#look back

[eightspringdays]

Never forget the fact that, because he was roleplaying as his nonexistent lil sister, his twitter account got banned for a while and had to scream publicity he was, in fact, Tatsuki Fujimoto roleplaying as his nonexistent lil sister.

And no one believed him at first.

[chell-min]

thank you, fujino.

[soosdraws]

“then why do you draw, fujino?”

[senjo]

[pururin]

[cyanrendipity]

By far my favorite scene from look back, everyone should watch cause within context this is even better

[swampjawn]

Look Back VS AI Art

This is a real frame from Look Back (2024).

You might assume this made it into the final movie because of its director Kiyotaka Oshiyama (押山清高) doing HALF the key animation for the film and only fully finishing it A WEEK before it's festival debut.

And well, you might be partially right about that. But more importantly, this is the movie embodying its themes through its unconventional production process and the very lines on the screen!

In an age of digital tools, CGI, AI, and other combinations of letters ending in I, Look Back is an ode to art and the labor that goes into it, no matter how tedious or imperfect.

Every thought, every little decision, every stroke made by a person puts a little piece of that person onto the screen, and the imperfections that come from that process can be beautiful in the sense that they're evidence of the thoughts and process that went into creating an image. So in keeping with the plot of the movie itself, Oshiyama made a point of leaving those remnants - lines that are scratchy, overlapping, or half-erased, and normally would have been cleaned up in 2nd key animation (第二原画).

Ayumu Fujino has a tight grip on how she expresses herself, having this image to uphold as the perfect prodigy girl. She's afraid to let people see too much of her, lest that perfect image be shattered.

But at times the mask does slip, like this moment of sheer panic after she accidentally drops what is really an extremely rude manga strip under her rival's door by accident.

And it's these moments when that rough imperfection shines through the most! So this breakdown of polish in the art functions simultaneously as both a connection to the human labor that went into creating it, AND an impressionistic representation of Fujino's mental state within the world of the movie.

Not only are the edges of her backpack visible through her arm, her face even disappears completely, replaced by just the roughly sketched dividing lines that indicate the position of her eyes. At least personally, I never would have noticed this fully unfinished frame at full speed because the shot is just so well-executed! The framing is dramatic with Fujino surrounded by these mountains of sketchbooks in the foreground, and the motion is so believable, her posture - hunched over to the side to support the weight of the bag while maneuvering around the books, and the way her legs twirl around each other frantically, rotating this way and that.

But more importantly, this is a frame that an AI program would never draw, because it has no REASON to. There's no thought process, no decisions being made about how to express a feeling. Even if you did train an AI specifically to mimic these human imperfections, in Oshiyama's words, "It would just be a design. It would be a fake. The lines have meaning because they were drawn by humans. […] There's value in that." (MANTANWEB)

This is an adapted excerpt from this video! Go watch it or I'll dox you.

[solcarow]

obligatory readings

[zerosiesblog]

don’t look back in anger

[ydotome]

Kyoumoto (京本) - Look Back - Dir. Kiyotaka Oshiyama - July 14, 2024

[duskmachine]

Fujimoto has perfected creating the most authentically selfish characters. I feel in many stories characters' selfishness are justified through the narrative. That they have suffered through something so significant they deserve to be selfish. I'm not saying I disagree with that sentiment, selfishness is necessary for self preservation at times. But what Fujimoto does is very different.

His characters are selfish consistently. They want to be the best, make the best movies, be good, and be known for being good. Their selfishness is not justified and it feels awkward and cringy. They often do awful things and think about it hundreds of times until finally their thoughts overlap in such a way they have convinced themselves they did the right thing. Sometimes, they never had to convince themselves.

Denji wants a normal life, but he wants fame! He wants tons of girlfriends, but he wants to be loved unconditionally! Asa wants to save Denji, but she's really thinking about how good she'll look saving him! She sits in front of a TV giggling about how awesome she looks killing a giant devil and being renowned for it. Fujino scared that Kyomoto will become a better artist than them, actively attempts to trap Kyomoto with them and keep Kyomoto from going to art school.

There is no justice in their actions. They have no right to feel the things they do, do the things they do, yet they feel these selfish wants with all their might. They are children sure, but the adults have the same selfishness twisted in more wicked ways, backed up by legalities and, what they presume to be, rational thought. Justifying selfishness is what an adult does. Being selfish is what a child does. And being selfish should not be demonized, nor should it be justified.

Selfishness is part of the heart. It is part of us, and no matter what we do, we will act with selfish precision.

[seiishindraws]

kyomoto :]

[nnobara]

“when i was growing up, and likely when director Oshiyama was as well, being an “otaku” with a passion for manga and anime was not considered normal. perhaps that's why there was a desire to become a normal person. there are scenes related to this in look back. in contrast to tokyo, where diverse groups exist, rural areas typically have only one dominant group, leading to strong peer pressure among people your age. i was often asked why i was still drawing. thoughts like denji's desire to “become a normal person” might stem from the feeling of being in a group but not being part of it.” — fujimoto tatsuki

[starglowy]

[squirrelstothenuts]