On-sale for VTIFF Members now, General Public on-sale is 10/6 at 10:00 A.M.
Become a member anytime!
Look Back, the manga one-shot by Tatsuki Fujimoto (writer-illustrator known for the wildly popular Chainsaw Man series), was already successfully adapted for the big screen in 2024, as an anime. Letterboxd cites it as the best-reviewed animated film of that year on the platform. So despite director Hirokazu Kore-eda’s (Monster, Palme d’Or winner Shoplifters) bona fides, he had his work cut out for him. His affectionate, aching adaptation is not only excellent; he expands the scope of the beloved source material beautifully, creating a rich dialogue between art forms. The story concerns two young girls—Fujino, a popular and outgoing student, and Kyomoto, a shut-in with severe social anxiety—who bond over their shared love of manga. They have success at a young age, collaborating on original stories before drifting apart over the years. In their fragile harmony, you can feel Kore-eda taking stock of his own work and his dueling impulses, allegorizing how challenging it has been to follow up his internationally acclaimed films. Even if you have only a passing appreciation for manga, Kore-eda draws you inside the creative process, marveling at the scratching of pens across fresh pages and the haptics of a stylus on a screen. ~OO