Anime / The Girl Who Leapt Through Time

It's all about choices.

"Time waits for no one."

The Girl Who Leapt Through Time is an award-winning 2006 animated Japanese film directed by Mamoru Hosoda, produced by the animation studio Madhouse and distributed through Kadokawa Herald Pictures. It is a loose sequel to the 1966 Yasutaka Tsutsui novel of the same name, which was previously adapted into two live-action films in 1983 and 1997 (the former of which would later get a sequel in 2010), a 1994 miniseries, a 2002 TV film, and the 2004 manga A Girl Who Cut Through Time. The animated film is the first entry in the franchise to receive wide distribution in the west.

Poor Makoto Konno (Riisa Naka). She's officially having her worst day ever! It's not enough that she overslept and barely made it into school on time, she also flunked a math quiz, got flattened by two rambunctious boys at lunchtime, accidentally set the home economics room on fire, and then had this really weird accident while cleaning the science lab. Then to top it all off, she just had to crash her bike into this really crabby lady on her way home ...and that wasn't until after she'd already been hit and killed by the train!

Wait...WHAT?!

With a little experimentation, Makoto discovers from her aunt Kazuko Yoshiyama (Sachie Hara) that she has somehow developed the ability to leap backwards in time, allowing her to re-do events whenever she likes, from preventing her little sister Miyuki (Yuki Sekido) from eating her favorite snack to re-living a karaoke session ten times in a row. But the more changes Makoto makes, the more she begins to realize the effect her time-leaping is having on other people — especially her relationships with her best friends Kousuke Tsuda (Mitsutaka Itakura) and Chiaki Mamiya (Takuya Ishida). And the source of her ability might not be as limitless as she first assumed...

No relation to The Girl Who Leapt Through Space (Sora o Kakeru Shoujo), whose title was inspired by and a reference to this work. Or to the first episode of Inuyasha.

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This film provides examples of:

• Airplane of Love: When Chiaki finally disappears and returns to his era, leaving Makoto alone, an airplane can be seen flying past in the distance.
• Arc Words: "Time waits for no one."
• Artificial Riverbank: Where Makoto makes her first deliberate time leap.
• Bad Future: Never outright stated, but possibly implied. Chiaki wishes to see a painting that's destroyed in his era, and when he talks about what he likes about the present, he mentions how he got to "see the sky for the first time", and be around "so many people". (Worse, the future has no baseball!)
• Belligerent Sexual Tension: Makoto and Chiaki do a lot of squabbling with one another.
• Big Heroic Run: Makoto is forced to run to prevent Kosuke and Kaho from being it by the train. It fails because Kosuke's shoe hits Makoto and injures herself, leaving her helpless to stop them. Fortunately, Chiaki undoes it before it could get any worse.
• Bittersweet Ending: Makoto vows that she will ensure the painting's existence so the latter can see it in his era, but Chiaki has to leave for his own timeline and tells her that he will wait for her there.
• Bookends: The film's prologue and epilogue features Makoto practicing baseball with her friends.
• Bullet Time: Simulated by multiplane animation.
• But Now I Must Go: At the end of the film, Chiaki must leave for the future.
• Chekhov's Gun: The sweatband Chiaki constantly wears on just one wrist. A slightly odd but barely noticeable fashion choice that's ultimately revealed to be hiding his own time leap countdown.

• Crash-Into Hello: Makoto arranges one for Kousuke and Kaho.
• Deranged Animation: Especially the first time-leap sequence. It's deranged in a very pretty way, at least.
• Disproportionate Retribution: The classmate Makoto causes to have a cookery accident in her place blames her for it and the consequent bullying he experiences (which admittedly was fairly extreme) to the point that he snaps, turns a fire extinguisher on her and when that fails, throws it bodily at her.
• Did Not Get the Girl: Maybe. Chiaki promises to wait for Makoto, who in turn promises to "come running," but the end of the film leaves it very much unclear whether the two have any actual chance of meeting again.
• Does This Remind You of Anything?: Tasake is constantly tormented by the other students, and especially more-so when Makoto switches Home.Ec class with him. At one point, he finally snaps on his tormentors (in the form of spraying them with a fire extinguisher). He's even so fed up with anger that he thoughtlessly tries to spray Makoto, simply for telling him to stop.
• Exactly What It Says on the Tin: This movie is about a girl. She leaps. Through time, no less. Even more specifically, she quite literally leaps through time.
• Extremely Short Timespan: The entire movie (save for a few timeskips to the back, and the epilogue at the end) takes place all in just ONE WHOLE day.
• Fish out of Temporal Water: Chiaki is revealed to have come from the future.
• Four Is Death: At 4:00, Makoto is hit by a train before time leaping. Kousuke and Kaho do get hit by it at the same time, in a different timeline.
• Funny Background Event: When Makoto tells Kousuke that he should ask Kaho to play baseball with them, Kaho's two friends can be seen freaking out and running around the tree in the background.
• Furo Scene: Provides the page image. Makoto is twice depicted brooding in the bathtub, although it is not played for Fanservice. The second time becomes significant because it's when she finds out her time-leaps are finite.
• Going to the Store: Going out in the evening to test her time-leap power, Makoto claims she's "going to the convenience store".
• Gratuitous English: "Time leap." and "Time waits for no one."
• I Don't Want to Ruin Our Friendship: How Makoto feels about Chiaki, though she doesn't have the courage to say so. The end result's still no better than if she had, at least at first.
• Inelegant Blubbering: When Makoto cries, it is full-force waterworks and wailing.
• I Will Find You/I Will Wait for You: Makoto's and Chiaki's promise at the end of the film.
  Chiaki: I'll be waiting for you.
  Makoto: Okay. I won't be long. I'll come running.

• Kid from the Future: Chiaki turns out to be a time traveler from the future.
• Late for School: Makoto and Chiaki both.
• Losing a Shoe in the Struggle: While slidding down the hill near the train tracks, Makoto tried to stop the brakeless bicycle with her feet. Unfortunately, it's only managed to slip off a loafer from her feet and then headed up to the upcoming train. If it wasn't for the time jumping, it would have served her fate. it DID however also happened to Kousuke and Kaho instead while taking the bike for a ride... and it also killed them, but since Chiaki managed to wiped the event, they're fine and dandy.
• Lost in Translation: The origin of Kazuko's nickname "Auntie Witch" is actually a pun on the character's real name using "majo," the Japanese word for witch. The joke didn't translate, so a literal translation was chosen instead.
• Love Dodecahedron: Yuri has feelings for Chiaki, who has feelings for Makoto. Kaho has feelings for Kousuke, who may or may not have feelings for Makoto. Makoto initially ignores both triangles, preferring to stay friends with both Chiaki and Kousuke, until she realizes she has feelings for Chiaki.
• Love Revelation Epiphany: Makoto and Chiaki are of the Unresolved Sexual Tension variety; Makoto's denial of Chiaki's asking her out partially kicks off the rest of the plot and eventually culminates in her eventually accepting her feelings for him - but it's too late.

• Meet Cute: Makoto arranges one for Kousuke and Kaho. It takes her at least four tries to get it right, and ultimately results in Kousuke and Kaho getting hit by the train. After her final reset, she gives up on the idea and takes a much more direct approach, bluntly instructing Kousuke to invite Kaho to play baseball with them.
• Misapplied Phlebotinum: Both the heroine and the person who provided it in the first place misused theirs—one to sing karaoke repeatedly, the other to view a painting.
• Mistaken for Suicidal: Makoto, testing this whole "time jump" business, prepares to leap from her bedroom window only to be stopped by her horrified little sister.
  • Which also leads to a very sweet display of sisterly concern. "Was it because I ate your pudding?" Awww...
• Motif: The ever-changing Time line, the ladybug.
  • The number 13 appears many times. The day when the story begins is June 13, which the newscaster says to be a lucky day.
• Mundane Utility: As mentioned above, Makoto finds many trivial uses for the ability to time jump, including going back two nights to have a dinner she likes instead of one she doesn't.
• Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Makoto does this multiple times, sometimes breaking something else while undoing something she broke.
  • On a wider level, Makoto's attempts to dodge a relationship upgrade with Chiaki come perilously close to breaking the very friendship she's trying to preserve.
• The Noun Who Verbed: The title.
• Oblivious to Love:
  • Kazuko points out that Makoto has always said she would never date either Kousuke or Chiaki as she sees them only as friends but subtle feelings for both of them emerge. With Chiaki, she dodges all his attempts to upgrade their relationship until she warms up to him as a potential boyfriend.
  • This can be applied to Kaho as well, in her attempts to get close to Kousuke.
  • There's also Kousuke to consider with his subconscious romantic feelings for Makoto, creating a sort of unintentional and unsuspecting love triangle between the trio.
  • Also, for a great portion of the film, Chiaki was oblivious to Yuri's feelings for him. And because time returned to normal is still oblivious to it.
• Oh, Crap!:
  • Makoto when her brakes on her bike break down and she crashes right into a train crossing.
  • Makoto gets another one when Kousuke borrows her bike and when she realizes that Kosuke and Kaho are about to be run over by the train that killed her.
• One-Book Author: The English dub of the film was Emily Hirst's only major anime voice-over work outside of live-action films and TV series.
• "Pan Up to the Sky" Ending: The film ends this way, though there is another quick scene on the baseball pitch after that.
• Phlebotinum Breakdown: The Time Leaping technology has a limited number of uses.
• Poor Communication Kills:
  • Makoto has to learn this the hard way. She uses her time leaps to prevent Chiaki from asking her out, but continues to avoid him because she knows he likes her. Chiaki, who had been unable to ask Makoto out and is growing confused and frustrated with Makoto's avoidance of him, decides to date Makoto's friend Yuri instead, possibly believing his feelings for Makoto are unrequited. This causes Makoto's jealousy, as she is beginning to realize her own feelings for Chiaki.
  • Also almost literally. The brakes on Makoto's bike are broken, which leads to her almost getting killed when she skids into train tracks on the first day. On the last day, Kousuke borrows her bike to take Kaho home, not knowing about the busted brakes, and they both skid into the same train.
• Railroad Tracks of Doom: At precisely 4:00 no less. (After all, Japanese trains are noted for their punctuality.)
• Real-Place Background: The anime extensively uses real locales in Tokyo. The railway crossing, for instance, is a mix of Nakai station in Shinjuku and a slope in the Omokagebashi neighbourhood.
• Red Oni, Blue Oni: At first, Kousuke (blue) and Chiaki (red), although Chiaki later drops his facade.
• Rescue Equipment Attack: Takase was brutally bullied to the point where he takes his frustration out on Makoto by throwing a fire extinguisher at her. Chiaki jumps in to take the blow, which causes Makoto to leap in time to push him out of the way, just for the fire extinguisher to land on Yuri instead.
• Reset Button: The heroine pushes this until it breaks.
• Ret-Gone: Chiaki disappears by the end of the film.
• Ripple-Effect-Proof Memory:
  • Justified, as it's the heroine bouncing around through time, and nobody else.
  • It gets a bit fuzzier near the ending: Chiaki, not Makoto, is the one who makes the jump that saves Kousuke and Kaho from being hit by the train, but Makoto still seems to remember it happening, and doesn't initially realize that she's not out of leaps after all.
• Romantic Ride Sharing: When Makoto is seen without her signature bike, Mamiya offers his bike to ride it home together. He then takes the chance to ask her out during their ride.
• Sailor Fuku: Makoto's Little Sister wears one, probably being around middle/junior high school age. Her big sis on the other hand wears a summer variation of a blazer.
• Sarcastic Confession: Makoto, "after" spending 10 hours at the karaoke and asked why her voice is sore.
• Slapstick: Makoto gets hurt. A lot.
• Scenery Porn: Especially at one point when time is frozen.
• Set Right What Once Went Wrong: On many levels, from retaking a quiz to introducing Kousuke and Kaho to reversing their deaths.
• Subtext: Before he asked her out, most of the hints that Chiaki and Makoto were really into each other could be hard to pick on during the first viewing, especially if you're more used to anime where the signs of a relationship are far less subtle. But they ARE there.
• Shipper on Deck: Makoto, and to a lesser extent, Kaho's two friends, does this for Kousuke and Kaho, with mixed results till the end.
• Shrinking Violet: Kaho.
• 6 Is 9: The '90' tattooed on Makoto's arm is actually a '06', it's the number of leaps she has left.
• Slow-Motion Pass-By: Kousuke and Kaho on Makoto's bike, headed for the train crossing of doom.
• Tempting Fate: Makoto desires that Chiaki, Kousuke, and she will be friends forever and nothing will ever change. Unfortunately, things do change.
  • Also, after she uses her last time leap to avoid answering Chiaki's question.
  Makoto: I wasted the last one on something stupid. Oh well, I know that Kousuke is safe now.
• That Didn't Happen: Makoto goes back in time to make sure that Chiaki asking her out literally didn't happen. However, her relationship with him is still changed because of it.
• Throw the Dog a Bone: Makoto eventually gets hers.
• Time Stands Still: Near the end of the film, when Chiaki somehow arranges an extended time-stop for a chance to explain things to Makoto.

• Tomato Surprise: Chiaki turns out to be a time traveler from the future.
• Tomboy: Makoto. Big time. She still has a very girlish charm though, especially with respect to Chiaki.
• A Tragedy of Impulsiveness: Makoto's impatience in using the time leaps to prevent Chiaki from asking her out results in him dating Yuri. Not only does Makoto becomes jealous, but her time leaps inadvertently lead to Kosuke and Kaho running into the train crossing where Makoto was hit by the train.

• Tsundere: Makoto towards Chiaki, subverted and played for drama. This film shows the heartbreaking consequences of not being able to express your feelings to your loved ones before it's too late.
• Two Guys and a Girl: Makoto, Chiaki, and Kousuke.
• Umbrella of Togetherness: Makoto has a flashback to herself, Chiaki, and Kousuke under a red umbrella.
• Wham Line: How Chiaki asks Makoto about her time leaping and his status as a time traveler.
  Chiaki: [to Makoto] Have you been time leaping?
  Chiaki: Would you... Would you laugh if I told you I came from... the future?
• Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds: After taking the fall for Makoto during an accident in home ec class, Takase becomes a target for bullies, leading him to be sprayed with a hose and laughed at by almost everyone for it. This causes him to have a breakdown and attack the bullies with a fire extinguisher. He then turns his anger to Makoto and Chiaki, throwing the fire extinguisher at them after using up all its contents, which leads to Yuri getting hit with it.
• You Already Changed the Past: Sometimes Makoto forgets about the changes she made.
• You Can See Me?: A variation. One person eventually suspects something and asks Makoto if she's time leaping. Needless to say, this massively freaks her out.

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