Fire Punch, Goodbye, Eri, and the critically acclaimed Chainsaw Man series. Having seen and read all of these stories, I was no stranger to the works of Tatsuki Fujimoto going into the premiere of Look Back. And, knowing the nature and emotional turmoil associated with his works, I approached the theater with a deal of hesitation. However, no amount of hesitation could have prepared me for the amount this movie would move me.
Look Back, directed by Kiyotaka Oshiyama, is a shot-for-shot animated adaptation of Tatsuki Fujimoto’s manga by the same name. Initially published in 2021, Look Back was released as one of Fujimoto’s “one-shot” stories, a single-volume story released all at once, much like a traditional novel. Inspired by his life as an artist, the narrative follows the life of elementary school artist and local “popular girl” Fujino (Yuumi Kawai), as her life intertwines with her artist rival Kyomoto (Mizuki Yoshida), a truant shut-in student who produces art much better than Fujino. Through observing their relationship, the story beautifully explores themes of maturity, nostalgia, and the feeling of “What If?” in a tragic, gut-wrenching, and inspiring tale of friendship and art.
Beginning the story in the fourth grade, Ayumu Fujino is one of the most popular girls in school. She is a budding manga artist, and the only one with enough skill to score both comic strips in her school’s weekly newspaper. However, this quickly turns on her after a new student, Kyomoto, transfers into her school, and begins submitting art to the school’s paper in competition with hers. However Kyomoto is a shut-in, and nobody at school, not even her teachers, had seen her. In pursuit of their competition, Fujino encounters the miraculous opportunity to meet Kyomoto at her home. And what initially seems to be a task saturated with bad blood, turns into a beautiful friendship between the two, as the story’s timeline picks up pace, and we see the extent of their lives together.
All in all, Look Back truly shines its brightest in its animation. The movie spares no expense to ensure it appears as drawn and as animated as possible. Hash lines, rudimentary shading, and prominent pencil strokes are all included intentionally. In doing this, Look Back excels in showing, not telling, its emotions and themes with beautiful illustrations, rather than drawn-out monologues. Backdrops are gorgeously inked and colored, and character expressions are simple yet astonishingly expressive. As is common in Fujimoto’s other works, the way in which characters are portrayed throughout the story is uniquely human. Every character is filled with conflict, reservations, and all of the other strange quirks that everyday people hold. I felt that this let me connect with the characters on a much deeper level, making each development and emotional swell feel all the more real.
Further, Look Back does not pull any of its punches when it comes to themes and plot. The story is introduced and initially plays out as greatly inspiring and heartwarming, as it builds to the climax of the first part. The hours spent practicing their drawing skills, the small trips Fujino and Kyomoto take to the city and around the countryside, and personally one of the most beautiful scenes I have witnessed in animation, Fujino’s triumphant run home through the rain. All of these scenes, many lacking dialogue, utilize art and exposition to accurately characterize not only the characters themselves, but their relationship, and the contrast between them that culminates in the climax of the story’s first part. However, barring any major spoilers, as the story’s first part comes to a close, we are shown the truly tragic nature of Look Back, and we begin to see the other themes creep into frame. The directions that Fujino and Kyomoto take following high school and their climactic conversations are riddled with heartbreak, as the story begins to tackle themes of maturity and ask “What happens when life gets in the way?”
Finally, as the film moves into its second part, the audience is shown the true meaning of the movie’s title, as Fujino explores the many “What Ifs” of her life. This sequence and its resolution were honestly the most devastating part of the movie, as it shows the most human and relatable aspects of the characters. Throughout these scenes, I found myself asking myself many of the same questions that Fujino did. The way these thoughts are portrayed, the alternate storylines, and the inevitable end of her scenarios bring the story to a sorrowful conclusion, as the movie asks its final question, “Why do you draw?”
There was not one moment during the movie where I had felt disengaged. The pacing is impeccable, and the right amount of emphasis is placed on each part of the story. Although watching through a well of tears at times, I found that I could not take my eyes off of the screen. Though originally written and voiced in Japanese, I feel that no details have been lost in translation. Still, I greatly recommend the original Japanese voices with subtitles over the English dub, as both the acting and emotions are far stronger. No matter how you watch Look Back, it will always be one of the most beautiful and inspiring movies I have ever seen. With a 100% critic score and 99% audience score on rotten tomatoes, my opinion is not a rare one. Currently, the movie is in some theaters, and exclusively available to stream on Amazon Prime. Finally, to end with a quote from Fujimoto himself: “For those watching on Prime Video, it’s an incredible animation, so please try to watch it on as large a screen as possible! Thank you!”
10/10
