Method for manufacturing optical laminate, optical laminate, and image display device

An optical laminate comprising:

• a photo-alignment layer;
• and
• a light-absorbing anisotropic layer,
• wherein a front transmittance of the optical laminate is 60% or less, and
• the light-absorbing anisotropic layer is a layer formed of a liquid crystal composition containing a dichroic substance and a high-molecular liquid crystalline compound, and
• wherein the liquid crystal composition contains a high-molecular liquid crystalline compound having a repeating unit represented by Formula (1),
• in Formula (1),
• R represents a hydrogen atom or a methyl group;
• L represents a single bond or a divalent linking group;
• B represents a hydrogen atom, a halogen atom, a cyano group, an alkyl group, an alkoxy group, an amino group, an oxycarbonyl group, an acyloxy group, an acylamino group, an alkoxycarbonylamino group, a sulfonylamino group, a sulfamoyl group, a carbamoyl group, an alkylthio group, a sulfonyl group, a sulfinyl group, a ureido group, or a crosslinkable group;
• and
• M represents a mesogenic group represented by Formula (1-1),
• in Formula (1-1),
• Ar11 and Ar12 each independently represent a phenylene group or a biphenylene group which may have a substituent;
• L11 and L12 each independently represent a single bond or a divalent linking group including no an azo group;
• Y represents an imino group, a —OCO—CH═CH—group, or a —CH═CH—CO2— group;
• m1 and m2 each independently represent an integer of 1 to 3;
• in a case where m1 is an integer of 2 or 3, a plurality of Ar11's may be the same as or different from each other and a plurality of L11's may be the same as or different from each other;
• and
• in a case where m2 is an integer of 2 or 3, a plurality of Ar12's may be the same as or different from each other and a plurality of L12's may be the same as or different from each other.