Originally a one-shot manga by Tatsuki Fujimoto, Look Back is a 57-minute animated, coming-of-age film released in 2024. It follows the story of Fujino, an overly confident artist, and Kyomoto, a shut-in. Fujino submits two strips of manga panels for her middle school's newspaper. After being asked by a teacher to give up one of her strips to allow one of her classmates an opportunity to submit her strip, Fujino realizes she’s not as good as she thought.
After being asked to deliver Kyomoto’s diploma, Fujino initially denies it—her envy of Kyomoto being the main reason— but the teacher insists she goes because Fujino is the closest thing to a ‘friend’ Kyomoto has. Fujino agrees and she delivers the diploma. Soon, she figures out that Kyomoto, someone who Fujino has envied and hated for her art skills that surpassed her own, is Fujino’s number one fan. Kyomoto asks Fujino to sign her jacket and Fujino agrees. Kyomoto comments that Fujino stopped submitting manga strips to the school’s newspaper, to which Fujino explains that it’s simply because she has a bigger project to work on. Fujino offers Kyomoto the opportunity to work with her and she agrees. Over the summer, the two begin their first manga together and they plan on submitting it into a contest. After many days of hard work, they see that they won the contest and received a huge sum of money. Kyomoto and Fujino go out the next day together and hang out.
|
The two continue working together until they are given an offer that Kyomoto isn’t as excited about as Fujino. She is confronted and Kyomoto reveals that she wants to go to art school. Fujino argues with her, saying that going to art school requires social skills that Kyomoto doesn’t have. The two end up parting ways, Fujino goes on to work on her manga and Kyomoto goes to art school. |
Time passes and the next time we see Fujino we see she’s been successful with her manga, having published many volumes. One day as she works, the TV plays breaking news—a man with a pickaxe appears at the same college Kyomoto attends. Fujino calls her friend but receives no answer. It isn’t until her mother calls that her worst fear is confirmed: Kyomoto is dead.
Fujino attends Kyomoto’s funeral and guilt begins to consume her. If she had never brought Kyomoto out of her home, she would’ve never died. We soon get a view of what would’ve happened if that was the case. Kyomoto would’ve gone into art school, and Fujino would’ve never pursued making manga. The man with a pickaxe still shows up at Kyomoto’s school, but this time Fujino can stop him. At the realization that Fujino was the person whose panels Kyomoto adored, she speaks of being her fan back in middle school. Then, we get the same scene from earlier. Fujino says she’s working on something big and invites Kyomoto to work on it with her before an ambulance takes Fujino to the hospital. This is, clearly, the better ending. But it isn’t real.
Review
Look Back does such an amazing job at telling a story in only 57 minutes. It immediately became one of my favorite movies after watching. As an artist, it gave me something to think about. Fujino faces the question, “Then why do you draw, Fujino?” and it shoved me into thought. I saw myself not only in Fujimo but also in Kyomoto. Fujino dedicates herself to her art to a point where it becomes unhealthy. She compares herself to Kyomoto, who had skills she envied. But, Kyomoto didn’t physically attend school so she had more chances to get better at art, unlike Fujino. Fujino saw it as a competition after she was no longer regarded as the best because her entire worth came from the validation of others. Kyomoto, on the other hand, never felt any of those negative feelings towards Fujino. She was her source of inspiration to get better. So, after her death, Fujino’s grief was immense. She’d pushed away the only person who truly looked up to her and supported her.
Fujino believed Kyomoto would’ve if she had never brought Kyomoto out of her home, but that’s not true. Kyomoto would’ve survived but she would’ve never gotten a chance to live her life to the fullest. Fujino helped her experience everything good that comes from a friendship.
The way the entire movie was done is beautiful. It keeps the art style from the manga and the backgrounds to a minimalistic level. I read the manga and I found something interesting. In the first panel of the manga behind the teacher, the word “Don’t” is written on the chalkboard and in the last panel, written on a book is “in anger.” Bring that together with the title and you get a complete sentence. “Don’t look back in anger,” a further message from Fujino’s grief. You shouldn’t look back in anger at all the moments spent together. While art is a part that matters, it’s mainly the experiences driven by it that are the real reason some create art.
Tatsuki Fujimoto
Manga and anime fans might be familiar with this name. Fujimoto is not only the creator of Look Back but also Chainsaw Man and a —lesser-known—manga called Fire Punch. In my opinion, Fujimoto is an amazing mangaka. From the videos I’ve watched, I’ve heard that Kyomoto and Fujino are supposed to be two different parts of him. Both of their names have parts of his. Fujino and Kyomoto. The whole manga is his own experience with all the challenges he’s faced as an artist. While it’s not based on his real life, it still draws heavy inspiration from it.
On a heavier note, the pickaxe attack within the movie draws from a true event. Fujimoto references the Kyoto Animation arson attack. The man who caused it all accused the studio of stealing his work just like the pickaxe man from the movie. The manga was posted on the second anniversary of the incident as well. While some believed it to be insensitive, it was Fujimoto’s way of making a tribute to something he was deeply affected by. The alternative ending can come from the idea of a victim’s loved ones wishing everything had gone differently.
I loved this movie and doing my deep dive into it. I encourage you to watch this for yourself to experience it.
Final Rating:
★★★★★
★★★★★
