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I wanted to make this thread specifically to discuss any theories anyone has for the future after the movie's time is past. A couple people mentioned some great concepts in the previous thread but I really want to know if anyone has a bullet proof idea. Theres a bunch of things that are unanswered, like why there is a random close up of Makato's aunt's high school sweet heart, how she even knows how to time travel, what importance the painting has to the future, or how the hell Chiaki stopped time. But I guess what really bugs me is what's supposed to happened in the future for Makato and Chiaki?

Answers! Anyone! Please!

Heres a short list of possibilitie i came accross:

1- Makoto is actually the person who invents time travel. When he says I'll see you in the future, he means that because she will literally travel to the future to see him. That would be great and all, except.... 1) she has no idea how far ahead he is in the future, 2) shell be old and nasty by the time she invents time travel and Chiaki probably doesn't like old nasty girls 3) Makato is too ditzy to figure out time travel

2- Chiaki will recharge his time travel charges and come back to live out the rest of his life with Makato. Although I really like this concept, the biggest problem I have is that the charges are pretty much a one time use kind of thing. It would be sort of hard to just magically get them back. But since Chiaki got his time charge back by Makoto using one of her charges, I guess it would make sense if someone in the future travelled back in time and gave Chiaki back more of his charges.

3- Chiaki is a time travel pimp. He pimped Makato's aunt and lead her life to restore that painting. Now hes doing the same exact thing to Makato. The painting means so much to everyone in the future that they're willing to mess around with people's lives in the past just to make sure the painting is in good condition.

baaaa i'm thinking way too much about this anime. What do you guys think?

I don't think Makoto would invent time travel, but maybe someone else does and she would be able to travel into the future~

I had interpreted the ending this way~ Chiaki wasn't too far in the future, and would eventually meet her again (he would be born and grow up first), though now I see how unlikely that is now :P

dunno about makoto x chiaki, was wondering about that myself. but the questions about the aunt were answered in another thread, apparantly this movie is a sequel and her aunt was the female lead in the last one. i just hope makoto doesn't wind up like aunt, waiting her entire life for someone who's never coming back :(

btw, i don't have anything against her aunt, she was probably my favorite character in this movie.

I've never heard that before, do you recall the title of the movie?

The previous film was live action. I have it, but haven't watched it. There is a torrent for it on tokyotosho under the same name, toki wo kakeru shoujo.

I'm hoping it's number 2 because she doesn't seem smart enough to invent time travel and it'll be gross if she's old and wrinkly and dating a teenager.
and the third one... well wouldn't the aunt say something?

Well, a quick look at wiki shows that the protagonist in the original novel/movie was called Yoshiyama Kazuko; if you pay attention, when Makoto first approaches her aunt, her co-worker calls her "Yoshiyama-san". Not 100% proof, but the movie pretty much implies it. Also, wiki basicly reveals the story of the original, and kinda explains why she doesn't really say anything.

In the TokiKake live-action movie (made 20 years before our beloved animated one), the ending is this:

what's-his-name (I guess the character upon which Chiaki is inspired) goes back to the future and leaves what's-her-name (ditto for Makoto) -- but erases her memories when he goes. Then he comes back many years later, and visits her at her job (which is a pharmaceutical company). She, obviously, doesn't recognize him and he doesn't attempt to really talk to her... it's like he just went there to check on her. Plus, she was engaged to marry the other guy (I guess ditto for Kensuke)... in the live-action movie they made the other friend fall for Makoto but she didn't like him. So basically it seems to me that it was a miserable ending! She was obviously unhappy and just stuck to the decision of marrying someone who liked her, even if she didn't like him in return.

Anyways... I think the live-action movie and the animation movie are completely different! I wouldn't even try to compare them. I like the open ending of the animated movie.

My ideal ending for the animated movie:

Chiaki went back to the future, spent a few years there (let's say... until he was 21), then came back to Makoto when she was also 21. They had both finished college and were adults finally. He asks her to stay by his side forever, in his time or hers!

I think that's a great idea for an ending. I'll just pretend and act like this is what really hapenned.

I think that she may look forward to meet Chiaki, cause she promises him to take care of the painting.. so maybe she hopes he'll be able to come back from future and see her again?
but the thing that makes me wonder is that she says 'I'll be running to you'.. what that could mean? guess it can be some kind of metaphore.. maybe because every time she leapt, she have to run.. which may mean actually, that she will try very hard, but both of them now it can't succeed, since her time leaps were all used already...?

As much as it pains me to say, I voted for number 3. "Chiaki is a time travel pimp". damn him. Though I beg to differ, the fact he was so nervous in "confessing" and asking her to date him, lead me to believe this was his *first* time actually falling in love with the girl he was manipulating to restore/preserve the painting. (This is all a theory in which I have no knowledge of the live action,) Her aunt stated she fell in love with him, but, I can't be to certain if Chiaki fell the same way? I may be wrong, since he too promised her. She also says something along the lines of, "alot of young teenage girls leap through time at your age," that may have been said only to reassure Makoto it was okay, or the fact that Chiaki is indeed a time travel pimp.

Though to make myself happy, I'll believe that he felt different for Makoto. He stayed with his friends because he treasured that time period, hopefully emplying that he loved this "time travel" more than anywhere else he's travelled too, and fell in love. Though I highly doubt they will ever see each other again, he'll definately see her success in the future, with that damn painting. Wah. :3

I think, it refers to her aunt's statement. Remember? ^^ Before, she told Makoto that she was the kind of person who'd rather run towards someone when they are "late" and she's supposed to wait.
Therefore, I agree when you say it's a metaphore. I believe Makoto simply realized what her aunt meant with "running towards someone" and tells Chiaki this way she's really looking forward to meeting him again and trying her best. =)

The movie was awesome, but the ending...=( I'm such a happy-ending-freak...This one killed me! XD Besides, I'm German, and the German dub made me really really angry but also happy at the same time o_O
In German, she says "I love you" when they say goodbye and Chiaki replies "I love you, too"! I, as a romantic freak, really needed that to be said, but when I watched the original dub, I noticed they don't even say that! >_<

Hm, as to the ending... My favourite version'd be that of Chiaki returning, although it wouldn't make much sense... Why would he have to leave in the first place just to return again? Plus, I didn't read the original novel, but I don't see Chiaki as a "time travelling pimp". He seemed too sincere for that, actually. If someone invents time travelling in the future, I'm sure it's logical that more than one person leaps through time.

So, to make myself feel content xD I believe Chiaki returns to Makoto one day! ♥

I don't believe that Chiaki is a time travelling pimp. I didn't read the original novel BUT I watched the original live-action movie... and trust me when I say Chiaki was NOT in it, it was a different story all-together (and in a previous comment I summarized what happened there).

There is a chance that Chiaki is the son of the man who visited Makoto's aunt. That's a small possibility... though there's no actual proof.

The way I see it, Makoto's time leaping adventure and her aunt's are completely separate things. It was just coincidence that two time travellers happened to meet two related people.

Alas, yes, this is the most important unanswered question in this wonderful film. I don't think there is any real answer to it (I'm not sure about the manga though) but the anime certainly doesn't make it clear.
From my watching it though, (a few times as well), I've picked up this much information:
Her aunt (after explaining her past which seemed similar, but she was waiting for her lover who hasn't shown up) said to Makoto:
"You're not like me. Its more like u to go running to someone when he doesn't show up."
And, Chiaki says:
"I'll be waiting in the future", at which Makoto replies:
"Yeah, I'll be right there. I'll run to you."
So, THEREFORE: personally I think somehow, Makoto meets him in the future, and actually, that option of her inventing time-travel and getting there doesn't seem so stupid.
Whatever method, what is clear is that they will somehow meet up and be together, which is good enough. :D

what I took away from the ending is that they loved each other enough to figure something out. That's a plenty happy ending for me and I don't need anymore.

To be honest, I think that Makoto's the one that invented the time travel.

Remember at the beginning of teh movie where she couldn't think of a major, and one of the majors was Sciences? I believe she picks science as a major and makes time travel.

I'm not sure who I think would have invented time travel. Interesting theories I never even thought of.

Sadly, when Chiaki said "I'll be waiting in the future," or something...
I thought that Chiaki was from way-way-way in the future. He came back to check out a painting but fell in love with how the world used to be and so stayed.
I don't think that he will be in Makoto's future at all.

Side note :: I want him to be. ♥

What... no one has explored the possibility that Chiaki is Makato's son, and that the reason why she said she'll be "running forward" was to hurry up and get married so that she can give birth to Chiaki and meet him again asap???..... okay, all jesting aside. /snickers

1) The possibility of Makato being also her aunt seems remote due to the fact that she seems to be the main protagonist of the prequel.

2) The possibility of Chiaki coming back from the future IS quite possible since the walnut which charged his body with the time travel ability IS available in the future he comes from. It would merely be a matter of attaining another walnut and recharging his body. However, the problem that remains is the rule that was broken when Makato learned of the time leaping ability. According to his explanation of the rule, he wasn't allowed to stay with her once she discovered the time-leap ability... Granted that he might break that rule and return anyways, but what's to stop the authorities in his future time-line from interfering with him?...

3) The possibility that Chiaki was a time-pimp seems rather unlikely based on the fact that he seemed to be willing to sacrifice any chance of returning back to the future when he used his final time-leap in order to save his friend from the train, a result of Makato being grief stricken. Ofcourse there's the possibility that he had a few buddies in the future that would return back in time and drop off another time-walnut in the event he didn't return by a set time as insurance... but that would be going into conjecture far beyond typical reasoning... /smirk

Well, since I hate tragic, depressing endings, I would contemplate a 4th possible outcome, which is along the same line as the 2nd suggestion, with the differentiation that perhaps he can be with her again if he were to obtain another time-walnut from his future time line and then leap back to the time before she came into contact with the first time-walnut, preventing her from discovering it, thus preventing her from breaking the time-leap knowledge rule in the first place. This way, she wouldn't be aware of the time-leap knowledge, and thus the rule would not prevent him from staying with her. Granted that she wouldn't be aware of all the things that were going to happen afterwards, but he could be really nice to her and make up the time she lost in some other way since he won't be able to reveal it to her because of the rule. In any case, at least this way, he can be with her again from the time before she discovered the time-walnut, and providing that he's careful not to be discovered, and doesn't get dumped by Makato ^^, he can continue to stay with her... happily ever after.....

Ofcourse, this is all silly conjecture, since in reality, even if a single atom on Earth was displaced in the distant past, it could have a tremendous effect on the outcome of that altered timeline, even changing the possibility of Chiaki ever being born, in the first place, in the future... but for the sake of fun, and in the spirit of the movie, let's just pretend that suggestion #4 is a plausible outcome, and contemplate a happily ever after ending... ^^

Errrr...that wouldn't explain any of the romantic feelings between Chiaki and Makoto, in fact that would be incest...:/ :/

Number 3 seems unlikely UNLESS you were to play around with the idea a little bit more. Perhaps that painting is important not only to Chiaki but to a lot of other people as well. It's possible that many people have gone into the past to try to see and/or change history to preserve it. It's very likely that one of those people who leaped into the past met Makoto's aunt and that is why she works to restore the painting. Now Makoto herself is going to end up helping keep the painting intact. The only sad part about this idea is that neither Makoto nor her aunt will see their high school love again. Considering that it is forbidden to let someone from the past learn about time travel to begin with, Chiaki and his predecessor are probably forbidden to time travel again.

Not exactly the happiest idea. Oh well.