Strawberry Loft

  It only takes a small spark to start a fire. Look Back is a story about finding inspiration and, at the same time, losing all that motivation in the blink of an eye. It’s not a story of giving up; it’s a story of moving forward for yourself and in memory of others. Look Back opens with Ayumu Fujino, an elementary school student who writes manga comic strips for the school newspaper. She enjoys drawing, telling stories, and the attention she receives from her classmates. Fujino isn’t shy in the slightest, boldly showing her work. When she’s asked to relinquish a manga slot to another girl, Kyomoto, Fujino begrudgingly gives in. Kyomoto is good—professionally good—at backgrounds. This sparks a one-sided rivalry for Fujino, who throws herself into art, aiming to be just as good as or better than Kyomoto. I felt like Fujino’s art montage was very authentic to anyone who has a creative passion. There’s an explosion of ideas; you just want to work on a project all the time, and i...

Fall anime is here, and it’s shaping up to be a memorable 2024 season. So far, I’ve seen the first episodes of two highly anticipated titles: Uzumaki , produced by Adult Swim for the revitalization of Toonami, and Dandadan , produced by Science Saru. I’m excited to watch these shows as they release weekly, as both fandom spaces are buzzing with life and anticipation for more. These shows showcase amazing technical animation abilities and hard work. Starting with my impressions of the first episode of Uzumaki , I was getting antsy waiting for it. I loved the manga and was thrilled when the anime made my skin crawl and sent the perfect shiver down my spine. The atmosphere was unsettling and spooky from the very first frame shown on screen. The wait was well worth it, with Uzumaki originally being announced at Crunchyroll Expo 2019. The anime looked as if they had magically pulled the still manga images from the page and brought them to life, which is very on-brand for Junji Ito. The e...