Summary
- A live-action film adaptation of Tatsuki Fujimoto’s Look Back is announced for a 2026 release
- Renowned Japanese director, Hirokazu Kore‑eda will be helming the project
- It also marks the first live-action adaptation of Fujimoto’s works
The creative worlds of manga and film have converged with the announcement that acclaimed director Hirokazu Kore-eda will helm a live-action adaptation of Tatsuki Fujimoto‘s seminal one-shot manga, Look Back.
This highly anticipated collaboration unites two titans of contemporary Japanese storytelling – the Palme d’Or-winning filmmaker known for Shoplifters and the globally recognized creator of Chainsaw Man – in the first live-action feature film based on Fujimoto’s work. The manga, which explores artistic ambition and loss through the story of two young female creators, has already been adapted into a critically successful anime film in 2024.
The project is driven by Kore-eda’s deep personal connection to the source material; the director, who will also serve as the screenwriter and editor, revealed in an official news release that he was instinctively drawn to the manga after noticing the powerful “back view” of the characters on a bookstore cover. After reading it in one sitting, he felt an intense sense of conviction, recognizing the story as a work Fujimoto “had to create to move forward”. Kore-eda, known for his humanist approach in films like Monster, intends to preserve the manga’s intimate, observational tone. Fujimoto also fully endorsed the director’s involvement, praising Kore-eda’s ability to instill his films with an extraordinary persuasive power and a compelling sense of “lived-in reality.”
Two newly released key visuals emphasize the manga’s central motifs – two young creators working side by side and wintry exteriors – suggesting Kore-eda’s approach in preserving this intimate visual tone while translating the story’s visual shorthand into live-action. Filming has already been completed, and the project is currently in the editing phase. The Look Back live action is presently slated for a 2026 release, with distribution planned across Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan and preparations for a broader global rollout underway.
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