When thinking of “time loop media” as a genre, a couple of movies and shows might immediately come to mind: Groundhog Day (1993), Click (2006), Doctor Strange (2016), Russian Doll (2019). The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, an anime film released the same year as Click, rarely makes the list. And yet, the animated feature directed by Mamoru Hosoda is one of the best of the genre.
Based on Yasutaka Tsutsui’s 1967 novel of the same name, The Girl Who Leapt Through Time follows ordinary high schooler Makoto Konno’s adventures after she (literally) stumbles upon the ability to time travel. What begins as a lighthearted romp full of low-stakes mischief and hijinks grows more somber as the film continues. Makoto initially uses her new ability to fix small problems and avoid being late. But she eventually realizes that by traveling through time, she has inadvertently impacted others, sometimes with dire consequences. What follows is a messy tangle of past and future events that Makoto must unravel, but not without a cost.
