In the quiet doldrums of an empty high school in the peak of summer in mid-July, Makoto (Riisa Naka), a perennially chaotic teenager, inadvertently discovers a key to time travel. But what are the dangers of exploiting a gift that seemingly no one else can employ? What is the material moral difference between using time travel to eat teppanyaki and avoiding an awkward, but potentially important conversation with your best friend?

Nearly two decades after its release, Mamoru Hosoda's The Girl Who Leapt Through Time is still brimming with a uniqueness in style and an appreciably astute understanding of teenage angst. Its lasting place in the anime zeitgeist is due as much to Hosoda's reverie-like animation as to its trenchant themes: Makoto’s sudden powers could be read as an allegory

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