Two Adaptations: A Disaster and a Masterpiece

The Little Girl Who Conquered Time (1983):

The Girl Who Leapt Through Time (2006):

Toki o kakeru shoujo is a famous Japanese novel which has often been adapted into films and TV miniseries. Nobuhiko Obayashi’s live-action adaptation, translated as The Little Girl Who Conquered Time, was made in 1983. It’s notable for the cheesy special effects and the then-famous lead actress, Tomoyo Harada. The up-and-coming anime director Mamoru Hosoda adapted the novel into an anime film called The Girl Who Leapt Through Time (2006) which is essentially more like an indirect sequel to the original story although the plot is superficially the same: the heroine is thrust into a world of love triangle(s) after she discovers that she is able to travel in time.

I’m simply bewildered at how different in quality these two adaptations are.