Today’s review was inspired by a combination of two very different things. Various folks having mentioned this book in Yuri-friendly spaces online and, by complete coincidence, the fantastic podcast Mangasplaining putting it on their calendar, which caused me to bump this up on my to-read pile.
To begin with, Look Back (ルックバック) by Chainsaw Man creator Fujimoto Tatsuki is not Yuri. BUT…and this is a huge “but”… it definitely falls under the Yuricon broad-umbrella definition of Yuri in one sense:
Yuri can describe any anime or manga series (or other derivative media, i.e., fan fiction, film, etc.) that shows intense emotional connection, romantic love or physical desire between women. Yuri is not a genre confined by the gender or age of the audience, but by the *perception* of the audience.
This definition has always been intentionally broad and subjective, because it has long been my opinion that media is subjective and we will see what we want to see in it, despite (sometime, even at odds with) creator intent. ^_^ With this definition in mind, let’s please take a look at Look Back which is a one-shot story about a manga creator Fujino. From a young age, Fujino loves drawing and loves the praise it garners her. As she gets older, she continues to draw, even when it stops being so cute or appreciated.
When Fujino is shown the vastly superior art of another person at school, her life changes irrevocably. Rededicating herself to her craft, she draws and draws, endlessly. These scenes are communicated by a view of her back at her desk, shown over and over as time, seasons, years change. We can see how many sketchbooks she’s filled, how many books on drawing she owns. And then…she visits shut-in Kyoumoto’s home and finds that she’s nowhere near the level of dedication, of search for perfection, that her erstwhile rival is. The scene that follow, as Fujino dances her despair out in the rain, had me sobbing. It was so…perfect. Not pretty, but perfect.
Still in middle school, Fujino and Kyoumoto team up to become a successful manga-making team. And still, Fujino draws and draws and draws. We see her back in front of that desk with a sketch pad, then increasingly sophisticated equipment as time goes on. Kyoumoto and Fujino celebrate their success with simple things – Kyoumoto is still learning how to exist in the world. But, finally, after years together, after they’ve graduated high school, Kyoumoto makes a huge leap and applies to art school. Fujino continues to draw manga and continues to be successful.
And here I will not spoil anything except to say that I basically wept my way through the rest of the book. Because it was just that powerful and well-executed. And that there is violence. It is not gratuitous, it is extremely important to the remainder of the story.
The relationship between Fujino and Kyoumoto isn’t anything like romance, but they are both poles around which the story is built and neither they, nor the story, could exist as such without it. So not Yuri in terms of lesbian romance, but in the shadow of that broad definition above, the emotional connection between them is compelling.
Ratings:
Art – 9 Outstanding
Story – 9
Characters – 9
Service – 0
Yuri – No. The story is about a life-changing relationship between two girls
Overall – 9
Magnificently drawn, with incredible subtle detail (much of which Mangasplaining covers) and emotional in a way I haven’t experienced in YEARS. Best of all, it’s available in English digitally from Shonen Jump. A Jump subscription is $2.99/month, with every major title being released as a simulpub. It’s a ridiculously good deal. You’ll need to supply your own hankies for this volume.
If this review inspires you to read this manga, definitely wait until you have read it, then jump over and listen to the show about it, Look Back by Tatsuki Fujimoto on Mangasplaining.
