The movie starts with the main character nostalgically recounting his first love as it grew with the progression of his school life, but what burdens him is not being close to her anymore, as the two of them came to live a great distance from each other when they grew a little older. This sentiment of a love destined to be unsuccessful is what the movie explores.
As for the other aspects of the movie, they are quite remarkable as well. The voice acting is unconventional, and not very anime-like. The characters speak in a more controlled (yet not monotonic) tone of voice as opposed to what is commonly seen in other anime, where characters express themselves in an exaggerated manner. (I believe the characters may have been voiced by non-professionals, but I am not entirely sure.) This fact renders more believable characterization and dialogue. The dialogue is authentic and, with a few exceptions, the viewer will not hear familiar/cliché phrases other works of drama so frequently use. The narration follows the same style of the dialogue and for the most part serves the purpose of delivering the movie's theme. The editing gives importance to the place the characters are in and the inanimate things that affect the story when it cuts to show the beautiful art, whether it is in form of landscapes or simple objects.
The movie fails when it comes to character design, since the character's faces were not as richly detailed as, say, the landscapes and because of that did not convey emotion as efficiently as other aspects of the movie did. The movie was well paced, but the last part (the movie is divided into three) did not have the same development the two previous ones did, though it still felt conclusive due to one final montage seen along with the final song, its lyrics illustrating the sad point the movie makes about love.
5 centimeters per second is an overall good movie which differences itself from other dramas in the way it does things unconventionally. Every part of the movie works together to form a solid work with only a few minor problems here and there. Although it exceeds in many ways (especially with the tone it takes) it is not a re-watchable anime and, at least for me, two viewings felt like enough.
