''The Girl Who Leapt Through Time'' (

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

: 時をかける少女, Hepburn: ''Toki o Kakeru Shōjo'') is a 1983

science fiction film Science fiction (or sci-fi) is a film genre that uses speculative, fictional science-based depictions of phenomena that are not fully accepted by mainstream science, such as extraterrestrial lifeforms, spacecraft, robots, cyborgs, interstellar ...

directed and edited by

Nobuhiko Obayashi was a Japanese director, screenwriter and editor of films and television advertisements. He began his filmmaking career as a pioneer of Japanese experimental films before transitioning to directing more mainstream media, and his resulting film ...

, written by Wataru Kenmotsu, and starring

idol Idol or Idols may refer to: Religion and philosophy * Cult image, a neutral term for a man-made object that is worshipped or venerated for the deity, spirit or demon that it embodies or represents * Murti, a point of focus for devotion or medit ...

Tomoyo Harada is a Japanese actress, singer, and lyricist, and was a popular idol in the 80's. She was cast in numerous films and TV-series since her beginning in 1982 in the leading role of the original TV series '' Sailorfuku to kikanju''. Her first role i ...

in her first film. It is based on the 1965 Japanese novel of the same name and was released by Toei in Japan on July 16, 1983. It has since been released internationally on

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...

with English subtitles under various titles including ''The Little Girl Who Conquered Time'', ''Girl of Time'', ''The Girl Who Cut Time'', among others. It was the first film adaptation of ''The Girl Who Leapt Through Time'', about a high-school girl who gains the ability to

time-travel Time travel is the concept of movement between certain points in time, analogous to movement between different points in space by an object or a person, typically with the use of a hypothetical device known as a time machine. Time travel is a ...

and repeatedly relives the same day in a

time loop The time loop or temporal loop is a plot device in fiction whereby characters re-experience a span of time which is repeated, sometimes more than once, with some hope of breaking out of the cycle of repetition. The term "time loop" is sometimes us ...

. The film was a major box office success in Japan, becoming the second highest-grossing Japanese film of 1983. It was followed by several later cinematic adaptations, including a 2006 anime film and a 2010 live-action film.

Cast

The following are the film's main cast. *

as Kazuko Yoshiyama *Ryōichi Takayanagi as Kazuo Fukamachi *

Toshinori Omi is a Japanese actor. Career Born in Tokyo, Omi joined the children's theater troupe Himawari Theatre Group when he was still in kindergarten. He made his film debut at age 13 in Kon Ichikawa's ''Hi no Tori'' (1978) and got his first starring ro ...

as Goro Horikawa *Yukari Tsuda as Mariko Kamiya *

Ittoku Kishibe , born , is a Japanese actor and musician. Career He originally entered show business as the bassist for the Japanese rock bands, The Tigers and Pyg, but later switched to acting. The veteran of over 115 films, he won the Best Actor Japanese Ac ...

as Toshio Fukushima

Release

''Toki o Kakeru Shōjo'' was released in theaters in Japan on July 16, 1983. In 2022,

Third Window Films Third Window Films is a UK-based distributor of movies from East Asia founded in 2005. They have provided distribution for numerous award-winning films, such as ''Oasis'' (Winner of Marcello Mastroianni Award, FIPRESCI Prize Signis Award and Specia ...

released the film on

Blu-ray The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of sto ...

as part of their limited edition ''Nobuhiko Obayashi's 80s Kadokawa Years'' set, along with School in the Crosshairs, The Island Closest to Heaven, and

His Motorbike, Her Island is a 1986 Japanese film directed by Nobuhiko Obayashi. It is based on a 1977 romance novel by Yoshio Kataoka. Awards 8th Yokohama Film Festival *Won: Best Supporting Actress - Noriko Watanabe is a Japanese actress and singer. She won the awar ...

Reception

Box office

''Toki o Kakeru Shōjo'' was a major box office success in Japan. It earned a distribution income (

gross rental A box office or ticket office is a place where tickets are sold to the public for admission to an event. Patrons may perform the transaction at a countertop, through a hole in a wall or window, or at a wicket. By extension, the term is fre ...

) of in 1983, becoming the second highest-grossing Japanese film of 1983, behind only ''

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest contine ...

''. The total box office

gross revenue In accounting, revenue is the total amount of income generated by the sale of goods and services related to the primary operations of the business. Commercial revenue may also be referred to as sales or as turnover. Some companies receive revenue ...

of ''Toki o Kakeru Shōjo'' was in Japan.

Critical reception

In 1985, Donald Willis of ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' described the film as "more affecting than affected, informed less by cloying sentimentality and relatively honest sentiment." He commented on

, finding that she "proves herself a natural. Although she is convincing at what she does, the evidence here suggests she might have the range to do much anything else." He criticized Ryōichi Takayanagi's acting, stating that his delivery "of lines is undoubtedly the result of his brain-waves being controlled by a galaxy inhabited by monotonous no-talents." In 2010, Marc Walkov of the

Far East Film Festival Far East Film Festival is an annual film festival held in Udine, Italy. It is one of the most important events promoting Asian Cinema in Europe. It focuses mainly on the films from East Asia East Asia is the eastern region of Asia, which i ...

gave the film a positive review, describing it as a "bittersweet story about the transitoriness of love and the importance of one’s memories in keeping the past alive." He also notes that the film anticipated plot elements of the

Hollywood film The cinema of the United States, consisting mainly of major film studios (also known as Hollywood) along with some independent film, has had a large effect on the global film industry since the early 20th century. The dominant style of Ame ...

Groundhog Day Groundhog Day ( pdc, Grund'sau dåk, , , ; Nova Scotia: Daks Day) is a popular North American tradition observed in the United States and Canada on February 2. It derives from the Pennsylvania Dutch superstition that if a groundhog emerges from ...

'' (1993), such as the protagonist repeatedly reliving the same day and thus being able to predict events that take place during the day.

Theme song

The song was the popular theme-song for the 1983 movie, inspired by the story, written by

Yumi Matsutoya , nicknamed , is a Japanese singer, composer, lyricist and pianist. Generally the writer of both the lyrics and the music in her songs, she is renowned for her idiosyncratic voice and live performances, and is one of the most prominent figures ...

, and originally sung by the film's lead actress, then-rookie

. There are several different versions.

Harada versions

The first version was released in April 1983 as the A-side of

's third single (7A0275), with a B-side "Zutto Soba ni" also written by

and two different cover pictures, and was included on the original soundtrack album for the film (C28A0279). A second version of this song was released in 1983 on Harada's first album ''Birthday album'' (WTP-40188), and in 1986 on her compilation album (CA30-1326). A third version was recorded in 1987 for her

greatest hits A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be crea ...

album ''From T'' (32DH-848), and a fourth one in 2007 for her twenty-fifth anniversary original album ''Music & Me'' (XNHL-13001/B).

Matsutoya versions

Matsutoya covered her own song in the same year on the B-side of her single and on her album ''Voyager'' in 1983. She later rewrote it and renamed it as to be the theme song for the new 1997 "Toki o Kakeru Shōjo" film, along with another of her songs: "~We are not alone, forever~", both released on the original soundtrack album for the film (TOCT-9940) and on her album in 1997.

Other versions

The original song was adapted in a commercial for noodles with then-beginning

Yuki Kudo parodying the 1983 movie shortly after its release.

Voice actress Voice acting is the art of performing voice-overs to present a character or provide information to an audience. Performers are called voice actors/actresses, voice artists, dubbing artists, voice talent, voice-over artists, or voice-over talent ...

Ai Shimizu is a Japanese voice actress and professional wrestler. She has a career as a singer, signed to Lantis. She has released 14 singles (including joint and character singles) and four albums. She covered Yumi Matsutoya's " Toki o Kakeru Shōjo" as ...

also covered the song as the B-side of her first single ''Angel Fish'' in 2003 (KICM-1077). Hong Kong singer

Sandy Lam Sandy Lam (; born 26 April 1966), is a Hong Kong singer, actress and album producer. She rose to fame in the 1980s as a Cantopop diva, before expanding her fan base significantly in Asia, releasing more than 30 stylistically diverse albums in C ...

covered this song in Cantonese in 1985.

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Toki o Kakeru Shōjo (1983 film) 1983 films Japanese science fiction films Films about time travel Films based on Japanese novels Films shot in Onomichi 1980s romance films Toei Company films The Girl Who Leapt Through Time 1980s science fiction films Films directed by Nobuhiko Obayashi Time loop films 1980s Japanese films