Based on the rather successful one-shot manga by Tatsuki Fujimoto, “Look Back” is a mid-length anime movie that deals with the manga industry in two different time parallels.
Look Back is screening at Japan Cuts 2024
Ayumu Fujino is an elementary school student who has impressed the whole school with her talent in manga, which are published in the school magazine. That fact has made her somewhat big-headed, at least until the editor of the magazine suggests they publish the manga of another artist, Kyomoto, a girl whose intense agoraphobia has led her into being secluded in her house. The quality of her work, however, is much higher than Fujino’s, despite her being much younger, something that innervates the older student, who cannot seem to be able to match her no matter how much she tries.
When Fujino is forced to bring Kyomoto her school diploma, she finds out that she is actually her biggest fan, with the two eventually ending up working together, coming up with multiple one-shots, which receive high praise. Later on, during their teenage years, Fujino’s title is serialized and has Kyomoto as her assistant, but the latter eventually decides to attend an art college. They split up, and a tragic incident eventually takes place. This event is also the dichotomy for the second, alternative story, which begins again the day the two girls meet for the first time.
The most appealing element of Kiyotaka Oshima and Studio Durian‘s work here is how the manga pages turn into the actual lives of the protagonists and vice versa, in a meta aspect that works excellently both for the narrative and the animation. The way the thoughts and overall lives of the girls become inspiration for their manga, and the way their work affects their lives create a very appealing cycle, which Oshima explores to the fullest in order to present his comments.
The hardship of succeeding in such a competitive industry, and the amount of work and sacrifice it takes in order to remain a part of it is the central one, but is not the only. The concept of hikikomori is also presented through Kyomoto, with the way her interactions with Fujino force her to finally open up and face the world emerging as a rather appealing, within its optimism, message. The ending of the first part/timeline, although quite impactful in terms of drama, actually dulls the aforementioned comment, which could be the reason that Fujimoto originally decides to have a second arc, where the events unfold in a different way.
Furthermore, the value of friendship, in the aforementioned prism, the lack of proper parenting (once more, any kind of such figure is painfully absent) and the benefits of dealing with art are also highlighted here, cementing the rather rich context.
As I mentioned before though, the flow between the manga and real life is the aspect the title finds its apogee in, with the work done in the editing by Kiyoshi Hirose being truly top notch, and the same applying to the animation by Studio Durian. Especially the flow, of both the characters movement and the interchange between manga pages and actual life is a true treat to watch, in another of the title’s traits. In the same path, Oshiyama’s own character design is quite fitting, particularly in the way he portrays how tiredness changes the protagonists.
Granted, the impact of the movie would probably be bigger if it ended in the first part, but the quality of the art here and the comments deriving from the story definitely compensate, in an overall excellent title.
