Review of The Girl Who Leapt Through Time (2006) by Luis Angel G — 01 May 2010

A very moving and incredibly well-drawn animated feature about time-travelling, high-school and baseball. Read the full review below (contains spoilers!):

With the great "Lost" coming to an end, I was very curious about time-travelling in sci-fi stories. This excellent Japanese film manages to use the overly familiar "back to the future" cliche to deliver a sweet and engaging message about the things that can and can't be changed.

It takes a while before Makoto discovers her "time-travelling" powers, but just when you think the story might spiral out of control, the director delivers some amusing sequences that show the heroine trying to "fix" a certain problem by going back to the same moment over and over again.

For a Japanese film, the level of "absurdity" is kept to a minimum: the goal of the writer, it seems, is to make us reflect about our life-changing power of choice, but that doesn't stop him for delivering a detailed explanation for everthing. When all the landscapes look so gorgeous, it's really hard to complain about the story's pace and length.

"The Girl Who Leapt Through Time" is a highly recommendable film that uses a simple story and three likeable characters to remind us of the importance of living each moment to its fullest. Also, if you're serious about animation, you'll definitely want to take some time to enjoy this gem.