It isn't that hard to make young characters or animation widely accessible for families, but anime auteurs like Mamoru Hosoda have certainly honed those elements into an art form. Hosoda himself has become famous for his feel-good films that are at one part fantastical and another emotionally grounded. There is no better example of this than his breakout film, The Girl Who Leapt Through Time.

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When a young Makoto suddenly finds herself gifted with the ability to leap back in time, she uses the power to better wade the waters of adolescence. This time-loop classic has received acclaim for its whimsical science fiction, nostalgic coming-of-age themes, and especially Hosoda's distinct brand of style and animation. Unfortunately, there is only one of it of its kind. However, for those still looking to scratch an itch, there are a few films that come close.

Mirai (2018)

Mirai Catching Kun in Mirai

Starting off this list is another Mamoru Hosoda film that puts time travel nonsense and maturity in the same conversation. In The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, a lot of the central themes hone in on Makoto's struggle to accept maturity, as she quite literally avoids the consequences of the future to better enjoy her youth. Hosoda's latest film, Mirai, focuses on a similar journey, as Kun, a toddler, must grapple with maturity and responsibility as he faces the new arrival in his home: a baby sister named Mirai.

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As only a toddler can, Kun confronts a variety of fantastical challenges that each seek to teach him a lesson about growing up. Almost as a call back to the time travel themes of Hosoda's first film, one storyline even involves Kun teaming up with Mirai's future self.

The Night Is Short, Walk On Girl (2017)

A girl stands in the middle of a book fair in Night is Short, Walk on Girl.

In addition to being a roundabout, science fiction way of saying "Grow up, kid!," The Girl Who Leapt Through Time attracts with the whimsical way that Makoto avoids responsibility. Instead of killing Hitler or studying history first hand, Makoto uses her leap ability for a lot of adolescent shenanigans.

For fans looking for a similar sense of young wonder, The Night is Short, Walk on Girl is another great film about a girl just enjoying her youth. From the surreal mind of Masaaki Yuasa, this film focuses on the various exploits, legendary, adventurous, and drunken, of a college girl having a night on the town while one of her colleagues follows her and struggles to confess his feelings.

The Disappearance Of Haruhi Suzumiya (2010)

SOS Brigade

One drawback of this recommendation is the fact that it is a movie tie in to an entire anime series, The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya. For those who aren't put off by that/have the time, this light novel, trailblazer centers on a group of high school friends as they seek to entertain and restrain the adventurous wonders of one of their classmates, lest they fall victim to her unwitting ability to warp reality.

The series itself is a surreal yet sincere take on the high school anime genre, and its movie expands on this by looking at an alternate reality where the main character and the titular god/alien/psychic, Haruhi, never meet. Much like The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, this film uses its science fiction to spark wonder in the more intimate details of adolescence.

Groundhog Day (1993)

Bill Murray inside a clock in the Groundhog Day poster

It would be hard to talk about films similar to The Girl Who Leapt Through Time without mentioning Groundhog Day. Hosoda's work is more directly tied to a novel of the same name that predates Groundhog Day by a couple of decades, but Bill Murray's time-loop comedy had to inspire some of the tomfoolery.

Much like how Makoto revels in reliving the same moments and days, Bill Murray's character enjoys (then suffers) a constant rerun of the same, winter day. While Makoto is able to control her ability, Murray's character is trapped within it, left to contemplate some cosmic lesson that many 80's and 90's films thrust unto hardened, career men.

Liz And The Blue Bird (2018)

Mizore and Nozomi in Liz and the Blue Bird

Liz and The Blue Bird isn't going to meet the same sci-fi expectations that many other films on this list are going to, but it does capture the tone and message of The Girl Who Leapt Through Time better than most. Even with time travel, Makoto realized that  growing up weren't waits for no one.

Within the same token, the two main characters of Liz and The Blue Bird can only hope for the clock to stop ticking, as every passing day and the responsibilities of the present only create more distance between the two and their nostalgic youth.

Donnie Darko (2001)

Donnie Darko Watching a Movie

Returning to the world of not drawn people, Donnie Darko is a solid recommendation for people who really liked the time travel aspect of The Girl Who Leapt Through Time. This American classic focuses on the journey of one distraught teenager when a mysterious, rabbit man saves him from being crushed by a plane engine.

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Since then, the main character, Donnie Darko, starts noticing little distortions in time that have him question his own existence in this world and whether or not he was living in an alternate timeline.

Kiki's Delivery Service (1989)

Kiki flies on her broom with Jiji next to some seagulls in Kiki's Delivery Service

There are a lot of Hayao Miyazaki films that can capture the same melancholy and coming-of-age fantasy of The Girl Who Leapt Through Time; but if there's one Miyazaki character that can relate the most to Makoto Konno, it would be Kiki from Kiki's Delivery Service. Makoto didn't necessarily fear the future but struggled with the minutiae of everyday life and how parts of that can still drastically reshape her life.

Staring out the same lo-fi window is Kiki who sets off on a literal journey to adulthood. Though she's training to be a witch, Kiki must grow by assimilating with society and learning first hand the responsibilities, challenges, and social cues of every day life. Whether one can time travel or fly on a broom, the real magic is always grown up stuff.

Lady Bird (2017)

Lady Bird and Julie

Speaking of teenage girls struggling with growing up, Lady Bird is possibly the live-action equivalent of Makoto's teenage vulnerabilities. However, while Makoto is desperately trying to avoid adulthood, the titular Lady Bird just can't wait to grow up. Having been stuck within the same small town and small home for so long, Lady Bird vies for the larger world that only adult experiences and a decent college can bring.

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Almost as abruptly as it sets in for Makoto, reality always seems to find Lady Bird, either in the form of heartache or her own mother. Saoirse Ronan may not have the same stylized animation as Makoto, but the two can certainly attract an audience with their teenage woes.

Fireworks (2017)

Nazuna Resting With Fireworks Behind Her

Fireworks may very well be the closest thing on this list to having a similar premise to The Girl Who Leapt Through Time without being an outright ripoff. With the same surreal storytelling and stylized animation that put Studio Shaft on the map, Fireworks focuses on the confused yet passionate relationship of two high schoolers, Norimichi Shimada and Nazuna Oikawa.

Norimichi has harbored a massive crush on Nazuna but his own insecurities and the sudden news of Nazuna's moving away seem to keep him away from her. Fortunately enough, Norimichi comes across a mysterious time travel device that, when thrown, can let him travel back in time to make up for his foibles, correcting either social faux pas or entire chase sequences.

Your Name (2016)

Your Name film original release poster

While time travel is a coming-of-age metaphor for Makoto, Your Name's body switching is a relationship one for Taki Tachibana and Mitsuha Miyamizu. Despite being from entirely different parts of Japan, the two find themselves mysteriously body switching in their sleep and must now carry on the other's day as if normal.

It's a fun, fantastical romcom that uses its premise and character writing well and, with some twists and turns a little more reminiscent of Hosoda's film, Your Name's message of the cosmic connection of love leaves an even greater impact (certainly enough to have people coming back).

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