ultradaikichi

Upon first reading ルックバック, one of the first things on my mind, and on the minds of pretty much everyone who read it, I imagine, was: “Man, this would make a good movie,”

The same could be said of all of Fujimoto-sensei’s work, well-known for expert paneling which flows like a movie. It goes doubly so for Look Back, as its run consists of a single volume, and its story and subject matter resonates with anyone and everyone who has ever created something, or loved somebody.

So, I had high expectations for the Oshiyama Kiyotaka-directed film adaptation of Look Back. The manga had made such huge waves upon release, and seemed so perfectly suited to a film adaptation. With huge talent attached to it, I hoped that it’d be just as amazing as I had dreamed. I was not disappointed!

The film adaptation’s art direction and storyboarding is as if Fujimoto’s manga panels leaped off the pages. The animation is rendered in excruciating detail. It’s gorgeous, all of the extra flair added by the animators only elevating the original. The adaptation takes advantage of all the unique idiosyncrasies that film has over manga - wonderfully scored by Nakamura Haruka and rife with brilliantly done cuts of animation.

unbelievable work, a dream come true