Prepared for the cold weather, the audience watched “The Girl Who Leapt Through Time” on a screen set up beneath the Peace Pagoda. Photo by J.K. Yamamoto

Following a successful screening of “The Castle of Cagliostro” in March during the San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival, the Center for Asian American Media and the Japantown Merchants Association decided to host another free showing of a Japanese animated feature in the Peace Plaza.

“The Girl Who Leapt Through Time,” directed by Mamoru Hosoda, was shown on the evening of Sept. 19 before a full house. Most were prepared for the cold weather, and despite some drizzle at the beginning, it did not rain.

Richard Hashimoto, president of the Japantown Merchants Association, said that all 150 chairs were taken, and counting people sitting elsewhere around the plaza, he estimated the attendance at 350 to 400.

Hosted by Chi-hui Yang, festival director at CAAM, the program also included the winner of the Toyota Matrix “Free Your Story” contest, a short film by Kelly Li entitled “Still Shot.”

The main feature, in which a schoolgirl discovers that she can travel back in time to change the past, was well received, and it is likely that more anime screenings will be presented in the future.