Tatsuki Fujimoto’s Look Back has been praised for its themes and characters, though its story may be confusing to some, especially its ending. Thus, here’s the Look Back manga ending explained to give readers a better understanding of its conclusion.
Like most of Fujimoto’s works, Look Back’s story isn’t straightforward. It may not have fearsome monsters like Chainsaw Man, but the final third has some time-bending developments.
To understand the ending, it’s important to look back on its story.
Spoiler Warning: This article includes spoilers for Look Back, so proceed with caution.
Look Back: A Story of Two Artists
The Look Back manga follows Fujino, an elementary school student with a knack for drawing manga. She creates manga for her school’s paper, but she is soon challenged by another student named Kyomoto.
Try as she might, Fujino couldn’t reach Kyomoto’s level, so she decided to quit drawing. When she graduates, Fujino visits Kyomoto’s house to deliver her diploma as Kyomoto is agoraphobic and doesn’t leave her house.
There, Fujino draws a yonkoma (a four-panel manga) to mock Kyomoto, though it slips into Kyomoto’s room.
This causes Kyomoto to come out of her room to meet Fujino. Kyomoto then says that she idolizes Fujino and her work.
Thus, the two become close, and they soon team up to become a manga duo. They soon part ways as Fujino’s work will be serialized while Kyomoto wants to polish her skills in art school.
The two drift apart and Fujino becomes a popular manga artist for her work Shark Kick. Soon though, Fujino gets word of a mass murder at an art college, and Kyomoto is one of the victims.
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Look Back Manga Ending Explained
Fujino returns to Kyomoto’s house, and she tears up the yonkoma she drew when they were young. One of the scraps seemingly time travels and winds up in Kyomoto's room during their initial meeting.
This causes Kyomoto to not go out of her room, thus the two don’t meet in this alternate timeline. Despite this, Kyomoto still enters art school, and she is nearly killed by the mass murderer in the same event.
Thankfully, Fujino is able to rescue her in this new timeline. Kyomoto thanks Fujino and draws a yonkoma of the event. This manga then time travels to the original timeline to Fujino’s view.
In the end, Fujino continues to draw despite deciding at first to stop following Kyomoto’s death. She continues to work with the yonkoma taped on her desk.
Given the time travel and alternate timelines, some might think this didn’t actually happen. Based on how it’s presented, it’s better to interpret the events as the yonkoma traveling through time.
As for how they were transported, it’s not explained why. Then again, many of Fujimoto’s works have fantastical elements that are not explained.
What Is the Meaning of the Look Back Manga’s Ending?
So, what does the ending mean? The Look Back manga is often associated with themes of one’s relationship with art and coming-of-age, similar to his other works like Goodbye, Eri.
Another common interpretation is that the story is a tribute to the Kyoto Animation arson attack in 2019. After all, the art college mass murderer had a similar motive.
Whatever interpretation readers make, it’s fair to say that Look Back is one of the Chainsaw Man creator’s most-praised works.
Thus, many are looking forward to the upcoming anime film adaptation.
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