I was able to watch the World Premiere of this movie at Anime Expo July 3, 2016. I have to say it was truly an amazing movie.
There might be some spoilers-but not intentional-in this so read at your own risk.
I'm rating this a 9 because I tend to suspend my disbelief to the fullest due to my personal bias for Shinkai films. There are unanswered questions and whatnot, but I don't care about that. Just know that it isn't perfect and that there are kinks but for the somewhat realistic review of this movie, I will not be giving it a perfect score across the board as much as I'd love to.
Story:
This movie is probably at the top of my list, if not very close to the top, of my favorite movies. The story was nothing like I personally had ever seen but still had Shinkai's generic boy-meet-girl plot. A city boy and country girl are connected through time because of this comet that comes every 1000 years or so and they end up trying to meet. They one day wake up in each others bodies, without knowing anything about the other and end up exploring and falling in love(?).
Art:
If any regular tv anime was able to produce at this quality, I'd be watching everything just for the art. Shinkai sets a whole new standard in animation and cinematography. I'm a fan of scenery and with Shinkai's creations, it's impossible for me to rate it anything under 10.
As with any Shinkai movie, he adds another depth to his art. His well-crafted CG animations are so high-quality and well thought out so that everything just looks as breathtaking as possible. It's almost as if he has broken through the dimension of animation and entered reality-just an exaggeration but you get the point. Even if you have your eyes fixated on the focal point of each screen you can't help but notice the details he puts in the background. I was able to purchase Shinkai's art book regarding '5cm per second' at AX also, and it truly was one purchase i won't regret. Each scene is just so wonderfully crafted to capture the emotions and keep it flowing through the scenes to come.
Sound:
Shinkai employs one of his favorite bands-RADWIMPS-to create a soundtrack for him. They had the script I believe about a year and a half ( not really sure) beforehand to be able to create the compliment to his masterpiece. The soundtrack was wonderful. I had no complaints about anything other than the fact that I have to wait for it to come out. RADWIMPS definitely delivered a high-quality score that is able to capture the feelings of the moments and put it out. The score also was able to flow with the direction of the plot and characters that it felt so natural for a song to come out.
The voice acting in this was also amazing. The actors did a wonderful job, especially the voice of Mitsuha, Mone Kamishiraishi. Her voice was beautiful and I definitely felt the emotions behind her voice in particular scenes which I grew more attached to after finding out that she's still new to voice acting. The male lead's voice actor Ryunosuke Kamiki is more experience and therefore was also able to fulfill the role fully. Their voices were wonderful and fit the characters to which they were assigned.
Character: ( I suck at this so you can skip this part. then again I'm a noob when it comes to writing reviews.)
Given that this is a movie, their developments early on aren't too complex. It becomes established they are simple teenagers in their respective niches in the population, but somehow as the story progresses we are given more and more complexity to their character but not the depth you'd see in a television series. The story definitely played a big role in developing them. The side characters just are there, the typical discovery-help protagonist-gone type of deal. Not too much on the side characters, a few moments here and there which helps the side characters feel like a natural part of the characterization of the two leads.
Enjoyment:
I have to say I was not bored a single moment of this movie. Maybe it's because I'm such a fan for Makoto Shinkai films or that I was able to attend the world premiere at my first Anime Expo, but this movie kept me on the edge of my seat. I was interested in the movie and there were some cringe worthy moments but not without a few gags here and there. It was a well-crafted movie to keep you entertained but isn't enough you make you watch this over and over and over again. It's one of those gems you watch again every blue moon. You watch it when it's nearly faded in your memory so that you may experience a wonderful movie once more. It's also a romance genre film, and I'm a fan for romance so this also allowed me to stay interested.
Overall:
If you like HD pictures, scenery, romance, science and anime, this movie is worth watching. Some may not agree with the ratings and that's totally fine- to each his own.
But as for my 2cents, this is a well crafted movie filled with stunning graphics and scenes driven by a romance plot centered around two teenagers from different worlds connected by some cosmic event filled with a wonderful soundtrack.
I would recommend this to you if you like any of the aforementioned categories above. I've already been bugging my friends to go watch this as soon as it becomes available.
