Jakarta. “Look Back” --the anime adaptation of the popular one-shot web manga-- just got released in Indonesian theaters. 

“Look Back” is less than an hour long, much shorter than most movies currently playing in cinemas. But 58 minutes is enough for the movie to beautifully capture the highs and lows of friendship as well as the trials and tribulations of becoming a manga artist.

The web manga is written and illustrated by “Chainsaw Man” creator Tatsuki Fujimoto. Directed by Kiyotaka Oshiyama and produced by Studio Durian, the “Look Back” movie is a faithful adaptation of the original work. 

“Look Back” follows fourth grader Ayumu Fujino (voiced by Yuumi Kawai). The overly confident Fujino draws manga for the school paper, and her work gets sung high praises by her peers. But Fujino’s confidence drops once shut-in student Kyomoto (voiced by Mizuki Yoshida) upstages her for having better artistic talents. Jealousy drives Fujino to obsess over becoming a better artist before eventually giving up. After a series of events, Fujino and Kyomoto team up to create manga.

The story mainly focuses on the two aspiring young artists of clashing personalities, and how their friendship has blossomed through drawing manga.

The “Look Back” movie does an exceptional job of bringing the camaraderie to life with breathtaking visuals. You can see that they have captured Tatsuki Fujimoto’s clean, distinctive drawing style. “Look Back” will sometimes switch to Fujino’s more laidback drawing style as it takes the audience to the world of her gag comic strips. The animation does well in conveying the characters’ emotions: be it joy, self-disappointment, and grief. The film also delivers in the acoustic department. Not only are the soundtracks pleasing to the ears, but the piano pieces really set the tone for the narrative. 

But “Look Back” is a bittersweet friendship story.

The young adult Kyomoto decides to part ways to go to art school, much to Fujino’s surprise as their mangaka careers are about to take off. Fujino berates Kyomoto for leaving, even saying that she is too introverted to be able to stand on her own two feet. 

Fujino gets to “reconnect” with her friend after Kyomoto gets killed by a depressed man on campus. The anime movie then switches to an alternate world --one that the mourning Fujino imagines-- in which she is able to save Kyomoto at the cost of the manga they made together as children.

As she grieves, we hear Fujino admitting in a voiceover that she actually does not enjoy drawing. When asked why she bothers drawing if that’s the case, Fujino stays quiet. The movie cuts to a heartwarming montage of Fujino and Kyomoto drawing manga together. 

This montage is powerful, and a perfect example of how a movie can let the audience get to know a character better without a single word.

It marks a pivotal moment in Fujino’s character development. Fujino starts off as a stubborn young mangaka who is only drawing for her classmates’ praise. It is also Kyomoto’s compliment that motivates Fujino to get back to drawing after giving up her aspirations. But this montage shows that her ego is not the thing that keeps Fujino going as a manga artist. All this time, it has been the friendship that motivates Fujino.

“Look Back” also gives the audience a glimpse of the artistic struggle. In the beginning, the envious Fujino spends all her time practicing, even isolating herself from friends and family. The young girl is even seen drawing day and night as the seasons change. Fujino eventually gives up, thinking that she will never be as good or better than Kyomoto despite all her hard work. Regardless of her motivation for drawing then, this part alone perfectly captures the challenges in an artistic creation. The hours spent practicing show how Fujino --like most artists-- can be hard on themselves. 

But this harsh self-criticism is something that even people who are not artists can resonate with. Like Fujino, we are no strangers to the feeling of not being good enough no matter how hard we try.