About The Girl Who Leapt Through Time (2006)
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 anytime she wants. Unfortunately her carefree time traveling has adverse effects on the people she cares for. With every successful leap Makoto somehow alters the fate of those around her. This was not 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 is one step closer to discovering the most wonderful secret in her young adult life.
Directed by: Mamoru Hasoda
Runtime: 98 minutes
Studio: Buena Vista
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Review: The Girl Who Leapt Through Time
I do love the concept of time travel and there have been many films that have built their stories around this idea. The likes of Back to the Future (1985) and Donnie Darko (2001) are among my favourites but I’m always open to new takes on time travel and even plan to explore it in my own writing. Mamoru Hosoda’s The Girl Who Leapt Through Time draws on the wishes of many teenagers at school who wish they could go back in time and change things.
The film focuses on student Makoto who is average at school and often late. She’s at the age where students are starting to date though Makoto seems to shy away from such concerns, as do her two best friends Chiaki and Kosuke who she enjoys playing baseball with. One day Makoto discovers what appears to be a walnut in an empty classroom which she keeps hold of on her way home. Cycling down a hill, Makoto’s brakes fail and she is hurled through the barriers at a level crossing into the path of a train and killed instantly! Seconds later Makoto emerges prior to the accident and discovers the walnut-shaped object has allowed her to jump through time. With the ability to travel back and change a few things, Makoto has many fun ideas ahead but she doesn’t realize the impact her actions will have on others.
After briefly setting the scene and introducing us to the key characters we’re quickly up and running with Makoto’s death at a level crossing but having survived the accident thanks to a spot of time travel she soon finds there is a lot of fun to be had with making a few changes. Makoto improves her grades, engineers her way to arriving on time for school and even relives a karaoke session over and over again. All of a sudden life seems wonderful but complications soon arise. We’re left wondering if Makoto has a secret crush on one of her two friends – Chiaki or Kosuke – but she ends up being matchmaker for Kosuke who informs his friends about a girl who likes him but he simply shrugs his lack of interest. This paves the way for Chiaki to ask Makoto out but he persistently leaps back in time to prevent this from happening!
As good as Makoto’s life becomes she suddenly finds that her actions have an adverse impact on everyone else. An accident in class originally committed by her befalls another student thanks to her time leaping and the after effects are prolonged bullying for this unsuspecting victim! The film thankfully doesn’t have Makoto enjoying unlimited time leaping. One day she finds a number tattoo on her wrist and as she continues to leap the number decreases, signifying how many more times she can time leap. Makoto’s insistence on helping Kosuke get a girlfriend but spurning the advances of Chiaki leads to devastating consequences as the film reaches its conclusion and Makoto finally uses up the last of her time leaps.
The underlying message of The Girl Who Leapt Through Time is certainly not a new one. Although many of us would like to be able to go back and change things in our past we often forget about the paradoxes such changes would insert into the timelines. Everything we do will impact on others in one or way or another and the film conveys that really well. Makoto begins in a selfish manner using her gift for her own personal benefit but she gradually begins to realize that helping others is more rewarding and the damage her actions do need to be corrected no matter what price she has to pay. I’m always glad to try out other anime, though Studio Ghibli are the anime gods to me, and I found this particular film to be very enjoyable, especially with the dark twist waiting in the wings for Makoto.
The Girl Who Leapt Through Time may not seem the most original of films but it addresses the benefits and issues that time travel brings. The development of Makoto as a character is well depicted and the shocking turn of events at the film’s conclusion will be hard to predict for most audiences. This is well worth a look.
Verdict: 4/5
(Film source: reviewer’s own copy)
Film Review: The Girl Who Leapt Through Time | Thank you for reading Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dave
