THE GIRL WHO LEAPT THROUGH TIME
Young Makoto isn’t your average junior high student. A scatterbrain who’s always late for everything, she prefers playing baseball with boy buddies Chiaki and Kousuke to hanging out with the giggling girls watching from the sidelines. One day, when she’s investigating strange noises in the schools science lab, she’s whisked away on a surreal Alice in Wonderland trip and arrives back in the present with the power to jump backward in time. Makoto quickly becomes hooked to darting in and out the events of the day, re-configuring things to her liking, even though her powers can only be activated by running and tumbling at a furious pace, no matter who or what‘s in the way. But her time-jumping antics are starting to fracture her friendship with Kousuke and Chiaki and it will take many temporal leaps to set things straight. The Girl Who Leapt Through Time is a true little anime gem. With character designs by Yoshiyuki Sarasota ( Neon Genesis Evangelion ) and animation by the Madhouse production company ( Millennium Actress, Vampire Hunter D, The Animatrix ), this is a joy to look at, with lively and interesting backgrounds, lush colours and detailed animation. Director Mamoru Hosada effectively conveys a true sense of emotion in the important events and scenes, making sure that his film has more impact than any overblown epic about giant robots or evil sorcerers.