your story is told, you might not like what you’re making, and you might not be happy with or proud of your own work. You want to make sure there’s a balance and that you like what you’re drawing. Your happiness seeps into your work, making it less enjoyable for your readers. At one point, all I did was draw, and I was more worried about getting shows out than about whether or not I liked what I was writing. If I’m not having fun, the people can tell because they don’t enjoy what they’re reading.

The television series I Love Yoo has a romantic twist. How do you work the romance into the whole series?

We have many different kinds of connections in our daily lives. Some of them easily turn into romantic relationships, while others are just friends. Sometimes we try to make things work. I like to use this idea in my comics and just let things happen naturally. If something is pushed there, it probably won’t work.

I love your website. Illustration of Day of the Dead

Can you tell me how you come up with your own art style, characters, and story?

I was drawn to the art style. It took a lot of practise and trying different things to figure out what you could do better here and there. Throughout the picture, you can see how the art style has changed. I figured out how to draw shoulders at one point. At one point, everyone had huge shoulders, but I’m now trying to tone that down. Or you fall in love with one type of lighting and start putting it everywhere. What you see and hear also affects what you do at work. If you’re always around big lights, it shows in your work, and it makes its way into the comic.

You are working with McDonald’s to make a unique drawing for the WEBTOON x McDonald’s booth at this year’s Anime Expo. Tell me more about this unique way of working together and what it means to you.

It was great. In the sketch, I put in a fake McDonald’s where the main character works. I was glad I could use the real thing instead of turning the golden arches around just to be safe. It’s nice that the real thing is finally there. It also shows all the different things WEBTOON can do, like work with big names like McDonald’s. I can’t wait for Anime Expo.

I love your website. Talking to Quimchee

What do you hope and plan for the show’s future, and do you have any other ideas for shows or projects?

At the time, I’m trying to keep my mind on finishing the comic. I don’t want to get distracted by other things and lose my concentration. I’m trying to finish the last part of the story because I’ve already set up how it’s going to end, so let’s go there.

Aside from that, I would like to work on a lot of other projects. I want to try out a lot of different styles because I’ve been experimenting with different sounds and moods in I Love Yoo. I think I could do horror or do really well with psychological stuff, and I’m watching how people react to see if I’m right.

What do you want people to get out of I Love Yoo in the end, and is there anything you’d like to say to them now?

It’s okay to like people with unclear morals. I want people to know that they don’t have to choose one character over another. If you like one character, it doesn’t mean you hate everyone else or agree with their ideas. Characters are characters, and the world is made up. If you like a character, that doesn’t mean you agree with everything they do. It just means you like the character. People are not all perfect. My characters aren’t great people. All of the characters are morally ambiguous, but that’s fine because that’s what makes writing interesting. I also want to say thanks for their help. Without the people, I wouldn’t be out here, so I’m very grateful to them.

Every Friday, WEBTOON adds new episodes of I Love Yoo.

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