GKIDS has announced that anime Look Back is finally getting a physical release. The 2024 film adapts the 2021 manga of the same name by Chainsaw Man creator Tatsuki Fujimoto. Pre-orders for the special collector’s edition are now live and expected to ship this summer.
Distributor GKIDS announced the release during this year’s Anime Expo in Los Angeles. Look Back follows the intertwining stories of Fujino and Kyomoto, two young artists both pursuing their dreams. The two start as rivals but grow into something more. As it’s by Fujimoto, the story contains unexpected, emotionally devastating twists that further complicate the duo’s lives. The movie, like the manga, is a beautiful dissection of the drive to make art for one another. The collector’s edition is priced at $99 (but currently on sale for $65.99) and comes with both the 4K UHD and the Blu-ray of the film and a number of bonuses, including a 160-page book.
GKIDS’ release of Look Back will ship on Sept. 8.
Look Back is actually one of four movies from the GKIDS catalog that are getting new 4K UHD and Blu-ray releases. The other three films are Angel’s Egg, Linda Linda Linda, and Love & Pop. While Look Back is the most recent release of the bunch, the rest are classics in their own right (if somewhat underrated).
1985’s Angel’s Egg is a cult classic due to the involvement of legendary Final Fantasy artist Yoshitaka Amano. Amano collaborated on the film with Ghost in the Shell director Mamoru Oshii. This one is a highly philosophical feature that benefits from the use of Amano’s distinctive art to communicate some of the heady themes. The physical release costs $65.00 (on sale now for $49.99) and includes a talk by Amano and a new booklet. It will ship on Sept. 22.
Linda Linda Linda is the platonic ideal of the “teenage girls finding themselves” movie. The 2005 film follows high school students Kei, Kyoko, Nozomi, and Song as they prepare to play in the school concert. The film is wonderfully shot with a soft eye that documents the realities of high school life in all its pain and joy, all of which feels like the most important thing in the world when you are in it. The title song is also a delightful earworm. The collector’s edition costs $65.00 (on sale now for $49.99) and includes a behind-the-scenes featurette. Linda Linda Linda will ship on Aug. 25.
Last, but not least, is Love & Pop. This cult 1998 film follows a group of high school girls who go on dates with older men for money. The main character, Hiromi, spends the film trying to earn enough money to buy a piece of jewelry before the mall closes. The handheld digicam cinematography of Love & Pop is incredibly unique and makes it feel squarely like a product of the ’90s (in a good way).
Most notably, however, is the director and co-writer of Love & Pop: Hideaki Anno. The film marked the live-action directorial debut of the Neon Genesis Evangelion creator, and it was also his immediate directorial follow-up to the anime series he is most known for. The collector’s edition costs $29.99 (and is not on sale). It includes a bonus feature titled “Hideaki Anno: Evangelion and Love & Pop.” It will ship on Oct. 6.
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