Look Back

Look Back is an intimate One-shot created by Fujimoto. The author of Chainsaw Man and of Goodbye, Eri reduces, but not eliminates, the supernatural elements in favor of a story about the sacrifices made by Mangaka to follow their dreams, asking himself if it's worth it following this road. Look Back intertwines perfectly the stripes, styles and concepts of friendship of the two protagonists with a world which doesn't understand their passion, considering the artists as otaku you should exploit to have fun or immerse in great stories, and never following it as a true art to avoid distancing yourself from the social mass. Serialisations and personal achievements affect the frustrations of the multiple people who don't obtain success in a cruel world, with a destiny broken by individuals lost on the streets. In this sense when “Look Back” returns to the weird peaks to which Fujimoto has accustomed us, proposing “what ifs” and temporal connections made with different realities based on comics, we observe genius ideas mounted on the edgy artistic style of the author. Instead, when the slice of life and construction of the world of mangakas takes over, it forces the reader to notice the exaggerations and the plot holes which the other projects turned into strengths. Look Back is a production which doesn't abandon the road of the eternity of the art and the remembrance, but yet it works less because of an excessive realism linked with telling a more personal set of events.

STYLE: 4
STORY: 4
WORLDBUILDING: 5
RHYTHM: 5
PROTAGONISTS: 4
ANTAGONISTS: 3,5
ARTISTIC FEATURE: 5
ATMOSPHERE 5
EMOTIONAL IMPACT: 4,5

FINAL VERDICT: ⭐⭐⭐⭐