Written By: Makoto Shinkai
Studio: CoMix Wave, In.
Original Release: March 3, 2007
Runtime: 63 minutes
“Hey. They say it’s five centimeters per second…the speed of falling cherry blossom petals is five centimeters per second?” These are the movie’s opening lines; not a simple name dropping of the film’s title, but a quick glimpse in what is to come between two young individuals blissfully watching the cherry blossoms bloom and petals fall before them. These two people are Takaki Tono and Akari Shinohara (the person responsible for posing the aforementioned question).
Tono, a quiet child who apparently doesn’t have too many friends, is immediately intrigued by Akari when she transfers to his elementary school during the mid-1990s. In a sheer twist of fate, Shinohara turns out to be incredibly similar to Takaki with both going out of their way to spend free time huddled together in the school’s library due to them having aggressive seasonal allergies. Thanks to their quiet time together, Takaki and Akari grow fond of each other to the point they start calling each other by their given names without any form of honorifics (which is a sign of deep friendship and familiarity in Japan).
But like any good thing in life, variables out of one’s control can turn a situation around for better or for worse. In the case of Takaki and Akari, that variable is her parents and their current employment that forces Shinohara to move. The two keep in contact through letters mailed back and forth. Then comes some unfortunate news for Takaki when it comes to communicating with Akari, his family’s moving to Kagoshima – making it too much of a journey for the two to see each other via train. But what happens when everything goes wrong on your trip to the one you love? How does distance and age affect relationships? And can one accept the truth about their lot in life and their status in someone else’s heart? “5 Centimeters Per Second” looks to answer those questions and maybe even pose a few more.
What Makes Us Human: There’s something truly special about the way Makoto Shinkai presents his ideas through the medium that is animation. Rather than stick to the typical “bigger and louder is better” style usually seen when trying to get poignant points across, Shinkai keeps things grounded and humanistic as possible. The personalities and demeanors of Takaki and Akari (and a third character introduced midway through the movie, Kanae Sumida) are rooted in natural human thought, be it questioning the possibility of rejection, trying to change for someone so you can relate to him/her on a more primal level, or allowing the highs and lows of life to affect their moods and even the way they view their immediate futures. It’s almost haunting how someone can evoke such emotional, organic responses from the viewer by crafting characters that, in reality, are nothing more than drawings depicting moments most everyone has experienced in the most realistic way possible.
Stunning Animation: There’s really not much that needs to be written about “5 Centimeter’s” animation other than it’s one of the most gorgeous, artistic feats seen in any film – anime or otherwise. Similar to the characters and most of the story’s presentation, the animation is sharp, precise and, most importantly realistic to the point it feels like you can be easily transported into the world and think that it is normal. Lighting and shadowing is exceptional as well by not only being magnificent to look at, but also tying into the movie’s central themes.
Moments like the slow-rising sun over a snow-covered field, or the sky and clouds breaking apart as a launching spaceship tears through the atmosphere can be breathtaking while reinforcing just what certain characters (and hopefully, the viewer) are feeling at that very instance. Even more shocking is the character animation improves as the movie progresses. The farther in time “5 Centimeters” goes, the more mature and natural the characters appear; using the film’s animation as a way to remind viewers that the way we see things as a child is so much different than what can become the harsh realities of adulthood.
Exquisite Audio Experience: Like the animation, the sound used throughout the movie is exceptional. Instead of emphasizing some of the more darker, sad tones of the film through music, the soundtrack composed by Tenmon is classical in nature with a sense of warmness and fragileness that perfectly reflects what the story is about in audible form. The only time the music score moves outside of its comfort zone is during the finale where Masayoshi Yamazaki’s “One More Time, One More Chance” plays over the movie’s closing minutes to add an emotional impact rarely seen in anime nowadays.
The Tale of Two Dubs: “5 Centimeters” is an odd bird when it comes to dubbing. Without the need for audio theatrics and absurdity, the film embraces fine voice acting that can make or break important moments thanks to a lacking bit of emotion. Over the course of the movie’s existence and releases internationally, two dubs have been made – one made by ADV Films and one Bandai provided. The ADV version has a level of delivery that is on par, if not at times better than the original mostly thanks to the talents of David Matranga (Takaki), Hillary Haag (Akari) and especially Serena Varghese (Kanae). If you want to watch a dubbed version, attempt to make sure it’s the version provided by ADV. If you can’t watch the ADV version, just stick to the original audio.
The Final Arc: The biggest flaw that comes with “5 Centimeters Per Second” has to be the movie’s length. What hasn’t been noted thus far in the review is the fact this movie consists of three separate arcs spread across a decade. Thanks to the movie’s sixty-minute time limit, each arc is only given a brief amount of time to get its point across and even let the viewer breath. Unfortunately for the third arc, time is not on its side; leading toward a somewhat rushed ending that is controversial to state the least. To not spoil too much in regards to the last five minutes or so, viewers will be either turned off or truly enjoy the level of subtly. The finale isn’t bad, but after spending fifty-plus minutes with these characters it might feel like a very unsatisfying conclusion if you’re not one for open endings.
“5 Centimeters Per Second”, while gorgeous to the point of being awe-inspiring and featuring some of the best humanistic drama that embraces the subtly of realism seen in any animated film, has problems that hinders its approach toward greatness. Trying to tell three complete stories in an hour is an arduous task to accomplish and “5 Centimeters” couldn’t overcome that hurdle without sacrificing something – in this case the third act. Focusing on realism rather than the typical absurdity usually seen in romantic movies, “5 Centimeters” might not be as engaging to those who don’t enjoy subtly. But the flaws still can’t stop this film from being something worth owning if you like a realistic love story about people who aren’t caricatures of humans, but react almost too natural to heartfelt circumstances to be animated.
