Fujino is a fourth grader who has staked everything on drawing manga. One day a single drawing in the class newspaper shakes her. It was drawn by Kyomoto, a classmate who never comes to school. Brought together by manga, the two start making work side by side. Kore-eda Hirokazu’s live-action film “Look Back” follows their story. It opened in Japan on September 11 and reached Korean theaters on October 8.

It Began as a 143-Page One-Shot

The source is a one-shot by Tatsuki Fujimoto, the creator of “Chainsaw Man.” It ran at 143 pages in “Shonen Jump+” on July 19, 2021. It passed 2.5 million views on its first day and took first place in the Male category of “Kono Manga ga Sugoi! 2022.” In 2024, director Kiyotaka Oshiyama turned it into an animated feature running just over an hour. The film opened on 119 screens in Japan and, carried by word of mouth, earned more than 2 billion yen.

Kore-eda did not read the manga with a film in mind. At a Busan International Film Festival press conference, he said he picked it up by chance at a bookstore and could not forget the shock it gave him. He read it as a story about the burden that people who create things carry. He said it also turned a question back on him: why does he make films?

A field at dusk. A child in a white T-shirt faces someone standing with their back to the camera.
Two figures face each other in a field at dusk. Low light tints the grass. ©藤本タツキ／集英社 ©2026 K2 Pictures・集英社

Why Film?

At the earliest planning stage, Kore-eda proposed two things to the producers: shoot on 35mm film, and capture all four seasons. He explained why he insisted on film: “Because it lets you focus your attention on this moment, the moment that is happening right here.” Film gives fewer chances to reshoot and leaves less room for fixes later than digital does. Actors feel that pressure. He said he believes the tension works on set and reaches the audience.

The shoot ran for nearly a year, centered on Nikaho in Akita Prefecture. Winter and spring were filmed from February to May 2025, summer in July, and fall in November. Behind the camera was Senzo Ueno, working with Kore-eda on a feature for the first time.

Two actors walk across a snowy field past crew members holding a boom microphone and a camera. Snow-covered mountains rise behind them.
A snowy field in Nikaho. Two actors walk past crew holding a boom microphone. Behind-the-scenes photo. ©藤本タツキ／集英社 ©2026 K2 Pictures・集英社

500T and 250D

Kodak Japan featured the film under “SHOT ON KODAK” and listed the stocks as “KODAK 35mm 500T / 250D.” The two behave differently. Vision3 250D is a daylight stock balanced for sunlight (about 5500K), with fine grain and a clean look. Vision3 500T is a high-speed stock balanced for tungsten light (about 3200K). Which stock was used for which scene has not been disclosed.

Both stocks are familiar to still photographers too. Some products respool the motion picture stock into 35mm cartridges, so you can shoot it in an ordinary film camera. It is meant for ECN-2 processing, and stock with a remjet layer on the back needs that layer removed before development. The 5ft.mag film catalog lists both Kodak Vision3 500T and Vision3 250D.

The Photographer on Set

The film’s stills were taken by photographer Hideaki Hamada. He stayed on set for about three months recording Fujino and Kyomoto’s daily lives, and eight of those images were released in July. They include the scene where the two first meet, the pair walking a snowy road with “Weekly Shonen Jump” in hand, and Kyomoto looking down at yellow and dark green sketchbooks. A separate set of seven behind-the-scenes photos shows Nikaho through the four seasons.

In a dim room, a person in a yellow plaid jacket opens a sketchbook whose cover is split into yellow and dark panels and reads “Sketch Book.”
A sketchbook cover split into yellow and dark panels, marked “Sketch Book.” ©藤本タツキ／集英社 ©2026 K2 Pictures・集英社
Under light from a window, two people lie side by side, drawing on paper with pencils.
Two people lie side by side under window light, drawing. ©藤本タツキ／集英社 ©2026 K2 Pictures・集英社
A room crowded with books and art supplies. One person sits at a desk by the window with their back turned. Another draws at a low desk in the foreground.
A room full of books and art supplies. One draws at the desk by the window, the other at a low desk up front. ©藤本タツキ／集英社 ©2026 K2 Pictures・集英社

Cast and Screenings

Natsuki Deguchi plays Fujino and Aju Makita plays Kyomoto. Fuuri Nanase and Rokka Okada play the two as children. The film premiered in Competition at the 83rd Venice International Film Festival and was also invited to the Special Presentations section of the Toronto International Film Festival. In Korea, audiences first saw it as a Gala Presentation at the 31st Busan International Film Festival.

If the animated film followed the lines of the manga, the live-action film follows the light left on the film. For viewers seeing the same story a second time, what will look different? The winter and summer on 35mm are worth seeing in a theater.

Film Info