The Girl who leapt through time

I quite loved parts of The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, with the final act being the most engaging and also the most emotional. Nobuhiko Ôbayashi doesn't go quite as crazy as usual, outside a few sequences that really stand out all the more because the rest of the film's relatively normal. I quite like how with Ôbayashi, his style's always there, but you're never quite sure how dialed up or in your face it's going to be, and that balance of predictability and unpredictability makes seeing a film of his for the first time always exciting. On the topic of his films, I don't think The Little Girl Who Conquered Time is quite one of his best, but it is very good, and it's easy to recommend to anyone who's enjoyed something the filmmaker's made before.

Starring at the stars one night while on a school ski trip, 16-year old Kazuko Yoshiyawa (played by former teen idol Tomoyo Harada) bumps into a mysterious stranger also starring up at the evening sky. It's only Fukamachi of course, one of the boys she's known her whole life - or has she? As romantic feelings blossom, strange things are happening to Kazuko - she's living moments she's already experienced, and waking up from dreams inside of dreams. Is her mind playing on tricks on her, or is she moving backwards through time? Is there something more sinister at play?

Obayashi Nobuhiko's adaptation of Tsutsui Yasutaka's "The Girl Who Leapt through Time" is dated, but for fans of Obayashi's campy but fun "House", this film is a great Sunday afternoon flick that displays a lot of Obayashi's strengths with movement. Obayashi keeps things interesting with a lot of neat strobe and colorization tricks, as well as some incredibly outdated and laughably-bad 80's computer effects. Where Obayashi really shines though is in the shots that immerse you in Kazuko's world - wonderfully subtle pans inside school hallways, classrooms, climbing the steps in Kazuko's beautifully serene town.

Most of the acting is a bit stiff and juvenile, with the exception of a young Ittoku Kishibe as Kazuko's language teacher, but the film and story are enjoyable nonetheless. "The Girl Who Leapt through Time" was a widely successful pop blend of teenage melodrama with the supernatural in Japan, and Japanese movies and anime have never looked back.

Ok, so I've watched about three iterations of "The Girl Who Leapt Through Time", one which is from the amazing animator Mamoru Hosoda, the second one is a modern reboot from 2010 and this is "the OG" but there's still a tv show from the 70s with the same name, I don't know if the tv show even has a connection to those at all (although funnily enough, IMDB lists the 70s shows as the original to the animated film and the 80s film as the original to the 2010s film which is WRONG). The 80s original packs a lot of slow paced pensive charm that makes you wonder about time and just what a fantastic premise this is.

The Girl Who Leapt Through Time follows Keiko, a cheery high school girl that acquires mystical time powers after something happens while she and her friends are cleaning their chemistry lab. The movie then spends a considerable amount of time of her trying to get to the bottom of why she got her powers.

First off I gotta say this is a gorgeous film, Nobuhiko Ôbayashi makes excellent use of practical effects even if they're a bit toned down in this movie compared to "School In The Crosshairs" but Nobuhiko Ôbayashi still makes this a thoroughly stylistic and beautiful movie. The actors are mostly good and the music fits amazingly, I even think that the animated version of this movie makes use of some of the original soundtrack (I gotta rewatch it to confirm tho!).

And now to the negatives, I know this movie was wildly popular for its time and it basically launched the career of Tomoyo Harada but I think she's perhaps the weakest part of the movie, and it's not really her fault. The movie spends most of the time with her trying to make sense of what's going on with her like she's not aware of her time powers until super late in the film, which is so annoying. The animated one in retrospect is better because it uses the power of leaping through time as something fun and gains momentum of the girl understanding her powers fairly early in the movie but in this movie she walks around being confused, sad, , melancholic, dizzy and then more confused and then surprised which for me personally doesn't do much. And I don't think this is the actress's fault but they should've spent more time making her into her own and fun character.

Still the movie has a wonderful allure that makes you stay for the rest of the story, I think in fact the ending is super worth it to watch and it's super unexpected and kinda sad to be honest, which is so different from what a teen movie would do to be honest!

Despite some gripes that I had with the movie I think this is a worthwhile watch not just because of the story and the practical effects but because I think it has a lot to say about time and space and love also this movie shows why this concept of a high school girl leaping through time being such a cool and interesting concept to explore. If you have seen the animated I recommend you skipping the "newer" 2010 remake in favour of this one because it has a lot to offer.

This movie moves often at a languid pace, but I recommend it because it does tell a decent story about Kazuko (Tomoyo Harada), a 16 year old schoolgirl who finds herself in a strange time warp after fainting in a chemical lab at school. She has two friends, but it seems to be Fukamachi (Ryoichi Takayanagi) whom she likes. Pay attention from the beginning and you'll get the gist of the film, which has a sweetness that is genuine. I'm sure if you're a teen you'll like this more, as it is about the awakening of love. Tomoyo Harada, who has gone on to a fairly interesting career as an actress, is very good in this role. In a small role is legend Takako Irie, in what had to be her last appearance in film. The reason it is not rated higher is the slow pace, but I like its sentiment and its simple message of first love. I'm sure there were tears shed by many watching the film due to its sentimentality, but its not a sad film. Very good cinematography. If you like drama, you'll like this.

THE GIRL WHO LEAPT THROUGH TIME is an adaptation of a popular Japanese novel by the director of HAUSU, but sadly that gentleman is unable to bring the same level of vivid excitement to this production as he did to that one. The end result is, in the end, a disappointment, and I suspect that the recent anime adaptation of the same novel is far better. The characters are okay and the direction is often unusual and creative, but it doesn't help that the story slowly plods along, alternating between confusion and boredom. Many of the stylistic touches are nicely handled, particularly the freeze-frame montages accompanied by beautiful music, but I was left wanting so much more.