Toki wo Kakeru Shoujo (The Girl Who Leapt Through Time)
Makoto is a very average (if slightly unlucky) high school girl who spends her free time playing baseball with her two best friends Kousuke and Chiaki. After an incredibly bad day involving a test she hasn’t studied for, a complete disaster of a cookery class and an accident in a chemistry lab, Makoto nearly dies when the brakes fail on her bike and she is flung straight into the path of an oncoming train. However, her accident in the lab involved falling on a mysterious walnut-like object that gives Makoto the ability to “leap” back through time to any point she chooses such that the world is essentially reset for everyone except her. Confiding only in her aunt, Makoto leaps back through time to undo and redo events over; however, the repercussions of her leaping are not always pleasant, and Makoto is faced with a major dilemma when it is revealed who owns the Time Walnut…
Excuse the flippant tone of the end of that summary, as Toki wo Kakeru Shoujo is an absolutely fantastic film. As I’ve mentioned back in the mists of time on this blog I don’t like many anime feature films - Japanese film pacing is often far too slow for my liking, and far too many anime films are either substanceless or messy. However, TokiKake’s story kept me engrossed all the way through; the storyline is simple but consistent and devoid of major plotholes which most timetravel stories fall prey to, and most importantly Chekhov’s gun is consistently but subtly used throughout (look it up, Wikipedia knows all!). I know there are people who have found the ending unsatisfactory, but it’s quite typical for the Japanese in that it’s bittersweet but hopeful and I thought it worked very well indeed.
Leaving aside the story, the production of the film is magnificent. The animation is very natural and fluid, with beautiful character designs that lend themselves easily to grace and movement; the art itself is unsurprisingly excellent, with lovely background work and art direction (although some of the CG used for Makoto’s “time leap” sequences wasn’t quite as exciting or beautiful as I might have hoped). A score that’s heavy on piano and synth is very effective at conjuring the right sort of slightly wistful high school atmosphere that the film evokes so well, and the voice acting is refreshingly realistic; using live-action stars rather than anime voices always works well for Ghibli, and here it’s no different with Makoto’s seiyuu giving a brilliantly natural performance.
In other respects, however, I’d say TokiKake is the “anti-Ghibli”, or certainly the anti-recent-Ghibli. Putting aside the differences in animation styles etc., rather than the joy of TokiKake being in the bizarre (despite the importance of the time leaping to the plot) it’s the mundane stuff that really makes the film as it’s essentially a high-school relationship drama, as opposed to an escapist fantasy like Mononoke or Howl’s for example. The film manages to get the whole “slice of life” vibe right without being phenomenally dull, which is a brilliant achievement in and of itself; the time-leap mechanic is a bonus to spice things up without being the focus.
I’m starting to ramble a bit here as I haven’t got any really focused thoughts on TokiKake as it’s mostly a very emotionally engaging film as opposed to a cerebral or visual one, despite its beauty. I cannot recommend that you watch it enough, though, and I REALLY hope it gets a decent release in the West at some point; it’s never going to sell well, but it’s a truly wonderful film and I really hope you check it out at some point.
Is it eligible for the Oscars next year? Is it just its first showing in the States that would count for eligibility? There’s nothing overly high-profile on the Western full-length animation front in the future, and Shrek 3 is reputedly pretty poor so may not be the lock for the award that it might first seem. It could get a nomination at least… what happened to Paprika in the end? Did that get nominated this year? I really wasn’t paying any attention… anyway, TokiKake, WATCH IT NOW, thank you.
May 7th, 2007 at 1:58 am
Yeah I went into this knowing absolutely nothing about it and pretty much fell completely in love.
I’m not sure if it’s had any exposure in the US yet outside of some Children’s Film festival in March according to wikipedia.
Can’t wait for the possible dvd release, as it’s the sort of thing I just want to share with everyone I know.
May 7th, 2007 at 2:50 am
I think I could be the last one to review this. Loved this anime totally.
May 7th, 2007 at 3:13 am
[…] it seems I wasn’t the only one who waited to watch it during the weekend. Unforunately, Cinnamon Ass is right. If it ever is […]
May 7th, 2007 at 4:36 am
Yay. TokiKake for the multiple win! 8)
I wouldn’t jump to say it’s anti-Ghibli though, you’re probably just thinking too much of Miyazaki’s films which are mostly very heavy on the fantastic element. Do remember Takahata every now and then if you could…
Coincidentally the backgroudn artists for this show are bloody phenomenal - it seems to read like a who’s who list of great realistic-style anime art directors. The Ghibli folks are all there.
This really does deserve an award though.
May 7th, 2007 at 4:49 am
YES. I loved this movie. The quiet pallette and focus of the story makes the whole thing appear rather subdued and won’t win the masses over, but it’s a true winner to me. It reminded me of The Cat Returns–one of my favorites–and they do share a lot of themes, but I liked TokiKake for keeping itself grounded in reality with an additional time traveling element. Also, Makoto’s time traveling “leaps” and her “ehhhh??”s when her plots didn’t work out were SO entertaining. XD I think the Chiaki revelation came in a little late, but still–I know I’ll be waiting for this one to come out on DVD.
May 7th, 2007 at 8:28 am
Tokikake ??????? (The Girl Who Leapt Through Time)…
illustration by Heikinritsu
This is an interesting anime by MadHouse Productions and published by Kodokawa. I have posted some pictures on my Flickr page which is the above artwork by Heikinritsu and the poster he did. Charter design is by Yoshiyuki S…
May 7th, 2007 at 9:11 am
Hmmm, I’m pretty sure this movie is a Kadokawa property, so I’d be fairly surprised if we don’t see an R1 release sooner rather than later.
May 9th, 2007 at 10:52 pm
I saw it last fall at WFAC - Waterloo (Canada) Festival of Animated Cinema. Great on the big screen! To be eligible for an Oscar it has to be shown at a Los Angeles county movie theater. Did not happen in 2006 for The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, so it can be shown in 2007 to enter the 2008 Academy Awards.
May 18th, 2007 at 10:18 am
I had exactly the same impression as you (something not really strange). I don’t like most anime films because I think they drag too much, but this was certainly an exception. I loved it.
June 10th, 2007 at 6:38 pm
I went into this film knowing next to nothing, like many, and came out like a lovesick high school girl. The plot sticks to the KISS method (not delving into how time travel works or how one doesn’t meet their own self in the past), and I really became involved in the relationships between all the characters. Yeah, I cried at the end, but the ending felt good.
June 25th, 2007 at 9:36 am
I truly love this anime and it’s worth my waiting. The idea of a girl who can travel through time is so much creative. I’m a fan o “slice-of-life” type and nothing can describe my happiness after watching Tokikake. The film started to be funny at first, but then, it was so heart touching and so full of emotion in the ending. From this anime, I can learn a lot of what we have to do with our precious time, and with the beloved people surrounding us.
Because time waits for no one!
June 5th, 2008 at 9:08 pm
wow I just decided to watch this and it was really really good..also made me cry at the end >> haha
April 2nd, 2009 at 12:59 am
The movie of 2007. For me, anyway. Reminds me of the best of Studio Ghibli films (”Only Yesterday” and “Whisper of the Heart”). Only a bit more modern in style and execution (not necessarily bad). Music by Kiyoshi Yoshida and Hanako Oku is top-notch - I recommend anyone loving this movie to buy it: http://tinyurl.com/dmp4bm .