mcglynn.ludwig - 2015-01-26 06:57:03

It's your average time-travel story (obtain power, abuse power, learn lesson), with some interesting modifiers. The comedy and dramatic parts were both well paced; the main problem I have is that the characters seemed to not be as fleshed-out as they could have been.

Plot holes are present in the story, though most things get wrapped up evenly enough. (Remember, seeing the consequences of her actions is what the story is mainly about.)

Art was excellent, OST was mainly forgettable.

wbeahan - 2014-10-21 10:57:14

The Girl Who Leapt Through Time there is a lot of things I can say about this anime but I can keep it short by saying everything in this was perfect. The amazing animation for that time when it was released it is even still pleasing to the eye now. The amazing story behind it a love story of two kids from different times that come together. Amazingly made characters each one kind of just made you really connect with them. This is easily hands down my favorite movie of all time without a doubt. It was honestly incredible I wish I could give it higher then a 10/10 this is a must watch for anyone. 

kshlerin.salvador - 2014-09-15 02:59:49

The Girl Who Leapt Through Time is a beautiful story of time travel done right, accompanied with beautiful animation and soundtrack to match. 

This review is spoiler-free. 

Story 

The Girl Who Leapt Through Time tells the story of a girl named Makoto who accidentally stumbles upon an ability to literally leap through time. She uses this power to prevent her troubles and responsibilities throughout the day as well as help her friends. She slowly begins to realize, however, how pushing all these troubles away is really only giving them to others. That is the main plot point in this anime.

The whole story takes place over one day, but parts of it are redone by Makoto. It does a good job in making sure it isn't boring to watch the same scene again and making sure the viewer doesn't get confused. Time travel anime can sometimes get tedious because it's either too confusing to keep track of everything or it's obnoxious to watch the same thing too many times. I never felt any of these with The Girl Who Leapt Through Time.

It didn't feel like the story was compromising to make the audience happy. I know there were multiple points (especially towards the end) where I wanted so badly for a character to do something but they just wouldn't. The story was told as it was meant to be. It might not have made everyone happy, but not every story is happy.

Animation 

The animation speaks for itself. Amazing. My only complaint would be when the characters are too far away you can see the loss of detail. The scenery was well designed and so was everything else.

I don't know what it is about the visuals, but they are charming. Even (and especially) the indoor shots look nice. 

Sound 

I usually don't pay much attention to sound, but the soundtrack of this anime was spot on. Fun music was played where it fit, sad music played where it fit. Every song had a place. And the songs were great too.

The voice acting was top-notch. Believable and heart-wrenching when needed. Absolutely no complaints.

Character 

Being a movie, there wasn't exactly tons of room for character development, but there was certainly more than I expected. You could feel Makoto mature throughout the anime and, even though it only took place over a span of three days, you could really sense all the characters developing. Part of this is because of them having to find what to do out of high school, part of it is due to relationships, and part of it is due to the time travel. 

None of the characters felt annoying or out of place. They were all necessary and new characters weren't added simply for there to be more characters.

Enjoyment 

The Girl Who Leapt Through Time was extremely entertaining. I grew attached to the characters and was upset and happy as they were. It was believable and amazingly enjoyable. For just under two hours you can't go wrong with watching this—dare I say—masterpiece.

swillms - 2014-06-29 08:25:08

Speechless.

Oh my God, that was perfect. I'm nothing but a ball of tears right now. I wasn't expecting to like it this much. I'm not the same person anymore. This movie changed me a lot, so much more than what some entire anime series had done to me. It thought me to seize the day, to go through the challenges in everyday living to the best of my ability, and more importantly, to be honest and true to my feelings. Even if I have to swallow my pride for that. After all, we don't have all the time in the world. Indeed, time waits for no one.
 We all know that the idea of time travel has been abused to much it's no longer new. However, the way it was used in this movie is really fresh. That's a huge thumbs-up.

I have nothing to say about the characters. Makoto is very believable and likeable. Chiaki is funny and charming. Indeed, I wasn't really expecting some romance between the two of them. Like Makoto, I saw him merely through the lens of friendship. But it's amazing how much I've been exposed to Makoto's character, so much so that it was as if I could really walk in her shoes, that as the time passed by, it seemed perfectly natural that she ended up liking him as well. Maybe she already had at the very beginning, but when she realized her feelings, it made perfect sense.

The Girl Who Leapt Through Time showcased varying emotions in different degrees. It started out funny, humorous, and very light. Then it would progress to guilt, regret, and pain. Then there was love too. It was very amazing that way. You wouldn't be bored for one second. It was gripping, and every moment of the movie was important and just appropriate to be there. The pace was perfect too. Not fast enough to leave out character development, and now slow enough to ruin the pace.

It's just perfect.

Everyone should watch this. Even those who aren't anime fans. I promise you, this movie will change you in many ways that you can't imagine.
Spoiler: Jeez, Makoto, couldn't you at least have told Chiaki you liked him? This is truly killing me. I feel like it's incomplete because of that.

yvonne.labadie - 2014-01-31 10:17:15

"Toki wo Kakeru Shoujo" is not the anime I thought it was going to be. It's actually a very well done coming of age love story. If you are not into this type of story, you may still want to watch this show.

It has a beauty to it that is done really well.

As you're reading the synopsis, that is really the whole story. How it is executed is very well done.

Every action has an equal and opposite reaction, and that is true in Makoto's actions.

Selfish action usually come with regret, especially regret you wouldn't come to expect or be aware of most of the time.

That is captured very well in this film.

For it is a love story between many characters in this film, it tries to get it wrong with all of them until the end, and with good reason.

There may be plot holes due to the time travel aspect, and it could be confusing at times, but that's not the point of the series.

If you had the ability to turn back time and do something over again, would it really turn out better than what has already surmised?

The art in this picture is quite unique when it comes to animation. The movement is realistic, despite the obvious reduction in quality at times on the characters. The backgrounds are always detailed and beautiful. The animation is never confusing, or a mess. All the work of fine hands.

The sound in this picture. The music is some of the best you may hear when it comes to anime film and adaptation. It's actually one of the reasons why this film is so memorable to me, I immediately looked for the OST as soon as I was finished watching the film, I just love it (Who dislikes Bach in the first place?).

Like with many anime films, the Seiyuu that were chosen for the main and supporting characters don't usually do voice over work. Despite this, the seiyuu are all excellent, and act their characters flawlessly.

Makoto's hint of immaturity is captured in her voice.

Chiaki's delinquent like attitude is captured.

Kousuke's calm and worry are captured.

Kozuko's understanding and acceptance shine through.

SFX are well done as well.

There are not many characters in this series despite it being about :Spoiler: simultaneous love triangles.

The thing I like the most in this film is the realistic character interactions between these characters, especially Makoto and her family when they are on screen.

Makoto is the girl who leaps through time, she is quite an immature little bugger.

Chiaki and Kousuke are Makoto's close friends (they never refer to each other by their last names, shows their relationship together).

I'll just leave it at that.

Kazuko Yoshiyama is a very mysterious character, she's the one Makoto reconciles to after her Time Leap events. :Mild Spoiler: She becomes very mysterious after explaining that she has time leaped as well in the past. It is never explained.

---

This is a beautiful film.

The realistic character interactions, well paced, well acted, and perfect score, all come together to create a great adaptation!

bonnie26 - 2013-10-13 22:43:35

SPOILERS This is about the English dubbed # 97 minute film.

The Girl Who Leapt Through Time is an animated feature film about a girl who finds out she has the ability to "time leap" (Which apparently is common as suggested by her incredibly confusing auntie). The film is very fast paced, so you better be watching avidly otherwise you'll miss key points which makes the rest of the film hard to enjoy.

Story

• The story was clearly ambitious from the start, the writers obviously had a lot of ideas, however they had to squeeze all of them down into a 97 minute production, which left a lot of things unfinished and left me wanting to know more. But in the end it did tie off a couple of ends, however not as many as I would of wanted.

Animation

• No complaints with the animation, it was nicely done, very smooth transmissions of frames. No complaints. The animation is very similar to Summer Wars because of the Director being Mamoru Hosoda (In all honesty I think I prefer Summer Wars).

Sound

• Again, like the Animation I have no complaints with the animation (Apart from one small things that the voice actor for Makoto was a little emotionless, but that didn't ruin the stroy or anything else).

Character

• Because this is a film, character development was very short. However you do get more attached as the film goes on because of Makoto finally finding out that she does actually like her best friend Chiaki. There are some small characters that kind of join in with the story (Makoto's family, The girl who has a crush Kousuke) but they only have small parts and you don't really learn much about them.

Enjoyment

• I did overall find the film a nice watch however, the ending was slightly annoying; will Makoto ever meet Chiaki again? OR will she just be left alone for a long time like her auntie? I guess we'll never know.
• I probably would recommend this film to people, however it wouldn't be my first choice to recommend.

Thanks for reading my review,

Wulf.

aubree.hane - 2013-10-05 22:33:09

It is so beautiful; It isn't the typical teenager movie wich the girl falls in love and bla, bla, bla

The story narrates the life of Makoto, a girl who developed the hability of travel in to the past.

Because my inglish is not perfect I'll be short.

Story

The story develop interesting topic like the real love, the bullying, the respect, and is very interesting the way that it develop that.

Animation

So so good. I love Makoto, and the contrast between the characters and the enviroment. The colors are wondering and the character are very well designed

Character

This are my favorite part; I mean, each character represents a part of the human condition: jealousy, doubt, anxiety, love, forgiveness... No one is perfect and this was very good represented. Especialy I loved Makoto and Chiaki

Enjoymen

I laughted and I cried so much. I really identify with each character, because each one represents things that we have all felt.

Overall

"Time doesn't wait for no one"

Y para quienes saben hablar español aquí les dejo otra reseña que no me pertenece, pero que deberían conocer

Crítica:

Basada en una famosa novela en el país nipón de Yasukata Tsutsui, “La Chica que Saltaba a Través del Tiempo” es una adaptación en clave de película animada que en realidad consiste en la secuela de la novela, ya que la protagonista es Makoto, la sobrina de la protagonista de la obra de Tsutsui, Kazuko, la cual actúa en esta película como la voz de la conciencia de la protagonista, advirtiendo de los riesgos de jugar con el tiempo. Una secuela adaptada a los tiempos recientes de Japón y enfocada principalmente para los jóvenes, aunque pueda ser también perfectamente disfrutable para aquellos espectadores algo más “Creciditos”.

Una historia que no aporta grandes novedades en su temática de viajes en el tiempo y cómo nuestras acciones cometidas en él pueden variar nuestra existencia con consecuencias nefastas. Si “La Chica que Saltaba a Través del Tiempo” no es original en su historia, sí que está bien contada con los juegos con la narrativa y los saltos (Literales) adelante y atrás en el tiempo que protagoniza la joven Makoto.

Unos saltos que empiezan con la excelente secuencia del accidente en bicicleta que sufre cuando sus frenos fallan, colisiona contra la barrera del paso a nivel que regula el paso del tren y se dirige a una muerte segura arrollada por la locomotora hasta que en pleno “Vuelo” retrocede en el tiempo pocos instantes antes del fatal desenlace, salvando la vida. Una vez que Makoto es consciente de su nueva habilidad (E intentando ponerla en práctica tratando de saltar por la ventana de su habitación, haciendo creer a su hermanita pequeña de que trata de suicidarse por un flan), la aprovecha para sus intereses.

Por ejemplo, para sacar sobresalientes en complicados exámenes de matemáticas, evitar armarla con su torpeza en clase de cocina, jugando magistralmente al béisbol adivinando todos los lanzamientos o cantando al karaoke interminablemente (Significativamente, la canción que canta junto con sus amigos Chiaki y Kosuke es “El Tiempo no Espera a Nadie”, la misma advertencia que vemos en el encerado de clase poco antes). Son las escenas más cómicas de la película.

Pero las cosas se empezarán a poner feas, tal como advierte Kazuko avisándola que debería usar su poder para algo importante y que alguien podría pasarlo mal por sus actos. Chiaki le confiesa su amor por ella y Makoto descubre que su poder no es ilimitado mediante una marca en su brazo que señala cuantos viajes en el tiempo le quedan. Unos descubrimientos que pondrán las cosas difíciles para la chica y que desencadenarán una serie de reacciones que desembocarán en tragedia, pese a los esfuerzos de Makoto por arreglar las cosas. Pero no serán las únicas sorpresas que surgirán en el relato, las cuales estarán protagonizadas por Chiaki y sus poderes.

Una historia con su evidente moraleja y que ilustra el proceso de maduración que sufrirá Makoto desde que al comienzo es una adolescente de buen carácter pero caprichosa hasta que aprende la lección. En esta historia, además, veremos las consecuencias del terrible “Bullying” mediante el personaje de Takashi, quien acabará explotando usando un extintor como arma peligrosa y dañando a quienes menos culpa tienen. Y además veremos lo difícil que es para los jóvenes el crecer hacia la vida adulta y eso que llamamos “Madurez”.

“La Chica que Saltaba a Través del Tiempo” supone, además, un buen antídoto contra buena parte de las historias románticas protagonizadas por adolescentes y enfocadas a este público que asolan las carteleras, incluyendo taquilleras aportaciones patrias, en el sentido de que la película de Mamoru Hosoda trata los problemas de los jóvenes japoneses (Que no son tan distintos de los de la sociedad occidental) y a sus personajes respetando la inteligencia del público y haciendo creíbles sus personajes. Evidentemente con Makoto como máximo ejemplo.

El buen diseño gráfico puesto al servicio de la historia, sin excesivas florituras visuales excepto para ilustrar los viajes en el tiempo de Makoto o usando la cámara lenta en el momentos de los accidentes en el paso a nivel con un gran momento del suspense en el segundo acaba por beneficiar a la película, una buena mezcla de comedia y drama romántico con su toque agridulce pero optimista de justo éxito público y crítico. Recomendable para públicos de todas las edades.

rward - 2013-08-19 20:36:11

Animated by studio madhouse and directed by Hosoda Mamoru who is famous for Digimon,Summer Wars Wolf children,and The girl who leapt through time is one amazing movie which you(the reader) as an anime fan,NO as a human being should watch,I highly recommend it.When I first heard about this movie I was rather sceptic,because usually when talking about good anime movies there will always be someone who will mention this movie and say how brilliant it is and I just thought that it's just another fanboy and overrated thing.Another reason why I simply avoided this movie was because it's by studio madhouse and by knowing their usual rather dark action heavy anime which I'm a huge fan of,I simply could not immagine that madhouse could put out such a masterfully done school anime with a rather light hearted plot.

I would say the whole story is rather plain and simple so that even kids could understand and enjoy and while it is a school anime and heavily oriented on high school I wouldn't say that it is "just an anime" or just for kids,the way that this movie was represented is done in such a brilliant well executed way that even your grandparents could enjoy it which leads to another point,buy this movie and nerf everyone arround you till they watched it.From the first second this movie drives you in in his whole world while maybe it could appeal to some as boring but theese are probably theme people who dislike Shawshenk Redemption(one amazing movie which I also highly recommend).

We meet Makoto your normal clumsy high school Japanese girl who has no idea about her future or love, and simply seeks for simplicity in her life and she just wants to be with her friends and play some fucking baseball(because why the fuck not?).Some day it happens that she got some weird power which allows her to leap through time which if you've read the title of the film shouldn't really suprise you,where she uses her power you guessed it many many times(because why the fuck not?).The whole storry evolves arround her and her everyday school life with her friends while at first glance nothing really interesting happens(the first 30 minutes are kinda boring) I think that it was a good decision for the whole movie because of such a way it was easier to me to relate to the characters.Once again while it is about time travelling and school don't be fooled,just go and watch this movie,9/10 doctors guarantee that you will be amazed.I mean it just might be me but really one of the reasons why I love this movie so much is that the way of the time travelling concept,while some other time travelling anime or movies usually take up the time travelling concept as the main plot,how I see it this movie took the concept of time travelling on second place and the time travelling actually became a tool for the storry to grow and build up for example like in Slumdog Millionaire where the whole movie isn't really just about how this guy wins a million dollars on TV,it actually was a creative and brilliant way to tell a storry.Conclusion Slumdog Millionaire is one cheap clone of The girl who leapt through time :3 .Jokes aside,I hope you enjoy one of the greatest storryies ever told with one of the greatest casts,Homers year long work on the Odyssey now feels pointless in comparison.

The whole animation was brilliant while sometimes clunky(guess you can't have it all) and weird looking and sometimes like a webtoon I liked the animation and art style a lot because theres a huge variety of places and scenes which are all special and different in a good way.The people who alredy watched Wolf Children(another great anime movie) are familiar with this kind of animation and artstlye,the backgrounds are beatiful and almost like paintings which you could easily pin on your wall while the characters are kinda cartoony.The camera angles were always very good and almost every scene had detail in it and while watching it I had kinda had this feeling that the animators have put a lot of heart in it.One important thing I want to point out is the character desing which you will probably not believe me but I swear to God,this movie is ecchi/fanservice free(it's also loli free) which might suprise you since this is a highschool anime and what anime teached us is that in Japanese highschool girls don't look asian and have large boobs which are only bipassed by adult women who have watermelon like breasts and that such women usually wear tight shirts written Mega Milk over it.

When it comes to good sound and music in anime I usually speak about Interstela 5555,cowboy bebop,Kara no Kyoukai,Fate/zero(btw ufotable is awesome)and while those anime sure are amazing with their music and the voice acting I have to say that The girl who leapt through time might not be perfect but you can forgive it just because it got so much heart,the music and voice acting was more than good and simply touching,I can't give it less than a 9 because simply every song felt original and was very light with a lot of heart and it simply fitted more than well to the whole mood of the film which actually is the point of sound.Playlist of the music in The girl who leapt through time

The characters while at first glance 1 dimensional and in some ways similar constructed to those in Ghibli movies I simply have to say that every single character of this anime was very realistic and just like normal high school kid with their everyday normal life and problems, which all kinda remind me of me when I was younger and the problems which I had with time travelling known as 3 beer and 3-4 shots of vodka.

This movie is very light hearted and easy to watch in some way like Clannad and Angel beats.While it did not focus on making any commedy or action,it did not felt boring I mean sometimes it seemed like the whole story or film is going nowhere, but I never felt bored and from the whole length of this movie was more then perfect.If I could edit it,I would not change a single scene and because it is it's really amazing and almost perfect the way it is .This movie simply stays just one of the best anime ever made with one beatiful and touching story,with one of the best casts of characters I've ever seen in anime.All jokes aside and everything I said simply go for it with a clear mind,just watch it and allow it to amaze you and.I hope that you will be equally amazed how I was,and recommend this movie to your friends,your parents your teachers... live your lives guys,achieve your dreams,read books,write a diary,study and don't waste time,because time waits for no one.I leave you and wish you a good time watching.

If you liked this movie I highly recommend you check out wolf children,5 centimeters per second,grave of the fireflies or steins;gate

tbahringer - 2013-07-06 02:04:59

Fast paced movie with a simple story and well developed characters. My favorite movie of animation, which I've watched at least 5 times.The story is really simple: a happy and clumsy girl who doesn't worry about anything suddenly finds out she has a unusual power.What is very interesting is that she uses this special power in a very naive way. But the as the unintended consequences of that start to appear, the atmosphere changes a lot, and there are a lot of sad parts.Makoto matures a lot during the movie, in a painful but beautiful way.Also, the "goldberg variations" from Bach suited the anime very well.The only thing I miss is some more details in the final part. There is a lot that could be told. However, I actually like this kind of endings.I actually recommend this movie to a lot of people who are not much into Japanese animation, and I had good responses. I like it so much I think is the only video I never deleted from my PC.

mark.berge - 2013-04-23 19:46:02

The Girl Who Leapt Through Time is an honest, intriguing and emotional film that will leave you deep in thought and moody for the rest of the evening. 

The Film begins similar to other Teenage Drama, School Days, type anime. The story revolves around a young teenager; Makoto Konno, who lives with her family in the Shitamachi area of Tokyo, the story also involves her two best friends Chiaki Mamiya and Kōsuke Tsuda. It delves in and out of the drama surrounding teenage relationships, the film approaches this theme of the story with a heartfelt honesty and doesn't divulge into over sexualised themes. In some ways it pushes more realistic values.

However, it descends quite quickly into its Science-Fiction premise. Through a small accident in a chemistry lab (Don't worry it's no Bruce Banner type accident) she discovers; after a heart-pounding introduction to the front of an oncoming train, that she has the ability to 'Time Leap'. This is what really puts the film beyond the sometimes rather unoriginal teenage love drama storyline as it adds another layer of depth and gives impact to themes that, in this genre can be overlooked.

Utilising her new found power she finds guidance in her older sister who becomes a mentor figure throughout the film, never directly involving herself but at times giving Makoto a guiding light as to the consequences of her actions. 

Throughout the rest of the film we see Makoto use her power less for trivial things and more so to help the people she is closest to. The film goes back and forth throughout the same events, at first it can be surprising, however the film weaves a well developed narrative that makes sure you don't get bored even though you may have seen the same scene before.

The main protagonist is portrayed as a strong but lost girl, who in the grand scheme of things is disillusioned, the support her friends and her older sister give is not a reflection of any weakness but instead a binding strength that shines through as one of the movie's more heartfelt premises. 

The semi-twist towards the end (which I shall not spoil) is rather average at best, it leaps out at you (pun not intended), and even though it fits the subject matter and the storyline it feels un-integrated and shocking to a point were it seems a little silly. 

The animation style is crisp and well done, lighting effects serve to create moods that set the scene and the visual animation makes the idea of time-leaping awesome and the film a joy to watch.

The best way to watch this film is probably Japanese with English Subs, however there is a rather well done English Dub. There is not much music purveying the film, instead various sound effects are utilised and do well to integrate you into the film. The music that does play, is light and emotional and doesn't interfere with the dialogue. 

Overall the film is fantastic, its narrative base whilst lacking originality receives depth from its Science Fiction overlay, it allows for a new way to look at certain problems we all go through during our teenage years. The ending will leave you solemn, and for good reason. It leaves you wanting just that little bit more, but all in all it has a rather satisfying conclusion. 

Even if teenage drama Anime Films are not your cup of tea, go ahead and try this one, it may just change your mind.