Toki o kakeru shôjo (2006)

Director:

Mamoru Hosoda

Writers:

Yasutaka Tsutsui (novel)
Satoko Okudera (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

15 July 2006 (Japan)

Genre:

Animation | Comedy | Drama | Romance | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

There is a future that we can't wait for.

Plot:

A teenage girl finds that she has the ability to leap through time. With her newfound power, she tries to use it to her advantage, but soon finds that tampering with time can lead to some rather discomforting results. |

Plot Keywords:

Teenage Girl | School Friend | High School | Pudding | Baseball Glove

Awards:

5 wins

Cast

  (Credited cast)

Riisa Naka	...	Makoto Konno (voice)
Takuya Ishida	...	Chiaki Mamiya (voice)
Mitsutaka Itakura	...	Kousuke Tsuda (voice)
Ayami Kakiuchi	...	Yuri Hayakawa (voice)
Mitsuki Tanimura	...	Kaho Fujitani (voice)
Sachie Hara	...	Kazuko Yoshiyama (voice)
Yuki Sekido	...	Miyuki Konno (voice)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Midori Ando	...	Makoto's mother (voice)
Shannon Chan-Kent	...	Miyuki Konno (voice: English version)
Andrew Francis	...	Chiaki Mamiya (voice: English version)
Takayuki Handa	...	Kato (voice)
Saffron Henderson	...	Kazuko Yoshiyama
Maryke Hendrikse	...	Sekimi
Emily Hirst	...	Makoto Konno (voice: English version)
David Hurwitz	...	Sojiro Takase (voice: English version)
Utawaka Katsura	...	Makoto's father (voice)
Kristie Marsden	...	Yuri Hayakawa (voice: English version)
Yôji Matsuda	...	Sojiro Takase (voice)
Sonoka Matsuoka	...	Orimi Nowake (voice)
Tadashi Nakamura	...	Guardman (voice)
Fumihiko Tachiki	...	Fukushima sensei (voice)
Natalie Walters	...	Kaho Fujitani (voice: English version)
Keiko Yamamoto	...	Sakano Obasan (voice)
Shiori Yokohari	...	Seiko Uesugi (voice)
Alex Zahara	...	Kousuke Tsuda (voice: English version)

Also Known As:

The Girl Who Leapt Through Time (International: English title)

Runtime:

98 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Singapore:PG | France:U | South Korea:All | Hong Kong:I | Spain:T | Chile:TE | Australia:PG | UK:12A | UK:12 (video rating) | Ireland:12 | New Zealand:PG

Company:

Mad House

Trivia:

This movie was released to a small number of theaters in Japan, taking in approximately 300 million yen (US$3 million). The film wasn't advertised as frequently as other animation features from 2006 (such as "Tales from Earthsea"), but word of mouth and glowing reviews generated interest. At Theatre Shinjuku for days in a row, film-goers would fill the theater, some even standing to watch the film. Following this, distribution company Kadokawa Herald Pictures took unprecedented measures to increase the number of theaters showing the film across Japan, and sent the film to several international festivals.

Goofs:

Continuity: In the scene of the teachers room, when Makoto hears a noise from the science lab, there is a shadow next to the doorknob of the door of the science lab. in a close shot, the shadow is on the doorknob.

Quotes:

Chiaki Mamiya: [the teacher has arrived late] It's our lucky day
Makoto Konno: No, It's my lucky day
Chiaki Mamiya: And that, Why?
Makoto Konno: [Voice-over] People say that when you have a bad day, nothing will go fine. But that is not for me. Because I'm always having luck.
Fukushima sensei: Let's see: Who guesses why the teacher was late?
Yuri Hayakawa: A review?
Fukushima sensei: Exactly, Miss Hayakawa
[Everyone Screams: ¿WHAT?]
Makoto Konno: [Voice-over] Anyway, I still have quite lucky

Movie Connections:

Follows Toki o kakeru shôjo (1983)

Though not flawless, very well thought out.

The Girl Who Leapt Through Time is a very original, well thought-out fantasy about traveling through time. It's categorized as Sci-Fi on IMDb and has quite a decent ranking in the genre. However, Sci-fi is only a secondary tool used in the story. The whole movie has a strong undertone of philosophy. I am glad that I could watch it in HD.

Makoto is a jumpy, goofy and lovely highshoolgirl in her senior year. She has 2 buddies in the class, but doesn't know one of them is having a crush on her. Later, she obtained a special ability of leaping through times, and escaped a train accident using this ability. Inspired suddenly, she dumped herself into a time-traveling life that seemed perfect, until......

Don't get it wrong. This is definitely not Back To the Future or Terminator. It's never heavy enough to depress you, yet it got messages delivered. The movie blends ordinary life into the fantasy, which gave you another way to look at our ordinary lives. Makoto was cumulating her ego and gradually becoming ignorant after the magic worked time to time . This is a reflex to anyone that became arrogant after some achievements. Chasing after her personal desire for too long, Makoto finally realized the worst consequences always come from the smallest mistakes. Therefore a great portion of this film is about her trying to fix everything back and forth. Different from Butterfly Effects, this movie dealt with such topics in a comedian way. Makoto's goofy personality never gets old, yet it's very involving to see the whole story from her perspective. The romance, although cartooned, had a very realistic touch concerning the youngsters. In Eastern culture, teenagers aren't really supposed to date each other, since their lives only cross each other's at this very innocent, immature and short time. this film rendered the whole feeling to a new level, that at least ties with If You Listen Closely (Whisper of the Heart). It's more surreal and fascinating at times, and finally come to a conclusion that's as beautiful as it's poetic.

Although Hayao Miyazaki had raised the bar of animation features (in Japan and worldwide) for more than 2 decades, The Girl Who leapt Through Time still stood out on its own. After I watched this, I could only say, "Rest in peace, Mr. Miyazaki, for somebody is coming to take your legacy." Visually, it's not entirely detailed as some of Miyazaki's recent works. In one viewing you can fetch all the themes and little Eastern eggs the director intended. But this one viewing may touch you deeply. Have you ever ignored another girl/boy, who tried to give you her/his puppy love and first kiss? Or have you ever ignored another human being who got into a lot of troubles without your help? Makoto's tears were shed several times during 1 hour 38 minutes, giving me a lot of chances to reflect on my own ego and personality.What if? What if I could give more attention to him/her...? We ask such stupid questions in real life? The movie's not silly. It's a good movie for kids, teenagers, young adults, middle-ages and elders. No wonder it's so worldly welcomed.

9/10 superb direction and art design, with a heartful story to reflect on.