Look Back: A beautiful hand-crafted animated movie.
Look Back, an animated film by Tatsuki Fujimoto, best known for Chainsaw Man, shares the same name. Look Back, on the other hand, is quite different from Fujimoto’s usual style, which is often bloody and deeply humorous. It focuses on the delicate and complicated world of young artists finding themselves.
Kiyotaka Oshiyama, a seasoned animator and director who has worked with anime giants like Hayao Miyazaki and Hideaki Anno, is in charge of the movie. Oshiyama directed an episode of Devilman Crybaby, which shows how versatile he is and how well he can handle sensitive material. With such a history, people had high hopes for Look Back, but it’s different from his other works.
Instead of the chaotic energy of Chainsaw Man or the dark surrealism of Devilman Crybaby, it’s a highly personal story focused on characters. A small company called DURIAN took on the difficult job of turning Fujimoto’s manga into a full-length movie. Independent anime films often have limited resources, but DURIAN’s team was able to make a movie that looks great and feels close and personal.
Even though the movie is only a little over an hour long, you can tell that a lot of care and attention went into making every scene. Some people didn’t like how the movie was marketed. At first, Gkids only showed the film for two days, which fans didn’t like because tickets were expensive and not everyone could get to see it.
It might have been hard for first-time moviegoers to see the movie in cinemas. Once you see Look Back, you can tell it was made to be enjoyed slowly, with its focus on quiet character moments and fine art—things that can get lost in bigger, longer movies.
Look Back is mostly about two young girls named Amuyu Fujino (voiced by Yumi Kawai) and Kyomoto (voiced by Yoshino Mizuki) who love manga. Fujino is smart and well-known at her middle school for the four-panel comic series she writes for the school newspaper.
However, her confidence is almost cocky, which is evident when Kyomoto, a student who is afraid of public speaking and usually studies from home, arrives with equally impressive artistic skills. What starts out as competition turns into a deep friendship over time.
The movie explores the complex relationships between working together and personal growth. It shows how two creative minds support and push each other while dealing with the challenges of artistic desire. People who have done art, writing, or other creative things will relate to this story. The subtleties and care with which the themes of self-doubt, jealousy, inspiration, and shared discovery are treated are very good.
The story is short, but it is carefully put together.
Even though the movie is only one hour, Oshiyama shows years of growth: Fujino works on her skills by herself, the seasons change outside her window, and time goes by naturally as the girls’ friendship grows. Later, Kyomoto is seen sitting on the floor with her legs crossed while Fujino works at her desk.
They are sharing a room and creative energy. These montages and carefully placed scenes show small but important events: the girls learning from each other, enjoying small wins, and quietly dealing with creative setbacks.
Even though the first two-thirds of the movie are very dramatic, the last act changes quickly. The story goes from being character-driven and reflective to shocking and emotional in a way that many viewers may find upsetting. This choice of story follows a trend in anime: combining sudden sadness with beautiful scenes to make them more powerful.
A story about artists, making friends, and growing up.
Even though it’s short, Look Back does a great job of showing how hard it is to make art. One of the main ideas of the movie is how hard it is to make art by yourself or with other people. Fujino and Kyomoto’s artistic journey is a lot like real life: it’s hard to stay motivated, deal with creative differences, take feedback, and learn how to work with others without losing your voice.
The personalities are very interesting. Fujino is sure of himself, smart, and flawed, a mix of desire and fear. Kyomoto, on the other hand, is calmer, shyer, and more careful, which makes him a good balance to Fujino’s excitement. The movie shows the subtleties of their personalities, like how Fujino is obsessed with being perfect and Kyomoto pays close attention to every detail. It also shows how their strengths and weaknesses work well together.
One of the best things about the movie is how the characters change over time. In its short length, the movie shows growth: Fujino has to face her flaws and learn to be humble, while Kyomoto starts to stand up for herself and try new things. They’re friends who grow naturally, and times of stress, small fights, and shared happiness feel real. Some viewers might have liked even more growth, but the movie shows a lot of emotional depth in just under an hour.
Look Back is beautiful to look at. The animation is very good at picking up on small emotional cues. The characters’ stances, facial expressions, and small movements say a lot about their inner lives. Early long-held shots of Fujino at her desk with a pencil in her hand show how the movie can find beauty and conflict in stillness. These scenes also show how hard it can be to animate scenes that look normal at first glance but are actually full of emotional depth.
Lighting and composition are cleverly used by Oshiyama to highlight mood and atmosphere. Windows let in natural light, which casts moving shadows on the figures and the area around them. In outdoor scenes, open areas, and changing skies show how much time has passed and how people are feeling.
This makes the setting an important part of the story. The movie also uses different art styles for the characters‘ comics that are set in the same world. The art of Fujino is adorably simple and angular, while the art of Kyomoto is moody, textured, and layered with effects from crayons, pastels, and watercolor.
These differences in how they look bring out their personalities and artistic styles. One small disappointment is that we don’t get to see as much of their collaborative art, which could have made the story more emotionally powerful.
Beauty in stillness, the art of looking back.
The studio’s care for small details and subtleties makes Look Back a movie that you can really watch again and again. Even things that didn’t seem important at the time take on more meaning when you think about them later, especially when you know what the characters were trying to do and what their artistic goal was.
Scenes where Kyomoto works alone in silence while Fujino draws show how meditative creation can be and how much patience and persistence are needed in any artistic project. The animation methods, from the subtle shading to the realistic portrayal of small movements, show a very high level of skill.
These choices make the movie better than many others from the same time period made by small studios like DURIAN. They show that independent anime works can be both technically excellent and emotionally deep.
The music is simple, with arrangements for piano and strings that go well with the story’s quiet, thoughtful tone. Some viewers might find some audio choices too much, but overall, the score adds to the story rather than taking away from it. It helps to draw attention to important emotional times, like when the characters win, think, or share a vulnerability.
Voice acting is something else they do well. Even though Kawai Yumi and Yoshino Mizuki have never done voice acting before, their performances sound real and natural. They bring Fujino and Kyomoto to life without acting too much, which lets watchers naturally connect with how they feel. It was risky to use real people as voice actors, but it pays off because the characters have a lot of subtle charm and emotional impact.
Look Back is a touching and beautifully animated movie about friendship, talent, and growing as a person. It does a great job of developing characters, telling stories visually, and showing the problems young artists face.
The complicated connection between Fujino and Kyomoto shows both the good and bad sides of working together. Some people may wish the movie had more character moments and story detail, but for being so short, it still manages to make a lot of emotional points.
It’s possible that some people will not connect with the movie’s sudden, sad plot twist in the last act. Some people might think it’s strange or manipulative, but others will see it as a powerful reminder of how unpredictable life is and how fragile human relationships are.
