The Girl Who Leapt Through Time - A Masterful Mess

Today we're going to discuss one of Mamoru Hosoda's anime films. It's my introduction to his work and, overall, it was a fantastic introduction that has me excited to see the rest of his work. This video is basically a review of The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, with a focus on plot and themes. Later on, I may make a video on Hosoda's directorial style, as it is something brilliant that I didn't mention in this video for the sake of focusing on a more specific topic. I hope you enjoy it, and thank you for watching :)
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Here is the background music in this video, in the order of its usage in the video. All of the tracks are from The Girl Who Leapt Through Time's soundtrack (or are at least used in the film):
1. Natsuzora (Opening Theme)
2. Sketch
3. J.S. Bach's Aria (Goldberg Variations)
4. Daiichi Hensoukyoku (Variation 1 of Goldberg Variations)
5. Shoujo no Fuan
6. Daylight
7. Seijaku

[@SmookieYT]

I have a theory that her "witch" aunt is actually herself from the future. Think about it. In one of the dialogs she said she dated a boy when she was her age, but they broke up and the guy said, that he will be waiting for her. Which is actually the same thing which Chiaki said to Makoto in their last dialog. Also, the aunt was the first person that showed her the painting Chiaki was talking about. Lastly she said she experienced time leaps as well, when she was her age. Does anyone have the same theory?

[@notyomama2981]

holy moly!! nice theory i did kinda thought about that too, all of what u said supports the theory but when the aunt witch was talking about falling in love and breaking up, they zoomed in on a photo of 3 high sch students and judging by that pic i thought it couldnt be makoto what do you think? lmao i'd be ded if the future guy be going into the past and making countless number of girls fall in love(like witch aunt and makoto) with him just to preserve the painting till his era hahahaha

[@vite1968]

@@notyomama2981 fuck it.. man, this is it.. that's the idea.. he actually could do that and it would make absolutely sense.. to have there preservers keep the painting. Like Terminator, but more Shintoistic :) thankyou random stranger from internet to explain this so well.

[@deab1253]

but why would they exist at the same time. Insofar as we've seen, there was a point when she time travelled and went back to the lab waiting for the shadow that scared her at first and I almost thought she'd find her past self there whereas from this perspective she'd be the one that scared herself into falling but nothing.. ha. I doubt you can exist simultaneously with your past self unless you're travelling through realities and not just through time. There's also the picture as already mentioned

[@alienfromtaetaeplanet9797]

Heiiiiiiiiiii........i think the same...exactly the same ......

[@chillboi3118]

Smookie the aunt is actually the main character of the book the movie is a sequel to

[@suatt38]

if he had kissed her that would've of made her desire him to stay even more. She would've yearned him more and possibly suffer heartbreak while waiting. He did the perfect action imo.

[@Bunny11344]

I think because I was expecting a kiss but got something more innocent makes it so much more bitter sweet

[@Binkheartful]

You've addressed exactly what I was feeling after seeing this movie!!! I couldn't quite find the right way to put that into words and when looking for other opinions it was mostly positive and not really critical.

[@Lowart]

Nice! That's great to hear ^_^

[@hersonkoko]

Me too

[@starflowy]

I loved the movie but the end did bother me and I felt left some important things unaddressed. 1. It implies Mokoto and Chiaki will be able to be together in the future but it must be really far in the future so when Mokoto finally gets there she'll be old and Chiaki will still be a teenager so how would that work exactly? 2. it's going to be a really shitty future where no one plays baseball, aren't able to see how big the sky is, and don't see many other people (are they killed off or what?), and Mokoto is totally fine knowing this for some reason?? 3. So is it just a big coincidence that the picture Chiaki cared about was being restored by Mokoto's Aunt or what?

[@silviogrijalva8801]

Barbara Williams mokoto is a selfish idiot

[@mikeoxlong7607]

for number 3, maybe the Guy that the Witch aunt talking about is Chiaki's dad. But his dad didn't make it or simply he died and he told Chiaki about that painting that's why he came back to the past.

[@rajagopal9836]

@@silviogrijalva8801 soooo , like any teenager

[@cubingtubing8172]

No 3: Wasn't it Chiaki itself?

[@anonymous4244]

In the movie Makoto only time leaped to her past. She couldn't just time leap to any point in time and appear out of nowhere, she always went back to her past and replaced herself. If that was the only way time leaping worked in that universe wouldn't that mean that an older Chiaki time leaped to a younger him? If that were the case it would make sense for why they both said they will wait for each other at the end. Still why would he completely disappear at the end then, if that were the case it should've been steins gate style time leaping where the character just gets more knowledge but to others they haven't disappeared...

[@thearm7102]

This and Spirited Away were truly the films of my childhood

[@raytsh]

I love the movie! Though it has some flaws regarding the plot that really shows after watching it for the 3rd and 4th time. I also find some of the rotor-scoped shots weirdly out of place. Still, I love the overall mood that is created in the mundane, slow scenes in particular, it's just executed perfectly! I also get goosebumps from the music alone.

[@Lowart]

Absolutely! The film more than makes up for its flawed plot with its amazing execution. The directing and shot composition really sell the whole mood (as you said, that's particularly powerful in the mundane, slow scenes). And that music! Oh man. I might make an Outstanding OST style video on this, or on this composer's work, because it is so good.

[@thadesplatter5080]

One of my favorite movies. Still watch again and again and never get tired of it. Great video btw. Got all the good points.

[@Lowart]

Thanks! I'm happy you enjoyed it :) There's definitely a lot to love about this movie.

[@andyday4847]

All the "mess" parts can be explained if you realize that this film is a sequel of a novel.

[@matheustran8009]

What's it a sequel to?

[@Smooth_operator32]

Explain please

[@kupamanduka]

@@Smooth_operator32 I found this in anime-stackexchange and I'd like to share it with you. First off, “Auntie Witch” is NOT a future version of Makoto Konno; her name is Kazuko Yoshiyama. What no one seems to know is that this movie (aka: “Toki o Kakeru Shōjo”), which was written by Satoko Okudera in 2006, is a sequel to a book by the same name written by Yasutaka Tsutsui in 1965. This movie also has a manga form by Ranmaru Kotone also in 2006, which has an extended ending; with what came after Makoto and Chiaki say their goodbyes. In the book, after an incident in the science lab, 15 year old Kazuko discovers that she has the ability to time leap. She tells her two classmates and best friends, Goro Asakura, Kazuo Fukamachi and her science teacher, Mr. Fukushima about it in the hopes that they can help her figure things out. Later, like Makoto, Kazuko discovers that one of her friends is a time traveler; of course, I’m not going to tell you which one it is. ^-^ This time traveler tells Kazuko that he was born in 2649 and that he came from the year 2660; which would make him 11 years old, though he doesn’t look it, and that he is a university student studying pharmaceutical science. He explains that chemicals were being developed that could bring out latent abilities in humans; physical, telekinetic and psychological powers. He explains that he was experimenting with a compound that would allow him to time travel and he got stuck in the past but that he had managed to replicate his work and could now return to his time. He also explains that the incident in the science lab that exposed her to the compound was his fault and that he never intended for Kazuko to experience all these strange things. Kazuko asks him to stay but he explains that he couldn’t because time travel confuses history and that there is a law in his time that forbids them from telling people in the past about time travel. As a result, he explains that he will have to erase Kazuko’s and everyone else’s memories of him. Kazuko asks him if he would ever return to her time, would she ever see him again and he promised that he would come back and that he would come see her; “when I finished my research, when I succeed in making the potion.” In the end, even though the time traveler erased Kazuko’s memories, she was able to regain her memories of not only him but everything about time travel and what he told her about the future. In the movie, it’s not known whether Kazuko really is Makoto’s biological aunt or just a close family friend. Either way, Kazuko decided to get a job at the Tokyo National Museum and restores old works of art. It’s clear that she made the same promise to the future that Makoto will make; to preserve history for the sake of the future.

[@Smooth_operator32]

@@kupamanduka Thank you

[@shaniasmith9999]

@@kupamanduka Not all heroes wear capes.

[@briancollins1296]

Admittedly I do prefer Summer Wars and Wolf Children, as they are more consistently entertaining and also more sturdily constructed stories, but this was my introduction to Hosoda.

[@Lowart]

I haven't seen those ones yet, but I've heard good things and I'm definitely planning to check them out first. I knew that this was a lot of people's introduction to Hosoda, so I wanted it to be mine too :)

[@deVillefort63]

Entertaining is subjective. I'm probably one of the few people who doesn't think Wolf Children is a very good movie, at least in the screenwriting department. [The directing and visuals are very good.] I thought Summer Wars was okay, but bit off way more than it could chew. Girl Who Leapt Through Time was very good, though. Maybe not perfect, but very good overall.

[@SeaRasp]

@@deVillefort63 I also thought Wolf Children was a bit overrated even though still a beautiful movie and much prefer The girl who leapt through time which is probably my favorite anime movie

[@arlekino0792]

@@SeaRasp same. The way how everything in the story is connected and used is my favorite part of "Girl who leapt...". A very tight script where every scene is needed and no place for filler. Also main message is strong and sub-messages are great additions to think about.

[@xAkinaNozomi]

I always wondered what bothered me so much about the end of this movie. Even though I started asking 'Why' questions, like "Why did time stop at this point in the story?" I never really made the effort of figuring out what left me so unsatisfied with the end of the movie. This video was really eye-opening!

[@Lowart]

Awesome! I'm happy that it helped you that way :) This video was me working through my feelings on it, too, so that's great to hear

[@flowerpufsquid9044]

My theory is that the girl Makoto represents the Now and the boy Chiaki the future. The film is a big metaphor, it isnt here to hypothesize about time travel but rather to implement the importance and meaning of the existence of art and history (the painting), that we must cherish it. Chiaki tells Makoto that his world doesn't have a lot of people, there is a lot of nature.. thus saying that his world is post apocalyptic and it all happened because just one peace of art and history got lost, and so an apocalypse took place. This also shows us how important every single one of us is. One breath will have an affect on the other side of the world its not a matter of if but rather when, thus the saying time waits for no one. It is what you do with the time you have that changes the world for better or worse. At the very end Chiaki says he will be waiting for her, that meant that the future depends and is created by whatever the now does and what history remembered , they are like two ends of a string. They never kiss because the future is bearly visible or known for the now, we can only guess what future holds, it is far away in some sence. Detail scene: they show us that Makoto died as one possibility because she wasn't thinking about the broken break of the byke and was rushing forward way too fast thus we got extinct and a new form of life began (the train).

[@tdfern1]

Man this movie brings me back, I was really interested in Mamoru Hosoda's films after watching Wolf Children. This was a pretty okay movie, I wouldn't place it high as Wolf Children but it sits well at home with me, because it feels nostalgic to me I guess. Lastly did you know that while its based on the book with the similar name; Its loosely based on it as the movie is a sequel to the book?

[@Lowart]

Yeah, when I was researching for the video I found out that the film is basically a sequel, which I thought was really interesting. It sounds like the original novel is very short and probably wouldn't work all that well as a movie, so I'm happy that they took this direction with it. I'm definitely looking forward to Wolf Children, though; this was actually the first Hosoda film I've seen, and now I'm really excited to see more of them.

[@tdfern1]

Lowart after this one there is Summer Wars then Wolf Children then The Boy & The Beast (thats only movie I haven't seen yet), then lastly his latest film Mirai no Mirai.

[@Lowart]

Nice! I'll probably watch them in that order then, too :)

[@tdfern1]

Lowart Hope you appreciate them and I like to hear your thoughts on each of them. About the book the film is based on, the main character in book appears in the movie as the aunt I think?

[@Lowart]

Yeah, that's what I read as well

[@vaginalarthritis1753]

Well this was another good video and i definitely agree that the movie has flaws, but the way it was presented made it a pleasant watch. On that note, the clips here and your voice make this a very soothing video on a Sunday afternoon too.

[@Lowart]

I'm happy you enjoyed it and that it was soothing! :) Thanks for watching ^_^

[@ChrisPTenders]

I always got the eerie impression that time stopped and he disappeared because the government of the future monitors his activity and when he broke the rules the government went and undid all the stuff he did using their own incredibly complex time travel networking technology, far exceeding that of a walnut looking thing... Which of course would mean the third act is even messier, because that means either they broke time, or shifted timelines or some such thing... which of course begs the question why she doesn't just forget him instead of experiencing him disappearing... which might have something to do with the fact she time jumped herself, which may have trapped her in some strange pocket of a timeline of her own making; which is hauntingly lonely, and very thematic. Y'know, timey wimey stuff. That's all conjecture on my part of course, mostly only coming from having watched this movie around the time I saw Steins;Gate. It's meant to be an ambiguous ending; and yeah, that's frustrating. Coincidentally, Dark Pixel Gaming just put out a really great video on ambiguous endings and why they're so frustrating. I recommend watching it. It's interesting stuff to think about. Titling this video with the word "mess" is CLICKBAIT you monster.

[@Lowart]

Those are some pretty neat ideas! I like it. And I'll have to check out that Dark Pixel Gaming video. Thanks for the recommendation! And as far as the title goes... ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

[@MrRys]

If the future goverment did it, why didn't they freeze Makoto as well? if the future goverment is monitoring Chiaki, why didn't they warn him that he lost the walnut and where, before Makoto found it? How does the timetravel work, is it just mind that travels? Then, why is Makoto always rolling when she leaps? how is Chiaki able to time travel if he didn't even exist yet? and if it's not just mind then does your body from the past disappear when you time travel? And why did Makoto traveled back to present without jumping and unwillingly in the beginning... at first I thought it will turn out to be a tragic movie, where she finds her love, but then in the end it will be all undone and she will end up under the train, where she leapt the first time The ideas the movie wants to tell are nice but overal there is too much inconsistencies, that create plotholes from whatever side you look at it

[@tminusblastedrocket]

Makes more sense then some of doctor who

[@hersonkoko]

Totally agrees to this. The mess revolves around Chiaki's background. Who is he really, where and when did he come from, why did he choose to go back in his time? Too messy..

[@nicogalax]

He explained why he choose to go to that time, just to see the painting

[@AutumnRed]

bullshit, why should the movie talk about those details? this is not a hollywood movie and it shouldn't be, Japanese art requires a little bit more openness and active mindset instead of expecting to get every little piece of the story to be explained like you are unable to think on your own

[@Demolition_Freakk]

I watched this movie yesterday and i have never cried like that in my life

[@ShadowCatGambit]

There there. It's okay. (pats head x3)

[@shauryasegan5177]

This video is so good. After watching this movie I felt like it is one of the best movies I have seen but at the same time I was having trouble digesting the final parts of the movie and the overall plot. Thank you for so perfectly explaining this. You literally found out what issues I had with the movie and told me about it. Thanks a lot.

[@Andrew53670]

My only question is when exactly are Makoto and Chiaki reunited in the future? ☺️ Also I can't help thinking whenever they leap through time, does this mean they create a bunch of alternative timelines? 🤔

[@nickpollockpiano]

this was a great video and I agreed completely with your analysis of the film

[@akwilson1676]

I really like how the camera lingers and stays in one place.

[@QueenCloveroftheice]

I just really hated the protagonist in this movie. When I watched it for the second time with a friend, we made jokes about how there were five separate instances in the movie where she could have solved all of her problems with one simple action, but she chose to cry instead. She was just so melodramatic that she became unlikable.

[@lecorbak]

except humans are not perfect and do mistakes, especially when they are young. it's always better than a main protagonist that is "perfect" and never do mistakes like 98% of the manga stuff (naruto, boku no hero academia or whetever mainstream things you could quote).

[@cloud-ho1wv]

@@lecorbak exac

[@andreco8192]

@@lecorbak Naruto made lot of mistakes to be fair 🤣

[@anarchy_x2]

@@lecorbak not expecting makoto to be perfect but op said there were five instances where she could've finally realized all the mistakes she was doing and try to fix them. also deku and naruto are bad examples they do not have perfect character syndrome lmfao

[@Chickitten]

I hope they make a sequel where they explain everything

[@143LuckyDuck]

yo bro, i freakin loved your analysis based on what was given to the audience. Philosophically speaking, you are just one RAW DUDE MAN, like GAWD good job bro, proud of you my fellow human being.

[@gzuz4148]

First time i watched it i thought the twist was gonna be that it was Makoto from the future that was in the lab in the beginning leaving the time device for herself and creating a loop were she finds it and later leaves it for her past self to find creating a loop but thinking back it was Chiaki

[@KillMarnoc]

When I was watching this movie last week, I kept thinking "I would enjoy this more had I not already seen Your Name, which treads similar ground but really sticks the landing."

[@KuroiPK]

What I think is the most remarkable is how often this film is referred in other series. I often think that Mamuro Hosoda work break apart in the final act. Which is kinda sad because he does so much right. Nothing the less the animation in those movies are always stunning (very inspiring).

[@Lowart]

Yeah, it's wild. I noticed a few things, like how the time leap type thing in Erased is obviously inspired by this. Damn, I'm curious to see what I think of the other films then. I find that most great films end up being good films because of trouble in the final act. It's just so hard to satisfyingly wrap up a story, but it's still a shame that more films don't have endings that I enjoy.

[@KuroiPK]

Lowart I also would say that erased is actually relativ subtile Referenz, some comedic manga and anime are way more obvious. True. I think that Hosoda got a lot better with his graft, but still I’m always a bit disappointed (for the lack of a better word). I would definitely recommend you to check his other work out too. Did you see work of Naoko Yamada? I think that she really shines in wrapping every up. In western media I that Denis Villeneuve is quite good to get complex stories quite neatly resolved whit still some possibilities for a sequel. Did you see work of Satoshi Kon? Like Paprika? His work is also very interesting.

[@lee-wr5fi]

I've watched this long ago because I'm bored and I didn't expect it to be this good. It made me cry so bad arghh, the plot twist is so good.

[@LeonidJP92]

Then i saw it for first time i was ~9 y/o. I remember it was really depressing picture. After this video i went to rewatch it, so what I've done. Now i can say that this piece of art is answer for Japanese society for things they want to hear...

[@homosapien9526]

I'm glad to watch this video and it exactly resonates to how I feel about how Hosoda directs any of his movies. He build beautiful foundations to his world and various character that feel like they can be found at any corner of our neighborhood. But as the movie continues to third act he tries to build up drama which contrast to how he establishes the movies and his characters as something mundane yet intimate. The hype just increases and they no longer are the things they started as making ending less satisfying compared to wonderful start. This phenomenon gets omitted in wolf children as it consistently stays as a personal and up close story about characters where tiny subplots join to show how their lives went. But in case of his other movies like Girl who leapt through time, Summer Wars and Boy and the beast we feel some kind of withdrawal symptom with the movie's start with happens wonderfully but turns into an utter mess at the end.

[@Lowart]

Dang. I haven't seen Hosoda's other work, but that's a shame. I'm curious to see what I'll think of them.

[@homosapien9526]

Lowart that'd be fantastic. Also do you know the existence of parody anime called To Be Hero?

[@Lowart]

I know of its existence, but I haven't seen any of it. Do you recommend it?

[@homosapien9526]

Lowart it's pretty hilarious and I think it got super overshadowed during it's airing part due to being Japanese-Chinese collaboration and part due to Yuri on Ice and Haikyuu blowing up

[@SeiryuNanago]

This video was really good. It was clear and well edited. I enjoyed it a lot.

[@Lowart]

Thanks! :) I'm happy you enjoyed it

[@grayssegv8423]

I just finished this movie a few minutes ago!!! And that ending.................

[@ShadowCatGambit]

So I can add some light to that mess. Long story short, its the part that makes Makoto attracted to Chiaki. Through out the film, she's uncomfortable with his feelings for her, but that's the part where she's ready to accept his feelings. Think about it..... you can be cruel to a girl in a variety of ways, look down at her, abuse her and make her feel less of a person, that's because people are attracted to something that they feel they cannot have, and women in particular are attracted to people whom they look up to. At that moment, where time stops and Chiaki's truth is made clear to her, he's the only person in her life whom she's focused on, because it's the part where he's sacrificed something significant to clean up her mistake. It had to be his last leap in order for there to be a significance, and for her to feel ashamed to the extent that she did. The way he kept disappearing in the crowd and she tried to follow made her attracted to him as well. Have you ever heard the notion that men are the prize? That's because when guys try to chase a girl, often times she begins running away like Makoto did. She couldn't handle the psychological pressure and emotional risk, so she ran away, which is something most girls actually do in that situation. When Makoto is ashamed of what she has done, Chiaki doesn't stay with her, and keeps moving just beyond what she can see and beyond where she can follow. Most men wouldn't do this, but this is the part that makes Makoto feel like she needs to chase him. Chiaki's value is made clear to her as she is losing him. In real life, what guys may do is stop texting back to a girl when she's done something. When a guy sets boundaries and enforces them in a similar way Chiaki does, he shows the girl that he's not needy, that he's not going to follow her around like a puppy dog, that he's the one in charge. This is a powerful thing. Makoto would never had been able to move on from that childish avoidance of him on her own, she needed to realize she can lose him before she valued his attraction to her. She never would have told him "I'll come running" if she didn't feel grateful to still have a relationship of sorts with him. I understand there's a lot of things that compromises the structure of the story here, but the film would never had been anything great if this segment was not exactly the way it was. It's the part were the female audience really engage in the emotion of the story, where their attention is grabbed very potently, when they most understand and relate to the main character.

[@Carnations8DelightOS]

What kind of girls do that? Stupid selfish idiot girls like makoto?

[@Rachel-og8jy]

I was going to try to argue with you but I honestly think you're probably right. She was intimidated by his feelings for her because she was afraid of changing their relationship, and afraid of being responsible for his feelings. A lot of girls feel the same when a friend has a crush on them. And more than simply making him unavailable and thus more valuable, his actions at the end showed her that he didn't love her with the expectation that she ought to love him back. Again, something girls may be anxious about when a friend has a crush on them. The romance was so good because it ended tragically, not despite that.

[@sgtkumpel]

Ok, so I'm somewhat late to the party but I wanted to mention one thing. The last time leap she does in the film drops her at the exact time and place when she fell in the time travel device for the first time. So can we asume that she fell on it again and does have all the charges again? I would have hoped the film would have done something with that. I only found this video because i enjoyed the first part or the movie but felt ultimately let down in the end and i can't see the film as positively as others do :/

[@mikeycomito3045]

i feel like analyzing movies in this way clouds/distracts from the true purpose of the movie, it’s art it doesn’t have to add up or make sense there reasons it’s like that, art evokes a feeling in us, when watching this especially the end, it gave me an intense beautiful emotional feeling and has a deeper meaning than the “plot holes”, i feel the “plot holes” are intentional even, life does not make sense or add up its mysterious and beautiful, living here we all intuitively understand that even if it’s not conscious, this was her experience which prob wouldn’t make sense to herself if she tried to analyze it, she’s living through this in the moment and the movie takes us through that with her also it was made by madhouse studios the same studio that made sonny boy. the masterpiece of purposeful “mess” and “plot holes” it’s intentional

[@AbahDirgaLv997]

I just finished this film I have no problem with the message of the film but I need explanations on some parts of the film that I don't quite understand Firstly, where does Chiaki come from? in the ending he says he will wait for Makoto in the future, how long is that? Imagine where Chiaki has a time machine Why would Chiaki go back to the past, just for a painting? what is the meaning of the painting? Why can Aunt Makoto easily believe everything Makoto says ? Can you help me bro to explain ?? and I don't like it a bit, when chiaki is a twist. so he really is someone from the future huh.. I prefer a little magical spice, like "Mirai". a mysterious garden or park or an unknown world is colliding haha.. actually, I just finished all of Mamoru Hosoda's films. and he really is still the same person, hasn't changed at all until now. except for his experimental work as an episode director in an anime TV series, I forget the title and miss too understand. How chiaki know his friend kousuke use bike makoto ? And he know makoto bike the brakes are broken. even though he was not there at the incident. how does he know? a film with a good message, but it's a little difficult to understand each scene

[@lampad4549]

This is why wolf children is the best mamoru hosada film. But all the others are also pretty good.

[@bishnu_YT]

I just watched it like 3 days ago. 09:23 After finishing my thoughts were the same. Yeah, the plot falls apart and not fully explained in the movie(I think in the source material there's explanation ). But emotions it manages to build.. oh my oh my!~ shadows it's every fault.

[@annahdz4614]

I found this movie through it's opening dialog in a playlist edit and then I just never found that playlist ever again

[@emilyau8023]

2024 and this still has a place in my heart.

[@SpectrumVee]

I still haven't watched Mamoru Hosada's "Boy and the Beast" so I can't speak for that film, but for the rest of them, I feel like he does kind of fall apart in the third act, which is a shame. If he could get it together, he'd be one of the greatest anime directors out there, but that third act always seems to trip him up, and the third act is usually supposed to be the most impactful part of your fiction.

[@Lowart]

I haven't seen his other work, so I'm curious what I'll think of it, but this seems to be a common opinion (at least in this comment section). In that case, it's a real shame. His work on this was amazing, and I'd love to see a plot that could match that mastery.

[@QueenCloveroftheice]

The Boy and the Beast also falls apart in act three, sadly. The rest of the story has a relaxed pace with an emotional core, but act three suddenly turns into an action-packed climax for no reason.

[@Torinett]

All except for Wolf Children of course. That one held consistent throughout for me.

[@pinkdolphin8188]

@@Chad_Eldridge I know this comment is 10 months old but for me what changed with Yuki's relationship with that boy is that she trusted him enough to tell him her secret, despite him already knowing she had no idea that he knew. So it doesn't really matter if he knew or not it's that in the end, she trusted him and that created a better bond between the two. Also, Ame going off wasn't that out of nowhere? I mean there was heaps of signs of him adapting more to living as a wolf than as a person while he grew up. He even said himself that since his mentor the fox passed away the forest needed some sort of new guardian, and since the fox taught him a lot of those skills he felt that he needed to fulfil his duty as being the new guardian. Also, I personally don't mind that you don't see all of the foxes wisdom, it still showed him teaching Ame to hunt and to survive which seems like a vital skill if Ame wants to live as a wolf. Sorry didn't mean for this to be a whole essay but the third act for me was wonderful because it created new bonds and new lives for the characters in the story. Although I agree it can be a bit messy but overall I personally found it really impactful.

[@pinkdolphin8188]

@@Chad_Eldridge I kind of had the same feeling for the ending as well and yeah tbh I would've loved to see more with Ame's character development since I feel like there was a lot of missed potential with the foxes teaching and showing more of living as a wolf. Also the reason I think she avoids the boy is not because she distrusts him, it's because she feels insecure about her wolf form since she's gotten used to living as a normal girl. When he caught onto her being part wolf she was scared and didn't want him to find out. In the end, she then lets go of her insecurities and reveals her true nature to the boy with whom she's come to bond with. At least that's how I interpret it but yeah I'm open-minded to your opinion and I don't think I'm "right", just expressing how the story in the third act felt for me. Honestly Idk what to say about Ame just sort of leaving, maybe there was an emergency of some kind that wasn't really talked about in the movie or maybe it's because he knew his mother probably won't let him live as a wolf and maybe try to stop him from leaving? But yeah I have no idea lol, thanks for the friendly banter I guess? That's one way to put it, I do quite enjoy discussing my opinions about things but again I'm very open-minded about these sort of things so if you want to talk more about it feel free. Oh yeah and I don't feel bad about your critiques, just wanted to express an opinion I had about the movie, it's fine, plus I do agree with a lot of your criticisms so it's not all too different to how I feel about the third act. Also, keep in mind I haven't watched this movie in a while so a bit of what I say maybe a bit off and sorry for misinterpreting what you were saying about Ame going off into the woods lol, I tend to make those mistakes a lot. Hope you had a great day and maybe we can discuss this more if you so desire? Idk lol, it's just fun to talk about these kinds of things, glad you like this movie too.

[@astemirabazekhov9005]

I finally saw that movie. I knew that you have opinion about this anime and that you made video. I almost completely agree with you on all points. But there is one thing. I don't know if anyone wrote about it in the comments. Third act. I was confused not that it was badly made, but that it represents itself in fact. Why do we need to explain the mechanism of time travel? Why did the story-telling tool become the center of the story? I mean, even if all the plot holes and innuendo were fixed, you wouldn't get satisfaction from the ending anyway. All because of the shift in focus. In the third act Makoto ceased to be the center of story, her place was taken by time travel itself. If the film initially focused on the sci-Fi aspect it would be OK, but not in our case. Hosoda apparently forgot that relieves the drama about growing up, and not science fiction in the style of "A Sound of Thunder" by Ray Bradbury. I didn't try to think about how bad the third act is in terms of plot holes, because I don't like it conceptually. P.S. In my opinion, "About time " is a film that took into account the mistakes of" the Girl Who Leapt Through Time". If you haven't watched, I highly recommend.

[@FloraYKim]

I agree with you, I felt that the revelation of Chiaki's time travel and the focus on that during the third act did not feel right to put at the end of the film. I felt like it opened too many new questions that an ending shouldn't really have. That's why things were quite messy in the end because it didn't feel conclusive and was very vague when talking about the concept of time travel and Chiaki's future world

[@Monika-di7vv]

Feels like it should have been longer, explained more and ended in the future

[@davidabejo9846]

What do you guys think about the painting Chiaki was trying to see? It looks to me that mother nature is protecting "4 earths" from demons. The "4 earths" can symbolize the multiple realities of earth. One of the earths is orange, which could mean Chiaki's future world. The demons could mean the evils that Chiaki was talking about with time travel.

[@ashleyf5315]

Aw... hearing the opening theme at the start of this video really warmed my heart. Although this movie isn't perfect, it's one of my all-time favorites.

[@iamummati]

Is it possible that Makoto was Aunty Wich ( the restoration girl). She said she can time leap to and she also fell in love with a guy in her senior high. Like thats how she met chiaki and he told her about the painting he wanted to see so she grew up and become a restorating worker. Makoto even said it that what she decided to become is a secret. But it all doesn't make sense in the end coz a person can't be in the same time twice. (From movie context) Commenf what you think

[@dAvrilthebear]

You are asking for too much logic from an anime that only needs to be emotionally consistent. The goal is to show what it feels like to be 17, and it's done pretty well.)

[@anarchy_x2]

I think that chiaki should've stayed in the past with makoto because when he described what the future was like it sounded awful and almost like he was saying he prefers the past over the future. Him going back to the future was what broke me away from the movie....I think showing how they were gonna get chiaki to be able to stay in the past would've been so fun to watch bc for some reason he had to go back (idk if he was being forced but assuming he was)

[@mov-e6612]

I agree the two first Acts are simply amazing and a joy to witness, but the last one is kinda a stretch.

[@kcx2678]

I agree. The first and second arc were good, kept me excited for the third arc. But then third arc came and nothing made sense, really. I felt like I just wasted my time watching this movie. So many plotholes and unanswered stuff. I thought this movie was good based on reviews but yeah, I felt like my time was wasted.

[@alpha-sama]

I just watched the movie and I can agree with most of what you say. The foreshadowing is pretty amazing. And the way the time leaps go from all fun and games to more serious issues and making their way up to actual matters of life and death is outstandingly well done. The music was pretty great too and given this movie came out in 2006 (I think) the animation isn't shabby while the movie manages to stick to a more traditional art style. But the plot is indeed a mess. I thought there was some wasted potential here and there and this is the perfect way to put that feeling into words. Like, why that random painting was important or why Chiaki suddenly had to disappear aren't really explained and kind of leave you with a feeling of dissatisfaction. What I want to see (or feel) most in these kind of movies are the tears when a main character has to disappear (like with Chiaki) and the goosebumps when a main character (almost) dies (like Kousuke and Kaho). But there are other movies or even series in which this is done better. For example in Your Name (when Taki and Mitsuha both lose their memories), Angel Beats (when Kanade is obliterated), Wolf Children (when Ame almost drowns), or A Silent Voice (when Ishida falls off the balcony). Overall, this movie definitely has its problems but it was still an enjoyable watch. I give it a fairly solid 7/10.

[@felixalexanderalexander6320]

So its basically going to be a cycle, she promised to preserve the painting just like what her aunt is doing who is waiting for someone and had time leapt. A never ending waiting perhaps?

[@hialyssah]

I just watched this movie and like you, the third act bothered me less because of the over-all movie. But when i started to think about the third act, man, some of it dont really line up at all.

[@Ranko_o3o]

I too thought it was a mess at first but the more i thought about it (and believe me, i have more than one should) the clearer it becomes that the way the story unfolds and ends is not only the best possible but also the one who makes the most sense and that has the least paradoxes (and every single one left elevates the ending's feelings). I think they knew what they were doing to the smallest of details* and the ending was meticulously crafted to be picked apart and bargained with by the viewer, "what if this instead, why not that, they should've done X..." because it's not satisfying at the surface level and this makes the viewer deeply attatched and involved (which wouldn't be the case if the story had a conventionnal architecture). * : At 18:15 into the movie, there is a clock that shows 18:15. I love this movie so much i plan to get a 01 tatoo.

[@avatarofwoo]

I agree. It also forces the feelings of the main character on the audience itself. I also believe there are a lot of decent possible explanations for those questions that fans have already come up with. My personal answer is that Chiaki feels so rejected due to his avoided confession, that while he could explain everything, that would alter the course of history more than he already has and decided against it and runs off (reflecting both some maturity and some of his initial immaturity of stealing the time nut in the first place). Also I'm not sure if one can leap forward in time either lol

[@Lowart]

Hm...I agree that this film has an amazing attention to detail. (I'm hoping to focus more on that in a video on Hosoda's work after I've seen more of it; I already have enough material just from my notes on this movie alone to talk about his style and that attention to detail.) And thanks for pointing that out about the clock! That's so cool! While I think ambiguity can work as you're saying, with placing the viewer in the protagonist's mindset and getting the viewer deeply involved, to me it did the opposite. Thinking about the logic of it pushed me out of the emotional experience a bit, even if the film was still emotionally resonant. But there's no one right way to view this sort of thing, so I also understand where you're coming from, and why it would make this connect with you even more. A 01 tattoo sounds like a cool idea! Nice and simple, but also with quite a bit of meaning.

[@Ranko_o3o]

I had the idea about the tatoo after the third time watching the movie and it's only grown on me since but it's not something to take lightly so i'll wait a lot more before inking it ^^ Fun fact : during one of the summer olympics there was a random shot of athletes stretching inbetween events and some dude on the grass had a 01 tatoo, i searched for years but i couldn't find his name nor can i remember the date or channel. But i know fore sure a weeb went to the olympics !

[@Lowart]

That is a fun fact! Not being able to find that would drive me nuts! And yeah, it's always good to think through things like tattoos really carefully, so it's good to hear that you're doing that

[@iasminehrich]

@32943810143938 32943810143938 OMG that's crazy I need to watch again and take my conclusions

[@lukacola7296]

The score is so good in this film

[@xiixheng8292]

Omg After years I finally decided to look up if anyone ever made any analysis And it’s bcuz ever since my first viewing back in 2008 I had the same questions towards the 3rd act But I think the reason as to why he can stopped time is might have been Always an options but by stopping time it has some repercussions but he wanted to be able to save kousuke and the fact it is his last. He wanted to have a proper goodbye to Makoto. And he probably wasn’t lying that revealing time travelling is an offence

[@littlekitsune1]

This is great timing because I actually saw this movie for the first time just last night so it's fresh in my mind. I think you covered all my thoughts on it pretty well, and the things you mentioned are the reason that I feel it's one of the weakest Mamoru Hosoda films (though at least it's far better than Summer Wars, imo... Don't even get me started on that...) despite having a nice structure built around believable characters. The most frustrating thing about the plot twist was that it could have so easily been fixed or at least smoothed out by just having the "I'm going to disappear because you found out about time travel" thing explained as a kind of "people knowing too much about the future will inevitably change the future and therefore I and certain other things might not exist" thing. It's still not great, but I feel it would be more believable than having that rule without explanation, only to have it be broken later by Makoto going back in time to tell Chiaki that she knows about time travel and the future but then suddenly he doesn't have to disappear because... uh, reasons. I also agree that the painting didn't get any importance for essentially being the driving force of the plot. I get that it may have been going for the whole "the most mundane things can cause a domino effect" theme, but it was a bit extreme to not have any reason why seeing an old painting meant so much to Chiaki. Oh well, like I said, I agree with the video in that it was a mostly positive experience. But I think in this case that just made the flawed bits all the more frustrating. Which is a shame, but the movie still deserves the praise for what it did do successfully.

[@deVillefort63]

"then suddenly he doesn't have to disappear because... uh, reasons." He *did* have to disappear at that moment. Go back and watch the scene again, along with the ending. He disappears from the present and goes back to the future after Makoto tells him she knows his secret. The film all but spells it out for you. The only difference is that the second time, Makoto was prepared for that fact, and she got a chance to say goodbye before he left. I agree, the movie is a bit vague about *why* he has to disappear. But it is absolutely consistent about the fact that he does have to if his secret is discovered. The ending in no way contradicts this.

[@littlekitsune1]

The first time made it sound like he'd disappear as in die, since he just vanished without a charge left to return home. The second time he still had his charge left and that was why he could return to the future, as far as I understood. Why would running out of charges be such a big deal if you could just return home by telling someone about the future? That's not typically a consequence, just a freebie.

[@deVillefort63]

Hm. Interesting. I was under the impression both times that it meant him being pulled back to the future regardless of his own will because his ability to stay in the past is somehow predicated upon his not letting other people know that he's from the future. I'll have to watch the movie again to see if I can come away with your impression if I look at it a certain way. Out of curiosity, did you watch the English dub, which is what i did? If not, then I'm wondering if this is one of those cases where the dub's translation is clearer than the subtitle track about what's going on. That sort of thing has happened before [see the dub of Howl's Moving Castle, for instance.]

[@littlekitsune1]

It is very possible I missed something, so I'll have to be on the lookout if I ever watch it again. And no, I watched it in the original language. So that might have something to do with it, as well. I have often seen people having completely different interpretations of characters or scenes depending on if they watched dub or sub.

[@deVillefort63]

Yeah, its interesting to see what impressions different translations can give. I'm no expert, but I get the impression that [barring any 4kids-style butchery] English dub scripts tend to be more polished translations overall, with attention paid not just to conveying the intended meaning, but also to sounding natural to the ear of a native-English speaker, since the dialogue will be heard in that language. English subtitle tracks that accompany the Japanese audio seem to focus on conveying the intended meaning and nothing else- and occasionally, they can be too literal when a slightly more liberal translation would actually better convey the intended meaning. Again, i don't speak Japanese, so I don't know for certain, but that's the impression I've gotten from my years of anime viewing. So i was just curious if a bit of that was going on here. Maybe I should try watching the film both ways to see how different I find the experience. For the record, I'm neither a subtitle purist nor a dub-only guy. Unless I can confirm from reliable sources that a dub track or a subtitle track horrendously butchers the material, I'm happy watching my anime either way. Sometimes, i wind up with a preference for specific shows/films, but that's typically a subjective thing.

[@universalspaceexpeditioner8259]

I believe the unanswered questions have more to do with the ''future world' and the laws that abide it and that this should remain a mystery to us. What we know that was confirmed in the film by Chiaki is that he was allowed to come here to see the painting but he was supposed to live after a few months but he staid for over a year I think. Another law is that once the person from the future is compromised he has to live that timeline in less than 48 hours. That's all we know. So it's not really a messy third act, it's just has a mystery behind it. I do agree that the big reveal felt somewhat off when all these new info was dumped unto is to not lead to something grande and that maybe they could have pulled it better. But it is what it is. Still a great flim.

[@deeksharawat9799]

Well... I think I'm too late to comment but I'ma put this theory that the Aunt and makoto were the same person. And aunt lost chiaki the last time because he told her the truth and disappeared and once disappeared a person can't be brought back. And she felt blamed for it. She realized it very late that she have that one jump left and chiaki has already disappeared by the time. So this time she wanted to help the younger version of herself not to let chiaki disappear but she can't do it directly because she also might disappear too. if we remember ,chiaki said he'll disappear tomorrow ,and aunt tells makoto that same evening that she and her are not same , and that motivated makoto to go back in time the same night before chiaki disappears because he'll disappear tomorrow. So aunt saved chiaki but this might already be in a loop that aunt when young had saved chiaki but when she grew up to be the Aunt herself she realized that she must go back in time and play the role of aunt witch otherwise the past might get alter. So she went back in time to play the role she remembers her aunt played. And the picture that is in Aunt's room is just picture of a bit older makoto ( probably in college) and chiaki being together . Chiaki went back to future and makoto has her 90 jumps left... so chiaki from future can get the device again to meet makoto and she also can leap to his era and that probably when they dated while being in college together. But as they cannot alter their reality as both of them know how it leads to disaster and the time must go on so they cannot get married or have future together. So maybe chiaki left forever after dating her in the college and when aunt said that she thought makoto would date someone totally different in college , maybe she meant a different chiaki or maybe her current lover after chiaki left her , who's totally different than what chiaki is like.

[@ranjanmallik5022]

You are right about it...,very genuine review...👍👍👍🔥

[@CAC-yn3cb]

Thinking aunty witch is Makoto in the future is a simple yet not well thought of "solution". First of all her aunt is the main character in the book this movie is based on. Something similar happened to aunty witch and that's it. Now the only thing that is strange is that both their experiences with time leap and their relationship with a boy from the future have something to do with the painting. Whether it was the same boy or not it was definitely someone who went back in time to manipulate them both into restoring that specific painting in hopes that either they'd see their loved one in the future or accepting they would never meet again but that, by granting him his wish (with the painting restored) aunty witch and Makoto would make this boy happy. "See you in the future" meaning when I see the painting restored I "will see you again". With regards to what is mentioned in this video: Time freezes at the end when all is revealed. I think this is more of a metaphore. Everything she either knew or thought she knew is wrong and it is somehow a shock also to learn the boy she now realizes she loves is going away for good. Therefore for the main characters "time stops". He is not going to disappear from existence he is is "going to disappear" from that specific time by going back to the future. How do people in the future know he told someone about time travel...maybe because they can register all the times Makoto jumped?? Or simply being true to not being deceitful as a quality from people of the future without the need of a real monitoring of their actions

[@willowd0ll]

I remember I used to watch this movie every Friday after school. I would walk straight into the living room, kick my shoes off and lie on the couch eating a chocolate bar. I remember once my friends came over to my house and I forced them to watch it, but instead I turned the Japanese version on instead of the English version. They watched as I recounted the entire English dialogue for the whole movie. I remember them thinking I knew Japanese, but in reality I'd just seen the movie so many times I knew all the lines.

[@KiDSZN]

Does it have a happy ending?

[@willowd0ll]

@@KiDSZN if I remember correctly the ending is very strange. I dont remember it being a happy ending, but i may have been too young to understand. the last 15-20 minutes of the movie are very strange and very melancholy, though.

[@KiDSZN]

@@willowd0ll I see , ok thank you 🙏

[@tacotimmer8288]

The soba that leapt through time!

[@Param_Shantih]

The more you think ,more you'll be confused .So come to an ending,happy ending and go with that.

[@arihkm]

I am 14 years late..... But i love this movie soo much

[@KellsKats]

I understand your point. But for me at least, I don’t believe the ending is ruined at all. I believe a lot of the questions you’re having have answers that can be inferred. For example, why does time stop? Well maybe Chiaki actually knows how to use the time device correctly. We never see him leap so maybe leaping isn’t the proper way to use it. Maybe the time device has more functionality that we just never see because it’s attached to a girl who didn’t even know how to begin to use it without a hint from her Aunt. Chiaki’s future is implied to be extremely broken. Post apocalyptic even. It’s very possible that Chiaki wasn’t even supposed to use the device. If I remember correctly, I believe he says “A device is made…” implying there is only 1 time device. It very well could be that he stole it and used it for his own selfish gain. Which would lead into the themes perfectly because his own meddling lead to Makato gaining her time abilities and the entire movie even happening. When he has to go because he “Broke the rule” it could very well be him realizing he’s the cause of everything that happened. All because he wanted to feel some peace. Which ironically he felt without even seeing the painting by just living and making friends. So… he leaves. Making sure he can’t screw up anything even more. My point isn’t that “ur dumb for not thinking about this bleh bleh bleh” my point is that the details aren’t important for what the story is conveying. We DON’T NEED to see how destroyed the future is. Just Chiaki saying how he’s never seen a place with so many people is enough to pick up on what’s implied. Over explanation can ruin simple stories… and I truly believe the open endedness of the third act is the best way they could handle the twist.

[@louiscyphre5210]

Sadly, for me this is the case, where i can appreciate how well designed this anime is, however i just cant connect to this story on a personal level. A shame really, cause i always like listening to your thoughts~ Honestly, i would love to see your thoughts on my favorite short anime - Kigeki. It's just so rich in style, simple, yet elegant. Maybe on short anime stories in general.

[@ltsoul9751]

I agree! the ending was always a problem for me! emotional.. but so many things as you stated didnt make sense. Still love it though!

[@Lowart]

Yeah it's still a really good movie. Thanks for watching :)

[@eve..9391]

After the movie i searched the web while drowning in tears for some opinions, and theories since the ending really left me sadly hanging..

[@kang1983]

this films ofc isnt perfect its really messy but i still find it one of my favourite films of all time !

[@aniflowers1998]

I think he didn't go back becouse he "forgot". He mentioned how he just wanted to stay shortly, but all of a sudden it was summer becouse he had so much fun with his new friends. And the reason he stayed long enough to make those friends in the first place was probably that he was afraid someone evil might find the "time nut". He is just a teenage after all. I can imagine him panicking. When he doesn't know when he lost the nut in the first place this would have also made it hard to travel back to before he lost it. So yeah, I never questioned his motives to stay. Just his reason for leaving (and I asume he just left in a "leaving the town" sort of way. Still stuck in the same time, but somewhere else)

[@delicatedissonance8025]

This was a great video, thanks a lot

[@huriking7234]

She created 100s of parallel worlds and probably was happy in about 2

[@pwnmonkeyisreal]

great video man!

[@Lowart]

Thanks! :)

[@Renato99873]

Great video!!

[@business9578]

Had to go watch the film just because of this video. (watched it before not after just btw)

[@silviogrijalva8801]

I felt sorry for the guy that got bullied in part because of her

[@anarchy_x2]

me too lol they never really went into detail with that lmfao

[@lamp6909]

It’s still interesting like the movie Your Name. Or maybe I’m just a anime simp

[@paoda-ven]

Thank you for this.

[@IamMeHere2See]

Time travel: it ^@&%$ with continuity. It's what keeps me from enjoying most time travel stories, especially those where the mechanics of it feature prominently in the plot (and yes, this includes 'Back to the Future' & 'Looper'). While I did end up enjoying TGWLTT, I can honestly say that I had no desire to really pick it up again. I'd watch it if a friend was curious & hadn't seen it, but I didn't end up buying a copy for myself. Now, "Your Name" was a different story, mostly because of the shear wealth of themes & culture that kept drawing me back to learn more. What is your take on that movie?

[@Lowart]

I enjoyed Your Name quite a bit! I do have some problems with it (some of the time travel stuff and characterization, though it's by no means anything that ruins the film for me), but overall I think it is a lovely movie. I, in particular, love the soundtrack. I have a video on that aspect of it, actually, if you're curious about that sort of thing :)

[@niya2366]

I just want to know why that painting was so important for chiaki ,so much that just for one look he time leapt??

[@pedropires4528]

Thank you for your explanation it was really good. Yes the end is very confusing for me the most confusing part is the last dialogue between Makoto and her aunt I don't get it we all know her aunt knows a lot about this but how much she might be connected to Makoto? Then How can they stop time? And the disapperance is also confusing like...does he die? And there are other flaws but still the movie is good

[@wtypethai4664]

I fully agree with you that this anime is a mess but after a lots of thought I think every mess in this anime might be intended! The story of The Girl Who Leapt Through Time is about messy girl doing messy thing. Things that no one can explain and it's not necessary to explain. Same as anime, there are many scene that did not explain and unnecessary to explain. It's left viewer to feel confuse and uncertain (like Makoto). The intend of director is not to understand those things but understand character. What do she feel from this story? What lesson do you learn from her? And if you think about Mamoru Hosoda who is also 'auteur'. (Mamoru=Makoto) This anime is a big leapt in career and his 'real' first film (Other film that he direct before is studio request.) Looking back there probably many things that he want to undo/redo (especially when he work in Ghibli) but in reality you can not do anything about past. In the end you can only accept the past, smile and move on.

[@smurfette_blues7922]

Yeah i dont care that the movie never explains the mechanics of the time traveling stuff. Honestly with time travelling movies it feels pointless to pay attention to it, if characters and themes are handled well.

[@kurshtivk8876]

i never heard this anime but tiktok tell me about this

[@christianboi7690]

I feel like when movies have a lot of silence like Santa’s apprentice, even when it’s not that well written of a story it always feels really nice and like the sound director knows what he’s doing. (Edit) not sure why I used Santa’s apprentice as an example.

[@Lowart]

Agreed on silence. Too many films and shows just have music playing as a default, but it's really the silence between the pieces that makes each one stand out and helps to make them memorable.

[@seamuscos9186]

One thing that bugs me is the Aunt Witch says how her first love promised to ‘go back’ but still hasn’t and she told Makoto that she isn’t the one to wait for late appointments, instead SHE runs to meet the guy. I know she did this straight after, but did the Aunt Witch say this in foresight so she doesn’t stay and restore the painting and find another way to meet up with her love of her life-chiaki and restore the art? And why does the art remind chiaki of the future and how does he know this when he’s never seen it? In Aunt Witch’s picture the two boys don’t resemble Chiaki as they both have black hair so does this mean that aunt witch was the one who travelled to the future? This would make sense as the ‘love of her life’ promised to COME BACK. This could mean time travel back. Holy fuck my brain is fried, I hope someone believes in my theory lol... Also the fact that aunt witch was hogging the picture maybe she was trying to prevent chiaki from seeing the picture. Maybe she was the one who burned it in an attempt for chiaki/her lover to return from the future to her past to meet her. Aunt witch also orchestrated the delivery of peaches to her studio. Maybe she wanted to give advice to Makoto. Plus, aunt witch (let’s say she’s makoto) can’t travel to the future but chiaki/lover can as he’s from the future. Perhaps she wanted chiaki to come back to the old era to engage with her old self in an attempt of accomplishing her wish. Witch/old makoto really did ‘run to the appointment.’ But that has me thinking.. chiaki wanted to see this painting that aunt witch was hogging. By Makoto finding out about the time skipping thing then Chiaki has to ‘disappear’ and prevents him from seeing the artwork. So did Aunt witch want this to happen so she didn’t meet chiaki? Holy fuck I had a breakthrough ideal that I forgot.

[@eddyschmit4229]

i didnt think it was a mess. My way of understanding makoto's time travel is i doubt you literally have to jump to activate the time jump. but when she jumps it triggers for her. Chiaki understands how to truly use the time jumps. Pausing time to move around in the present is still jumping through time so it holds up with the theme of the movie. Im sure makoto would do this too but she has barely understanding of how to jump through time. In the future a device that lets you time travel is probably expensive, or illegal. He only has 1 trip because maybe he had to spend everything he had to come by one of the time travel devices. So he wont realistically be able to come back once he uses his last jump.

[@ptmchildofgod8346]

Man I kept searching in what happened to Chiaki when he hit 0. Does he go back in time or does he vanish into thin air?

[@abtinmeister6296]

the ending styll confuses me and nobody can explain it BUT listen JUST Tell me i'm wrong BUT was the TIME travel device a Walnut !??? PLEASE EXPLAIN THIS TO ME T_T

[@kaelensong3386]

Yes!!!!! That's what I have also been saying because she talked to him while also talking to her...

[@deVillefort63]

You know its funny, but your thoughts on the third act could almost be describing my frustrations with the second half of Wolf Children, where the entire plot and the character resolutions wind up being almost entirely dependent upon a dichotomy which has nowhere been established in the film, and which we are given virtually no reason to believe needs to exist. [In fact, we have some evidence in the film itself that the dichotomy *doesn't* necessarily need to be accepted at face value.] I've only seen The Girl Who Leapt Through Time once, so I'm not really able to offer any meaningful counterargument to anything you've said. I didn't have much in the way of any problem with the mechanics at the time, but its possible I overlooked something on first viewing; I might wind up agreeing with you on rewatching the film. Though I will go to bat for the painting thing, insofar as i don't think its particularly important to the story the film wants to to tell for us to know *why* Chiaki wanted to see the painting. That he had a wistful longing for knowledge of something that didn't exist in his own era is sufficient for the film's purpose, since what matters about Chiaki as a character is how he reacted to his surroundings once he had actually reached what for him was the past.

[@Lowart]

Agreed about the painting, and I hope that came across in the video. On its own as a question, I like it; it adds mystery to his character and, thus, helps put us in Makoto's mind. But when it's combined with all the other questions I had--then it ended up feeling like another frustration.

[@dark6bvb]

I really like the ee to this in Shokugeki no Souma

[@scribeeadia1071]

istg whenever time is involved, i always end up getting confused that i have to watch videos like this. same thing happened with your name since again, time is involved

[@greenysleaf0772]

I see a lot of criticism about the films plot, objectivly I also agree it is pretty messy and confusing, but personally I dont think it is like that, sure, maybe the film dosent explain us lots of things, but I belive it was MEANT to be that. The hole film was pretty abstract itself, so it is not crazy to thing they made these misterys ON POURPOSE, lots of artist leave things unexplain so everyone can give them their own interpretation. I belive this applies in this film as well. I dont think the writers made a mistake as basic as not explaining the reason why something happens, when most of the film and its "second act" is about things that happened because of Makotos actions, showing us the consequences and Makoto figuring out why they happened. The second act is pretty much based on explaining why things happened, so it would be pretty irrational for the writers to make a mistake such as that on the most important part of the film, the climax. I cant think on other explanation other than they made this on pourpose, wich I think it was a great choice, it makes the movie even more mysterious, just like its plot... I personally think it makes the movie even more beautiful .

[@themajesticwitchofdramathe539]

the whole point of the movie is that its not supposed to explain things, you’re supposed to come to your own conclusion. ie, if makoto and chiaki meet again in the future or not. it’s pretty much up in the air but i’d personally like to believe that they do meet again.

[@TT-qz9ri]

makoto and chiaki are both danganronpa characters aswell

[@tobeornottobelikebtob1680]

If chiaki was a teenager how old was he when he did the paint ??

[@Param_Shantih]

Soo,chiako is the main character huh...He is the one who used the devide to see the painting and went back to past but there he stayed longer and lost the decice which was later found by the girl . And later Chiako had to go back to his time but time leaping is now known by the girl.soooo....Chiako lived in the past because he was enjoying there more and this thing. That he is from future is now knwn by girl.😂

[@sirfailalotful]

Yes! That’s why I hated that plot twist! It was a really contrived way to force a tragic ending.

[@ricebowoy]

Wow its been years since ive last seen this movie. Few years ago a kids TV channel used to air anime movies like this one and evangelion every saturday night for like 1 or 2 months. Really loved it but I dont think I ever really understood the third act.

[@Lowart]

whoa nelly a kids' TV channel airing Evangelion!? That's wild lol Yeah, there's a lot to love, even if the third act is a bit of a mess. The directing and soundtrack, just to name a couple things, are phenomenal.

[@ricebowoy]

Lowart Well it aired at 8pm so not many kids would watch it

[@Lowart]

ah that makes sense then

[@harrietglover2330]

I love this film so much but I’m kind of confused with the ending someone please explain it to me

[@ericpendragon7993]

Why did he say to her in the end that he would see her in the future? I agree that the 3rd act was a mess.

[@aldrinvillanueva4883]

There must be sequel and it must be chiaki's point of view to explain everything 🙁

[@tomc.1587]

Which side is it where the ranking is shown ?

[@elmantishrimp1689]

I actually just saw this movie a couple weeks ago. Time looping kinda confused me at first.

[@Lowart]

Yeah, it can get pretty tricky