Toki o Kakeru Shōjo (1983 film)
The Girl Who Leapt Through Time (Japanese: 時をかける少女, Hepburn: Toki o Kakeru Shōjo) is a 1983 Japanese science fiction film directed and edited by Nobuhiko Obayashi, written by Wataru Kenmotsu, and starring idol Tomoyo Harada in her first film. It is based on the 1965 Japanese novel of the same name and was released by Toei in Japan on July 16, 1983. It has since been released internationally on DVD with English subtitles under various titles including "The Little Girl Who Conquered Time", "Girl of Time", "The Girl Who Cut Time", among others. It  was the first film adaptation of "The Girl Who Leapt Through Time", about a high-school girl who gains the ability to time-travel and repeatedly relives the same day in a time loop. The film was a major box office success in Japan, becoming the second highest-grossing Japanese film of 1983. It was followed by several later cinematic adaptations, including a 2006 anime film and a . Cast. The following are the film's main cast. Reception. Box office. "Toki o Kakeru Shōjo" was a major box office success in Japan. It earned a distribution income (gross rental) of  in 1983, becoming the second highest-grossing Japanese film of 1983, behind only "Antarctica". The total box office gross revenue of "Toki o Kakeru Shōjo" was in Japan. Critical reception. In 1985, Donald Willis of "Variety" described the film as "more affecting than affected, informed less by cloying sentimentality and relatively honest sentiment." He commented on Tomoyo Harada, finding that she "proves herself a natural. Although she is convincing at what she does, the evidence here suggests she might have the range to do much anything else." He criticized Ryōichi Takayanagi's acting, stating that his delivery "of lines is  undoubtedly the result of his brain-waves being controlled by a galaxy inhabited by monotonous no-talents." In 2010, Marc Walkov of the Far East Film Festival gave the film a positive review, describing it as a "bittersweet story about the transitoriness of love and the importance of one’s memories in keeping the past alive." He also notes that the film anticipated plot elements of the Hollywood film "Groundhog Day" (1993), such as the protagonist repeatedly reliving the same day and thus being able to predict events that take place during the day. Theme song. The song was the  popular theme-song for the 1983 movie, inspired by the story, written by Yumi Matsutoya, and originally sung by the film's lead actress, then-rookie idol Tomoyo Harada. There are several different versions. Harada versions. The first version was released in April 1983 as the A-side of Tomoyo Harada's third single , with a B-side "Zutto Soba ni" also written by Yumi Matsutoya and two different cover pictures, and was included on the original soundtrack album for the film . A second version of this song was released in 1983 on Harada's first album "Birthday album" , and  in 1986 on her compilation album . A third version was recorded in 1987 for her greatest hits album "From T" , and a fourth one in 2007 for her twenty-fifth anniversary original album "Music & Me" . Matsutoya versions. Matsutoya covered her own song in the same year on the B-side of her single and on her album "Voyager" in 1983. She later rewrote it and renamed it as to be the theme song for the new 1997 "Toki o Kakeru Shōjo" film, along with another of her songs: "~We are not alone, forever~", both released on the original soundtrack album  for the film and on her album in 1997. Other versions. The original song was adapted in a commercial for noodles with then-beginning idol Yuki Kudo parodying the 1983 movie shortly after its release. Voice actress Ai Shimizu also covered the song as the B-side of her first single "Angel Fish" in 2003 . Hong Kong singer Sandy Lam covered this song in Cantonese in 1985.