Look Back

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Saw that this was getting an anime adaptation and decided I would read it real quick. Made by Mr. Chainsaw Man, I love the art style of course, was pretty interested about that. Pretty much in every page everything looked really nice. I like the background and details in each panel. imo, I feel like this is on the same level as Chainsaw Man. The story is pretty simple, but the story is also really good, and really well written. As you get into the story it gets really nice aaaand then it gets really sad. For the mc, its actually just a rollercoaster of ... being in a good spot, then a bad spot, then a good spot, and keeps going like that. I think its a pretty good read if you cant think of anything else to read.

As someone who has been following the success of Chainsaw Man for longer than I care to admit, I can say that the One-Shots are where Fujimoto truly shines.

Here he has much better control over the proposal and the story, the author knows well how to start, develop and finish the plot.
He is also a great character writer, managing to capture their more realistic and reflective sides.

Look Back itself is another one of those mangas where personal interpretation reigns. In my opinion, the One-Shot story addresses our wound of “what if...?” . The way we regret, how we torture ourselves thinking about the possibilities ... and what we could have done to avoid the tragedies that happen to us. The way we go back to the past and try to rewind the tape of our mind, instead of accepting and dealing with what happens to us.
But well, the manga isn't here to teach us a lesson, it seems to me more like Fujimoto's purpose has always been to make us reflect. Although the title of the work is “Look Back”, what is recommended here is exactly the opposite.

Original review in french below
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Fujimoto is one of the hype mangakas of the moment. By reading Firepunch (I haven't looked into Chainsaw Man yet) it's easy to understand why: a dark, absurd, crazy, disturbing universe, but steeped in humor. Here, everything seems much more peaceful, sober. Look Back is certainly a meta manga, since telling the meeting in primary school of two apprentice designers. But the approach to the subject is probably more reflective on the very activity of drawing than on the narration or the format itself (by contrast, the director commenting on and directing the action in Fire Punch was much more disruptive). ... Reflective and sensitive, a certain care having been brought to certain boards, for example, those revealing like a Monet painting his haystacks over the seasons, Fujimoto crunches the obstinacy of his young mangaka, in a fixed position, impervious to change climates that surround it. Or again, the one detailing the black and shaken gaze of the young girl learning terrible news... Vacuity of the fact of drawing, if not that of being able to rewrite history and escape into the imagination, as an epilogue seems to claim whose evanescent and dreamy scope we can measure with our fingertips.

But also a story of friendship sketched out, between two teenagers, one arrogant, mischievous and falsely sure of herself, the second, shy (even hikkimori) but careful and diligent; their complementarity being symbolized by these mangas that they will draw with four hands, one for the scenarios/characters, the second for the extremely neat decorations. Only, rather than clinging to these sensitive little details, Fujimoto, himself perhaps still a teenager in his approach, cannot help slipping slightly down two slippery slopes: on the one hand, the one who thinks that t is absolutely necessary that a drama occur (as such, he probably went beyond the medium and its prerogatives less than he thinks), then, that of a pathos sometimes slightly too strong. Despite everything, a recommendable one shot, revealing the sentimental aspect of an author ostensibly more busy rolling mechanics.


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Fujimoto est l'un des mangakas hype du moment. En lisant Firepunch (je ne me suis pas encore penché sur Chainsaw Man) on comprend aisément pourquoi : un univers sombre, absurde, déjanté, perturbant, mais pétri d'humour. Ici, tout semble bien plus apaisé, sobre. Look Back est certes un manga méta, puisque racontant la rencontre en école primaire de deux apprenties dessinatrices. Mais l'approche du sujet se veut sans doute plus réflexive sur l'activité même de dessiner que sur la narration ou le format même ( par contraste, la réalisatrice commentant et orientant l'action dans Fire Punch était bien plus disruptive ). Réflexive et sensible, un soin certain ayant été apporté à certaines planches, par exemple, celles dévoilant tel un Monet peignant ses bottes de foin au fil des saison, Fujimoto croque l'obstination de sa jeune mangaka, dans une position fixe, imperméable aux changements climatiques qui l'entourent. Ou encore, celle détaillant le regard noir et ébranlé de la jeune fille apprenant une terrible nouvelle... Vacuité du fait de dessiner, sinon celui de pouvoir réécrire l'histoire et s'évader dans l'imaginaire, comme semble le clamer un épilogue dont on mesure du bout des doigts la portée évanescente et rêveuse.

Mais aussi une histoire d'amitié ébauchée, entre deux adolescentes, l'une arrogante, espiègle et faussement sûre d'elle, la seconde, timide (hikkimori même) mais soigneuse et appliquée ; leur complémentarité étant symbolisé par ces mangas qu'elles dessineront à quatre mains, l'une au scénarios/personnages, la seconde aux décors extrêmement soigné. Seulement, plutôt que de s'accrocher à ces petits détails sensibles, Fujimoto, lui-même peut-être encore adolescent dans son approche, ne peut s'empêcher de légèrement glissé sur deux pentes savonneuses : d'une part, celle qui pense qu'il faut absolument qu'un drame advienne (à ce titre, il a sans doute moins dépassé le medium et ses prérogatifs qu'il le pense), ensuite, celle d'un pathos parfois légèrement trop appuyé. Malgré tout un one shot recommandable, dévoilant l'aspect sentimental d'un auteur ostensiblement plus occupé à rouler des mécaniques.