Well, now my heart is broken... but I am not sorry I read this. The story follows two classmates who both draw manga for their elementary school newspaper. Both are driven to improve their art, one in inspiration and one in competition. We see how friendships can be formed by mutual interests, but also the power dynamics of those who relationship was formed by a shared occupation.
Recommended for artists who want an accurate representation of the dedication and effort needed to make art, and the story behind why we tell the stories we do.

Look Back is a one shot manga by Tatsuki Fujimoto, the creator of the Chainsaw Man manga.

Look Back
Written by: Tatsuki Fujimoto
Publisher: Shueisha Inc.
English Publisher: VIZ Media
Release Date: September 20, 2022

The story begins when the main character, a fourth grade girl named Ayumu Fujino, is drawing manga for the school newspaper and getting praise from her peers about her talent. One day, a teacher asks Fujino if she could give up one of her manga spots to a student named Kyomoto that never comes to school. When the first issue comes out that has Fujino and Kyomoto’s manga side-by-side, it’s clear that Kyomoto is the superior artist. Infuriated by this, Fujino throws herself into improving her art skills, and alienating her friends and family as she obsesses about overcoming Kyomoto. After about two years of this, though, Fujino sees she’s not reaching Kyomoto’s standards and quits drawing altogether out of frustration.

When it’s time for graduation from elementary school, Fujino is asked to deliver Kyomoto’s diploma to her, since she’s still not coming to school. Fujino doesn’t want to do it, of course, because of her feelings toward the other girl, but the teacher cajoles her into doing it. When Fujino enters Kyomoto’s house, she can hear noises and figures out Kyomoto is there. Fujino finds a piece of paper and draws a comic mocking Kyomoto. The comic inadvertently makes it into Kyomoto’s room and Kyomoto runs outside to catch up to Fujino. It turns out Kyomoto is a shy girl and is also a big fan of Fujino’s manga from the school papers. Fujino is both flustered and flattered by the compliments and blurts out that she quit drawing for the school paper to focus on submitting manga to contests.

The two girls become friends and start working together on manga to submit to contests, with Fujino writing the story and drawing the characters and Kyomoto drawing the backgrounds. As they work together, Fujino helps Kyomoto start to break out of her shell, but she still is too shy to go to school. However, things start looking up when a manga they submit is an honorable mention in a manga contest, and they have seven one shots published by the time they’re 17… which leads to them being offered a chance at a serialization once they graduate from high school.

But this is where things start changing, because Kyomoto decides she wants to go to art school to improve her skills, so she won’t be available to help with the serialization. As Kyomoto is studying at school, Fujino’s serialization takes off and is successful enough to receive an anime adaptation. But tragedy strikes when a mass murder happens at the school Kyomoto is at, and this causes Fujino to be filled with regret and blames herself for inspiring Kyomoto to pursue an art career.

I thought that Fujimoto did a great job of telling a complete story in this 143-page one shot. This gave him time to develop the two main characters and their story, so when the tragedy happens at the art school, the reader is able to have an emotional reaction to it. Although, there is the section that takes place after the tragedy and leads up to the finale that was a little on the confusing side to me. We seem to enter a different timeline for part of it, before returning to the main timeline. In a lot of ways, this section feels ambiguous, but perhaps Fujimoto intended for it be that way. What happens here could either be interpreted as Fujino coming up with this alternate timeline as she struggles through her grief and trying to figure out how she’s going to move forward, or it could be interpreted as being an unusual event that really happens and ultimately provides Fujino the answer she needs in order to move forward.

When it comes to the art in Look Back, I can see elements of Fujimoto’s style from Chainsaw Man, especially once the two main characters are older. I appreciated seeing Fujino actually drawing the manga Fujino made back in elementary school and taking the time to make it look like something actually drawn by a kid between the ages of nine and 12. While you can see a noticeable difference between Fujino’s art in fourth grade and her art in sixth grade (after spending time studying from books and practicing), it’s still not up to the quality of Kyomoto’s art. I thought this was a nice touch of realism to include in this one shot.

Even with some of the confusion I had with the ending of the story, I still enjoyed Look Back quite a bit. Fujimoto was able to tell a compelling story and complemented that story with art that captures the events and emotions happening at various points within it. It was also refreshing to see that Fujimoto is capable of more than just the style of storytelling that he uses for Chainsaw Man.

This is a one shot I would recommend to readers who enjoy Fujimoto’s work, as well as to manga readers who appreciate one shots that tell a compelling story about characters who grow up over the course of it.

3.5, rounded up. Tough to follow, but definitely a powerful treatise on friendship, grief, and loss--I was so invested in the friendship that the tragedy at the end affected me more than I thought it would.

This was such a touching story about creators and the reasons they enjoy what they do. I was so caught up in Fujino and Kyomoto's friendship that I completely forgot there was going to be a tragedy that changes everything. Despite how heartbreaking it was, seeing how it motivated Fujino into wanting to create something Kyomoto would enjoy was so inspiring. Definitely reccomend for anyone looking for something short but packed with emotion!

This manga... wasn't for me. It is incredible self-reflective on the creator's experience as an artist, dealing with jealousy, self-doubt, and perfectionism. There's some really wonderful stuff about this one-shot, but honestly I don't think readers who are as familiar with the manga industry (or who aren't aspiring career artists) will be too interested in this title.

It was a tale that no one saw coming, Tatsuki Fujimoto’s Look Back was one of the biggest hits of July 2021. It reached a record 2.5 million reads on the first day, finally, achieving over 4 million reads on the Shonen Jump Plus platform in just two days in Japan.

Aside from the story’s accolades, Look Back is about two girls. The first girl is named Fujino, who was a manga artist for her school’s newspaper, and the other girl, who also was a manga artist, has become a shut-in and is named Kyomoto. While they were different, there was something that brought them together, a love for creating manga. As the story continues, we’re seeing the girls become closer and take on the world through their love of drawing.

It was one of those stories that come once in a generation. I realize it’s an overused phrase, but this time it was different. Look Back offered something that readers and artists can relate to, Friendship and separation, joy and grieving, hope and despair, inspiration and defeat. And finally, the loss of a loved one.

Throughout the story, we’re watching Fujino and Kyomoto pursue their passion for creating manga was nostalgic, exploring various art styles giving the setting and the character’s artwork a unique personality. As I have mentioned before, Fujino and Kyomoto are vastly different, while Kyomoto spent her life shut in her room and sent in manga from home. They inspired each other to draw more and to better themselves. They formed a close partnership that followed them as they grew up.

Fujimoto has always excelled in action and facial features. That was the case in this story. He had a way of making his characters look intense and personable. The best moment of this story was watching these girls drawing in their rooms, even though they are motionless, they are devoted to their craft.

This story also gives another perspective, where Fujino questions what she could do differently about her life if she had a chance to do it all over again. An artist, or a writer, can create an entire story and change a minor detail at the start. Whether it’s to fix an error, edit, or revise their work, some things change, as the months, or years go by. Having the privilege of creating art is the ability to redo or start over, to go back and spend more time on the moments that need them.

Look Back by Tatsuki Fujimoto, 144 pages. GRAPHIC NOVEL. VIZ Media, 2022. $13.
Language: PG (1 swear, 0 “f”); Mature Content: PG; Violence: PG
BUYING ADVISORY: EL, MS - OPTIONAL
AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE
In fourth grade, Fujino is the best manga artist in the school with a consistent column in the school paper. But then Kyomoto, a student no one has seen, wants to do it too. The two students compete with their art side-by-side for years until one of them can’t take it anymore.
Fujimoto’s art is beautiful throughout the entire book, and a lot of the story is told through visual cues in consecutive wordless panels. While the story is good, there are also several confusing leaps made without letting the reader know. I read the book twice and enjoyed the majority of it, but I’m still not sure I know what happened in the end.
The characters are Japanese, and any diversity in skin tone is unknown as the book is black and white. The mature content rating is for a couple depictions of nude art, and the violence rating is for an attack at a school resulting in multiple deaths – the attack is not shown, just talked about as an event.
Reviewer: Carolina Herdegen

A delightful, heartbreaking look at art, talent, friendship, and loss. Between this and Chainsaw Man, if Fujimoto doesn't win the Eisner this year, there's no justice in the world.

This book was incredibly sad, but in the best way. I really loved how Fujimoto developed his characters throughout this story. It was the best mixture of heartbreaking and hopeful. It's much different from their Chainsaw Man manga series, but it still has the flare that they're known for. I can't recommend it enough. It's too good. I cried so much after finishing this story.

This was an interesting manga. Fujino I found to be an unlikeable character, and Kyomoto almost equally so. I think what really saved this manga for me was the emotions this story conveyed, especially toward the end. I'm not really sure what else to say about it - feeling very meh on this one.

I requested this book because I liked the author's other title, Chainsaw Man. Look Back is an example of how Tatsuki Fujimoto is a master of sequential art, even through this "one-shot" that lacks the additional chapters Chainsaw Man had to build its storytelling and fanbase. Look Back could be passed off as the storyboard or pitch of an art film. I don't want to give too much away, but this makes me look back to whatever else Fujimoto can do outside of Chainsaw Man. (I received a free ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.)

This is a sparse but powerful look at how one decision can affect an entire lifetime. Fujimoto captures grief and the process we all go through in examining what exactly was our fault and what is out of our control.

This manga was such a quick read and I rather enjoyed it, although I did feel like for me it would've benefitted from being longer so that I could get more attached to the characters. I do appreciate the commentary on the life of a mangaka though.

Now I just need to pick up Chainsaw Man.

Look Back by Tatsuki Fujimoto is a manga about two young manga artists who are constantly striving to improve their craft. The years go by and the duo become a solid team until they decide to go their separate ways. Tragedy strikes and nothing will ever be the same again.

I had mixed feelings about the characters in this book. Fujino came across as being arrogant at times, but then there were other times where she showed vulnerability. Kyomoto had a more minor role in the beginning of the story, but becomes more prominent later. Her character initially came across as very shy and dependent, but she grew as a character and later strived to be more independent. In the end, there were traits of both characters that I was able to appreciate.

As far as the story goes, I think it was a little difficult to read and understand in digital format...I usually prefer to have physical copies of manga available so it's easier to refer back to previous scenes if needed. Overall, I did like the idea of the two very different artists becoming friends and working together as a team. Neither one was perfect on their own, but they did great things together. I felt it was tragic when they decided to part ways and everything that came after was truly sad.

Thank you to NetGalley and VIZ Media for the opportunity to review and ARC of Look Back by Tatsuki Fujimoto.

This was a really great manga. I enjoyed the story immensely as well as the characters. We follow cocky Fujin and her shut in classmate, Kyomoto. To say these girls are opposites is an understatement. Fujin draws manga as a fun hobby for the school newspaper but then she sees Kyomoto's submissions to the newspaper and is shocked by how good they are. She vows to become better at drawing manga than Kyomoto. At the end of the school year, Fujin must deliver Kyomoto's diploma to her house since she is such a shut in. A twist of fate leads the girls to meet and become friends. They push each other to perfect their craft and work together on a new manga series. As the story progresses we see how the girls grow and change throughout their time together.

Overall, this was fantastic and I loved all of it. I can't wait to read more by this author.

This book was a little odd. While I enjoyed the friendship/rivalry of the two main characters I found some of the plot hard to follow. It wasn’t until I looked up the Wikipedia summary that I fully understood what happened in the last third of the story.

Disclaimer: I work for a bookstore, all thoughts and opinions are my own and not affiliated with the store or company.
Thank you to Netgalley and Viz Media for providing me with a digital version of this manga.

This book surprised me. At first, I felt it was lacking content, did not give enough context, and I was unsure of how I felt. What I wasn’t anticipating was to have my whole opinion changed at the flip of a page. The emotional twist in the story left me amazed and as to be expected- emotional.
Although the main character was infuriating at times when the paper slides under the door you see a different side to the character that opens up a whole new possibility of where these characters would end up.
This book was tragic and it’s devastating to think of the event that I imagine inspired this story but I think Fujimoto captured the feelings many of us feel about wanting to change the past and redo things that we did.
For such a short story it encompassed so many different feelings and elements and although I still wish it had more scenes at times for us to grow with the girls and see them bond, it was most definitely worth the read, and recommend this to those that want a heart-wrenching story.
After letting this story sit for a while I still believe the story needed a little more in terms of building the characters and the story in the early pages. But overall my opinion still stands on the fact that I enjoyed it overall and will recommend it to those that I think will enjoy it.

I really wanted to like this more than I did, and I can't say there is anything wrong with it. Most readers love a big metaphor for writing, or any other creative process. If you enjoy that, you'll like this story. For me, nothing particularly stood out, but I think I may be more of an anomoly than a rule.

I received this manga as an ARC from NetGalley.

I have made it a goal for my summer to average one manga a day to screen for my middle school manga collection (since Manga is all the rage in middle school).

This one will probably make the cut into the collection.
The premise: two students from elementary school to middle school draw for the manga section of the school newspaper. Kyomoto is a reclusive and shy student who goes all out drawing backgrounds for her manga strips. Fujino is desperate to compete with the ghostly Kyomoto and makes her manga strips comical and character based. Destiny throws the two girls together and they become friends obsessed with honing their art skills. They team up and collaborate on some manga art that actually wins a few competitions. They make a pretty great time. But then Kyomoto wants to go to art school.. can their friendship and collaboration last? Read on to find out!

What I liked best:
The assumptions Fujino makes and how Kyomoto turns them around.
How biographical this feels; like I am now curious if this is based on real events in the manga artist's life.
The end was a little jumbled to me, but I think it connected to the title on looking back on who and what inspired the manga artist to start/keep drawing.
The glimpse into the life of a manga artist.

This is an interesting short story! What starts as a story about childhood talent turned jealousy, turns into a story about drive, collaborative success, and ends in an expression of grief. It's a bit of a rollercoaster, but I was engaged the entire time. The characters felt like people I actually knew. The story was a bit more real than I was expecting.