Ayumu Fujino, a young mangaka (manga artist) lauded by her peers, is in for a shock one day when a guest artist’s detailed drawings outshine her often popular comic strips. A chance encounter reveals that said artist—a reclusive student named Kyomoto—is a big fan of her work, leading to an unlikely friendship full of laughs, tears, and plenty of manga.
Such is the Japanese anime film Look Back, a coming-of-age story based on the 2021 one-shot manga of the same name by Tatsuki Fujimoto (the mastermind behind titles such as Fire Punch and Chainsaw Man), directed by Kiyotaka Oshiyama and animated by Studio Durian. The film first premiered at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival last June, opening to limited releases in Japan and internationally soon afterwards.
For its relatively brief run time—clocking in at just under an hour—the movie tells a poignant story about two young up-and-coming artists and the dynamics stemming from their distinct personalities and styles. The film, at first glance, is a celebration of art and artistry—but even more so is how the use of the medium augments a heartwarming, amusing, and ultimately tragic tale of friendship.
At the core of the story is the relationship between its two main characters. Much of the film’s charm comes from showing how each one is markedly different from the other, creating an amusing dynamic; Fujino’s outgoing, prideful demeanour contrasts with Kyomoto’s more withdrawn personality. This clash coincides with their differences in art style, as according to one classmate, Fujino’s otherwise entertaining comics look “totally average” compared to Kyomoto’s highly detailed background scenes. This initially stirs some jealousy in Fujino, who later hesitates to deliver Kyomoto’s diploma to her doorstep on the school’s behalf.
Regardless, their shared love of art inevitably brings the two closer together. As their initial partnership sees success with a string of major publications, we begin to see the effects of this relationship bloom. Individually, Fujino becomes motivated to make it big with a manga series of her own (which she eventually does with “Shark Kick”—itself a pastiche of Fujimoto’s most well-known works), while the duo’s frequent outings lead the ordinarily shy Kyomoto to come out of her shell more. Over time, their working relationship organically evolves into a friendship—celebrating the publishing of their work at a convenience store, going out to eat or watch movies in the city, and everything in between.
Unfortunately for them, the duo’s story also sees its share of hardships. Their paths eventually converge as Kyomoto decides to pursue art school, to which Fujino expresses doubts that she can succeed. This sets the stage for the film’s hardest-hitting moment—one that causes Fujino to question why she and Kyomoto had to cross paths at all, as well as whether her art career has had any merit or meaning. These emotional moments lend a sense of depth to the story, in which Fujino realizes the true value of both her career and relationship with Kyomoto.
The short but impactful narrative is further underscored by its stunning visuals, from the vivid landscapes to detailed rooms and city scenes. Look Back is undoubtedly a film about art, after all, and it shows through the film’s own artistry and animation. While the original manga already has great visuals, the film takes it a step further and brings everything to life, creating a new dimension that fans of the story and curious newcomers can experience.
We see this immediately in the beginning with one of Fujino’s works, a yonkoma (a four-panel, often humorous comic) with a positively surreal take on true love. While the original manga depicts the work simply as Fujino drew it, the movie animates the story with significant added detail, preserving Fujino’s comical art style as it does so. The film demonstrates this again in the scene with Fujino skipping along in the rain, taking the picturesque manga panels and turning them into breathtaking tracking shots of the countryside.
Apart from looking impressive, the heavy use of art and visual elements is itself a narrative device. The film heavily relies on the “show, don’t tell” method of storytelling, using plenty of montages to illustrate the characters’ personalities and journeys. Through this, we see Fujino and Kyomoto’s relationship develop from two strangers to manga collaborators and friends—they go from working long hours in Fujino’s bedroom on projects to eating out and watching movies to the point of holding hands as they spend a day out on the town. We see their paths begin to diverge as Kyomoto loses grip on Fujino’s hand or when she is drawn to a book on background art as Fujino walks on. These little moments add plenty of context during moments when the film lacks dialogue, creating a deeper, more profound narrative.
Much of the film’s down-to-earth, relatable nature stems from Fujimoto’s own experiences as a mangaka. In a 2022 interview with French media outlet BFMTV (some years before the film adaptation was released), Fujimoto noted that Fujino and Kyomoto represent two sides of his personality and upbringing, a drawing side and an animation side, and his hesitation between the two paths. The author also spoke about the difficulties of working with serialized manga, noting that while the job sounds appealing to those who are into stories and drawing, the reality of the business is more arduous—with plenty of duties in very little time.
Likewise, Fujino admits at the end of the film that she isn’t actually fond of drawing manga, describing the process as a long, unglamorous hassle. In response, she hears a key question from Kyomoto:
“Then why do you draw manga, Fujino?”
A vivid montage follows of the pair at work in Fujino’s bedroom, going through the manga-making process, hitting it big, and more. All the while, Fujino interacts with Kyomoto, the latter reviewing the former’s drafts with enthusiasm. This is punctuated by the end, which focuses on Kyomoto holding Fujino’s work with a big, beaming smile.
Fujino realizes that a big part of what made her draw manga was the reactions it got from people—most of all Kyomoto, her partner-in-crime for many a project. Through this sequence, the film hammers home arguably its most significant underlying theme: friendship, as well as how it becomes a driving force for the duo to better themselves in their exploits.
At its surface level, Look Back is a story about art. Both characters put their artistry on full display—Fujino turns her school newspaper manga into a professional career, while Kyomoto’s knack for background art turns into a stint at art school. Beyond that, however, is a deeper tale about an unlikely friendship and how that propels either artist to do what they do. The result is a story that will bring some laughs, some tears, and plenty of awe-inspiring moments—captured by the very medium it celebrates.
(Look Back is now streaming on Amazon Prime.)