Tatsuki Fujimoto, the mastermind behind "Chainsaw Man," dropped his short manga "Look Back" in July 2021 on Shueisha's digital manga magazine, Jump+. Fast forward to last June, the animated film adaptation hit Japanese theaters, racking up rave reviews and impressive box office numbers, even in Taiwan. It's wild how a story under an hour long could capture so many hearts!
Yesterday (January 25), the "Welcome to Pen 2025 CREATORS FES." event went down at TOKYO NODE HALL in Tokyo. Director Kiyotaka Oshiyama and original manga editor Shihei Lin were there for a chat, where Oshiyama shared his thoughts on the film's smashing success.
During the discussion, Oshiyama weighed in on the film's reception, saying, "I feel incredibly lucky. While I've been an animator on many films and TV shows, this experience really hammered home that timing and luck are just as crucial as the work's quality itself." Editor Shihei Lin chimed in, "A theatrical film running under an hour (58 minutes) is pretty rare. But the sheer quality of the work made us confident that audiences would truly enjoy this special experience in theaters."
Typically, a production might have 20, 30, or even more animators on board. But "Look Back"? It was pulled off by a lean team of just eight animators. Oshiyama recalled, "Since I was juggling director, scriptwriter, character designer, and animator roles, I was buried in drawing countless details, and the work just kept piling up. But even for such a short animated film, I wanted to give audiences a fulfilling experience. So, we polished every single frame to perfection, spending more time than usual to faithfully bring the original manga to life."
When asked about his future plans, Oshiyama dropped a bombshell: "Perhaps because 'Look Back' was such a brilliant piece, I've recently started toying with the idea of creating my own manga."
Finally, quizzed on the allure of being an animator, he responded, "The creative process itself is an incredibly important experience. A work can bring happiness, and even if it's not a massive hit, every moment of production is enjoyable. And the happiness after completing a work? That's just incomparable. Being an animator allows you to immerse yourself completely in the animation you're creating, making it a truly special profession."
▼ Director Oshiyama's personal celebratory illustration of Fujino and Kyomoto, drawn when "Look Back" premiered.
It's worth noting that when the "Look Back" anime was first announced, original author Tatsuki Fujimoto himself declared that Kiyotaka Oshiyama is a "monster animator" that most anime fans don't even know about, adding that "if he wanted to create manga, he might just be another huge talent, a madman even." Oshiyama's impressive resume also includes demon design for Masaaki Yuasa's "Devilman Crybaby," and more recently, he took on the demon design for the upcoming "Chainsaw Man" movie, "Reze Arc."
Given the immense success of "Look Back" for the 43-year-old Oshiyama, it's exciting to imagine him diving into manga creation. Who knows, his talent might just light up that field too!
via： natalie