Absolutely superb, and ultimately more satisfying than Shinkai’s 5cm/sec, which was a bit too maudlin for my tastes. Tokikake skillfully integrates many of my favorite themes: time-travel, wistful high school nostalgia, blissful slice-of-life, and understated romance. I personally enjoyed this film very much, but your mileage may vary – it certainly isn’t for everyone. So whenever a blogger says you MUST WATCH THIS MOVIE NOW!!111!!, you might want to take that advice with a grain of salt.
Konno Makoto is an ordinary tomboy living an ordinary high school life, but things turn complicated when she discovers a time-travel device. She abuses her time traveling abilities to shape the near future, but soon discovers the heavy consequences of such carefree manipulation of time. I’m being deliberately vague because I think everyone should watch this for themselves rather than read a synopsis.
Art and animation were gorgeous; the environments and characters were lively and vibrant. The score perfectly enhanced the mood, weaving in and out of the scenes rather than blasting an in-your-face “sad theme” or “battle theme”, as most anime scores are apt to do. The voice acting was excellent as well, leaning towards more realistic tones and speaking styles compared to the typical anime. I believe that the choice of live-action seiyuu over anime seiyuu was one of the best things the producers could have done, as hyperactive over-emoting would be anathema to the subdued mood of the film.
I’ve read some complaints that the film was a bit unsatisfying, and that it could have been much more. While the writer could have chosen to probe deeper into the time travel possibilities, leading to potentially world-altering consequences, he chose instead to limit the scope, which I felt was a smart move given the limited time-frame. Doing otherwise could lead to a potentially unwieldy and hollow monstrosity, not unlike many Gonzo series. That being said, there are certainly several “total conversions” I could envision the film undergoing; perhaps a what-if sampler in the vein of Sliding Doors would have been interesting as well. Makoto could have dated both Kousuke and Chiaki and decided which she liked better? Alternatively, something along the lines of Ken Grimwood’s classic time travel novel Replay (one of my favorite sci fi novels) would have taken the film down a more sobering path, exploring several complete lifetimes. Ultimately though, Yasutaka Tsutsui’s vision serves just as well, and the youthful exuberance of the film shines through any potential doubts about its worth.
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This movie really illustrates why you should underline your numbers in situations where there could be any confusion. Think Uno cards. Also, what the heck would you do if the numbers were on the small of your back, like a tramp stamp?
I liked all the running scenes for some reason. I agree that the movie was very nice, but I had to be in a specific mood to sit down and enjoy it.
I just now watched this movie (great timing with your review!) and I have to say it was excellent. It really made me think if time travel is such a good thing as it might first appear to be so it left a pretty strong impression on me. I have to agree it was a good thing they didn’t delve too deeply into the concept of time travel simply because the story itself revolved around some pretty minor events. If there was one thing that left me unsatisfied though it was the rather loose ending between Makoto and Chiaki. Some kind of clue of what happened afterwards would have been nice, even if it was a single frame of something relevant. Even so this was a great watch with lots of comedic, emotional and just simple feel good scenes.
This anime hit a lot of the right buttons for me, so hopefully it gets released here in the US. I really liked the movie. :3