“Hey… They say it’s five centimeters per second.”
“What do you mean?”
“The speed at which the sakura blossom petals fall… Five centimeters per second.”
5 Centimeters per Second is a three-part movie. The movie is set in Japan, 1990 and gradually ending in modern day times. Part one is called “Cherry blossom”, part two is “Cosmonaut” and part three is “5 Centimeters per Second”.
The first part, set in early 1990’s, introduces us to protagonists of the movie, Takaki and Akari, shortly after becoming friends in school. Later, after they graduate Akari moves away, but they later stay in touch by writing letters addressed to each other. In one letter Akari mentions that her family is planning to move farther away and therefore making it nearly impossible for Takaki to visit Akari ever. Now, after learning this Takaki decides to take a train to visit her and confess his feelings towards her. The trains scenes are really well paced and the anxiety growing in Takaki as the time was working against him is something I liked.
The second part, set in mid to late 90’s, switches perspective to Sumida. She is a young girl and indecisive is how we can describe her. She is not certain about her future whilst people around Sumida are certain about the future they are headed to. She doesn’t think as she thinks that no one knows what future has in store for us. She isn’t confident about her future as she can’t figure out what she wants out of her future which frustrates her. She has strong feelings towards Takaki, and she is confident in her feelings towards him. Although, she loves Takaki, she knows that he can’t return her love back, which is beautifully shown in a sequence.
The third part, set in 2008, follows a now-adult Takaki. We get a brief glimpse of Takaki’s life. Which shows his failed relationship with a girl and his decision of leaving his job. This segment shows him struggling to cope with depression, leaving us to think what has brought about this state of his.
In the first episode Takaki and Akari are separated by only a train distance and write letters to each other. In the second episode, they are in different town and the distance between them clearly expands since they no longer in touch. In the final episode, the distance between them no longer exists as they are both in Tokyo. But their reunion is as good as impossible as things have changed so much.
Despite the almost too typical and simple plot, the movie stands out from other ones by employing uncommon method of storytelling along with beautiful still images related to characters telling their feelings while only their voices are heard.
There are, but, only two main characters and one secondary character along with unnamed girlfriend of Takaki from the third part. Takaki is a transfer student, so is Akari. They are our typical transfer students until they meet each other and grow close to each other as they share similar traits. The thing I like in the characters is that they all want Takaki in a different way, but as they learn that there is some other girl he yearns for they accept it and move on with their life.
The animation is downright beautiful, gorgeous. The animation is stunning and breathtaking. The color hues perfectly work to reflect a particular act. In “Cherry Blossom” act the animation of flash-backs uses bright tones which goes well with spring. I’m sure that any scene from the movie won’t disappoint anyone. Tenmon’s beautiful score backing-up the animation of the movie makes this one a masterpiece. The soundtrack of this particular film is a perfect fit, plain and simple. The movie uses classical music in way that it doesn’t dominate it nor is too subtle. “One More Time, One More Chance” by Masayoshi Yamazaki is a nice way to end the movie, written in a memory of deceased and longing love fits perfectly.
Life changes as time goes by, this fact is something which cannot be altered. Instead of trying to change it we should focus on dealing with the changes. Akari represents people who let go, accept and move on with the life. She is married and lives a happy life. On the other hand Takaki represents people who cannot let go, clinging to the past which is already lost. He keeps looking for something invisible and neglects his surroundings. Later, in the third part, he achieves to let go of that and stops clinging to what he lost. Akari and Takaki live their lives and never reunite. In the end nothing , like, a miracle happens which makes them together again. The ending is however really sad, but realistic. This atypical ending makes 5 Centimeters per Second a distinctive anime from the other romance anime I’ve watched.
5 Centimeters per Second holds a special place for me. Most of the people who watch the anime brush it off due to the sad ending that the anime delivers. The director wanted to deliver a sad yet realistic ending rather than a conventional ending. Lot of people interpret the ending as something that made their watch unworthy. They fail to interpret the ending properly. A 15 year old boy is shown dealing with his first break-up. This shows that some people couldn’t accept reality of being heartbroken. The ending shows people that it is unwise to remain cynical, cold, depressed and lifeless when we can’t face reality. Takaki finally accepts the reality and moves on. They wanted to show that it isn’t good to cling on to something which we’ve lost and remain lifeless. People perceive the ending as extremely depressing one; Takaki and Akari never seeing each other walking down their paths. Takaki was slowly learning to live happily again, he finds himself walking through the same streets as once he walked with Akari. With spring and sakura in bloom, he realizes that he shouldn’t stuck in the past, and we se him content to his heart for the first time since Akari moves away. And people think that it is sad, do you really think it is? Isn’t that what we all want, to be content with our lives despite all the darkness in our lives?
Reglaeca's Ramblings 