Look Back

(Spoilers ahead!) Look Back is a one-shot that is simple yet amazing at the same time. Thia manga accurately shows the realism of human emotions encountering the death of their loved one. Look Back is about two middle school friends inspiring to make manga. As life goes on, they both take their separate ways promising to meet each other again in the near future to continue making manga. However, one of friends passed away which affects the other friend with regret and sadness. It's a simple plot that anyone can think of but the way they showed the emotions of the main character was flawless. Story:8 Like I said, it's simple yet amazing. The way this one-shot showed the main character's thoughts on her friend's death was incredibly realistic. Puting blame on herself, imagining a whole new path where her friend didn't die, overcome with grief. All of that was so well showed and I felt sadness after seeing the MC's imagination. Art: 10 Fujimoto really went out on this one (well it is a one-shot after all). I feel like I don't even need to explain. The shades fits so well with the aesthetic and I absolutely love it. 10/10 without a doubt. Characters: 9 Character were great. I felt attached to them while reading this. That's honestly all I can say. Enjoyment: 10 It was an amazing read, I do not regret using my time to read it. Overall: 8 For a one-shot, it was amazing. I would totally recommend this to anyone who needs a quick good read.

I don't how much of this story is inspired by personal experience from Fujimoto. But it sure as hell made me wonder... Sorry, but to make a review of Look Back, I first gotta talk about Fujimoto himself. First of all, many already love him, so most don't talk about it, but Fujimoto's style is pretty scribbly. I love it because of that, but I can see it totally affecting his own self-esteem as an artist when he was young. And so he writes Fujino, the main character of the story. While her friends love her manga because it's clever and fun, she gets discouraged when anotherkid, Kyomoto, starts making comic strips for the school paper just like her. He doesn't write clever stories, he just draws backgrounds. But they're awesome backgrounds. And Fujino's art seems "amateur-ish" in comparison. That's as far as I'll go for the story. I'll get into Spoilers later, and I'll let you know, but I wanted to keep talking about Fujimoto himself. When I first read Fire Punch, I wondered if he did the backgrounds himself. Given the style he draws characters with, I doubted it was him, but rather some assistant he had who could do awesome backgrounds. I wonder if he'll comment on that at some point. This story makes me wonder if he had an assistant to whom he was very close. But either way, I could see this was very personal for him. Then there's also the obvious KyoAni reference, which makes me wonder if he did this for himself or for them. Maybe for both, but we'll probably never know. That just makes this story all the more affecting. ***Spoiler ahead*** Kyomoto is obviously the reference to KyoAni. Not only the name but also the reason for his demise. The guy with an ax who'd just keep screaming he had stolen his idea. And the most important one, this One-Shot was published exactly 2 years after the KyoAni attack. Some people say maybe Fujimoto had a friend in KyoAni. I don't know. I don't think I'll ever know. Maybe he was just inspired by them, as many of us are. "Look Back" is a One-Shot that is better appreciated when one is familiarised with Fujimoto's previews works. There are visual references to both Fire Punch and Chainsaw Man, but I think the most prominent is the door. The same door behind which lies Denji's trauma in CSM. In here, the door represents the same. In that last scene, what Fujino sees is definitely a fantasy, a "what if" she imagines in her head to cope with trauma. She feels guilty for Kyo's death. She wonders what's the point in drawing anymore. Then a comic strip falls back from inside the door. she looks at it, being oddly specific, and then she opens the door. But Kyomoto is still dead. The comic strip was just sticked to the window and had fallen at that moment. She accepts her trauma. That's when the name look back makes sense. She looks back (literally) and sees Kyo's shirt with her autograph, a memory of their childhood. And then she remembers why it is that she started drawing manga at all. It's not fun, it's a hassle, it's so much work... but she did it because of Kyomoto. Maybe this, too, is a KyoAni reference, and how those people were a real inspiration for Fujimoto. And then he stands up, wipes his tears, and goes back to work. He's gotta finish Chainsaw Ma... wait, no... it's Shark Kick. Or was it? Was it Fujino or Fujimoto? Anyway, I hope they're both okay...

It's finally time, been waiting for Fujimoto's one shot for a while and here we are. (Spoilers below) Story - The story is fairly simple, Fujino loves to draw for her school's newspaper, everyone in her class adores her art, then her teacher tells Fujino that another student would also like to submit a comic strip for her school's newspaper. Kyomoto, the new newspaper artist stuns the class as Fujino gets jealous since her arts is barely average compared to Kyomoto's. Soon both of them meet and pair up, writing manga together. The story isn't complicated at all and tells a story of two manga artists comingtogether. This made the read very easy. Art - Fujimoto's art is on full display here, showing incredible backgrounds, line etching and paneling. I'm pretty sure he's improved on his art since Chainsaw Man, he's just getting better. Characters - Fujino - A pretty cocky middle schooler at first, who wants to be the best student at drawing, even drawing for years and years just to try and become better than Kyomoto, while she easily gives up her dream of drawing becuase she can't catch up to Kyomoto's amazing backgrounds. As time passes and Fujino and Kyomoto pair up to become manga artists, both of them start to have a connection. Working extremely hard for multiple one shots and finally getting serialized. When Kyomoto wants to leave Fujino lashes out at Kyomoto and tells her to say and draw with her. I believe that Fujino didn't mean any ill intentions but instead wanted her to say, and not leave her side. Even after Kyomoto dies, it affects Fujino so much that she wants to stop drawing completely, calling drawing "stupid". Kyomoto - Kyomoto is introducted as a rival to Fujino, even having way better backgrounds and art in general. Shutting herself in her room all day and night because she's scared of people, the only person she really will come out of her room for is Fujino. A true fan she complients Fujino's drawings, while she doesn't relalize that her drawings are much better. This is what makes the two become manga artists. Kyomoto draws the backgrounds while Fujino draws the characters, a perfect combination which given they're middle schoolers. They even win honorable mentions. Eventually getting serialized. Kyomoto thanks Fujino for making her come out of her room, she is still a little scared of people but it's been alleviated. Once she picks up a book about background art and how beautiful and it can be, Kyomoto doesn't want to get serialized and wants to go to an art school. Eventually the two part ways. Kyomoto still buys every single volume of Shark Kick which is Fujino's manga. She hasn't lost touch but wants to better herself, she gets into college, and is able to attend lessons. Not stuck in her room anyone. Enjoyment - Yeah I really enjoyed this one shot. My favorite part would have to be when Fujino is asked "Then why do you draw" while Fujimoto's paneling is focusing on the link, delving deeper on the page. Amazing Paneling. Really showed the relationship of the artists and manga in general. Overall - If for some reason you read all of this and haven't read Look Back, then I suggest you read it right now. 9/10 for me. If you don't agree with me, then go ahead and speak your mind.