This time I decided to do a review on something completely different from what i usually do.
The Girl who leapt Through Time is spiritual sequal to a Novel written by Yasutaka Tsutsui in 1965. Directed by Mamoru Hosoda and produced by Madhouse in 2006, the film brings together a lively tale of a young girl who gains the power to time travel, though, this isn’t anything new that hasn’t been used in film literature before. Of course, along the journey there are various pitfalls and realizations she goes through and soon enough does she start to realise about her actions effect her and those around her. But does the film bring a refreshing take on a tried and used formula or does it end up back in time?.
The film tells the tale of Makoto Konno, a girl attending High School in a district of Tokyo who, after enduring a horrible day ends up with the ability to travel back and forth through time. Upon realization of this new founded ability, she goes to her Aunt who happens to be the lead in the original novel. At first the ability proves to be a useful ability to correct her horrible day and easy way to fix things but no sooner does she realise that it’s not all it’s cracked up to be. Further complications arise when she realise the effects of the power on others around her and especially on her close friend Chiaki Mamiya. The story is light hearted and compelling at times and the conclusion really brings the idea of self awareness and maturity. On my first watch however, I said that story felt too contrived and pointless as there wasn’t a clear cut resolution to the story but on the second watch I am reminded of what I originally enjoyed about the movie. The film isn’t action packed and it’s not meant to be, it simply tells a tale of a girl who learns from her mistakes taking her new ability for granted and learning from those mistakes. the whole theme of “Time stops for nobody” in combination to some of the more intense moments serves the flow perfectly. At first you’ll feel the simple youthfulness of the story then you’ll really feel the emotions of Motoko and feel attached and the major plot twist near the conclusion will really surprise viewers. It really shows how much character development there is to her character. Overall the plot really delivers a satisfying feel good storyline with well developed characters.
Visually the film doesn’t break any new boundaries, but it helps the overall aesthetics of the film which is more focused on telling a good story.In this sense the washed out visuals add to the youthfulness of the film. You won’t see much in line of obvious and overused CG except for the time travel sequences but this is probably a good thing as it would break the nature of the film and any connection to the audience it may have.
The Seiyuus each do a wonderful job. Riisa Naka plays the big role of the young and naive Makoto and plays the part well, never feeling too disconnected with the character. The music used is both light and cheerful and becomes more dramatic to the end. It fits with the narrative well and never feels out of place.
Overall, The Girl Who leapt through time is a wonderful lighthearted tale of a girl learning one of life’s lessons and though it definitely won’t appeal to someone looking for alot of action, it still is a very good film and still recommended to anyone who likes anime and those wanting an excellent feel good movie.
Story: 9.5
Video: 7.5
Audio: 9.0
Overall: 9.0
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