The Girl Who Leapt Through Time/Characters
The characters of the film The Girl Who Leapt Through Time:
Makoto Konno
Makoto is a regular high school student who spends her time playing baseball with her two best friends, Chiaki and Kousuke. She hopes to be friends with them forever and to stay like this, but after almost getting killed in a train crossing accident, Makoto develops an ability to "time leap." She initially uses it for her personal benefit, but as Makoto realizes the extent of the past she is changing and how it affects others, she must try to fix the error of her ways before any permanent--or even fatal--wrongs occur.
- Bittersweet Ending: While Makoto knows of Chiaki's feelings for her and eventually reciprocates these feelings, it is likely too late for them to get together because we don't know how far in the future Chiaki's era is, or if Makoto can reach him through waiting for his time or using another time-related device.
- Bokukko
- Book Dumb: One of her self-proclaimed "unlucky" moments consists of failing a test. So, naturally one of the things she time leaps for is to ace said test.
- Cannot Spit It Out: Her feelings for Chiaki. She manages to tell Yuri, but never has the chance to tell Chiaki himself.
- Celibate Heroine: Makoto is generally not interested in dating or romance... at least at first.
- Did Not Get The Guy
- Distaff Counterpart: Of Shinji, at least in appearance. Hey, they share the same character designer (Yoshiyuki Sadamoto).
- Curtains Match the Window
- Everyone Can See It: The UST between Makoto and Chiaki.
- Girl Next Door
- Green-Eyed Epiphany: Makoto only begins to realize her feelings for Chiaki once he starts dating Yuri.
- Inelegant Blubbering: It may be a little Narmy, but it doubles as a Tear Jerker because every time Makoto cries, there's a heartbreaking reason for it.
- I Will Find You
- Just Friends: This is how she sees Chiaki and Kousuke until she realizes her feelings for Chiaki.
- Late for School
- The Matchmaker: Manages to match-make Kousuke and Kaho together though it takes a while for her, from getting them to have a Meet Cute moment to attempting to prevent their deaths when they are killed by a train crossing accident.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Many of Makoto's time leaps are for her own personal gain, and the changes she creates in the time line begin to have an effect with her relationships with Chiaki and Kousuke--especially Chiaki. Not to mention affecting the sanity of one of her classmates.
- Oblivious to Love: Claims to only see Chiaki and Kousuke as friends, is blindsided when Chiaki asks her out, and seems unaware of any feelings Kousuke has for her--not to mention being slow to realize her own feelings for Chiaki.
- Ordinary High School Student
- Poor Communication Kills: And Makoto has to learn this the hard way.
- Star-Crossed Lovers: Makoto and Chiaki.
- Three Amigos: Chiaki, Kousuke, and Makoto.
- Throw the Dog a Bone
- Tomboy and Girly Girl: Makoto is the Tomboy to Yuri's Girly Girl.
- Tsundere
- Tareme Eyes
- Unresolved Sexual Tension: Between Makoto and Chiaki.
Chiaki Mamiya
One of Makoto's two best friends. Chiaki is easygoing and laid-back. He transferred to Makoto's school in the spring and quickly became fast friends with Makoto and Kousuke, forming a steadfast trio between the three. Chiaki has feelings for Makoto.
- Always Save the Girl: From defending Makoto from insults to stepping into the way so she won't get hit by a fire extinguisher to using his final remaining time leap so she isn't crying in pain (and so Kousuke and Kaho won't die from a train crossing accident).
- Anguished Declaration of Love: And Chiaki doesn't even know how many attempts he had asked Makoto out thanks to her constant time leaping to avoid it.
- Berserk Button: His button is only pressed once in the film, but you DO NOT want to insult Makoto in front of Chiaki.
- Book Dumb
- Brains and Brawn: Kousuke (Brains) and Chiaki (Brawn).
- Brown Eyes
- But Now I Must Go
- Cannot Spit It Out: He tries valiantly, but Makoto keeps time-leaping to prevent him from succeeding.
- Delinquent: Showed signs of this from his confrontation with Takase and in a flashback, where it is shown he got into a fight.
- Dogged Nice Guy
- Everyone Can See It: The UST between Makoto and Chiaki.
- First-Name Basis: In a flashback of when Chiaki transfers into Makoto's class and the friendship between Makoto, Chiaki, and Kousuke develops, Kousuke lampshades it when Chiaki first calls Makoto by her first name. This is interesting because when Chiaki starts to date Yuri, he still calls her "Hayakawa-san," unlike Yuri, who calls Chiaki, "Chiaki-kun." He only calls Yuri, "Yuri-chan" once while talking about going to a nighters game with her to Makoto and Kousuke, though it was more to tease Makoto than really changing to first name basis. Makoto seems to be the only girl Chiaki is really informal with, though the reason as to why is quite obvious.
- Fish Out of Temporal Water
- Foil: To Kousuke.
- Heroines Want Redheads: Just ask Makoto. And her friend Yuri.
- Heroic Sacrifice: Chiaki uses his final remaining time leap to prevent the deaths of Kousuke and Kaho at the train crossing and so Makoto isn't in pain trying to stop them, knowing full well that by doing so will cause him to disappear.
- Hot-Blooded
- I Will Wait for You
- Last Guy Wins
- Late for School
- Malicious Slander: After Chiaki "transfers" out of school (unknowing to everyone else but Makoto as to why), many nasty rumors start about why he left.
- New Transfer Student: Transferred into Makoto's class in the spring.
- Obfuscating Stupidity
- Oblivious to Love: Initially oblivious to Yuri's feelings for him and by the end of the film is still oblivious to her feelings because of the recent time leaps.
- Redheaded Hero
- Red Oni
- Relationship Upgrade: Chiaki attempts this with Makoto, but she time leaps to avoid it.
- The Reveal: Chiaki is from the future and the original user of the device that allowed Makoto to time leap. He came from an era where some kind of catastrophe may have decimated mankind, and the only reason Chiaki came to Makoto's time is to see a painting that was destroyed in his era and is currently being restored in hers. However, as time grew on, Chiaki began to love the present time in spite of the dwindling moments he had of remaining there.
- Star-Crossed Lovers: Makoto and Chiaki.
- Tsurime Eyes
- Three Amigos: Chiaki, Kousuke, and Makoto.
- Tomato Surprise: Chiaki is a time traveler from the future.
- Troubled but Cute
- Unresolved Sexual Tension: Between Makoto and Chiaki.
Kousuke Tsuda
One of Makoto's two best friends. Kousuke is smart and level-headed. He is the voice of reason between the three friends. Kousuke wants to go into a medical profession and constantly thinks about studying, but finds time to play baseball and hang out with Makoto and Chiaki.
- Beta Couple: With Kaho.
- Blue Oni
- Brains and Brawn: Kousuke (Brains) and Chiaki (Brawn).
- Brown Eyes
- Crash Into Hello/Meet Cute: With Kaho.
- Foil: To Chiaki.
- Megane: Occasionally.
- Nice Guy
- Oblivious to Love: Is (probably) partly oblivious to his own subtle feelings for Makoto, and initially oblivious to Kaho's feelings for him.
- Three Amigos: Chiaki, Kousuke, and Makoto.
- Tsurime Eyes: It's difficult to tell, though.
- Unlucky Childhood Friend: It is unknown how long Makoto and Kousuke have known each other, but he has known her longer than Chiaki. Either way, Kousuke's implied subconscious feelings for Makoto are left mostly unrequited, though he ends up with someone else.
Yuri Hayakawa
Makoto's classmate and friend. Yuri is often found in Makoto's company. She has a crush on Chiaki.
- Curtains Match the Window
- Dogged Nice Girl
- Hopeless Suitor: She subtly has feelings for Chiaki, but he doesn't really notice her untill Makoto starts avoiding Chiaki following several time leaps to avoid him asking her out. Because of this, Chiaki goes out with Yuri instead. But when the timeline is brought back to the beginning of the film, Makoto finally makes it known to Yuri of her own feelings for Chiaki, and Yuri--having already suspected it--understands.
- I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: Eventually.
- Romantic False Lead: Arguably.
- Shallow Love Interest
- Tomboy and Girly Girl: Yuri is the Girly Girl to Makoto's Tomboy.
- Tareme Eyes
- Unrequited Love Switcheroo: Makoto slowly realizes her feelings for Chiaki once Chiaki starts dating Yuri.
Kaho Fujitani
Kaho is a shy girl from the volunteer club with a crush on Kousuke. Her two best friends continuously attempt to get her to ask him out.
- Beta Couple: With Kousuke.
- Crash Into Hello/Meet Cute: With Kousuke.
- Curtains Match the Window
- Dogged Nice Girl
- Love Before First Sight: Kaho heard about him from her grandmother, who Kousuke helped out while he was volunteering at a retirement home. She would always say how a "kind and wonderful" person he was, and after hearing the stories over and over again, Kaho came to like him.
- Luminescent Blush: Only around Kousuke.
- Meganekko: Ocassionally, again.
- Shrinking Violet
- Single Woman Seeks Good Man: She developed feelings for Kousuke after hearing how much of a nice guy he was from her grandmother.
- Those Two Girls: Her two friends.
- Tareme Eyes
"Auntie Witch"
Kazuko Yoshiyama
Makoto's aunt, who Makoto tends to call "Auntie Witch." She is currently restoring a painting at the museum. Makoto often goes to her aunt for advice on time leaping.
- Alternate Character Reading: Her name is a pun for the Japanese word "majo," which means "witch." (The English localization simply has her called "Auntie Witch" without explanation, since the pun doesn't easily translate.)
- Closer to Earth/The Heart
- Cool Big Sis/The Mentor: To Makoto. She understands time leaping and knows so much about it because she also had the ability to time leap when she was Makoto's age and is implied to be Kazuko Yoshiyama, the protagonist of the novel The Girl Who Leapt Through Time was adapted from.
- Curtains Match the Window
- Hair Decorations
- Tall, Dark and Bishoujo
- Tareme Eyes
- Wise Beyond Their Years
- Back to The Girl Who Leapt Through Time