"Look Back" Anime Film from 'Chainsaw Man' Creator Gets U.S. Release
The first feature production from Studio Durian will hit theaters nationwide this October.
Look Back | Studio Durian
Academy Award-winning animation producer and distributor GKIDS announced today that it has acquired distribution rights to the upcoming Studio Durian film Look Back, based on the manga of the same name by Chainsaw Man creator Tatsuki Fujimoto.
The Eisner-nominated manga originally released in 2021, first digitally published on Shueisha’s Shonen Jump+ online platform in July, and collected into a one-shot single volume in September. About a young mangaka named Ayumu Fujino who begins to compete with another student, Kyomoto, for space in the school newspaper. When Kyomoto is revealed to be a huge fan of Fujino’s work, the two start collaborating as a manga-creating team. What follows is a roller-coaster of success and failure, friendship and rivalry, and an emotional thriller that is just as bittersweet as it is beautiful.
Look Back | Tatsuki Fujimoto
The film adaptation serves as the directorial debut for Kiyotaka Oshiyama, key animator on Hayao Miyazaki’s The Boy and the Heron, and character designer for Tatsuki Fujimoto’s other anime adaptation, Chainsaw Man.
Look Back had its domestic premiere on June 28th, 2024, bringing ¥1,017,961,780 (~$6.41 million USD) at the Japanese box office. The film also screened at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival in Annecy, France in a non-competitive category. States-side, it made its US debut at “Japan Cuts” – a film festival celebrating new Japanese cinema held by the Japan Society in New York on July 14, 2024. It was also screened at this year’s Anime Expo in Los Angeles, in a sold-out theater.
The film will release nationwide this October 4th, in its original Japanese language.
The score for the film was composed by Haruka Nakamura, and its theme, “Light Song” was composed by Nakamura with vocals provided by Urara.
About the Author
Cruz Esparza
Cruz Esparza is an anime nerd, as well as Producer and host of the Nakama Podcast. He spends his time drawing as well as collecting figures and comics, and playing video games. He operates as an artist under the name doublecrxss, and you can find him on twitter @doublecrxss
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