AceShowbiz - Look Back is set to arrive as a live-action film directed by acclaimed Japanese filmmaker Hirokazu Kore-eda, with North American and U.K./Ireland rights acquired by GKids. The announcement was made by GKids on Monday, marking an exciting expansion for the distributor into live-action cinema.

The film adapts the best-selling manga by Tatsuki Fujimoto, known for his work on Chainsaw Man. This coming-of-age drama centers on two schoolgirls united by their shared dream of becoming manga artists, one of whom struggles with severe social anxiety and prefers to remain a shut-in.

Chance Huskey, GKids’ vice president of distribution, expressed enthusiasm about bringing the film to Western audiences. He highlighted Kore-eda’s status as a master storyteller shaping contemporary world cinema and praised Fujimoto as one of the most influential manga creators of the last decade. The deal was negotiated with Eva Diederix of Goodfellas, which manages international sales outside Asia.

Originally published as a one-shot web manga on Shonen Jump+ in 2021, Look Back quickly gained tremendous popularity, accumulating over 4 million views within two days. The printed manga has sold more than 900,000 copies in Japan and over 750,000 copies internationally. Additionally, the manga was nominated in the 2023 Eisner Awards for Best U.S. Edition of International Material – Asia.

Kore-eda’s live-action adaptation follows a 2024 animated version of Look Back by director Kiyotaka Oshiyama, which GKids also released in North America. That animated film earned a nomination for Best Animated Feature – Independent at the Annie Awards.

Looking ahead, Kore-eda has a busy slate in 2026. Besides Look Back, he has completed Sheep in a Box, a futuristic drama about a couple raising a humanoid robot as their son. Produced by Fuji Television Network, Gaga Corporation, and Toho, Sheep in a Box is slated for early summer 2026 release and is anticipated to compete at Cannes. Neon acquired North American distribution rights in the previous fall. Meanwhile, Look Back is in post-production with a planned release later in 2026, potentially premiering at the Venice Film Festival.

Hirokazu Kore-eda gained international acclaim after winning the Palme d’Or at Cannes in 2018 for his film Shoplifters, which also earned an Oscar nomination for Best International Feature. Since then, Kore-eda has directed the films Broker (2022) and Monster (2023), as well as the Netflix limited series Asura (2025).

Reflecting on adapting Look Back, Kore-eda said he deeply resonated with the intense dedication behind Fujimoto’s work. He compared that passion to his own experience with his 2004 breakthrough film Nobody Knows, emphasizing the creative urgency felt by both artists.

The live-action film was shot in Nikaho City, located in northern Japan. It is produced by Daiju Koide under the K2 Pictures banner, which will also handle distribution within Japan. The film is scheduled for theatrical release in Japan in 2026, with GKids managing the rollout in North America, the U.K., and Ireland shortly thereafter.

This project represents GKids’ ongoing venture into live-action features after their successful acquisition of Kokuho, a post-WWII drama by Sang-il Lee that became a box office sensation in Japan and the highest-grossing Japanese live-action film of all time. GKids also secured rights to Takashi Yamazaki’s upcoming kaiju movie Godzilla Minus Zero, the sequel to Godzilla Minus One (2023), releasing later this year. Toho International, the U.S. subsidiary of Toho, acquired GKids in 2024.

Huskey noted that as GKids expands its live-action portfolio, they aim to focus on films and creators that embody the artistic quality, emotional depth, and global outlook that define the company’s mission. He described Look Back as an ideal representation of this vision and expressed honor in collaborating with one of their favorite filmmakers on this compelling story.