The anime’s most moving moments—
behind those scenes lay the creator’s sentiments and choices.

The Look Back anime makes us question changes in our lives that seem impossible to resist, and it offers a strategy for survival. Now that AI can generate pictures and everything else, why would people continue to draw? I attempted to answer that question with the lines I drew.

With an opportunity to borrow from Fujimoto Tatsuki’s original work, I could explore forms of expression with drawings that are unique to animation.

Rejecting technology is not my intention. I recognize the power of technology but feel that the essence of the work lies in the impulsiveness and ineptness of people who choose to draw regardless. Retaining that essence is meaningful. Look Back is my tribute to creators—a tribute to humans.

I did not want this exhibition to become just a record of a completed anime. I have done my best to make the thoughts behind the anime visible, and show the traces left by the hands of everyone who worked on it in. This is an attempt to rediscover the emotions and thoughts that tend to fall away during the production process, traces left both by things that could, and could not, be drawn. I am convinced that these traces are vital for us today.

Anime and manga are underpinned by collective intelligence—knowledge accumulated through the unceasing efforts of earlier artists . This work was a part of that process, investing time and making mistakes as we expressed a wide range of feelings in the lines we drew.

Drawing is a means of accumulating thoughts. It is a form of expression that comes from your own body. In each line of a key animation resides the entirety of the person who drew it. I would very much like visitors to treat this exhibition as an opportunity to think once more about the significance of people drawing something.

Oshiyama Kiyotaka

Oshiyama Kiyotaka
Born in 1982 in Fukushima Prefecture, Oshiyama began working as an animator in 2004, and served as one of the animation directors on the anime TV series, “Den-noh Coil” in 2006. Since then, he has held a number of creative roles, including as a director, screenwriter, and designer.

He established the animation production company Studio Durian in 2017, and created the anime short, “SHISHIGARI”. He released the cinematic anime production of “Look Back” in 2024, serving as director, screenwriter, character designer, chief animation director, and key animator. He is also the author of the book, “Oshiyama Kiyotaka Animation Drawing Techniques New Edition – Sakuga Taizen”.

The entire anime production process,
with commentary by Oshiyama

For the first time ever, the exhibition presents many of the key animations (genga), allowing you to sense the passion Oshiyama and other animators put into creating the cinematic anime production of “Look Back”. Visitors will be amazed by the tunnel of drawings: a tunnel filled with key animations suspended from the ceiling. They will also be able to experience the interim stages of cinematic anime production on a scale only visible at an exhibition, including memos, character sheets, and key animations.

Recreations of iconic scenes from
the story, including the rooms of
the main characters

The exhibition venue features Fujino’s room, where the two main characters worked together, as well as the corridor leading to Kyomoto’s room with piles of sketchbooks lining the floor. Experience the world of the anime production of “Look Back”, with a focus on the rooms that were crucial to making the story come alive.

Fujimoto Tatsuki's blueprint for
“Look Back”—shown for the first
time in Japan!

Part of the venue is dedicated to experiencing “Look Back” on a deeper level, courtesy of Fujimoto Tatsuki—the creator of the original manga—in celebration of this exhibition. A limited number of copies of Fujimoto Tatsuki's blueprint for “Look Back” were handed out at the screening of the anime production. Here, the framework is being shown to the general public in Japan for the first time. Don’t miss this precious opportunity to see how the original manga, and anime, were made.

New manga to mark the exhibition

Director and animator Oshiyama Kiyotaka will drop a new manga he created for the anime exhibition. See his new manga exclusively at the venue.

Conversation with Studio Ghibli’s Suzuki Toshio

To mark the anime exhibition, director Oshiyama Kiyotaka talked with Suzuki Toshio of Studio Ghibli. Part of their conversation is presented at the exhibition venue.* Oshiyama served as key animator for Suzuki on Arrietty and The Wind Rises. Their memories of working at Studio Ghibli and thoughts about Japanese animation are displayed on panels, drawing visitors into the conversation.
* The entire text is included in the exhibition catalog.

The Japanese-language audio guide is narrated by Kawai Yuumi and Yoshida Mizuki, who voiced the two main Look Back characters in the cinematic anime production. Guided by these talented voice actors, enjoy a deeper appreciation of the exhibition as you immerse yourself in the world of Look Back.

Listen to excerpt from audio guide

Kawai Yuumi Profile
Born on December 19, 2000, in Tokyo.
In 2023, she starred in her first lead film role in "Sayonara, Girls' Goodbye" and her first lead TV drama role in "Family: Loved Not Because They Are Family, But Because I Loved Them." In 2024, she won the Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role at the 48th Japan Academy Film Prize for her role in "An-no-koto (The Girl in the Window)."
Her recent works include films such as "My Sky is the Most Beautiful," "Renoir," and "Tabi to Hibi." She also appears in the NHK morning drama series "Anpan" and the stage production "Don't Look for Me."

Yoshida Mizuki Profile
Born on March 10, 2003, in Tokyo.
Her latest projects include the film "All Greens" (releasing Jan 16), the TV Tokyo drama series "Ore-tachi Bad Barbers" starting in January, and the WOWOW original drama series "Kenzo Kitakata’s The Water Margin" (broadcasting and streaming from Feb 15).
She continues to expand her career with upcoming roles in the stage production "King Lear" (Sainokuni Shakespeare Series 2nd Vol. 3) next spring, and the film "KARATEKA" (releasing Oct 30 in Spain), marking her international film debut.

* Price: 770 yen (tax included)
* The audio guide (Japanese) can be purchased at the venue.
* Bring your own smartphone and earphones (required for listening to the audio guide).