Just another day in the life of high school student Makoto Konno. Late for school, fail a pop quiz, step in dog poop. Then killed by a train? Makoto awakens and realizes she has somehow escaped death. After a conversation with her aunt. Makoto realizes she can go back in time by performing time leaps. She then carries on with her life, by taking advantage of the new ability that she somehow obtained. All the while, completely oblivious to any possibility of the consequences.-summary

One of the more interesting and impressive stories out there in the manga and anime world. Written by Ranmura Kotone with character designs by Yoshiki Sadamoto. The Girl Who Leapt Through Time is a "coming of age" tale that well examines the growth of a character. This young character obtains an ability that I'm sure many people have laid in bed, and fantasized possessing many times over, which is the ability to travel back in time in order to change events. No matter how many times I revisit the story in either manga or anime form. I can only imagine how much of a gift it would've been to go back. There were several things I use to see myself changing, of course, mainly for very selfish and devilish desires. Perhaps that's the reason I was never given that power.

I really enjoyed the direction of the story. Makoto is portrayed as a carefree girl without the slightest bit of malice in her soul. It could have been very easy to take the negative route, and deliver a dark story that focused on greed and obsession. Instead, the story is very light hearted and innocent, with Makoto using her ability to extend karaoke sessions, and baseball games with her two male friends Chiaki and Kousuke. She also uses the power to correct minor mistakes such as school lateness, failing quizzes, and botching her cooking class. She also uses the ability in an attempt to reverse events that even involves unexpected crushes. However, there are negative side effects even for the smallest issues.

The story shifts from its comedic edge to deliver more of a teen drama, that doesn't seem to be handled in a hamfisted or forced way. Instead, it's introduced and resolved in a very believable manner. Especially, when considering that the person is a teen.

The writing continues to be focused with the constant growth of the main character. The consequences of performing the time leaps begins to take its toll on the lives of others, in which Makoto finds herself jumping continuously to put things back in order. The character development on the part of Makoto is pretty strong. The other characters aren't really given the same treatment, but they aren't completely neglected because you get to know them pretty well.

I enjoyed the overall use and evaluation of the time leaping concept. Mainly because it teaches one that past mistakes shouldn't be dwelled upon. Instead, we should move on and deal with our issues, no matter how miniscule or major they can be. Sometimes that's just the way it has to be, and the story handles it rather well.

The book has some pretty good, consistent, and well detailed artwork. The facial expressions deliver when displaying the characters emotions, and also works in the stories comedic edge. My only problem lies in the format. The dialogue bubbles at times are done in a careless manner. Sometimes it's difficult to tell who is talking. I found myself backtracking a few times to see who's saying what.

Now this doesn't play into my cons, because I'm able to separate a book from a film, and take them both for what they are, but it must be mentioned. There is a noticeable difference between the manga and the anime, in my view, the anime is far superior for one reason. It does a much better job portraying the negatives in time leaping. The repercussions that Makoto had to endure were a lot more serious in the anime, which clearly told a better story on why some things should be left alone. The drama was simply better all around.

The Girl Who Leapt Through Time is still an entertaining manga. I only recommend the manga to those who are more into reading. Those who saw the anime really aren't going to learn anything new. I'm sure they're only going to feel like putting the book down and reaching for the film. Therefore, in the case of those folks. It's possible time will be wasted bothering with this. The manga is 194 pages spread across four chapters.

Chapter 1:Makoto
Chapter 2:Chiaki
Chapter 3:Kousuke
Chapter 4:Mirai
Epilogue:Kazuko

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Film:
Girl Who Leapt Through Time


Pros:
-Interesting theme and concept
-Likable characters
-Good artwork

Cons:
-Reading format is somewhat off