Oscar-nominated director confirms live-action adaptation of Tatsuki Fujimoto's 'Look Back'
Manga fans just got a major reason to celebrate—filming for Hirokazu Kore-eda's live-action adaptation of 'Look Back' has been completed. The live-action of Tatsuki Fujimoto's shonen manga comes a year after an animated feature by Kiyotaka Oshiyama, which grossed over $12.8 million before being picked up by Prime Video. As per a Screen Daily report, the Academy Award-nominated director had been captivated by 'Look Back' after first spotting it during a return from Kyoto to Tokyo.
"That was my first encounter with Look Back. That night, I read it in one sitting," Kore-eda was quoted by the media outlet as saying. As per a Deadline report, Kore-eda's live-action adaptation of 'Look Back' is currently in post-production and plans to release sometime in late 2026. Kore-eda has written the screenplay for the movie, being produced by Daiju Koide under the banner of K2 Pictures. The overseas distribution duties have been handed over to Goodfellas, with plans for a release in both Taiwan and South Korea. Principal photography for the 'Look Back' live-action adaptation was concluded in Nikaho City, located in the northwest region of Japan.
For the unversed, 'Look Back' is a moving tale that doubles up as a coming-of-age story. At the centre of the story are two young girls who dream of making it big as manga artists. Kore-eda confessed that he was struck by the story and completed reading it in a single sitting. "Though manga and film are different genres, as a fellow creator, I felt the desperate resolve behind this work. I could feel, almost painfully, that Mr. Fujimoto simply couldn’t move forward without creating this piece. For me, Nobody Knows was that kind of work," the Japanese auteur said.
Over the years, Kore-eda has established himself as one of the foremost contemporary auteurs. Many of his films, including 'Broker', 'Monster', and 'Like Father, Like Son', have bagged numerous awards. Among them, 'Shoplifters' won the Palme d'Or at Cannes and was even nominated for the Best International Feature Film at the 91st Academy Awards. Fujimoto, on the other hand, is a respected manga artist known for his works such as 'Chainsaw Man' and 'Goodbye, Eri'. Upon knowing that Kore-eda was adapting 'Look Back', Fujimoto expressed full confidence in the director. "If director Kore-eda is going to film Look Back, I have nothing more to say. I’m looking forward to it," he said.
