Adapted by a work signing of Mangaka Tatsuki Fujimoto, the anime “Look Back” may not be long or have a great plot, but leaves a deep and melancholy impression on the spectators. Unlike the usual style of Tatsuki Fujimoto-Evident in the “Madness” of “Chainsaw Man” and the complexity of “Farewell, you were” and “Fire Punch”, “Look Back” has a simple and easy story to make on friendship and on the search for passion.
Fujimoto himself once said that he is not limited to a particular genre, and therefore, “look back” – an apparently simple piece that still has the power to arouse emotions – has been created.
“Look back”: an imperfect but beautiful friendship
“Look back” tells the story of a beautiful friendship between Fujino and Kyomoto, two classmates who share a passion for the manga. Fujino is often praised for his drawing skills and is a family name in the comic section with four school panels. However, one day, a classmate named Kyomoto – who often jumps the school – also contributes to that section and is even assessed higher than Fujino, unleashing the jealousy in her and pushing her to work more hard to overcome Kyomoto.
This relationship could have started as rivalry, but unknown to Fujino, Kyomoto was actually a true admirer of his work that has always been. Once Fujino realized, the two became intimate friends, forming a duo in creating their first manga works.
Fujino and Kyomoto communicated through their drawings during their journey together. The four panels that Fujino impulsively attracted his friend outside his room gave Kyomoto the courage to enter the outside world, leaving behind shyness and isolation. Kyomoto’s well -welcomed comics, in turn, turned on an even stronger passion in Fujino, pushing her to constantly push its creative limits. Later, they continued to converse through their drawings: about effort, failure and success. They tied up, separated, looked back and separated again through their art.
“Look back” is not an absolutely beautiful and related glorification of a friendship but transports complex but deeply authentic emotions. Although Fujino and Kyomoto take each other and travel the same path in the creation of manga, Fujino still hosts a degree of arrogance and jealousy towards Kyomoto’s talent. He also gives their bond for granted, convinced that without her, Kyomoto would not have been able to reach anything. This clicks with reality, in which when people approach enough over time, they begin to see mutual presence as something to be taken for granted, unwittingly damaging both sides.
In the meantime, Kyomoto seems to play the role of a shadow in the life of his friend. In their joint works, his contributions serve as a background: symbolizing his weak presence, simply a beautiful background to make Fujino shine. But that shadow also has her emotions, her ambitions and, despite the condescending words of her best friend intended to prevent her from leaving, Kyomoto remains firm in pursuing her path, no longer walking next to Fujino.
Some could criticize Fujino to have a Salvatore complex, while clinging to the idea of being she who pulled Kyomoto out of her comfort area in an attempt to convince her to stay. But if we seem deeper, we see that Fujino really understands better than anyone else what Kyomoto has given her. Because it was Kyomoto who rekindled the flame of passion in her. Because no one else could understand or worry about his work deeply like his friend relative. Without Kyomoto by his side, Fujino was only drifting through life, unable to bring out the best in his creations.
Although they have gone separately, as life often imposes, the two still keep an irreplaceable place in the hearts of the other. The only regret is that in the end, everything happened suddenly, leaving them any chance of saying a final farewell.
Short but satisfying
“Look Back” was adapted by a tourist of Tatsuki Fujimoto without complicated plot or dramatic events, leading fans to worry about how adaptation will work. However, despite its 58 -minute runtime, the film manages to fully convey a series of emotions to the public, with moments of friendship successfully captured in their entirety.
By that limited time, the adaptation makes full use of elements such as sound and graphics, hitting a perfect balance, not excessive nor without details. Take, for example, the gray shades of the day of the rains when Fujino and Kyomoto met for the first time: one had started to lose fire, while the other was still terrified by leaving his comfort area. Later, that gray vanishes, replaced by the bright colors of the days in which they lived fully for their passion and tasted their first successes.
Music also plays a crucial role in modeling the emotional landscape. He swells during beautiful moments, especially when the two friends are deeply immersed in their dreams. But sometimes music is silent, giving way to an unspoken pain the day Kyomoto leaves. The ability to capture and express emotions in every frame, at all times, in a way that adapts to the medium, is what makes a successful adaptation.
The brevity of “Look Back” reflects the fleeting time Fujino and Kyomoto spent together, short, but leaving an indelible mark. The memories they shared remain in the hearts of the other, although nothing can cancel the regrets that have occurred.
Art can make miracles, rewrite tragedies so that it never happens. But he also reports people to reality, teaching them to reflect and continue their journey. In the end, Fujino comes to understand him.
