5 Centimeters per Second

Makoto Shinkai's sophomore effort is an intimately crafted, elegantly narrated & gorgeously animated tale of young love & yearning desires that's far more grounded than his debut feature and paints an exquisite portrait of real world struggles. A touching & nostalgic reminiscent of first love that's affectionate, heartwarming & emotionally stirring in just the right doses.

This movie is basically three separate chapters, each of them showing different degrees of separation between two people.

throughout the movie you'll see one of the best animation scenes in history. Its superb!!, images are incredibly neat and well done. In this department I would give the movie an 11 out of ten.

first chapter is absolutely flawless, its amazing, one of the best pieces of animation I've ever seen, maybe even the best. You are captivated by the characters amazingly fast, its fantastic. another 11 out of ten.

Second chapter is also very good but.. the first chapter is so perfect that you don't think much of the second one.

last chapter is good. actually it is PERFECT, it allows the movie to make its point. in other words, it ends the way it has to. I did not give this chapter a 10 ONLY because it made me really sad ( I don't think I'm spoiling anything by saying this). I thought it was going to end in a completely different way.

Anyway, I recommend this movie a lot, just the animation and the first chapter makes it worth it. If you like the ending you could probably rank it as a 9.5 or ten.

The plot itself is average and trivial. The story revolves around unfulfilled first love and a couple separated by time and distance. It seems to be a bit overdone in terms of its importance and the two main characters seem to make their life and relationship a lot more difficult than it really is. The whole story resembles those from the poems written in the age of Romanticism. However, it is not very appealing and genuine if we look at the mobile phones owned by the two main characters - they never use them properly to contact each other. Despite the plot which isn't any spectacular, the animation is very good. Maybe the characters are not anime masterpieces but the nature & surroundings are presented in a great detail and they have truly amazing colours - I haven't seen such a brilliant background in any anime I have ever seen.

For me, the difference between cinema and literature is that while the latter is fundamentally about words, the former should tell its story at least as much through visuals and movement as through dialogue. 5 Centimeters Per Second, however, tells its story almost completely through words. You could simply read the script and get the entire story.

For example, the first of the movie's three episodes begins, after a snippet of dialogue, with a series of read letters while you watch their receiver go about his day. The bulk of the episode is a train ride in which his anxiety over train delays is expressed mainly by hearing his thoughts about how anxious he is. Shut your eyes, and you wouldn't miss a bit of story.

You would, admittedly, miss some really stunning animation. This movie is absolutely gorgeous, with stunning backdrops that will take your breath away.

The story itself is moderately interesting, a slice of life contemplation of time and desire and feelings of loss.

But it's very slow. And while the movie has some emotional impact, most of it is contained in a final music video-style piece whose combination of lyrics and images would be almost as effective without the hour of story preceding them.

Most of the people writing reviews here find this movie deeply moving, and I do understand why. The situations are sad, the images are pretty, and a sense of melancholy hangs over the whole thing. But for me, it was too slow, too wordy, and lacked the things that, for me, make film so powerful.

"5 cm per second. The speed at which cherry blossom petals fall." It looks like Makoto Shinkai has directed another little minimalist masterpiece. Bearing a distant resemblance to underground coming-of-age classics such as My Life as a Dog, 5 cm interweaves three short stories seen from the viewpoints of different characters. Each story revolves around a specific time period in the protagonist's life: his last days at primary school, graduating from high school, his early life as an adult.

Through the prism of an early sakura-blossom romance, the film primarily explores the themes of distance and loneliness, though it does so in a gentle way that is akin to recollecting your most beautiful sunrise memory rather than resorting to being dark and gloomy.

The music blends in very well with the movie, enhancing the emotional experiences conveyed, while passing almost unnoticed - as should happen in the best soundtracks. The animation is top notch and the quality of the drawings is just mesmerizing. You may often get the urge to pause the movie just to explore the richness of the tapestry.

If you can find it, it's well worth a watch.

9/10