Look Back

Ayumu Fujino may only be in the fourth grade, but she already basks in high praise for her hand-drawn four-panel comics featured in the school's newspaper. However, when she is asked to share the page with Kyoumoto—a reclusive student she has never met—Fujino feels inadequate for the first time: her free-spirited drawings look embarrassingly amateurish next to Kyoumoto's breathtakingly detailed art.

For a year, Fujino shuts out the world, obsessively studying manga creation and drawing tirelessly to catch up to her faceless competition. But Kyoumoto's talent far exceeds hers, and Fujino quits it all. Another year passes, and on the day of their graduation, Fujino finally meets Kyoumoto. This unkempt, shy, and stuttering girl has actually been Fujino's biggest fan all along. Their encounter reignites Fujino's passion for art and sparks the beginning of a years-long friendship built on rivalry, admiration, and their shared love of manga.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Kyoumoto Main

Yoshida, Mizuki Japanese

Fujino, Ayumu Main

Kawai, Yuumi Japanese

Man from 4-frame Manga Supporting

Morikawa, Toshiyuki Japanese

Woman from 4-frame Manga Supporting

Sakamoto, Maaya Japanese

Man Supporting

Oka, Kouta Japanese

Caster Supporting

Miyajima, Takeshi Japanese

Classmate Boy Supporting

Teacher Supporting

Itou, Jun Japanese

Fujino's Grandmother Supporting

Taira, Masumi Japanese

Classmate Supporting

Endou, Rina Japanese

Nagano, Yuuki Producer

Shinozaki, Shinya Producer

Matsumura, Kazuto Producer

Kawaji, Yukino Assistant Producer

Reviews

Feb 2, 2025

Tuls

Recommended

As a first feature by Studio Durian, Look Back is nothing short of a staggering accomplishment and a validation of Kiyotaka Oshiyama’s multifaceted capabilities in spearheading a project. The opening sequence here differs from its manga counterpart, as Oshiyama creatively animates Fujino’s 4-koma manga, capturing her childish humor. It subsequently characterizes her passion for art and sense of pride when her classmates express adoration for her talent. However, her discovery that Kyomoto utterly outshines her in drawing skill, coupled with the shift of attention from her art toward Kyomoto’s, causes momentary dejection but an ensuing drive to improve. Such delicate sentiments are portrayed through brilliant ... character animation that implements Fujimoto’s signature rough linework, elevating emotionally intense scenes. His repetitive paneling in the manga is a crucial attribute of his visual storytelling, which Oshiyama replicates in his film with elegant storyboarding and editing that illustrate the passage of time. Look Back depicts the joy and fulfillment artists attain through their arduous and frustrating learning processes, and it does so by intertwining Fujino and Kyomoto’s lives.

They both discover friendship through their mutual passion for art, uplifting each other in their manga-making endeavor. Fujino gets the recluse Kyomoto out into the world, and Kyomoto helps Fujino reignite her love for drawing. There’s a sequence teeming with raw emotion following their first interaction where Fujino is skipping in the rain, a marvelous display of great background animation, camerawork, character acting, and sound design. On a technical scale, the film is phenomenal, and Oshiyama deserves commendation simply for the amount of effort he’s put into the production. The gradual bond built between the two leads is shown through timelapses of them working on their mangas, and we see how artistic inspiration is found naturally in daily activities. Visual metaphors and references to Fujimoto’s other works are consistently implemented, along with montages and a fatalistic hint towards the ending. The tonal change and the accompanying shift in color grading to more dull shades is transitioned well from the manga, and the latter half of the film is emotionally powerful. Look Back is life-affirming; our pasts might be riddled with regrets, but looking back with gratitude for the good times is essential for us to persist in the present.

Reviewer’s Rating: 7

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Feb 2, 2025

Bee-ku

Mixed Feelings

I'm going to talk about the usual. I really liked the animation, especially the part where the animation of the characters' eyes changes, there were moments where they looked very detailed and I feel that it was a very good touch, since it fit well with the emotions that the characters felt at that moment. As for the story, I apologize if I say something wrong, since I didn't do much research on the subject, but the fact that the story is based on an event that happened in real life (referring to the Plot Twist part), made me have mixed feelings. I understand very ... well what the main character was feeling and then knowing that there was such a case in real life (I think in 2019) leaves me a lot to think about. I give it that rating because even though I liked it, I'm still trying to process the plot.

Reviewer’s Rating: 8

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Mar 16, 2025

Slyfer1208

Not Recommended

Funny

WOW! We’ve officially entered anime’s decline, and this film is proof. For years, people have discussed the anime bubble bursting—whether due to a lack of fresh ideas or the overall decline in quality. And nothing highlights that reality more than watching some random committee scramble to hand out *special* awards—basically pity trophies—to a film that feels like a rejected draft for a manga from years ago.

What are we doing here? It doesn’t matter how many meaningless trophies you throw at it—mediocrity is mediocrity. Quit lying to us.

The industry’s obsession with misery writing worked in the 2010s, but audiences are numb to ... it now, it produced a lot of random ahh stories that no one talks about anymore. At some point, it stops being shocking and just starts looking desperate. And when you have to invent special awards—conveniently removing actual contenders like FLOW—you’re admitting you lost and can’t compete.

And that’s the thing—FLOW won both an Annie and an Oscar, proving that real artistic vision still wins out. But Fujimoto? LOL. I believe he sold out. That’s why he gets relentless marketing, both in Japan and from Western companies, industry plants hyping his work, and meaningless awards—while the real ones go to someone else. Because deep down, they know his writing is mediocre at best but make us believe otherwise to get us through the door and consume it. And audiences are finally noticing. I personally couldn’t stop laughing at people trying to say this film was Oscar or Annie-worthy—bots had to have written those takes.

At the end of the day, this film isn’t worthy of praise. The story is beyond generic, with a twist thrown in at the last second to distract you from realizing there is no story. It’s just another example of corporate desperation—trying to manufacture hits without putting in any real effort. Honestly, a college student with no experience could write this. And they know it.

These execs clearly want anime to become what Netflix has done to Western media—churning out pointless, incoherent stories and psyoping us into thinking it’s good. LOL. good luck there, bro.

Reviewer’s Rating: 3

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	CSM references in Look Back Greentreefrog - Oct 12, 2024	6 replies	by Piromysl »» Today, 4:36 AM
	Poll: Look Back Episode 1 Discussion ( 1 2 3 4 ) IzanaSolos - Jun 14, 2024	182 replies	by DatajI »» Mar 23, 11:59 PM
	best anime movie of the tokyo anime award festival 2025 deg - Feb 1	8 replies	by SNgKrv »» Feb 4, 7:26 AM
	Look Back and Kyoto Animation incident Bagus_Resol - Nov 11, 2024	16 replies	by Zarutaku »» Dec 7, 2024 7:25 AM
	Amazing performance of Mizuki Yoshida as Kyoumoto celebes - Nov 8, 2024	2 replies	by Aragane »» Nov 22, 2024 7:11 PM