One of the highlights of the anime all-nighter at SFL7 was THE GIRL WHO LEAPT THROUGH TIME. For those who missed it or want to see it again it will be showing at the ICA from September 19.
The film comes with an impeccable pedigree with director Mamoru Hosoda having worked on shows such as Digimon and Crying Freeman before being commissioned by Studio Ghibli to direct HOWL’S MOVING CASTLE until Miyazaki came out of retirement to direct it. The film’s art director, Nizou Yamamoto, also came from Studio Ghibli, having lent his tatlents to the classic PRINCESS MONONOKE. The story is a very popular one, originally written by one of Japan’s top science fiction writers, Yasutaka Tsutsui, who also wrote the story on which PAPRIKA (shown at SFL6) was based. It has already been made as a live action TV series and a movie. The character designs for this animated version were by Yoshiyuki Sadamoto, one of the founders of Gaimax, who worked on popular series such as Neon Genesis Evangelion.
With such a wealth of talent behind it you know you are going to be in for a treat, and what makes it especially appealing is the simplicity of the storytelling, even with all the paradoxes of time travel. It is as much about the choices a teenage girl has to make as it is about science fiction.
After miraculously escaping a fatal accident, teenager Makoto discovers she can jump back through time and decides to use the ability to try and fix her life, and that of her friends and what could be described as a Groundhog Day she can control. It is all going fine until she discovers that she only has a limited number of jumps and they are running out and she has to make a big, life-changing decision.
Thankfully it goes far beyond a lot of banal stories that plague most shojo, and it avoids the typical visual grammar of anime OVAs. Even though the character designs are highly stylised and frequently simplified the characterisations bring them to life. As with any quality anime the backgrounds are stunning, and the artists manage to perfectly capture the light and sense of heat that pervades a summer in the city.
This is definitely one to catch on the big screen ahead of its DVD release.
THE GIRL WHO LEAPT THROUGH TIME is showing at the ICA and other UK cinemas from September 19.