GKIDS, the Academy Award®-winning producer and distributor of acclaimed and artist-driven animation from around the world, announced today it has acquired theatrical and home video rights for North America to the critical and box office sensation LOOK BACK.
Directed and adapted for the screen by Kiyotaka Oshiyama, the film is based on the critically acclaimed original manga by best-selling author Tatsuki Fujimoto (“Chainsaw Man”). GKIDS will release LOOK BACK in in theaters nationwide starting October 4th in its original Japanese language.
LOOK BACK debuted at this year’s Annecy International Film Festival to multiple packed house screenings and rave reviews. It additionally held sold-out premieres at New York City’s Japan Cuts and Los Angeles’ Anime Expo. Upon its domestic release, LOOK BACK was a box office darling, having originally opened on 119 screens and quickly climbing to over 1 billion yen at the box office in the first two weeks. Due to popular demand, LOOK BACK remains in theaters and has since expanded its Japanese domestic run.
The film is based on the critically acclaimed manga of the same name from globally beloved and award-winning writer Tatsuki Fujimoto (“Chainsaw Man”). Upon its release, the original manga boasted 2.5 million reads on its first date of digital publication, and climbed to over 4 million in two days. The manga went on to receive numerous awards and nominations, including a nomination at the 2023 Eisner Awards.
LOOK BACK is the first feature production from Studio Durian, the studio founded by Director Oshiyama. Prior to LOOK BACK, Oshiyama has held key roles in several acclaimed works, including Key Animator on Hayao Miyazaki’s The Boy and the Heron, Character Designer for the anime adaptation of Tatsuki Fujimoto’s Chainsaw Man, and Director of Flip Flappers – his series directorial debut. LOOK BACK is Oshiyama’s feature-length directorial debut. The deal was negotiated between GKIDS and Avex Pictures.
Synopsis
Popular, outgoing Fujino is celebrated by her classmates for her funny comics in the class newspaper. One day, her teacher asks her to share the space with Kyomoto, a truant recluse whose beautiful artwork sparks a competitive fervor in Fujino. What starts as jealousy transforms when Fujino realizes their shared passion for drawing.
Based on the acclaimed manga by Tatsuki Fujimoto, the creator of “Chainsaw Man”, Look Back captures the highs and lows of pursuing artistic excellence and the special bonds formed through creative collaboration. The heart-wrenching story is the stunning feature-length directorial debut from Kiyotaka Oshiyama that will leave you in tears and inspire you to chase your own artistic dreams.
About GKIDS
GKIDS is the Academy Award®-winning producer and distributor of artist-driven and award-winning animation from around the world. After an astounding 13 Best Animated Feature nominations, the company took home the Oscar in 2024 for Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli’s acclaimed feature, The Boy and the Heron. The company’s previous nominations include The Secret of Kells in 2010, A Cat in Paris and Chico & Rita in 2012, Ernest & Celestine in 2014, The Tale of The Princess Kaguya and Song of the Sea in 2015, Boy and the World and When Marnie Was There in 2016, My Life as a Zucchini in 2017, The Breadwinner in 2018, Mirai in 2019, Wolfwalkers in 2021, and The Boy and the Heron in 2024.
For more than a decade, GKIDS’ influence on cinema has redefined the perception of animation as an artistic medium on par with live-action film through its stewardship of the Studio Ghibli catalog and by introducing American audiences to the critically-acclaimed films of other master filmmakers from around the world such as Mamoru Hosoda (Mirai, Belle), Tomm Moore (The Secret of Kells, Wolfwalkers), Benjamin Renner (Ernest & Celestine), Makoto Shinkai (Weathering With You), Nora Twomey (The Breadwinner), Alberto Vázquez (Unicorn Wars) and Masaaki Yuasa (Inu-Oh, The Night is Short, Walk on Girl), among countless others. Also, GKIDS is the founder and host of ANIMATION IS FILM, the annual LA-based film festival which embraces the highest aspirations of animation as a cinematic art form, and is a vocal advocate for filmmakers who push the boundaries of the medium to its fullest range of artistic expressions. Animation is Film returns to Los Angeles October 18-20, 2024.
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