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Do yourself a favor and read Look Back, the new 140 pages long one-shot manga from Chainsaw Man creator Tatsuki Fujimoto

Philippo

Philippo

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Oct 28, 2017
7,923
THE MANGA JUST CAME OUT SO LET'S TRY AND USE SPOILER TAGS

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Yesterday saw the release of Look Back, a new one-shot story of 140 pages (basically a single volume manga) by increasingly popular manga author Tatsuki Fujimoto, creator of the one series taking the Internet by storm, Chainsaw Man.

It's been published on MangaPlus, the online platform owned by Shonen Jump's Shuheisha, so you can read it in English legally and for free.

Here's the description:
Fujino is a fourth grader who draws a manga strip for the school newspaper. Her art makes her the star of the class, but one day she's told that Kyomoto, a student who refuses to come to school, would also like to submit a manga for the paper...
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Given the author's previous works (Chainsaw Man and Fire Punch) are notorious for being wild rides filled with insanity and violence, everyone was ready to see what Fujimoto had in store for us. But, in what is just another display of his now widely recognized talent, Fujimoto was able to subvert all expectations and surprise everyone.

I am not going to go into details and spoil the plot, but I was seriously amazed by this work under every aspect: writing, drawings, all. It's Fujimoto most intimate work yet and probably a sign of his maturation as an auteur, and I felt this little thing deserved it's own thread.

A whole lot of other famous manga authors have expressed themselves via Twitter with amazement at Fujimoto's new work, and yesterday the man himself was in the top 10 trending on worldwide Twitter. This is seriously big for a one-shot story.

If you want more impressions, check the Manga or Chainsaw Man's threads.


d0c0a1cd404782448fd355999e4bab92c5c6ae65_784_1145_200510.jpeg
 
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Mesoian

Mesoian

▲ Legend ▲
Member
Oct 28, 2017
26,613
screenshot2021-07-191fikue.png


PFFT HA!

Alright, this is pretty good.

Edit: Yeah.

That was really good.
 
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Egida

Egida

Member
Oct 27, 2017
4,388
I was just checking that stupid yet hilarious lollipop manga and saw this, inmediately recognised the art style and read it.

Amazing work, and some very beautiful panels, makes the wait for Chainsawman 2 even harder.
 

RJeddy

Member
Dec 4, 2017
721
I didn't really understand a part of the ending
with the ripped comic strip falling under a door to another timeline/reality where Fujino saves the day, only to have another comic strip detailing that event crossing back under the door.
Could someone explain this part to me? Am I missing something here or did it get supernatural for a moment?
 
rasu

rasu

Member
Dec 22, 2017
677
damn... this is great! thanks for the thread. probably would never have known about this otherwise
 
Mortemis

Mortemis

One Winged Slayer
The Fallen
Oct 25, 2017
7,422
I can't praise it enough. Absolutely worth anyone's time to read it.
 
Dynamite Ringo Matsuri

Dynamite Ringo Matsuri

Member
Oct 26, 2017
1,752
Yeah read it yesterday. It blew me away. Fujimoto's paneling is so fucking good. It's got this cinematic quality to it that I hardly see other artists attempt. I'm only familiar with his work on Chainsaw Man, which while good, only hinted at what he was fully capable of. This however, yeah, it's as you said, it feels like the work of an artist coming into their own. Very cool visual reference to the Oasis song in the first and last panels as well
 
loob

loob

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Oct 25, 2017
2,620
Minnesota
read it today, really solid. got a bit emotional but didn't cry, luckily. don't need that right now lol.

i guess putting it into context makes it more impactful.
 

Deleted member 25606

User requested account closure
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Oct 29, 2017
8,973
Yeah my SJ app gave me a notice, plan on reading this tonight or tomorrow. I am a pretty big Chainsaw Man fan, and while it looks different and more personal and intimate I have only heard good things and it's nice to get a change of pace.
 
Nappuccino

Nappuccino

The Fallen
Oct 25, 2017
13,028
RJeddy said:
I didn't really understand a part of the ending
with the ripped comic strip falling under a door to another timeline/reality where Fujino saves the day, only to have another comic strip detailing that event crossing back under the door.
Could someone explain this part to me? Am I missing something here or did it get supernatural for a moment?
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I think

It means that we can use fiction as a tool to create a better world/better story for ourselves, but we'll never forget what really happened. That weight will (should) always be with us.
 
Birdie

Birdie

Banned
Oct 26, 2017
26,289
I feel guilty because I really didn't care for Chainsaw Man. I honestly had more fun with Undead Unluck for a kind of wacky, somewhat crude manga.
 
GG-Duo

GG-Duo

Member
Oct 27, 2017
888
OP, I think you should mention that this was released on the second year anniversary of the Kyoto Animation fire.

also, consider using the new Anime/Manga prefix…
 
AnimeAvatar

AnimeAvatar

Member
Apr 28, 2021
614
Philippo said:
I am not going to go into details and spoil the plot, but I was seriously amazed by this work under every aspect: writing, drawings, all. It's Fujimoto most intimate work yet and probably a sign of his maturation as an auteur
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I kinda disagree with this. Chainsaw Man and Fire Punch have plenty of intimate, subdued moments that show off Fujimoto's skill at mature character writing. It's always been there but a lot of people when talking about his other works only focus on the batshit insane stuff.
 
Midramble

Midramble

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Oct 25, 2017
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San Francisco
RJeddy said:
I didn't really understand a part of the ending
with the ripped comic strip falling under a door to another timeline/reality where Fujino saves the day, only to have another comic strip detailing that event crossing back under the door.
Could someone explain this part to me? Am I missing something here or did it get supernatural for a moment?
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

My read on it was that Fujino with their creative abilities used their art to imagine a world where that personal tragedy didn't happen, but in the end it is just a manga strip and we live here. I think that specific part is a meta commentary on the one shot itself being a fantasy of experiencing the KyoAni fire in a different manner as a lot of the manga has nods to the event.
 
Midramble

Midramble

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AnimeAvatar said:
I kinda disagree with this. Chainsaw Man and Fire Punch have plenty of intimate, subdued moments that show off Fujimoto's skill at mature character writing. It's always been there but a lot of people when talking about his other works only focus on the batshit insane stuff.
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Honestly that's my favorite part of Fujimoto is that they not only have bonkers story twisting ability but the human aspect of every character is very very honest. It's weird how well lived the characters feel in such surreal environments.
 
Arkeband

Arkeband

Banned
Nov 8, 2017
7,663
I don't understand the last panels, did she
hang up the 4koma that was the parallel world one? Did that one even exist? She just returned to drawing in memory of her friend?

It was good but it was a bit abrupt.
 
NSESN

NSESN

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Member
Oct 25, 2017
25,335
Dmax3901 said:
Thanks for the thread, really enjoyed that. Is any part of this autobiographical?
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plenty of it

fujino and kyomoto are obvious references to his name
fujimoto also won a prize when he was 17 years old
shark kick is a reference to both fire punch and chainsaw man
fujimoto is also from a village in a rural area
fujimoto was also a neet and his family was worried about his future
 
Dmax3901

Dmax3901

Member
Oct 25, 2017
7,909
NSESN said:
plenty of it

fujino and kyomoto are obvious references to his name
fujimoto also won a prize when he was 17 years old
shark kick is a reference to both fire punch and chainsaw man
fujimoto is also from a village in a rural area
fujimoto was also a neet and his family was worried about his future
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Nappael said:
It's most likely
a reflection of his feelings towards the KyoAni tragedy, and him being inspired by them as a young artist.
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Thanks, I did wonder if that particular event was an inspiration.

This was a beautiful little story and makes me want to check out Chainsaw Man even though I gather the tone will be drastically different haha.
 
808s & Villainy

808s & Villainy

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Oct 27, 2017
42,722
Reading the entirety of Fire Punch forever turned me off this dude. So much so I only got a few chapters into Chainsaw Man as well. I dunno...maybe I'll give this a shot
 

Deleted member 1849

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Dmax3901 said:
Thanks, I did wonder if that particular event was an inspiration.

This was a beautiful little story and makes me want to check out Chainsaw Man even though I gather the tone will be drastically different haha.
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Yes aha, but if the art style and the general storytelling style appeals to you, Chainsaw Man is well worth the read. It's one of my favourites. Fujimoto is incredible at paneling and building a story flow, and even with the relative craziness of CSM all the characters have a very human side to them.
 
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Jintor

Jintor

Saw the truth behind the copied door
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Oct 25, 2017
32,478
fucking incredible work. i saw it blow up yesterday but wasn't prepared for it to hit this hard
 
Callibretto

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Oct 25, 2017
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Arkeband said:
I don't understand the last panels, did she
hang up the 4koma that was the parallel world one? Did that one even exist? She just returned to drawing in memory of her friend?

It was good but it was a bit abrupt.
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You can intepret it as you wish, either the torn 4koma page slipped into the past creating parallel world, or it's just Fujino's imagination of what could have been. At the end, some wind push a 4koma pages to slip under the door again that prompt Fujino entering Kyomoto's room. You can see in Kyomoto room that there are 4koma pages taped on the window qnd there's 1 missing. So it can really support both parallel world theory or it's just all in Fujino's head
 

Deleted member 1849

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Also

The title seems to be a reference to Oasis' song "Don't look back in anger". Top right of the first page, then the title, then the bottom left of the last page.

It's a song about not thinking about what might have been had you done things differently, and to look forward. Which... is just super fitting.
 
dojo32161

dojo32161

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Sep 4, 2019
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AnimeAvatar said:
I kinda disagree with this. Chainsaw Man and Fire Punch have plenty of intimate, subdued moments that show off Fujimoto's skill at mature character writing. It's always been there but a lot of people when talking about his other works only focus on the batshit insane stuff.
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Having recently read Fire Punch (and only partially into Chainsaw Man), I gotta agree, my favorite part in Fire Punch was probably
Agni's talk with Doma at the cabin, just seeing how the man's entire worldview evolved after he realized his entire life and the lives he took was built on a sham to control him.
RKNydaC.png
 
alexi52

alexi52

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Oct 28, 2017
18,974
Probably the only one shot that almost got me to cry, Fujimoto is a phenomenal writer
 
Yasumi

Yasumi

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Oct 25, 2017
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People should check out Inio Asano's works if they enjoyed this. Very similar vibes.
 
Herey

Herey

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Jan 10, 2019
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It's very good.
Arkeband said:
I don't understand the last panels, did she
hang up the 4koma that was the parallel world one? Did that one even exist? She just returned to drawing in memory of her friend?

It was good but it was a bit abrupt.
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I saw it that the 4-koma represents the fact that Kyomoto already saw Fujino as their hero, they didn't need to literally save them from an axe murderer with karate for that still to be true in the real world. So I took the 4-koma as metaphorical rather than literal, with it directly referencing Fujino's 'what if' headcannon where she saves her. And then after seeing that, along with all the manga copies and merch, Fujino realised the reason they drew manga was because of Kyomoto, with the final panel deciding to continue for her.
 
Pascal

Pascal

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It's just a beautiful and, I think, deeply personal tale. There is a real honesty to Fujimoto's work that lends them some real emotional weight. Even when his stories seem like they are going off the rails like Chainsaw Man, there is always that emotional honesty that grounds them and makes them stories worth caring about. I was really moved by this one and its message, and I'm really looking forward to whatever Fujimoto does next.
 
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