The Girl Who Leapt Through Space
Sometimes, you just have to gather your friends and take the first step towards something meaningful for any significant progress to occur. While everyone is busy living their lives and dealing with their own problems, it can be easy to forget to strive for something greater as a group, because usually, those are the memories that stay. It doesn’t even have to be a grand endeavor, just something to remember that you aren’t in this world alone and everyone needs a breather every once in a while. So while you set off for midnight ice cream with the gang or embark on an adult-free trip to another region, remember to make the most of it with childish flair!
“The Girl Who Leapt Through Space,” also known as “Sora wo Kakeru Shoujo” or simply “Sora Kake Girl,” is a 26-episode TV Anime series that aired from the 6th of January until the 30th of June in Winter 2009. It was licensed by Bandai Entertainment and Sentai Filmworks, and brought to life by Studio Sunrise, featuring Adventure, Comedy, and Sci-Fi genres alongside the central theme of Space. The main staff behind it included Furusato Naotake as producer, Obara Masakazu as episode director and storyboard, Tsuruoka Youta as sound director, and Andou Masaomi as episode director. Each episode runs 24 minutes and is rated PG-13 for teenagers 13 years or older.
This anime is an original series that spawned a manga adaptation titled "The Girl Who Leapt Through Space R," which ran for just two volumes from February 9th, 2009, until February 9th, 2010. It featured the additional genre of Ecchi alongside a Mecha theme, thanks to the work of author Okada Kunihiko and artist Kabocha, and got serialized in Comic REX. Another single-Volume Manga titled “The Girl Who Leapt Through Space D” was published from the 27th of February until the 27th of November 2009. This book was the work of artist Kekocha, which got serialized in Dengeki Daioh. Finally, a Side Story was released in the form of 9 Special Episodes titled “Girl Who Leapt Through Space Picture Drama,” which aired from the 24th of April until the 24th of November 2009. Produced by Studio Sunrise, this original series featured 3-minute episodes and earned an R+ rating for its mild nudity. These Short Specials were also added to the DVD and Blu-ray releases.
The story is set in the far-future fictional year 311, as per the Orbital Calendar, a time when humanity has already migrated into countless colony clusters spread across vast expanses of space, and interstellar travel is prevalent. Here we meet our protagonist, Akiha Shishidou, the daughter of the wealthy and powerful Shishidou family, who, for some reason, lacks both ambition and direction despite her essential position. However, everything changes once she fatefully encounters Leopard, a malevolent artificial intelligence who can be further described as an obnoxious, arrogant, and mildly crazy "brain colony."
This scene is followed by Akiha being enlisted by a mysterious girl named Kawai Honoka to steal parts for Leopard, effectively flipping her life upside down as it is filled with unforeseen danger, excitement, and even occasional face-offs with the Inter Colony Police. Now our MC must get to work reassembling Leopard in the middle of a great conflict, while dealing with a mysterious force lurking in the shadows. Joining the fray are an Inter-Colony Police officer named Itsuki Kannagi and a robot named Imoko "Imo-chan" Shishidou, who all contribute in their own way. At the same time, Akiha becomes the girl who leapt through space….
The Story department is poorly developed to the point that it feels non-existent. The story unfolds as a haphazard sequence of absurd events, connected by an illusory thread, and the sole shared element is the core cast. There is no logical reasoning or flow that leads from one scene to the next, and I found myself wondering why the previous events even happened. Even if you rewatch the early episodes, you won't find anything. Imagine having the backdrops, settings, characters, and everything in place at the right time, but nobody is doing the right thing. Even when the show urges them to act right, the characters refuse to change by the end. As a result, everything feels like filler that leads to nowhere, so don't bother trying to piece together an overarching story.
When it comes to the characters, forget about the “girl who leapt through space” ever so randomly and turn your attention to the A.I. Leopard. He is definitely the most detailed, precise, and focused character in the whole series, and his actions aren’t dictated by sheer randomness. Without him, I would have immediately abandoned the series. Next up is Kannagi Itsuki, who should have been the actual MC despite being relegated to “one of the archetype girls.” She has quite the entertaining martyr complex, which you would enjoy if taken at face value, but would become annoying very fast if taken seriously. This implies that most of her decisions lack both knowledge and reason, and you are free to interpret this information accordingly.
Meanwhile, the "plot" stifles Honoka Kawai, a decent enough character who strives to become well-rounded. Akiha, the MC, is the last person who made me hate this show. Her whole deal is that she is the protagonist, and therefore, whatever she says goes without question or resistance. She is the very definition of thick-headed, overreactive, illogical, self-serving, and self-righteous while being a walking ball of sheer stupidity if I’ve ever seen it; what’s worse is that the plot glories in it! She tends to pull out unexplained bursts of power and skill out of nowhere so that all who doubted her are left to wallow in their self-pity. The MC will have none of that in a tale that refuses to acknowledge the other characters who demonstrate tangible growth and development. Within mere seconds, all that development vanishes, replaced by a wave of disappointment, allowing Akiha to overwhelm us with more of her foolishness.
The art and animation department is decent for a 2009 series. It has the classic '90s anime feel in the artwork, and it’s easy to get used to after a few episodes, with a vibrant color palette draping each scene in vast expanses of space. The backgrounds are actually my favorite aspect, because you get to see many environments, locations, and settings with their own outlandish beauty. For example, the colony designs are highly varied, ranging from battle fortresses to adorable creatures with wagging tails. The quality dips here and there, but the Studio did a competent job of delivering an overall visually clean show. The character designs themselves are unique and easy on the eyes, and I grew to like the potato-shaped robots over time. I would say the animation is pretty solid as well, but it is wasted here.
The Sound and Music department is neither excellent nor bad overall. The Opening themes are "Rara Eve Shinseiki" by ALI PROJECT and "Miracle Fly" by Minami Kuribayashi, while the Endings are "Sora wa Shōjo no Tomodachisa" by Mako, Aya Endo, and Yui Makino; "Kishi Otome" by ALI PROJECT; and "espacio" by Ceui, all of which are to be experienced once and then forgotten forever. The original soundtracks (OSTs) are also quite average; I often forget what played in the very next scene, but at least they didn’t ruin anything on their own. However, the Voice Cast excelled, meticulously capturing every detail of their characters. Despite how much I despised her, I have to commend VA MAKO for portraying Akiha’s stupidity and insufferableness with such impact.
Overall, “The Girl Who Leapt Through Space” is a very dumb show with very few plus points to keep it afloat. I walked into it expecting something, at least stupid fun of sorts, but came out with my mouth agape and a face aching from continuous facepalming. Everything about it is just so aimless, and I was constantly driven to the heights of irritation, but it's the moronic MC whom I wanted to discard into space and never look back on. I can't recommend this show to anyone sane, as there's nothing to gain and you risk losing what you have.
