Hirokazu Kore-Eda’s Live-Action ‘Look Back’ Just Got Its First Clip, and It’s Already Being Called a Stunner

Hirokazu Kore-eda has never been a filmmaker content to sit still, and 2026 has proven to be one of the busiest stretches of his already prolific career. After premiering the science-fiction family drama ‘Sheep in a Box’ at Cannes earlier this year, the ‘Shoplifters’ director is now bringing an entirely different kind of passion project to audiences worldwide.

That project is a live-action adaptation of Tatsuki Fujimoto’s beloved manga ‘Look Back,’ marking the first time any of the ‘Chainsaw Man’ creator’s work has been brought to screen in live-action form. Kore-eda has described being captivated by the story from the moment he picked it up in a Shinagawa Station bookstore, reading the entire thing in a single sitting before recognizing in it the same creative urgency that once drove his own film ‘Nobody Knows.’

Now audiences are finally getting their first real glimpse of that adaptation in motion. A new clip shared online highlights stars Aju Makita and Natsuki Deguchi bringing the manga’s central duo, Kyōmoto and Fujino, to life as they work together on their shared passion for drawing manga, giving fans a first proper look at the film’s tone ahead of its release.

The story follows Fujino, a gifted aspiring manga artist, and Kyōmoto, a shy admirer of her work, as an unlikely friendship blossoms between the two over more than a decade. What begins as an artistic partnership eventually forces both characters to confront difficult decisions that threaten to pull their creative collaboration apart, a narrative arc Kore-eda has approached with his signature humanist sensibility.

Early reviews out of the film’s festival premiere suggest that sensibility translates beautifully to the material. One review described the film’s cinematography as an intoxicating mosaic of lush seasonal imagery, shot across an entire calendar year to naturally capture the changing weather of its Nikaho filming location, resulting in visuals compared to the work of anime director Makoto Shinkai.

Production notes have confirmed the film was shot entirely on film stock, with composer Yuta Bandoh, known for his work on ‘Belle’ and ‘Kaiju No. 8,’ handling the score, and cinematographer Senzo Ueno behind the camera. That combination of talent has contributed to a visual style critics have already singled out as one of the adaptation’s strongest assets.

‘Look Back’ isn’t the manga’s first screen adaptation, either. A 2024 animated film from director Kiyotaka Oshiyama became a significant box office success in Japan, grossing more than $12.8 million worldwide and earning a Best Animated Feature nomination at the Annie Awards, in addition to securing a Prime Video release deal.

Manga creator Tatsuki Fujimoto personally backed Kore-eda’s live-action take on the project after being approached by producer Daiju Koide, who brought the two creators together to discuss adapting the story. K2 Pictures is distributing the film in Japan, with Goodfellas handling international sales and GKIDS securing theatrical distribution rights across North America, the UK, and Ireland.

The film is set to make its North American premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival this September, following a Japanese theatrical release beginning September 11. A specific domestic release date for North American audiences has not yet been announced.

With early festival buzz already comparing the film favorably to its acclaimed animated predecessor, ‘Look Back’ looks poised to become another standout addition to Kore-eda’s already celebrated filmography. For fans of Fujimoto’s work, this adaptation offers a genuinely different, more meditative lens on a story that’s already proven its emotional power across multiple mediums.

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