Look Back (film) explained

Look Back
Native Name:
Katakana:ルックバック
Revhep:Rukku Bakku
Screenplay:Kiyotaka Oshiyama
Music:Haruka Nakamura
Studio:Studio Durian
Distributor:Avex Pictures
Runtime:58 minutes
Country:Japan
Language:Japanese
Gross:million[1]

is a 2024 Japanese animated coming-of-age drama film based on the one-shot web manga of the same name by Tatsuki Fujimoto. The film is directed by, who also wrote the screenplay and served as a character designer, and produced by Studio Durian. It stars Yuumi Kawai and Mizuki Yoshida as two girls with a passion for drawing—the outgoing Fujino (Kawai) and the truant recluse Kyomoto (Yoshida), the latter of whom's artistic ability inspires a competitive fervor in Fujino that soon develops into a partnership.

Look Back premiered at the French Annecy International Animation Film Festival in June 2024. It was theatrically released in Japan by Avex Pictures on June 28, 2024.

Cast

Character Japanese voice actor[2] English dubbing actor[3]
Ayumi Fujino Valerie Rose Lohman
Kyomoto Grace Lu
Homeroom Teacher Yoichiro Saito
Classmates Rina Endo
Shinnosuke Tokudome
Nanaka Shogaki
Taisei Miyagishi
Haruto Shima
Minori Takanami
Sakura Tsutsumi
Editor Koya Yoshihashi
Man Kota Oka
Fujino's Sister Kureha Maki
Newscaster Takeshi Miyajima
Announcer Daisuke Takahashi
Teacher Jun Ito
Friend's Mother Kaori Takeuchi
Grandmother Masuma Taira
Shut-in Competition Announcer Seila Ina
Man from 4-koma
Woman from 4-koma

Production

In February 2024, an anime film adaptation of the manga Look Back was announced.[4] In March 2024, it was announced that Kawai and Yoshida had joined the voice cast as Fujino and Kyomoto, respectively.[5] [6]

Music

The music is composed by Haruka Nakamura; the film's theme song, "Light Song", is composed by Nakamura and performed by Urara.[7] [8]

Release

Look Back premiered at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival, which took place in Annecy, France, from June 9–15, 2024, in the "Annecy Presents" category, a non-competitive category created to showcase a variety of international animated films to audiences.[9] [10]

Look Back received a theatrical release in Japan by Avex Pictures on June 28, 2024, screening in 119 theaters nationwide. Due to positive critical and commercial response, including positive word of mouth, its release expanded to 11 more theaters on July 5.[11]

In the United States, the Japan Society screened the film on July 14, 2024, in Japanese with English subtitles, as part of the "Japan Cuts: Festival of New Japanese Cinema" event at New York.[12] The film has been licensed in North America by GKIDS and premiered in theaters on October 4, 2024.[13] Singapore-based film distributor Encore Films licensed the film in India and Southeast Asia countries and released it in theaters.[14] [15] The film was released worldwide on Amazon Prime Video on November 7, 2024 (November 8 in Asia due to timezone differences) by Amazon MGM Studios;[16] it includes the original Japanese audio with English subtitles, as well as an English dub.[17]

Reception

Box office

Look Back grossed million in Japan and million in other territories, for a worldwide total of million.[1] The film grossed over ¥227 million (around million) in its opening weekend at the Japanese box office.[11] By July 17, after 18 days in theaters, it had made ¥1,017,961,780 (around million).[18]

Critical response

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, Look Back has a 100% approval rating based on 21 reviews, with an average rating of 8.7/10.[19] [20] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 90 out of 100, based on 6 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".[21]

IndieWires David Ehrlich gave the film a grade of "B+", praising the character design and the emotional weight of the story; Ehrlich wrote that, "the fleeting nature of Oshiyama's film, which so fluidly renders eons of labor with the lightness of memory and the brilliance of a shooting star, is what ultimately allows it to crystallize a truth that most artists can only hope to accept for themselves [...]: Making things isn't a waste of time or a way of isolating oneself from the world, but rather the most beautiful way of belonging to it."[22] Robbie Collin of The Telegraph gave the film a score of five out of five stars, praising its visuals as "wildly yet unassumingly beautiful" and its plot as accessible "yet philosophically rich"; he concluded: "There's a haiku-like purity to it: Look Back is as neat and yet also as overflowing as the four-panel strips in which its leads once diligently honed their craft. And if something so beautiful also feels too brief – well, that may be the idea."[23]

Accolades

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Look Back. Box Office Mojo. November 15, 2024.
  2. Web site: Look Back (2024 Movie). Behind the Voice Actors. November 22, 2024. . A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information..
  3. Web site: Look Back (2024 Movie). Behind the Voice Actors. November 22, 2024. . A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information..
  4. Web site: Jones. Mat. Anime Adaptation of Look Back From Chainsaw Man Creator Officially Announced. IGN. February 13, 2024. November 15, 2024. October 8, 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20241008100742/https://www.ign.com/articles/anime-adaptation-of-look-back-from-chainsaw-man-creator-officially-announced. live.
  5. Web site: ja:映画『ルックバック』河合優実&吉田美月喜のW主演で声優初挑戦【コメント全文】. https://www.oricon.co.jp/news/2318375/full/. Oricon News. March 14, 2024. November 15, 2024. ja. June 1, 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20240601193403/https://www.oricon.co.jp/news/2318375/full/. live.
  6. Web site: Dempsey. Liam. Tatsuki Fujimoto's Look Back Anime Film Announces Main Cast. Crunchyroll. March 13, 2024. November 15, 2024. June 18, 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20240618192820/https://www.crunchyroll.com/news/latest/2024/3/13/look-back-anime-film-cast-june-2024-yumi-kawai-mizuki-yoshida. live.
  7. Web site: Mateo. Alex. Chainsaw Man Creator Tatsuki Fujimoto's 'Look Back' 1-Shot Manga Gets Anime Film. Anime News Network. February 13, 2024. February 13, 2024. February 13, 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20240213160637/https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2024-02-13/chainsaw-man-creator-tatsuki-fujimoto-look-back-1-shot-manga-gets-anime-film/.207537. live.
  8. Web site: Tai. Anita. Tatsuki Fujimoto's 'Look Back' Anime Film Unveils Trailer, Theme Song, More Staff. Anime News Network. April 16, 2024. April 17, 2024. April 17, 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20240417021515/https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2024-04-16/tatsuki-fujimoto-look-back-anime-film-unveils-trailer-theme-song-more-staff/.209922. live.
  9. Web site: Mateo. Alex. Tatsuki Fujimoto's 'Look Back' Anime Film Screens at Annecy. Anime News Network. May 10, 2024. May 10, 2024. May 10, 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20240510184622/https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2024-05-10/tatsuki-fujimoto-look-back-anime-film-screens-at-annecy/.210705. live.
  10. Web site: ja:劇場アニメ「ルックバック」アヌシー映画祭で上映、藤野＆京本の新規カットも. https://natalie.mu/comic/news/572919. Comic Natalie. Natasha, Inc. May 11, 2024. May 10, 2024. ja. May 10, 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20240510192554/https://natalie.mu/comic/news/572919. live.
  11. Web site: ja:映画『ルックバック』口コミ効果で上映劇場が拡大 小島秀夫氏・山崎貴監督らが絶賛. https://www.oricon.co.jp/news/2334306/full/. Oricon News. July 2, 2024. November 15, 2024. ja. July 13, 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20240713230902/https://www.oricon.co.jp/news/2334306/full/. live.
  12. Web site: Cayanan. Joanna. Japan Cuts Film Festival Screens Live-Action Blue Period Film, Tatsuki Fujimoto's 'Look Back' Anime Film. Anime News Network. June 20, 2024. July 17, 2024. June 20, 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20240620204207/https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2024-06-20/japan-cuts-film-festival-screens-live-action-blue-period-film-tatsuki-fujimoto-look-back-anime-film/.212172. live.
  13. Web site: Mateo. Alex. GKIDS Screens Look Back Anime Film in N. American Theaters on October 4 (Updated). Anime News Network. August 23, 2024. August 23, 2024. August 23, 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20240823223853/https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2024-08-23/gkids-screens-look-back-anime-film-in-n-american-theaters-on-october-4/.214678. live.
  14. Web site: Pineda. Rafael Antonio. Encore Films Teases Tatsuki Fujimoto's 'Look Back' Anime Film. Anime News Network. June 3, 2024. November 12, 2024. September 11, 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20240911085218/https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2024-06-03/encore-films-teases-tatsuki-fujimoto-look-back-anime-film/.211474. live.
  15. Web site: Sayyed. Rayan. Look Back Anime Film Releasing on October 25 in India. IGN India. October 18, 2024. November 12, 2024. November 13, 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20241113064358/https://in.ign.com/look-back/217686/news/look-back-anime-film-releasing-on-october-25-in-india. live.
  16. Web site: Pineda. Rafael Antonio. Amazon Prime Video Adds Look Back Anime Film Globally on November 7. Anime News Network. October 22, 2024. October 22, 2024. November 20, 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20241120052643/https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2024-10-21/amazon-prime-video-adds-look-back-anime-film-globally-on-november-7/.217029. live.
  17. Web site: Mateo. Alex. Amazon Prime Video Streams Look Back Anime Film with New English Dub. Anime News Network. November 7, 2024. November 7, 2024. November 7, 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20241107163800/https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2024-11-07/amazon-prime-video-streams-look-back-anime-film-with-new-english-dub/.217614. live.
  18. Web site: Harding. Daryl. Look Back Anime Film Passes 1 Billion Yen at Japanese Box Office. Crunchyroll. July 17, 2024. July 17, 2024. July 17, 2024. https://archive.today/20240717201820/https://www.crunchyroll.com/news/latest/2024/7/17/look-back-anime-film-1-billion-yen. live.
  19. look_back_2024. m. Look Back. November 22, 2024. November 22, 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20241122083047/https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/look_back_2024. live.
  20. Web site: Valentine. Evan. Look Back, Anime's Top Film of 2024, Is Dominating Rotten Tomatoes. ComicBook.com. October 3, 2024. October 4, 2024. October 4, 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20241004143504/https://comicbook.com/anime/news/look-back-anime-movie-one-hundred-percent-rotten-tomatoes/. live.
  21. Web site: Look Back Reviews. Metacritic. Fandom, Inc.. November 15, 2024. October 7, 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20241007095546/https://www.metacritic.com/movie/look-back/. live.
  22. Web site: Ehrlich. David. 'Look Back' Review: Teen Girls Become Manga Superstars in a 53-Minute Anime Stunner About the Agony and Ecstasy of Artistic Creation. IndieWire. October 1, 2024. November 15, 2024. November 8, 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20241108155307/https://www.indiewire.com/criticism/movies/look-back-review-anime-gkids-1235052889/. live.
  23. Web site: Collin. Robbie. Look Back: this bittersweet animation is a beautiful visual feast. The Telegraph. November 8, 2024. November 15, 2024. November 17, 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20241117033844/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/0/look-back-review-amazon-prime-video/. live.
  24. Web site: ja:【第49回報知映画賞】主演男優賞は横浜流星、主演女優賞は石原さとみに決定【受賞結果一覧】. https://www.oricon.co.jp/news/2355953/full/. Oricon News. November 26, 2024. November 26, 2024. ja. November 26, 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20241126011853/https://www.oricon.co.jp/news/2355953/full/. live.

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