In March and April, I did a retrospective as part of Anime Files about the writer-producer-directorMamoru Hosoda who created films like Summer Wars, Wolf Children, and The Boy and the Beast. I really liked them all, but I was especially taken by his first major work, The Girl Who Leapt Through Time from 2006. It’s the sweet and funny story of a teenager who, as the title suggests, gets the power of time travel though jumping. Now, the title is being adapted to television in a new show debuting this summer.
According to Rocket News, the series will broadcast on Japan’s Nippon TV beginning in July and will focus on the titular lead character and on her friend/love interest Ken, a teen from the future who ended up in the present after using up his own time leaps long ago. Ken in the show will be played by Fuma Kikuchi, a member of the many-membered boy band Sexy Zone. Oh dear heavens, how I love Japanese culture.
Hosoda’s film was based on a 1967 novel by Yasutaka Tsutsui which later became a television series in 1972. Every decade since its publication, the novel has seen at least one adaptation to film or television. Following the 2006 anime, for example, a 2010 live action film was produced. In most of the adaptations, the name of the lead character has been different, a measure to keep each version separate and equal. The novel’s protagonist is named Kazuko Yoshiyama while the main character in the anime is Makoto Konno, with Kazuko appearing in the film as the aunt of the main character whom she turns to for advice. In this new series, the lead will be named Mihane Yoshiyama, alluding to the original novel but being distinct. It’s a weird thing they do, but I really respect it.
While there’s no word yet when and if we’ll get the series in North America, the source material is compelling and engaging enough to make me badly want to seek it out already.
Jump through time down to the comments to share your thoughts on the project!
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