Well, I'm late lol. But to be honest I'm actually grateful that I'm late. Why? I'll tell you later.
First of all let me give you a fair warning, this movie is NOT meant for kids. No, not because there's a R-18 or something, but it's just that you need to be mature enough to actually understand and appreciate this movie. This story is targeted for a more mature audience; adults that has already grown up to the society. Okay so if you think you're mature enough then let me move into the second warning. This movie is NOT for those who are trying to escape reality, because this movie is the exact opposite of that. This movie depicts the boring life you have always experience in reality. You might think that I'm exaggerating but no, I'm not. If you still want to try it, then mind you that you have been warned.
Let's get a bit deeper then. What exactly is 5cm Per Second all about? This movie is not your typical grandeur happy love story. In fact it's the opposite; it's about how life goes on no matter what. At first we were introduced to our two main characters, Takaki and Akari in their childhood, although a bit fast-paced, served as a background for our story. After that we watch them as they grow up as an adult although not being together and.. that's it. And yes, I'm not joking. What's the point of this movie then if you ask? it's how it depicts our reality where sometimes things just doesn't go as smooth as we think. There's no build-up, there's no climax or some grandeur story. Life just goes on and on with it's boredom. But in the midst of that, there are some bittersweet things that we have experienced as it goes on, and the whole point of this is only to reminisce it. In this case, it's about a love that was never meant to be.
This movie was targeted to people who probably has experience those stage in life, which is probably why I can actually appreciate this story and why I was actually glad that I kept this on hold until now, as at this point I have already started to grow up to where I can actually graduate from anime anytime.
However, despite being able to express the meaning of such theme, the lack of character development might be a reason to why people couldn't get too affectionate with this movie. The lack of close-up on how they grew from their childhood until being an adult is a disappointment for me. I had hoped that they would have explored more of that in the second part rather than bringing a whole different story for it.
Nevertheless, although 5cm Per Second might not be the best, it is far from what you would call something bad. Paired with the magnificent art of Makoto Sensei and beautiful soundtrack, this movie that explored an unusual theme had given me a unique experience on watching anime. And like a black coffee, it is clearly not meant for everyone. Some might dislike it, but some might find the bitterness flavorsome.
