While everyone is talking about the Chainsaw Man anime, it's time to check out of its creator's first projects after it first wrapped up.
LOOK BACK (Rukku Bakku), by Tatsuki Fujimoto. First published in 2021 and first published in North America in 2022.
PLOT:
Fujino is inordinately proud of the simple little gag comic she publishes in the school paper, but her work can't compare to the exquisite drawings of her shut-in classmate Kyomoto. While delivering her junior high diploma, Fujino is shocked to learn that Kyomoto is her biggest fan, and from there a friendship and manga-making partnership is born. Alas, it is all too short-lived, thanks to the pull of the world beyond high school and an unforeseen tragedy.
STORY:
I can distinctly remember when this first went up on the Shonen Jump app. A number of friends and online mutuals had been eagerly following each new Chainsaw Man chapter as it dropped on the Shonen Jump app, and they positively exploded with praise for this.
Meanwhile, I was...well, 'suspicious' is not the right word. Skeptical, maybe? Anyone who knows me well could tell you that I'm not a big Weekly Shonen Jump person. It's not even like I hate it or the manga that run in it, but I am kind of exhausted with how it sucks up so much of the oxygen when it comes to manga discussion on social media and how many of its fans act like it's the only sort of manga that exists. I still haven't got around to Chainsaw Man (I know, I know, I'll get to it eventually), but I knew I had to cover this once the print edition was announced because of that hype.
Having read it now, consider me legitimately impressed.
I like how much it prioritizes the joy of collaboration on art. Fujino and Kyomaro's friendship through mutual skill and admiration is the beating heart of this story, and Fujimoto makes it clear that making manga together is a more positive and enriching process than doing so alone. I like how he lets Fujino be emotionally messy. She can be smug, selfish, and thoughtless at various points, and goes a long way towards making her feel like a person (and in particular, a teenager) than a character, if that makes any sense. At the very least, he's writing these two girls not in ways to make them marketably cute and appealing to otaku. I like its weird sense of whimsy, which comes through most when we are dropped into Fujino's imagination after she loses Kyomaru and starts dreaming up alternate scenarios where they didn't meet or met at different times and places, only to be dropped back into harsh reality.
I do wonder how much of this was drawn from Fujimoto's own experiences. It's very clear that Fujino's big hit, Shark Jump, is drawing on both of Fujimoto's previous manga for inspiration in both title and look. I also wonder how much he drew inspiration from real-world events (and I suspect that at least one of them was the KyoAni arson attack). Regardless of where his inspiration may or may not have come from, I am impressed with how much emotion he packs into this story and what an absolute gut-punch of an ending it delivers.
ART:
Something that Fujimoto is often praised for is the grittiness of his art (at least, compared to the other mangaka in WSJ). I can see where they get that idea - his art style isn't as heavily stylized as a lot of other shonen mangaka. If anything, it reminds me of Shuzo Oshimi, albeit less polished. He's definitely got a lot of technical skill, particularly in how he handles unusual perspectives and weird expressions. There are also some stunningly put-together montages that really sell some powerful moments of shock and tedium. It's really smart stuff, but it's done in such a way that it isn't flashy.
RATING:
This book is published by Viz. It is currently in print.
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