The Girl Who Leapt Through Time (2006)

Based on one of the most popular and most frequently adapted modern stories in Japanese literature (Paprika author Yasutaka Tsutsui's 1965 novel Toki o Kakeru Shojo), the award winning, feature-length anime The Girl Who Leapt Through Time comes to DVD from Manga Entertainment on 8th December 2008 riding a wave of critical acclaim heralding it as 'bittersweet, beautiful and absolutely brilliant' (SFX -- 5 Star review), 'sweetly entertaining' (Daily Express), and 'warm and engaging' (Metro).

This 'beautifully made' (Evening Standard) animated adaptation of Tsutsui's charming sci-fi fantasy is a humorous and heartfelt story of a young girl who, through the gift of time travel, discovers that accidents happen for a reason and that friendships, saying what you feel and possessing an ability to 'seize the day' are the most important things in any individual's life. Unlike the other girls at school, scatterbrained, tomboyish high school student Makoto Konono prefers hanging out with the boys and playing baseball to doing the usual teenage girl stuff. And, despite her two best friends being the eligible and hunkish Chiaki Mamiya and Kousuke Tsuda, she has little time for romance.

Her somewhat unconventional outlook on life changes dramatically one particularly accident-prone day when she literally stumbles upon the power to leap backwards through time. Immediately realising the personal benefits to be had from her newfound gift, Motoko is soon whizzing back in time to readjust past events to her liking - even little things like 're-sitting' a test she has previously failed and arriving home before her sister does in order to claim the last piece of dessert from the fridge.

But it becomes all too apparent that each change of event she makes, no matter how minor, can result in serious and potentially disastrous repercussions for those around her. As Motoko repeatedly revisits the past to right the wrongs she has unwittingly created, she becomes aware that time, even for one with such control over it, can run out.

Produced by Madhouse Studio (Paprika; Millennium Actress; Perfect Blue), directed by Studio Ghibli veteran Mamoru Hosoda (director of Digimon: The Movie and the originally intended director of Howl's Moving Castle before Hayao Miyazaki took the reins), with art direction by longtime Ghibli art director Nizou Yamamoto (Princess Mononoke; Little Nemo: Adventures In Slumberland) and character design by Yoshiyuki Sadamoto (Neon Genesis Evangelion), The Girl Who Leapt Through Time was the first ever recipient of the Japanese Academy's newly formed Best Animation Film Award in 2007.

Please note - Disc special features are subject to change, may differ from format to format and/or may differ from region to region.