When Kenshi Yonezu joined the live-action adaptation of Tatsuki Fujimoto's manga "Look Back," the announcement on August 20, 2026, carried an unusual credit: "Shark Kick Guitar (friendship performance)." Unlike a typical theme song or score commission, Yonezu recorded guitar for a specific scene in the film — a gesture that director Hirokazu Kore-eda described as both deeply personal and part of his meticulous focus on sound as a storytelling tool. We wanted to understand what Yonezu actually contributed, why this collaboration matters, and what Kore-eda's approach to sound reveals about the film arriving in Japanese theaters on September 11, 2026.
Here's everything we know about this creative partnership and the unique role sound plays in bringing "Look Back" to life.
The Quick Version
- Kenshi Yonezu performs guitar for a specific scene in the live-action "Look Back" film, credited as "Shark Kick Guitar (friendship performance)" rather than providing a traditional theme song.
- The collaboration reflects Yonezu's ongoing creative relationship with Tatsuki Fujimoto's works, including his previous songs for "Chainsaw Man" and the "Reze Arc" theatrical film.
- Director Hirokazu Kore-eda focused intensely on sound design after a conversation with Fujimoto about the distinctive sound of drawing pens, using audio to depict the characters' creative growth.
- The film stars Natsuki Deguchi and Ayaka Imada and is scheduled for theatrical release in Japan on September 11, 2026.
- Kore-eda personally attended Yonezu's recording session, calling the experience "very luxurious."
What "Friendship Performance" Actually Means
The term "friendship performance" — translated from the Japanese "友情演奏" (yūjō ensō) — signals something different from a standard commercial collaboration. Instead of composing an opening or ending theme song that audiences will hear during credits, Yonezu recorded a guitar performance that appears within a particular scene of the film itself. According to official announcements, this impressive guitar sound becomes part of the film's narrative fabric, woven into a moment where the music serves the story directly.
This approach reflects the personal connection between the artist and the material. Yonezu has been closely associated with Tatsuki Fujimoto's work since creating "KICK BACK," the opening theme for the "Chainsaw Man" TV anime. He later contributed "IRIS OUT" as the theme song and "JANE DOE" as the ending for the theatrical "Chainsaw Man: Reze Arc." These collaborations have established Yonezu as something of a musical voice for Fujimoto's universe — someone who understands the emotional textures of the creator's stories.
When we look at the "friendship performance" credit, it suggests this contribution came from artistic kinship rather than contractual obligation. Kore-eda's decision to involve Yonezu for a single scene's guitar work — and to frame it as a gesture of friendship — speaks to the collaborative spirit surrounding this adaptation. It's the kind of detail that tells us the filmmakers valued emotional authenticity over commercial formulas.
Why Sound Became Central to Kore-eda's Vision
Hirokazu Kore-eda, the acclaimed director known for films like "Shoplifters" and "Monster," brought an unexpected focus to the "Look Back" adaptation: the sound of creation itself. In interviews surrounding the film's completion event at Marunouchi Piccadilly in Tokyo on August 20, 2026, Kore-eda explained that his approach to sound design originated from a conversation with Fujimoto about manga production.
Fujimoto mentioned to Kore-eda that the sound of a veteran manga assistant's pen — that decisive, powerful "shhh" as it moves across paper — is "really cool." That observation sparked something in Kore-eda's mind. "Ah, it's the sound," he reportedly thought, realizing that audio could carry narrative weight that silent manga pages couldn't convey. This wasn't an element explicitly written into Fujimoto's original work, but it became a key interpretive layer in the live-action translation.
Kore-eda's vision extends beyond simply recording drawing sounds. He designed the film's soundscape to trace the protagonists' evolution through the changing textures of their creative process. The film begins with a single pen scratching paper — one person drawing alone. As the two main characters come together, the sound shifts: now we hear two pens working simultaneously, their rhythms occasionally syncing, sometimes diverging. Eventually, as the story progresses, digital sounds enter the mix, representing the characters' growth and the changing nature of their artistic tools.
This approach asks sound to do something unusual in cinema: to mark personal development not through dialogue or visual metaphor, but through the subtle evolution of workplace audio. It's a remarkably intimate choice, treating the mechanics of creation — the physical act of putting pen to paper or stylus to tablet — as worthy of the same careful attention typically reserved for musical scores or dramatic dialogue.
The Recording Session and Kore-eda's Hands-On Approach
Kore-eda didn't simply commission Yonezu's guitar work and wait for a file to arrive. The director attended the recording session himself, describing the experience as "very luxurious" to be present while Yonezu performed. This detail reveals something about Kore-eda's working method: for a filmmaker so focused on sonic texture, being in the room to hear the instrument's natural resonance, to discuss tone and feel with the performer, matters enormously.
We can imagine that session — the director who spent months capturing the precise sound of pen on paper, now listening as one of Japan's most distinctive musical voices interprets a moment from Fujimoto's story through guitar. The collaboration represents a convergence of artistic sensibilities: Fujimoto's visual storytelling about the creative process, Kore-eda's cinematic translation emphasizing sound, and Yonezu's musical vocabulary shaped by his previous work on Fujimoto adaptations.
This level of involvement suggests that the guitar performance isn't background music or atmospheric filler. It's likely a moment where the music becomes part of the emotional architecture of the scene itself — where we're meant to notice and feel the guitar as an expression of whatever the characters are experiencing in that moment.
How This Fits Into the Larger "Look Back" Universe
Understanding Yonezu's contribution requires some context about "Look Back" itself and its journey to the screen. Fujimoto's original manga, published in 2021, tells the story of two young women — aspiring manga artists — and their creative partnership. It's a work about friendship, artistic ambition, and the bittersweet nature of creative life, compressed into a remarkably compact narrative that resonated deeply with readers worldwide.
The story has already been adapted once before: an animated theatrical film directed by Kiyotaka Oshiyama was released in 2024, featuring music by haruka nakamura (whose compositions Fujimoto reportedly listened to while drawing the original manga). That animated version utilized Dolby Cinema and Dolby Atmos to create an immersive sonic experience, with nakamura working through a "film scoring" process that involved repeatedly adjusting music to match the evolving animation.
Now we have Kore-eda's live-action interpretation, starring Natsuki Deguchi and Ayaka Imada in dual lead roles. This version takes a different approach to sound design — one rooted in naturalistic recording of the creative process itself, augmented by carefully chosen musical moments like Yonezu's guitar performance. Where the animated film could lean into the heightened reality that animation allows, the live-action version grounds itself in the physical, audible reality of making art.
The Significance of Creative Friendships
What makes the "friendship performance" designation particularly meaningful is how it acknowledges the web of creative relationships that made this film possible. Yonezu and Fujimoto have now worked together across multiple projects, building a collaborative vocabulary. Kore-eda, despite being known primarily for original scripts and literary adaptations, chose to adapt manga for the first time with this project — drawn, it seems, by the story's themes about creative partnership.
The film itself is about friendship between artists. Having Yonezu contribute through what's explicitly labeled a "friendship performance" creates a kind of meta-layer: the collaboration mirrors the story's themes. We're watching a film about creative partnership that was itself shaped by creative partnerships operating in the same spirit of mutual respect and shared artistic vision.
This matters because "Look Back" is fundamentally about what it means to make art with and for other people. It's about influence, inspiration, rivalry, support, and loss — all filtered through the specific experience of two people trying to create manga. When the film's own creation involves these kinds of generous, friendship-based collaborations, it suggests the filmmakers genuinely understand what Fujimoto was writing about.
What We Can Expect From the Film's Sound Design
Based on Kore-eda's stated approach, audiences attending screenings after September 11, 2026, should expect a film that treats sound as a primary storytelling element rather than simply supporting the visuals. We'll likely notice the progression from analog to digital sounds as the characters' tools evolve. We'll hear the difference between one person drawing and two people working together. And somewhere in the film, we'll encounter Yonezu's guitar, performing a role that goes beyond atmosphere to become part of the scene's emotional core.
This focus on the sounds of creation aligns with Kore-eda's broader artistic concerns. His films often find profound meaning in everyday domestic details — the sounds of cooking, of family members moving through shared spaces, of routine activities that reveal character and relationship. Applying that sensibility to the specific sounds of manga creation makes perfect sense: treating drawing sounds with the same attentive detail he's previously given to meals being prepared or laundry being folded.
For viewers familiar with the manga or the animated film, this version will offer something genuinely different: a chance to hear the story's world in a new way, with sound design that interprets Fujimoto's visual narrative through audio textures he could only imply on the page.
What People Are Saying
"The fact that it's specifically called a 'friendship performance' makes me emotional — it's not just a commercial collaboration, it's Yonezu contributing to something he clearly cares about personally." — @mangasoundtrack on social media
"Kore-eda focusing on the sound of pens and drawing tools is such a perfect choice for a story about manga artists. I'm so curious how he'll translate those quiet, intimate creative moments to film." — @film_observer
"Yonezu has become so connected to Fujimoto's work at this point that hearing his guitar in Look Back feels right, like he's part of the creative universe now." — @chainsawfan_updates
"I love that we're getting two completely different adaptations of Look Back — the animated version and now this live-action one with a totally different approach to sound. Both seem to honor the original in their own ways." — @adaptation_watcher
Frequently Asked Questions
When is the Look Back live-action film being released?
The film is scheduled for theatrical release in Japan on September 11, 2026. International release dates have not yet been announced.
Is Kenshi Yonezu performing the theme song for Look Back?
No, Yonezu is not providing a traditional theme song. He recorded a guitar performance for a specific scene within the film itself, credited as "Shark Kick Guitar (friendship performance)." The guitar work is integrated into the film's narrative rather than appearing as an opening or ending theme.
Has Kenshi Yonezu worked on Tatsuki Fujimoto adaptations before?
Yes, Yonezu has a strong collaborative history with Fujimoto's work. He created "KICK BACK," the opening theme for the "Chainsaw Man" TV anime, and contributed "IRIS OUT" (theme) and "JANE DOE" (ending) for the "Chainsaw Man: Reze Arc" theatrical film. This existing relationship contributed to his involvement in "Look Back."
What is Look Back about?
Look Back is Tatsuki Fujimoto's manga about two young women who form a creative partnership as aspiring manga artists. The story explores themes of artistic ambition, friendship, inspiration, and the often bittersweet nature of creative life. It's a relatively short work but has resonated powerfully with readers for its emotional depth and its portrayal of the artistic process.
Is this the first film adaptation of Look Back?
No, an animated theatrical film directed by Kiyotaka Oshiyama was released in 2024, featuring music by haruka nakamura. Kore-eda's version is the first live-action adaptation, offering a different interpretive approach to the same source material.
Looking Ahead to September
As the September 11, 2026, release approaches, the "Look Back" live-action film represents an intriguing convergence of creative voices. Kore-eda brings his distinctive eye for intimate human detail and his newfound focus on the sounds of creation. Yonezu contributes a guitar performance rooted in his ongoing artistic dialogue with Fujimoto's work. And at the center is Fujimoto's story itself — a compact, emotionally resonant meditation on what it means to make art alongside another person.
The "friendship performance" credit captures something essential about this project: it's a film made in the spirit of the story it's telling, with collaborators who genuinely seem to understand and care about the source material. Whether Kore-eda's emphasis on sound design will translate effectively to live-action remains to be seen, but the ambition behind the approach — using audio textures to trace creative growth — is exactly the kind of interpretive risk that distinguishes memorable adaptations from merely competent ones.
We'll discover on September 11 how all these elements come together, and whether audiences hear something new in a story many already know by heart.
