Look Back anime movie wins Best Animation of the Year at the 34th Japan Movie Critics Awards

Modified Apr 24, 2025 08:34 GMT

Look Back anime movie wins Best Animation of the Year at the 34th Japan Movie Critics Awards — Kyoumoto and Ayumu Fujino as seen in the Look Back anime (Image via Studio Durian)

On Thursday, April 24, 2025, the 34th Japan Movie Critics Awards announced that the Look Back anime movie based on Chainsaw Man creator Tatsuki Fujimoto's one-shot manga won the Best Animation of the Year award. The award will be presented on Monday, June 9, 2025.

Look Back, written and illustrated by Tatsuki Fujimoto, is a Japanese one-shot web manga published on Shueisha's Shonen Jump+ in June 2021. Studio Durian later picked up the manga for an anime film adaptation. The film premiered in June 2024 in theaters in Japan and was later released worldwide.

Kiyotaka Oshiyama's Look Back anime movie wins Best Animation of the Year award

Ayumu Fujino as seen in the anime movie (Image via Studio Durian)

On Thursday, April 24, 2025, the 34th Japan Movie Critics Awards announced the winners of its annual awards. The Japan Movie Critics Awards are an award given by filmmakers to filmmakers.

As per the announcement, the Look Back anime movie, based on Tatsuki Fujimoto's one-shot manga, won the Best Animation of the Year award. The award will be presented to Director Kiyotaka Oshiyama at its ceremony set to be held on Monday, June 9, 2025, at Hall C of the Tokyo International Forum in Tokyo, Japan.

Kyoumoto and Ayumu Fujino as seen in the anime movie (Image via Studio Durian)

When the anime movie first opened in theaters in Japan, it was ranked #2 in ticket sales but #1 in earnings in its opening weekend. The anime movie sold 135,000 tickets and earned 227 million yen (approximately US$1.40 million) in its first three days.

The anime movie was later screened in North America by GKIDS in October 2024. In its opening weekend, the film earned US$688,253 at the US box office.

What is Look Back about?

Kyoumoto as seen in the anime movie (Image via Studio Durian)

Look Back follows the story of Ayumu Fujino, a young artist who liked to draw manga for the school newspaper. However, after seeing her reclusive shut-in classmate Kyoumoto draw better than her, Fujino starts competing with her, striving to improve her art.

While Ayumu Fujino failed at her mission, soon after receiving praise from Kyoumoto, she started working alongside her to create numerous successful one-shot manga under the pen name "Kyo Fujino." However, when they finally received their big shot from Shueisha, Kyoumoto declined, causing a big fallout between the two friends.

Related links:

About the author

Gokul has been an anime writer in Pop Culture division at Sportskeeda since 2022. His love for watching anime and his interest in the ever-growing anime industry inspire Gokul to produce insightful content about the genre on a daily basis. He holds a Master's degree in Communication & Journalism, and has worked for close to 3.5 years in the field.

Gokul likes to thoroughly research about the anime he is writing about and only credits a source after verifying its credibility. He loves the popular Shonen anime, Black Clover, for its memorable characters and their development throughout the story.

When not racking his brain behind his next anime story, Gokul likes to play video games, read manga, and play football.

Know More

Edited by Gokul Chettiyar