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{{short description|Plot device in fiction}}
{{about|the fictional plot device|the philosophical and physical concept|Causal loop}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2024}}
The '''time loop''' or '''temporal loop''' is a [[plot device]] in [[fiction]] whereby [[Character (arts)|characters]] re-experience a span of time which is repeated, sometimes more than once, with some hope of breaking out of the cycle of repetition.<ref name="sfencyclopedia">{{cite encyclopedia |last=Langford |first=David |editor1-last=Clute |editor1-first=John |editor2-first=David |editor2-last=Langford |editor3-last=Nicholls |editor3-first=Peter |editor4-last=Sleight |editor4-first=Graham |title=Themes: Time Loop |url=http://sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/time_loop |encyclopedia=[[The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction]] |___location=London |publisher=Gollancz |date=13 June 2017 |access-date=18 July 2019}}</ref> Time loops are constantly resetting; when a certain condition is met, such as a death of a character or a certain point in time, the loop starts again, possibly with one or more characters retaining the memories from the previous loop.<ref name="TTIPM">{{cite book |last1=García-Catalán |first1=Shaila |last2=Navarro-Remesal |first2=Victor |year=2015 |chapter=Try Again: The Time Loop as a Problem-Solving Process in ''Save the Date'' and ''Source Code'' |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kc57BwAAQBAJ&pg=PA206 |editor1=Matthew Jones |editor2=Joan Ormrod |title=Time Travel in Popular Media: Essays on Film, Television, Literature and Video Games |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kc57BwAAQBAJ |publisher=McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers |pages=207 |isbn=9781476620084 |oclc=908600039}}</ref>
A time loop is also sometimes used to describe a scenario involving time travel where events form a circular chain of causality. In this context, actions in the past lead to future events, which then trigger the original journey back in time, creating a self-contained loop without a clear starting point. This concept challenges the conventional linear view of time and is often explored in science fiction and theories of temporal physics, such as those involving closed timelike curves.<ref name="sfencyclopedia" />
==
An early example of a time loop is the 1915 Russian novel ''[[Strange Life of Ivan Osokin]]'', where the main character gets to live his life over again but struggles to change it the second time around.<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--not stated--> |title=Books: Life as a Trap |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0%2C9171%2C887728%2C00.html |work=Time Magazine |date=17 November 1947 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110203115610/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,887728,00.html |archive-date=3 February 2011}}</ref> The episode "The Man Who Murdered Time" in the radio drama [[The Shadow]] was broadcast on 1 January 1939, about a dying scientist who invents a time machine stuck on 31 December.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1_-EtQwxAP4C&dq=January+1,+1939+%22The+Man+Who+Murdered+Time%22&pg=PA215|title=Horror Stars on Radio: The Broadcast Histories of 29 Chilling Hollywood Voices|first=Ronald L.|last=Smith|date=8 March 2010|publisher=McFarland|isbn=978-0-7864-5729-8 |via=Google Books}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.otrr.org/FILES/Magz_pdf/Illustrated%20Press/IP_406.pdf|title=The Old Time Radio Club - The Illustrated Press (page 11)}}</ref> The [[short story]] "Doubled and Redoubled" by [[Malcolm Jameson]] that appeared in the February 1941 ''[[Unknown (magazine)|Unknown]]'' tells of a person accidentally cursed to repeat a "perfect" day, including a lucky bet, a promotion, a heroically foiled [[bank robbery]], and a successful wedding proposal.<ref>{{cite web |title=Unknown v04n05 (1941 02) p.87|url=https://archive.org/details/Unknown_v04n05_1941-02_Anon_Malefactor |website=Internet Archive |date=February 1941 |access-date=16 December 2023}}</ref>
More recent examples include the 1973 short story "[[12:01 PM]]" and its [[12:01 PM (1990 film)|1990]] and [[12:01 (1993 film)|1993 film adaptations]], the Soviet film ''[[Mirror for a Hero]]'' (1988),<ref>{{cite web|last1=Keller|first1=Bill|title=A Movie Tribute for Stalin Generation|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/04/23/world/a-movie-tribute-for-stalin-generation.html|website=The New York Times|access-date=1 May 2015|date=23 April 1988}}</ref> the ''[[Star Trek: The Next Generation]]'' episode "[[Cause And Effect (Star Trek: The Next Generation)|Cause And Effect]]" (1992),<ref>Paula M. Block, Terry J. Erdmann, ''Star Trek: The Next Generation 365'' (2012), §248.</ref> the [[United States|American]] films ''[[Groundhog Day (film)|Groundhog Day]]'' (1993), ''[[Naked (2017 film)|Naked]]'' (2017), ''[[Happy Death Day]]'' (2017), ''[[Happy Death Day 2U]]'' (2019), and ''[[Palm Springs (2020 film)|Palm Springs]]'' (2020),<ref>{{cite book |last1=Stockwell |first1=Peter |date=2000 |title=The Poetics of Science Fiction |publisher=Longman |___location=Harlow, England |edition=1st |isbn=9780582369931 |pages=131–133}}</ref> the [[United Kingdom|British]], [[Found footage (film technique)|found footage]], [[Psychological horror|psychological]], [[analog horror]] [[web series]] ''[[No Through Road (web series)|No Through Road]]'' (2009–2012),<ref>{{cite web|last=Peters|first=Lucia|title=The Weird Part Of YouTube: The Making Of "''No Through Road''" And The Power Of Unanswered Questions|url=https://theghostinmymachine.com/2020/11/16/the-weird-part-of-youtube-the-making-of-no-through-road-and-the-power-of-unanswered-questions-found-footage-stevenage-broomhill-farm-time-loop|website=The Ghost in My Machine|access-date=16 November 2020|date=16 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201116175053/https://theghostinmymachine.com/2020/11/16/the-weird-part-of-youtube-the-making-of-no-through-road-and-the-power-of-unanswered-questions-found-footage-stevenage-broomhill-farm-time-loop/|archive-date=16 November 2020|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Kok|first=Nestor|title=Ghosts in the Machine: Trick-Editing, Time Loops, and Terror in "''No Through Road''"|url=https://fnewsmagazine.com/2022/03/ghosts-in-the-machine-trick-editing-time-loops-and-terror-in-no-through-road|website=[[School of the Art Institute of Chicago#F Newsmagazine|F Newsmagazine]]|access-date=18 March 2022|date=18 March 2022}}</ref> and the [[India|Indian]], [[Tamil language|Tamil]]-language, [[Science fiction film|science fiction]], [[Political cinema|political]] [[action thriller film]] ''[[Maanaadu]].''<ref>{{Cite news |last=S |first=Srivatsan |date=25 November 2021 |title='Maanaadu' movie review: Simbu and SJ Suryah have a go at each other in this smartly-written film |url=https://www.thehindu.com/entertainment/reviews/maanaadu-movie-review/article37679444.ece |access-date=5 June 2024 |work=The Hindu |language=en-IN |issn=0971-751X}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Suryawanshi |first=Sudhir |date=27 November 2021 |title=Maanaadu movie review: Riveting take on time loop underlined by clever writing |url=https://www.newindianexpress.com/entertainment/review/2021/Nov/27/maanaadu-movie-review-riveting-take-ontime-loop-underlined-by-clever-writing-2388571.html |access-date=5 June 2024 |website=The New Indian Express |language=en}}</ref> Time loops have been used as a recurring theme in ''[[Doctor Who]]'', with the episode "[[Heaven Sent (Doctor Who)|Heaven Sent]]" being described as "Doctor Who's definitive loop-based story".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://whatculture.com/tv/10-craziest-doctor-who-time-loops|title=10 Craziest Doctor Who Time Loops|first=Danny|last=Meegan|date=21 January 2022|website=WhatCulture.com}}</ref>
===Japanese popular culture===
The time loop is a popular trope in [[Japanese pop culture]] media, especially [[anime]].<ref name="ANN">{{cite news |first=Steve |last=Jones |date=26 August 2018 |title=''Revue Starlight'' ‒ Episode 7 |url=https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/review/revue-starlight/episode-7/.135942 |publisher=[[Anime News Network]] |access-date=29 May 2019}}</ref> Its use in [[Japanese fiction]] dates back to [[Yasutaka Tsutsui]]'s [[science fiction]] novel ''[[The Girl Who Leapt Through Time]]'' (1965), one of the earliest works to feature a time loop, about a high school girl who repeatedly relives the same day. It was later adapted into a 1972 live-action [[Japanese television]] series, a hit [[Toki o Kakeru Shōjo (1983 film)|1983 live-action film]], a [[The Girl Who Leapt Through Time (2006 film)|2006 anime film]], and a [[Time Traveller: The Girl Who Leapt Through Time|2010 live-action film]].<ref>{{cite web |title=THE GIRL WHO LEAPT THROUGH TIME (2006) |url=http://deptfordcinema.org/new-events/2017/8/9/the-girl-who-leapt-through-time-2006 |website=[[Deptford Cinema]] |date=9 August 2017 |access-date=27 January 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=THE GIRL WHO LEAPT THROUGH TIME (2006) at Deptford Cinema |url=https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/whats-on/london/deptford-cinema/the-girl-who-leapt-through-time-2006/e-opyqmx |website=[[TicketSource]] |access-date=27 January 2020 |date=9 August 2017}}</ref><ref name="fareastfilm">{{cite web |last1=Walkov |first1=Marc |title=The Girl Who Leapt through Time |url=https://www.fareastfilm.com/eng/archive/2016/the-girl-who-leapt-through-time/?IDLYT=15535 |website=[[Far East Film Festival]] |access-date=30 April 2020 |year=2016}}</ref> The 1983 live-action film adaptation of ''The Girl Who Leapt Through Time'' was a major box office success in Japan,<ref name="fareastfilm"/> where it was the second [[List of highest-grossing non-anime Japanese films|highest-grossing Japanese film]] of 1983.<ref name="Eiren1983">{{cite web |title=過去興行収入上位作品 一般社団法人日本映画製作者連盟 |url=http://www.eiren.org/toukei/1983.html |website=Eiren |publisher=Motion Picture Producers Association of Japan |year=1983 |access-date=30 April 2020}}</ref> Its success was soon followed by numerous anime and manga using the time loop concept, starting with [[Mamoru Oshii]]'s anime film ''[[Urusei Yatsura 2: Beautiful Dreamer]]'' (1984), and then the manga and anime series ''[[Kimagure Orange Road]]'' (1984–1988).<ref name="mangauk">{{cite news |last=Osmond |author-link=Andrew Osmond (journalist) |first=Andrew |date=29 November 2017 |orig-year=30 September 2012 |title=Edge of Tomorrow, and Kill Is All You Need |url=http://mangauk.com/kill-is-all-you-need/ |publisher=[[Manga UK]] |access-date=18 September 2019 |archive-date=1 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181001025922/http://www.mangauk.com/kill-is-all-you-need/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>
The time loop has since become a familiar anime trope.<ref name="ANN"/> Other popular Japanese works that use the time loop concept include [[Hiroyuki Kanno (game designer)|Hiroyuki Kanno]]'s science fiction [[visual novel]] ''[[YU-NO: A Girl Who Chants Love at the Bound of this World]]'' (1996),<ref>{{cite book |last1=Kalata |first1=Kurt |chapter=1996 {{ndash}} YU-NO: Kono Yo no Hate de Koi o Utau Shōjo |title=Hardcore Gaming 101 Presents: Japanese Video Game Obscurities |date=2019 |publisher=[[Unbound (publisher)|Unbound Publishing]] |isbn=978-1-78352-765-6 |pages=108–109 (108) |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=si6bDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA108}}</ref> the [[visual novel]] and anime franchise ''[[Higurashi When They Cry]]'' (2002), the [[light novel]] and anime franchise ''[[Haruhi Suzumiya]]'' (2003), Mamoru Oshii's [[Japanese cyberpunk]] anime film ''[[Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence]]'' (2004), [[Hiroshi Sakurazaka]]'s [[sci-fi]] light novel ''[[All You Need is Kill]]'' (2004) which was adapted into the [[Tom Cruise]] starring Hollywood film ''[[Edge of Tomorrow]]'' (2014),<ref name="mangauk"/> and the sci-fi visual novel and anime franchise ''[[Steins;Gate]]'' (2009).<ref name="kotaku best">{{cite web |url=http://kotaku.com/steins-gate-might-be-the-best-anime-i-have-ever-seen-476397964/ |title=Steins;Gate Might Be the Best Anime I Have Ever Seen |author=Eisenbeis, Richard |date=19 April 2013 |website=[[Kotaku]] |publisher=[[Gawker Media]] |access-date=31 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160824093740/http://kotaku.com/steins-gate-might-be-the-best-anime-i-have-ever-seen-476397964 |archive-date=24 August 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref>
==
Stories with time loops commonly center on the character learning from each successive loop through time.<ref name="sfencyclopedia" /> Jeremy Douglass, [[Janet Murray]], [[Noah Falstein]] and others compare time loops with video games and other interactive media, where a character in a loop learns about their environment more and more with each passing loop, and the loop ends with complete mastery of the character's environment.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Douglass |first1=Jeremy |title=Command Lines: Aesthetics and Technique in Interactive Fiction and New Media |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jvfsQ5G9S7MC |date=2007 |publisher=University of California, Santa Barbara |___location=Santa Barbara, Cal. |isbn=978-0549363354 |pages=333–335, 358 |access-date=29 November 2015 }}{{Dead link|date=November 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> Shaila Garcia-Catalán et al. provide a similar analysis, saying that the usual way for the protagonist out of a time loop is acquiring knowledge, using retained memories to progress and eventually exit the loop. The time loop is then a problem-solving process, and the narrative becomes akin to an interactive puzzle.<ref>{{cite book |last1=García-Catalán |first1=Shaila |last2=Navarro-Remesal |first2=Victor |year=2015 |chapter=Try Again: The Time Loop as a Problem-Solving Process in ''Save the Date'' and ''Source Code'' |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kc57BwAAQBAJ&pg=PA206 |editor1=Matthew Jones |editor2=Joan Ormrod |title=Time Travel in Popular Media: Essays on Film, Television, Literature and Video Games |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kc57BwAAQBAJ |publisher=McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers |pages=206–209 |isbn=9781476620084 |oclc=908600039}}</ref>
The presentation of a time loop as a puzzle has subsequently led to video games that are centered on the time loop mechanic, giving the player the ability to learn and figure out the rules themselves. Games like ''[[The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask]]'', ''[[Minit (video game)|Minit]]'', ''[[The Sexy Brutale]]'', ''[[Outer Wilds]]'', ''[[12 Minutes]]'', ''[[Returnal (video game)|Returnal]]'' and ''[[Deathloop]]'' were all designed to allow the player to figure out the loop's sequences of events and then navigate their character through a loop a final time to successfully complete the game. According to Raul Rubio, the CEO of Tequila Works that created ''The Sexy Brutale'', "Time loops allow players to train to get better at the game, faster, smarter, by experimenting from a fixed starting situation, and seeing what it works to move 'forward' within the loop and adding something else to that structure to build a solid process."<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2019-07-31-time-loop-games | title = Learn, reset, repeat: The intricacy of time loop games | first = James | last = Batchelor | date = 31 July 2019 | access-date = 31 July 2019 | work = [[GamesIndustry.biz]] }}</ref>
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{{columns-list|colwidth=20em|
* [[Butterfly effect]]
* [[Eternal return]]
* [[Grandfather paradox]]
* [[List of
* [[List of films featuring time loops]]
* [[
* [[Novikov self-consistency principle#Time-loop logic|Time loop logic]]
* [[Time slip]]
* [[Time travel]]
* [[
* [[:Category:Video games about time loops]]
}}
==References==
{{reflist|30em}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Time Loop}}
[[Category:Time loop| ]]
[[Category:Fiction about time travel|*]]
[[Category:Periodic phenomena]]
[[Category:Science fiction themes]]
[[Category:
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