DVD Review: The Girl Who Leapt Through Time

[Chris Beveridge]

http://cdn-www.mania.com/content_pics/43461_large.jpg


Review by Luis Cruz (http://www.mania.com/girl-leapt-through-time-also-wlimited-edition_article_87220.html)

Mania Grade: A
Audio Rating: A
Video Rating: A
Packaging Rating: B+
Menus Rating: A-
Extras Rating: B+
Age Rating: 13 and Up
Region: 1 - North America
Released By: Bandai Entertainment
MSRP: 29.98/49.9
Running time: 98
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Anamorphic Widescreen
Disc Resolution: 480i/p
Disc Encoding: MPEG-2
Series: Girl Who Leapt Through Time

In Summary:
The Girl Who Leapt through Time provides a refreshing story focused on the people and their relationships rather than on temporal mechanics. Its beauty lies in exploring how the smallest things can affect us on large, personal levels. It is rare to find a simple but thoroughly charming film in any medium. This is a great slice of life title with just the right splash of sci-fi. Very highly recommended.

[Suwako Moriya]

This is a great slice of life title with just the right splash of sci-fi. Very highly recommended.

Reading that gives me a bit more confidence in the movie.

[The Great Bear]

Interesting review. I guess I'll move this one up on the To Watch list. It's been sitting in the backlog for a while.

[DiRF]

I've already seen the movie, but I desperately want to hold the DVD in my hands... c'mon DVDPlanet... c'mon c'mon c'mon...

[kakitamike]

While enjoyable, I didn't feel like this was as broad of an appealing show as I thought it would be. I guess I was hoping for more focus on time leaping and less focus on angsty teen romance. Fun, but not what I was expecting when I sat down to watch it.

[WTK]

I have already seen the movie and I really love it. My copy of the LE is on its way to me. I can't wait to see it again.

[TalonG4]

I bought this two days ago at Best Buy after only seeing the trailer. I only bought the RE version as The 'extra' extras didn't appeal to me and I wasn't sure if I'd even like the soundtrack that comes with the LE. Considering the packaging looks the same, I decided to not waste the extra money. I was planning on ordering this online but after seeing it at BB for a good price I picked it up.

I love this movie. It ranks up there with some of my favorite anime movies which are mostly Ghibli related. Maybe even rated high with my favorite shows in general.
It's a very down-to-earth sci-fi story in way. I love Makoto herself and Riisa Naka does a great job emoting all of her... eccentricities. :sweat:
The art-style may seem messy to many but I love it. It's very fluid and dynamic and not lazy at all and the backgrounds are beautiful and look like they were pulled straight from "Whisper of the Heart", as the scenery looks similar.

The story is summed up in the review pretty well and I will admit that the sci-fi aspect of the movie is tied together with a very loose slip-knot so I wouldn't pull to hard, just enjoy it.

[ooga]

I've already seen the movie, but I desperately want to hold the DVD in my hands... c'mon DVDPlanet... c'mon c'mon c'mon...

DVDplanet shipped mine today. I have no idea how they do it, but they ship things in a way so it takes as long as possible to get to me.

[Danime]

I'm waiting on the Blu-ray release to see if it contains the same LE packaging. I'd bet money that it doesn't though.

[Damius]

This is really one of my favorites movie.

[memyselfandi]

I blind bought the Limited Edition of this as looked interesting and a few people had recommended it to me.

I thought that the film was very good with a strong plot and well defined characters. In fact I would go as far to say that it one of the best Anime films I have seen recently.

The Limited Edition box set was nicely done with the included OST being nice to have but I did feel that it would have been better if some form of booklet had been included as well, maybe giving information on the history of the story and its past adaptations.

I have already recommended this to other people.

[KomoriKiri]

From the review:
--"However, she opens her eyes and finds herself safe but five minutes in the path."

Think you meant "past" there.

Currently waiting for my copy to show up.

Wraith
"The chief cause of problems is solutions."
-- Eric Sevareid, 1970

[Solid Slap]

I saw this movie at Otakon this year and I absolutely loved it. I'm waiting for my LE copy to ship. I can't wait to watch it again.

[pianocello]

The crying in this movie is one of the most incredible and realistic-sounding I've heard.

[dragonrider_cody]

I grabbed an LE copy as soon as they came into our warehouse. Got to watch it Tuesday, though I was very tired and fell asleep during the movie. Upon rewatching it, I really enjoyed it. Great storyline, lots of emotion, good animation, and a good soundtrack. The end song in particular is quite good. I would also highly recommend it.

[Maxflier]

I'm waiting on the Blu-ray release to see if it contains the same LE packaging. I'd bet money that it doesn't though.

Is it coming out on Blu-Ray in the USA? I want to buy this movie, but if it is coming to Blu-Ray soon then I will just wait.

[Tofurkey]

I can't believe the singer for the film is 30! She barely looked 20 in those videos on the dvd.

[Zaku]

Netflix got me the movie yesterday and I watched it last night. I loved it! It's as good as every says it is... and better. I kind of wish it was a series so I could have enjoyed it a little bit longer. They should have called it "The Girl Who Fell Down A Lot" :laugh:

A+

[Tofurkey]

Zaku: There are some live-action versions of it, and a novel which no one seems interested in publishing, for some reason.

[vanfanel]

Zaku: There are some live-action versions of it, and a novel which no one seems interested in publishing, for some reason.

The movie is a sequel to the novel (novella, actually; it's one of three stories in that book) which came out in 1967 (thanx, Wikipedia). The original is something of a young-adult classic in Japan now, and the live-action versions are all adaptations of that story.

[GundamWingMan]

Watched it the other day. A truly delightful movie!

[Ashyukun]

This is a great slice of life title with just the right splash of sci-fi. Very highly recommended.

Reading that gives me a bit more confidence in the movie.
It really is damn good, it's one of the better anime movies I've seen come out lately. Only reason I haven't jumped on picking it up yet is want it on Blu-Ray and not DVD...

[Suwako Moriya]

It really is damn good, it's one of the better anime movies I've seen come out lately.

Interesting, as of current it's under the status of "Maybe when I can fit it in the budget".

[Zerox]

So true about it being a beautiful movie! :)

[JINROH]

My wife and I watched it last night,and just loved what we saw,excellent OST as well.I would tell everyone to run out and buy it asap !

Amazing story,and fantastic voice acting in both languages.If this comes out on Bluray in R1,I will happily double dip on this.Everything in this movie just 'clicked' so well.We watched it in Japanese,and then again in English.

[bored@lazy]

Fantastic movie. It's been a while since I enjoyed something so much.

[Rev. Doc]

Finally had to opportunity to sit down and watch it yesterday after the family feast. What a wonderful title. This is without a doubt one of the most emotionally packed features I have watched in a long time. I wanted to watch it all over again after it was over.

[leongsh]

Just recently finished with probably my 6th rewatch of the movie :catgirl: This last time with the R1 DVD LE release. The first few times were with my regular edition R2J DVD release of the movie.

Will have to schedule another rewatch sometime soon but this next time, using the English dub.

[ArcticMech]

My wife and I watched it last night,and just loved what we saw,excellent OST as well.I would tell everyone to run out and buy it asap !

Amazing story,and fantastic voice acting in both languages.If this comes out on Bluray in R1,I will happily double dip on this.Everything in this movie just 'clicked' so well.We watched it in Japanese,and then again in English.

I'd also happily double dip in the event of a Blu-ray release. I've got the LE on order and planning to purchase another copy (probably the regular edition) for my bro as a gift.

[Shsway]

Just watched my copy of this last night. There was actually a little more sci-fi in this title than I expecting, going in. :sd:

In some ways, the execution of the story felt fairly simple and logical, but that's the general beauty of it. I felt attached to every member of the cast in some way, the special effects look GREAT, the music is nice & sweet, plus the acting is there on the Japanese track. A lot of the newer casts these days have people on board who drag the production down, or they often don't leave much of an impact, as a whole. Not so here. The combination of their performances with this particular story kept me engrossed all the way through. The feature felt too short for me and I didn't even think about checking out the English track (I'll need a re-watch of the movie soon, to properly take that in as well).

There were a couple of spots that bothered me, relating to continuity and a line that I would've omitted from the finished work. But this wasn't enough to wipe the smile off my face or stop the laughter that I engaged in throughout the whole film. If anything, the cynic in me is tempted to over-analyze the primary motivation of the second lead character, but one can easily conjure up a perfectly decent explanation for that too, given Auntie Witch's role in this story (and isn't she an effortlessly interesting character?)

The video extras were neat - especially the one were Director Hosoda reasons out a number of his shots throughout the film. Fairly cut-and-dried logical, but it was nice to get a few things I had personally caught on to confirmed. Once more, I had to smile. :) I look forward to checking out the full contents of the audio commentaries at a later date, though I suspect that I'll be getting more out of the second one, relating to production (though Naka Risa seems like a delightful young woman in real life as well. I hope she decides to continue doing voice-over projects, or to be considered for them, at least).

As I mentioned before, everyone in this feature has an extremely likable voice, so I'd like to see them all do other shows in the future. And finally, how nice is it to see Sadamato's design work again?? It truly feels like catching up with an old friend. :)

I'm wondering if other people had an issue with their LE box arriving a bit torn up at the spine. Or maybe I was somehow too rough with it, within moments of removing the plastic? It's a minor annoyance to attribute to an otherwise lovely bit of packaging. I appreciate the thin-packed discs and every aspect of the overall design matching nicely. I do wish there was some way to keep the thing firmly shut though.

Overall, an A for effort on the overall release. Minor quibbles aside, I'm pretty satisfied.

[DJ_72]

Seems like it took forever to finally get this title, but it was definitely worth the wait. The Girl Who Leapt Through Time is a thought-provoking, funny and charming story. Even better, both casts turn in wonderful performances. I just might add this to my Christmas list...:)

[Cyber Inviso]

It's absolutely a wonderful movie. I really didn't knew anything about it until I went to pick up my copy in LA. My friend is really going to enjoy this movie as well.

[stfram]

I'm wondering if other people had an issue with their LE box arriving a bit torn up at the spine. Or maybe I was somehow too rough with it, within moments of removing the plastic?


A common complaint with the LE.

Mine has some..."rippling" on one of the edges of the spine, but nothing beyond that. Guess I got lucky, especially since I tore the plastic off with reckless abandon.


I do wish there was some way to keep the thing firmly shut though.


A thin cardboard sleeve or an Obi would've been perfect to keep it closed.

Bandai did the same thing with the Escaflowne Movie LE; I need to be careful how I remove it from my shelf lest it open prematurely.

[CGord]

I've seen a blu-ray rip of this, & it's a fantastic film. I'll definitely pick up an R1 copy.

[ooga]

We watched this a few days ago and loved it. Well, I loved it at least. My wife enjoyed it....a lot....until the ending. She absolutely hates sad endings and this qualified as a sad ending apparently.

[dizzyshk]

i am a long time reader, first time poster.

i just received my LE with torn spine as well. i contacted bandai to see if they would replace it but they told me to contact the retailer i've purchased(i contacted deepdiscount).

the torn spine could be wide spread problem. i replied bandai asking if there was any possiblity of purchasing the case by itself and i was willing to pay for it and ship the the torn case at my cost to prove that i'm not lying.

it seems like i'm not the only one with a torn case. this could be a wide spread manufacturing problem.

maybe there will be a recall? or issuing a better case design with a replacement program?

i hope the retailer(i ordered mine from deepdiscount) can replace the damaged order and the new replacement if they decide to send it comes in a acceptable condition.

if my replacement does come in and it's still torn, then there was definitely an issue with manufacturing.

i don't want to sound negative but i wasn't happy when i paid extra money for LE and had the case's hinge all torn.. if anyone from bandai is reading this, they may want to look into it.

as for the movie..i loved it. i'll probably watch again before the year goes by.

[Solid Slap]

I received mine in pretty much perfect condition.

[Ingraman]

i am a long time reader, first time poster.

i just received my LE with torn spine as well. i contacted bandai to see if they would replace it but they told me to contact the retailer i've purchased(i contacted deepdiscount).

My copy of the Girl Who Leapt LE from DeepDiscount arrived yesterday in what appears to be near-perfect condition. I haven't opened it and looked at the contents, yet, but all eight corners of the box and the spine look good. It was packed in a relatively large box with several other Blu-ray and DVD discs.

They did send the SE version of Silent Möbius 2 instead of the LE though, so I've got my own issue to resolve. I've got their pre-paid return label in my email inbox.

Good luck with getting a decent replacement.