5 Centimeters Per Second

What a gorgeous film! Although the ending had me scratching my head a bit.
5 Centimeters Per Second is made by the same person who made Your Name (highest grossing anime of all time) and it shares so much with that film. Makoto Shinkai seems to excel when he tells stories about young love and depicts them against beautiful scenery artwork. This is an artist who loves his astrophotography since so many of his films feature space rockets and starry night skies.

This film is divided into three parts. All three are connected by the male lead character Takaki. The first chapter starts promisingly enough with a portrayal of a boy and a girl who form a deep bond with one another at school which eventually turns into a deep love for each other as they grow up. Yet they are separated by a considerable distance when their respective families move.

In the second story, an older teenaged Takaki appears mainly as the love interest of another girl at his school. The girl is absolutely besotted with Takaki and much of this chapter centres on how hard she finds it trying to handle her emotions whenever she thinks of him or is near him. This chapter is heart breaking as the young girl realises that her love for him will remain unrequited. (I’m very sure he knows she has a crush but he doesn’t seem to act upon it).

In the third story an adult Takaki mopes around the streets of Tokyo and seems to be dreaming of his long lost love from the first story. I haven’t figured out what the hell happened to him in those years between story 2 and story 3, but he seems lost and suffering from severe depression. I feel sad for Takaki and all the hopes and dreams he once had.

Anyway if you loved Your Name then 5 Centimetre Per Second isn’t quite as complete a film but it’s very close to it in artwork quality and subject matter. 7/10