Look Back Live-Action Film Drops Main Trailer With Additional Cast for September 11 Opening

The live-action adaptation of Tatsuki Fujimoto's Look Back has unveiled its main trailer, confirming a September 11, 2026 opening in Japan alongside a newly announced supporting cast headlined by Masaki Suda. Academy Award-nominated director Hirokazu Kore-eda wrote, directed, and edited the film.

New Cast Rounds Out the Story

The main trailer introduced six additional cast members joining leads Natsuki Deguchi as Fujino and Aju Makita as Kyomoto. Masaki Suda takes on the role of Maeda, a Weekly Shonen Jump manga editor who becomes a pivotal figure in the aspiring artists' journey. Kankuro Kudo plays Tamai, the girls' grade school teacher, while Maho Yamada portrays Manabe, a middle school teacher.

On the family side, Kayo Noro and Ryo Ikeda appear as Fujino's parents Akari and Nishi, with Miyu Sasaki playing Fujino's older sister Megumi. The younger versions of the two leads are portrayed by Furi Nanase and Rokka Okada, who are real-life classmates. Kore-eda noted after auditions that they were the only pair who could authentically capture the characters' dynamic.

Bringing Manga to Life on 35mm

Look Back is based on Fujimoto's acclaimed one-shot manga, which debuted on Shonen Jump+ in July 2021 and accumulated over 2.5 million views on its first day. The story follows Fujino, a confident elementary school manga artist, and Kyomoto, a socially anxious shut-in who bonds with Fujino over their shared passion for drawing. Their friendship deepens through manga creation and evolves as they navigate the transition from childhood into adulthood.

Kore-eda shot the film on 35mm film, lending a tactile warmth to a story about the physical craft of drawing. Principal photography took place primarily in Nikaho, Akita. Both Deguchi and Makita spent approximately four months practicing manga drawing before cameras rolled, ensuring their on-screen artistry carries genuine conviction.

The film's score comes from composer Yuta Bando, also credited as Taku Matsushiba. At 99 minutes, the adaptation keeps a lean runtime fitting for a story adapted from a single-chapter manga.

Festival Debut and International Plans

Look Back already screened at the 79th Cannes International Film Festival on May 15, 2026, giving it a high-profile festival runway ahead of its theatrical bow. Kore-eda is no stranger to Cannes, having won the Palme d'Or for Shoplifters in 2018.

For international audiences, GKIDS has secured distribution rights and plans to release the film across the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Ireland later in 2026. K2 Pictures is handling the Japanese theatrical distribution.

The project marks a notable live-action counterpart to the animated Look Back film that earned widespread praise upon its release. With Kore-eda's naturalistic filmmaking sensibility applied to Fujimoto's emotionally charged story about creativity, loss, and connection, the adaptation takes the material in a distinctly different artistic direction. Japanese audiences will be the first to see the finished film when it opens on September 11.