The Girl Who Leapt Through Time (Toki wo kakeru shojo) (2006)

Featured Audience Ratings

• Lewis C

  
  "I wonder how someone was able to create such a beautiful painting, when it must have seemed that the world was coming to an end." When high school student Makoto inadvertently discovers that she's gained the ability to leap (literally) backward through time, she… More
  "I wonder how someone was able to create such a beautiful painting, when it must have seemed that the world was coming to an end." When high school student Makoto inadvertently discovers that she's gained the ability to leap (literally) backward through time, she immediately begins using it to her advantage - with little concern for how and why she's gained this mysterious power. No problem is too trivial to be solved by a little time travel, from pop quizzes to uncomfortable conversations. But, nothing in the past can be changed without consequence, and Makoto's frivolous use of her ability may result in one or more of her friends being lost forever. The Girl Who Leapt Through Time is about as mainstream and accessible as anime gets. The characters are all pretty normal, likeable, and relatable. There's a lot of humor in the first half of the story, while the last half is quite serious, heartfelt, and poignant. The animation and character designs are clean and smooth, and have a very modern appeal. The score has a lot of piano pieces that occasionally caught my ear in a very pleasant way. I recommend this both to anime fans, and to those who aren't particularly familiar with eastern animation. The story is an entertaining mix of moments both somber and lighthearted, the characters are great, and the visuals were top-notch. The Girl Who Leapt Through Time isn't just a good animated movie, it's good by any standards.

• Anthony L

  
  I am a fan of Anime but not so much the high-school romance crap that is often associated with it. It has some nice visuals but the story is a little boring and the script, although probibly a little lost in translation, was also poor. I found it to be a little dull. This is no Studio… More
  I am a fan of Anime but not so much the high-school romance crap that is often associated with it. It has some nice visuals but the story is a little boring and the script, although probibly a little lost in translation, was also poor. I found it to be a little dull. This is no Studio Ghibli!

• Dead A

  
  I loved it.

• Luke B

  
  Excellent anime that deals with time and life in general. The film is more akin to Groundhog Day than other sci-fi tales. Makoto is a young girl that starts to suddenly travel backwards through time. She can control it with a simple leap. She uses her new found power to correct even… More
  Excellent anime that deals with time and life in general. The film is more akin to Groundhog Day than other sci-fi tales. Makoto is a young girl that starts to suddenly travel backwards through time. She can control it with a simple leap. She uses her new found power to correct even the tiniest mistakes in her daily life. This soon leads to others facing the consequences and things only get worse, as she tries to correct the mistakes for them. The Girl Who Leapt Through Time is a sweet teenage romance as well as suggesting that we must simply accept the little mistakes/bad fortune in life and embrace the good moments rather than dwell on the bad. The animation is excellent and the story is beautifully written. It never gets to complicated and the scene as the bike speeds towards the train was nerve wracking. Perhaps a more downbeat ending could have been more affective, but that's probably my dark and cynical self.

• Lorenzo v

  
  <i>"There is a future that we can't wait for."</i> When a typical young high school girl discovers that she has the unique ability to traverse space and time, her efforts to use the power as a means of preserving the relationships she shares with her… More
  <i>"There is a future that we can't wait for."</i> When a typical young high school girl discovers that she has the unique ability to traverse space and time, her efforts to use the power as a means of preserving the relationships she shares with her closest friends reveals the perpetually shifting nature of personal relationships in Digimon: The Movie director Mamoru Hosoda's warmhearted fantasy. <b><u>Review</u></b> What an amazing film this was. Its funny, its heartwarming, its emotional during certain points and if you are in touch with your emotional side, there is a chance that you will cry buckets. The Girl Who Leapt Through Time is a Japanese animated film that dwells in high school life and all that comes with it, the crushes, the puppy love, the platonic friendship and friendship that soon blossoms into romance. To spice things up a bit, the creators incorporated time travel in the mix and gave it to our klutzy heroine Makoto and the end result is absolutely satisfying as it manages to hit all the right spots and tug your heartstrings. The animation is just gorgeous to look at. It reminds you of a Ghibli movie due to its breathtaking use of rich colors and lavish texture, the film itself almost comes alive with its near perfect animation. The voice work done is perfect as well, integrating it seamlessly into the film thus giving life to the colorful and cheerful characters on screen. While the Sci-fi part and the time travel stuff may not be ironed out to the highest level, I suggest you leave your Einstein mindset right at the doorstep and just enjoy the story that the film is telling. All in all, if you look at it, the film is a touching tale bursting with emotions and it just warms your heart in all the right places. Highly recommended.

• Candy R

  
  Great Japanese anime about a girl who meets someone from the future who gives her the power to leap through time. She uses her powers to help her friends.

• Justin Y

  
  Time travel and Japanese anime. Sounds like a great combination right? Well this is a great film, but there is room for improvement.<p>As you've probably figured out, this film uses the concept of time travel to drive its plot. First things first, this is more of a… More
  Time travel and Japanese anime. Sounds like a great combination right? Well this is a great film, but there is room for improvement.<p>As you've probably figured out, this film uses the concept of time travel to drive its plot. First things first, this is more of a romantic comedy than a science fiction story. Yes there is time travel, but this film uses it differently. Instead of the usual big jump in time to prevent or change some major event this film takes many small leaps, ranging from a few seconds to a day or two, to solve little teenage problems. This may not sound all that great, but the story is quite entertaining.</p><p>Although there is time travel involved, the story is pretty easy to follow. This is because the explanations and reasonings for the jumps don't go too deep, which is actually OK for this film. There isn't a lot of focus on the consequences of meddling with time either. The first half of the film has some comedic parts as well. The repeated one after another time jumps to redo a botched event is pretty funny. Not to mention the main character Makoto keeps tumbling over when leaping. Once you hit the second half of this film there is a nice twist, but the comedy really drops off and it turns into a romantic drama. This may be a turn off to some people, but it isn't all that bad.</p><p>Visually, this movie is just like a typical anime and this is OK. This film doesn't need to be visually stunning to entertain.</p><p>The voice over work is good. Riisa Naka does a nice Makoto and the supporting cast is there as well.</p><p>This animation has a good story with a decent ending and is a nice watch if you like animations and time travel.

• Matthew Y

  
  An anime film that has a coherent plot, character development AS WELL AS interesting ideas and mild moral/theological questions. Oh Girl Who Leapt Through Time I think I love you! (that's not weird is it? I mean she is a highschooler) The film deals with basic childhood angst,… More
  An anime film that has a coherent plot, character development AS WELL AS interesting ideas and mild moral/theological questions. Oh Girl Who Leapt Through Time I think I love you! (that's not weird is it? I mean she is a highschooler) The film deals with basic childhood angst, puberty and the fears of growing up all enveloped in a sci-fi plot involving a device that allows its central character to go back to any previous point in her timeline she wishes. However she only has a limited amount of jumps. She learns important worldly lessens on what you can change or correct about yourself and your environment and what cannot be undone or prevented no matter your efforts. You can try and try and try but you cannot stop yourself from growing-up, you can't change peoples emotions and everybody eventually has to die. Great animated film, more of this and less of Metropolis/Paprika?/Ninja Scroll please!

• Lesley N

  
  17 year old Japanes Makoto goes to high school, hangs out with her mates, makes choices, grows up, discovers consequences, discovers boys and leaps through time,

• Daniel P

  
  Stunning.

• Bill C

  
  Very Engaging story that never falls into the cliches of time travel and tells the story of a normal 17 yr old tom boy resisting the transition to grow-up. Animation is subdued/flat but beautiful write more later. Hints of "Memento"-2000 and "Primer"-2004 but not… More
  Very Engaging story that never falls into the cliches of time travel and tells the story of a normal 17 yr old tom boy resisting the transition to grow-up. Animation is subdued/flat but beautiful write more later. Hints of "Memento"-2000 and "Primer"-2004 but not so avant-garde for the sake of being different and cerebral.

• Marion R

  
  This film is a "feelbad" film. I have no idea how people can comment on this film being heart-warming or "feelgood". It makes me think that they saw a completely different film from me. The animation is okay, the story was okay. This film is like when you buy a… More
  This film is a "feelbad" film. I have no idea how people can comment on this film being heart-warming or "feelgood". It makes me think that they saw a completely different film from me. The animation is okay, the story was okay. This film is like when you buy a gumball from a 25¢ machine. At first it's a sugary, then the color and flavor being to wear out. Soon enough you are just chewing on a gray piece of rubber. That's exactly what this film is like.

• Marcus W

  
  Imagine if John Hughes had written The Butterfly Effect and decided to animate it. It would be something very much like this film. And I'm aware that I mention Hughes nearly every time I review anime but the way he understood adolesence and the strength in his characters is… More
  Imagine if John Hughes had written The Butterfly Effect and decided to animate it. It would be something very much like this film. And I'm aware that I mention Hughes nearly every time I review anime but the way he understood adolesence and the strength in his characters is something they both share. To say more is to ruin it's subtle brilliance and it's brilliant subtlety

• Sarah B

  
  Pure cinematic perfection. This film is completely and utterly absolute perfection. It weaves so many ideas, so many emotions, so many genres into one gorgeous package, so cleverly, so effortlessly and so beautifully, it makes it look oh so simple. It gloriously portrays the pangs of… More
  Pure cinematic perfection. This film is completely and utterly absolute perfection. It weaves so many ideas, so many emotions, so many genres into one gorgeous package, so cleverly, so effortlessly and so beautifully, it makes it look oh so simple. It gloriously portrays the pangs of adolescence, the pain of first love, the ease of friendship, the reality of family life, the truth of humanity, the magic of sci-fi, the complexities of time travel, the anguish of real life and above all, the brilliant, wonderful, diverse medium that is Japanese anime. This film has to be seen by everyone and they will all fall in love with it. If they don't, they are lying to themselves.

Read all 14 featured audience ratings