Look Back, the new movie based on a manga from Chainsaw Man creator Tatsuki Fujimoto, is about to premiere, and director Kiyotaka Oshiyama has spoken about the difficult production process.
Given the association withChainsaw Man, Look Back is a high anticipatedupcoming anime. Merging slice-of-life elements with a slight horror tinge, it’s the story of two kids drawn together through a love of manga, whose lives become embroiled with a serial killer, and has the potential to be one of thebest animeof the year.
As Look Back starts screening, with a showing at the this year’s Annecy Festival happening in a week’s time, Tatsuki spoke toOriconabout production. He revealed a hefty schedule that saw him living in the studio for months.
“I was drawing until yesterday afternoon, and finished it yesterday night,” he told the outlet. “I stayed at the office all day for about two-and-a-half months. Finally, I went home yesterday and slept in my futon at home. I think I’ve accumulated quite a bit of sleep debt.”
He compared making the feature to a “hard triathlon”, but also adds “every day was so thrilling”. The filmmaker notes, at the time the interview was conducted, none of the staff had a seen a cut yet.
Time is so tight, Kiyotaka had to buy a new outfit to do press, since he had no clean clothes. “I heard that there was an event today, so I didn’t have any clothes to wear, so I worked hard at noon and bought some at night. So everything is new,” he states.
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Oricon notes Kiyotaka looked “exhausted” when speaking. His story is one of several that have emerged of late concerning tough conditions within the anime and manga industries.
Arecent studywarned the anime industry could “collapse” if current trends ofoverworkand crunch continue, and a number of studios, including Jujutsu Kaisen houseStudio MAPPA, have been the subject of allegations surrounding long hours and exhaustion.
Anthony McGlynn is a Senior Anime Writer on Dexerto’s UK team. An expert on animes like Demon Slayer, Solo Leveling and My Hero Academia, he also has over 10 years experience covering games and pop culture for outlets such as Variety, IGN, Den of Geek, PCGamesN, PCGamer, The Digital Fix, and many more. You can contact him at: anthony.mcglynn@dexerto.com
