During Look Back‘s panel at Anime Expo 2024, the anime film’s director Kiyotaka Oshiyama shared some behind-the-scenes insights, including the challenges faced in the international film festival circuit.
Responding to a query about the film’s length, Oshiyama disclosed that Look Back was originally envisioned as a project that could compete in global film festivals.
This ambition influenced the storyboarding process, which expanded the narrative beyond the original manga’s single volume.
Despite their efforts, the final product resulted in a film that was approximately 60 minutes long.
Oshiyama then recounted their experience taking Look Back to various film festivals, only to be met with disappointment.
Despite their dreams of having the film compete internationally, it was turned down by multiple festivals due to its runtime. Many festivals did not consider the film eligible for competition as it fell short of the 70-minute minimum runtime required to be categorized as a feature film.
Animator Toshiyuki Inoue had recently shared insights into the unique production process behind the film.
Look Back anime film released in the Japanese theatres on June 28, 2024, and grossed over 227 million yen in its first three days.
Studio Duran animated the film, with Kiyotaka Oshiyama directing, handling the screenplay and also the character designs for Look Back.
The director had previously hinted that he is aiming to create Look Back film differently from the manga.
Look Back is a Japanese one-shot web manga written and illustrated by Tatsuki Fujimoto. It was published on Shueisha’s Shonen Jump+ in July 2021.
Source: Anime Expo 2024 via X