Look Back Director Discusses Artistic Struggles, Anime Adaptation Philosophy, and AI's Role in Creativity

Studio Durian's film adaptation of Chainsaw Man creator Tatsuki Fujimoto's emotionally resonant one-shot manga, Look Back, is arguably one of the most moving pieces of art to come out of animation in quite a while. As evident by its booming box office success both in Japan and North America and numerous award circuit sweeps, Look Back stands as a testament both to the grueling labor of love that making art demands of its creators and the power of a tight-knit group of animators painstakingly drawing the film to life by hand.

At Anime Central 2025, Studio Durian and director Kiyotaka Oshiyama made a special guest appearance, offering insights into his career as an animator and the journey of founding his studio in 2017. During panel discussions, Oshiyama gave audiences a glimpse of what's next for Studio Durian—an ambitious full-length adaptation of their acclaimed short film, Shishigari.

During a sit-down interview with Anime News Network, Oshiyama reflected on his experience working on Look Back, shared his approach to anime adaptations, explored the broader impact of AI on traditional arts, and offered an update on what's on the horizon for Studio Durian.

Look Back intertwines a poignant narrative about two close friends drifting apart with a heartfelt love letter to the unglamorous life of being an artist. As its director, which scene from the film most resonated with you in portraying the complexities of creating art?

Kiyotaka Oshiyama: In the climax of the movie, there's a scene where Fujino, having lost her friend Kyomoto, enters Kyomoto's room, where she's no longer there. That room for Fujino is a very comforting space for them. The whole scene, where she takes a step away from that room to move on for herself, was something that really resonated with me when I read the manga. It's a scene that I really put a lot of emphasis on.

In an alternate future, there may have been a future where Fujino stays in Kyomoto's room and doesn't move forward. But for me, personally, in Shawshank Redemption—it's a very classic movie—the main character Red, portrayed by Morgan Freeman, after leaving prison there was an option not to continue moving forward and just ending it all there. But instead, he moves on forward [and] goes to meet his friend. I believe that scene and the climax of Look Back have similarities. I think there's a lot of importance in that one step forward that Fujino made out of Kyomoto's room.

The art style of Look Back closely mirrors the manga's loose and expressive aesthetics. What strength did Durian Studio want to find and emphasize by hewing so closely to the manga's style through hand-drawn sequences?

OSHIYAMA: Starting from the comment that the movie has a very loose touch, personally, I don't think the description is accurate. Compared to his weekly serializations, Look Back as a one-shot has a lot more detail put into the drawing by the author. When we were working on the movie, rather than emphasizing one point, we tried our best to translate all the details that were drawn into the movie - especially since these details seem to get lost when it comes to animation adaptations.

That being said, we also wanted to make sure the hand-drawn look wasn't lost when we animated the movie. We tried our best to ensure all the aforementioned details were kept in the animated movie while maintaining the drawing-esque nature of the original work.

In the same vein as discussing the power of hand-drawn animation, there has been much debate online in the West about what makes for a good anime adaptation. Some argue that an anime has to follow its source material frame for frame dogmatically without deviations, while others believe an adaptation has to breathe new life into a work in a way only animation can. Is there a particular camp you subscribe to as a director regarding a good adaptation, strictly following what came before it, or trying to bring something new to the table, or is there truth to both arguments?

OSHIYAMA: In Look Back, you might get the impression that it's more closely adapted as much as possible to the original work. But for me, personally, I think I'm in the latter camp. When it comes to manga and anime, they're just two completely different mediums. Some [things] that are portrayed in the manga aren't plausible to portray in anime form. If you work in anime, your opinion will naturally fall in the latter category. It's impossible to fully convey what's portrayed in manga in animated form.

Obviously, there are some series that were adapted very poorly [because they're] so far apart from the original work. Maybe those examples may have gotten a little mixed in with this latter camp, but I firmly believe that when it comes to anime adaptation, you should really make sure that the animation uses the strengths of the animated medium when it comes to the adaptation. So, I'm definitely in the latter camp.

Look Back was released when AI-generated art became increasingly prevalent. In the West, AI-generated art is being used to copy the styles of renowned animation studios like Studio Ghibli. This leads to widespread online discourse over how it diminishes the human element that makes art special. How would you respond to those who view AI-generated images as a way to “democratize art?”

OSHIYAMA: I believe that technology causes people not to be able to go back to their old ways, for example, the washing machine. The washing machine is a prime example of technological advancement. Back then, people washed their clothes by hand. Now that the washing machine exists, telling people to go back to hand washing their laundry is out of the question. I wasn't there at the time, but maybe some people complained about the jobs of hand-washing laundry being taken away by this machine. I completely agree that this AI technology, or this AI art, would take the jobs of people who work in the creative industry. I strongly believe it's something to be talked about.

On the other hand, as you said, the latter camp of people who say that creating AI art “democratizes,” makes it more available to the common people who can't express their creativity through art—I don't want to take that away from them. When I made Look Back as a movie, the story itself is about the creative efforts of these artists and how their efforts bloom into creative art. It's a story that portrays and celebrates the growth of art. I didn't make this movie to deny the possibilities of people gaining creativity or the opinions of people who say that AI art enables them to grasp their creativity.

When it comes to the unlawful usage of AI—whether it's copying a voice actor or actress' voice, making AI learn and produce it, and maybe making a profit out of it, making AI learn Studio Ghibli-type animation, and producing Studio Ghibli-style animation and making some sort of profit out of it—I believe that's beyond the scope of the technological advancement. That's a completely separate problem.

Using AI to learn natural landscapes or making it learn the realism of your surroundings to make some more creative art, I think, is totally fine. But when it comes to those unlawful, illegal, malicious uses of AI, I'll say loud and clear that's not something you should be doing.

Switching gears, I wanted to talk about Shishigari. What motivated Studio Durian's decision to expand Shishigari from a short film into a feature-length project?

OSHIYAMA: From the start, Shishigari wasn't just a short film. It was created as a pilot film—a film in preparation to create a feature-length film. We want to get support from the government, especially for funding Shishigari. For that to happen, we needed to create a pilot film to ensure that this film we could produce it as a full-length feature film in the first place. So when we made this pilot film, we already had plans to create a feature film.

Since Durian first announced plans to expand Shishigari into a feature-length film five years ago, how has the project progressed? Can you share any updates? Will the full-length version stay true to the core elements of the short film, or has the creative direction shifted significantly since 2019, leading to significant changes?

OSHIYAMA: When we first made the announcement, we worked with a foreign producer to find a suitable client that matched our vision for the movie. But, in these past five years, we haven't been able to find a settlement that we can agree upon with the producers or with other clients regarding the movie. During that time span, the production of Look Back started, so we had to put more of our focus on Look Back, so there hasn't been too much progression when it comes to the work. But now, we've already cut all the contracts with Shishigari. Shishigari became our own independent project, so we're not relying on outside sources anymore. Currently, we have our own creative freedom when it comes to Shishigari. That's roughly where we're at.

If the timing is right [and] if the opportunity arises, we would like to work more on the production of Shishigari. But because we're a small studio—we're a relatively small team—when it comes to producing a feature-length film, we have to spend a lot of time and effort on it. It really boils down to whether the opportunity arises, and then we'll work on it. We're currently just waiting for that time.

With Look Back in the rearview mirror, are there any other manga or novels you would like Studio Durian to tackle as an anime adaptation, or does the studio want to explore making more original works?

OSHIYAMA: We won't deny the opportunity to work on an adaptation, but our current focus is on original work.