5 Centimetres per Second—an intriguing title for Makoto Shinkai’s latest work. And boy, what a work it is. The story follows the tale of two childhood sweethearts as they are forcibly torn apart by a series of unfortunate circumstances. Throughout the film’s three episodes, we are told of how they age and slowly drift apart, both physically and spiritually, despite their best attempts to brave the storm and keep their relationship lit. Its plot is far from ostentatious; some might even berate it for being too straight-forward. Indeed, if the movie’s selling point was its story, then it would not have received even half the praise that it did.
What the movie does excel in are its simple, down-to-Earth characters and the beautifully genuine emotions that they so effectively convey. The film revolves around three characters: Takaki Touno and Akari Shinohara, the aforementioned childhood friends, and Kanae Sumida, the girl who holds an unrequited love towards Takaki in his later teenage years. What makes them so special is that, much like the story, they are not special. These characters are not lofty and larger than life, but are instead simply normal people who, like the rest of us, are trying to get through every day as best as they can. As the story unfolds through Takaki’s eyes and his melancholic narration, we fully experience all his emotions in the rawest form possible as he struggles towards his platonic love—from the sheer joy of seeing Akari for possibly the last time in the first episode, to the painful sense of yearning exhibited in both his and Kanae’s thoughts in the second, to the utter hopelessness and misery in the third episode as he desperately clings onto his dying dream, before ending on a hopeful, albeit bittersweet tone. Ultimately, you will be able to identify with these characters, going through all the ups and downs with them—and probably shed a tear or two along the way.
The artwork and animation in this movie just can’t be praised enough. Shinkai shows off his artistic genius once again with the prettiest backgrounds and most vivid skies you will ever see in any form of animation, bar none. The phenomenal lighting effects and colours, meticulous attention to detail, and amazing camerawork capture the essence of spring, summer and winter to incredible effect, and help elevate the melancholic mood of the film to unprecedented levels. In fact, the artwork is so powerful and engrossing that you will likely forget to read the subtitles at least once during the movie (for that reason, I saw it a second time, dubbed, immediately). It’s just that good. Conversely, a bit less attention is given to the characters with their simple designs and occasional loss of detail, but this is easily forgivable when they are juxtaposed with some of the greatest visual achievements ever. Truly magnificent.
While the sound effects and music used in the movie are not extravagant like the visuals, they are nonetheless integral components to the huge success of its overall presentation. The music, courtesy of Tenmon, almost entirely consists of simple, subdued piano pieces that blend entirely into the background. Though the music is a tad on the sweet side, it works incredibly well given the context, exponentially enhancing the colour and atmosphere of the film. The sound effects and editing is also done masterfully, as some of the most powerful scenes in the movie are accompanied by virtually silence. Of course, the seiyuu should also be lauded with their skillful handling of the characters and their emotions. Overall, the sound is an incredibly well done job.
In the end, it seems that both Voices of a Distant Star and The Place Promised in Our Early Days were practice for Shinkai so that he could get this movie right. Gone are the under-explored emotions in the former, as well as the somewhat unnecessary sci-fi subplot of the latter. What he has produced is an intensely focused work that has managed to explore its characters and their emotions in one hour to such an extent that other works have failed to do half as much given double the time. Truly, 5 Centimetres per Second is a masterpiece that is so much more than the sum of its parts, and is a movie that everyone should see. 10 cherry blossoms out of 10.
Definitely looking forwards to more from Makoto Shinkai.
