Trailer Released for ‘Look Back’ Theatrical Anime, Based on Tatsuki Fujimoto’s Comic

The trailer and main visual for “Look Back,” an animated feature film based on Tatsuki Fujimoto’s original story, which will be released in theaters nationwide on June 28 (Fri.), have been released.

The original comic “Look Back” was created by Tatsuki Fujimoto, a manga artist who has created “Fire Punch,” “Chainsaw Man” and other popular works, and whose “Chainsaw Man: Rezhe Arc” will be released as a theatrical anime in 2024. It was published on the comic distribution site “Jump+” in July 2021 and received more than 2.5 million views on its first day. It was published in book form in September of the same year. It was also selected as the first place in the “Otoko” section of “This Manga is Amazing! 2022” and a nominee for the “Manga Taisho 2022.

The work depicts the coming-of-age story of Fujino, a girl who has absolute confidence in drawing pictures, and her classmate Kyomoto, who is not attending school. One day, Fujino, who had been drawing a series of four-frame manga in her elementary school yearbook newspaper, is devastated when she learns how good Kyomoto is at drawing manga. Fujino loses confidence and stops drawing manga for a while, but through his interaction with Kyomoto, he regains his passion for drawing. In the film, Fujino is played by Kawai Yumi and Kyomoto by Yoshida Mizuki.

In the trailer, we see Fujino’s pride at being told by his classmates that he can be a manga artist in the future, his encounter with Kyomoto, and how the two begin to draw together. The theme song is “Light song” composed by musician haruka nakamura and sung by urara.

The film was directed, written, and character designed by Kiyotaka Oshiyama, who has worked on numerous theatrical productions as a key staff member, including “Evangelion: The Rebuild of Evangelion”, “The Borrower Arrietty”, and “The Wind Rises”. His comments were also released in conjunction with the release of the film.

The way animators and animation directors approach their work is similar to that of manga artists. When I read the manga, I was deeply moved by the story, and I also resonated with Mr. Fujimoto who drew “Look Back”. So I felt that I could make a film that I could honestly relate to. I am grateful to Mr. Fujimoto, a monster manga artist, who kindly lent me his original work, and I am aiming to create a film that is different from the manga, knowing that I can only do so because I am an artist who has lived in the world of animation expression.

Kiyotaka Oshiyama

Mubichike card-type advance tickets for the film will go on sale on May 17 (Fri.). As a bonus, a limited number of “reversible four-frame manga bookmarks” with a choice of three different designs will be distributed.