Look Back is a drama tragedy manga by Tatsuki Fujimoto. It follows 2 girls, Fujino and Kyomoto as they move from childhood to adulthood bound by a shared love of manga. Fujino is confident and assertive, being the only person since 3^rd grade drawing manga for the school newspaper. Kyomoto is shy and anxious, being a shut in who has her homework delivered to her while practicing her drawing skills all day. When they meet, they form a duo with a shared goal of publishing manga.

Fujimoto’s art style at first glance does not seem particularly special. When reading however, one can see how amazingly his panels are constructed and how they work together with the narrative to push it forward. Fujimoto has long sections with no dialogue showing the same image with small changes, such as books stacking or a calendar changing months, that manage to effectively show the passage of time. He also uses multiple panels with minor differences to show comparison and even to convey a sense of impact. The image of Fujino as a child drawing manga from behind is used many times to show her growth, to show a time change, to show a change in status quo, and each time is as impactful as the first. Fujimoto has near cinematic mastery in his panelling.

He also has his characters convey their emotions through expressions very well. His character designs are distinct, and I really like how their designs change as they grow older.

This manga has a fast pace at the start which slows towards the end. This is used very well in my opinion. The story was easy to get into at the start as both Fujino and Kyomoto are very likeable in their own ways. Character development is very well done. I was satisfied with the journeys both characters took from beginning to end. I really liked that the focus was on the 2 main characters relationship, instead of sharing focus with any other characters. This really helped me get emotionally invested in both. The dialogue was excellent, with their younger versions feeling their age which added a lot to the story consistency.

The major theme in this manga is following your dreams. This theme was handled very well.

The strengths of this series are the story, characters, dialogue, and the excellent panelling. The way this manga handles its themes is very good. There aren’t any major weaknesses I can think of.

This manga feels like Fujimoto’s other works, Goodbye Eri and Chainsaw man. If you liked either, you would like this. If you enjoy coming of age stories, I recommend this manga to you.

Overall, this manga is very good. One of my favourites that I’ve reviewed so far. I’d give it a 5/5.

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