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Regret is one of many of human emotions, it’s a painful part of life that everyone at some point will experience. Many wish to live without regret, and that wish is a high one, yet when that feeling comes at a time too late, what do people more often than not do in order to handle it?

Look back.

Look Back is a sentimental film that depicts themes of regret, how connection forms and holds when we often take it for granted at times, and how art is a medium that can change people regardless of who they are or once were. Despite being a short film ... that runs in at a little over an hour, there is this utterly profound feel of passion that exudes across the length of the film from the people who worked on it. From the vision of Director Kiyotaka Oshiyama that he vividly explains in the after-credit interviews, to the melodic range of the soundtracks of Haruka Nakamura that grasp both the joy and pain of life, to the stunning performance of both Yuumi Kawai and Mizuki Yoshida, Look Back is a defining example of not only a stellar adaptation that improves the source material but a captivating experience on how to deliver a bittersweet message in such little time.

Fujino is a character that captures what many of us were like in youth and carries those elements into adulthood. She isn’t the best friend nor is she the most likable person but that’s where Kyomoto comes in, she’s a counter to Fujino. Their relationship is an incredibly touching yet bittersweet one, from the common interest of manga between the two to their years of being a mangaka duo to the events near the end of the film bringing a painful lesson for Fujino. That lesson is one of regret, because even though regret is often painful and revives memories that we may want to forget or wish we could change and do things differently, there is no way to return to that time and the only thing people can do is learn from it. Despite that, Fujino brought Kyomoto out of that room while Kyomoto brought change to Fujino. Fujino however is the main catalyst, with her efforts and pain of creating to her insecurity of her abilities to draw, it’s these feelings and challenges that reach out to many people who have attempted to create but we mustn’t forget about Kyomoto with her problems of connecting to others and her struggles of social activity. In that way of Fujino bringing Kyomoto out of that room, she was the person that Kyomoto needed in order to grow as a person, to get her into the world and to try to go beyond.

The soundtracks in this film are a testament to how music truly matters in atmosphere and mood. It’s heavily characterized with piano and chordophones or string instruments, having this lovely sound to it that’s reminiscent of life in motion. In the first half of the movie, it’s bright and lively, feelings that are associated with youth. It’s the kind of music you would listen to in the Summer, invoking a sense of nostalgia and tenderness. In the second half of the film, especially near the end, it’s the complete opposite of the first. It’s melancholic and soulful yet immensely sad, capturing a mood that punches you in the gut and is emotionally rich. It’s like that one specific quote, how the keys on a piano represent sadness and happiness yet you need both to play a song.

Across the film, there are two consistent motifs that show the flow of time and the changing relationship between our two leads. Because of how manga is read differently in comparison of Western Literature, being right to left instead of the other way around, the movement of our characters going right to left such as the time when they went out after winning second place in a manga competition, that is one of two said motifs where Fujino and Kyomoto running from the right to the left is a beautiful style of subtlety that shows their relationship changing in tandem with their youth. The second motif and the more obvious one, is how time changes while our leads are in the same position in still frames. This kind of storyboarding was also seen in Tatsuki Fujimoto’s other one-shot, Goodbye Eri or Sayonara Eri. Within Look Back, it’s used to have time essentially move forward quickly and convey how fast their youth is passing by in the span of a few seconds for us while months to years fly by for Fujino and Kyomoto. The room is filling with new material for manga or vice versa, the seasons are changing in the background, and times are changing with them as they age. It’s quiet but poignant, because time often flies by in the blink of an eye. And if we don’t realize the value of that time and the memories that come with it by the time it’s too late, that is where regret is born.

Even though regret can’t be avoided as much as one could wish they could, regret can be learned. So instead of dwelling and being stuck with past regrets, move forward and learn from it so you don’t have to experience it again in the future. That’s why we regret, and that’s why we continue. Thank you for reading.