The distinct animation style and visual feel of the anime Look Back captured the attention of viewers when it premiered in Japanese theaters, earning widespread praise.
Unlike typical productions, where rough sketches by key animators are cleaned up by in-between animators, the film’s production process took a different approach.
While this information is not new, director Kiyotaka Oshiyama elaborated on this artistic choice in a recent interview, explaining that the movie’s animation and art style were intentionally designed to celebrate human creators at a time when AI-generated artwork is becoming increasingly common.
Oshiyama expressed concern over AI’s growing ability to produce high-quality visuals, which he described as mere imitations of human-made works.
And so, he wanted Look Back‘s artistic choice to be a tribute to creators.
“With AI becoming capable of producing high-quality visuals with ease, I believe there’s a unique vitality in the lines drawn by humans. Even if AI tries to mimic human-drawn guide lines, it would simply be a design—a forgery. The lines have meaning only when drawn by a human. This may be one of the last opportunities to do something like this, but that’s precisely what gives it value. It’s a tribute to creators.“
It was to underscore this point, that the director made the unconventional decision to color directly on the original key drawings rather than the traditional method of tracing over them for cleaner lines.
According to Oshiyama, the genga (original drawings) carried the artist’s emotions and intentions, and by tracing over them, the information contained within those lines would be lost.
“We deliberately chose to maintain a human touch in the lines. These lines carry the artist’s emotions and intentions. By tracing and creating mechanical lines, we lose the information contained within those lines,” Oshiyama said. “These lines are essential for human drawing, and it would be a waste to erase them. Unlike mechanical tracing, genga lines contain a lot of information. I was relieved that no one pointed out the roughness of the lines.”
The director further emphasized that he wanted to present these lines directly on the screen.
While they may appear rough or even sloppy with lines going outside the intended area, he believed that the audience will appreciate this approach for this particular work.
Look Back anime film released in the Japanese theatres on June 28, 2024, and grossed over 227 million yen in its first three days.
Though it had a limited release, the movie earned over a billion yen in the box office by the third week of its release.
Studio Duran was in charge of the anime film’s production, while Kiyotaka Oshiyama directed, handled 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: Mantan Web