Overview
Look Back is a one-shot by Tatsuki Fujimoto, the author of Chainsaw Man, published free on Shueisha's Shonen Jump+ on 19 July 2021 at more than 140 pages. A single-volume print edition followed in September 2021, and by July 2026 total circulation had passed one million copies.
OtaHub's take
Fujino is confident in her drawing until she sees the pages of Kyomoto, a schoolmate who never comes to class but draws far better. What starts as rivalry turns into friendship, and they create manga together. The story follows them over the years, until their paths diverge.
The weight of the work comes from how Fujimoto handles friendship, ambition and loss through images of people drawing tirelessly at a desk. It topped the male readers' category of Kono Manga ga Sugoi! 2022 and was nominated for a 2023 Eisner Award.
In 2024, Studio Durian adapted it into an anime film of about an hour directed by Kiyotaka Oshiyama, released on 28 June 2024, which won Best Animation at the 48th Japan Academy Film Prize. The live-action version is directed by Hirokazu Kore-eda and stars Natsuki Deguchi and Aju Makita; it premiered at Venice 2026 and opened in Japan on 11 September 2026.
