Hirokazu Kore-eda’s Live-Action ‘Look Back’ Gets a New Trailer and a Release Plan for US Theaters
Few one-shot manga have left as deep a mark as Tatsuki Fujimoto’s ‘Look Back.’ The story first appeared on Shonen Jump+ in July 2021, and it quickly turned into a phenomenon, drawing more than 4 million views in just two days. It went on to earn an Eisner Awards nomination, and it showed readers a very different side of the creator behind ‘Chainsaw Man.’
The tale centers on two small-town schoolgirls who could hardly be more different. Fujino is confident and celebrated by her classmates for her comics, while Kyomoto is a shut-in with severe social anxiety, and their shared dream of becoming manga artists brings them together. In 2024, the story received an animated film adaptation from Kiyotaka Oshiyama and Studio Durian, which GKIDS released in North America that October and which took home a high honor at the Annie Awards.
Now ‘Look Back’ is taking a new form. GKIDS has unveiled a new trailer for Hirokazu Kore-eda’s live-action adaptation, and it will release the film in select theaters beginning December 30 before expanding nationwide on January 15, 2027.
New trailer for the live-action adaptation of ‘LOOK BACK’. Directed by Hirokazu Kore-eda. https://t.co/TG4O6dZhPQ
— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) October 20, 2026
The latest footage presents a tender coming-of-age story about two girls whose friendship blossoms through their love of comics. It features images lifted directly from the manga and a healthy amount of inspiration from the 2024 anime, all filtered through Kore-eda’s slow, naturalistic style. An earlier teaser in December 2025 didn’t name the cast or show many clear shots of the characters’ faces, and a second trailer in June introduced the performers.
The cast includes Aju Makita as Kyomoto, with Furi Nanase and Rokka Okada playing the younger versions of Fujino and Kyomoto. According to reports, Nanase and Okada are real-life classmates, and Kore-eda said after auditions that they were the only two who could play the roles.
The film marks the first live-action adaptation of any of Fujimoto’s works, and it comes from a filmmaker with serious credentials. Kore-eda is a Palme d’Or winner and Oscar nominee best known for ‘Shoplifters,’ and he wrote, directed and edited the film himself. It was produced by K2 Pictures and runs about 100 minutes, expanding Fujimoto’s short story into a feature-length drama.
The project came together after producer Daiju Koide approached Kore-eda with the idea. The director has said he came across the manga’s cover at a bookstore, and after meeting Fujimoto, he felt he had no choice but to make it. His approach is described as preserving the manga’s intimate, observational tone rather than reinventing it.
The film has already made its way around the festival circuit. It premiered at the Venice Film Festival on September 6 and opened in Japan on September 11, and it screened for North American audiences at the Toronto International Film Festival. GKIDS acquired rights for the United States, Canada, the UK and Ireland in April.
For a filmmaker who has just come off the future-set drama ‘Sheep in a Box,’ about a couple who take in a humanoid as their son, ‘Look Back’ marks a return to the kind of quiet, human-scale story that built his reputation. The shift from the sci-fi premise of his last film to a story about two girls at drawing desks is a notable change of pace.
Fans will inevitably compare the two screen versions. The anime followed the manga’s story closely in a compact running time, while the live-action film has room to breathe, and it leans on performances rather than animation to convey the characters’ inner lives. Both share a core idea about creative rivalry, friendship and the pain of moving forward.
The anime’s success gives the new version a built-in audience. The 2024 film earned $688,253 in its opening weekend in the United States, a strong result for a limited release, and GKIDS is clearly betting that Kore-eda’s name will extend that appeal. With a staged rollout through December and January, ‘Look Back’ is positioned to reach both manga fans and viewers who follow the director’s work.
Which version of Look Back are you most excited about?
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