Hirokazu Koreeda’s New Film <Look Back>

Fujino draws comics for her school paper. Then she sees Kyomoto’s drawings, and being the best at something suddenly feels less certain.

The girl who made her feel small turns out to be a fan of her comics. They start drawing together, and the reason to draw begins to change.

Koreeda lingers on the hands and the time it takes to make art. Scenes to sit with if you’ve ever made something with someone.

Hirokazu Koreeda’s new film <Look Back>.

Fujino draws comics for the school paper. Discovering Kyomoto’s work is inconvenient: she thought she was the talented one, and now a girl who rarely leaves her room has made that harder to believe.

Then Kyomoto turns out to be a fan. Drawing together gives Fujino another reason to keep going. Someone is waiting for the next installment.

Hirokazu Koreeda adapts Tatsuki Fujimoto’s Look Back into live action. A way into this version: the hands and the time behind the drawings. Pencils scratch, mistakes are erased, and bodies keep working. Rory O’Connor in The Film Stage and Allyson Johnson in But Why Tho both discuss this tactile quality. They differ on the adaptation’s success, but point toward some of the same details.

Look Back (2026) Directed by Hirokazu Koreeda · Based on the manga by Tatsuki Fujimoto

Released in South Korea on October 8 and Japan on September 11. A screening at Cinemacity in Tachikawa, Tokyo, is confirmed for October 18. GKIDS has acquired US distribution rights. A specific New York opening date or showtime has not yet been verified.

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