girlTime travel is a science fiction concept that we’re all familiar with. We grew up reading about it in books like H.G. Wells’ classic The Time Machine and watching it happen in classic shows like the Back to the Future trilogy. But if you’re thinking that Toki wo Kakeru Shoujo (The Girl Who Leapt Through Time) is going to be ‘yet another time travel film’, you’re wrong!

Here’s a fun and meaningful movie that puts a twist into this old concept.

The impressive lineup of the crew would immediately get any anime (Japanese animation) fan excited. Director Mamoru Hosoda, who was originally slated to direct the famous Studio Ghibli’s Oscar-nominated anime film Howl’s Moving Castle before leaving the project at its early stages, together with master character designer Yoshiyuki Sadamoto, who was responsible for the design of the anime classic Neon Genesis Evangelion, are the perfect masters to cooking up a great feast for anime fanatics.

Throw in Studio Ghibli art director Nizo Yamamoto, who has worked in the Oscar-winning movieSpirited Away, and the story adapted from Yasutaka Tsutsui, the author of Paprika, which was short-listed for the Oscars. All these huge names in Japan, plus reputable anime studio Madhouse, came together and created Japan’s “2006 Animation of the Year” and Sitgas International Film Festival of Catalonia (European Film Festival)’s “Best Animated Film”.

With so much expected out of this team, they didn’t fail to deliver. The heroine of the story is Makoto Konno (voiced by Riisa Naka), a spunky 17-year-old high school girl who’s always late for school, poor in her studies and extremely clumsy. She’s best friends with 2 guys, Kosuke (voiced by Mitsutaka Itakura), the dependable and diligent student, and Chiaki (voiced by Takuya Ishida), the slacker transfer student. These 3 friends often play baseball and go for karaoke sessions after school. The equilibrium of their relationship has not been broken – and that’s what Makoto hopes to maintain. She has always wished that the 3 of them could remain friends and never asked for more.

The movie starts off with Makoto having a particularly bad day. She runs in late for class and finds that she has to do a surprise test, which she fails badly. She messes up the tempura in cooking class and sets the stove on fire. She gets into a string of physical accidents and ends off her day in school falling hard on her bum in the science lab. Riding her bicycle downhill on her way home, her brakes are faulty and she finds herself flung off and in front of an oncoming train. Her life is over… no, wait. Is it?

The next moment she finds herself back on the ground a few feet away from where she should have been, unhurt. Confused, she goes to see her aunt, whom she calls “Aunt Witch”. She tells Makoto that she must have acquired the ability to “time leap”.

From then on, Makoto discovers that she can “leap” back into time, and gleefully uses it to take her test over again (and thus getting full marks!), avoiding accidents, and the most hilarious of all – singing karaoke over and over again for 10 hours! She abuses her newfound power to her benefit, changing her fate and the fate of other people.

But of course, Makoto can’t always continue time leaping without consequences. She soon realises that time cannot be messed with. Even if she changed her bad situations, someone else will be at the receiving end of it, and suffer because of it.

If not for the conclusion, this movie could easily become an anime masterpiece. The last quarter of the movie didn’t click with the rest of the story, leaving a lot of questions unanswered. In particular, the audience would want to know more about Makoto’s “Aunt Witch”, as the role she plays in the story remains ambiguous throughout. She seems to know more yet she remains this smiling, quiet observer to the end. But here’s a hint for those dying to know – the original novel written by Yasutaka Tsutsui might just give you all the answers, provided you’re adept in Japanese.

Nevertheless, the characters, especially the fun-loving Chiaki and lovable Makoto, make this movie a delight to watch. You’ll find yourself caught up with Makoto’s funny antics and getting pulled along as she time leaps again and again.

The animation is top notch and the background art is simply beautiful at times. It has a fluid realism that suits Sadamoto‘s simple character designs. which reminds you somewhat of the distinct style of critically-acclaimed director and animator Makoto Shinkai, who directed Voices of a Distant Star.

On a whole, this funny, heartwarming and bitter-sweet romance story will move you as you take leaps forward with Makoto as she learns lessons about herself and the people around her.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Movie Details:
Opens: Jun 21
Running Time: 98 min
Rating: PG
Genre: Animated/Fantasy
Cast: Mitsutaka Itakura, Riisa Naka, Takuya Ishida
Director: Mamoru Hosoda