Look Back Live-Action Film Opens in Japan; Fujimoto Tatsuki Praises Realistic Adaptation

The live-action film adaptation of Tatsuki Fujimoto’s Look Back opened in Japanese theaters on Friday, September 11, 2026. The release was accompanied by a fresh comment from the original author after his own screening, as well as details about the first-run theater bonus and Dolby Cinema presentations.

Look Back is a manga by Chainsaw Man creator Tatsuki Fujimoto. When it was released on Shonen Jump+ in 2021, it created a major buzz, winning first place in the male category of Kono Manga ga Sugoi! 2022. In 2024, an anime film adaptation received the Japan Academy Prize for Best Animation.

The story follows Fujino, a confident elementary school fourth-grader whose four-panel manga in the class newspaper wins praise from classmates. She is devastated after she sees the work of Kyomoto, a truant classmate whose drawing skills are overwhelming. Determined to improve, Fujino keeps drawing, but the gap never closes, and she eventually gives up. On graduation day, she brings Kyomoto’s diploma to her house and discovers that Kyomoto is a fan of her manga. The two bond over their dedication to manga, begin drawing together, and build an irreplaceable time together—until an event shakes their world.

This is the first live-action adaptation of a Fujimoto work. Director Hirokazu Koreeda, who took the Palme d’Or at the Cannes International Film Festival for Shoplifters (2018), handles direction, script, and editing. The cast includes Deguchi Natsuki as Fujino and Makita Aju as Kyomoto. Deguchi has starred in the Netflix series The Makanai: Cooking for the Maiko House and the films Kakushigoto and All Greens. Makita has led Happiness and Disappearance of the World, and is a veteran of Koreeda’s works such as After the Storm.

On the official X account for the film, Fujimoto commented: “I think that when manga is adapted into live-action, the dialogue and acting can sometimes lose their sense of reality. In the live-action Look Back, however, the typical gestures and camera movements of a Koreeda film preserved the original flavor while giving its atmosphere a sense of realism, so I was very happy.” You can see the official post here.

The first-run giveaway is an A5 visual card featuring a special illustration drawn by Fujimoto after watching the film specifically for this purpose. The artwork shows Fujino and Kyomoto drawing together with earnest, serious expressions, rendered in warm, delicate colors that convey their bond and passion for creation. Fans have already taken to social media to express delight, with comments like “So emotional, I’m entranced” and “Too divine, thank you.”

In addition, the film is being screened in Dolby Cinema at 11 of the 358 theaters nationwide and in Dolby Atmos at 37 theaters. The sound design—including Yudai Bando’s expressive music, the delicate sound of a G-pen running across paper, natural environmental sounds like rain and wind, and the faint breathing inside a room—is reproduced in three dimensions. This marks Koreeda’s first use of both Dolby Cinema and Dolby Atmos.

The first-run gift “Fujimoto Tatsuki’s Newly Drawn A5 Visual Card” will be distributed from September 11 to September 17, 2026, while supplies last.

Cast

Staff

(C) Tatsuki Fujimoto / Shueisha
(C) 2026 K2 Pictures / Shueisha