Release Date
19-05-2025
A new animation studio is always exciting, but save for the rare instances when one comes out of the gate with a smash hit, it takes time for a studio to make a name for itself. While many might not be familiar with Studio Durian, they’ve been around for a while, and they’re potentially about to make their big break with an adaptation of Tatsuki Fujimoto’sLook Back.
Published on June 19, 2025, this one-shot is about two young girls with a shared passion for creating manga for their school newspaper, telling how they met, and how their lives changed forever. On June 28, a film adaptation animated by Durian will hit theaters in Japan, making this the second adaptation of Fujimoto’s work after2022’sChainsaw Manby director Ryu Nakayama.
Who is Durian?
Durian was founded in 2017 by longtime director/animator Kiyotaka Oshiyama and producer Yuki Nagano. To paraphrase a statement from their website, Oshiyama describes their mission to create high-quality animation that - like the smell of the fruit their studio is named after - is intense and unforgettable.
Getting to Know Its Founders
Oshiyama is perhaps most known as the director of 2016’sFlip Flappers, a dazzling adventure fantasy series from Studio 3Hz, but he’s had a lengthy career as a key animator, designer, and animation director. Some of his biggest projects include theFullmetal Alchemistmovies,Space Dandy,Devilman Crybaby, andEvangelion 2.0: you may (NOT) Advance.
Yuki Nagano was a producer at Studio Bones, where she had a hand inFullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood,Space Dandy,Mob Psycho 100, andSnow White with the Red Hair. Combining a seasoned industry veteran as well as a producer from one of anime’s biggest and most innovative production houses makes for quite a promising start to a new name in the business.
What Has Durian Done So Far?
Like with many studios in the beginning, things have started small - mostly collaborations on other studios' projects and occasionally a commercial or PV. For instance, they designed the logo animation forBL anime production company Blue Lynx, as well as contributed designs for shows like Studio Nut’sDeca-Dence. They were even the designers behind the Devils in theChainsaw Manadaptation, so they’re no stranger to adapting Fujimoto’s work to the screen.
The Staff Behind This New Movie
For the studio’s first major project,Look Backwill be directed by none other than Oshiyama, who is a triple threat on the production team, serving as director, character designer, and screenwriter. Kiyoshi Sameshima - a background artist onHeike Monogatari,Maquia, and Hayao Miyazaki’sThe Wind Rises- is the art director, assisted by Yoshihito Harisaki and Takashi Oomori. Color design will be handled by Maya Kusumoto.
Director of Photography Kazuto Izumida has worked on a lot of hits in the past few years, from WIT Studio’sGreat PretenderandRanking of KingstoKinema Citrus’Revue Starlightmovie. Interestingly enough, in addition to working onLook Back, he will also be the DP on this fall’s adaptation ofDandadanfrom Science Saru, and he’s not the only one. Longtime anime sound director Eriko Kimura will also be working on both projects.
Kimura has worked in the sound department on such projects asMobile Suit Gundam: HathawayandHeavenly Delusionand is a frequent collaborator with Masaaki Yuasa. Speaking of sound, the music will be composed by haruka nakamura, who performedthe ending theme for last year’sTrigun Stampede,from Studio Orange and director Kenji Mutou. More staff info forLook Backis expected to be released closer to the film’s release.
Why ‘Look Back’ Looks Like a Big Deal
The latest trailer for the film has many fans excited, especially those who felt thatChainsaw Man’s adaptation didn’t quite capture Fujimoto’s style as well as they’d have liked. The line art alone is quite bold and has gotten people’s attention. It has been stated that an effort has been made to preserve the raw detail of the key artists' illustrations in the final product to preserve that feeling of a manga jumping off the page.
Fujimoto is one of the most iconic mangaka in years and this is sure to be only the latest in a trend of adaptations eager to capture the soul of his works in motion.Chainsaw Manwas already a critical smash, and while it might besome time before theRezefilm graces fans,Look Backpromises a similarly raw and captivating experience. If done well, it will hopefully be the first of many gorgeous projects from studio Durian as well.
