The Girl Who Leapt Through Time 1983 is a Japanese science-fiction film directed by Nobuhiko Obayashi. The film follows a high-school girl who gains the ability to time-travel and repeatedly reliving the same day in a time loop. The Girl Who Leapt Through Time is a coming-of-age film about moving forward from tragedy and letting go form the past.
The film starts with a young girl called Yoshiyama who is looking for love at the sky as Fukamachi says that unrealistic and not scientific as the film is about innocent young love. The Girl Who Leapt Through Time is ultimately a criticism of the Japanese education system and showcases the childhood innocence of youth throughout the film. the film is ultimately a coming-of-age film with Yoshiyama turning 16 as she is given the key to lock up the storage room. Yoshiyama sings as she cleans showing the themes of coming of age in the film, chemical bottles are then damaged by themselves as gas starts leaking as the two timelines overlap. Yoshiyama ends up disappearing from her original timeline and enters another one fainting in the process, however they believe that she fainted because of too much work and is focused to be quiet acting as a criticism of the Japanese education system. Yoshiyama smashed a beaker but when the others arrived everything is seen to be in place, as then her friends get there everything in the other timelines overlaps. The students think she is just having her period linking to the coming-of-age themes in the film, as she feels strange seeing things as time seemingly changes. She then sees lavender which is what she smelt in the lab as she insects it and recognisees the smell as time is seemingly in a frozen state.
The film has themes of love transcending time as Yoshiyama’s mum vanishes and reappears due to time fluctuation as everything seemingly feels connected. She feels strange linking to the coming-of-age themes in the film as its linked to puberty. Goro’s mum wants him to go to college, but he doesn’t want to. The film is very much as coming-of-age story as it shows the interpersonal relationship between students, the class she attends is about finding flashbacks in a text linking into the themes of time within the film. She sees herself hit the archery target, as she sees things flashforward from a different timeline and from this she freaks out and runs away as the film shows timelines overlaps as she freaks out linking to the themes of puberty. Her figures and dolls start moving as the house begins to shake due to an earthquake as she goes to Goro’s house and sees a fire. The film very much is a coming-of-age film as the film follows the rials and tribulations of youth, as when she dreams her dreams and reality blend as she’s stuck in a sort of Groundhog Day. Yoshiyama is seemingly clairvoyant as she sees the tiles fall before her as Goro is buried in them as she then wakes up and goes back to reality linking to the Groundhog Day-esc themes in the film, as she finds out she can seemingly manipulate time even if she is not consciously doing so. She is seemingly a day ahead of everyone else as she starts living in a different plane of reality. She lives in a sort of Groundhog Day, as this day is repeated, she gets the question right this time as she has lived this day before. She sees herself shooting the arrows as se again takes of home, as everything is echoed by a monstruous thunderstorm showing the dangers of time overlapping. She then sees a clock shoot light form the handles a man looks ominously at her linking into the themes of time in the film, as film also shows her childhood friendship romance as Goro sucks the blood from her when they were young.
Yoshiyama feels like time is going back one day as the same things happened at school as she is seeing the future, she is clairvoyant, as this links to the film being a coming-of-age story as the film very much as themes of sweet romance with childlike innocence. Goros house is set ablaze as her predictions come true, as she can teleport trough time as the time travel in the film is used showcases the themes of romance, innocence, and youth as she just wants to connect with the person she loves. Yoshiyama wants to be a normal person with Goro, however she as already seen tomorrow as the hand has healed and time is all wrong lining to the themes of time being manipulated and how that can cause problems. She then finds out time is again on repeat she is aware of it she is scared, however when she sees it’s a different person with the same look as Fukamachi showing she is on a different timeline and time has changed. When she smells the flowers and the vapour which caused this as she effectively falls through time, as she then finds herself by the sea finding Fukamachi. She realises that she must find out what’s going on she realises she can’t just reset shell just be a spirt as she must return to the origin to find the truth and become normal. The is theme of the film to not be a vagabond or a spirt and instead have faith.
They then decide to focus the time travel powers to go back in time, as she then sees her past existing in both time as well as Goro’s past linking into the themes of the past within the film. Yoshiyama then finds Fukamachi in the future dead at his funeral, as time is seemingly overlapping and destroying himself. The Girl Who Leapt Through Time is a weird surreal metaphorical journey complete with surreal effects, as Fukamachi finds and saves her as they travel backwards in time to the science lab. She ends up traveling backwards in time and only she knows however only se knows it and form her perspective she is emotional, as she time travels to find Fukamachi in the science lab who reveals he’s from the future. He explains how through an advanced education system and advanced technology and overpopulation plants are exist and needed in science and he needs to get samples. He came here and ended up finding an old couple who had lost their grandson and manipulated them into believing he is their grandson. They have only met one month ago and through brainwashing have her fake childhood memories, however they believe their feelings are true.
Fukamachi tells Yoshiyama that he has broken the rules by telling her he must go, and she can’t go with him as it’s against the rules as her memory will be erased along with everyone else and himself, however she doesn’t want her memories to die. He must complete his mission, as her heart aches and she loves him and she won’t forget him even when the timelines are fixed. The past and present merge becoming the same, and he explains that her will return however they won’t know each other. She stays that she will never forget him, ash she then wakes up as a normal girl not remembering what happened as it’s the next day. Yoshisama decides to focus on her studies and not to love as she has already had her love. The couple that originally was looking after Fukamachi talks about how they need to stop thinking about a grandson that doesn’t exist and their family won’t come back, they are alone forever. The film ends with Yoshisama rejecting relationships; however, she then sees Fukamachi again, seemingly another timeline version of himself. However, they don’t know each other as they both walk in opposite directions. This seems to imply that although love is a force that can transcend time and space sometimes in love you need to let that love go and move on.
The girl Who Leapt Through Time is about moving on from the tragedies of the past and forging something new and better, even if you must give up something you love.