‘Look Back’ Review: Hirokazu Kore-eda’s Hyper-Faithful Adaptation Draws Rich and Dazzling New Textures from Manga and Anime

Hirokazu Kore-eda has directed Look Back, a hyper-faithful live-action adaptation of the celebrated standalone manga by Tatsuki Fujimoto. The story follows two girls who bond through their shared passion for creating manga, evolving into a bittersweet tragedy. This delicately crafted film explores themes of teen friendship, art, joy, and sorrow. It brings rich, dazzling new textures to a narrative that was previously translated to the screen in a 2024 medium-length anime retelling of the original work.