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Thursday, September 19, 2013

The Girl Who Leapt Through Time Review.

Thoughts: The Girl Who Leapt Through Time is an anime adaption of the 1967 novel of the same name. The Girl Who Leapt Through Time is a film that I happened to come across on several "Best Anime Movies" lists, and then I found it on YouTube and decided to give it a shot not knowing much about the film beyond the obvious time-travel element in the title. Was the film any good? Yes, most definitely yes; it is easily one of the best animated movies I have ever seen. Also, if you do not like anime, try not to think of the film as an "anime" since the art style is not over-the-top like many films or shows.
 
 
Directed by: Mamoru Hosoda
Genre: Sci-fi, Fantasy, Comedy, Time-Travel,
Release Date: July 15, 2006
Running Time: 98 minutes
MMPA rating: PG-13
 

The Good: Incredibly unique concept, Quirky sense of humor, Likeable characters, Fluid and charming animation style, Strong English dub cast, Several hilarious scenes, Unexpected plot twists, Fantastic soundtrack, Relatable story,
 
The Bad: Occasionally focuses too much on the teen drama,

Note: Do not watch the trailer, just watch the movie, it is great.



Plot: The following plot summary is copied from Wikipedia.com.
Seventeen-year-old Makoto Konno (Riisa Naka/Emily Hirst) lives with her family in the Shitamachi area of Tokyo, Japan. Makoto lives with her parents and younger sibling Miyuki (Yuki Sekido/Shannon Chan-Kent). Her aunt Kazuko Yoshiyama (Sachie Hara/Saffron Henderson), is an art restorer at the Tokyo National Museum. One day, when Makoto discovers a message written on a blackboard at her high school, she inadvertently falls upon a mysterious, walnut-shaped object. On her way home, Makoto is ejected into a railroad crossing when the brakes on her bicycle fail and is struck by a train. She is transported a few minutes back in time to before the accident. Kazuko explains to Makoto that she has the power to "time-leap", to literally leap through time. At first, Makoto uses her power extravagantly to avoid being late, to get perfect grades on tests, and even relive a single karaoke session for an entire hour, but Makoto soon discovers that her actions can adversely affect others.
Watch the movie to see what happens next.


Plot: 9.8/10- The Girl Who Leapt Through Time is obviously about time-travel, however it is not a massive time traveling adventure along the lines of Doctor Who or Back to the Future. It is more about changing things that have happened relatively recently in the user's past and therefore alternate versions of themselves are not present. At first you might expected a fun romp, *Minor Spoiler* the plot takes several surprisingly dark turns later in the film. *End Spoiler* While the film does not delve that deeply into the mechanics of time-travel, the explanation is acceptable and works for what the film tries to accomplish, because time-travel is not the real focus of the plot; it is the led character Makoto Konno's life and how she uses her new found power for smaller things such as avoiding unwanted conversations and other trivial things. Actually, there are many times in everyday life where I wish I could go back in time just to change a small mistake I have made and The Girl Who Leapt Through Time really capitalizes on that concept and the relatability many audiences members have. Occasionally, the film focuses a little too much on the teen drama and romance, and one minor point is not explained as much I would have liked, but overall the plot is incredibly clever and smart.

Action: N/A-

Acting: 9.2- The Girl Who Leapt Through Time has one of the stronger English Dub casts I have heard. Emily Hirst does an excellent job as Makoto giving the character a certain likeability that made the character seem like a real person. As for the other members of the cast, there was not a single weak performance of the group.

Art Style: 9.6/10- While it is not the most detailed animation, Madhouse productions produced some of the most crisp and fluid animation to date. Except for a few parts, the animation is surprisingly restrained in terms of being unrealistic, which gives the film more believability.


Soundtrack: 8.4/10- Although some the songs that where used became a little annoying at times, they worked well to set the tone and emotional for the film. The score by Kiyoshi Yoshida is excellent, and it perfectly compliments the film's themes.

Comedy: 8.2/10- The Girl Who Leapt Through Time is a boarder line comedy featuring several hilarious scenes as well as a quirky sense of humor throughout. While you may not find yourself laughing through the entirety of the film, there is plenty to never make the audience bored. Some of the themes in the film reminded me of Groundhog Day, except darker.

Would I Watch This Again: Yes, The Girl Who Leapt Through Time will be a film that I re-watch several times.

Overall: 9.3/10- Overall The Girl Who Leapt Through Time is an original and fun time-travel movie with several surprising twists. Anyone interest in high-school (not usually my preferred genre) and time-travel need to give the film a viewing, even anime is not typically your thing.

Closing comments: Basically, what the film, below is the entire film uploaded on YouTube in good quality.

Recommended for: Sci-fi fans, Time-Travel fans, Anime fans, Animation fans, School drama fans, Comedy fans,

Warning: Although it is animated, the film is rated PG-13 and therefore not recommended for those under than age.


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12 comments:

  1. I'm glad you liked it!!! It's also on my favorites list. If you liked this movie, there are a few other movies you might like that I know of. :D

    ~Misty

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    Replies
    1. Yes, please recommend other movies like this one, I really enjoyed it! :D

      -James

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  2. I'd never heard of this before, but your review intrigues me. Can you tell me a little more about why it's rated PG-13? Language, adult content...?

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    1. According to the content advisory, there is one mild suggestive joke, however I do not recall it. As for language, I believe d*nm and h*ll are used once or twice during the film. Also there is some violence, but nothing graphic. I hope this helps. :)

      -James

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  3. DARN YOU YOU PUT THE MOVIE AT THE BOTTOM OF YOUR REVIEW NOW I HAVE NO CHOICE BUT TO WATCH IT! :P

    I actually can't start it at this second but your review has made up my mind that I need to see this--it's actually perfect because I'm trying to watch a lot of Not-Disney animated films at the moment, so I'll just watch this one too. I've heard the title of this one a lot but never really heard what type of time travel and plot it contained but it sounds really interesting!

    I shall of course come back and comment once I've seen the movie.

    ~Jamie

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    Replies
    1. Mwahahaha! I will turn you into an anime fan eventually! :P

      Well, there is no better place to start than anime because they are better than western animation for sure, except Batman: Mask of the Phantasm, which is awesome.

      I can't wait to heard your opinion of the film after you watch it. :)

      -James

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  4. Great review and glad you enjoyed the movie! :D It seems really good and since you posted the link, I'll definitely be watching it soon :)
    I think it sounds really interesting, especially the idea behind changing little mistakes(which is something I've always wished I could do too).

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks! :D I hope you enjoy the movie as much as I and your sister did. :)
      I know, that concept is one of the main things that won be over in the movie, it perfectly executed the concept.

      -James

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  5. Okay, I've watched it!

    It was overall very interesting! It stayed engaging and had some very clever parts. I thought it was funny and rather accurate that more often then not when she tried to change what happened she just made things worse--that's life for you. I actually thought the soundtrack was rather cute. I didn't expect the twist near the end with her friend, that was a nice surprise. I still don't really care for the anime style but the story and different characters made it enjoyable for me! Thanks posting!

    ~Jamie

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    Replies
    1. I am glad that you enjoyed the movie. :) My brother is still not a fan of the anime style either.

      -James

      Delete
  6. What I really like about The Girl Who Leapt Through Time is, like you said, it's not the kind of time travelling story that the others have presented -- it's a different take on the concept, and it makes time travel a little less cliched, in a sense. If you're looking for something similar, try Steins Gate. It's an anime too, but it's not a movie. It's a series that runs in about 26 episodes.

    I enjoyed this post. I've seen the movie just recently, and I also wrote a review here.

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    Replies
    1. Exactly, the movie takes a different approach on the clichéd concept of time-travel and it excellently. Actually I just watched Steins Gate last week and loved it, the series is one of my favorite anime.

      Thanks for dropping by my blog, I will go check yours out now.

      -James

      Delete

One rule: No strong profanity. If you want to link to one of your posts, please do; I am always interested in other reviews and such.

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