5 Centimeters per Second

5 Centimeters per Second (秒速5センチメートル) is an original slice of life romance feature film by  Shinkai Makoto.  The movie was originally released in March of 2007.

    The movie is separated into three vignettes following Tono Takaki. The first story titled Oukasho, begins before Takaki and his only friend, Shinohara Akari, start middle school and Akari is moving away from Tokyo. Both Takaki and Akari are used to transferring schools, both of their parents move frequently due to work.  They are both small, somewhat weak children who prefer reading to sports. This, along with their shared loneliness, is what brings them together in friendship and forges a strong bond between them. Even though they are not a couple their shared feelings intensify after Akari moves. Takaki receives the first letter from her 6 months after she moves and they stay in contact until it is Takaki's turn to move again. This time he is moving to the southern island of Japan and will be too far away from Akari to visit her. They plan a meeting right before he leaves. 

    The day of the meeting he heads out on a 3-hour train ride into the deep countryside to meet her at her new town. The day brings a nasty snowstorm that turns his train ride into a 7-hour trek through anticipation and sadness. He finally reaches her station, expecting her to be long gone, hours after their intended meeting, to find her huddled in front of the waiting rooms' heater. This meeting, what Takaki thinks is actually their last, leads to them sharing a love and friendship unparalleled by any other (no they didn't have sex). As he leaves the next morning they say good-bye to each other, somehow knowing the future in their hearts.

 

 

    The second part, titled Cosmonaut, finds Takaki at the end of his final year of high school, still living in a small town on the southern island. He has grown stronger and more mature but is always sad and lonely. A girl in his class named Kanae Sumita is completely in love with him but is always saddened by his distance from her and everyone else. They are friends at best but nothing more, even though she wishes for more. On one of the final days of school she gathers up her courage to confess her love for him but is interrupted and chooses to remain silent, knowing in her heart that he will always be distant from her, yearning for some far off thing that she can never provide him. In the end she chooses her own destiny and Takaki goes back to Tokyo to attend college.

    The third, final and shortest part, titled 5cm per Second, finds Takaki a sullen, depressed, lifeless man living in Tokyo, working an unsatisfying job. He is still reaching out for the lost love that he now knows will never come true.

    I was incredibly moved by the deep sadness in this film. I tend to get on the emotional side sometimes with films, hell I cried near the end of Tenchi in Love and every time I watch the first Gall Force movie I feel like I'm the last person on the face of the Earth. This movie is incredibly powerful and sad. In the 2nd part, when Takaki asks himself, how long have I been writing emails and not sending them, you realize that he has already lost the one thing he is living for. You never know who's to blame for the loss in communication, Takaki or Akari, but it is completely conveyed that distance and time has destroyed their connection with each other. The hardest part is in the final chapter when you see Akari sitting in a Tokyo bound train, happy and content, wearing an engagement ring, you know she is not engaged to Takaki. He, on the other hand, is almost an alcoholic, living in an unkempt apartment, chain smoking and forcing his self to show up to work every morning. In the end, he realizes his heart has gone hard with his loss. I almost thought the movie was going to end with him committing suicide. Yet the credits are bitter sweet, as cut scenes flash showing Takaki, Akari and Kanae. It shows them as children and as adults, the end of the credits is the continuation of the beginning of part three…the final contact between Takaki and Akari, as they unknowingly finalize their last promise together…that they would once again watch the cherry blossoms fall at 5cm per second in the same spot they watched long ago. This happens as they cross each other paths at a railway. Takaki realizes whom it was that he just passed and turns around to get a brief glimpse before 2 trains pass by. When the trains are gone so is the one thing in life he held dear. Yet, with the knowledge that she is gone he smiles to himself.

    I just can't explain how good this movie is, the animation is detailed and realistic, much like the directors other film, Voices of a Distant Star. The first part is the most beautiful and detailed, especially during Takaki's grueling train ride to meet Akari. The story is well written, amazingly powerful, yet minimal and haunting. Much of the tone is conveyed through the mood, the voice actor's tones, the minimal musical score and the sadness of the scenery. The backgrounds are beautiful, yet vast and lonely. I am not one to really remark on vocal talents, but I truly believe this is one of the finest examples of high quality voice work. The actor's emotions and connotations convey so much to the atmosphere of this movie and is done amazingly well. I do want to see it in English to see if the American voice actors can convey the same feelings. Even if you have read this post and know pretty much know what happens in this movie, I implore you to watch it. Sure, it's a love story, but this is the farthest thing from Love Hina you will ever find. I really think this is a piece of art and implore everyone to watch it, even if you don't think you will like it. I know people will end up hating this movie but I can guarantee that it will change them, even a little bit. It will definitely move them.