Animator Toshiyuki Inoue recently shared insights into the unique production process and director Kiyotaka Oshiyama’s dedication behind Look Back anime film during a stage greeting held on July 5, 2024.
Inoue explained that Look Back‘s animation process was not done in the typical manner where rough sketches by key animators are cleaned up by in-between animators.
“Key animation involves drawing the main points of movement, and in-between animation fills in the gaps. Usually, the lines drawn by key animators are rough and cleaned up by in-between animators. Normally, key animator lines don’t appear on screen as is,” Inoue said.
However, Look Back preserved these rough sketches by directly coloring and reflecting them on the screen. This approach maintained the hand-drawn feel, contributing to the film’s distinctive visual experience.
Highlighting the dedication of director Oshiyama, Inoue noted that in the last week of May, Oshiyama drew 1,000 frames.
He noted that the film was considered to be a relatively easy project, as it was based on a manga and would not require a lot of movement.
However, as production progressed, Oshiyama became more and more involved in the animation, and the film’s style began to evolve.
Inoue had only high praise for Oshiyama’s passion for animation. He said that Oshiyama is a maniac who is always looking for ways to push the boundaries of animation, stating that this passion is evident in every frame of Look Back.
Inoue shared an example of the director’s commitment, recalling an episode where he decided to increase the number of houses around Fujino’s home, demonstrating his dedication to enhancing the animation.
He also went on to praise a scene where Fujino skips in the rain, handled by Oshiyama, which according to him was an excellent example of animation adding value beyond the original manga.
Reflecting on the project’s development, Inoue expressed pride in what the small team achieved in about a year, considering it a noteworthy accomplishment in anime history.
Of the 700 cuts in the film, Inoue was responsible for about 25%, including the crucial scene where Fujino and Kyomoto first meet.
Inoue is known for his works on Tokyo Godfathers, Millennium Actress, Paprika, Akira, Maquia: When the Promised Flower Blooms, among others. He also served as a key animator in The Boy And The Heron.
He is known as the ‘Perfect Animator,’ a title given to him by Mamoru Oshii. He is known for influencing the ‘realist’ style of animation in the 1980s and 1990s, along with animators like Hiroyuki Okiura, Shinji Hashimoto and Mitsuo Iso.
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 is in charge of the anime film’s production, while Kiyotaka Oshiyama will be 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: Comic Natalie