Look Back

Fourth-grader Ayumu Fujino is used to applause for her hand-drawn four-panel comics in the school newspaper—until she’s told to split the page with Kyoumoto, a secluded classmate she’s never met. Seeing Kyoumoto’s astonishingly detailed artwork beside her own lively sketches leaves Fujino facing doubt for the first time.

Determined to close the gap, Fujino spends the next year shutting herself away to study manga-making and draw relentlessly. The difference in skill proves overwhelming, and she eventually walks away—until graduation day brings a long-awaited meeting with Kyoumoto. Awkward, timid, and sincere, Kyoumoto reveals she’s been Fujino’s biggest supporter, rekindling Fujino’s drive and setting the two on a path of friendship shaped by rivalry, respect, and a shared devotion to manga.