Akari: "Hey... They say it's five centimeters per second."
Takaki: "What do you mean?"
Akari: "The speed at which sakura blossom petals fall. It's five centimeters per second."
Anyone can say a great deal about any show or movie, but it can be rather difficult at times to translate a feeling we can't quite identify. Sometimes definitions simply don't exist for certain emotions, but yet we nevertheless struggle to identify and express it in a coherent and true statement. We fear that in our explanations, we are not clear enough to encompass and embrace everything that we feel and think, and often times it can be downright suffocating.
...
To want do it justice and to say so much, only to have all those words choked right before it emerges. What emerges, we find instead as an unsatisfactory, gargled mess of gibberish. Will what I'm about to say be gibberish too?
5 Centimeters per Second brings the audience a hardboiled perspective of realism and a certain amount of truth in human relationships. The truth that, while distance and time can separate two people, the individual decides whether he or she chooses to move on. While it is an admirable trait to stay loyal to a single person, hardships are inevitable. Harder still is it for someone to stay so loyal to a person, others are hurt in the process. The portrayal of being carried away by an unstoppable current of fate, it rips apart the normally idealized fabrication of conventional anime movies and presents the viewer with a painfully real truth: That the winds of destiny move on their own accord, and the most we can do is attempt to shelter ourselves from its coldness.
The movie depicts a true struggle of change. Will what we love now be the same 10, 20, even 30 years later? Will we still hold onto it with the same fervor and dedication as we did in days long past? It seems unlikely that the ideals we've held onto as children could ever truly be the same in the present. And yet, circumstances and the whim of chance can at times create a rather unique situation. Sometimes a person's experiences are so deeply ingrained within him/herself, that the concept of "letting go" is undefinable. When a memory or a certain moment is so utterly life-changing and tightly connected to a person's emotional and psychological well-being, one wonders at the possibilities of life: What if I had said something more? What if I had done something differently? What if I had refused to move along with the "inevitabilities" of life, and challenged the notion of a pre-destined future?
What if?
Speculation and the pondering of such topics lie at the heart of 5 Centimeters per Second. Of course, it can always be the case that it may simply be just another movie that manages to dampen mood and kill joy. Throughout the three episodes, it can also be justified that the gloom and heaviness of each scene may in fact do the exact opposite of what the author intended for it to do. Despite the extreme levels of detail, unbelievably appropriate soundtrack, and immaculate, original lighting, such qualities may serve instead to amplify the level of realism, and in turn, sadness, for viewers.
One may point to the contrast between the detail of the characters and their environment. One noticeable example being, the "blank", expressionless faces of characters in certain scenes. Facial features disappear, and to many this may seem rather off-putting, as many people are not too particularly keen on watching characters interact without their facial expressions. It may appear as a rather unprofessional overlook on the part of the animators. However, it seems more likely to be the case that the expressionless, no-feature faces are purposeful and intentional, working together with each respective scene to pique the interest of the audience, induce curiosity, and emphasize imagination. It seems to be the author's way of saying, "If you understand the gravity of the scene, you can fill in the literal "blank" within the faces of the characters." Personally, this makes it much more interesting and profound.
With a total run time of a little over an hour, it seems quite fair that the level of character development ended where it did. The purpose of the movie was not to focus mainly the characters themselves, but rather the situations of their respective times and the unique (or mundane?) problems each person struggled through. How each person attempted to cope as they lived their lives, and the ways in which they connected the events of their past with the flow of time in a desperate attempt to find meaning and their place in life and existence.
To most, 5 Centimeters per Second may appear to be a purely romance focused movie. But there is so much more to it than (a) simple (or complex) love story (stories). Because no amount of realism is lost between the interactions between characters, the lessons that the viewer can learn extends far beyond love. The movie touches on such topics as psychological development, acceptance of difficult situations (or refusal of such), maturing and growing up, the concept of "moving on" (and the inability to do so), the fragility of the human mind, the "insignificance" syndrome (in which one feels extremely unimportant and small within the vastness of the world and the universe at large), and the innate curiosity of humans in their decisions and walks of life.
However deep the meaning of the story runs, however, the premise and execution of the movie is either a home run or a complete strike for most people. The pace can feel a tad bit slow at times, and the viewer may find the plot unremarkable. A small level of predictability, the heavy overcast of gloom, and an unclear ending can all play a role in pushing away many people. It is not a very "flexible" movie that attempts to appeal to the pallet of as many people as possible. Instead, it adamantly (and refreshingly) chooses to stay true to its meaning and message, and stand distinguished and separate from all other movies.
In the end, the viewer realizes fully for the first time that time itself has not stopped for neither the characters nor for the viewer, and it never will. The illusion of a "happy" ending is so revolutionarily broken, and lays out fundamental truths of what the human life must go through.
Loneliness, regret, and desire.
Love, change, and introspection.
Struggle, curiosity, and rebirth.
A movie for those with a specific taste and a certain level of tolerance, 5 Centimeters per Second will either leave the viewer sitting on a pool of tears with an empty tissue box by his/her side, or a sigh of disappointment for the one hour "wasted".
And as for me, well... I believe I've shed enough tears for an entire lifetime.
Story - 10/10
Art - 10/10
Sound - 10/10
Character - 9/10
Enjoyment - 10/10
Dec 10, 2014
Byousoku 5 Centimeter
(Anime)
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Akari: "Hey... They say it's five centimeters per second."
Takaki: "What do you mean?" Akari: "The speed at which sakura blossom petals fall. It's five centimeters per second." Anyone can say a great deal about any show or movie, but it can be rather difficult at times to translate a feeling we can't quite identify. Sometimes definitions simply don't exist for certain emotions, but yet we nevertheless struggle to identify and express it in a coherent and true statement. We fear that in our explanations, we are not clear enough to encompass and embrace everything that we feel and think, and often times it can be downright suffocating. ... 
Oct 21, 2014
Tamako Love Story
(Anime)
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Do you ever get that choked, somehow disappointed feeling when you finish a great show or movie? A void that lingers in your mind, trying to piece together everything you just watched? Perhaps you lean back in your chair, comfortable and content at a good ending, ready to move on to the next one. Or, like me, you curl up in your bed or floor, both incredibly happy but sad at the same time, thoughts racing through the mind. For many, this feeling is a prevalent and very real emotion, but one that is strangely awkward to place a label on. We can't quite stick
...
Aug 26, 2014
Stranger: Mukou Hadan
(Anime)
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What makes a show special depends on a whole variety of aspects and qualities. And yet, in our haste to scrutinize details and the technical aspects of a work, we sometimes lose sight of how the AUTHOR wants us to perceive it.
Clean. Refreshing. Endearing. It's impressive how little work the show actually puts into making the audience care about its characters, but the simple presentation and small snippets of the past are all it took to make them seem... not so distant. One very noticeable quality of the show was in its efforts to keep the focus of the viewer concentrated on the primary ... 
Jul 16, 2014
Akuma no Riddle
(Anime)
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It is truly a shame when a certain element of a show binds the hands of the viewer, and masks the brighter qualities that made it so very watchable. What could have been praise-worthy material is brought down to a rather anti-climatic end. It stops the viewer, painfully, from giving a score that it would otherwise deserve.
Action. Drama. Gore. Intensity. They're all there in Akuma no Riddle, and certainly is a feast for the eyes and the mind for those who enjoy strong plot development. With so many unique assassins targeting a single individual, there is an incredible amount of potential for many exciting ... |
