Every few years, an anime film comes along that makes significant waves not only in the anime and manga community, but in the ever-changing landscape of popular culture as well.Look Back, the passion project movie by Studio Durian and director Kiyotaka Oshiyama, based on the original manga by Tatsuki Fujimoto, is the latest to do just that. Following unexpected success in Japan, the film was released globally to widespread commercial and critical acclaim, and is noweligible for the Best Animated Feature Award at the Oscars.
Sporting a wildly impressiveRotten Tomatoes score of 100%from critics,Look Backis a triumph both in the fields of animation and storytelling, boasting an impressively emotional narrative while offering some of the best visuals anime has seen in recent years.All packaged in a tightly paced, 58-minute runtime, there were questions surrounding the film’s eligibility for any awards, given that the official U.S. release needed to be bolstered with an extra sequence of interviews to reach the standard runtime of a theatrically released film.
Nevertheless,Look Backhas been judged eligible for Best Animated Feature, and is highly deserving of the honor. There is stiff competition for this year’s award, and theAcademy’s history of largely ignoring anime filmswill undoubtedly makeLook Back’s road to winning a difficult one. Whether it will be the first anime movie to win an award without the iconic Studio Ghibli name attached to it remains to be seen, regardless of how deserving the film may be.
Look Back Is a Triumph of Animation
The Film Is Visually Impressive Throughout All of Its Short Runtime
The work of Tatsuki Fujimoto is extremely stylized and expressive, often being inspired by the author’s favorite movies or TV shows, a quality which, in theory, would lend itself well to filmmaking. However, the viewer response toChainsaw Man’s anime adaptation has shown thattruly capturing the mangaka’s unique art style is tricky work, and even the slightest variation in tone can set an entire adaptation back. When taking that into consideration, knockingLook Backout of the park becomes all the more impressive of a feat for Studio Durian and Kiyotaka Oshiyama.
While the original manga featured panels that were breathtaking on their own, the film’s ability to lift already visually impressive sequences and breathe motion into them cannot be understated. This is perhaps most evident in Fujino’s running scene, a moment which held such immense weight in the original source material. Though it features nothing more than the young artist making her way down a narrow road, the unique point of view from which the scene takes place, alongsidethe stunning animation and soundtrackmake an already moving sequence burst with emotion.
Look Backis packed with similar moments as well, in which the stillness of everyday life is often the backdrop of intensely uplifting or heartbreaking scenes. The film’s narrative doesn’t award the story any flashy action sequences in which animators can really stretch their legs, but Studio Durian is able to construct the film in such a way thatno moment is left without an ample amount of style and care. While plenty of other anime have stepped up their games in terms of visuals in recent times,Look Backstuns in its quiet drama.
Look Back Is a Work of Art That Celebrates Artists
The Film Asks Its Viewers Why Artists Continue to Create
Look Backis an emotional coming-of-age story following two young manga creators setting off on their artistic journeys. Through heartwarming triumph and heartbreaking tragedy,the film asks the burning question: “Why do you draw?“Though not entirely autobiographical,author Tatsuki Fujimoto pulled from his own experienceas a young and upcoming manga artist to tell a tale that celebrates both art and the artists who create it.
Perhaps, it is the film’s appeal to the creatives in its audience that has led to its surprising success. Fujino, jealous of her mysterious classmate’s drawing abilities,vows to improve her own art skillsand continue impressing those around her with her four-panel manga strips. And despite being met with adversity, she succeeds in doing so, eventually landing her very own popular manga serialization. The film is a reminder that through hard work, achieving artistic desires is always possible.
2024’s Best Anime Movie, Look Back, Is Officially Available on Streaming, Here’s Where You Can Watch It
The acclaimed anime film adaptation of Tatsuki Fujimoto’s beautiful one-shot manga is finally available to stream as one of 2024’s greatest gems.
And for those who are not artists themselves,Look Backalso featuresa highly emotional tale of friendshipbetween two young girls, who are able to grow alongside each other both as people and as creatives. The film lacks Fujimoto’s trademark outlandishness that often defines his writing, instead offering a more intimate experience that can appeal to a wide range of movie-goers. Despite the tragedy that occurs later in the story,Look Backis a surprisingly uplifting tale written by one of manga’s most interesting authors.
Anime Films Have Historically Been Ignored at the Oscars
Only Two Anime Movies Have Ever Won an Oscar
DespiteLook Backbeing deserving of at least a nomination for the Best Animated Feature Award,the Oscars have a history of ignoring anime films. Only two have ever won the award, those being 2001’sSpirited Awayand 2023’sThe Boy and the Heron. Both are very popular films by a titan of the industry, Studio Ghibli, which were also directed by the legendary Hayao Miyazaki.
For a lesser-known film from a smaller studio like Durian to receive its flowers on the Academy stage may be a bit of a long shot. Many other Ghibli films, according to fans and viewers at least, have been snubbed at the awards, andno other studio had ever even been nominated until 2018’sMirai. Since then, no other anime film has been nominated besidesThe Boy and the Heron.
Whether it wins or not,Look Backis deserving of all the praise thrown its way since release. The film is not only impressive in nearly every regard, but also a reminder of the quality movies that anime is capable of producing. Fans of animation to any degree would do themselves a favor in giving the film a chance, regardless of any award it does or does not receive.
