The Girl Who Leapt Through Time (2006)

At Kuranose High School in Tokyo, Japan, Makoto Konno discovers a message written on a blackboard and ends up inadvertently falling upon a walnut-shaped object. On her way home, Makoto is ejected into a railroad crossing when the brakes on her bicycle fail and is hit by an oncoming train, but finds herself transported back to the point in time when she was riding her bicycle right before the accident. After entering the Tokyo National Museum to meet with Kazuko Yoshiyama, she explains to Makoto after hearing her story that clearly, she now has the power to “time-leap”, to literally leap through time. At first, Makoto uses her powers to avoid being late, getting perfect grades, and even relive a single karaoke session for several hours, but soon discovers her actions can adversely affect others.

Consequently, Makoto uses most of her leaps frivolously, to prevent undesirable situations from happening, including an awkward love confession from her best friend Chiaki Mamiya. Makoto realizes that she has a numbered tattoo on her arm indicating the limited number of times she can time leap. Using her remaining time leaps, Makoto attempts to make things right for everyone. When Chiaki calls Makoto to ask if she has been time-leaping, she uses her final time leap to prevent Chiaki’s call. In the meantime, Makoto’s friend Kōsuke Tsuda and his new girlfriend, Kaho Fujitani, borrow her faulty bike. Makoto attempts to stop them, but because she had just used her final leap, she is unable to rescue them from the train.

A moment later, Chiaki freezes time, telling Makoto that he is from the future. He explains that the walnut-shaped object is a time-traveling device, and he used it to leap through time hoping to see a painting that is being restored by Kazuko, as it has been destroyed in the future. While walking with Makoto in the frozen city, Chiaki also explains why he stayed longer in her time frame than he originally planned. Consequently, he has used his final leap to ensure Kōsuke’s existence and has stopped time only to explain to Makoto now that he is unable to return to his own time period, and having revealed his origins and the nature of the item that allowed Makoto to leap through time, Chiaki must leave. Makoto then realizes she loves him.

True to his words, Chiaki disappears once time resumes. Initially distraught by Chiaki’s disappearance, Makoto discovers that Chiaki’s time-leap inadvertently restored her final time-leap: Chiaki had leaped back to the time before Makoto used it. Makoto uses it to safely leap back to the moment right after she originally gained her powers, when Chiaki still had his remaining time-leap. Recovering the used up time-travel device, she explains her knowledge of everything as she shows the device to Chiaki. Makoto vows to ensure the painting’s existence so Chiaki can see it in his era. Before Chiaki departs, he tells Makoto he will be waiting for her in the future. When Kōsuke asks her where Chiaki went, she says he went to study abroad, and she has made a decision about her own future.