The art is well done, and enhanced subtly with the use of computer graphics. The overall effect can be described as being very clean. Scenes can feel rather warm, cool and even sterile. I feel that computer use in a discrete manner would help the title age well. A composer known as TENMON was responsible for the soundtrack for Byousoku 5 Centimeter. It is heavily laid with piano and background symphony. Though some themes are used again, they are revisited with added feeling ranging from playful to romantic to sorrowful. The track titled "One More Time, One More Chance" is emblematic of Byousouku 5 Centimeter.
The characters are placeholders for the viewer. They live in an ordinary town, pursuing normal lives. They worry about school, grades, classmates, friends, love, and the future. While not distinct, they are meant to be us. The characters have desires and work to fulfill them as we do. The plot in Byousoku 5 Centimeter is about maturing. It asks "what if life got in the way of love?" and the age old question, "is love really timeless?"
Despite the vague character design, I believe that it succeeds in easing the viewer into the story. At one point in life, many of us have met some form of love and struggled with attaining or maintaining it. Byousoku 5 Centimeter preys on the fact that we understand that ideology that "love is life" is false at some level. There are some things more important than love such as having a place to sleep, food to eat and security. However, coming to terms with this reality is always harsh. Though these are not always mutually exclusive, Byousoku 5 Centimeter reminds the viewer that they certainly can be.
