0:07 question.
0:09 Have you ever pushed yourself to the
0:11 edge, breaking both physically and
0:13 mentally to discover a different version
0:17 of yourself you didn't know you had?
0:19 There is a silence that follows every
0:22 fracture. A pause between who you were
0:24 and who you might become. In that
0:26 silence, something stirs. A faint
0:29 rhythm. A pulse beneath the ruin. the
0:32 echo of your soul learning how to
0:34 breathe again.
0:36 You may try to hold yourself together to
0:39 mask the cracks, but breaking isn't the
0:41 end. It's the sound of truth finding its
0:44 way out. In Japan, they call it
0:46 kinitsuki, the art of mending what's
0:48 broken with gold. Not to hide the
0:50 damage, but to let it shine. And in Zen
0:52 Buddhism, they speak of mu, which
0:54 translates to nothingness, [music]
0:57 a space where illusion falls away. And
1:00 from that emptiness, something true
1:02 begins to take shape.
1:04 It's tragic. It's haunting. But in that
1:07 ache, that pointless stillness remains.
1:09 And in it, you learn how to be whole
1:13 again. You learn the art
1:46 >> Look back is a film based on the one
2:02 >> Tatski Fujioto. The movie challenges our
2:04 understanding of creativity and
2:06 ambitions. Bringing together themes of
2:09 friendship, rivalry, passion, and even
2:11 self-destruction. It follows a girl
2:13 named Fujino who all of her life has
2:16 been told she has this gift. Her friends
2:18 praises her. Her classmates ask for
2:20 autographs, and her family thinks she
2:22 could even become an artist with her
2:24 skills. In school, she draws weekly
2:26 manga for her fourth grade class. Every
2:28 week, her manga is selected and put on
2:31 the top of the paper. One day, her
2:33 teacher calls her into his office and
2:34 asks if she's willing to give up one
2:37 slot to this girl named Kiomoto.
2:39 Reluctantly, she agrees. As in her eyes,
2:42 a person who never attends school would
2:51 draw good.
2:56 Uh, okay. There's levels to this. Got
2:59 it. When you put the two drawings next
3:00 to each other, the difference in skill
3:02 is obvious. From the shading to the
3:05 textures, it resembles that of a pro.
3:07 And it was at this very moment that for
3:11 the first time, Fujino's art is seen as just
3:20 ordinary.
3:30 She practices day and night. Weeks turns
3:32 into months. Months turns into years.
3:34 and we watch her burn through sketches,
3:36 books, anatomy, and watch her sacrifice
3:39 time with her friends and family all so
3:40 that she could get better. She's now a
3:42 sixth grader and just like before, the
3:46 weekly paper is out. And in that paper,
3:49 there's yet again a clear difference in
3:52 skill. Despite the effort she's put in,
3:56 it just wasn't enough. So,
3:59 she decides to quit.
4:00 From here on, the story shows a
4:03 different side of Fujino's life. Up to
4:05 this point, her days has been entirely
4:07 consumed by art. But now, she's
4:09 exploring a more social life, hanging
4:10 out with friends, going to karate with
4:13 her sister, and watching movies with her
4:15 family. But throughout this entire time,
4:18 there's like a void in her eyes, like
4:20 there's no thought or life behind them
4:23 at all. Graduation arrived, and she
4:24 started a new chapter in her life.
4:26 Before she could leave, her teacher
4:28 called her into his office again, but
4:30 this time for a different reason.
4:33 Kiiamoto never arrived to pick up her
4:35 diploma, so he tked Fujino to take her
4:37 to her house.
4:39 She rings the doorbell, but there's no response.
4:41 response.
4:43 The door is unlocked, but all the lights
4:46 is off. There's a noise in the background,
4:47 background,
4:50 hinting there's someone home. She turns
4:53 the corner and she's met with stacks
4:56 upon stacks of sketchbooks.
4:58 Before she could leave, she noticed a
5:00 strip of paper. And despite her not
5:03 drawing for years, the singular paper
5:06 pulls her in, demanding her to draw. So
5:19 [crying and screaming]
5:20 >> having noticed what happened, she runs
5:23 out of the house in a panic to escape
5:25 only to be followed. The girl who
5:27 followed her is Kiiamoto and it's
5:29 revealed she has been a massive fan of
5:32 Fujino for the longest of time. She read
5:34 every weekly manga strip that came
5:35 [music] out and looked forward to each
5:38 new release, but noticed her manga no
5:40 longer appeared on a weekly paper. So,
5:44 she asked Fujino one simple question.
5:47 Why did you stop drawing manga? [music]
6:00 which is an obvious lie. The scenes that
6:03 follow is a quiet eruption, a glimpse to
6:05 someone who's always wanted to draw, yet
6:07 held herself back, convinced she could
6:10 never be good enough. Each moment builds
6:13 like pressure beneath the surface. Years
6:15 of frustration and longing collapsing
6:19 all at once until she finally breaks.
6:21 She sprints home through the rain,
6:23 bursts into her room without even
6:25 stopping to dry off. And for the first
6:29 time in years, she begins to draw again.
6:31 Look back initially seems like a story
6:33 about Fujino and her difficult journey
6:36 with art. But it soon becomes a tale of
6:38 two girls. Their lives, their bond, and
6:41 how they come together to create a manga
6:42 while quietly exploring a few deeper
6:45 themes along the way. Near the end,
6:47 tragedy shatters everything, turning the
6:49 story into something far deeper than it
6:52 first appeared. But I'll leave that for
6:53 you to experience yourself since this
6:56 video's focus isn't on that particular
6:59 part of the story. Fujino's story is a
7:02 quiet tragedy about ambition, guilt, and
7:04 the painful beauty of growth. At first,
7:06 she's a symbol of confidence, the kind
7:08 of young artist who believes talent
7:10 alone defines warf. But everything
7:13 changes the moment she meets Kiomoto.
7:15 Throughout the film, we watch her shed
7:17 versions after versions of herself,
7:19 chasing [music] something she can't
7:21 quite put a name to. When her ego
7:23 cracks, what seeps through isn't
7:26 weakness, but it's truth. Envy fades
7:28 into admiration, rivalry into
7:30 connection. And through that, she
7:32 rediscovers what it means to create
7:35 again. By the end, Fujino isn't the same
7:37 girl we met at the start. She's someone
7:40 reborn through the act of breaking.
7:41 Someone who faced emptiness without
7:44 flinching and rebuilt herself not as who
7:47 she once was, but as who she became.
7:49 That's the art of breaking yourself. to
7:52 lose, to grieve, to rebuild, and to
7:54 realize that the cracks were never a flaw.
7:56 flaw.
7:58 Many stories over the years have told a
8:01 similar tale. Works like Blue Period,
8:04 Breaking Bad, Whiplash, The Climber all
8:06 explore a similar truth. The art of
8:08 shedding your old self to emerge
8:11 stronger, wiser, and more whole. They
8:13 remind us that transformation is rarely
8:15 easy, and that growth often comes
8:17 through struggle and persistence. These
8:19 type of stories always resonate with me.
8:21 They feel the most relatable and
8:23 inspiring because I can see the same
8:24 passion, [music]
8:26 same struggle, the same drive reflected
8:28 in the characters. As you can probably
8:31 tell, I watched Look Back very recently.
8:34 I I'm a
8:36 little bit late, but the themes in this
8:38 story really got me thinking about other
8:41 works that explore a similar idea. So
8:43 today I'm going to talk about some other
8:45 stories that dive into the art of
8:51 >> Villain Saga is a manga turned anime
8:53 about a kid seeking revenge on his
8:56 father's killer. The story covers a
8:58 plethora of themes from political
9:00 violence to human struggle, slavery,
9:03 growth, atonement, and many, many more.
9:05 At its core, it explores the destructive
9:08 cycle of revenge, showing how obsession
9:10 and hatred can consume a person, shaping
9:13 their identity around violence. Beyond
9:15 revenge, Villain Saga delves into
9:17 forgiveness, redemption, and a deeper
9:19 meaning of strength. Dorphin, the main
9:21 character, embodies the art of breaking
9:24 oneself. His innocence, ego, and moral
9:26 compass are shattered through trauma,
9:28 forcing him to confront the emptiness
9:30 within. Throughout the entirety of the
9:32 first season, we watch him develop into
9:34 this young innocent kid into a ruthless
9:36 killer. Having witnessed his father
9:38 death right in front of him showed him
9:41 just how violent the world really is.
9:43 And in this moment, he made it his
9:45 personal life mission to be the one to
9:47 end his father's killer's life. To do
9:50 that, he joined Ascalad's band of
9:51 mercenaries with guaranteed
9:53 opportunities to have a 1v one had he
9:56 achieve something grand in a battle. The
9:58 story skips from when he was a kid to a
10:00 teenager all the way to when he becomes
10:02 an adult. Under Ascalad, he hones his
10:05 skills as a warrior, enduring brutal
10:07 battles and is exposed to the lowest
10:10 form of humanity. Initially, Dorfin is
10:13 driven by raw anger and obsession,
10:15 seeing every fight as a step towards
10:18 retribution. Yet over time, his
10:20 experiences alongside Ascalad exposes
10:23 him to complexity, strategy, and even an
10:25 unexpected mentorship. He begins to
10:28 understand the nuances of leadership.
10:30 Despite this growth, his path is still
10:32 defined by hatred and he remains trapped
10:35 in the cycle of violence. The moment
10:37 Ascalad dies marks the apex of this
10:40 transformation. Dorfin's longheld
10:43 purpose vanishes, leaving him empty and
10:46 directionless. It's here at the
10:48 crossroads that Dorfin's old self
10:51 finally breaks. His vengeance fulfilled,
10:54 yet his soul hollow, leaving only the
10:57 fragments of who he once was. And from
10:59 those fragments begins the slow, painful
11:02 [music] process of introspection,
11:04 reflection, and ultimately the
11:08 rebuilding of a new identity. One not
11:10 forged by hate, but by understanding his
11:13 past sins and choosing a life where he
11:15 has no enemies.
11:22 When you hear the name Takahhiko in
11:24 Noei, the first scene that comes to mind
11:27 for most are his works on Veabond and
11:30 Slam Dunk, which makes sense. Those two
11:32 are really good manga. But one series
11:35 that often is left out is his manga
11:38 titled Real.
11:40 Real is a manga that centers around
11:42 three protagonists, each whose lives has
11:45 been profoundly shaped by two things:
11:48 physical disabilities and basketball. As
11:50 their paths unfold, each of them faces a
11:53 devastating lifealtering event that
11:55 shatters their sense of self. What
11:57 follows isn't just recovery, but [music]
12:00 a deeply human journey of growth, of
12:02 learning to live, and to find meaning
12:04 again in the aftermath of loss. [music]
12:07 The concept of breaking yourself takes
12:11 on its most human form and this story.
12:13 The manga doesn't glorify pain or
12:16 redemption. It lives in the quiet, messy
12:19 spaces between them. Every page feels
12:22 heavy with regret, longing, and the ache
12:24 of trying to move forward when life has
12:27 already taken so much. Nia was once a
12:30 promising athlete. Yet, a single mistake
12:32 led him into an accident that paralyzes
12:35 an innocent girl, leaving him with guilt
12:38 that fers for years. He quits school,
12:40 isolates himself, and drifts through
12:43 life haunted by a past he can undo.
12:45 [music] But beneath the self-loathing,
12:47 there's something deeply human. The
12:49 desperate desire to be forgiven, even
12:51 when you can't forgive yourself. [music]
12:53 His story isn't about redemption through
12:56 success, but through acceptance. [music]
12:58 He breaks himself not through ambition,
13:00 but through remorse. And it's in that
13:02 pain that he begins to understand
13:04 compassion and tries to live a life
13:08 seeking to be a better person. Toggawa,
13:09 on the other hand, represents another
13:11 kind of breaking, [music]
13:13 the loss of identity. Once a runner, his
13:16 leg is amputated due to an illness,
13:17 stripping him from the one thing that
13:20 defined him. His response isn't
13:22 peaceful, but is instead filled with
13:24 rage. He channels every ounce of pride
13:26 and bitterness into wheelchair
13:29 basketball, obsessing over competition,
13:30 as if victory could make him whole
13:33 again. But as the story unfolds, his
13:36 ignorance and anger begins to crack.
13:38 Beneath the facade of control lies the
13:40 fear of being ordinary, of never being
13:43 enough again. Then there's Tekashi, a
13:45 once golden boy now confined to a
13:47 wheelchair. His life, once built on
13:50 talent and popularity, collapsed in an
13:52 instant. His journey through
13:54 rehabilitation mirrors a psychological
13:57 descent. The grief of losing your body,
13:59 your status, and your sense of purpose.
14:01 But it's through that grief that he
14:03 learns something profound. That worth
14:06 isn't tied to ability or appearance. His
14:08 struggle becomes an exploration of
14:11 dignity. For me, real stands as in no
14:14 way's most powerful and personal work. A
14:16 story I constantly find myself returning
14:19 to, even long after finishing it. Having
14:21 played sports for much of my life and
14:24 still doing so occasionally today, I can
14:26 deeply relate to the same passion,
14:28 discipline, and quiet desperation that
14:31 drives its characters forward. It's a
14:32 story about redemption and
14:34 transformation told through the
14:37 perspective of three individuals, each
14:39 fighting their own battles. yet all
14:42 striving for the same sense of purpose.
14:44 What makes real so captivating is how it
14:46 shines a light on people often
14:49 overlooked in fiction. Those living with
14:51 disabilities in a medium where strength
14:53 is usually shown through power or
14:56 perfection. Real flips that idea on its
14:58 head. It challenges the common
15:01 misconceptions that disabled people are
15:03 limited or helpless. instead portraying
15:05 them as the ones with the deepest
15:07 resolve, the strongest spirit and the
15:10 most unshakable will to keep moving forward.
15:16 Attack on Titan is probably one of the
15:24 Many of you seen or read the manga, so
15:26 there's no need for me to go too in deep
15:28 into this. [music]
15:30 [music]
15:32 Instead, let's just focus on a specific
15:34 character that fits the concept of this
15:37 video. Honestly, there's there's a lot
15:40 to choose from. You got Aaron, Levi,
15:44 Irwin, Histori, and many, many more. But
15:45 for today's video, I'll do a little
15:59 Rhiner's arc revolves around an intense
16:01 internal duality. He was trained from
16:03 childhood as a warrior candidate for
16:05 Marley, instilled with a sense of duty
16:08 to infiltrate Paradise Island and commit
16:10 acts that would ensure his people's
16:12 survival. But once he becomes embedded
16:14 among the scouts, living among the very
16:16 people he's been sent to kill, he
16:18 experiences a profound split. One
16:20 identity as a loyal soldier of Marley
16:22 and another as a friend and comrade to
16:26 those he is meant to betray. This split
16:28 creates a deep psychological breaking.
16:30 Unlike physical trauma, Riner's pain is
16:34 sustained and invisible. He develops
16:36 dissociative tendencies. At times, he
16:38 addresses one persona as if the other
16:41 isn't present. A clear coping mechanism
16:43 for the unbearable tension between duty
16:45 and consciousness.
16:47 He carries the lives of his people on
16:50 his shoulder. The expectations of Marley
16:52 and the consequences of every kill. Each
16:55 act of violence further corrods his
16:57 identity, but he cannot escape it.
16:59 Reiner's body is strong, but his
17:01 identity is under siege, showing that
17:03 breaking isn't just physical or
17:06 external. It can be a slow, grinding
17:09 process of moral, ethical, and emotional
17:11 conflict. While some characters break in
17:13 order to rebuild and find a new
17:15 identity, RER breaks under external
17:18 expectations and moral conflict, [music]
17:19 showing the psychological toll of living
17:23 in a state of enforced duality. Breaking
17:24 yourself isn't always about physical
17:27 loss or trauma. Sometimes it's the
17:29 internalized burden of being forced to
17:31 live a life that contradicts your true
17:34 self. His arc is tragic yet super
17:36 realistic. He's one of the most
17:38 interesting written characters in all of
17:40 Attack on Titan, and I find his
17:41 character dichotomy to be really
17:43 fascinating compared to most of the
17:45 other cast.
17:47 Breaking yourself isn't about
17:49 destruction for its own sake. It's about
17:51 facing the parts of yourself you've
17:54 ignored, shattered, or denied, whether
17:57 through loss, ambition, guilt, trauma,
18:00 or physical limitation.
18:02 It's painful, it's messy, and it's often
18:05 lonely. But it's also where growth,
18:07 understanding, and true strength are
18:09 born. From Fujino's quiet heartbreak and
18:12 look back to Dorphin's journey from
18:14 vengeance to peace to Reiner's endless
18:17 internal struggles in Attack on Titan to
18:20 Nomia, Togawa, and Tekashi confronting
18:22 their own bodies and limitations and
18:24 rail. These stories show us that
18:27 breaking isn't the end. It's a
18:29 threshold, a space where the old stuff
18:32 dies and the new stuff begins to emerge.
18:35 So next time you feel lost, overwhelmed,
18:38 or broken, remember this. It's in those
18:40 cracks that your story begins to take
18:43 shape. That poignant stillness is what
18:46 remains. And in that stillness, you find
