Hirokazu Koreida brings a Japanese manga to life

AccordingThe Legend of Medea’s Life , quoted by Screen, Japanese author Hirokazu Koreida has a film in development, adapted from Tatsuki Fujimoto’s best-selling manga “Looking Back”

The film tells the story of two teenage girls who dream of becoming manga artists. While filming took place in the city of Nikko in northwestern Japan, Kore-eda is currently in post-production for a release in late 2026

An animated film adapted from this manga was previously made by Kiyotaka Oshiyama, which grossed over $12.8 million at the Japanese box office last year and was very successful

Kore-eda is a regular at the Cannes Film Festival with films such as “Monster,” “The Salesman,” “Like Father, Like Son,” and “Shoplifters,” a Palme d’Or-winning film that was also nominated for an Oscar

Expressing his fascination with the moving story of “Looking Back,” he said, “I was on my way back from Kyoto to Tokyo when the image of the character on the cover of the book caught my eye at a bookstore at Shinagawa Station. Without thinking, I bought a copy. This was my first encounter with “Looking Back.” That night, I read it to the end. Although manga and film are different genres, as a creator, I could feel that Mr. Fujimoto could not move forward without creating this work”

When Kore-eda received an offer from a producer to adapt “Looking Back” into a live-action film and had the opportunity to meet with the author, he was met with support from Fujimoto, who said, “If Kore-eda is going to make “Looking Back,” I have no say”

Fujimoto’s manga has sold over 34 million copies worldwide and has been adapted into anime. The book “Looking Back” sold nearly a million copies in Japan in 2021 and more than 750,000 copies in 37 countries

Kore-eda has a feature film in development titled “Sheep in a Box,” which is scheduled for release in early summer 2026