Look Back Finally Locks In U.S. Streaming Release Date (And It’s Soon)

Tatsuki Fujimoto’s short story turned biggest movie of the year, Look Back, is going to be streaming worldwide with Prime Video beginning this November. Look Back has quickly taken over the world ever since it made its initial debut earlier this Summer. The original story from Chainsaw Man creator Tatsuki Fujimoto tells a quiet story about two creators who are caught in the machine of the industry as their lives take them in two different directions. It’s not a long feature, but it’s impact has been so strong that anime fans have already dubbed one of the best films of the year.

With only a run time of an hour and two minutes, there were concerns about whether or not Look Back would get a full release outside of Japan. Not only has that actually come to pass with a limited screening in theaters across the United States earlier this month, but now the film is gearing up for its full streaming release with Prime Video. Beginning on November 7th (and November 8th depending on the region), fans will be able to check out the movie that’s been a runaway hit with anime fans. You can check out Look Back‘s newest trailer celebrating its Prime Video release in the video above and new poster below.

What Is Look Back?

Look Back was originally a one-shot story released by Tatsuki Fujimoto in 2021, during a period when the Chainsaw Man creator was taking a break from that series to instead share a few short stories in the meantime. Look Back was the first of these experiments, and had the best reception among manga fans for it. The story following Fujino and Kyomoto, two young artists who want to pursue manga before the reality of the world around them begins to crush their dreams and push their lives in different directions. You can find the original one-shot story with Viz Media’s digital Shonen Jump library.

The Look Back feature film adaptation is written, directed, and with character designs provided by Kiyotaka Oshiyama for Studio Durian and distributed by Avex Pictures. Music for the film is composed by Haruka Nakamura, who also performs the theme song for the film, “Light song” together with singer urara. Yumi Kawai and Mizuki Yoshida headline the voice cast as the two main leads, Fujino and Kyomoto respectively. And the film has since distinguished itself in all sorts of ways with audiences since it first hit theaters in Japan.

Why You Should Watch Look Back

Look Back has been one of the big standout releases of the year, so you’re likely goinmg to want to stream it as soon as it becomes available. Despite how many big anime franchises have released films this year with notable examples including My Hero Academia: You’re Next, there’s been bigger and better buzz for Look Back. It’s such a smaller project in the grand scheme, but fans who have seen the film have noted how hard hitting its central emotional message comes through even more in the adaptation.

Creator Tatsuki Fujimoto echoed this sentiment too and shared the following statement after he was finally able to see Look Back himself, “There is an expression like ‘the characters come to life,’ and it is so true, I felt as if I was watching the world in which Fujino and Kyomoto were living through the camera,” Fujimoto stated. “The drawings and voice actors’ performances were so natural and wonderful that I felt as if I watching the world in which Fujino and Kyomoto live.” 

“I cried because I thought that I would never be able to have my work made with such sincerity again in my life,” Fujimoto’s statement continued. “There were so many surprises and discoveries in the 58 minutes and that it is impossible to pick one by one and praise them all. A lot people were involved and it turned out really great, so I want to thank all of them. Thank you so much!”