Look Back (ルックバック) is a dramatic slice of life movie based on the manga of the same name by Fujimoto Tatsuki. The movie was originally released in theaters in 2024.
Spoiler Warning: In order to properly discuss the film plot points will need to be somewhat spoiled. Please be aware of this before you continue.
Fujino Ayumu draws the 4-panel manga for her school weekly newsletter. The praises of her efforts by the other students and her teachers carry her through her days. She sits confidently on top of the world through her artwork. Another student begins to submit 4-panel manga for the newsletter as well, a girl who doesn't come to school named Kyomoto. Fujino figures that a girl who can't even attend school on a regular basis might not be able to meet the weekly deadlines. The first strip by Kyomoto completely devestates Fujino. The shut in girls highly detailed creations offer a stark contrast to the juvenile nature of Fujino's artwork. Everyone notices and in an instant her praise and admiration evaporate. Bulking at the difference in ability, Fujino doubles down and consumes herself with studying art, feverish to improve her abilities. Time slides by as she does nothing but study and practice, trying to surpass Kyomoto. Her single minded focus causes her friends to grow distant and her grades to slip. After so much effort and sacrifice she realizes she doesn't have the ability to surpass the other girl and decides one day to completely give up drawing manga.
On the day of graduation from middle school her teacher tasks her with bringing Kyomoto her diploma. Begrudgingly she does only to find her house lifeless. She creeps in through the unlocked front door and sees piles upon piles of sketch books lining the hallway, to what she assumes is the other girls bedroom. Angered by everything she grabs a strip of paper and jots down a quick manga, attacking the other girl. A gust of wind slips the strip underneath the closed door, panicking, Fujino flees the house. Kyomoto notices the art and realizes who the intruder is and rushes out after her. The disheveled timid girl yells after Fujino as she briskly walks down the street. That works and she stops, tuning to see her rival for the first time. Kyomoto addresses her with admiration and respect, gushing about specific panels Fujino drew over the years that she loved. When she asks her why she stopped drawing Fujino concocts a lie about changing her focus on creating a manga to submit for publishing. Kyomoto begs for Fujino to let her read it. Even though no such creation exists she tells her she will and leaves to return home, propelled by the admiration her rival pours upon her.
Fujino returns to manga creation as she enters high school, crafting a concept to submit for publication, she decides to partner with Kyomoto, tapping into the other girls abilities. To their complete surprise their creation is selected for a new artist contest and wins 2nd place. The success gives them some money to use and a foot in to door to produce more works for the publishing company. Through out high school the two girls feverishly produce short manga one after another, all getting published. Kyomoto has dropped out of school, still unable to interact with other people very well and wanting to pursue art full time. As graduation approaches their editor sets them up to begin a longer series for the magazine. Kyomoto tells Fujino that she has to step away from the work. She has a great desire to improve her art and to grow into a more productive member of society by forcing herself into social situations. Fujino is upset with her decision, relying on her artwork and design input. Fujino believes that she is all the other girl needs, that she can always lead her into the future. Kyomoto is determined to improve herself both mentally and artistically and goes ahead with art school. Meanwhile, Fujino pushes ahead with a serialized manga that gradually becomes successful and popular. But her success brings problems as her reliance on assistants causes her extra work. Her world shuts down when a rampage at the art college Kyomoto attends leads to the other girls death, along with many other students. Fujino struggles to comprehend the loss and believes that the choices she made lead to her friends death. The story ends with a quiet note of reflection and speculation on Fujino's part as she faces the world without her rival and friend.
Fujimoto is known for his super natural shonen action hi Chainsaw Man, a series that has never interested me. This however, has been on my mind since the first preview came out for it. I absolutely love dramatic retrospective stories and this hits a lot of those beats. I feel the message that we can take from this story is to appreciate the time we have with those around us as we have no control over how long that time is. Nothing you can do will change things once they have happened, no matter how much wish crafting we do. The story telling is poignant, precise and well paced for what it wants to say. There is really no wasted time and the majority of it is the set up of the relationship between the two girls during their formative years, using a fantastic time lapse of them working on manga during high school. That said, I still have no interest in Chainsaw Man...even if I can recognize some story telling skill on Fujimoto's end. This however is well wroth the hour run time.
A lot of people may bulk at the artwork, which is full 3DCG. Its not clean or pretty by any definition of those words. But it fits well with the characters and the story. At times it felt like it was rotoscope like that found in Flowers of Evil. With all the uncanny quirks with this style of animation, the production team showed off how it can be used effectively for framing and motion. But in the end this is a no frills production that focuses more on the dialogue and exposition to tell the story and it does a really good job at that, a fantastic job. This is a heavy movie that may not be for everyone but it doesn't make the subject material a spectacle. It doesn't romanticize anything, choosing to be stark and bare in its emotions. It's been a while since an anime kept me awake at night thinking about it.
The film is currently available in dub and sub on Amazon Prime. I am going to need to pick up the manga to add to my collection.
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