Look Back

Fujimoto’s (Chainsaw Man) stand-alone story depicts the friendship between Fujino, a confident storyteller with a comic strip in her school newspaper, and Kyomoto, a truant classmate who never leaves her house, but whose drawing abilities far outpace Fujino’s. When they finally meet and decide to collaborate, they find great success. But Kyomoto remains pensive and interior, focused on the beauty of landscapes and backgrounds, and eventually deciding to pursue art school rather than work in the manga industry alongside her friend. A brutal tragedy leaves Fujino reflecting on their relationship and what might have been different in a misty moment of supernatural time travel. The plot is poignant, but the visual celebrations of quintessential manga moments define the mood of the book in a moving, elegiac way. Ultimately, it’s an appreciation of the art form, its artists, and the reader. The translation and the English text layout are a bit hasty, which is a shame, because the story is compelling and could use more cultural context for the less familiar.