The Girl Who Leapt Through Time

Not to be confused with Sora Kake Girl.

This article is about the original novel. For the 2006 animated film, see The Girl Who Leapt Through Time.

Toki o Kakeru Shōjo

1967 Japanese edition novel cover
Author	Yasutaka Tsutsui
Language	Japanese
Genre	Drama, Romance, Science fiction novel
Publisher	Kadokawa Shoten
Publication date	1967
Publication place	Japan
Media type	Print (Magazine & Paperback)
ISBN	ISBN 4-04-130510-1
OCLC	55101281

Toki o Kakeru Shōjo (時をかける少女, "The Girl Who Dashes Through Time") is a Japanese novel written by Yasutaka Tsutsui. It tells the story of Kazuko Yoshiyama, a girl who accidentally acquires the ability to travel through time. The novel was serialized in the youth magazines Chu-3 Course and Kou-1 Course, from November 1965 to May 1966. The novel has been adapted many times, notably as a television series in 1972 and a film in 1983. It also inspired the 2006 Japanese animated feature film The Girl Who Leapt Through Time and the 2010 Live Action Film remake.

Plot

Kazuko Yoshiyama, a third-year junior high school student, is cleaning the school science lab with her classmates, Kazuo Fukamachi and Gorō Asakura, when she smells a lavender-like scent and faints. After three days, strange events transpire around Kazuko, including the burning of Gorō's house after an earthquake. The next morning, at the exact moment of a car accident, Kazuko is transported 24 hours into the past.

She relives the day and relates her strange experience to Kazuo and Gorō. They don't believe her at first, but they are convinced when she accurately predicts the earthquake and ensuing fire. Fukushima, their science teacher, explains Kazuko's new ability is called "teleportation" and "time-leap", and to solve the riddle of her power she must leap back four days.

Finally, Kazuko's determination enables her to make the leap. Back in the science room she meets a mysterious man who has assumed her friend Kazuo's identity. He is really "Ken Sogoru", a time-traveler from AD 2660. His intersection with the girl's life is the accidental effect of a "time-leaping" drug. Ken remains for a month and Kazuko falls in love with him. When he leaves, he erases all memories of himself from everyone he's met, including Kazuko. As the book ends Kazuko has the faint memory of somebody promising to meet her again every time she smells lavender.

Publication history

The novel was first serialized in the Japanese youth magazines Chu-3 Course and Kō-1 Course, from November 1965 to May 1966, and has been regularly re-edited in Japan ever since, notably in 1967 (ISBN 4-04-130510-1), in 1997 for the release of the second film (ISBN 4-89-456306-1), and in a new version in 2006 for the release of the animated film, including two more stories: Akumu no shinsô and Hateshinaki tagen uchû (ISBN 4-04-130521-7). The novel is also published in foreign countries, like France (La Traversée du Temps, 1983).

Adaptations

1983 film

Main article: Toki o Kakeru Shōjo (1983 film)

The 1983 live-action film is a direct adaptation of the novel, released on July 16, 1983 in Japan by Toei, directed by Nobuhiko Obayashi, with a screenplay by Wataru Kenmotsu, and starring idol Tomoyo Harada in her first film. It's been since released internationally on DVD, with English sub-titles, under several unofficial English titles (The Little Girl Who Conquered Time, Girl Of Time, The Girl Who Cut Time, among others).

1994 drama

The Girl Who Leapt Through Time
Drama VHS cover (Yuki Uchida)
Original release
Release	February 19 – March 19, 1994

The drama Toki o Kakeru Shōjo (時をかける少女) is a five-episode Japanese television live-action TV series broadcast on Fuji TV between February 19 and March 19, 1994, directed by Masayuki Ochiai and Yûichi Satô, with screenplay by Ryôichi Kimizuka and music by Joe Hisaishi. It stars the then-rookie idol Yuki Uchida in the main role, and also features the writer of the original book, Yasutaka Tsutsui, and the then-unknown idols Miho Kanno (the first Tomie), Ranran Suzuki and her then-rabbit-cosplayed-partner in the children TV show Ponkikies: future J-pop star Namie Amuro.

Cast

• Yuki Uchida as Kazuko Yoshiyama
• Yoshihiko Hakamada as Kazuo Fukamachi
• Gamon Kaai as Gorō Asakura
• Ranran Suzuki as Mariko Kanda
• Miho Kanno
• Leo Morimoto
• Namie Amuro
• Yasutaka Tsutsui
• Kyoko Yoshizawa
• B-saku Sato
• Yoko Moriguchi

Theme song

"Ningyo" (mermaid) by Nokko (her fourth solo single, on her fourth solo album Colored).

1997 film

Toki o Kakeru Shōjo
1997 film DVD cover (Nana Nakamoto)
Directed by	Haruki Kadokawa
Release date	November 8, 1997
Language	Japanese

A second Japanese live-action film Toki o Kakeru Shōjo (時をかける少女) was released in Japan on November 8, 1997, directed by Haruki Kadokawa, with a screenplay by Ryôji Itō, Chiho Katsura and Haruki Kadokawa, starring beginner Nana Nakamoto in the main role. The film is narrated by the previous 1983 film's lead-actress Tomoyo Harada, and is set in 1965, when the novel was published for the first time. The film poster was used as the new cover for the 1997 edition of the novel.

Cast

• Nana Nakamoto as Kazuko Yoshiyama
• Shunsuke Nakamura as Kazuo Fukamachi
• Mitsuko Baisho
• Takaaki Enoki
• Mariko Hamatani
• Yu Hayami
• Masatô Ibu
• Yoshiko Kuga
• Hironobu Nomura
• Tsunehiko Watase
• Itsumi Yamamura

Theme songs

"Yume no Naka de ~We are not alone, forever~" and "Toki no Canzone", a remake of the 1983 film's theme song, written and sung by Yumi Matsutoya.

2002 TV film

Main article: Morning Musume: Shinshun! Love Stories

The novel was adapted into one third of the Shinshun! Love Stories anthology film starring members of the all-girl J-pop group Morning Musume. The segment was written by Toshio Terada and directed by Kazuhiro Onohara.

2006 animated film

Main article: The Girl Who Leapt Through Time

The Girl Who Leapt Through Time was produced by the animation studio Madhouse and distributed through Kadokawa Herald Pictures, first released in theaters in Japan on July 15, 2006. The film was later released on DVD on April 20, 2007 in Japan in regular and limited editions. A German RC2 DVD (with German and Japanese dub and German and Polish subtitles) was released on September 24, 2007 by Anime Virtual/AV Visionen. The protagonist of the novel is the aunt of the film's protagonist.

2010 film

A third Japanese live-action film adaptation of Toki o Kakeru Shōjo (時をかける少女) was announced in Yahoo Japan and released on March 13, 2010. The theme song of the film will be performed by Ikimono-gakari. The movie features Riisa Naka, who previously voiced the protagonist Makoto Konno in the 2006 animated film, as the lead character, Akari Yoshiyama, the daughter of Kazuko Yoshiyama.

Plot

In 2010, Kazuko Yoshiyama (Narumi Yasuda) works as a pharmaceutical researcher secretly developing a formula for time travel. When she is left comatose after a car accident, her daughter Akari learns of her mother's first love, Kazuo Fukamachi (Kanji Ishimaru), from Kazuko's friend Goro Asakura (Masanobu Katsumura). Believing that finding Kazuo will allow her mother to regain consciousness, Akari uses Kazuko's formula to leap back in time to the 1970s in hopes of finding a younger Kazuo. Instead, she meets and befriends Ryota Mizorogi (Nakao Akiyoshi). Together, they attempt to search for Kazuo, but love begins to blossom between Akari and Ryota, despite the fact that Akari must eventually return to the future.

Manga

The novel was adapted in 2004 into a two-volume manga called The Girl Who Runs Through Time (時をかける少女, Toki o Kakeru Shōjo), illustrated by Gaku Tsugano, and story by Yasutaka Tsutsui (ISBN 4-04-713620-4 & ISBN 4-04-713640-9). The manga was released in English on October 2008 by CMX Manga. A manga set as a prelude to the 2006 film was serialized in Kadokawa Shoten's Shōnen Ace manga magazine between April 26 and June 26, 2006; the chapters were later collected into a single bound volume which went on sale on July 26, 2006. Another manga set as prelude to the 2010 film was serialized in Young Ace magazine.

External links

• Toki o Kakeru Shōjo at IMDb