Look Back Is Getting A Live-Action Film

On December 2, 2025, it has been announced that Look Back, Tatsuki Fujimoto’s most famous one-shot, will receive another adaptation, this time into live-action.

We are shown the key visual featuring the protagonists walking in the snow. Fujino and Kyomoto, as well as the announcement visual that adapts the cover for the one-shot and the anime film, this time showing both girls doing their drafts of their manga, with Kyomoto sitting on the floor (in the one-shot and original, the cover shows only Fujino’s back as she is drawing on her desk).

The film will be released in Japan by K2 Pictures in 2026.

Look Back will be the first Fujimoto work to be given the live-action treatment and it might be no ordinary film.

Hirokazu Kore-eda  is directing and editing the film, and is also writing the screenplay, showing his commitment and passion for this project.

Kore-eda is most famous for his brilliant direction in works such as Nobody Knows (2004), Still Walking (2008) and Monster (2023).

Fujimoto has remarked that he is a fan of the director, as stated in his comment regarding the live-action adaptation’s announcement:

“The first film I saw by director Kore-eda was “Our Little Sister.” The interiors of the house where the protagonist moves in, along with the furniture in the town’s diner, felt so lived-in that it lent the story real credibility. Even the subtle acting in scenes unrelated to the main plot made me feel like the characters were living their lives daily, unseen by us, which was truly moving. If director Kore-eda is going to film Look Back, I have nothing more to say. I’m looking forward to it!”

In turn, Kore-eda comments on his desire to bringing the one-shot and anime film into the live-action format, saying:

“On a return trip from Kyoto to Tokyo, I was drawn to a figure’s back on the cover of a book in a bookstore at Shinagawa Station. Without thinking, I picked a copy up—that was my first encounter with Look Back. That night, I read it in one 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.”

Yūta Bandō (also known as Taku Matsushiba; composer for Belle and Kaiju No. 8) is composing the music

The staff includes:

• Photography: Senzo Ueno
• Lighting: Masachio Nishida
• Sound: Kazuhiko Tomita
• Art Direction: Shinsuke Kojima
• Costume Design: Sachiko Ito
• Hair and Makeup Supervision: Katsuhiko Yūmi
• Assistant Director: Kensei Nakayama
• Scripter: Ryōko Taguchi
• Casting: Toshie Tabata, Yōko Yamashita
• VFX Supervisor: Rinto Ueda
• Line Producer: Shinichi Muraoka

The Look Back film was primarily filmed in Fujimoto’s hometown, Nikaho City

The news of the live-action adaptation has also been noted by game designer Hideo Kojima (Death Stranding games, Metal Gear franchise) in one tweet.

Originally a one-shot manga released digitally on July 19, 2021, Look Back was later adapted into a feature anime film released in Japanese theaters on June 28, 2024, produced by Studio Durian and directed by Kiyotaka Oshiyama, who is also in charge of the screenplay and character designs.

The anime film was the winner of the Anime Film of the Year in the 9th Crunchyroll Anime Awards, the Filmarks Annual Awards 2024, the 48th Japan Academy Awards for Best Picture, and was a contender for the Academy Awards Best Picture.

The film also earned over $12.7 million in the box office.

Tatsuki Fujimoto sees much success throughout the years, with Chainsaw Man sales growing thanks to the success of the Reze Arc film.

Source: Twitter

Look Back gets a life-action adaptation pic.twitter.com/LYs1d15y3T

— Kumi (@D_Kumii) December 2, 2025

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