is a 2026 Japanese coming-of-age drama film written, directed, and edited by Hirokazu Kore-eda. It adapts the 2021 one-shot manga by Tatsuki Fujimoto, following the 2024 anime film adaptation. The film stars Natsuki Deguchi, Aju Makita, Furi Nanase, and Rokka Okada.

Announced in December 2025, it was shot on 35mm film, with filming primarily taking place in Fujimoto's hometown of Nikaho, Akita from February to November of the same year. The main cast was revealed in June 2026, and additional cast members were announced the following month. Yuta Bandoh composed the film's soundtrack, which includes performances from Tōko Miura and Kenshi Yonezu.

The film premiered on 6 September 2026 in competition at the 83rd Venice International Film Festival, where it won five collateral awards. It was released in Japan by on 11 September, grossing over million in its first three days.

Plot The story follows Fujino, a popular and outgoing student, and Kyomoto, a shut-in with severe social anxiety, who bond over their shared love of creating manga. Kyomoto idolizes Fujino for her work drawing manga for their elementary school's newspaper, wishing to befriend her, however Fujino initially resents Kyomoto's natural artistic talents. The pair grow close through their shared love, with the work following their bond as they grow into adulthood.

Cast

Production

Development In December 2025, it was announced that Tatsuki Fujimoto's 2021 one-shot manga Look Back will be adapted into a live-action film, with Hirokazu Kore-eda serving as the director, screenwriter, and editor. The film is the first live-action adaptation of Fujimoto's works and comes after the manga's 2024 anime film adaptation. Kensei Nakayama was announced as the assistant director and as the script supervisor. Daiju Koide served as the producer under K2 Pictures Production.

Kore-eda discovered Look Back after seeing its cover at a bookstore at Shinagawa Station and being attracted to "a figure's back". He read the manga in one sitting and "felt the desperate resolve" behind it, adding: "I could feel, almost painfully, that Mr. Fujimoto simply couldn't move forward without creating this piece. For me, Nobody Knows was that kind of work". Koide approached Kore-eda with an offer to adapt the manga into a live-action film. After receiving the offer and meeting Fujimoto, Kore-eda said that he "had no choice but to do it". Kore-eda researched about manga creation by watching documentaries on manga artists and reading material about the process.

Casting

Toshie Tabata and Yōko Yamashita were in charge of casting. In June 2026, it was announced that Natsuki Deguchi and Aju Makita would portray the main characters Fujino and Kyomoto. They had previously co-starred in Kore-eda's Netflix series The Makanai: Cooking for the Maiko House. Furi Nanase and Rokka Okada were also revealed to be portraying the younger versions of Fujino and Kyomoto. Nanase and Okada are real-life classmates, with Kore-eda stating after auditions that they were the only two who could play the roles. The film serves as Nanase's acting debut. In July 2026, Masaki Suda, Kankurō Kudō, Kayo Noro, , , and joined the cast. Prior to filming, Deguchi, Makita, Nanase and Okada had practiced drawing manga for months and were given weekly assignments by an instructor. Some of their works are shown in the film.

Filming and post-production Senzo Ueno served as the cinematographer of Look Back. It was shot on 35mm Kodak Vision3 film using the Arricam LT and Arriflex 435 cameras and Leitz Summilux-C lenses. Filming primarily took place in Fujimoto's hometown of Nikaho, Akita, and around 300 local residents participated as extras. The winter and spring scenes were shot from February to May 2025; the summer scenes were filmed in July, and the autumn scenes were filmed in November. The Tohoku University of Art and Design in Yamagata also served as a filming location. The film was developed and color-graded at , and a ScanStation was used to scan in 4K resolution.

The film also utilized rotoscoped animation that was directed by and produced by Shin-Ei Animation. Studio Ghibli animator Yōichi Nishikawa handled the background art, and Kazuo Oga and created paintings that appeared in the film. Look Back was in post-production at the time it was officially announced; in July 2026, the film was reported as being completed with a runtime of 99 minutes.

Music Yuta Bandoh composed the film's music. It is his first project with Kore-eda and was produced in conjunction with the soundtrack of the latter's film Sheep in the Box (2026). The composition process began prior to filming and took about one and a half years. Bandoh stated that the film crew's images of Nikaho served as inspirations for the music. Participating musicians include guitarists Kyuhee Park, Takuya Okamoto, Gensuke Kanki, and ; the ; violinist Kyoko Ogawa; violist Rachel Yui Mikuni; percussionist Shun Ishiwaka; and bassist Marty Holoubek. Nippon Columbia released the soundtrack on 12 September 2026. Tōko Miura served as the vocalist for the track "Beyond the Door", and Kenshi Yonezu provided a guitar performance for one of the film's scenes.

Marketing Along with the film's announcement, two promotional posters photographed by Hideaki Hamada were released, featuring the two leads with their faces obscured in both and their actresses unidentified. A teaser trailer was unveiled at the Jump Festa 2026 event in December 2025. At the 2026 Marché du Film, the Tokyo International Film Festival presented the film as part of the Tokyo Goes to Cannes showcase. A second trailer and two teaser posters were released in June 2026. The film's main trailer was unveiled the following month along with two additional posters. A clip from the film of Kyomoto and Fujino creating manga was released on 4 September.

Release Look Back premiered in competition at the 83rd Venice International Film Festival on 6 September 2026. It was simultaneously released in Japan by and in Taiwan by on 11 September. In Japan, the film was exhibited in 358 theaters and included screenings in the Dolby Cinema and Dolby Atmos formats. GKIDS will release the film in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Ireland in 2026, with its North American premiere being held at the Toronto International Film Festival on 10 September. It will also screen in competition at the BFI London Film Festival and the Chicago International Film Festival in October 2026. Goodfellas is handling international sales outside of Asia. It will also screen at the 15th Montclair Film Festival on October 17.

Reception Box office In its first three days, Look Back grossed over million () from 96,605 admissions, debuting at fifth place in 's weekend box office rankings.

Critical response On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 88% of 24 critics' reviews are positive, with rated reviews having an average of 7.2/10. Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 76 out of 100, based on 12 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.

Accolades + Award Date of ceremony Category Recipient(s) Result Best New Actress Venice Film Festival Golden Lion Fanheart3 Award – Special Mention Cinema & Arts Award CinemaSarà Award SIGNIS Award UNIMED Award

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