Have you ever watched a movie that you kind of knew would be one of your favourite films of all time, before you even saw it? That’s how I felt the day that the anime adaptation of Look Back was revealed in February of this year, but it wasn’t until recently that I was able to actually get to the cinema and check it out (forever adore you, distributing companies that take forever to announce releases of anime movies in UK cinemas). Today, you’ll be able to check the film out yourself even if it’s not showing in a cinema near you, as it’s arrived on Prime Video globally – and if you’re a fan of Chainsaw Man creator Tatsuki Fujimoto’s work, it’s really one you shouldn’t miss out on.
Based on the one-shot manga of the same name, Look Back follows the lives of two young manga artists, Ayumu Fujino and Kyomoto, as they bond over drawing comics together, pushing each other to be better. Or, at least, that’s where it ends up going, given that Fujino kind of gives up drawing after seeing how good Kyomoto is at the start of it all. But Kyomoto, despite being an anxious shut-in that literally never goes to school, manages to pluck up the courage to tell Fujino how much she admires her work (despite its obvious amateurness), helping to create a really interesting balance between the two of them.
You see, I do worry that my opening paragraph might overhype it for some of you. This isn’t some mind blowing, bombastic piece of animation like, say, Akira, nor is it particularly action packed. It’s a lot quieter than that. After all, it’s an anime about drawing manga, there’s only so much wow factor you can put into something like this. And yet it’s that quietness that director Kiyotaka Oshiyama really hones in on that makes the film feel really special.
Take the opening shot for example – it’s a shot that would be simple if filmed in real life, starting way up in the sky, slowly heading downwards to eventually land on Fujino’s house. Hell, it’d be plenty simple to do it in 3D, but not, the whole thing is done in 2D, frame by frame. You could argue it’s unnecessary, but it sets the tone for the film, making it clear that even those subtle moments where you’re just getting a character’s reaction will be given as much love as possible in those handful of frames they’re on the screen for.
What’s most impressive is how much of that love is packed into the very short runtime of around 58 minutes, still technically feature length, but obviously a lot shorter than your typical cinema experience. Start to finish I couldn’t find a fault in it though, and to be honest I felt like my eyes weren’t glued to it enough. There are so many small details to appreciate, references to Fujimoto’s own career to smile at (Fuji-no? Kyo-moto? Fuji…moto?), and even when it looks a little rough and scratchy, you can feel that the intention was to prioritise the feeling of a scene rather than technical proficiency.
I just think that this film is a real special exercise in pushing yourself, to do things a little differently, which is the whole thesis of the original story, really, so how better an adaptation can you manage? It’s also a great entryway into Fujimoto’s works if Chainsaw Man didn’t quite click with you to start, as it’s a clear example of how thoughtful his work is these days, despite some of his earlier one shots veering much too heavily on the side of edgy.
You also don’t have much of an excuse not to watch it, given its aforementioned short run time and its availability on Prime Video – so please, go and check it out, have a little cry (you almost definitely will), and enjoy the best anime movie of the year.
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