This part of the story…
By now, the entire theater had fallen silent.
Even though the first half of the movie had felt a bit loose in pacing, it was clear that the plot had now entered its emotional core.
Fang Qing pushed aside all idle thoughts in her mind.
What came next was the reveal.
The metallic orb that the heroine had found in the school's science lab?
It was a device from the future — capable of transferring temporal energy into a human host and enabling time travel.
That orb had only ended up in the lab because Chiaki accidentally dropped it there.
Makoto's touch had caused all of the device's energy to be absorbed into her body.
This kind of sci-fi explanation was just background dressing. No sane viewer would bother dissecting the mechanics of time travel in a movie like this.
But the key detail was: Makoto had used all the power in the orb — and despite that, had done nothing to alter human history.
And that… was what made Chiaki most relieved.
He had come to this era just to see a specific painting at an art exhibit held by Makoto's aunt. But during his time here…
He had fallen in love with Makoto Konno.
"I've used up my final time-jump," Chiaki said, expression calm.
"Why? Shouldn't you have saved it for a critical moment?" Makoto asked, panicking.
"I did save it for a critical moment. You don't know it now… but Kosuke and his girlfriend already died at that intersection once. Someone felt responsible and cried their heart out at the crossing. I had no choice. I should've gone back a long time ago… but spending summer with you and Kosuke was just too wonderful."
So the truth was — Chiaki had used his last jump to save Kosuke.
Makoto hadn't known.
Because there were no obvious signs when time travel occurred.
Only the time traveler was aware that anything had changed — even others with the same ability couldn't detect it.
In 'The Girl Who Leapt Through Time', many emotional expressions were understated.
A man from the future, coming here just to view a painting.
Once his time-travel energy ran out, he would be forced to return to his own era.
But before leaving… he wanted to confess to the girl he had met here.
Once.
Twice.
Again and again — trying to tell her how he felt.
But each time, the girl — who had accidentally obtained the same power — rewound time and stopped the confession from ever happening.
Now, in this frozen moment in time, the two of them walked together, talked together.
Chiaki finally said goodbye.
He had to return to his own era, and because he had broken the rules, he would never be allowed to return. He could never see her again.
Time resumed.
And it was only then that Makoto realized how she truly felt about him.
Starting the very next day—
Chiaki disappeared from everyone's lives.
No one could find him.
Throughout the film, there had been hints of causality — of karma.
Her aunt's lines had subtly implied that if you avoided your own misfortune, someone else would bear it instead.
Originally, Makoto should've died at that intersection.
She used her ability to alter her fate — and as a result, Kosuke bore the burden instead.
Then Chiaki used his power to save Kosuke.
So who would be next?
The original anime hadn't delved deep into this logic.
Jing Yu didn't go there either — it was a Qixi Festival romance film, after all. If the script didn't lean into these concepts, audiences wouldn't overthink them. But if you did explore them…
Then simply by surviving, Makoto would become morally culpable — because she was the one who should've died first.
No matter who took on that fate instead, her position would always be awkward.
So the script just glossed over it.
This wasn't a mystery film — it was a love story.
Then came the most confusing moment of the entire plot — what Jing Yu had once considered a potential bug.
The metal orb Makoto touched belonged to Chiaki.
It could charge humans with the power to time-travel.
So Chiaki had a set number of uses.
Makoto, having absorbed all its energy, also had a large number, which she squandered through frivolous rewinds.
Before Kosuke's accident, Makoto had already used up her final time-jump.
She couldn't change her friend's fate — and her grief was so overwhelming that Chiaki couldn't stand it anymore.
So he used his last jump to save Kosuke.
But this created a time discrepancy — and a logic loop.
Makoto had supposedly used her final time-jump to avoid Chiaki's confession.
But if Chiaki had already gone back to save Kosuke, then that timeline — where he would've confessed — never happened. He would've been too focused on saving Kosuke to even think about love.
So in this new timeline — where Kosuke didn't die —
Chiaki never confessed to Makoto on that day.
Therefore, Makoto never used her final jump.
Even though her memories said she had — because that was from a previous world line — the present version of her still had one use left, because Chiaki's actions had changed both Kosuke's and Makoto's behavior before the confession even occurred.
"So… you can just bug the system like that?" Fang Qing thought.
"One person uses their power, the other rewinds before it happens — and the cycle keeps resetting forever? You could just 'infinite loop' their abilities?"
But she quickly realized — such a system could only keep pushing time forward.
It was like a limit approaching zero.
The logic was convoluted.
And besides, this wasn't some hardcore sci-fi thriller.
It was a romance with sci-fi elements. As long as the story made some narrative sense, it didn't matter if it was airtight.
Anyway, the important thing was:
The male lead used his final jump to save their friend.
And the female lead…
Had one last chance remaining.
So, she used it.
At the exact moment she leapt into the river —
She rewound time once more.
Back to when Chiaki was still by her side.
She had rejected his confessions again and again — because she thought the three of them, she, Chiaki, and Kosuke, would always be friends.
Through high school.
Through college.
Through adult life.
She was afraid that if their friendship turned romantic, it would fall apart.
But after Chiaki disappeared —
She realized what she truly felt.
"Makoto, will you go out with me? I'm not that ugly, right?"
Chiaki's first confession echoed in her mind.
In the theater, more than a few people were overwhelmed by a feeling they couldn't quite put into words.
Makoto went back one final time.
Back at school, when her friend tried to ask about Chiaki—
"I like Chiaki."
This time, no hesitation. No backing down.
She declared it directly — even though her friend liked Chiaki too.
"Using my bike costs 5,000 yen."
She threatened Kosuke with a price tag — ensuring he couldn't borrow her bike again.
That way, in this last timeline, her friend wouldn't repeat his deadly mistake.
Then, she went to see Chiaki.
Chiaki had no idea that the girl in front of him already knew everything.
That his future self had confessed that she had time-traveled, that all his secrets were laid bare.
He was stunned.
And yet, the two of them shared one last afternoon — laying it all out, no more secrets.
Makoto had come not to stop him, not to trap him —
But to say goodbye.
And after their goodbye, she pushed him away —
Told him to go, to return to his own time, with no regrets.
Then she broke down in tears by the riverside.
Because this was truly…
Their last time together.
Just as Makoto cried, believing this was the final ending—
Chiaki — not yet fully gone — stepped forward.
He whispered his final words.
His confession.
"I'll be waiting for you. In the future."
For Chiaki, this was the first time he had ever confessed.
"Okay… I'll come find you. I'll run all the way there,"
Makoto sobbed.
This time… she didn't run away.
After dozens of attempts to avoid Chiaki's confession —
She finally answered it with all her heart.
The next second, Chiaki's figure disappeared.
Forever.
This was a story about a boy from an unknown future —
And a girl from a forgotten past —
Who happened to meet?
The ending song began.
There was no filler.
No dragging it out.
It ended at the perfect moment.
Inside the theater, no one said a word.