Customer Reviews

The Girl Who Leapt Through Time

5 star:		(61)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I wasn't expecting much from this movie due to its weird title and what I felt was an awkward animation style. Plus I was an avid Hayao Miyazaki fan, and I did not believe any anime movie could overcome the feel-goodness of his movies in general. I was very wrong.

"The Girl Who Leapt Through Time" (or "Toki wa Kakeru Shoujo") is about a girl named Makoto Konno who, after a strange encounter in a lab after school discovers she has the power to "jump" through time. Literally.

Although it started off slow, the pace made the hackneyed concept of time jumping much more original. Not to mention the main characters were all extremely likable and realistic. I couldn't help but root for Makoto in whatever crazy things she wound up doing in the past. The things she went back to change were trivial things, like a test she failed, or when her friend Chiaki confessed to her. They are all things that ordinary, idiotic people like ourselves would do if we had that power. This story is only something the Japanese could come up with, and I commemorate director Mamoru Hosoda for blending mundane Japanese life with such a fantastical concept like time travel. It's warm, funny, and touching. That is, for the first half.

The second half of the film takes a hugely dramatic turn. It's almost mind-blowing in the way things played out. For spoiler fans, it has something to do with Chiaki (You know, the friend who confessed to her?). Anyways, I loved this shift in the plot, even though it lost some of its precious feel-good elements along the way. Makoto still managed to keep some humor in her crazy ventures, and her personality is not lost in the plot twist. Chiaki's transformation though, I'm still a bit iffy about.

I think this movie is way up there with Miyazaki's films. The perfect blend of fantasy and feel-goodness, along with some dry humor as well makes for an excellent film. I also felt myself warming up to the animation style as well, which was very contemporary, so I wasn't used to it, but I'm now completely in love with it. "Time waits for no one" so go watch this movie!

When I put The Girl Who Leapt Through Time into my DVD player, I expected a very good albeit light anime movie. What I got instead was an emotional experience which might be the most moving anime movie I've seen so far.

Makoto Konno is a slightly clumsy tomboy on the verge of the age right when teens start looking at the opposite sex differently whose priority is hanging out with her two best buddies - cheeky but endearing Chiaki Mamiya and evenheaded, gentlemanly Kosuke Tsuda. One day, her bicycle brakes won't work, and she finds herself about to be killed by crashing into a train passing her lane. Fortunately, a miracle occurs - and she finds herself having time-jumped backwards safe and sound.

After talking to her aunt, who had a similar experience, she experiments and finds that she can do it again, begining with small things like preventing the poaching of a snack by her sister. But when things start progressing to slightly more serious matters and she takes a series of jumps in a panic when she realizes that one of her best guys is about to say something to her privately that will take them to a place from which they can't come back that she isn't sure she's ready to go, things take a dark turn and spiral out of control - and she finds that this time, she might not be able to fix what she's done...

Part sci-fi with a neat twist that anyone who isn't familiar with the source material probably won't see coming and part teen drama with an achingly accurate depiction of that critical time in life and personal development, The Girl Who Leapt Through Time is a warm, poignant work that should be in the collection of any anime fan.

Synopsis
Something strange has happened to Makoto Konno. Time has suddenly stopped and moved her backwards.
With her newly discovered ability to literally leap backwards in time Makoto finds that tests become a piece of cake, embarrassing situations are corrected, and she can have her favorite food any time she wants. Unfortunately her carefree time travelling has adverse effects on the people she cares for.

With every successful leap Makoto somehow alters the fate of those around her. This wasn't supposed to happen and as she races back in time to fix everything, she notices that her abilities are not limitless but with every successful jump she's one step closer to discovering the most wonderful secret in year young adult life.

Review
The Girl Who Leapt Through Time is a rare gem in the haystack that is made up of modern Japanese animation, and I am certainly not the only one who thinks this way either. Having won multiple awards including "Animation of the Year" in 2007 from both the Tokyo Anime Fair and the Japan Academy Prize, there surely must be something special about this movie. It could be the writing. Our main protagonist Makoto is a typical teenager who is clumsy to a fault, lazy, and self-indulgent. At first she does not appear to be a likable character, abusing her ability to travel backwards in time for personal (and often petty) gain. But as she begins to learn that her powers are not infinite and that her actions have consequences, there comes a beautiful epiphany. The most admirable thing though was the way the writers were able to have Makoto's character develop and change seamlessly. It was both believable and heartwarming in the way it mirrors the emotional development of so many young people. Though the movie was ground-breaking, the release itself is quite flawed.

The feature encompasses multiple genres from romance to comedy, drama to Sci-fi fantasy. But none of it is forced and everything feels as though it belongs and is there for a purpose. As the viewer, the portrayal of time travel seemed completely feasible in the context of the feature. There is no ingenious piece of equipment or lengthy transformation sequence. Aside from a little embellishment, it just happens. It could also be the music. The soundtrack features beautiful piano melodies and even a bit of classical Bach. The soundtrack provides an understated accompaniment to what is nothing less than an engaging story which unfolds like a cherry blossom blooming. The majority of the soundtrack comes from the composition genius of one person, Kiyoshi Yoshida, which explains how one piece flows into another so seamlessly. It is after all much easier when one person writes a story from start to finish than when multiple people try to write different chapters and piece them together.

The understated charm continues into the art. There is no fancy detail in the clothing and no pink, lavender, or mint-colored hair on any characters' heads. Although human eyes (particularly that of people of Asian heritage) are not typically very round and do not occupy one-quarter of a person's face. The way the characters have been drawn and the way the world has been constructed in this feature has been one of the most true-to-life that I have so far had the opportunity to see. It could be this aspect of the feature which makes it so easy to watch and the characters so easy to relate to. High definition 1080p Blu-ray doesn't hurt either.

The Blu-ray release of The Girl Who Leapt Through Time includes on two disc, (One blu-ray disc for the movie and the extra feature's disc on dvd), bonus content including behind the scenes content, a music video of the theme song "Garnet" and a talk with the director of the feature Mamoru Hosoda to name a few. But it doesn't make much sense to pay extra for something that could of been all on one blu-ray disc. What should of been done to the release is a blu-ray/dvd combo pack with the extra features on the blu-ray disc alone and reduce the cost to $20 instead of $37 to make for a worth while purchase. There is no slip-case for the release.

Overall, The Girl Who Leapt Through Time is a must-see feature for anime fans. It is also a great introduction to the world of anime for the skeptics or uninitiated, and family-friendly too. I personally had the opportunity to see this feature before at Madman's Reel Anime event in 2008 but found it even more enjoyable the second time around. This is truly a great addition to any anime collection.

Length:: 3:14 Mins

This is one of my favorites now. Good story, great plot twist, not something you would expect to like at first. Highly recommended.

The story about a girl who conquered time was first made popular by the much-revered novel by now legendary author Yasutaka Tsutsui. Since then, it has seen many other variations and adaptations including one television series and a couple feature-length live action films. Now this story has finally found its way to the world of animation. And the results are fantastic.

One school day, an ordinary girl unknowingly gains the ability to "leap through time", enabling her to travel to different stages from her memory. After learning how to control this power she has discovered, she begins to realize the responsibilities and consequences that result from using it and how it begins to affect her and those around her. It really is a unique blend of melodrama, romance, comedy, and science fiction, but you will hardly notice any genre while you are watching. The voice-acting and sound are quality, and the character designs by Yoshiyuki Sadamoto (Wings of Honneamise, Evangelion) are superb. The movie's artistry is remarkably subtle for an animated feature even without much impeccable detail, making the whole visual presentation very fitting for a story of its kind.

Believe me when I say you don't have to be familiar with the story in order to enjoy it, and for those who have already seen previous incarnations of Tsutsui's novel this will be yet another take on a classic that will be very much to your liking. Overall, this was terrific and I recommend it to anyone who wants to treat themselves to a good movie that will keep you interested from beginning to end. It managed to capture the Japan Academy Prize for Best Animation of 2006, and it did so for good reasons. See it now!

I am an avid Anime fan. I actually learned Japanese in college for 3 years for the sole purpose of watching Anime and reading Japanese Comics (aka Manga).

The Girl Who Leapt Through Time (aka "Tokikake" for Japanese fans), leapt through the Japanese animation industry, catapulting Director Mamoru Hosoda into what I consider the "next" Miyazaki. This film won the 2007 Animation of the Year in the Japanese Academy Awards and his next work Summer Wars [Blu-ray] won it in 2010. It has now even been made into a Live Action movie with the same Japanese Title "Toki wo Kakeru Shojo" aka "Time Traveler."

Based on a novel, Tokikake the movie is actually a Sequel of the original novel (the protagonist of the original novel happens to be the Aunt of the main character in this movie--which makes us feel bitter sweet when the Aunt mentions what she mentions.) And I won't give you a synopsis (the description and other reviewers can do that), but if you enjoy old Ghibli classics, you will also enjoy this movie. The interesting thing about Director Hosoda is that he is able to mix Sci-Fi elements flawlessly into a normal modern day culture--well, Japanese culture--which draws you right into the characters and story.

Like his newest movie Summer Wars, this movie also mixes multiple categories of comedy, romance, slice of life, sci-fi and drama. He'll give you a couple of twists in the story that will make you "oooh!" and "Ahhh!" in between the laughs and tension.

This is not only a family friendly movie (although I have yet to watch the English Language version, so not sure how they translated it, as sometimes they'll add expletives when there is none in the Japanese version, so will update this once it is released and I watch it) but it will be an excellent introduction to someone who enjoy's a well scripted movie. This is not an "action-packed" sci-fi thriller, so don't expect skin and violence and fighting without a plotline. Just get this when it comes out and you won't regret it. I can't wait until Director Hosoda releases his next film!

This movie went beyond my expectations. The story is so unique and actually becomes very emotional. I don't usually cry in movies but this one I teared up in! I absolutely adore everything about this movie: the characters, story, animation, everything.
You'll enjoy it even if you aren't fond of anime.

This is a fabulous movie that really touched me. The story is quite brilliant. It gets more and more interesting as you watch the plot unfold. I cried during it, but not because it was a sad movie. It leaves you with a positive feeling.
The animation is an interesting style. Not like many other anime I've seen.

I really tried NOT to give this a 10 but after thinking about it, I just couldn't find a flaw in the movie.
This movie is EXQUISITELY animated, the story is original and the musical score is breathtaking!
Even the English dub is great!! Best of all, this anime can be enjoyed by all ages, much like Hayao Miyazaki's works.

I'm very glad to have this fine addition in my collection-an example of how seriously the Japanese take the anime art form.

Before watching this anime I had thought only works by Disney and Miyazaki can bring me a deep sense of comfort and joy as this animation did, but Studio Madhouse ceirtainly pulled a winner. Traditionaly works by this particular studio include Vampire Hunter D, Ninja Scroll, Trigun, Texhonolyze, and more recently Deathnote id have to say this is quite a transition for them,with character designs by Yoshiyuki Sadamoto which character designs include Neon Genesis Evangelion, Foly Coly, Nadia:secret of the blue water, and various others. This animation turned out well, it beat out another animation by studio Ghibli, it won various awards,it also won special distinction for feature film at France's Annecy International Animated Film Festival. While to me this animation feels underated it dosent take a genius to figure out that this is a fine work, if you like what you see and what you hear, give it your time and it will be worth it.