Manga publishing is a ruthlessly numbers-driven business. Success is mostly dependent on sales and reader popularity polls. Nevertheless, it attracts artistic young people, who often keenly sensitive, somewhat neurotic, and even sometimes painfully shy. Those terms certainly describe either Ayumu Fujino or her middle school rival “Kyomoto the Truant.” Several apply to them both. Somehow, they become friends and collaborators, but they are destined for very different fates in Kiyotaka Oshiyama’s anime feature Look Back, based on Tatsuki Fujimoto’s one-shot manga, which has its East Coast premiere at this year’s Japan Cuts.
Drawing manga has always been Fujino’s thing. She enjoys the status that comes from creating her school newspaper’s manga strips, but Fujino magnanimously gives her mysterious hikikomori-classmate Kyomoto a chance to draw a few, because she has no other way to participate in school life. Much to Fujino’s shock, Kyomoto’s manga is so good, she quickly usurps her space in the paper.
Initially, Fujino single-mindedly tries to improve her art, at the expense of her social life, but she eventually concedes Kyomoto’s talents are greater. After all, the shut-in has so much more time to devote to manga. Ironically, Fujino only meets Kyomoto after graduation, when she reluctantly delivers the homebound student’s diploma, as a favor to her teacher.
©Courtesy of Japan Cuts
Much to her shock, the awkward Kyomoto haltingly reveals her admiration for Fujino’s work. Soon, they agree to enter a manga contest as collaborators. They work together well, thanks to their shared passions, but they do not share the same goals. When their paths diverge, it leads to profound regrets.
Some critics might compare Look Back to Sliding Doors (or Krzysztof Kieslowski’s Blind Chance, if they are more sophisticated), because it similarly suggests how one small but fateful event might hold complicated and unforeseen repercussions. Yet, the film really captures the desire to reverse a terrible tragedy, which is so palpable, you feel like you could almost, but not quite, turn back time itself, through sheer force of will.
While the film’s depiction of the ups and downs of new creators navigating the manga industry might remind some fans of the Bakuman franchise, the tone is entirely different. The vibe is more akin to Masanao Kawajiri’s animated short, A Japanese Boy Who Draws, which previously screened at the 2019 Japan Cuts (and would pair up perfectly with this film). Look Back also directly compares to Makoto Shinkai’s The Garden of Words, especially in terms of their bittersweet artistic themes and running times clocking in under the one-hour mark. (Unfortunately, the film’s brevity reportedly complicated efforts to secure U.S. distribution, so anime devotees should do their best to see it during Japan Cuts.)
Fujino and Kyomoto are very flawed, but very realistic young characters, whom the film follows from their pre-teen to college-aged years. Consequently, fans of anime and manga should easily relate to them, even though the film hardly represents a love-letter to manga publishing.
Regardless, the high-quality animation often finds striking images amid our everyday world, cluttered with ordinary objects. However, hardcore anime fans might be most enraptured with the lush score, composed and arranged by Haruka Nakamura. The lovely themes often start delicately on piano (played by the composer), but build into dramatically soaring orchestral string-section crescendos, in classic anime style.
Obviously, this is not the world-saving variety of anime, but it speaks to those who have faced crises in their own private worlds. If you enjoy a good cry from your anime than Look Back definitely hits that sweet spot. It is brutally poignant, but emotionally complex. Highly recommended for discerning animation connoisseurs, Look Back screens during this year’s Japan Cuts: New York’s Festival of New Japanese Film.
Grade: A
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Here’s the trailer of the film.