Look Back Episode 1 Discussion

“Thank you for bringing me out of that room”

This was the best Fujimoto work for me, the hype for his other stuff just fell flat to me, but I found myself throughly moved when watching this. Beautiful in every aspect and some of the best art I’ve seen in a long time. Was such a fun time seeing this in a packed cinema. Was honestly surprised to see so many fans.

Fujino and Kyomoto story was heartbreaking and I hate that they didn’t get a happy ending, but that’s truly life sometimes. People don’t always get the ending they deserve. Still, that doesn’t invalidate the time they spent together.

One moment can really alter the trajectory of our lives and although it’s terribly sad how their relationship ended, I found myself desperately wanting to reply to Fujino’s “if I never took her out her room, she never would’ve died” with “Yea, but she never would’ve lived either.” It’s no one’s fault for what happened to Kyomoto, but she would had never got to experience friendship or all the joys of life if not for Fujino’s inadvertent koma panel drop lol. There’s also no guarantee something wouldn’t have happened to her at some other point, just too many variables.

What does really hurt is how they left their relationship. I just felt a lot of shades of Kimisui/I want to eat your pancreas in this one even down to the news broadcast scene. Also just based off what the axe nut was saying, was this made in the wake of the Kyoani fire? Crazy how you claim your work was plagiarised and then kill people like yea buddy now your work’s never getting acknowledged lmao.

S/O to Kawai Yuumi for her job as Fujino as well. Really elevated the film. I love when characters talk like normal people. Getting people who aren’t trained seiyuus is such a good choice for these sort of films.

This was such a good watch, it’s not too long but still resonated with me a lot. You never know when the last time you’ll speak to someone, so make sure it counts. I’m feeling motivated to get back into drawing as well after this!

Randomly scrolling through MAL top list and saw that this was on theaters? Bought a ticket and watching it tomorrow.


Edit: saw it today, the death of one of the character felt like a cheap plot line but the movie was overall pretty good. I'm stuck between giving it a 9 or an 8, I hope that good bye eri gets a movie aswell.

@HansDevX look up kyoto animation arson attack, it's not a cheap plotline, we don't know much about fujimoto himself but the one shot seems at least on some extent to be related to the kyoto animation incident, it was written 2 years after as well.

@dragoncapsule505 You are taking the emotional angle. Where did you get that relationship from? I didn't see anything that relates the two and the type of attack was different aswell unless if the author himself says so there's no way to tell. One was a pick axe and the other an arson, two totally different things. What I mean by cheap is that it felt like the death was just included to add sentimental value and nothing else. It was just a random attack, there was no build up that led to it which is typical of this author where everything is fine and dandy but then the next day a meteor falls off the sky and destroys the earth or kills half of the entire cast of characters (chainsaw man).

@HansDevX The dude who did the arson claimed they had stolen his drawings, it's literally 1/1 to what the guy in the art college said before he * kyomoto

Well this definitely had that Fujimoto's feel to it. I've only read Chainsaw Man and Goodbye Eri, so I was expecting something like one of the two, mainly leaning towards Goodbye, Eri. And in a way it is, but not exactly—they're more different than you might think. I loved everything about it, from the art and story to the characters. Everything about this movie was amazing. So glad I was visiting France so I could go to this whole special premiere thing. Japan releases in a couple of weeks and the west will get it who knows when...

For some context, Fujino is an arrogant fourth-grader who thinks she's the best artist ever. That's until someone named Kyomoto, who's too socially anxious to attend school, starts submitting work to the school newspaper and turns out to be on another level entirely. At first, it seems like a rivalry story where the winner takes all, but I liked how their art comparison shows that both are missing something. Fujino shows people, dialogue, and plot, while Kyomoto shows details and setting.

The second half of the movie basically retells the first half in a condensed form, showing the earlier symbolism but focusing on Kyomoto. And as a result of their childhood collaborations, Fujino, who has given up manga to focus on karate, saves Kyomoto's life using her karate skills to prevent a massacre. For those thinking this is a feel-good movie, it's not. Considering the madman of a creator that's behind it, there's a lot of violence, blood, and even a school massacre. Few anime touch on such sensitive topics, but I loved how this story handled it.

Besides the story and plot, the art direction of this movie was phenomenal. It's unlike anything I've seen before. I want to read the one-shot later because I think they faithfully adapted Fujimoto's art style and brought it to life perfectly. Take notes MAPPA. I'm just kidding, but there were production issues, though nothing major affected the final product from what I could see.

This is easily one of the best movies I've watched in a while, not just in anime. It doesn't feel like anime anymore. it feels like a live-action movie, and that's what I love about this medium. Overall, a beautiful story, and you'll need tissues because it will make you cry. A solid 9/10, and I will definitely rewatch it when it comes to streaming. After all, looking back is the only way we can move forward.