ALARIS' REVIEWS

14th July 2008
The Girl Who Leapt Through Time (2006)

The Girl Who Leapt Through Time is a Japanese animated feature film, and the latest incarnation of the Japanese novel Toki o Kakeru Shojo. The premise isn't enormously original, but it's a fun favourite.

High school girl Makoto discovers that she has the ability to leap through time, and she cheerfully begins to use this talent to eliminate daily disappointments and unpleasant surprises. Of course, this kind of meddling rarely ends well.

The first three quarters of the film is lots of fun, with plenty of Groundhog Day type hijinks. Makoto is the kind of character I enjoy watching - she's active, outgoing, funny, a little selfish, and occasionally grouchy, but generally well meaning. Her two best friends Kousuke and Chiaki are also great supporting characters, evoking a strong sense of how high school friendships can feel like they should last forever.

However, the last quarter of the film seems to lose its momentum, and at a time when all the threads of the story should be coming together, they seem to flutter apart. I found this particularly disappointing since I felt that the story could have ended strongly in a variety of different ways, whether you wanted to turn it into a devastating tragedy, a romantic comedy, or a poignant drama.

I found the ending inconclusive, and somewhat dissatisfying, but I'm the kind of person who likes closure. I like stories where the writer ties up loose ends you'd forgotten were even there, rather than leaving things hanging obscurely for your own interpretation. If I wanted to imagine the ending I would have left ten minutes from the finish.

I think a major contributing factor is the fact that none of the three main characters are given sufficient emotional closure, and we're not left with the strong sense that they are heading in a particular direction.

All that said, The Girl Who Leapt Through Time is still an entertaining film, with some touching moments. It's very evocative of those long high school years that felt like they would never end.

Verdict: A fun, entertaining film, if you don't mind a somewhat weak ending.

If you like Groundhog Day stories, you might like this.