With its poignant storytelling and beautiful visuals, the animated film Look Back has emerged as the top-grossing Japanese film in the Chinese mainland market over the past weekend.

As of Monday, under the direction of Kiyotaka Oshiyama, the film has grossed over 30 million yuan ($4.2 million) since it opened on Saturday in 3,500 cinemas of the National Alliance of Arthouse Cinemas, a chain specializing in screening artistic works.

Adapted from the one-shot web manga of the same title created by Tatsuki Fujimoto, the story revolves around two young girls who bond over their shared passion for drawing manga. However, a tragic event alters the course of their lives.

Oshiyama, who attended the Beijing premiere through a video call on Friday, said that his primary challenge during production was faithfully re-creating the original art style of the manga, particularly in bringing four-panel manga to life.

Fujimoto also expressed his gratitude to Chinese fans. "When the film Look Back was first released in Japan, it was only shown in 100 cinemas. However, thanks to the enthusiasm of Chinese fans, it is now being screened in 3,500 cinemas in China," Fujimoto said.

The film has obtained a high score of 8.5 points out of 10 on the popular review aggregator Douban.