This film is adapted from Look Back, a one shot Manga created by Tatsuki Fujimoto, the author of Chainsaw Man and Fire Punch. When it comes to adaptations, there’s always room for skepticism and a fear of disappointment, and to be honest this is legitimate here, adapting the original work into a film could have been really challenging, the original manga is short, with few dialogues and has an unique and minimalist style yet, this adaptation goes far beyond expectations. If the original work was already captivating and emotional, this film takes it further, demontring what a true adaptation should be (and a faithful one at that in this case), an adaption that enhances the source material through its animation, mise en scenes, editing, music, and a great and beautiful usage of landscapes and weather, meaning that the film really captures the passage of time, the growing and infinite bond between the two protagonists. In a nutshell, this is a real masterclass adaptation that stays remarkably true to the original Manga while adding depth to it. Look Back stands between a short and a feature length film, balancing Fujimoto’s dark and rough lines with vibrant and minimalist pastel style and colors. It beautifully explores the friendship between two teenage girls, tracing their journey from adolescence into adulthood, depicting the brightness of a relationship and its complexity, but also explore multiples other themes such as ambition, dreams, isolation, the relentless grind of the manga industry (which is too often harsh on mangakas), and the notion of destiny. A bright film for a radiant relationship, Look Back is a flawless adaptation on every level, but above all, it is an elegant movie. 9/10.

It reminded me of some of the works of Satoshi Kon, this is anime with a grounded slice of life/coming of age story (so think of movies like _Millennium Actress_ or _Tokyo Godfathers_). It’s a beautiful, bittersweet story about friendship, grief and passion with two really compelling characters at the center. It’s maybe a touch too melodramatic or emotionally forced in places (e.g. the very abrupt fight scene), and it’s not entirely devoid of cheesy tropes either (e.g. the big book stacks outside of Kyomoto’s room don’t work for me with the grounded tone), but the movie never lost me and I was definitely moved by the end of it. Loved the art style and technical execution, particularly the bright colours and prevalent use of snow (again, very _Tokyo Godfathers_-esque). The score is also gorgeous, it finds just about the right level of schmaltz in every scene and manages to be memorable without deviating too much from the tropes associated with anime music. Overall, a really good piece of work and well worth your time. 7.5/10

It really impresses me how much this adaptation makes fit in a less than an hour run time. Seeing passions and friendships kindle in the snapshots of Fujino and Kyomoto’s lives was done impeccably well.

When it's the end, all we can do is to look back and think about why we started everything at the first place and when we finally get to our beginning, it will bring back you to me.