review of movie 5 centimeters per second

Five Centimeters Per Second

"Five Centimeters Per Second" refers to the rate at which a cherry blossom drifts to earth, and time forms the subject and substance of Makoto Shinkai's animated feature, in which events are measured in minutely detailed tableaux of passing clouds, eerily reflected lamplight or silently falling snow.

By Ronnie Scheib

Ronnie Scheib

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“Five Centimeters Per Second” refers to the rate at which a cherry blossom drifts to earth, and time forms the subject and substance of Makoto Shinkai’s animated feature, in which events are measured in minutely detailed tableaux of passing clouds, eerily reflected lamplight or silently falling snow. Divided into three episodes, virtually plotless anime traces fragile, emotion-fraught moments in its hero’s childhood, adolescence and manhood. Vividly capturing the lost promise of youth, this exquisite, light-drenched tone poem requires creative handling to secure even limited niche play, though hour-plus running time makes it ideal for cable.

First episode, “Cherry Blossom Story,” journeys from the warmth of a shared childhood to the coldness of separation and loss. Young lad Takaki and little g.f. Akari come across as nerdy soulmates, sharing a love of books and the derision of their peers. They stroll together under a pastel blizzard of cherry blossoms and, even after their parents move, manage to keep in touch via cell phone and e-mail.

But a final visit before a major move finds Takaki on an endlessly delayed train ride through unfamiliar stations and snow-bound nightscapes toward an infinitely receding reunion with Akari. Shinkai subtly renders the angst of something precious lost, of being irreversibly too late, as time dilates and contracts in the minutiae of messages, sputtering fluorescent bulbs and inexorable clockhands.

Part two, “Cosmonauts,” finds loner adolescent Takaki on Tanegashima Island, composing text messages to Akari he never sends, while a lonely young girl, Kanae, whose voiceover monologue provides whispered accompaniment, waits to declare her love for him. Huge patterned skies, filled with indecipherable patterns and traversed by rockets launched from the nearby Japanese space agency, limn an interval of yearning promise and unformed dreams.

In the third, present-day section, titled “Five Centimeters Per Second” and set in the lonely rooms and impersonal cityscape of Tokyo, Takaki is a disillusioned adult who aimlessly wanders the city, pausing to wonder about a familiar-looking woman crossing the railroad tracks in the other direction. Unfortunately, Shinkai rhymes the film’s last, whirling-memory montages to a hokey Japanese pop tune too sappy for his evanescent imagery.

Shinkai has been hailed as the next Miyazaki, and his dreamy mindscapes often equal or surpass the anime maestro in breadth of detail and depth of emotion. Shinkai extends the innate possibilities of the anime dynamic, reapplying its principles of lush effects, inflated background detail and sometimes undernourished character animation to mirror the interiority of the characters in every nuance of their surroundings.

• Production: An ADV Films, CoMix Wave Films production. Produced by Makoto Shinkai, Nokitaka Kawaguchi. Directed, written, edited by Makoto Shinkai. (Color).
• Crew: Music, Tenmon; storyboards and animation, Shinkai; key animation director, Takayo Nishimura; character design, Nishimura; background art, Shinkai, Takumi Tanji, Akiko Majima; sound (Dolby), Shinkai. Reviewed at New York Children's Film Festival, March 1, 2008. Running-time: 63 MIN.
• With: Voices: Kenji Mizuhashi, Satori Hanamura, Yoshimi Kondou, Ayaka Onoue.

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5 centimeters per second, common sense media reviewers.

Tearjerker anime about first crushes, unrequited love.

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Movie explores themes of first loves, unrequited l

While not role models in the traditional sense, Ta

This is a Japanese production.

Some mild bullying from Takaki's peers: Kids poke

First loves, first kisses as tween characters stru

Fast-food restaurant with similar packaging and de

Parents need to know that 5 Centimeters Per Second is a 2007 anime drama-romance in which two tweens who experience first love slowly drift apart as the years go by. It's a tearjerker told in three chapters, each covering a different era in the lives of the main character. The themes of crushes, unrequited…

Positive Messages

Movie explores themes of first loves, unrequited love, missed connections, coming of age -- all relatable themes for kids having these first experiences.

Positive Role Models

While not role models in the traditional sense, Takaki, Akari, and Kanae experience feelings of not fitting in, unrequited love, first loves, intense crushes -- all relatable to kids.

Diverse Representations

Did we miss something on diversity? Suggest an update.

Violence & Scariness

Some mild bullying from Takaki's peers: Kids poke fun of his relationship with Akari, and they both are outsiders at school.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

Sex, Romance & Nudity

First loves, first kisses as tween characters struggle with romantic longing for the first time.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.

Products & Purchases

Fast-food restaurant with similar packaging and design as McDonald's. Coffee shop with similar appearance as Starbucks.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that 5 Centimeters Per Second is a 2007 anime drama-romance in which two tweens who experience first love slowly drift apart as the years go by. It's a tearjerker told in three chapters, each covering a different era in the lives of the main character. The themes of crushes, unrequited love, and angst should be strongly relatable to kids having these feelings for the first time. There are no real issues in terms of content. Characters eat at a fast-food restaurant made to look similar to McDonald's and a coffee shop made to look similar to Starbucks. The lead characters don't fit in at their school, especially when they start to have feelings for each other, and other kids tease them about it. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails .

Where to Watch

Videos and photos.

Community Reviews

• Parents say
• Kids say (1)

There aren't any parent reviews yet. Be the first to review this title.

What's the Story?

In 5 CENTIMETERS PER SECOND, Takaki (Kenji Mizuhashi) is a tween with strong feelings for his classmate Akari (Yoshii Kondou). As they begin to acknowledge their feelings for each other, Akari moves to a different region due to her parents' jobs. When Takaki learns that his family will be moving far away, Takaki tries to see Akari one last time to truly express his feelings for her, but while en route to visit her by train during a snowstorm, he loses the letter in which he wrote to her about his feelings. When they do meet, Takaki faces the painful realization that they can never be together as Akari struggles with her own feelings and unsent letters. They stay in touch in their teen years as Takaki still struggles with regrets and feelings for Akari, even as classmate Kanae clearly has a crush on him. Later, as an adult in Tokyo, Takaki still thinks about Akari, and while passing the spot where they once promised to watch cherry blossoms together, he passes who he thinks is Akari. Will they finally be together?

Is It Any Good?

This is a tearjerker coming-of-age anime about unrequited love and missed connections. 5 Centimeters Per Second is filled with beautiful images and insightful observations about how people who are once very close can slowly drift apart. It's likely to be a little too emo for older and more cynical viewers, but for more sensitive viewers and for kids having their own first experiences of crushes, angst, romance, and heartbreak, it's a strongly relatable movie about the sadness of experiencing how someone you know can eventually become someone you knew.

Such themes are mawkish and sappy in less experienced hands, but the great writer-director Makoto Shinkai conveys a richly rendered world of loneliness, disconnect, and things unsaid and unexpressed through trains, rocket launches, city streets. The only bummer note is at the end, with the requisite anime balladry that overwhelms the sincerity of the movie that had managed to keep it from coming across as too mushy. Nonetheless, the quality and creativity of how the story is told ultimately win out.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about anime like 5 Centimeters Per Second . How is this similar to and different from other anime you've seen?

How does the movie explore themes of first crushes, unrequited love, and angst, and how those who were once close can slowly drift apart as the years go by?

How were the three parts of the movie connected, and how did they show the passing of time and the change in the relationship between Takaki and Akari?

Movie Details

• In theaters : March 3, 2007
• On DVD or streaming : March 14, 2011
• Cast : Kenji Mizuhashi , Yoshimi Kondou , Satomi Hanamura
• Director : Makoto Shinkai
• Studio : GKIDS
• Genre : Anime
• Topics : High School , Middle School
• Run time : 63 minutes
• MPAA rating : NR
• Last updated : August 1, 2023

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Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

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5 Reasons Why 5cm Per Second Is Makoto Shinkai's Best Movie (& 5 Why It's Not)

Compared to more recent films like Weathering With You, how does 5 Centimeters Per Second hold up?

It can often be hard to decide which of the work of a film-maker is considered their best. There's constant debate over whether  Inception   or  The Dark  Knight is the better Christoper Nolan film, or which  Star Wars trilogy is the worst, and the same debate is often had about animated films as well.

Related:  15 Heartbreaking Anime That Will Make You Cry

With the recent release of  Weathering With You  as another reminder of the genius of Makoto Shinkai, it presents an opportunity to look back on his previous work to see whether one of his first full-length films,  5 cm Per Second , is still considered to be his greatest work to date. Here are 5 reasons why  5 cm Per Second is his best work to date, and 5 why it no longer holds the top spot.

10 Best: The Story Is Realistic

One thing Shinkai loves to put into his romance stories is some element of fantasy or science fiction, usually used as the backdrop to push his characters towards one another.  Your Name does this in spades, where there's not only body-swapping and time travel, but also elements of fate and destiny surrounding parts of the story aside from its central romance. While this makes the story far more interesting, it also makes it harder to relate to the characters and the events in their lives that lead them to one another. One the other hand, felling unrequited love for someone and life pulling friendships apart is something most people can relate to on a personal level.

9 Not Best: The Story Is Realistic

On the flip side of this, the realism of the story also makes it more heavy-hitting when Tataki and Akami don't get together at the end of the film. It's more realistic for two people who have been forced apart by their life choices and the choices of their parents to stay apart, and not find some way to make it work in spite of everything going on around them. While the realism is refreshing, it is also disappointing to see two characters who have very clear and strong feelings for one another to never make it work, despite how hard they tried.

8 Best: Presents The Struggle Of Long Distance Relationships Well

As time has moved on and technology has evolved to the point where we're basically all carrying a computer around in our pockets, the idea of only being able to communicate by mail is a thing of the past.

Related:  10 Anime To Watch If You Like Your Name

For Tataki and Akari, that is the reality of their world, as the film begins before the rise in popularity of cell phones and internet message boards and it adds a layer of difficulty to the relationship that is relatable for anyone who has lived through a time where that was the reality of communications.

7 Not Best: It's Too Short

The fact  5 cm Per Second is presented as three short stories rather than as one continuous timeline helps to push the story through many years of the lives of Tataki and Akari, but the overall length of the film doesn't give us enough time to see how it really impacted them. We see a few scenes where Tataki writes texts to himself, with the intention of sending them to Akari, but never gathering up the nerve to follow through with it. It would have been nice to see just a little more of their lives as they tried to come to terms with the breakdown of their friendship and relationship.

6 Best: Doesn't Just Focus On The Central Romance

One part of the romance genre that can be tiresome to see is that the plot only focuses on the main characters' relationship and nothing else.  5 cm Per Second takes a unique approach and not only shows Tataki's struggle with how far away he lives from Akari, but also shows us Kanae, one of Tataki's classmates, as she is coming to terms with her unrequited love for Tataki as he spends his days pining for his best friend.

5 Not Best: Your Name Was Way More Successful

Even though  5 cm Per Second is one of the most loved and successful anime films of the current era, it doesn't even hold a candle Shinkai's other work, especially  Your Name . Aside from having a whopping 98% approval on Rotten Tomatoes, it did the impossible and knocked  Spirited Away off of its pedestal as the highest-grossing anime film of all time, a position it had held for fifteen years.

Related:  10 Best Anime Movies Ranked (According To IMDb)

When you look at the sheer popularity of the two films, it's hard to see  5 cm Per Second as anything other than second best.

4 Best: You Want The Characters To Get Together

There are some romance stories out there that present the two characters in such a way that you don't care one way or the other if they get together in the end or not. Thankfully,  5 cm Per Second doesn't do this, and you spend the majority of the film waiting to their luck to turn around and for life to let them be together like they so desperately want. Not only that, but even in the short amount of time Tataki and Akari are seen together, their relationship is believable enough that romance would be the next step for them.

3 Not Best: Not Enough Time With Akari

While the central plot of the film follows Tataki struggling to come to terms with Akari moving away, we spend so much time with his side of the story that we never see how Akari dealt with the move herself. Despite being a major character in the film, she only shows up when they meet at the train station and share their first and only kiss before Tataki has to return home, and in the ending when it is shown she is engaged and passes Tataki on the street.

Related:  Studio Ghibli: 5 Reasons Why My Neighbor Totoro Is The Studios Best Movie (& 5 Better Alternatives)

It would have been nice to see exactly how she got from A to B, and not just be shown snippets at either end of her life.

2 Best: The Ending

The ending of  5 cm Per Second  is a strange one for modern romance, as most stories end with the characters either getting together or realizing that they really wanted to be with someone else this whole time. Shinkai's film takes a left-field approach and shows us that, despite how much time has passed and how hard he has tried to move on, Tataki hasn't been able to get over his feelings for Akari, and his life has deteriorated as a result. In the last minutes of the film, he has quit his job, lost all motivation in life and his girlfriend of three years has broken up with him. It's a refreshing take on the genre that hasn't been done nearly enough.

1 Not Best: The Ending

The ending may be unique and realistic, but you can only appreciate that for so long before you realize that what you really wanted was for someone to get a happy ending. Even Akari, who was on the verge of getting married, had all those emotions come back to her after finding the letter she wrote to Tataki as a teenager, but never had the courage to give him. Compared to  Your Name , whose closing scene is eerily similar to  5 cm Per Second , it was nice to see at least the beginnings of closure there, with Mitsuha and Taki actually acknowledging one another rather than turning back and accepting fate as it is.

Next:  15 Avatar: The Last Airbender Characters That Deserve Spinoff Series

• Cast & crew
• User reviews

5 Centimeters per Second

Told in three interconnected segments, Takaki tells the story of his life as cruel winters, cold technology, and finally, adult obligations and responsibility converge to test the delicate p... Read all Told in three interconnected segments, Takaki tells the story of his life as cruel winters, cold technology, and finally, adult obligations and responsibility converge to test the delicate petals of love. Told in three interconnected segments, Takaki tells the story of his life as cruel winters, cold technology, and finally, adult obligations and responsibility converge to test the delicate petals of love.

• Makoto Shinkai
• Kenji Mizuhashi
• Yoshimi Kondou
• Satomi Hanamura
• 174 User reviews
• 68 Critic reviews
• See production info at IMDbPro

• Takaki Tohno
• Akari Shinohara (segment "Oukashou")
• Kanae Sumida (segment "Cosmonaut")
• Akari Shinohara (segment "Byousoku 5 Centimeter")
• All cast & crew
• Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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Did you know

• Trivia The title 5 Centimeters Per Second comes from the speed at which cherry blossoms petals fall, petals being a metaphorical representation of humans, reminiscent of the slowness of life and how people often start together but slowly drift into their separate ways
• Goofs If cherry petals would fall by 5 centimeters per second, it would take them one minute to fall from a 3 meter high tree. Obviously they fall around ten times faster, even when pictured in the movie.

Akari Shinohara , Takaki Toono : *Akari and Takaki kiss for the first time*

Takaki Toono : And right then it felt like I finally understood where everything was, eternity, the heart , the soul. It was like I was sharing every experience I'd ever had in my past 13 years. And then, the next moment, I became unbearably sad. I didn't know what to do with these feeling. Her warmth, her soul. How was I supposed to treat them? That, I did not know. Then right then, I clearly understood that we would never be together. Our lives not yet fully realized, the vast expanse of time. They lay before us and there was nothing we could do. But then, all my worries, all my doubt, started melting away. All that was left were Akari's soft lips on mine.

• Connections Featured in WatchMojo: Top 10 Underappreciated Anime Movies (2016)
• Soundtracks One More Time, One More Chance Performed by Masayoshi Yamazaki

User reviews 174

• Jul 22, 2011
• How long is 5 Centimeters per Second? Powered by Alexa
• March 3, 2007 (Japan)
• Official Wikipedia
• 5 Centimeters Per Second
• See more company credits at IMDbPro
• $5,000,000 (estimated)

Technical specs

• Runtime 1 hour 3 minutes
• Dolby Digital

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5 Centimeters per Second Reviews

This is a tearjerker coming-of-age anime about unrequited love and missed connections. 5 Centimeters Per Second is filled with beautiful images and insightful observations about how people who are once very close can slowly drift apart.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Jul 12, 2022

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/4 | Jun 12, 2022

[An] exquisite, light-drenched tone poem.

Full Review | Mar 7, 2008

As poet of heartbreak, Shinkai could be accused of treacly mush (the voice-overs are a bit florid, and the saccharine piano score doesn't help), but he's got a delicate touch with sentiment that will have receptive viewers reaching for a Kleenex.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | Oct 5, 2007

5 Centimeters Per Second (TV-PG)

Makoto Shinkai’s “5 Centimeters Per Second” (2007) is a refreshing take on the romance genre that disassembles the standard sanguine love story. In many ways, “5 Centimeters Per Second” is a clear precursor to Shinkai’s acclaimed “Your Name” (2017); however it is also the antithesis of that film in terms of its outlook. Here, Shinkai uses realism to give a pragmatic and almost cynical account of love in the real world. The film is composed of three short chapters that each act as a snapshot of a certain point in the life of protagonist Takaki Tohno (Kenji Mizuhashi). Together, the story follows Takaki as he deals with becoming increasingly estranged from his old flame Akari (Yoshimi Kondou as young Akari, Ayaka Onoue as adult Akari) as two grow and their paths diverge.

The first chapter is titled “The Cherry Blossom Blooms” and is certainly the most hopeful of the three. After Akari transfers to Takaki’s elementary school in Tokyo, the two befriend one another and quickly become an inseparable pair. Once the two have graduated, the geographical distance between them becomes a hurdle in their relationship though they manage to maintain contact by sending letters to each other. However, once Takaki learns of his family’s impending move to the other side of the country, it becomes clear that the two will soon be unable to visit each other. They arrange one last rendezvous before this happens, though a string of misfortune threatens to make Takaki miss their meeting.

This segment is filled with a naïve and optimistic energy that becomes infectious. This is achieved largely through Takaki’s voiceovers, which convey a pure and young love that is hard not get invested in—his desperation to get to Akari in time is palpable. The clean animation makes the environment both pretty and immersive. The heavy and sombre snowfall getting in the way of Takaki’s journey becomes a beautiful backdrop when the two finally reunite. You can feel the icy winds that snatch away Takaki’s handwritten love letter and the cosiness as the pair sit in front of a fire. All the while, the saccharine score (composed by Tenmon) plays softly in the background. Together, this all deludes the audience into seeing this as a classic romance plot, in which the love between the pair will somehow still triumph.

In the second chapter, titled “Cosmonaut,” we are reintroduced to Takaki as a slightly more weathered high school student. Takaki is no longer the main narrator as we follow another student named Kanae, who’s feelings for Takaki place her in a love triangle against another girl who isn’t even present. As we are shut out from Takaki’s narration for most of this chapter, we are left to wonder for ourselves just what he is thinking, just as Kanae does. Though, the dramatic irony here means that the audience understand that her efforts will be in vain and that Takaki’s heart clearly still belongs to Akari. Kanae is forced to face this when the courage she has summoned to reveal her feelings disintegrates as she accepts that Takaki will always be looking elsewhere.

The star-studded night sky is a focus in this chapter and while giving the visuals another chance to shine, it is also key to the theme of this segment. It’s a lonely sky but it is still what connects everyone. Takaki often stares into the night as if wondering what Akari is doing somewhere under the same stars. The idea of exploring space in search of something vague or even unknown in the distance is also used and compared to the search for love. Though ironically, both Takaki and Kanae’s searches have left them unfulfilled, two members in a triad of love gone to waste.

“5 Centimeters per Second” is the titular final chapter of the film is also the most compact. Set in the adult years of Takaki’s life, this segment swaps the natural environments of the first two for the dense streets of Tokyo. Locations such as a train crossing encased in cherry trees are so well-rendered, down to the steepness of the terrain, that they feel like places you’d recognise if you saw their real-life inspirations. The city is alive and packed with crowds and towering buildings but there is a bigger sense of loneliness and isolation than ever. 

When we see Akari again, she is engaged to another man and has long moved on from her youthful romance with Takaki. Although she still reminisces about this past, it is little more than a fond memory. Meanwhile, Takaki has still not been able to make the same progress and has not let go. Holding on has left him with a romantic infirmity. We see that Takaki has remained distant and indifferent, even in his new relationships, carrying his unfulfillment with him and spreading it onto those who try to get close to him. Chasing his romanticised love story has left him bitter and permanently dissatisfied.

In a climactic montage to “One More Time, One More Chance” (performed by Masayoshi Yamazaki), Takaki appears to almost always be looking for Akari everywhere he goes, double-taking passers-by and scanning crowds. At the same time, Akari casually goes about her life. This hammers home the disconnect between the two and builds to a bittersweet final scene that upends the romantic climax we’ve been programmed to expect. It is both subtle and tragic but somehow also cathartic. The real question is whether the journey to get there feels worth it in the end.

A notable weakness of the film is in the lack of depth in its story. Even in its 1-hour runtime, there are points that feel thin and padded out, especially during the second chapter. This shouldn’t be the case for a feature already this short. Beyond the themes of the film, there is not much to propel it forward or to retain interest. 

The approach used to tell the story also means that there isn’t much opportunity for the three central characters to become truly memorable. The bland character designs also don’t do much help with this either. Whilst in the case of Akari, this works in the favour of the story (as she becomes as much a stranger to us as she does to Takaki), neither Takaki nor Kanae are well-rounded by the film’s end. Even with Takaki’s compellingly bleak arc, the character doesn’t quite feel multi-layered and doesn’t hint at having any identity beyond what Shinkai’s themes require.

The subversive sentiments of “5 Centimeters Per Second” cement the film as a maverick in its genre. The pessimistic depiction of love and vibrant visuals are its biggest triumphs and although other aspects such as the story and characterisation fall short, this is a worthy entry in Shinkai’s filmography.

About Author

Kwame is a lover of films, video games, anime, cartoons, comics and all things nerdy. He’s dangerously laid-back and always wearing headphones.

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5 Centimeters Per Second

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• What is the release date of '5 Centimeters Per Second'? Release date of Kenji Mizuhashi and Yoshimi Kondou starrer '5 Centimeters Per Second' is 2023-05-19.
• Who are the actors in '5 Centimeters Per Second'? '5 Centimeters Per Second' star cast includes Kenji Mizuhashi, Yoshimi Kondou and Satomi Hanamura.
• Who is the director of '5 Centimeters Per Second'? '5 Centimeters Per Second' is directed by Makoto Shinkai.
• What is Genre of '5 Centimeters Per Second'? '5 Centimeters Per Second' belongs to 'Animation,Drama,Family' genre.
• In Which Languages is '5 Centimeters Per Second' releasing? '5 Centimeters Per Second' is releasing in Japanese.

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With its emotional depth, the film leaves a lasting impact, resonating deeply within you. Its plot manages to touch and profoundly affect your being. '5 Centimeters per Second' skillfully captures the essence of yearning. This film transcends the conventional narrative of a simple boy-meets-girl love story. Instead, it delves into profound depths, offering viewers a glimpse into the true essence of life through its compelling characters.

5 Centimeters Per Second Movie Review: This moving film by Makoto Shinkai is a work of art

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From Salman Khan to Shilpa Shetty: Who wore what at Arpita Khan's Diwali party

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• This film marks the first collaboration of uncle-nephew duo Anil Kapoor and Arjun Kapoor. Arjun is the son of Anil’s brother Boney Kapoor. Share
• This film marks the first collaboration of uncle-nephew duo Anil Kapoor and Arjun Kapoor. Arjun is the son of Anil’s brother Boney Kapoor.
• This is the second time Arjun Kapoor is playing a double role, the first being Aurangzeb (2013).
• The song ‘Yamma yamma’ from ‘Shaan’ is sampled in the song ‘Partywali Night' for the film.

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Film Review: ‘5 Centimeters Per Second’

Li Zhang Yip , Writer | January 19, 2016

5 Centimeters Per Second is a one-hour movie directed by well-known director Makoto Shinkai. It is a love story between two characters – Tono Takaki and Shinohara Akari. When Akari transfers to her elementary school, Takaki quickly befriends her and quickly become become close friends. After they graduate from elementary school, Akari has to move towards the North of Japan in Tochigi prefecture of Japan because of her parents’ jobs. After she moves to Tochigi, Akari and Takaki continue their friendship by writing letters to each other. Eventually, the letters become less and less frequent as they start growing apart. Then, Takaki finds out that his parents are moving towards the South of Japan to Kagoshima prefecture and he decides to pay her one final visit before it becomes too difficult for them to meet again.

Story and Characters:

The plot that I have described to you is merely one-third of the story. Even though this is a singular movie, the story is split into three story arcs. The first arc is “Cherry Blossoms” and the second and third are named “Cosmonaut” and “5 Centimeters Per Second” in that order. Each story is not narrated continuously, and when transitioning to another part of the story, a title-screen appears to signal the transition. Luckily, these transitions do not feel abrupt as each story concludes before the next, giving us, the viewers, a sense of closure.

The first arc, titled “Cherry Blossoms,” constantly uses Cherry Blossoms as a motif and shows the initial beauty of Takaki and Akari’s friendship. We get to see them become close friends and grow apart when Akari moves to Tochigi. At the start of the movie, Akari says that cherry blossoms, or sakura (桜), fall at “five centimeters per second,” hence the title of the film. In Japanese culture, cherry blossoms represent the coming of spring and the beauty of life. However, after two weeks or so, the blossoms start to fall. This represents the short yet beautiful nature of life. The season for the bloom of cherry blossoms is known as Hanami (花見), where during the time of their bloom, many people sit under cherry trees and admire the short-lived beauty of these flowers.  In a way, the story is about how both of them start together and go their separate ways, whether it be by choice or not. The cherry blossoms symbolizes the short-lived yet sweet relationship between Takaki and Akari, and how their relationship “falls with the cherry blossoms.”

During the second half of the first arc, Takaki travels to see Akari for one final time before moving to Kagoshima. However, he chose the worst season to travel on train – during the winter. This is when Makoto Shinkai’s skills as a director and storyteller comes in. As their meeting gets delayed again and again, he uses this situation and excellent animation and music to show the thoughts of our characters, the despair they feel in their hearts, and tension. During the second arc we also see that Takaki has already moved to Kagoshima for some time. However, he is still longing for Akari. In this arc, we are introduced to a new character named Sumida Kanae. She becomes almost like the main character in this second arc, as she is shown and developed more than Takaki. She likes Takaki, but knows that he likes someone else. In the second story, we can see that Takaki always looks off to the distance at Akari. The main reason for their fading relationship is because of the second motif of the story – time and space. This is shown in the second arc through the slower pacing of the second story and the visuals. Time passes more slowly in the second story, whereas the first story had a sense of urgency and running out of time. This allows us to be able to feel the slowness of time and understand how their distance starts to make their relationship fade. Even though they long to be together, they are far apart from each other, and their relationship is strained by the unending flow of time.

For the third arc, however, I will leave it unexplained, as it’s the most emotionally powerful part of the movie, as the previous parts are built up to it.

Animation and Music:

The movie uses its visuals smartly to tell the story. The art style is realistic and detailed, but still retains a sense of fantasy. It shows the beauty of the surrounding world and shows just how vast our world is. The art style also changes from one story arc to another. For example, in the first arc, Cherry Blossoms, the standout imagery are the scenes with cherry blossoms and the snowy scenes when Takaki was travelling on train to meet Akari. Also, during the second story, the art style changes to fit the second theme of the story – time and space – by using the image of a sunset and space. As for music, almost all of them are beautiful piano pieces. The tracks do sound similar, because of the musical pieces are based on the ending song, “One more time, one more chance.” So, it gives each of the music pieces a similar sound and theme, which works well for the movie.

In the story, no matter how much Takaki and Akari care for each other, eventually, they have to leave due to larger circumstances, which they have no control over. Nothing lasts forever, time goes on, things fade away, and people you care about have to leave someday. It’s more important than ever to appreciate the present and spend time with your loved ones because you never know when they will leave. Once they are gone, all you can hope for is to meet again someday. Sometimes you will, but sometimes you won’t see them ever again. But, even when they’re gone, their memories stay, and that’s what made your time with that person worth it. 5 Centimeters Per Second is a film that presents us with a relatable and realistic view of love and relationships and how time and space can separate us from even the ones closest to us. Many of us can personally relate to the leaving of people that are close to us and that is what makes this film so emotionally moving and worth a watch.

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Sheejal • Mar 24, 2019 at 2:16 am

I truly agree with the words written*** here.

sheejal • Mar 24, 2019 at 2:13 am

This is by far the most genuine review of the movie in every aspect! I truly agree with the words spoken out here. It’s articulated very well.

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5 Centimeters per Second

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