To celebrate the release of director Mamoru Hosoda's latest animated feature film, "Scarlet," Friday Road Show (Nippon TV, Fridays at 9 p.m.) will be broadcasting Hosoda's films for four consecutive weeks starting November 7th. In the fourth week, "The Girl Who Leapt Through Time" (2006), Hosoda's first feature film since going freelance, will be broadcast in its entirety from 9 p.m. on November 28th. In the second half of the program, the first 7 minutes and 8 seconds of "Scarlet" will be shown for the first time.
In preparation for the broadcast, Director Hosoda commented, "'The Girl Who Leapt Through Time' and ' Scarlet' have something in common. They are stories of encounters that transcend time and space, and of women who look to the future after being influenced by a person from the future. Furthermore, both works are stories of promises that transcend time and space, and the men and women who make those promises, so in that sense they have something in common as well. 'The Girl Who Leapt Through Time' is the very 'origin' that leads to ' Scarlet', so please enjoy it!"
"The Girl Who Leapt Through Time" is a science fiction novel written by Yasutaka Tsutsui in 1965. Many film adaptations have been made into films. The 1983 film starring Tomoyo Harada and directed by Nobuhiko Obayashi was a huge hit and remains highly popular today as a "monumental coming-of-age film."
Director Hosoda's "The Girl Who Leapt Through Time" is a new story set in 2006, about 20 years after Director Obayashi's version, and tells the story of Konno Makoto, the niece of the original protagonist Yoshiyama Kazuko. The film began with a small release of 13 films, showing in just six theaters in its first week, but gained popularity through online word-of-mouth and other means, and the number of theaters showing the film continued to increase, expanding to over 100 in total. It achieved an exceptionally long run of 40 weeks for a film. It has won numerous film awards both at home and abroad, including the Japan Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.
The voice actor for the main character, Konno Makoto, was Riisa Naka, who had just made his debut the previous year. The original protagonist, Makoto's aunt Yoshiyama Kazuko, was played by actress Hara Sachie. The script was written by Okudera Satoko, who has also attracted attention for her work on the film "National Treasure."
A simultaneous viewing event for "The Girl Who Leapt Through Time" will be held by VTuber Rufuutei Raden, who is affiliated with Hololive Productions, from 9 PM on November 28th. Rufuutei Raden will simultaneously watch Friday Road Show "The Girl Who Leapt Through Time" in real time on his own YouTube channel, and will introduce the appeal of the series as well as the highlights of "Scarlet."
