If you watch just one anime movie this year, make sure it's this instant classic on Amazon Prime

EntertainmentMoviesAnime MoviesLook BackIf you watch just one anime movie this year, make sure it’s this instant classic on Amazon PrimeWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works. EntertainmentMoviesAnime MoviesLook BackIf you watch just one anime movie this year, make sure it’s this instant classic on Amazon PrimeWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works. (Image credit: Studio Durian) Despite 2024’s high bar of quality, a new anime movie on Prime Video may have just bested them all at the eleventh hour. The following contains spoilers for Look Back. Look Back, an adaptation of Chainsaw Man author Tatsuki Fujimoto’s one-shot manga, is something I’ve been unable to stop thinking about since its debut on Amazon’s streaming service earlier this month. Where one, Fujino, is intensely competitive, the other – Kyomoto – is a recluse whose masterful submissions to the school newspaper’s manga panels are her only contributions to anything outside the four walls of her room. Sign up for the Total Film Newsletter Bringing all the latest movie news, features, and reviews to your inbox But this isn’t a rags-to-riches story. It’s something far more heartfelt than that. The first lump-in-the-throat moment from Look Back arrives about a third of the way through its hour runtime – and it involves little more than Fujino heading home after one of her first interactions with the wallflower-like Kyomoto. As a brisk walk turns into a joyful jig and playful splashing in the rain, Fujino – and the movie itself – is able to express the ungraspable feeling of what it means to create something or to share something you love with another person. It’s simple, effective and, thanks to its rotoscope-like movements, is a strong contender for one of the year’s most masterfully-animated sequences. Look Back’s magic is found in that one scene. Why? Great movies can make you feel things. The best movies can make youunderstandwhy you feel things. Look Back, with just 30 seconds of animation, falls firmly into that latter category. Drawn together (Image credit: Studio Durian) Just on that heart-swelling merit alone, it would be easy to recommend Look Back. It’s the film’s latter half that really sees it step into classic territory – and hits as hard as any movie I’ve watched recently. Fujino and Kyomoto, inevitably, grow apart. These things happen. As each has different ideas of what they want to do with their career, their paths diverge. In one fell swoop, Fujino strikes out on her own as a significant success and Kyomoto heads to art school. It’s a sudden, unthinkable moment. While we never see the massacre itself, we feel its effects – and it’s a shattering reminder of what the anime has already lost. (Image credit: Tatsuki Fujimoto/Shueisha/2024 Look Back Film Partners) Look Back, through that dual timeline switch, not only mourns the loss of art, but the loss of people. The people in our lives may not be painters, animators, or sculptors yet each, in their own way,areartists; they create the same sense of joy and belonging that a great piece of art does, and we should forever keep them close. If you can find time to wipe away the tears in its closing 10 minutes, Fujino’s final act in Look Back is oddly triumphant. Prior to living a quote-unquote ‘normal’ life once more back in the original timeline, she heads to Kyomoto’s room. There, it’s revealed Kyomoto followed Fujino’s career from afar, yet never quite found the means to reconnect. In response, Fujino places an empty four-panel manga on the window of her studio, much like the one from her school newspaper days, and continues drawing as she remembers – via montage – of all the times her art made Kyomoto come out of her shell and be happy. Then, the kicker: the time for reminiscing is over as the credits roll and Fujino heads back to the grind of her day job as an artist. No more looking back, no flashbacks, but a resilient step forward. The message: everything you do, no matter how small,isworth something. Make sure you live every day as if it were four empty panels, waiting to be filled. For more, check out thenew animecoming your way in 2024 and beyond. Then dive into the latest onJujutsu Kaisen season 3andSolo Leveling season 2. 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made it such a fan favorite in the first place” GAME REVIEWSMOVIE REVIEWSTV REVIEWS 1Nemesis review: “A magical sense of tension” 1Nemesis review: “A magical sense of tension” 1 Nemesis review: “A magical sense of tension” 2Arcs review: “A whole lot of game in a small package” 2Arcs review: “A whole lot of game in a small package” 2 Arcs review: “A whole lot of game in a small package” 3Path of Exile 2 review: “A stellar start to a thrilling and brutal dark adventure” 3Path of Exile 2 review: “A stellar start to a thrilling and brutal dark adventure” 3 Path of Exile 2 review: “A stellar start to a thrilling and brutal dark adventure” 4Indiana Jones and the Great Circle review: “The best adventure Indy has embarked on in over 30 years” 4Indiana Jones and the Great Circle review: “The best adventure Indy has embarked on in over 30 years” 4 Indiana Jones and the Great Circle review: “The best adventure Indy has embarked on in over 30 years” 5Marvel Rivals review: “So preoccupied with trying to be like Overwatch that it forgets to play to its own strengths” 5Marvel Rivals review: “So preoccupied with trying to be like Overwatch that it forgets to play to its own strengths” 5 Marvel Rivals review: “So preoccupied with trying to be like Overwatch that it forgets to play to its own strengths” 1Sonic the Hedgehog 3 review: “Keanu Reeves as Shadow is wasted whilst Jim Carrey steals the show” 1Sonic the Hedgehog 3 review: “Keanu Reeves as Shadow is wasted whilst Jim Carrey steals the show” 1 Sonic the Hedgehog 3 review: “Keanu Reeves as Shadow is wasted whilst Jim Carrey steals the show” 2Mufasa: The Lion King review – “It’s no Hakuna Matata but this Disney origin story is a class above the 2019 movie” 2Mufasa: The Lion King review – “It’s no Hakuna Matata but this Disney origin story is a class above the 2019 movie” 2 Mufasa: The Lion King review – “It’s no Hakuna Matata but this Disney origin story is a class above the 2019 movie” 3Kraven the Hunter review: “The insistence on an R-rating helps save this, with a decent helping of bloodthirsty action” 3Kraven the Hunter review: “The insistence on an R-rating helps save this, with a decent helping of bloodthirsty action” 3 Kraven the Hunter review: “The insistence on an R-rating helps save this, with a decent helping of bloodthirsty action” 4The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim review – “An uninspired expansion of the most iconic screen take on Tolkien” 4The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim review – “An uninspired expansion of the most iconic screen take on Tolkien” 4 The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim review – “An uninspired expansion of the most iconic screen take on Tolkien” 5Nightbitch review: “Amy Adams' disappointing dark comedy is all bark and no bite” 5Nightbitch review: “Amy Adams' disappointing dark comedy is all bark and no bite” 5 Nightbitch review: “Amy Adams' disappointing dark comedy is all bark and no bite” 1Doctor Who 2024 Christmas special review: “Ncuti Gatwa is as magnetic as ever in this delightful festive treat” 1Doctor Who 2024 Christmas special review: “Ncuti Gatwa is as magnetic as ever in this delightful festive treat” 1 Doctor Who 2024 Christmas special review: “Ncuti Gatwa is as magnetic as ever in this delightful festive treat” 2Secret Level review: “An uneven experience with serious highlights that ultimately make up for the misses” 2Secret Level review: “An uneven experience with serious highlights that ultimately make up for the misses” 2 Secret Level review: “An uneven experience with serious highlights that ultimately make up for the misses” 3Skeleton Crew review: “Perfectly captures the vibes of classic Star Wars with a swashbuckling twist” 3Skeleton Crew review: “Perfectly captures the vibes of classic Star Wars with a swashbuckling twist” 3 Skeleton Crew review: “Perfectly captures the vibes of classic Star Wars with a swashbuckling twist” 4Creature Commandos review: “James Gunn’s heartwarming, R-rated tale about super-monsters proves that the DCU is in good hands” 4Creature Commandos review: “James Gunn’s heartwarming, R-rated tale about super-monsters proves that the DCU is in good hands” 4 Creature Commandos review: “James Gunn’s heartwarming, R-rated tale about super-monsters proves that the DCU is in good hands” 5Cobra Kai season 6, part 2 review: “Returns to the sort of hard-hitting form that made it such a fan favorite in the first place” 5Cobra Kai season 6, part 2 review: “Returns to the sort of hard-hitting form that made it such a fan favorite in the first place” 5 Cobra Kai season 6, part 2 review: “Returns to the sort of hard-hitting form that made it such a fan favorite in the first place”