When theChainsaw Mananimepremiered in 2022, it sparked a full-fledged frenzy, with both manga readers and general anime fans alike losing all composure over its truly unhinged storytelling. It sparked a real drive to find more work from the original manga’s author,Tatsuki Fujimoto, a trailblazer who hasn’t met a narrative concept he didn’t want to snap in half or turn inside out. One of his most beloved works is a paean to the power of making art calledLook Back, which officially became an anime feature film released in late 2024, and while it was well-reviewed by the critics that saw it, it came and went without much fanfare. That should be changed, as it’s streaming on Prime Video and wasone of the best animated films of last year.
What Is ‘Look Back’ About?
Ayumu Fujino (Valerie Rose Lohman) fancies herself a manga-drawing expert, who regularly laps up the praise all her classmates give her drawings. She believes she’s going to become ahot shotcreator all on her own, untilshe sees the drawings of a reclusive student named Kyomoto (Grace Lu), who far surpasses her in skill. Ayumu’s jealousy drives her to isolate herself from all her friends and to focus solely on improving her drawing to rival Kyomoto’s, to no avail. When she’s asked to bring Kyomoto her diploma (since Kyomoto never actually goes to school),the two finally meet face-to-face, only for Kyomoto to reveal herself as a massive fangirl of Ayumu’s workwho’s genuinely broken-hearted that Ayumu stopped making manga. They hit it off and decide to team up to make their own manga calledShark Jump, which brings them public renown and a chance at the big times, only foran unexpected tragedyto change everything.
‘Look Back’ Is Enraptured by the Allure of Making Art
To say anymore would rob the story of its delicate power, one that steadily builds throughout its 54-minute runtime, even as most of the story’s events savor the magic in the mundane. While it’s tempting to view the narrative as yet another tribute to the value of unexpected friendship, it has more investment in the transfixing focus that can bless your life by being inspired by art. The seemingly-odd couple pairing of the extroverted and headstrong Ayumu with theanxiety-riddenand bleeding-heart Kyomoto is such an obvious dynamic, butthe sweetness and shared vision between them makes their partnership feel like destiny. This is amplified by, of all things, the frame rate of the animation style, which unfurls motion at a choppy and shuttered pace, which evokes both a memory being replayed back in your mind and the sensation of watching animated drawings move between sheets of paper being flipped through. Plus, the style emphasizesa hand-drawn sense of harsh scratch linesand watercolor-soft colors that practically leak outside the lines, imbuing the characters with a rough-around-the-edges charm and a spirited exuberance. It’s almost as if the film is suggesting that their friendship was always meant to be, a work of art brought together by cosmic forces that can’t be fully understood, no matter what comes between them.
Netflix’s ‘One Piece’ Should 100% Rework This Anime Arc
The Marineford Arc’s emotional tragedy and epic battles will be challenging to adapt to live action.
As ‘Look Back’ Notes, Art Can Be Inspiration and Therapy
As mentioned earlier, revealing howLook Backturns tragic would lessen its devastating impact, which reframes the preceding events as merely a prologue to the real story. Not only does it surprise you with a gut punch, it then introduces a level of unexplained magical realism that serves as a form of karmic therapy for Ayumu and Kyomoto. A meaningful event affirms and assures them thatthe art they made and the time they spent together meant something, demonstrating the way that making your own art can allow you to fulfill the things you’ve missed out on in life — if only as a fantasy. As the author of the narrative, Tastuki Fujimoto divorced himself from his usual fixations of unrestrained gore andtoxic adult dynamicsto tell a simple story about the inherent importance that giving yourself over to any form of art can have, not only on your own soul, but on the souls of those who find something kindred in you. Do yourself a favor and watchLook Back, if you haven’t already.
