Look Back is the Best Animated Work winner of the 48th Japan Academy Film Prize.
It competed against Give It All, Mobile Suit Gundam Seed Freedom, Haikyu!!: The Dumpster Battle, and Detective Conan: The Million-dollar Pentagram.
Look Back is an adaptation of the one-shot by Chainsaw Man‘s Tatsuki Fujimoto, which follows two young aspiring artists. It premiered in Japan on June 28, 2024 JST. It also received screenings in some other countries and came to Prime Video in November 2024. The film was part of Annecy Festival 2024’s Annecy Presents selection lineup.
Kiyotaka Oshiyama (Flip Flappers director, Chainsaw Man devil designer) directed the film and also served as scriptwriter, character designer, and animation director. Oshiyama’s Studio Durian produced it. Among the other staff are Masayoshi Sameshima (Napping Princess co-background art director) as background art director, Maya Kusumoto (Birthday Wonderland) as color designer, Kazuto Izumita (Skip & Loafer) as compositing director, and haruka nakamura as music composer.
GKIDs describes Look Back as:
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.
Source: Japan Academy Film Prize website
