A girl became capable of traveling to the past. How will she change her confusing present life of recklessness and fear? Tsutsui Yasutaka`s original short story of [The Girl Who Leapt Through Time] has been produced as film and TV drama many times, and among those Obayashi Nobuhiko`s live action film is a teen classic. This film is the fist attempt in animation, done by Japanese veterans including Sadamoto Yoshiyuki ? the character designer on [Neon Genesis Evangelion]. What is significant about this modern interpretation of the original story is the change in the main character while retaining the setting. An ordinary high school girl, Makoto`s time travel is a tool to avoid trivial problems in her life. She is going out with two boyfriends and doesn`t want to get serious and the time travel comes in handy. However, she still needs to think and choose what she really wants when the changes she makes hurt others and become hard to cope with. The film is a stunning realization of a young girl`s psyche and the pain of growing up. (Kwon Yong-min)