Review of LOOK BACK: Acquainted by Art and Anxiety

August 28, 2024

For a number of years, Fujino had been very popular in school because of the funny four-panel manga strips she drew for the class newspaper. One day, her teacher told Fujino that he had invited another girl Kyomoto to also submit manga strips for their newspaper. At first, Fujino thought nothing about it and nonchalantly acquiesced. However, when Kyomoto's first comic strip came out, everyone, including Fujino, gushed over the new girl's artistry. 

"Look Back" was a manga created by Tatsuki Fujimoto in 2021. It had now been adapted by writer-animator-director Kiyotaka Oshiyama. Oshiyama also designed characters for the anime series "Chainsaw Man" (2022), which was adapted from the manga series of the same title also created by Fujimoto. Oshiyama had been key animator in a number of Ghibli films, including the Academy Award-winning "The Boy and the Heron" (2023).

Within its spare 57-minute running time, Oshiyama presents us with two 13-year old girls, both excellent manga artists with contrasting personalities. Fujino was the outgoing type who was very confident with her talent to write and illustrate manga, and basked in the popularity it brought her. Meanwhile, Kyomoto was a social misfit because of her extreme shyness. She idolized Fujino as her sensei, as she skipped school to lock herself in her room to draw.

Once fate brought the two girls together, they were inseparable as shown in a montage of Oshiyama's simple but evocative hand-drawn images. Fujino drew Kyomoto out of her shell, and a beautiful friendship and creative partnership was born and evolved. We are drawn in and emotionally connected with them as they both matured into young adults with important decisions that need to be made and changes that need to be accepted. 

We can never predict how a deep friendship can develop between two people with disparate world-views. Passion in one thing in common may be all it takes to bring them together, even if that same passion could initially cause competitive envy and anxiety.  Oshiyama's feature-length directorial debut brought Fujimoto's nostalgic manga to life, bringing us back to our own teen years as we experience the ups and downs of passion and friendship. 8/10