The Look Back live-action adaptation has released its main trailer, featuring key moments of the two leads sketching together and confronting creative setbacks in their path forward. Updated poster visuals capture them in quiet, reflective poses against seasonal landscapes that mirror the story’s emotional arc.
Watch the the main trailer below:
Here are the teaser posters for the film:
Director Hirokazu Kore-eda guides the project, set to arrive in Japanese theaters on September 11, 2026. His thoughtful style, evident in prior works exploring human relationships, fits perfectly with the manga’s focus on artistic growth and personal hurdles. Production wrapped with a 99-minute cut that expands on key emotional beats from the source.
The film clocks in at 99 minutes, providing greater room to breathe than the 58-minute anime adaptation that premiered in June 2024. Fujimoto’s original Look Back manga, which launched on Shonen Jump+ back in 2021, totals 143 pages filled with nuanced character moments. This live-action version translates that compact intensity into a fuller cinematic experience.
Kayo Noro as Akari Fujino (Fujino's mother)
Ryo Ikeda as Hitoshi Fujino (Fujino's father)
Miyu Sasaki as Megumi Fujino (Fujino's older sister)
Maho Yamada as Manabe (Fujino's junior high school teacher)
Kankuro Kudo as Tamai (Fujino and Kyomoto's elementary school teacher)
Masaki Suda as Maeda (Weekly Shonen Jump editor)
“My first time working with Director Kore-eda — and on Look Back! I kept wondering, ‘Was my character inspired by that person?’ ‘Was the set modeled on that actual manga editorial office?’ The entire shoot was filled with excitement,” commented Suda on his role.
Natsuki Deguchi stars as Fujino while Aju Makita plays Kyomoto in the Look Back live-action film. Furi Nanase and Rikka Okada depict their younger selves during childhood sequences. Daiju Koide, producer of Shin Kamen Rider, leads production efforts at K2 Pictures, and GKIDS will bring the movie to theaters in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, and Ireland.
What is Look Back about?
Tatsuki Fujimoto’s Look Back debuted as a one-shot on Shonen Jump+, the digital platform of publisher Shueisha, in 2021 and quickly stood out for its raw exploration of young artists chasing their dreams amid real-life obstacles. The narrative centers on the evolving friendship between two girls whose lives intertwine through manga creation. K2 Pictures offered this official description of the film:
Fujino, a young girl with complete confidence in her talent for drawing manga, and Kyomoto, a reclusive classmate whose artistic ability far surpasses her own, are brought together by their shared passion for creating manga. As in the original work, the film follows the thirteen-year journey of the two characters from their elementary school days onward, portraying it with remarkable sensitivity and a vivid sense of youth.
With Kore-eda’s sensitive direction and this stellar cast bringing Fujimoto’s pages to vivid life, Look Back promises an unforgettable portrait of friendship, ambition, and the lasting impact of pursuing what you love when it hits theaters in Japan this September.
