Tatsuki Fujimoto is kind of a madman. If you’ve read Chainsaw Man, you already know he doesn't play by the rules of traditional shonen pacing, but when he dropped the Look Back one-shot on Jump+ back in 2021, something shifted. It wasn't just another story. It was a visceral, 143-page gut punch that relied almost entirely on the silent language of look back manga panels to tell a story about grief, art, and the alternate versions of ourselves we leave behind.
You’ve seen the screenshots. Maybe you saw that one specific panel of Fujino walking home in the rain, or the devastatingly quiet four-panel sequences of her sitting at her desk, year after year. There is a reason these images flooded social media feeds and continue to be studied by aspiring artists. They aren't just drawings; they are a masterclass in "decompressed storytelling," a technique where the artist slows down time to let a moment breathe until it hurts.
The Silent Architecture of the Desk Panels
Think about the way most manga handles time. Usually, it's fast. There’s a "Whoosh!" or a "Bam!" and we’ve skipped three years. Fujimoto doesn't do that here. Instead, he uses recurring look back manga panels of the protagonist’s back as she sits at her drawing desk. We see her as a child. We see her as a teenager. We see her as a professional.
The camera never moves.
It stays locked behind her chair. By keeping the perspective static, Fujimoto forces you to notice the tiny changes in the room—the growing pile of sketchbooks, the change in lighting, the way her posture shifts from eager to exhausted. It’s heavy. It makes you feel the weight of the thousands of hours required to master a craft. Honestly, most mangaka would use a montage. Fujimoto uses silence.
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This isn't just about showing time passing; it’s about the isolation of the artist. You’re looking at her back because that is all the world sees of her while she’s working. She is closed off. When Kyomoto finally enters that space, the composition changes. The panels open up. But the "back" motif returns with a vengeance later in the story, becoming a symbol of regret. You’re looking back at her, and she’s looking back at a life that could have been. It’s meta, it’s heartbreaking, and it’s why the manga is named what it is.
The "Don't Look Back in Anger" Connection
Fujimoto is a massive cinephile and music nerd. You can see it in every frame. The title itself is a nod to the Oasis song "Don't Look Back in Anger," and the very first and last panels of the manga actually feature the words "Don't" and "In Anger" hidden in the background. It’s a literal frame for the entire experience.
The panels themselves often mimic cinematic "long takes." In the scene where Fujino discovers the fate of Kyomoto, the panels transition from detailed backgrounds to stark, minimalist sketches. This mirrors her internal state. When you’re in shock, the world loses its detail. The "Look Back" manga panels in this sequence are intentionally sparse, stripping away the "art" to show the raw nerves underneath.
Some readers found the "Shark Kick" posters in the background of certain panels to be just a fun Easter egg for Chainsaw Man fans, but look closer. They track the commercialization of Fujino’s soul. As the panels get more crowded with professional gear and awards, the room feels smaller. She’s winning, but she’s alone.
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That Rain Walk: Why Movement Matters in Still Images
If we’re talking about look back manga panels, we have to talk about the rain walk. You know the one.
Fujino has just met her "rival," Kyomoto, for the first time. She’s been told she’s a genius. She’s validated. As she walks home, she starts to skip. Then she starts to dance. It’s a multi-page sequence where the panels actually break the traditional grid.
- The first few panels are tight, showing her trying to keep it cool.
- Then, the gutters (the space between panels) seem to disappear as she leaps into the air.
- The rain isn't just weather here; it’s kinetic energy.
It is one of the most famous sequences in modern manga history because it captures a feeling that is almost impossible to write: the moment you realize you might actually be good at the thing you love. It’s pure, unadulterated joy. But because we know this is a Fujimoto story, the paneling also creates a sense of dread. The wide shots make her look small against the landscape. It reminds us that no matter how big our dreams feel, we are vulnerable.
The Controversial Edit
It’s worth noting—because real fans remember—that some of the panels were actually changed after the initial digital release. In the original version of the "incident" panels, there were specific descriptions regarding the mental state of the attacker. Following feedback about how this might stigmatize certain groups, Fujimoto and the editors at Shonen Jump+ altered the dialogue and some of the visual cues in the look back manga panels for the tankōbon (volume) release.
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This change actually made the panels more haunting. By removing the specific "why," the tragedy felt more random, more cruel, and more like the real-life Kyoto Animation fire that many believe inspired the story. The panels became less about a specific "villain" and more about the senselessness of losing a creative partner.
How to Read Between the Lines (Literally)
If you want to truly appreciate the technical skill here, look at the "Parallel World" sequence. This is where Fujimoto uses the physical medium of manga to play with reality.
The four-koma (four-panel) manga strips that the characters draw aren't just props. They are the engine of the plot. When a strip slides under the door in the "what if" timeline, the panels of the actual manga we are reading start to mimic the structure of the four-koma. It’s a recursive loop.
- Look at the panel borders. Are they clean?
- Look at the backgrounds. Are they photographic or hand-drawn?
- Look at the character's eyes. In Look Back, Fujino’s eyes are often hidden when she’s at her most vulnerable, forcing the reader to look at her "back" instead.
The emotional climax happens when Fujino "looks back" at the four-koma she drew. We see the panels through her eyes. We are reading what she is reading. This layering creates a deep sense of empathy. You aren't just a spectator; you are mourning with her.
Actionable Takeaways for Your Next Re-Read
Don't just breeze through it. Manga this dense requires a second look (pun intended).
- Track the chair: Follow the office chair from the beginning of the story to the end. Its wear and tear tells a story that the dialogue doesn't.
- Contrast the heights: Watch how Fujimoto uses the height difference between Fujino and Kyomoto in early panels to establish their power dynamic, and how that flips when they become teenagers.
- Listen to the silence: Pay attention to the pages with zero dialogue. Count how many there are. Compare that to a standard chapter of Jujutsu Kaisen or One Piece. The difference is staggering.
Look Back isn't just a story about two girls drawing. It’s an argument that even if everything ends in tragedy, the act of creating—the act of sitting at that desk and letting people see your back—is worth it. The panels don't just tell a story; they document a life. If you’re an artist, or just someone who has ever lost a friend, those panels are a mirror. Go back and look at the rain dance one more time. Notice the way the mud splashes. It's messy, it's beautiful, and it's completely human.