Byôsoku 5 senchimêtoru
Tags: depressing, dramatic, psychedelic, tragedy, romantic, sentimental

Plot synopsis:
The story is set in Japan, beginning in the 1990s up until the present day (2008), with each act centered on a boy named Takaki Tōno. The first act takes place during a time when cell phones are uncommon and email had not yet reached the general population.
=== Episode 1: Cherry Blossom ===
Takaki Tōno quickly befriends Akari Shinohara when she transfers to his elementary school in Tokyo. They grow closer to each other due to similar interests and attitudes; for instance, they both prefer to stay inside during recess due to their seasonal allergies. As a result, they form a strong bond; they speak to each other using their given names without any form of honorifics, which is a sign of deep friendship and familiarity in Japan.
Upon graduating from elementary school, Akari moves to the nearby prefecture of Tochigi, due to her parents' jobs. The two keep in contact by writing letters but eventually begin to drift apart. When Takaki learns that his family will be moving to Kagoshima on the other side of the country, he decides to personally go see Akari, since they will be too far apart to visit each other at all after moving. He also prepares a letter for Akari confessing his feelings for her. However, Takaki loses the letter during the journey and a severe snowstorm continuously delays his train for several hours. As the two finally meet and share their first kiss, Takaki realizes they will never be together again. Stranded in a shed due to the snowstorm, they fall asleep after talking late into the night. Takaki departs from the train station the next morning, and the two promise to continue writing to each other. As the train rolls away, Takaki decides that the loss of his letter is not important anymore after the kiss, while Akari silently looks at her own letter addressed to Takaki.
=== Episode 2: Cosmonaut ===
Takaki is now in the third year of senior high in Tanegashima, where the Tanegashima Space Center is located. Kanae Sumida, a classmate of Takaki, has been in love with him ever since meeting him in middle school but has never had the courage to confess her feelings. She tries to spend time with him, waiting long after school for the chance to travel home together. However, Takaki appears ignorant to Kanae's feelings and only treats her as a good friend. Kanae observes that Takaki is always writing emails to someone or staring off into the distance as if searching for something far away. It is later shown that Takaki's emails are not being sent to anyone, and that he has had recurring dreams which feature Akari. After a failed attempt to tell Takaki she loves him, Kanae eventually realizes that he is looking for something far beyond what she can offer and decides not to, though she believes she will always love him. With such thoughts, she cries herself to sleep.
=== Episode 3: 5 Centimeters per Second ===
It is 2008. Takaki is now a computer programmer in Tokyo, while Akari is preparing to get married to another man. Takaki is still longing for Akari to the detriment of his lifestyle, which is acknowledged by an ex-girlfriend. A depressed Takaki later leaves his job, being unable to cope with his feelings for Akari. Akari goes through her old possessions and finds the letter addressed to Takaki. Takaki and Akari have a dual narration, both recalling a recent dream depicting the events of their last meeting in the snow and hoping to watch the cherry blossoms together again.
One day while walking down a road, Takaki and Akari appear to pass and recognize each other at a train crossing, where they had decided to watch cherry blossoms together thirteen years ago, right before Akari's sudden move to Tochigi. At opposite sides of the tracks, they stop and begin to look back, but the passing trains cut off their view. Takaki waits for the trains to pass and sees that Akari is gone. After a moment, he smiles to himself and continues walking.

Review: "The movie is named 5 Centimeters Per Second for the speed at which cherry blossom petals fall, petals being a metaphorical representation of humans, reminiscent of the slowness of life and how people often start together but slowly drift into their separate ways." Beautiful.
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 start makes for a brilliant opening, 2 childhood friends move away from each other and write letters to keep in contact, setting the way for a beautiful story of friendship and love, but as the story progresses the main character and heroine drift apart.
This was like a poem flowing.....flowing through the flying cherry blossoms, touching the drifting snow flakes., trying to meet with the sky riding on the wings of the bird...............a poem which fell as tears from the eyes of akari...a poem which was etched on the snow splattered glass window of the train through which takaki's distant gaze marked his eternal wait..a poem which brought people closer and then forced them apart....a poem which sang the testimony to time, creating wounds and creating an illusion of them being healed...
5 Centimeters Per Second is an animated 'romance' that follows a boy and girl who were in love for a time and shows how they eventually grew apart and what happened to each one afterwards, told in 3 short episodes.
5 centimeters per second, 13 years.That's 20498.4km, exactly the same as the equatorial radius of our planet earth.The furthest distance possible between 2 people.After watching this masterpiece over and over again, I think I've finally come to the stage of fully understanding what this movie is all about.The deepest fear as we grow older, is that we are so scared of the inevitable change that might happen to us.
An hour long animated anthology, '5 Seconds'follows the lives of two youths as they grow up and grow apart over the course of three vignettes set at different points in their lives.While the last few minutes devolve into a music video, '5 Centimeters' is a sweet yet truthful look at the nature of young love in modern society.
Of course, having a touching score, as well as colourful animation that compensates for its occasional technical limitation, and some pretty solid voice talent, certainly help out too.However, this may not be a film for everyone: on top of the slow pace that may put off some, the ending feels really slapdash and more like 'hey, buy this song on our soundtrack guys!' It tries to end ambiguously, in keeping with the whole theme about the reality of romance, but it just feels more like the story stops and they ran out of money, rather than an artistic move (sort of like the ending of' Porco Rosso', where our pilots fly off and THEN....
Takaki is still in love with "her." Akari at the time...I think with anime or films, opinion is based upon when you watch them in your life.
"5 Centimeters per Second" is an animated movie that tells the story of two childhood friends Takaki Tohno and Akari Shinohara,who are separated due to Akari's family transfer to another region of japan for his father's job.The movie is divided into three parts.Each telling the story at different points of their life.The story is pretty straight forward but manages to deliver it's message quite beautifully.The movie focuses on Takaki Tohno, how he deals with the separation from his childhood friend and lover and moves forward.The animation quality is extraordinary.The characters are well made.The background details and camera angles compliment the different settings that the movie has.
i begun watching this piece of work with the highest expectations,truly from the beginning something was telling me that i would find a piece inside me that was missing by watching it.actually the first thing that took my mind away was that it had the most marvelous,breathtaking graphics i have ever seen in an anime.yet that wouldn't be enough to vote it a 10.the thing is that it was one of the most realistic,bitter yet familiar stories.i believe that everyone will find something familiar in it,maybe something that he even had forgotten.yes it's sad in the end,but that's life.personally i liked the second story the most.i believe it's the most objective from the eyes of a third person that doesn't even understand fully what's happening.to me the saddest too(no i wasn't in kanae's position ever).in the end i would recommend this piece of art to anyone that has a heart.everyone will find something close to him in it and he will smile bitterly or even cry i'm positive about it.or else you can watch it because it is just an outstanding movie in every possible way.
I personally don't even know how you could find a more beautiful, and beautifully made love story..Everything about this movie is right on point, and wistfully beautiful - the colors in the distant clouds, and the breeze in the grasses and sugar canes, the sounds of the birds and insects, the glittering reflections of lights in the rain and waters, and the pastel scenery.A great tale of love, friendship, companionship, and happiness - who's great strength, is held together and bonded by delicateness, and fragility - and by it's importance, meaningfulness, thoughtfulness, and sweetness.It can be a touch difficult to follow - specifically because it's narrative based, as opposed to character story based - you're listening to the characters read you a book basically, so you have to pay attention.It doesn't get any better than this - it's like the entirety of FF7 smushed into a beautiful tiny love story..If you need a beautiful place to go, and be, but can't find one - put this movie on, and that's where you'll be :)A reminder that love is more eternal than life, and with eternal love, life continues on in love..That ending though, after the song.
It was one of the first movies that I've watched from Director Makoto Shinkai and as expected as ever coming from Japanese animation the illustrations were fantastic as well as the premise were simple and yet, utterly heartbreaking.The details of the story and how the it progressed was definitely relatable (well, to me I suppose).
the third segment shows the boy all grown up with all the stresses of an adult life and out of the blue he gets a call from his first love and he doesn't answer it...and thats all the spoilers i'm going to give, just have some tissue ready.besides a beautiful story the artwork in this movie is incredible to the point of being breathe-taking, more so then some of his other works.
Makoto Shinkai has done a brilliant job in creating one of the most perfected animated films in film history, this with out a shadow of a doubt is on par or maybe even surpasses some of the Studio Ghibli films when it comes to amazing landscapes which you can enjoy.As I have briefly mentioned, the story is simply about a young boy called Takaki and how we follow his life story through the cruel winters, cold technology, and finally, adult obligations and responsibility converge to test the delicate petals of love.
Undeniably, the huge emphasis put on vivid imagery and moving dialogues that come along enhance the movie's ability to flow like a never-ending serenade of topmost tranquility.It's both an enchanting and melancholic story about longing, separation, lost love, teenage desires, and, most of all, the distance barrier that keeps people apart no matter how badly they want to break it.
Two elementary school friends who lost contact after their families suddenly moved to other cities try to stay in touch, but even though they're able to see each other once during one harsh winter day, they'll never be as close as they were years ago.5 Centimeters Per Second is indisputably like a magically realistic poem made up of four separate, very engaging parts, which show those two main characters in some of the happiest, and on the contrary, some of the most difficult times of their lives.
Having viewed the previous two films of Makoto Shinkai,I am enchanted by these animations.It is a beautiful and a little sorrow story in the film,but you will find the story is depicted in a totally different way after finishing reading the novel of it.Especially the 3rd chapter:5 cm per second.In the film,there are a myriad of description about Takaki,while few about Akari.Admittedlly,the plot is evolved in the eye of him.However,there are almost equal depiction about Takaki and Akari in the novel.I like the feature of Takaki,he is a industrious kid thought physical trouble(his health condition is not very good in youth)and changing of the environment(he always moves) give some disadvantage in his young days.Later he entered a Univ in Tokyo,and in his campus life he also had some beautiful affections with his workmate in some social work.So he undergo certain pain emotionally,but this makes him a more strong man.He is also a boy of achievement:in the novel,he work as a programmer in a big company,and he has considerable income.Although succeed in career,Takaki's emotional life is not supposed to be very perfect.He still care about Akari even after having worked for a few years,or even in relationship with his girlfriend.The reason why he is so confused in the film is that somebody is haunting around him.But after the train passed by,the girl(she is supposed to be Akari) in the other side of the railway disappeared.Our actor know that she had pursued her happiness.Okay,let's him start a new life!.
Having viewed the previous two films of Makoto Shinkai,I am enchanted by these animations.It is a beautiful and a little sorrow story in the film,but you will find the story is depicted in a totally different way after finishing reading the novel of it.Especially the 3rd chapter:5 cm per second.In the film,there are a myriad of description about Takaki,while few about Akari.Admittedlly,the plot is evolved in the eye of him.However,there are almost equal depiction about Takaki and Akari in the novel.I like the feature of Takaki,he is a industrious kid thought physical trouble(his health condition is not very good in youth)and changing of the environment(he always moves) give some disadvantage in his young days.Later he entered a Univ in Tokyo,and in his campus life he also had some beautiful affections with his workmate in some social work.So he undergo certain pain emotionally,but this makes him a more strong man.He is also a boy of achievement:in the novel,he work as a programmer in a big company,and he has considerable income.Although succeed in career,Takaki's emotional life is not supposed to be very perfect.He still care about Akari even after having worked for a few years,or even in relationship with his girlfriend.The reason why he is so confused in the film is that somebody is haunting around him.But after the train passed by,the girl(she is supposed to be Akari) in the other side of the railway disappeared.Our actor know that she had pursued her happiness.Okay,let's him start a new life!.
The movie is subtitled "a chain of short stories about their distance" and I can think of no better way of summarizing it without giving away the mystery."5 Centimeters Per Second" can be classified as a love-drama film as it contains plenty of both.I recommend this movie even to those that dislike anime, because if you watch just four minutes of the movie you simply forget you are looking at a Japanese-style film.
It is simply a reflection of life with it's struggles and obstacles, that come together in deep moments.**SPOILER**The first chapter tells the story of close friends Takaki Tōno and Akari Shinohara and how time and space forces them to go their separate ways.
A must watch for anyone who has not seen it yet.*** Spoilers Beyond This Point Do Not Read If You Have Not Seen the Film!*** I was moved by all 3 of the main Characters in this film as I could feel how true their love was, as well as feel their pain.Takaki Tono - From the start of the movie we see Takaki tell the story from his point of view, and there are several points where you really feel his pain, such as when he is on the train to go see Akari after one year of distance, and despite his longing to see her, when he realizes how late he will be he thinks to himself "Akari please don't wait for me".
The art behind this movie is amazing.The design,the colours,the backrounds,the little details all top notch!But where was the plot?We see two kids getting really close as friends,falling in love with each other and then facing the difficulties life puts in their way.At least,that's what you would expect after that slow first part.To see what happens next in that love story.Will it be tragic or things change in a surprising heartwarming reunion?But nothing....After the struggle of meeting after a year of separation,Takaki moves away.You expect to see them thinking about each other,maybe experiencing temptations of falling for someone else,who's physically closer to them,but no....We don't see Akari anywhere.It's like this is not about her anymore.We see a very sweet young girl who falls for Takaki,but is very shy to confess her feelings,so he lets him leave the island without giving "their thing" a chance.He is obviously caught up with something,we see him texting so you think that Akari is on the other side of that cellphone and that,at the end of the school year,they would as planned meet...maybe?....But no...again!!He texts to nobody.He sits all alone,no friends,no girls,writing texts about dreams with a faceless girl,sending them nowhere and wastes all his time on this island.And we get to experience this in a very slow way.In the end I wonder,what is this movie about?We do not end up with two lovers.We do not see their difficulties,they just move apart.We do not see what happens in their lives.And the few hopes I reserved for part 3,crumbled to dust in the end.Again we only see glimpses of Takaki in various different places and clothes and backrounds,on a balcony,in a station,on board a train,walking on a pavement etc.,and some even smaller parts with Akari.She suddenly wears glasses.Did she try to contact Takaki?Cannot be sure,we see her using her cellphone,speaking of the letter she wanted to give him back when they were younger but not sure.We are always moving back and forth,past-now,dreams-reality,thoughts-feelings in an abrupt way so it was kinda hard to keep track of what had actually happened...Did they ever meet again?No....So despite their supposed great feelings,no effort was made,from either side,to meet again in contrast to what you have might expected.So they just let go of each other.Akari apparently got engaged,we see her wearing a ring and all,and Takaki ended up a loser.Dirty house,depressed,all alone,no job and all that for a girl he did not even try to find at any point during his entire life.Certainly life is what happens while you are too busy making plans,but still,after a certain age,using the given technology and keeping in touch,they could move closer to each other,they could try for the same(or close- by)high schools or universities or at least try some kind of contact,anything at all would be accepted by me.But none of that....So did I miss something here?Was there a greater deep latent message behind all these slow mini-stories with the many and various backrounds,weather conditions and deep silences?I think not....I believe this movie tried to portray what happens when life gets in the way,when you are just not that lucky and the circumstances become almost impossible for your desires to become actual things and parts in your life.But it leaves too much stuff on the viewer.You have to assume they split apart and lose all contact,you have to assume all other things in between,you'll have to have similar experiences in your private life or seen or heard about similar stories in order to get it.Is it sad?Yes,of course it is sad...Because I assumed most of the story in a very sad way.Was there any romance?It's supposed to be a romance/drama story but for the most part we just see beautiful landscapes and people moving through time in silence.Silence can be quite deafening some times,but when a story consists mostly of silence,can be rather tiring to me.It gets a 6/10 from me.Because of it's beauty I am lenient.Besides that,I really like the second part.It displays perfectly how fears,shyness and lack of "perfect" moments can scar you for life,if you don't have the guts to "grab life by it's horns" as they say.A younger part of me could relate to the surf girl.I can say that it actually hurt me a bit.Other than that,I found myself expecting something that was never delivered.Too bad...cause there was a great potential.And before you hastily try to object,think about this...What do we know about the protagonists?What Takaki and Akira like?What are their dreams and desires for the future?What do they want to achieve?What defines them as unique personalities?What do they do or eat or drink or think before they sleep?Do we know any of these absolutely necessary things in order to have an image of a person in your mind that clearly separates them from everyone else?......The answer is again "No".....And that is certainly a really sad thing about this movie.I am not sorry for my not popular opinion.To you,reviewer who said"I'm sorry for my unpopular opinion",don't be....