Japanese artist Tatsuki Fujimoto rose to fame in the manga and anime world in the past decade thanks to the massively popular Chainsaw Man. The artist, lauded for his ability to craft exceptional stories that also feature unpredictable and outright odd plot devices, now has another anime, proving that he’s not just a one-hit-wonder. However, instead of demonic possessions and chainsaws, this anime, titled Look Back, is a touching school-age story which saw its Japanese premiere in June, and will see its US release on October 4.
The recent anime adaptation of Look Back is perhaps one of Tatsuki Fujimoto’s most famous one-shots that would finally introduce the larger Chainsaw Man-loving audiences to the full scale of Fujimoto’s talent. The adaptation centers on two young artists, Fujino and Kyomoto—whose names are actually two halves of Fujimoto—and their unbreakable will to improve their talents and skills that eventually brings them closer together before creative differences sunder them apart. The fans believe Look Back is one of Fujimoto’s best works.
The Look Back anime movie adaption was initially announced in February 2024, produced by Studio Durian and directed by Kiyotaka Oshiyama, who also designed the characters and wrote the screenplay.
Look Back started out as a 143-page one-shot web manga that was subsequently released in a single volume in 2021, with an English publication hitting the markets in 2022. However, it’s worth noting—as the manga contains axe-murdering maniacs—certain panels and the story were reworked to avoid any stigmatization of mental illness. Apart from that, the manga received critical acclaim in Japan, reaching over 4 million reads in just two days following its publication, which potentially contributed to its adaptation.
Considering that the positive reception of Look Back is already guaranteed, many believe that the anime movie will go down as one of the very best animated works in recent years.
The Look Back anime movie adaption was initially announced in February 2024, produced by Studio Durian and directed by Kiyotaka Oshiyama, who also designed the characters and wrote the screenplay. The movie premiered in Japanese theaters on June 28, following previous screenings at the French Annecy International Animation Film Festival, where it was presented in a non-competitive category specifically created to showcase a variety of international animated films to audiences.
However, the movie still hasn’t officially made it to the US. It was screened by the Japan Society—a nonprofit organization formed in 1907 to promote relations between the US and Japan—on July 14, but it was a Japanese dub with English subtitles. The event took place in New York, after which the movie was licensed in North America by GKIDS, an independent film distributor focusing on sophisticated indie animation, and is set to hit theaters in the US on October 4, 2024.
The manga received critical acclaim in Japan, reaching over 4 million reads in just two days following its publication, which potentially contributed to its adaptation.
What’s perhaps even more important, and could drive the audiences to movie theaters to see Look Back, is the fact that the anime movie adaptation was praised by Fujimoto himself, who has expressed admiration for the film’s ability to convey certain things he alone wasn’t able to convey in his manga. Besides Fujimoto, the legendary Hideo Kojima—the auteur of video games such as Metal Gear and Death Stranding—who happens to be a fan of Fujimoto’s work, also praised the anime adaptation.
Considering that the positive reception of Look Back is already guaranteed, many believe that the anime movie will go down as one of the very best animated works in recent years. In the meantime, we’re still waiting on news regarding Chainsaw Man Season 2.
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