Reviews

I had a bit of a Makoto Shinkai fest over the past few days. 5 Centimetres Per Second was the first of three. I had already watch Zuzume and Your Name and easily love his style from those two alone. I thought delving into more was about time. Though 5 Centimetres per Second is a film, it is essentially split in 3 different episodes at different times of Takaki's life. The premise of the movie is rather simple for Makoto Shinkai compared to the two i had seen by this point. 5 centimetres per second represents the speed in which a cherry blossom leaf falls away from the tree to the ground. This is essentially a metaphor for life moving on and drifting apart from your first loves or connections and it does a really good job of delivering on this metaphor

Part 1
Here we focus on the initial connection the story builds upon. Despite the film having little action, or even little story on the periphery of our main characters, it does an excellent job of doing so much and providing stressful suspense and wonderful relief. I wont detail what happens, 1, because why spoil it and 2, you don't need a review that just says what happens. Essentially, this part provides the roots of this story, the roots that we will keep in mind throughout each part. If provides us, the viewer, with the connection not only for our main characters, but the connection we will hold on to enhancing the experiences within each subsequent part.

Part 2
i feel here the quality and pacing from the 1st part is continued. we start seeing a progression of Takakis life and later understand the impact of part 1. It brings the viewer in for the ride of life moving on. It makes it easy to follow Takaki moving on through his life and for a brief period of time, somehow makes you forget what came before. What this part does beautifully is how it draws this part to a close and brings your focus back to what preceded in such a relatable human way. I suspect by this point, most viewers will be finding ways to relate to this story as it is told in a really natural and human way.

Part 3
This is where I feel it started to lose its way. I do use this phrase 'loses its way' rather lightly however, as its still of great quality. I just find it was either rushed to a conclusion or there wasn't much story telling substance as compared to the first 2 parts. I haven't yet decided. Further, i feel like the conclusion could have been more emotional. Despite this, i still feel the conclusion was fitting for what this story is portraying, life moving on and people drifting further apart.

By this point, there is little to be said that hasn't already been said about the animation and sound that accompanies Makoto Shinkais works. I wouldn't say they are quite to the same standard as his later works, but as one hones their skills, one tends to get better. 5 Centimetres Per Second still looks and sounds great however.