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May 16, 2007 - 08:42 PM |
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I wish I could time-leap too! (TokiKake Review) |
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I bought this DVD a while ago (1.5 weeks old) never had time to actually sat down and watch it. However last night I managed to dumped whatever I was doing and sat down to enjoy this master piece anime called...
時をかける少女 (Toki wo kakeru shoujo)
a.k.a. The Girl who Leapt Through Time
Background: The Girl Who Leapt Through Time (時をかける少女, Toki wo Kakeru Shoujo), also known as TokiKake, is a Japanese anime film produced by the animation studio Madhouse and distributed through Kadokawa Herald Pictures, first released in theatres in Japan on July 15, 2006. The film was later released on DVD on April 20, 2007 in Japan in regular and limited editions. (I bought the limited edition which comes with artbooks, soundtracks and other additional work-commentaries)
This featured film is based originally on Tsutsui Yasutaka's novel by the same name. However when comparing the original novel with this new released anime-movie. Fans of the novel can spot many different path the anime took which the book didn't discuss. The director of this film decided to take the story which was originally set in the edo era and bought forth into the recent timeline. Tsutsui Yasutaka praised the film as being "a true second-generation" of his book at the Tokyo International Anime Fair on March 24, 2006. (筒井康隆、アニメ「時をかける少女」を語る(Tsutsui Yasutaka talks about "Toki Wo Kakeru Shojo")
Even though it was not a massive hit at the box office, the film did exceptionally well at the various festivals it was entered in. TokiKake took home the award of Best Animated Film in the ANIMA'T category at the thirty-ninth Sitges International Film Festival of Catalonia. It won the Animation Grand Award, given to the year's most entertaining animated film, at the prestigious sixty-first Annual Mainichi Film Awards. It was also awarded the first annual Animation of the Year prize at the thirtieth Japan Academy Prize. It was nominated for, but did not win, the twenty-seventh Japan SF Grand Prize. It received the grand prize in the animation division in the Japan Media Arts Plaza in 2006. At the sixth annual Tokyo International Anime Fair, which opened on March 22, 2007, TokiKake was recognized as "Animation of the Year."
Synopsis: When compared this featured anime can be described as "the same product in a different packaging". Indeed for those who have read the book, it is pretty much the same gist with the plot. For those who haven't read the book, here is a sneak review of the plot.
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Makoto Konno, a girl attending high school in Tokyo's shitamachi. One day she discovered her power that allows her to go back in time and re-experience events (the time-leap) when she got involved in an accident at a train crossing one day which nearly cost her life.
A little bewildered with her new powers at first, Makoto uses them extravagantly to not be late and get perfect grades on tests, but soon things begin to turn bad as she discovers how her actions adversely affect others....
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Review: I watched this movie twice in one session, because first time I was emotionally taken by this anime. The beauty of the artwork, the melancholy melody of the music, the well-crafted plot, the excellence of the VA (voice actors/actresses) all combined into an aura that I immediately loved at first sight. The second time where I can truly based my opinion upon what I have seen 
I was telling my friend this morning, if you can grab Makoto Shinkai (work-ography: Voice of the Distant Stars, Beyond the Clouds, 5cm) to do the backgrounds, Ghibli (work-ography: Spirited Away, My Neighbour Totoro. etc.) to do the character designs and a good writer to compose a great piece of work. Then Toki wo Kakeru Shoujo would be the closest that you will get from the dream combination.
At the end of the first watching, The Butterfly Effect movie came to my head, the idea is very similar: "What you changed in the past will also have a domino effect upon the future". However, instead of much action and desperate tying of the movie characters, this featured animation gives a calmer, romantic pace that guides us through the lives of 3 teenagers who each have their own problems to resolve. And how they discovered by playing with the past might not lead to a better future.
As you might can tell already, I DIG THIS FILM 
Of course there are a few flaws in this featured film, some questions are left unanswered, there are plot holes within bits and pieces of the film. However all those minor issues doesn't evade the charm of this little piece of art.
One of the viewer also have the same view as me, she quoted "On the positive side, the movie does not choose to go with the easy ending anyway and so by the very end, I learned to overlook the plot problems and bask in the summery warmth that this film exudes so well."
Rating:
Animation - 93% (It captures the movement, emotions and aspects of daily life exceptionally well)
Sound - 85% (I love the soft tunes, with beautiful main theme song sung by Oku Hanako. Downside is it gets quite monochromatic)
VA - 87% (Makoto, main female lead, is the one VA that impressed me the most. All the characters here are skillfully voiced!)
Plot - 95% (Heh, since I already read the novel. I had to drop down some points due to the plot holes)
OVERALL - 92% (An excellent piece of art which might be set as a milestone for future animations)
Additional Comments:
Go buy the DVD, I think it is worth to treasure this particular work. English version will be out by end of 2007 (Not really sure about the release date yet). Also if you can read Japanese, try the novel, it is more empowering compared to the Real-life movie and the anime 
Thanks to wikipedia for most of the researches
| Currently Playing: TokiKake OP single - Garnet - Oku Hanako |
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on what to do
All you hard work are being appreciated!!!
