@OocSNKZ Kyomoto really did Die, but her love for Fujino/Fujino's art, kept her motivated on pursuing her Art even though Fujino discouraged Kyomoto when she decided to go separate way and Improve independently then became a better artist herself. Fujino only imagined the scene where she didn't meet with Kyomoto when she delivered the Graduation Certificate, and she continued with her sisters advised to take Karate, then fast forward where she kicks the the suspect preventing the murder of Kyomoto because of her regrets from their farewell as she didn't support Kyomoto's dreams. Coincidentally Kyomoto made a comedy comic strip in which she was saved by Fujino from some attacker when they separated with each other, where it got blown by the wind into Fujino who's cryng outside Kyomoto's Room. Sidenote Kyomoto continued on supporting Fujino's manga which is the Shark Kick, by buying multiple same chapters of the manga books. I hope this make sense.
@@Wazinc basically the whole scene of the man with a weapon entering the art school and killing a lot of people due to the belief of his works being plagiarized…
@@akame1013 kyoani is Kyoto animation studio and the dude that set the place on fire wrote a novel and though they plagerised him, but its unknown whats the novel is called
The age of OVAs has, sadly, come to an end. I guess we could see a live action adaptation but, with the way this one-shot is, perhaps it would be best if it remains in manga format. As for it being a tribute for KyoAni, that part was not something I would normally expect from Fujimoto. The way he portrayed it could use a little bit more subtlety, however this event is something that must be remembered to prevent such tragedies in the future - thereby justifying its presence in the story.
I personally saw the alternate timeline moment to not actually be an alternate timeline but a what if story in Fugino's head and how she has regrets and how she regretted bringing kyomoto out of her room because she thinks its her fault that she died. I also sometimes like to think to myself how I would do a certain heroric or cool thing if I was presented in a situation similar to the axe man attack. Fugino did a similar thing in that she's a hero she single handedly took out axe man with 0 casualties and save kyomoto and now their lives are better as they help each other. Then she brings herself back to reality as she realizes that that timeline never really happened, and it never will happen. I see that her continuing to write her manga even though she doesn't like it is a way to atone and provide some happiness to kyomoto in her afterlife as she can continue reading her favorite authors from the grave.
I read it twice now in a span of a hour and didn’t feel too emotional at all. Don’t get me wrong it was sad but the timeline made me confused, or maybe I’m just a little cold. By when you said that Fujino continues to write to make Kyomoto happy in the afterlife made me emotional. Thank you. And plus, I had distractions in my first reading so now I understand it a bit better too.
Yeah I saw it that way too mostly because when people grief someone, sometimes they say do something horrible before they died. Then blame themselves thinking of the would've's and could'ves, that if they did a certain things that the person they loved wouldn't have left or they would've stayed with them longer.
fujimoto has stated once that the work he has done directly reflects his life and his personality. Fujino and kyomoto are just part of fujimoto who one, loves making manga, and the other, trying to find a reason as to why he must endure this painful creation which is making manga
There is a BIG hidden message in the one shot : First page : "Don't" Title : "Look Back" Last page : "In Anger" And I saw on Twitter that "Don't Look Back in Anger" by Oasis was used to introduce Fujimoto's oneshot "Look Back" on Japanese television.
Sick observation! After looking at it I have another, less meta interpretation: It's just a direct message from Fujimoto that summarises a key message of the story, which is literally: "Don't look back in anger." If and when tragedy strikes, a necessary step in dealing with it is learning to focus on the benefits you got from what you lost, rather than on the hateful fact that you lost it. Kinda like the Dr Seuss proverb: 'Don't cry because it's over; smile because it happened.' And I think that's what Fujino does, or starts to do, by the end.
You forget that the oneshot is 140 pages with how fast it goes by as you read. The story was so captivating, that I only realized after reading just how beautiful the pages looked too. Fujimoto truly is an amazing artist.
There is a certain messiness in Fujimotos Artstyle that I love. It hink it gives his characters a level of imperfection in their appereance, that makes them come off as more real.
An interesting bit from Fujimoto's QnA in Mappa Stage that relate to this oneshot. Q. When did you decide to become a mangaka? Fujimoto: When I was in junior high, I woke up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom and found my family holding a secret meeting saying: "Tatsuki is going to become a NEET if we don't look after him". I wanted to work in a job about crafting things...or thought that I couldn't really do regular jobs. you can't film movies by yourself but you can create manga and write novels by yourself so that was a big reason why.
@@heythere9475 If I remember correctly, he actually went into the same art school that Kyomoto went. It is based on a real building. That one-shot really is a biography disguised as a slice-of-life story of two manga artists and as a tribute to KyoAni arson. Just damn awesome.
Extremely good one-shot. My rough interpretation of it is that Fujino and Kyomoto represent two different parts behind Fujimoto's motivation for art, with Fujino mainly being a sense of pride/duty and Kyomoto mainly being of passion for art. As time went on through grinding one-shots/series, he had began to lost a sense of his passion for art (Kyomoto's death) and was at a lost due to it, but eventually regained some part of it, though not completely.
i think by the end. fujino know the reason she start drawing and keep doing it is bcs of the reader's joy. or maybe she start bcs of pride/duty but the moment she know kyomoto, her motive change to the joy of her fan without her knowing it.
If this is the level of emotional vulnerability that we’re going to see from Fujimoto’s art & storytelling, Chainsaw Man P2 is going to end up getting even more hype and acclaim than P1. Also the world needs Shark Kick.
He did say before that he wanted to try make a wsj manga and csm was the result of that. Now that part 2 is on jump+ im sure we're going to see exactly that
I saw someone speculate that the axe murderer is a play on the guy who caused that anime studio fire last year(I think last year?). The axe murderer and the arson guy say the same thing about how they felt they were being plagiarized
For me, how I perceived "look back" is similar, but a little different. Instead of just showcasing a different timeline, how I saw it was showcasing how fujino thought things; making a false scenario where she saved kyomoto's life and developes a friendship later on instead of when they were young. But she snaps back to reality, and is still heart broken due to her friend's passing. But upon being in her room she thinks back to why she started manga all together and instead of giving up, she decides to keep gone in loving memory or her dearest friend kyomoto. In my interpretation, it was that bad things can happen and there will be hard times but no matter what, we must always keep moving forward and always remember why/where we started and never forget the people who pushed us to become who we are today.
I know there’s a lot of layers to the meta of this story: CSM references, self-insertion and kind of a here-and-there blend of Fujimoto’s personal experiences and the fictional experiences of these characters, a seemingly intentional release around the time of the Kyoto Animation attack in 2019 But really, all of those really interesting, heartfelt, and extremely interesting extra pieces of texture to the story aside, the beauty of this story really stands so well on its own. The skill needed to flesh out characters like this in just 140 pages is incomprehensible. This is a beautiful story about one thing and everything. It is a massive, somewhat universally appealing story, but at the same time extremely intimate and specific in the subject matter it discusses. Look Back hit me hard.
I think Fujimotos strength is, that he is kind of a character-focussed slice of life writer first and foremost. Even in Chainsaw Man, you could basically take away most of the supernatural elements of the series and Denjis core arc would remain untouched.
Fujimoto is a master at emotional storytelling, I can't wait for him to continue on CSM part 2, I love crying while reading his work ..... Also, His art and panels are so cinematic. As if you could directly use it as storyboards.
I absolutely loved look back, from visuals and great paneling to story itself. I love this so much mostly cause i can personally relate to it in aspect of drawing experience and how someone slightly better can make you loose interest making art at all. I daln love Fujimoto's works
This all feels very personal for Fujimoto. The KyoAni arson attack analogy, why he loves drawing manga and a story that goes back to his roots of dramatic oneshots.
This is how I understood this one shot . Fujino portrays the pride and Kyomoto portrays the passion of artistry of an artist . Overtime from over work , from doing things you don't want to do , you lose that passion . The death of Kyomoto is the death of that passion .
To me this story was about how much we bleed into art, kinda like a hard ass job and also has your passion and responsibilities clash and just the question of why we make art in the first place. With both characters we see them give their all to their art for different reasons, fujino wants it for the attention and glory making art for the profit and value it holds as, well, art, Kyo just makes art for the sake of it, for fun, for passion. Fujino wants to create art as a job and Kyo as a passion and that's because how they were raised fujino is shown that his family seems more traditional, they expect results, they expect work not someone different or weird. Kyo was allowed to do whatever, as they were allowed to do what they want no matter what it brings, because it's what they want. To me this story felt more like a personal story about choosing your passion or putting forth "social responsibility" at least to me anyway, as I'm still a young mexican teen so seeing how people can pressure you to choose work over anything else feels too real, working a stable job to them would lead to what they think would be a better life if you only push your physical needs first, and growing up in an unstable environment just reinforces the idea a job would be better then your passion or what you want, your dreams should remain as dreams. But i feel the one shot argues that, no, we should chase and make our dreams real, only surviving to live isn't living, even if you end up lower then before you would at least be able to say you were happy. The ending feels like that to me, after losing a friend and bleeding and working on a long running manga Fuji seems to lose that touch if passion holding on to making art for the recognition and it's rewards but after the death of Kyo I feel the manga shows us she doesn't care whether she gets rewards or not, she knows how much what she made can affect people and because of that, whether good or bad, she continues without the mindset of a job but for art. This is how i think Fujimoto went about making and ending chainsawman he went at it making something to his vision while also understanding he is doing a job, that if it succeeds he should dedicate to it and make it successful but if it doesn't it doesn't, as long as he makes what he wants. Tldr do what you want while also keeping in mind what you need to do but never lose yourself
Aside from Kyoani nod, there was a "stalker" who accused Fujimoto about plagiarism with Chainsawman. Eventually with all the ranting Fujimotos editor Lin even responded to that guy stating that ir could have never happened because Fujimoto wasn't aware of that dude's existence basically, the guy is still ranting and from what ik also commented about Look Back recently and it's still going with it.
Imagine the ennui and madness one would feel, sitting down to draw manga all day, and end up with an excellent one shot that’s 140+ pages long, and one of the central themes is the painstaking amount of time that must be dumped into drawing panels to fill a page, and pages to fill a chapter, and chapters to fill a volume.
Same, I was on the verge of tears just seeing how fujino kept comparing herself and trying to get better, and then once they begun drawing together. Truly touched me like nothing else has.
I remember someone say in video that Japan has an obsession with "what if" and the thought of what would happen if something else happened but that some people take it to an unhealthy extent. So the subversion of that genre and bringing the character back to the "main" timeline and having people live and move forward with their lives is the most important part of the story.
After reading look back and goodbye eri, back to back helped to give me a better grasp of the head space of tatsuki fujimoto as an artist seeing his passions in both drawing and flim respectively.
There was a panel that I found very interesting. It was when there were multiple vol 11 copies on the shelf along with the other volumes I believe. I don’t know if it meant something but I found that detail to have maybe have a hidden meaning.
Maybe it could symbolize the creator being stuck in a rut? Never being able to move on, not from her friends death, not from the series that made her most popular. Or, on a metatextual level, it could represent Fujimotos frustrations at how Chainsaw Man is probably gonna be what he'll be best known for, and how people might just not follow after volume 11, and how everything he makes afterwards will always be compared to that.
Thanks, but I'll be honest here I didnt see the kyoani connection until I saw the comments lol Same thing for looking at the stuff after page 80 as a non-literal lens. When things get a little strange.
It was kyomoto supporting fujino still. Next to that panel of multiple volume 1s and 2s was a shot of a reader survey form. She was honestly being a good friend even if she was not able to support her directly. That realization after rereading it made me cry more. Filling out survey forms so that Shark Kick would have more positive reviews.
spoiler: Fujimoto revived Beams thru Shark Kick. ❤️ but maaan this story legit tugs on the strings of my emotions. you see a full character development of Fujino. n it hurts & is accepting towards the end. & that scene that ties to Kyomoto 4 panel... 😭😭😭 great read. i dont believe its a cry for help, but a way he can display his storytelling. love it.
I think this one-shot is also a self reminder for Fujimoto, that it is important to look back and reflect on your past and remember why are you doing what you’re doing in the first place.
As an artist there is a lot to be found in this story and relate to. So many of the stuff depicted in this one shot reminded me of my own experiences of making art and creating things so to anyone who is an artist: I recommend this one shot A LOT! GO READ IT!
I really enjoyed your explanation of the ending. I didnt think about it like that and it makes me think about how often I imagine an alternate version of myself living out a different life and how I would miss out on certain things I'm living now that I would never want to miss.
This is such a beautiful video for Fujimoto's Look Back! Three years later, the animated movie came out. It's perfect. It encapsulates so much in so little time.
Not every sad picture is a cry for help, some times it's the display of one's own growth in the same manner gold displays the repairs in a kintsugi plate. The process of creating art puts forth a persons hearth and lays it bare to the wold to see, it was truly delighful to get a peek of Fujimoto's mind I like Chainsaw man, but Look back it's a story that I honestly can say that I love.
As someone who is very average at drawing, seeing Fujino google up ways to improve her drawing skills, buying up lots of books, and spending her time drawing non stop really hit close to home.
I made the mistake of reading Goodbye Eri prior to Look Back, and literally looking back I feel that the best possible way of going about Fujimoto-sensei's art is to read his manga novels followed by Look Back and lastly Goodbye Eri. Watching this, I realize just how much more impact there was in such a sudden yet poignant novel, an episode we don't know if whether it reflects that of the mangaka himself. Thank you.
Haven’t read it yet but I’m excited, I’ll edit my answer when I finish it Edit: just finished and omg it’s so beautiful I’m crying, knowing this is a tribute to kyoani is so beautiful and just so amazing man I can’t stop the tears
Oddly enough, I didn´t look at the the two different versions of the story as different timelines. I saw it more as just imagination. I guess I´m the odd one out, here
You know I hate to think that Fujimoto had a sister that came on to him like in fire punch or maybe he had some twisted desires in mind to come up with that bit. I only say this since one of the main points of this video is him pointing out how Fujimoto is portraying himself in a way in all of his work published so far. I’d say it’s reaching a bit and we will never know what to connect or what’s imaginary. Unless Fujimoto himself comes out one day and does an in depth interview
I was blown away by it, especially with the whole don’t look back in anger idea. Listening to the song by oasis and reading those last 20 pages might be the coolest use of a song. I hadn’t heard in a while but listening to it with this changed it in a way I’ve never experienced!!! Something in a manga like this. Usually you hear a song during a scene of a movie or TV show and you get the idea in the moment. Being able to go back and listen and re read just gives such a different level of appreciation and understanding for the whole thing. I loved it and it’s sensitive history touch was well utilized and respectable. Fujimoto is the man and I hope he rests and eats lots of ice cream and crepes
I love Look Back and Tatuski Fujimotos other one - shots he has made over the years. What I absolutely adore about his works is how he tells a story that either begins to be insane or wholesome. The way he writes his characters has made me understand them as their stories unfold. He has these uniquely interesting themes that are told in a very bizarre (sometimes normal) way as you read along and you can't stop yourself till the end just to see what happens. That's why I can't help but admire him and his creative way of telling stories and his art.
A manga that really deserves the title of art Also, talking about the artwork, Fujimoto sensei is a great fan of movie and you can see that so many scene are just acted out like movie scenes. 100% respect to Fujimoto sensei👏
I finally read it. And I now I’m sad, but it’s more of a beautiful sadness. I really wanted to see that the two come back together. I feel really inspired to write. Tbh I loved it and I hope that in the end Fujino and Kyomoto some how get reincarnated and see each again.
I don’t comment much, but I just wanna say you make the most beautiful and serene videos, both your commentary and the visuals. Thank you for the amazing quality content.
Look back literally saved me. I was going through a pretty large point in a depressive state when I felt like I would never be good enough at art, but this one shot taught me it wasn’t how good you were at something but if that something made you feel good
the pages that had no dialogue really reminds me of 'a trail of blood' and the pages without dialogue. The pages are so meaningful that they do not need dialogue. Fujimoto is amazing.
Iwas laying down while reading this and after I finished it I stood up for a couple minutes without saying anything🤐like this was just incredible especially the story telling🔥
I really appreciate the amount of time you took to make your videos and I'm really happy that you made 100k before your birthday Thx for always liking my comments really makes me happy
In the last little twist at the end where Fujino receives a gift from the past, I'm guessing it is supposed to represent how he has again found his reason to keep going.
I liked it a lot i feel like it has a surface and an undergoing theme one being its a tribute of sorts to kyoto studio arson attack from a while back and two how hard life is and the struggles people go through but also what has to be done
Honestly, amongst all of Fujimoto’s work, in terms of story, I’ve liked ‘Look Back’ the best. That isn’t to say I didn’t like Fujimoto’s previous works, Chainsaw man is one of my favorite manga, but this one shot strips all of the fantastical elements that everything else he’s written had, and has essentially created a ‘slice of life’ one shot. It isn’t boring to read but its not super over the top (albeit the ax wielding maniac with psychosis/schizophrenia is very Fujimoto), I guess because the story is so relatable that you can’t help wanting to read until the end. Shark Kick was also an awesome homage to Fire Punch, it made me laugh.
The last panel of Fujino taping Kyomoto's 4 panel manga is so depressing to me because it's likely reflective of Fujimoto's feelings towards drawing manga. His stories are very personal, they're a lens that magnify and refract from his world view onto the page in whatever creatively fucked up way he wants. Fujino symbolizes the extrinsic value that drawing manga provides and Kyomoto, the intrinsic value. Fujino was driven mainly by the praise and money that being a mangaka gives. Kyomoto, on the other hand, drew manga because she was bored, and the act of drawing manga was something that meant something to her specifically. They represent the two main motivations that Fujimoto has about being a mangaka. The panels of them being close and drawing in the same room is reflective of the stage in his life where he just drew a bunch of one-shots that he enjoyed drawing, while netting him praise and money at the same time. Fujino and Kyomoto growing distant feels like a retelling of the moment Chainsawman gained a lot of steam. Chainsawman is a worldwide phenomenon now, and Fujimoto doesn't have the same freedoms as he had before. He has to stick to a schedule and draw for a large chunk of his every day, he has to constantly have the manga in mind, he has to bear the responsibility of providing for the entire world waiting with bated breath for his next chapter. Kyomoto and Fujino growing distant also symbolizes Fujimoto's passion slowly disappearing into the background as Kyomoto did for Fujino, who's swamped with work every day of the week. Kyomoto dying a gruesome death from a random event that comes as a suprise for Fujino likely symbolizes a moment in his life where he realizes that he has stopped giving intrinsic value to drawing manga. Fujino feeling guilt over Kyomoto's death feels to me like him trying to lay the blame of the death of his enjoyment of drawing art on the shoulders of the part of him that indulges in the extrinsic value that fuels the vanity of his ego and pockets which will never be "full" in any sort of satisfying way. The last panel of Fujino drawing with that comic Kyomoto drew taped to the window is Fujimoto mourning the death of his enjoyment of drawing manga and trying to do justice by that part of him by continuing to draw regardless of if he doesn't exhibit the same feelings he once had with regards to drawing.
I think a part of him died in an art school. Not that I know if he ever attended one. But returning back to his old house, seeing his old drawings probably put him in the deepest despair, Fire Punch is a dark story with a lot of nonsensical story beats and plot points. But he got over it in the end, perhaps with the help of his former drawings again. Not becoming who he used to be before art school, but becoming who he wanted to be. Or smthn, idk.
Fujimoto definitely has another skill…cutting onions ;-; but Forreal tho, this was an amazing one-shot! I saw a comment that said that Fujimoto *may* have had a friend at KyoAni who was really good at drawing backgrounds who sadly passed away in the incident (Kyomoto maybe?) So he might have done this as tribute while also having a bit of his origin story.
I apologize for the minimal editing, I couldn't make enough time to work on this video to a satisfactory degree.
Love you, drink some water.
Dont apologize, its sn amazing video.
Thank you
Still amazing man ;don't apologise! You're doing great man.
Honestly I mostly just listen and don't even watch the visuals.
So the experience is the in my case :)
w video
I love the idea that Shark Kick has exactly the same plot as CSM, but that Denji ended up fusing with Beam instead of Pochita.
that. that makes sense
"It's shark time baby" 😭🗿🕊️🕊️
the fact that Fujino didn't get an assistant when Kyomoto is away
Fujimoto’s ability to portray so much emotion in scenes without a single word never fails to astound me
Same. Absolutely breathtaking
yes. the rain dance scene is breathtaking, same for the parallel reality moment.
Homie made grown ass men cry in just over 100 pages
For real. It was an amazing one shot. I was blown away.
@OocSNKZ Fujino either created a new timeline or it was all just a dream, at least what I think. It's just up to us how we interpret the ending.
@OocSNKZ Kyomoto really did Die, but her love for Fujino/Fujino's art, kept her motivated on pursuing her Art even though Fujino discouraged Kyomoto when she decided to go separate way and Improve independently then became a better artist herself.
Fujino only imagined the scene where she didn't meet with Kyomoto when she delivered the Graduation Certificate, and she continued with her sisters advised to take Karate, then fast forward where she kicks the the suspect preventing the murder of Kyomoto because of her regrets from their farewell as she didn't support Kyomoto's dreams.
Coincidentally Kyomoto made a comedy comic strip in which she was saved by Fujino from some attacker when they separated with each other, where it got blown by the wind into Fujino who's cryng outside Kyomoto's Room.
Sidenote Kyomoto continued on supporting Fujino's manga which is the Shark Kick, by buying multiple same chapters of the manga books.
I hope this make sense.
@Ooksomething something i personally think its just a thought of what could've been
Tearing up in the theater the entire time.
A lot of stuff, but it’s mostly a love letter to other artists, fans and I’m pretty sure to KyoAni
Why to KyoAni specifically ?
@@Wazinc basically the whole scene of the man with a weapon entering the art school and killing a lot of people due to the belief of his works being plagiarized…
sounds very similar doesn’t it.
@@wawadashu wait who’s kyoani and what manga did he make?
@@akame1013 kyoani is Kyoto animation studio and the dude that set the place on fire wrote a novel and though they plagerised him, but its unknown whats the novel is called
I don’t think this will have an anime because of it’s topics and length. This felt like a tribute for the 2nd anniversary of the KyoAni tragedy.
It could be an animated film for what it is which would be a good idea (1 hour and 30 minute film.)
The age of OVAs has, sadly, come to an end. I guess we could see a live action adaptation but, with the way this one-shot is, perhaps it would be best if it remains in manga format. As for it being a tribute for KyoAni, that part was not something I would normally expect from Fujimoto. The way he portrayed it could use a little bit more subtlety, however this event is something that must be remembered to prevent such tragedies in the future - thereby justifying its presence in the story.
@@joshuadavis2619 it happen on 2019, arson attack on kyoto animation , 33 people died,
@@joshuadavis2619 the tragedy actually happened
@@joshuadavis2619 kyoani was a real tragedy. A mentally ill guy burned down a animation studio killing 33 people
I personally saw the alternate timeline moment to not actually be an alternate timeline but a what if story in Fugino's head and how she has regrets and how she regretted bringing kyomoto out of her room because she thinks its her fault that she died. I also sometimes like to think to myself how I would do a certain heroric or cool thing if I was presented in a situation similar to the axe man attack. Fugino did a similar thing in that she's a hero she single handedly took out axe man with 0 casualties and save kyomoto and now their lives are better as they help each other. Then she brings herself back to reality as she realizes that that timeline never really happened, and it never will happen. I see that her continuing to write her manga even though she doesn't like it is a way to atone and provide some happiness to kyomoto in her afterlife as she can continue reading her favorite authors from the grave.
I read it twice now in a span of a hour and didn’t feel too emotional at all. Don’t get me wrong it was sad but the timeline made me confused, or maybe I’m just a little cold. By when you said that Fujino continues to write to make Kyomoto happy in the afterlife made me emotional. Thank you.
And plus, I had distractions in my first reading so now I understand it a bit better too.
Yeah I saw it that way too mostly because when people grief someone, sometimes they say do something horrible before they died. Then blame themselves thinking of the would've's and could'ves, that if they did a certain things that the person they loved wouldn't have left or they would've stayed with them longer.
This
fujimoto has stated once that the work he has done directly reflects his life and his personality. Fujino and kyomoto are just part of fujimoto who one, loves making manga, and the other, trying to find a reason as to why he must endure this painful creation which is making manga
This greatly represents how I feel about making art, like wow, now I wanna read this.
Fujimoto is just two teenage girls in a trench coat.
Not sure if anyone else noticed but makes sense considering how "Fuji-no" and "Kyo-moto" together make "Fujimoto"
There is a BIG hidden message in the one shot :
First page : "Don't"
Title : "Look Back"
Last page : "In Anger"
And I saw on Twitter that "Don't Look Back in Anger" by Oasis was used to introduce Fujimoto's oneshot "Look Back" on Japanese television.
Damn
Sick observation!
After looking at it I have another, less meta interpretation:
It's just a direct message from Fujimoto that summarises a key message of the story, which is literally: "Don't look back in anger."
If and when tragedy strikes, a necessary step in dealing with it is learning to focus on the benefits you got from what you lost, rather than on the hateful fact that you lost it.
Kinda like the Dr Seuss proverb: 'Don't cry because it's over; smile because it happened.' And I think that's what Fujino does, or starts to do, by the end.
I HEAAARD YOU SAYYYYY
You forget that the oneshot is 140 pages with how fast it goes by as you read. The story was so captivating, that I only realized after reading just how beautiful the pages looked too. Fujimoto truly is an amazing artist.
There is a certain messiness in Fujimotos Artstyle that I love. It hink it gives his characters a level of imperfection in their appereance, that makes them come off as more real.
An interesting bit from Fujimoto's QnA in Mappa Stage that relate to this oneshot.
Q. When did you decide to become a mangaka?
Fujimoto: When I was in junior high, I woke up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom and found my family holding a secret meeting saying: "Tatsuki is going to become a NEET if we don't look after him".
I wanted to work in a job about crafting things...or thought that I couldn't really do regular jobs. you can't film movies by yourself but you can create manga and write novels by yourself so that was a big reason why.
Shit that is heart breaking to hear that from your own family
Also, kyomoto studied western art, just like fujimoto
@@heythere9475 If I remember correctly, he actually went into the same art school that Kyomoto went. It is based on a real building. That one-shot really is a biography disguised as a slice-of-life story of two manga artists and as a tribute to KyoAni arson. Just damn awesome.
Wow, I didn't know my life story is so similar to Fujimoto's
damn
Reading it felt really genuine to who Fujimoto is, in a really painful way.
Extremely good one-shot.
My rough interpretation of it is that Fujino and Kyomoto represent two different parts behind Fujimoto's motivation for art, with Fujino mainly being a sense of pride/duty and Kyomoto mainly being of passion for art.
As time went on through grinding one-shots/series, he had began to lost a sense of his passion for art (Kyomoto's death) and was at a lost due to it, but eventually regained some part of it, though not completely.
It's simple , Fuji/no and Kyo\moto, Fujimoto
Damn
i think by the end. fujino know the reason she start drawing and keep doing it is bcs of the reader's joy. or maybe she start bcs of pride/duty but the moment she know kyomoto, her motive change to the joy of her fan without her knowing it.
@@dadaeeaeeadada3301 dude how did I not..
Rethinking about the whole story in my head with this idea makes the story so much more relatable as a whole and much sadder
It felt like Fujimoto's autobiography before the 80th page.
that's exactly what i was thinking about it while reading
It was one of the best one-shots I've read
If this is the level of emotional vulnerability that we’re going to see from Fujimoto’s art & storytelling, Chainsaw Man P2 is going to end up getting even more hype and acclaim than P1.
Also the world needs Shark Kick.
I think we would all love Beam as an Mc
He did say before that he wanted to try make a wsj manga and csm was the result of that. Now that part 2 is on jump+ im sure we're going to see exactly that
I saw someone speculate that the axe murderer is a play on the guy who caused that anime studio fire last year(I think last year?). The axe murderer and the arson guy say the same thing about how they felt they were being plagiarized
For me, how I perceived "look back" is similar, but a little different. Instead of just showcasing a different timeline, how I saw it was showcasing how fujino thought things; making a false scenario where she saved kyomoto's life and developes a friendship later on instead of when they were young. But she snaps back to reality, and is still heart broken due to her friend's passing. But upon being in her room she thinks back to why she started manga all together and instead of giving up, she decides to keep gone in loving memory or her dearest friend kyomoto. In my interpretation, it was that bad things can happen and there will be hard times but no matter what, we must always keep moving forward and always remember why/where we started and never forget the people who pushed us to become who we are today.
i perceived the manga in a similar way too
Samee me too
I know there’s a lot of layers to the meta of this story: CSM references, self-insertion and kind of a here-and-there blend of Fujimoto’s personal experiences and the fictional experiences of these characters, a seemingly intentional release around the time of the Kyoto Animation attack in 2019
But really, all of those really interesting, heartfelt, and extremely interesting extra pieces of texture to the story aside, the beauty of this story really stands so well on its own.
The skill needed to flesh out characters like this in just 140 pages is incomprehensible. This is a beautiful story about one thing and everything. It is a massive, somewhat universally appealing story, but at the same time extremely intimate and specific in the subject matter it discusses.
Look Back hit me hard.
I think Fujimotos strength is, that he is kind of a character-focussed slice of life writer first and foremost. Even in Chainsaw Man, you could basically take away most of the supernatural elements of the series and Denjis core arc would remain untouched.
Fujimoto truly is unpredictable. Good shit m8.
Fujimoto is a master at emotional storytelling, I can't wait for him to continue on CSM part 2, I love crying while reading his work .....
Also, His art and panels are so cinematic. As if you could directly use it as storyboards.
I absolutely loved look back, from visuals and great paneling to story itself. I love this so much mostly cause i can personally relate to it in aspect of drawing experience and how someone slightly better can make you loose interest making art at all. I daln love Fujimoto's works
I literally teared up at a panel with no words in it at all. Fujimoto is truly becoming a genius of the industry.
This all feels very personal for Fujimoto. The KyoAni arson attack analogy, why he loves drawing manga and a story that goes back to his roots of dramatic oneshots.
I watched a minute of this, read Look Back, than came back. My only issue is that I couldn't see anything through my tears after reading
This is how I understood this one shot .
Fujino portrays the pride and Kyomoto portrays the passion of artistry of an artist . Overtime from over work , from doing things you don't want to do , you lose that passion . The death of Kyomoto is the death of that passion .
To me this story was about how much we bleed into art, kinda like a hard ass job and also has your passion and responsibilities clash and just the question of why we make art in the first place. With both characters we see them give their all to their art for different reasons, fujino wants it for the attention and glory making art for the profit and value it holds as, well, art, Kyo just makes art for the sake of it, for fun, for passion. Fujino wants to create art as a job and Kyo as a passion and that's because how they were raised fujino is shown that his family seems more traditional, they expect results, they expect work not someone different or weird. Kyo was allowed to do whatever, as they were allowed to do what they want no matter what it brings, because it's what they want.
To me this story felt more like a personal story about choosing your passion or putting forth "social responsibility" at least to me anyway, as I'm still a young mexican teen so seeing how people can pressure you to choose work over anything else feels too real, working a stable job to them would lead to what they think would be a better life if you only push your physical needs first, and growing up in an unstable environment just reinforces the idea a job would be better then your passion or what you want, your dreams should remain as dreams. But i feel the one shot argues that, no, we should chase and make our dreams real, only surviving to live isn't living, even if you end up lower then before you would at least be able to say you were happy.
The ending feels like that to me, after losing a friend and bleeding and working on a long running manga Fuji seems to lose that touch if passion holding on to making art for the recognition and it's rewards but after the death of Kyo I feel the manga shows us she doesn't care whether she gets rewards or not, she knows how much what she made can affect people and because of that, whether good or bad, she continues without the mindset of a job but for art. This is how i think Fujimoto went about making and ending chainsawman he went at it making something to his vision while also understanding he is doing a job, that if it succeeds he should dedicate to it and make it successful but if it doesn't it doesn't, as long as he makes what he wants.
Tldr do what you want while also keeping in mind what you need to do but never lose yourself
Aside from Kyoani nod, there was a "stalker" who accused Fujimoto about plagiarism with Chainsawman. Eventually with all the ranting Fujimotos editor Lin even responded to that guy stating that ir could have never happened because Fujimoto wasn't aware of that dude's existence basically, the guy is still ranting and from what ik also commented about Look Back recently and it's still going with it.
damn this sucks
Yo that’s crazy can you send link?
Bruhhhh damn
Felt like a story Fujimoto just wanted to tell, something that came deep from in him.
Imagine the ennui and madness one would feel, sitting down to draw manga all day, and end up with an excellent one shot that’s 140+ pages long, and one of the central themes is the painstaking amount of time that must be dumped into drawing panels to fill a page, and pages to fill a chapter, and chapters to fill a volume.
The one shot hit different as an artist myself, I could really see myself in both of the characters, especially fujino.
Especially the first part about feeling inferior. And the part where no matter how much you improve, someone will always be leagues better.
Same, I was on the verge of tears just seeing how fujino kept comparing herself and trying to get better, and then once they begun drawing together. Truly touched me like nothing else has.
I remember someone say in video that Japan has an obsession with "what if" and the thought of what would happen if something else happened but that some people take it to an unhealthy extent. So the subversion of that genre and bringing the character back to the "main" timeline and having people live and move forward with their lives is the most important part of the story.
After reading look back and goodbye eri, back to back helped to give me a better grasp of the head space of tatsuki fujimoto as an artist seeing his passions in both drawing and flim respectively.
I really believe fujimoto could make a story about golf really interesting, his work is just so good
There was a panel that I found very interesting. It was when there were multiple vol 11 copies on the shelf along with the other volumes I believe. I don’t know if it meant something but I found that detail to have maybe have a hidden meaning.
Maybe it could symbolize the creator being stuck in a rut? Never being able to move on, not from her friends death, not from the series that made her most popular. Or, on a metatextual level, it could represent Fujimotos frustrations at how Chainsaw Man is probably gonna be what he'll be best known for, and how people might just not follow after volume 11, and how everything he makes afterwards will always be compared to that.
@@jonathand.t.5051 Honestly pretty good analysis
Thanks, but I'll be honest here I didnt see the kyoani connection until I saw the comments lol
Same thing for looking at the stuff after page 80 as a non-literal lens. When things get a little strange.
i think its to represent how the character wanted to support her friend by buying multiple copies of the same volume
It was kyomoto supporting fujino still. Next to that panel of multiple volume 1s and 2s was a shot of a reader survey form. She was honestly being a good friend even if she was not able to support her directly. That realization after rereading it made me cry more. Filling out survey forms so that Shark Kick would have more positive reviews.
spoiler:
Fujimoto revived Beams thru Shark Kick. ❤️
but maaan this story legit tugs on the strings of my emotions. you see a full character development of Fujino. n it hurts & is accepting towards the end. & that scene that ties to Kyomoto 4 panel... 😭😭😭 great read. i dont believe its a cry for help, but a way he can display his storytelling. love it.
I think this one-shot is also a self reminder for Fujimoto, that it is important to look back and reflect on your past and remember why are you doing what you’re doing in the first place.
As an concept artist and illustrator working on a graphic novel. This One-Shot hit so hard. Fujimoto is my king.
He simply does not miss
The first one shot I’ve read and was in astonished after reading
The emotions displayed through this one shot’s panel and artwork was something I rarely experience in manga these days . Loved it
Y'ALL HE JUST DROPPED A NEW ONE. PLEASE SOMEONE CRY WITH ME
😭
@@cycy8699 nothing is real anymore 😫😭
As an artist there is a lot to be found in this story and relate to. So many of the stuff depicted in this one shot reminded me of my own experiences of making art and creating things so to anyone who is an artist: I recommend this one shot A LOT! GO READ IT!
I cant belive I just read it and I see they making an anime adaptation ..Masterpiece
I really enjoyed your explanation of the ending. I didnt think about it like that and it makes me think about how often I imagine an alternate version of myself living out a different life and how I would miss out on certain things I'm living now that I would never want to miss.
I want a Collection of all Fujimoto's one shots, he has 5 one shots right? That's a volume.
This one shot was fantastic. Got emotional reading it
This is such a beautiful video for Fujimoto's Look Back! Three years later, the animated movie came out. It's perfect. It encapsulates so much in so little time.
Not every sad picture is a cry for help, some times it's the display of one's own growth in the same manner gold displays the repairs in a kintsugi plate. The process of creating art puts forth a persons hearth and lays it bare to the wold to see, it was truly delighful to get a peek of Fujimoto's mind
I like Chainsaw man, but Look back it's a story that I honestly can say that I love.
look back was incredible, really one of the best things I've read in a while
As someone who is very average at drawing, seeing Fujino google up ways to improve her drawing skills, buying up lots of books, and spending her time drawing non stop really hit close to home.
I made the mistake of reading Goodbye Eri prior to Look Back, and literally looking back I feel that the best possible way of going about Fujimoto-sensei's art is to read his manga novels followed by Look Back and lastly Goodbye Eri.
Watching this, I realize just how much more impact there was in such a sudden yet poignant novel, an episode we don't know if whether it reflects that of the mangaka himself.
Thank you.
I honestly can't wait to see more from tatsuki fujimoto.
Fujimoto is a fvckin genius. The way he interprets the concepts and themes of his works is so chaotic and unpredictable
Man, Tatsuki(no) Fujimoto doesn't disappoint.
Haven’t read it yet but I’m excited, I’ll edit my answer when I finish it
Edit: just finished and omg it’s so beautiful I’m crying, knowing this is a tribute to kyoani is so beautiful and just so amazing man I can’t stop the tears
Oddly enough, I didn´t look at the the two different versions of the story as different timelines. I saw it more as just imagination. I guess I´m the odd one out, here
I interpreted it as a day dream (or a dream in general).
You know I hate to think that Fujimoto had a sister that came on to him like in fire punch or maybe he had some twisted desires in mind to come up with that bit.
I only say this since one of the main points of this video is him pointing out how Fujimoto is portraying himself in a way in all of his work published so far.
I’d say it’s reaching a bit and we will never know what to connect or what’s imaginary. Unless Fujimoto himself comes out one day and does an in depth interview
I was blown away by it, especially with the whole don’t look back in anger idea. Listening to the song by oasis and reading those last 20 pages might be the coolest use of a song. I hadn’t heard in a while but listening to it with this changed it in a way I’ve never experienced!!! Something in a manga like this. Usually you hear a song during a scene of a movie or TV show and you get the idea in the moment. Being able to go back and listen and re read just gives such a different level of appreciation and understanding for the whole thing. I loved it and it’s sensitive history touch was well utilized and respectable. Fujimoto is the man and I hope he rests and eats lots of ice cream and crepes
I love Look Back and Tatuski Fujimotos other one - shots he has made over the years. What I absolutely adore about his works is how he tells a story that either begins to be insane or wholesome. The way he writes his characters has made me understand them as their stories unfold. He has these uniquely interesting themes that are told in a very bizarre (sometimes normal) way as you read along and you can't stop yourself till the end just to see what happens. That's why I can't help but admire him and his creative way of telling stories and his art.
truly an experience that wont be forgotten
A manga that really deserves the title of art
Also, talking about the artwork, Fujimoto sensei is a great fan of movie and you can see that so many scene are just acted out like movie scenes. 100% respect to Fujimoto sensei👏
I finally read it. And I now I’m sad, but it’s more of a beautiful sadness. I really wanted to see that the two come back together. I feel really inspired to write. Tbh I loved it and I hope that in the end Fujino and Kyomoto some how get reincarnated and see each again.
I don’t comment much, but I just wanna say you make the most beautiful and serene videos, both your commentary and the visuals. Thank you for the amazing quality content.
Look back literally saved me. I was going through a pretty large point in a depressive state when I felt like I would never be good enough at art, but this one shot taught me it wasn’t how good you were at something but if that something made you feel good
This is the greatest one shot i ever read in manga history 💯💯
One of the best one-shots I've ever read. Wow~ I'm speechless
the pages that had no dialogue really reminds me of 'a trail of blood' and the pages without dialogue. The pages are so meaningful that they do not need dialogue. Fujimoto is amazing.
Fucking finally someone’s taking fujimotos shit seriously def the best Fuji vid out there
Look back is amazing. I balled my eyes out. I love fujimoto.
Fujimoto just knows how to make amazing emotional moments with almost zero words or less
Iwas laying down while reading this and after I finished it I stood up for a couple minutes without saying anything🤐like this was just incredible especially the story telling🔥
Great video nice too see someone else show it love
it was a Shark kick in the heart for sure
I really appreciate the amount of time you took to make your videos and I'm really happy that you made 100k before your birthday
Thx for always liking my comments really makes me happy
honestly i dont cry much, but Fujimotos works make me cry the most
This manga was so goddamn beautiful man, reminded me of punpun in a way
This one shot hit me hard and it was very Unexpectedly hard not to cry.
Did I find a paradise for manga connoisseur? great contents btw
In the last little twist at the end where Fujino receives a gift from the past, I'm guessing it is supposed to represent how he has again found his reason to keep going.
I liked it a lot i feel like it has a surface and an undergoing theme one being its a tribute of sorts to kyoto studio arson attack from a while back and two how hard life is and the struggles people go through but also what has to be done
Honestly, amongst all of Fujimoto’s work, in terms of story, I’ve liked ‘Look Back’ the best. That isn’t to say I didn’t like Fujimoto’s previous works, Chainsaw man is one of my favorite manga, but this one shot strips all of the fantastical elements that everything else he’s written had, and has essentially created a ‘slice of life’ one shot. It isn’t boring to read but its not super over the top (albeit the ax wielding maniac with psychosis/schizophrenia is very Fujimoto), I guess because the story is so relatable that you can’t help wanting to read until the end.
Shark Kick was also an awesome homage to Fire Punch, it made me laugh.
LOOK BACK ANIME MOVIE COMING JUNE 28TH
Feels great 🤍✨🙂
As an aspiring manga artist look back really hit me
Fujimoto is one hell of a mangaka man.
The chapter was like one butterfly loop
Bro props to you on making a video on this so fast 😩🙏🏼
Really beautiful video 🥺
The last panel of Fujino taping Kyomoto's 4 panel manga is so depressing to me because it's likely reflective of Fujimoto's feelings towards drawing manga. His stories are very personal, they're a lens that magnify and refract from his world view onto the page in whatever creatively fucked up way he wants. Fujino symbolizes the extrinsic value that drawing manga provides and Kyomoto, the intrinsic value. Fujino was driven mainly by the praise and money that being a mangaka gives. Kyomoto, on the other hand, drew manga because she was bored, and the act of drawing manga was something that meant something to her specifically. They represent the two main motivations that Fujimoto has about being a mangaka. The panels of them being close and drawing in the same room is reflective of the stage in his life where he just drew a bunch of one-shots that he enjoyed drawing, while netting him praise and money at the same time. Fujino and Kyomoto growing distant feels like a retelling of the moment Chainsawman gained a lot of steam. Chainsawman is a worldwide phenomenon now, and Fujimoto doesn't have the same freedoms as he had before. He has to stick to a schedule and draw for a large chunk of his every day, he has to constantly have the manga in mind, he has to bear the responsibility of providing for the entire world waiting with bated breath for his next chapter. Kyomoto and Fujino growing distant also symbolizes Fujimoto's passion slowly disappearing into the background as Kyomoto did for Fujino, who's swamped with work every day of the week. Kyomoto dying a gruesome death from a random event that comes as a suprise for Fujino likely symbolizes a moment in his life where he realizes that he has stopped giving intrinsic value to drawing manga. Fujino feeling guilt over Kyomoto's death feels to me like him trying to lay the blame of the death of his enjoyment of drawing art on the shoulders of the part of him that indulges in the extrinsic value that fuels the vanity of his ego and pockets which will never be "full" in any sort of satisfying way. The last panel of Fujino drawing with that comic Kyomoto drew taped to the window is Fujimoto mourning the death of his enjoyment of drawing manga and trying to do justice by that part of him by continuing to draw regardless of if he doesn't exhibit the same feelings he once had with regards to drawing.
I think a part of him died in an art school. Not that I know if he ever attended one. But returning back to his old house, seeing his old drawings probably put him in the deepest despair, Fire Punch is a dark story with a lot of nonsensical story beats and plot points. But he got over it in the end, perhaps with the help of his former drawings again. Not becoming who he used to be before art school, but becoming who he wanted to be. Or smthn, idk.
Fujimoto is the greatest mangaka of our time ❤️
Just finished it.
Don’t mind me just crying
Fujimoto definitely has another skill…cutting onions ;-; but Forreal tho, this was an amazing one-shot! I saw a comment that said that Fujimoto *may* have had a friend at KyoAni who was really good at drawing backgrounds who sadly passed away in the incident (Kyomoto maybe?) So he might have done this as tribute while also having a bit of his origin story.
Read Look Back while listening to AKFG The FIrst Take Solanin. Suits together somehow. But doubling the heart breaks
beautiful
"huh...it's *My* Fault"
Damn damn that's just sad
Jesus Christ this is the same fucking feeling I’m in
Gonna think all night about this one shot