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Whenever it flows, something withers in return. Its unforgiving nature permits one’s existence to substantiate, but never does it show a flare of sympathy. The movement of its hands is a constant reminder that life is a pulpit for irreversible processes. And ultimately, it is a treasure box of triumphs and mischiefs.

From a splendid novel written by the revered Yasutaka Tsutsui, the original creator of the psychologically stimulating Paprika which was also adapted into an anime film in the same year, comes the tale of Makoto Konno, a puerile high school girl who has accidentally obtained the ability to “literally” leap through time. She ... initially uses her power to time-travel for her own egotistical desires, but as she continues to descend through the past, she gradually learns of the drastic consequences her naivety ramifies to. Toki wo Kakeru Shoujo is absolutely one of the most illustrious flicks that have reigned Japan’s animation industry as it is maneuvered by the highly acclaimed Mamoru Hosoda and visually supplemented by the ever so majestic Madhouse Studios. The film magnificently brings us back to our youth, nourishes every corner of our emotions with a strong affinity to its characters and flourishes our minds with the underlying significance of the spontaneous ticks of the clock’s hands.

Although the perplexing concept of time travel is employed in the stream of events of the film, TokiKake adheres strongly to the consequences and mishaps the aforementioned phenomenon forks to rather than furrowing meticulously the science which triggers the ability. The flick places our perspectives to the expounding vision of Makoto as she incessantly leaps through time to feed her narcissistic delights and fix the mistakes she had committed. However, the aftermath of her slaphappy concerns to the tread of seconds is what disjointed her from her mundane life. The composition heartily resonates the naivety we’ve had as teenagers and the incautious decisions we often made whenever scarce chances fall before us. Furthermore, it foregrounds the most essential platform in which every form of existence in this planet revolves around which is “time” and manages to invoke its theme from the very first second down to the last drop. There is an absolute blithe atmosphere of realism housing the film all throughout which makes more gratifying to watch. It also manages to warmly captivate the viewers with the accurate depiction of youth in the stage of life in this story of puerility.

“Time waits for no one.”

Despite the number of times Makoto has to spring herself back to the past, one thing remains constant in TokiKake, and in life per se- the perpetual flow of time. The plot impeccably encapsulates the reason why the ceaseless and inexorable ticktocks of the clock should be provided with utmost heed in the splendor of the film’s remarkable writing. Moreover, it never digresses from its path and it consistently conjures the crux of the composition regarding the aforesaid adage.

Toki wo Kakeru Shoujo’s most eminent component is definitely lodged in its characters. Whilst the film takes most of its time investing ourselves to Makoto through her self-serving deeds, it also excellently introduces us to the other casts who also play crucial roles for the development of the story itself. These main ensembles include two of Makoto’s best friends Chiaki Mamia, an externally thickened compassionate person, and Kousuke Tsuda, a complaisant one. Additionally, the other casts like her aunt and her classmate recur time after time yet they’ve only gotten to furnish themselves through a short span of significant exchange of words. The few count of characters also allows the crafty portrayal of naturalism to strikingly wallop the viewers in sheer amazement. In addition, although the entire plot only circulates around a constant repetition of three days, everyone gets to have their characters meliorated, but not as much as the centerpiece, Makoto.

There is an impinging sense of realism in the depiction of TokiKake’s characters which resplendently forbids the viewers from sorting them to the formulaic pieces of most of the anime series out there. Makoto’s personation in the film precisely limns every tad of naiveté crafted from an adolescent’s innocence. And with the attachment of time travelling, the viewers are stipulated to relive their high school lives through the bitsy merriment of experiencing the amusements over and over again. Having these naturalistic portrayals of sappiness in the characters, which are rarely exhibited in animated media, definitely brings out an exceptional beauty in TokiKake.

As far as the production goes, Madhouse Studios emphatically brought out their staggering capabilities in aggrandizing this flick. The intricate creation of the backgrounds absolutely augments the essence of actuality. In addition, they have served splendidly as the picturesque platforms for the fluidity of the animation during the events in the film which radiate the pleasing and melancholic experiences. Yoshiyuki Sadamoto’s character designs, on the other hand, doesn’t seem to dazzle as much as his previous notable works like Neon Genesis Evangelion and the .hack// franchise. However, provided with the fact that TokiKake endeavors to fortify realism through its characters, the designs perfectly beseem the persona of the casts. The direction helmed by Mamoru Hosoda as his first major project is overwhelming and brilliant in spades. He succeeds in enamoring the viewers with his prowess to portray real life’s mundaneness and the characters’ naturalism even in a film which involves the concept of time travelling. And fortuitously after his success in TokiKake, he continues to attest his brilliance in his succeeding films like Summer Wars in 2009 and Ookami Kodomo no Ame to Yuki three years after.

Toki wo Kakeru Shoujo’s soundtrack magnificently embellishes the scenes in which they were rendered. They easily set the ambience of the situations and simultaneously tunes the modality of the characters to befit themselves stronger as they depict their roles in the plot. To boot, both of Hanako Oku’s song contribution to the film, “Kawaranai Mono” and “Garnet” overpoweringly intensify the melancholy of the viewers. With the former used as an insert song during the juncture, it splendidly triumphs in intertwining the varying emotions and potently exalts the viewers in a tremendous awe. Whilst played during the ending credits, the latter capsulizes everything in the film and caters the viewers the time as well as the beautiful melody to contemplate with the movie.

Regarding the voice acting performances, they all sound as natural as the crafted personas of the characters. And despite having Japanese actors and actresses rather than professional seiyuus, the way Riisa Naka, Takuya Ishida and Mitsutaka Itakura (Makoto, Chiaki and Kousuke respectively) enunciated their lines certainly isn’t jarring and provides life to the characters they play.

On the whole, Toki wo Kakeru Shoujo foregathers the puerility and naivety during our adolescence and recaptures it astoundingly through a brilliant film execution. I have seen this work of magnificent artistry numerous times already, and every moment the flick rolls, it is as though I’m also leaping through time with Makoto to remain in an unchanging chain of youthful mirth.
But alas, time continues to wait for no one. Its flow withers all forms of existence. Its unforgiving nature allow us to grasp delights momentarily, but never does it show a flare of sympathy. The movement of its hands is a constant reminder that life is a pulpit for irreversible processes. And ultimately, it is a treasure box of triumphs and mischiefs.

Unlike Makoto’s tale, this world’s reality keeps the time travelling concept beyond humanity’s reach, and hence we can only embrace the present and look forward to the future. Toki wo Kakeru Shoujo resplendently renders this theme and within a span of an hour and a half, it will surely toss you back to your early days.

It's rather rare for me to catalyze a motion of progress whenever I'm in a state of idleness. But having the thought of flipping a few pages of a sentimentally driven one-shot manga last night not being a bit of a drag, I astonishingly caught myself bawling inside.

Koe no Katachi is undoubtedly a work radiating with prominence. Being a one-shot written and drawn by Ooima Yoshitoki, a promising young mangaka, I marched my eyes forth to the manga without any excitement nor high expectations, only a neutral reading experience. And gratefully for that, my dwindling emotions suddenly underwent rapid maturation and eventually softened the walls ... of my heart. This manga certainly doesn't possess anything that could thrust us to the edge of our seats the way sword fighting, intellectual skirmishes and bizarre brawls often do. However, this 64-page one-shot's density is solely held together by particles of varying emotions and souls; something that we seldom find in our reading media.

The beauty of this short read is engrossed at its plot at the very least, whereas the characters and art are also commendable but not as riveting as the former. Furthermore, the simplicity exhibited in the execution of events really enthralls me. The story is not actually that strong either, but if anything, it's Ooima's kitschy perspective in life and passion in writing which makes this piece of work worthy of all the praises it's receiving. Reading through the pages where Nishiyama Shouko is being ostracized and aggressively bullied for her hearing impairment utterly weighed everything down in my chest. Furthermore aside from bullying, Koe no Katachi tackles the dreadful corners of humanity where hypocrisy reigns. But ultimately, this manga refurbishes the hope overshadowed by the ugliness of human nature, which is quite well substantiated in Ishida Shouya's change of heart as he elaborately realizes his mistakes and reconciles with Nishiyama years after. Despite the bleakness exhibited, this manga is still strongly moving and at the same time cute.

I am indeed easily propelled (sentimentally) by mangas having similarities to this in terms of themes, although I prefer novels better as my reading medium. Also, I just can't neglect the notion inside me that Koe no Katachi is really really close to Onanie Master Kurosawa with the all the bullying cases, but less on the psychological department. In essence, Koe no Katachi is a promising one-shot capable of grasping every fiber of your emotions for a short duration. If you're the same as me who takes a peculiar kind of pleasure in bawling endlessly beneath a pillow, you'll surely love this as much as I did.


Note: I read this last night while listening to MAXIMUM THE HORMONE, and still, my tears ceaselessly fled from my lachrymal ducts. Koe no Katachi is THAT great.