Lights Camera Critic writes: Japanese animated feature films have been brought to global audience through the likes of Hayao Miyazaki (Spirited Away) and Nozumu Sasaki (Akira). Subsequently, they have also raised the bar for animated productions in Japan and globally. Miyazaki, especially, has been seen as the ‘Godfather of Japanese animation’ and anything that doesn’t have the notorious Studio Ghibli trademark has found it tough to gain an audience outside the Asian continent. However, director Mamoru Hosada moves away from his previous works of Digimon: The Movie and One Piece: Baron Omatsuri and the Secret Island to create a refreshing and beautiful look into the concept of ‘time travel’ in a teenager’s world
I would go as far as to say that The Girl Who Leapt Through Time should be a 10/10 or at the very least a 9.
It's a incredible movie and at the time it was a really big breath of fresh air. Alot of people complained about the final parts of the movie when it gets all serious and still others complained about the fact that Chiaki wanting to see the painting made no sense. Which is completely wrong.
SPOILER!!!!
He says things that lead you to believe that the time he comes from is a barren waste land(such as saying there is no Baseball and he had never seem that many people in one place) and Makoto's auntie witch talks about how the painting was done in a time it must have seemed as if the word was ending. So put 2 and 2 together and it's obvious Chiaki came to see the painting so he could see something beautiful that was made in times of grief and thus give himself hope. This is something nearly everyone I know missed in the movie and is part of why they think the last act doesn't work.
The comment about the English dub is also way off course. Considering this dub is on par with some of the other greats out there when nearly everyone in it was a complete unknown(or at least had not done much before) is pretty incredible. There are only a few weak characters and they are all minor. The main characters all sounded great and I personally could not watch the Japanese after having watched the Dub because I thought it sounded odd in comparison. Of course this is opinion and your mileage will vary. I just hate how the review doesn't go into the dub they just say as with anime the dub is weak. When dubs have grown in leaps and bounds in past years.
Overall the movie is ALOT stronger then the review gives it credit for. The parts most say are the weak parts are not. You just need to pay more attention and look a little deeper which is what makes any movie great. It's what makes it hold up for repeat viewings.