The Girl Who Leapt Through Time
 1976 Japanese edition novel cover | |
| Author | Yasutaka Tsutsui |
|---|---|
| Language | Japanese |
| Genre | Drama, Romance, Science fiction novel |
| Publisher | Kadokawa Shoten |
Publication date | 1976 |
| Publication place | Japan |
| Media type | Print (Magazine & Paperback) |
| ISBN | ISBN 4-04-130510-1 Parameter error in {{ISBNT}}: invalid character |
Toki o Kakeru Shōjo (時をかける少女, "The Little Girl Who Conquered 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.
Plot summary
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 1976 (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: Akume 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).[1]
Film, TV or theatrical adaptations
1983 film
The 1983 live-action film is a direct adaptation of the novel, released on July the 16th 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 1994 – March 19 1994 |
The drama Toki o Kakeru Shōjo (時をかける少女)[2] 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)[3] 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
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.
2004 manga title
The novel has been adapted in 2004 into a two-volume manga called Toki o Kakeru Shōjo (時をかける少女), 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 as A Girl Who Runs Through Time.
2006 animated film
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. A manga story, set as a prelude to the film, was serialized in Kadokawa Shoten's Shōnen Ace manga magazine between April 26 2006 and June 26 2006; the chapters were later collected into a single bound volume which went on sale on July 26 2006.
References
- ^ "La Traversée du temps" (in French). Retrieved 2008-06-07.
- ^ "TokiKake 1994 TV series listed on the TV Drama Database" (in Japanese).
- ^ "TokiKake 1997 film on the SF Movie Data Bank" (in Japanese).