Anime review: The Girl Who Leapt Through Time

Makoto’s life is that of any normal teenager. She goes to school each day, plays baseball with her two best friends Chiaki and Kousuke, and tries to achieve decent grades. But everything changes when she enters the science lab storage room one day after class, and then discovers that she is able to leap back and forth through time in order to change certain events at her leisure.

Initially, Makoto uses this to save her own life, and then subsequently uses time leaps to improve her grades and keep herself from looking like a klutz on a day to day basis. Shortly thereafter, Makoto uses her newfound ability to help Kousuke with his romantic endeavors. Though her Aunt Kazuko warns of complications from time-leaping early on in the film, Makoto ignores her. As the film progresses, it is revealed that others may suffer from Makoto’s gain and she comes to the realization that her time-leaping cannot last forever.


The story is a unique combination of the traditional teen drama with sci-fi adventure. The film is rather straightforward in its aims, but this isn’t a bad thing, considering the length of the film is roughly an hour and forty minutes. There are plenty of laughs to be had along the way, as Makoto finds herself in sticky situations and is teased by Kousuke and Chiaki. There are a few plot twists along the way, and one major one late in the film that really shakes the story up. The ending, while a tad predictable, is fitting and anything else would likely have seemed rather forced.

The art style is phenomenal, yet curiously subtle. The combination of watercolor backgrounds with digitally colored characters might seem like a terrible idea, but it works fluidly and brings out the best in film. It’s obvious that the animators spent plenty of time and effort on this project, but it’s not as though they advertise it ad nauseam. The soundtrack fits each event like a glove and is largely comprised of piano, chimes, and string parts. It’s all very moving, though there are a select number of songs that reprise in different variations over the course of the film, so viewers can expect to hear similar sounds from time to time.


The English dub is great. The voice actors portray their respective characters in a fashion that is neither bland nor over-the-top. Emily Hirst as Makoto and Andrew Francis as Chiaki both give particularly convincing performances. The language of the characters is aimed rather specifically towards the teen audience. It’s no to say that the film is incomprehensible by younger viewers, but the characters do curse some, exchange a minimal amount of crude humor, and the like.

The Girl Who Leapt Through Time is an impressive accomplishment for the creative staff behind it, and translates into a genuinely entertaining and thought-provoking experience. Far too often a film will aim more for style than substance. While this film accomplishes both with flying colors, its primary concern is that of the characters and the story.

My rating: 9 (out of 10)