Review: Toki o Kakeru Shojo (The Girl Who Leapt Through Time)
“Toki o Kakeru Shojo” is a story that has apparently had a very long and varied history which includes multiple adaptations, both live action and animated. I have never seen these prior adaptations, and I watched this film from a completely fresh perspective. In some ways, that can be a problem, as there are a few things that are questionable to a new viewer, but overall, the film can be viewed standalone and enjoyed without many problems.
The film can be categorized a few different ways, but it has the slice-of-life atmosphere first and foremost, so that is probably what I would characterize it as. The main character is a slightly tomboyish girl who has two male friends. Before you ask – no, there is no dramatic soap-opera love triangle where she is forced to choose one. However, romance is involved in the film. As I watched the first half of this film, I couldn’t help but think that this was on track to being one of my favourite anime. The writing was superb – the dialogue between the characters felt very natural and realistic. The animation and artwork were a delight, and the sound and music were fitting to the film, though they weren’t given the significance of, say, some of Hisashi Joe’s scores. And I loved where the story seemed to be headed.
Unfortunately, the film falters in the final act. There is a very poignant scene at the climax where Makoto, after having used and abused her newfound time-traveling powers many times, is finally confronted with a horrible situation that is about to occur due to the unforeseen consequences of her actions. Up until this point, I thought I had pinpointed exactly what kind of film this was going to be. However, there is a slight change of gears at this point because the time-traveling aspect of the show is extended to another character, resulting in a rather jarring deus ex machina. The film becomes slightly less about a personal journey and even has something of a sci-fi bent to it. Essentially, the resolution to the nail-biting climax is a deus ex machina of sorts, and thus the entire film felt unsatisfying as a result.
It’s a very well made film, and I have no problems with recommending it to anyone who wants a well-told and well-directed anime film. I probably would have preferred if the general tone of the first half had lasted throughout and the time-travel aspect had remained a personal journey of sorts for Makoto, but that is not an opinion that seems to be widely held, so take it with a grain of salt.
1/2
5 responses so far
It’s one of the best anime movie ever!
Yep, one of the best out there.
Amazing movie.
Dan’s been telling me I ought to watch this one, I guess I’ll have too now.
I actually liked the ‘change of gears’ – it took the film to a whole other level for me (never mind that I was fascinated by those 7.5 minutes that a ‘film’ essentially became a ‘photograph’). The ending initially left me unsatisfied, but I rewatched the film (quite a lot of times, by now) and eventually made peace with it, because I realised that I perhaps approaching it too much from a Western perspective, expecting a certain kind of narrative (and closure). Now, I rather appreciate the fact there a plenty of things in this film that aren’t certain at all.
Don’t watch the live-action by the way (which came after I believe – the voice actress for Makoto also plays the main character in the live-action). It tells a different story, more closely related to the original novel I believe.
I have skimmed the original novel as well but couldn’t appreciate it much either – but I’m a literature snob
I just saw the date of your post…. I’m referring to the live-action film from 2010 (which obviously didn’t exist at the time you wrote this, so you must have referred to an earlier one). So let me rephrase: the 2010 live-action isn’t worth watching – I have no idea about any earlier adaptations as I have not seen them.