5 Centimeters per Second - Reviews

Well I had this in my "Want to watch" list on Anime Planet for awhile now, since it was recommended to those who like Emma: A Victorian Romance. (Which is somewhat similar when it comes to the "love" theme, but yet are very different in certain ways. I made a review about that as well.)



A Brief Synopsis: 5 Centimeters per Second is about a boy named Takaki who falls in love with his friend Akari. It tells their story in 3 "chapters" and shows them growing up & basically moving away from each other due to certain circumstances. (I would say more, but don't want to give major spoilers.)


Sound: I really enjoyed the subbed version of the film, but I'm sorry to say that I didn't care for the dubbed version. (I don't hate it, but it was just...meh... My high rating for Sound is mainly for the music.)


Animation: To put it simply, it is very breathtaking, especially the Cherry Blossoms/Sakura.


Overall thoughts: While I did like the film, I found some scenes kind of confusing at first, and really wish the ending would've turned out differently and/or had more to it. To me this is one of those movies where I think if I watched it again, I would need to be in the "right frame of mind" first, if that makes sense...


Anyway, thank you to my Secret Santa of Secret Santa 2019 for the recommendation! :)

SPOILER:

Overall I didn't find anything spectacular about this movie. Its a movie about life. People get separated and move on with their lives. 99% of people don't end up with their first love so idk why people are so depressed by this. I literally watched a movie of something that occurs in people's everyday lives and it was annoying. 

Art was naturally wonderful though and its was a beautiful movie. The characters weren't bad, they were just subjected to the unfortunate thing we call life. They grow up and stop contacting each other (oh ho big surpise, things got awkward) and lose the chance to be together due to lack of communication. You could watch your neighbor to witness something like this. Seriously. 

If you enjoyed it nothing wrong with that, I'm glad you had a good time becuase I didn't. Sorry...I'm bitter about this movie lol. 

This is literally the most boring thing I have ever watched. I don't know anything about any of the characters other than MC like wtf. I'm only giving it 3/10 because of the animation and sounds.

Allright. It's been a while since I've done something like this so bear with me as I try to find my way again.I did quite a lot of them in the past on a different website which you can find here: http://legendsofsatura.net/index.php/forum125/6-reviewing-guild.html

....They probably aren't very good though but please do stop by if you have the time and inclination. Originally the site was for writers, mostly original but also fanfiction.

Also I'm Dutch so there will be spelling errors. If you find them annoying give me a shout and I'll try to fix them.

Oh, I will try to keep spoilers to a minimum but there will be some. Usually the worse I rate an anime the more spoilers this will contain. You have been warned

So, you have probably already read what the animation is about in the discription given by Anime-Planet, which is the same as on the box. I will therefore try not go into the story that much unless I'm ranting about something (spoilers).

ART: The animation is simply amazing. If there was any CGI used then I didn't see it and this is what anime should be. I could go on for a while here but this is visually the best anime I've seen in a long time.

SOUND: Like the art the sound is nearing perfection. Normally I don't really notice the music so when they manage to make me take notice then you are doing something right. Take special note of the song at the end of the anime as it is simply perfect for the anime.

Voice acting is very good and the voice actor for Takaki actually plays him in every arc. The voice actress for Akari was switched for the final arc. Since the anime spans a time of 17 years this is a testament to the talent working on this movie.

CHARACTERS: There are 2 main characters, Takaki and Akari, and you follow their lives over a 17 year period in 3 story arcs.

STORY: The story is very simple really. Takaki and Akari both travel around a lot due to their parents jobs and they meet in elementary school. There they develop a deep bond and eventual love for each other.

I can't really explain it further than this as the story is covered in 3 arcs, each devided by several years. You see the main characters grow up and follow them as they persue their hopes and dreams.

Normally this is not something that I care about and even though at 60 minutes it is very short for a movie it still managed to keep my attention. At the end I was very keen to see where the characters would end up.

5 Centimeters per Second is Beautiful

The movie takes an almost ridiculously introspective look at how life and the ideal romantic plot are not the same in any way. Each act has a way of turning romantic tropes on their head that is admirable and saddening to see at the same time. It slowly tells a romance story that is completely heartbreaking and it has no shame in doing it. Partially because of this and partially because of the animation, this movie is packed with moments that you'll fondly remember. It'll probably be memorable for the Beautiful animation, rich storytelling metaphors, or just how heartbreaking or heartwarming the scene is portrayed.