The Girl Who Leapt Through Time (Review)
Paradoxes and Pop Quizzes: The Girl Who Leapt Through Time.
The Girl Who Leapt Through Time follows the age-old debate about the consequences of time travel. However, it tries to keep its focus by looking at it over a very short period of time and keeping the scope within the realm of a Japanese high school. While it tackles a very deep subject matter, the script at times can be a little immature, perhaps in an attempt to reflect the characters. On the other hand, its design and animation are brilliant, to say the least.
The Girl Who Leapt Through Time revolves around typical high school student Makoto Konno (voiced by Emily Hirst). During an especially bad day, she suddenly discovers that she has literally gained the ability to leap back through time. At first, she frivolously uses her power to rectify her terrible day. However, the consequences spill over and begin to affect her friends around her, including her best friends Chiaki Mamiya (Andrew Francis) and Kōsuke Tsuda (Alex Zahara). At first, there are just little consequences, such as someone else being blamed for an accident she caused and her friend drifting away after gaining a girlfriend. So, she goes back to fix these new complications. However, things slowly start spinning out of control as she realizes that she only has a few chances left to fix everything. I like the simplicity of the design of this film.
The characters in The Girl Who Lept Through Time are unique without being too flashy. It’s crisp, yet has a bit of a flat feeling to it as far as the colors go. Overall, the two balanced each other out very well, to give a very restrained look overall. This is offset by the incredible design that went into the world Makoto travels through when she leaps through time.
Director Mamoru Hosoda has a keen eye for design, and it’s nice to see him working on something other then Digimon. Like I said before, at times the script, written by Satoko Okudera, feels a little immature, mostly in its depiction of the characters. I know that they are young students, but I don’t remember things being like that when I was in high school. Still, I can’t really speak for Japanese students. From an American standpoint, these students act more like eight-year-olds than 15-year-olds. This, however, is the script’s only real flaw.
One thing for certain, the animation in The Girl Who Lept Through Time is absolutely beautiful. Despite the fact that it follows a simple high school student, the attention to detail is staggering. The film certainly doesn’t go out of its way to really invest in character design, but it gets everything right when it comes to the settings. All the pain staking time and energy that must have been put into it seems effortless and completely natural. As impressive as it all is, the anime never feels like it’s trying to show off in the least.
With series like Erased and The Future Diary, it feels like I’ve been on quite a time-travel anime kick lately. Of them though, The Girl Who Leapt Through Time feels like it’s the most benevolent of them all. Sure Makato runs into all sorts of problems with her constant traveling through time, but none of them are life-threatening and this is far cry from most of the gorefests I’ve seen recently. Honestly, I feel like this would be a great family film. Something that parents can enjoy with their kids. Though it might be a little much for little ones to take in, preteens and up are sure to get a kick out of their first real introduction to cause and effect.
While I can’t really go into all the details, the cause-and-effect aspects are well done, and the resolution will leave a smile on your face. It really is an adorable little film. I have to give a nod to the music by Kiyoshi Yoshida. Like the rest of the anime, the music is simple, yet very effective. As you watch The Girl Who Lept Through Time, the music definitely grows on you as the story unfolds. This well-done film that might not be for every anime fan since it is very toned-down and mellow. It’s a perfect film for younger anime fans or for people looking for a mellow movie to watch on a Sunday afternoon. While I prefer my anime to have a bit more action and humor, this film definitely hit the spot and is one that I don’t think you can really go wrong with. Even if you’re not a hardcore anime fan, The Girl Who Lept Through Time is something you can definitely enjoy.
