Toki wo Kakeru Shoujo (The Girl Who Leapt Through Time)

Makoto leaps…into an oncoming train?

This feature film, directed by a Studio Ghibli castoff and with character designs by Gainax co-founder Yoshiyuki Sadamoto, is anime’s version of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind–a thoughtful, touching parable with some light sci-fi elements. A few plot twists were a bit difficult to swallow, but the vivid and accurate characterization, nostalgic mood, and lovely soundtrack more than make up for it. It’s well worth your 100 minutes.

There have always been two dominant kinds of science fiction: one kind focuses mainly on cool ideas and concepts and their implications. A classic example is the work of Arthur C. Clarke, especially books like Rendezvous with Rama. Scientific accuracy, careful exposition, and attention to technical detail are hallmarks of this “hard science fiction.” But there’s always been “soft science fiction,” where character comes first and the science fiction or fantasy aspects are merely a backdrop or a means to reveal deeper truths about the characters. This film falls decidedly in the latter category, and I admit some bias, because I’ve always preferred the latter over the former.

The three friends: Chiaki, Makoto, and Kousuke. Platonic, for now.

The comparison with Eternal Sunshine is striking: both movies have relationship issues at their core. Both feature characters who are in some way trying to do a “reset” on their pasts and finding out the unpleasant consequences of doing so. However, the atmosphere of the anime film is, unsurprisingly for a Ghibli veteran, closer to the quiet Whisper of the Heart and Only Yesterday than the manic music-video informed style of Michel Gondry. I once wrote that Makoto Shikai ought to team up with a very talented dramatist, so we’d get both beautiful atmosphere and a significant story. This movie is probably the closest we’ll get to that: it combines Shinkai’s eye for accurate backgrounds and character motions with a story that is not only interesting and poignant, but meaningful. It has a weight that Shinkai’s light-verging-on-fluffy tales of reuniting young lovers lacks.

The trouble with time travel stories, of course, is that they get convoluted real quick and it’s far too easy to resort to cop-outs to solve intractable plot problems. There are two plot twists in the latter half of the film that, to me, do not quite feel earned even though they can be explained logically. They are either introduced too late or just feel too convenient. Also, the time references are also occasionally overbearing, and the time travel sequences a bit too CGI-ish for my taste. On the positive side, the movie does not choose to go with the easy ending anyway and so by the very end, I learned to overlook the plot problems and bask in the summery warmth that this film exudes so well.

Makoto looks like another Sadamoto character that starts with an “S”

The emotional power of this film sneaks up on you as well. The first half of the film is lighthearted, even goofy, and at first glance the trio of main characters don’t seem particularly distinct. Makoto, the protagonist, describes herself as relentlessly average, and her buddies Chiaki and Kousuke relatively nondescript. The film shines in the little details: the way the characters throw a baseball, the little gestures, the way they react to situations. So when the story becomes more dramatic, we have learned to care for all of them.

I really wish there were more anime like this: it’s just plain good storytelling, on par with any contemporary fantasy film, and the writing is several cuts above what we normally see in TV anime. This is one of the few animes I would be very comfortable showing to people new to anime or who are somewhat skeptical that it’s anything except gratuitous sex and violence. It’s well deserving of all the awards that it’s won and the attention it’s received on the international festival circuit: it’s a fine showcase of what anime can do that doesn’t have the name “Miyazaki” or “Takahata” attached to it.

Anime Diet Recommended Daily Allowances
Animation Quality: 90% (great backgrounds, very accurate capturing of human motion)
Music: 85% (adds to the poignant mood, if somewhat repetitive and monochromatic. Excellent closing song.)
Voice Acting: 90% (the voice actress for Makoto is superb and captures her spunky, carefree, and caring character very well)
Story: 95% (all but perfect; plot twists questionable, but defensible)
Overall Anime Deliciousness: 93%. An outstanding piece of work.

Author: gendomike

Michael lives in the Los Angeles area, and has been into anime since he saw Neon Genesis Evangelion in 1999. Some of his favorite shows include Full Metal Alchemist, Honey and Clover, and Welcome to the NHK!. Since 2003 he has gone to at least one anime convention every year. A public radio junkie, which naturally led to podcasting, he now holds a seminary degree and is looking to become Dr. Rev. Otaku Bible Man any day now. Michael can be reached at mike.huang@animediet.net. You can also find his Twitter account at @gendomike.

9 thoughts on “Toki wo Kakeru Shoujo (The Girl Who Leapt Through Time)

  1. I am glad to see you enjoyed it and scored it very nicely. It is truly a fine piece of work to behold.

    Its no wonder that I felt they had an “Evangelion” look to the characters, I was not aware they were designed by Sadamoto.

    Fantastic storytelling and a compelling narrative makes this girl, jumping not only for time, but for critical acclaim.

    Cheers.

  2. I really have to watch this again, because I thought it was emotionally quite shallow, and far prefer Shinkai’s latest. I guess it was “accurate”, but I really didn’t get any feeling of contact with real characters from it. And I found the over-animated background characters distracting and ugly. Perhaps the fact that I’ve read the original novella (which has a slightly different story) made it harder for me, I don’t know. But I find the universal acclaim quite inexplicable.

  3. I actually read the manga and fell in love with it as the ending is such bittersweet. Nevertheless, I do like it quite a bit and found it rather amazing ^^;;;

  4. best character animation moment: when makoto rolls across her bed to pick up her cell phone

  5. I love this movie, the songs in it are so beautiful. I can’t wait for it to come out in November in English!

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