(L) 5 Centimeters per Second

[Moogster]

I don't understand. How can you guys say that Takaki's motivation for moving on can't be Akari? And after having that final scene still he hasn't move on?

(I'm not quite good at this stuff, forgive me for needing some explanations.. )

If I think about it differently to coincide with what you guys are saying, his final smile could mean that

"I thought I saw someone I knew, that was close to me, but it couldn't possibly be her"

Of course I'm just guessing.. If what you guys say is true.. Man that's not bittersweet.. That's just plain bitter..

[RahX]

Originally Posted by Liingo

[SPOILER="Mail"]

Spoiler for For who stopped mailing (letters):

Looking at it again, I still stick by my first view that Takaki was the one to stop mailing to begin with.. Since at the mailbox scenes during the music video, we see Takaki happy at the mailbox with a pink letter in the box might I add, followed immediately after by Akari, face down at the mail.

Speculation..
It's possible that the letter that we see Akari writing may have been a breaking off their romantic relationship (of you can say that they had one), which is why she found it so hard to write it (from what we can see). The ending of the relationship would be a reason for Takaki not replying to the letter.

The last shot of Takaki at his mailbox may have been him waiting to see if she still wanted to keep in touch. possibly. The scenes then move to them walking past mailboxes, each waiting for an explanation from each other but never getting one.

So then we're left with Takaki writing SMS/emails on his phone that never get sent, which if you follow my thinking, due to him not wanting to get hurt anymore, but still wanting to cling to what may have been.

Spoiler for Response...:

Akaki does grabs a letter when she opened the mailbox, it is not easy to see due to the rain and the fact that she puts her hand with the letter on her chest. Then on the next scene we see Takaki opening the mailbox all empty. I think that Akaki was the one who stopped writing.

[Liingo]

Originally Posted by Xcomp

Argh, I just finish typing up a long reply and computer freezes...

Yeah, you and Liingo were right. I must have still been half asleep when I typed that

Spoiler for Sequence of events in the third part of the movie and the ending.:

Yes she said "お正月 O-Shougatsu" which just means New Year, January 1st. She wished that Akari could stay with them until the New Year but she couldn't there were wedding preparations to be made. It was snowing and Christmas decorations were up when Akari met up with her new husband so I would say it was around December. That means Akari's wedding was in January.

So the sequence of events in the third part of the movie goes like this. Opening scene, Takaki is working away and it is March 2008 as written on his whiteboard and shown on his calendar. After the flash at the crossing, we roll back to December 2007 when Akari is travelling to Tokyo. Next it's February 2008 as shown in Risa's e-mails that Takaki is ignoring. The song "One more chance, one more time" plays and more past scenes are shown and we return to the present at the end... March 2008, resuming the crossing scene.

I didn't even notice the flashback.

Well what do you know... Takaki did move on after all. In the flashback he had a dark messy apartment, drank, smoked and ignored his new girlfriend Risa. I'm thinking it's because he learned about Akari's marriage at this point since it was February. Time passed and eventually something happened and he moved on. We see his apartment is clean and tidy.

This means Takaki didn't move on because he met Akari again at the crossing. I think it was because he soon realised his feelings for her had also gone when he was tiring himself at work.

Edit
Damn, you edited before I could re-type everything. I guess you figured things out too then

Well, ordered the limited edition with Play-Asia. I should have ordered it on Yesasia while it was still available... Hope customs don't charge me for this one.

Originally Posted by lobabel

Spoiler for Crosscutting:

Yes, the weakest point in my reconstructed timeline is that we cannot exclude the possibility that the cross cutting of Akari and Takaki talking about their dreams was actually not happened same time. Because their voices and images are crossing each other - his voice showing her image, her voice showing his image - it's quite hard not to recognize them to be on the same timeline. So if Mr.Shinkai intended them to be different times, I couldn't help exclaiming his ingenuity. Maybe he plotted some ambiguity intentionally... How wicked.

Spoiler for Timeline II:

So this is the timeline assuming that the cross cutting is of different times. Yet any comments or corrections welcomed.

23-24 Dec 2007, night: Takaki is feeling that he is at his limit about his life. He walks in a suit, from a station to the streets. Risa calls him. Takaki opens his phone, but doesn't answer. It begins to snow.
Someday around xmas 2007, day : Packing for her wedding, Akari finds the letter she didn't hand to Takaki at their last meeting when they were 13.
Same day, night : Akari dreams the last meeting with Takaki.
Nextday, afternoon - night : Akari departs from Iwafune for Tokyo. It snows. In the train for Tokyo, Akari talks about her dream of last night (cross cutting with Takaki's talk). Akari meets her fiance in the night.
Jan 2008 : Takaki quits his job. Akari gets married.
1-2 Feb 2008, night : Takaki dreams his last meeting with Akari.
2 Feb 2008, 15:15 : Risa sends her last mail to Takaki. Then she enters a job meeting.
2 Feb 2008, afternoon to night : Takaki goes out to streets. He reads a magazine about the spaceship Elish in a convenience store. He talks about his dream of last night (cross cutting with Akari's talk). He walks in snow.
Mid Feb 2008 : Takaki begins freelancing.
Someday Mar 2008 : Takaki is working in his room. He goes out to have a walk. At the railway crossing, he sees a familiar looking woman crosses in the opposite direction. He looks back, but after passing of trains which blocked the sight, no one is found.

Good luck with your DVD

Spoiler for Response to lobabel and xcomp's timelines:

Looking back at it, this time line makes sense. From this we could assume that the final scene at the crossing marks the end of his 'recovery time' from his 'meaningless and not beautiful life' with him saying goodbye to Akari. That chapter of his life has ended and he's now able to continue with his life. The smile at the end could signify this, that's he's now cut himseld free from the shackles/weight that he had been keeping with him.

Originally Posted by lobabel

Spoiler for Takaki in 5cm and the theme:

Yes, surely the motivation of Takaki's moving on can't be Akari. But I'm afraid I cannot think that the news about Akari's wedding affected Takaki. I doubt that Takaki had any contact with Akari. After losing all their contacts since high school, and hearing news of wedding... is improbable, and unaesthetic. After so long time, it's not so probable that what he was seeking for so obsessively was Akari in person. Akari was, at best, a symbol attached to his obsession, IMHO.

Considering events and lines in 5cm, I think Takaki's real problem was hardly romance or dating. He says he quit the job, after realizing that he completely lost all the earnest seriousness in his mind (真剣で切実だった思い?) once he had. I doubt if we say about romance or dating in such a manner, and quitting one's job because of problems in dating or memory of old romance is not so realistic. I suppose his problem was probably from his workplace and/or inside of himself, and that was why he decided to quit his job and eventually to freelance. We might imagine what was the actual problem, and how it affected on the relationship with Risa, but cannot know the answers exactly. At least we see that dating Risa didn't help him a lot. So the theme of 5cm I see is neither romance nor memory, its the solitude of a man, who has to move on inspiteof obstacles and shackles the life laid down on him.

Good luck on your DVD!

Spoiler for Response:

I agree with him not knowing about the wedding. It's unrealistic to assume that he would know about it when he hasn't been in touch with her since high school.

Can we say that that's a side theme to the overriding one of distance.

Originally Posted by Moogster

I don't understand. How can you guys say that Takaki's motivation for moving on can't be Akari? And after having that final scene still he hasn't move on?

(I'm not quite good at this stuff, forgive me for needing some explanations.. )

If I think about it differently to coincide with what you guys are saying, his final smile could mean that

"I thought I saw someone I knew, that was close to me, but it couldn't possibly be her"

Of course I'm just guessing.. If what you guys say is true.. Man that's not bittersweet.. That's just plain bitter..

Spoiler for response:

I think the other's mean that he has moved on, just that the reason for him doing so wasn't just Akari. It may have been part of it, but the big reason for him moving on is the fact that his life was no longer 'beautiful'. From what I've read, and my own opinion shaped by what I've read, The smile at the end signifies the end of his period of moving on from his past/baggage. He was able to keep the promise that was made in his dream and thus can move on with no regrets unlike before. (since he was able to see the sakura petals one more time with her.)

Yeah, alot of us feel the same way with it being more on the bitter side..

Originally Posted by RahX

Spoiler for Response...:

Akaki does grabs a letter when she opened the mailbox, it is not easy to see due to the rain and the fact that she puts her hand with the letter on her chest. Then on the next scene we see Takaki opening the mailbox all empty. I think that Akaki was the one who stopped writing.

Ahh thanks, I can actually see it (I think) now. It took me a while to notice it.

[coleslaw]

Originally Posted by Liingo

Spoiler for Response:

I agree with him not knowing about the wedding. It's unrealistic to assume that he would know about it when he hasn't been in touch with her since high school.

Can we say that that's a side theme to the overriding one of distance.

Yeah, alot of us feel the same way with it being more on the bitter side..

Just playing devil's advocate on a fact in 5cm

Spoiler for Response:

I tend to agree Takaki not knowing about the wedding in the plot, but it's 50/50 in real life as third or forth hand news from friends/families you keep in touch in the old home town. Especially parents do know parents of their kid's close friend in 4th grade's age. I did heard the wedding news of a few of my grade school friends I lost contact with, some more than 13 years later.

Looking back it's bitter, but alternative is even more bitter...

Spoiler for ending:

Should they met at the crossroad, the newly wed Akari facing the first love she still treasure deep down and reminiscence not so long ago. Even more bitter. Should they end up together, take an affair and/or devorce, sequel is perfect for noon time soap opera time slot

Now both let the other knows they still treasure each other by confirming their presence, with a blessing of "be well and move on". How much sweeter can you ask for."

[coleslaw]

Originally Posted by lobabel

Spoiler for Takaki in 5cm and the theme:

Yes, surely the motivation of Takaki's moving on can't be Akari. But I'm afraid I cannot think that the news about Akari's wedding affected Takaki. I doubt that Takaki had any contact with Akari. After losing all their contacts since high school, and hearing news of wedding... is improbable, and unaesthetic. After so long time, it's not so probable that what he was seeking for so obsessively was Akari in person. Akari was, at best, a symbol attached to his obsession, IMHO.

Considering events and lines in 5cm, I think Takaki's real problem was hardly romance or dating. He says he quit the job, after realizing that he completely lost all the earnest seriousness in his mind (???????????) once he had. I doubt if we say about romance or dating in such a manner, and quitting one's job because of problems in dating or memory of old romance is not so realistic. I suppose his problem was probably from his workplace and/or inside of himself, and that was why he decided to quit his job and eventually to freelance. We might imagine what was the actual problem, and how it affected on the relationship with Risa, but cannot know the answers exactly. At least we see that dating Risa didn't help him a lot. So the theme of 5cm I see is neither romance nor memory, its the solitude of a man, who has to move on inspiteof obstacles and shackles the life laid down on him.

Trying to support your idea by over analyzing Takaki's state of mind pulling in bits from Cosmonauts

Spoiler for both Cosmonauts and 5cm per second:

Clearly Takaki is burnt out like many in tech industry do. He narrated over the last few years he had been chasing an unreachable goal that he's unsure what exactly it was, how did that happened?

The couple was writing to each other and gradually stopped, Takaki's burden was still romantic interest. The time goes by at the beginning of Cosmonaut, Takaki's romantic interest become a subconcious goal for getting closer with Akari; he was sending messages to empty address and plan to go to Tokyo for college, he might still had a light of hope to be closer with Akari without aware of it.

It was the 13 years old Akari that Takaki loved as a 13 years old, he must have must have slowly realizing that (maybe without any particular event, like Akari does when she found the letter), but picture his college life that started his struggle of moving on.

A few years out of school, Takaki suddenly found out one morning his motivation since highschool had been invalidated. Lack of any goal and direction, looking at messy reality around him, that become a burnt out.

I agree completely with the observation of Akari as a symbol of obession, getting her message of 'I'm here for you, be well but move on" at the crossroad serves a proper closure and motivation to move on.

[Liingo]

Originally Posted by coleslaw

Just playing devil's advocate on a fact in 5cm

Spoiler for Response:

I tend to agree Takaki not knowing about the wedding in the plot, but it's 50/50 in real life as third or forth hand news from friends/families you keep in touch in the old home town. Especially parents do know parents of their kid's close friend in 4th grade's age. I did heard the wedding news of a few of my grade school friends I lost contact with, some more than 13 years later.

Hmm, well it is possible..

Looking back it's bitter, but alternative is even more bitter...

Spoiler for ending:

Should they met at the crossroad, the newly wed Akari facing the first love she still treasure deep down and reminiscence not so long ago. Even more bitter. Should they end up together, take an affair and/or devorce, sequel is perfect for noon time soap opera time slot

Now both let the other knows they still treasure each other by confirming their presence, with a blessing of "be well and move on". How much sweeter can you ask for."

As much as I wanted them to be together at the end of it all, that is definately not the path that I would want it to take..

Originally Posted by coleslaw

Trying to support your idea by over analyzing Takaki's state of mind pulling in bits from Cosmonauts

Spoiler for both Cosmonauts and 5cm per second:

Clearly Takaki is burnt out like many in tech industry do. He narrated over the last few years he had been chasing an unreachable goal that he's unsure what exactly it was, how did that happened?

The couple was writing to each other and gradually stopped, Takaki's burden was still romantic interest. The time goes by at the beginning of Cosmonaut, Takaki's romantic interest become a subconcious goal for getting closer with Akari; he was sending messages to empty address and plan to go to Tokyo for college, he might still had a light of hope to be closer with Akari without aware of it.

It was the 13 years old Akari that Takaki loved as a 13 years old, he must have must have slowly realizing that (maybe without any particular event, like Akari does when she found the letter), but picture his college life that started his struggle of moving on.

A few years out of school, Takaki suddenly found out one morning his motivation since highschool had been invalidated. Lack of any goal and direction, looking at messy reality around him, that become a burnt out.

I agree completely with the observation of Akari as a symbol of obession, getting her message of 'I'm here for you, be well but move on" at the crossroad serves a proper closure and motivation to move on.

I really like that message, if that was indeed the message.

[Xcomp]

Originally Posted by Moogster

I don't understand. How can you guys say that Takaki's motivation for moving on can't be Akari? And after having that final scene still he hasn't move on?

(I'm not quite good at this stuff, forgive me for needing some explanations.. )

If I think about it differently to coincide with what you guys are saying, his final smile could mean that

"I thought I saw someone I knew, that was close to me, but it couldn't possibly be her"

Of course I'm just guessing.. If what you guys say is true.. Man that's not bittersweet.. That's just plain bitter..

Spoiler:

Well my initial conclusion after reading W-General and Quajafrie's posts was that Takaki only moved on from his messy life after seeing Akari at the crossing.

However, after looking at the sequence of events I believe this wasn't the case. That crossing scene only took place after he had quit his job, realising that he wasn't really working towards anything. He was just wearing himself out by trying to push on by concentrating on his job.

We see he changed from a messy living environment to the clean one you see before he went to the crossing. He moved on and I think going freelance has healed him. He could now go about his life at his own pace and not be restricted to a tight daily working schedule.

Originally Posted by coleslaw

Trying to support your idea by over analyzing Takaki's state of mind pulling in bits from Cosmonauts

Spoiler for both Cosmonauts and 5cm per second:

Clearly Takaki is burnt out like many in tech industry do. He narrated over the last few years he had been chasing an unreachable goal that he's unsure what exactly it was, how did that happened?

The couple was writing to each other and gradually stopped, Takaki's burden was still romantic interest. The time goes by at the beginning of Cosmonaut, Takaki's romantic interest become a subconcious goal for getting closer with Akari; he was sending messages to empty address and plan to go to Tokyo for college, he might still had a light of hope to be closer with Akari without aware of it.

It was the 13 years old Akari that Takaki loved as a 13 years old, he must have must have slowly realizing that (maybe without any particular event, like Akari does when she found the letter), but picture his college life that started his struggle of moving on.

A few years out of school, Takaki suddenly found out one morning his motivation since highschool had been invalidated. Lack of any goal and direction, looking at messy reality around him, that become a burnt out.

I agree completely with the observation of Akari as a symbol of obession, getting her message of 'I'm here for you, be well but move on" at the crossroad serves a proper closure and motivation to move on.

Spoiler:

Yes, I agree with you wholly apart from that message in your last paragraph since as I mentioned above, Takaki should have already moved on before the crossroad scene. That scene was probably more about how they managed to see they were both well in life even though they didn't stop to chat.

So the ending isn't really that bad although again, it would have been great if they got together.

Anyway, it's been announced on the last entry of the official blog that there will indeed be an official standalone version of the novel. It will probably be out once its serialisation in the Da Vinci magazine ends in September. They're currently publishing the third episode of the story in two halves, first half in the August issue and the second half in the September issue of the magazine.

What's interesting is that Shinkai seems to have added in more details to the third episode of the story. Apparently, the third episode had a lot of cuts to make it the 10 minute episode we watched. A lot more cuts than what was taken out in "Cosmonaut".

I will have to get my hands on this novel too once it's out

Source: http://blogs.yahoo.co.jp/staff_5cm/23352577.html

[Moogster]

I read this in Wikipedia:

The movie is called 5 centimeters per second (the speed at which cherry blossoms 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.

If this really is the case then that timeline really does make a lot of sense.

Spoiler for from Xcomp:

Yes, I agree with you wholly apart from that message in your last paragraph since as I mentioned above, Takaki should have already moved on before the crossroad scene. That scene was probably more about how they managed to see they were both well in life even though they didn't stop to chat.

So the ending isn't really that bad although again, it would have been great if they got together.

That just made the ending feel really a whole lot bitter. I still feel that the movie will still have a great impact even if they got together. Still from the title itself, I guess they wouldn't be.

[ForeverGoNe]

Originally Posted by Moogster

I read this in Wikipedia:



If this really is the case then that timeline really does make a lot of sense.



That just made the ending feel really a whole lot bitter. I still feel that the movie will still have a great impact even if they got together. Still from the title itself, I guess they wouldn't be.

I think in essence that was one of Shinkai's ulterior motives in this flick, haha. He's a sly bastard! He wanted us to anticipate the get together of Tohno and Akari, yet we know that it won't happen because the centralized theme of the movie was continuum.

[aliensporebomb]

I finally got the watch the entire thing. Wow.

Half of the effort was just absorbing the sheet amazing quantity
of utterly stupefyingly amazing graphic images: Light, shadow,
clouds, fog, snow, rain, petals falling - all rendered in obsessive detail.

And what better techniques to use in a film that ultimately comes
down to obsession in many ways?

Spoiler:

In a way, "5 Centimeters per Second" is a cautionary tale: that
over time people change and childhood first loves do not often
translate into permanent relationships in adulthood. It also
illustrates with chilling detail the difficulty in letting go of love
when distance, time, or other issues intervene. And also that
holding onto a love that has collapsed is self-defeating.

I do agree that Takaki had moved on at the conclusion of the film.
Akari had found someone to marry. Takaki was ready to move on,
possibly with Risa but possibly to find his way alone.

The profusion of timeline jumps and details in the third part as well
as the subtitling getting interfered with due to VLC not rendering
it correctly lead me on a somewhat disjointed journey at the end:
I take it as: he did have a dark period where bad habits and
obsessing on what could never be nearly tore him apart. But,
whether he gets together with Risa or not is immaterial - he's
moved on and is ready to live again.

But, this movie really hit me hard. I had a similar childhood friend
type experience in some respects, our separation was due to
feuding parents when I was 16. I moved on and found someone
else and have been married for over a decade now but I had always
wondered how she was doing, did she marry? did she
have kids? I found my answers twenty eight years later.

In Takaki's case, he knows enough that she's apparently
happy and healthy and he can move on.

It's too bad that we don't get to follow the story after that,
but I have to say Shinkai has crafted a masterful, bittersweet
telling of a true to life story with unparalleled artistry and
realism.

Bravo. I can't wait to see what this guy will do next. I definetely
want to read the book. Maybe more answers will be illustrated
there.

[coleslaw]

Originally Posted by Liingo

I really like that message, if that was indeed the message.

That's just one way to read it, and Xcomp got some interesting interpretation too, that I'm replying after the spoiler

Spoiler for ending scene:

Even it's not a message, just as a closure to Takaki's struggle seeing Akari is doing well. It's still beautiful and sweet

Originally Posted by Xcomp

Spoiler:

Well my initial conclusion after reading W-General and Quajafrie's posts was that Takaki only moved on from his messy life after seeing Akari at the crossing.

However, after looking at the sequence of events I believe this wasn't the case. That crossing scene only took place after he had quit his job, realising that he wasn't really working towards anything. He was just wearing himself out by trying to push on by concentrating on his job.

We see he changed from a messy living environment to the clean one you see before he went to the crossing. He moved on and I think going freelance has healed him. He could now go about his life at his own pace and not be restricted to a tight daily working schedule.

Spoiler:

Yes, I agree with you wholly apart from that message in your last paragraph since as I mentioned above, Takaki should have already moved on before the crossroad scene. That scene was probably more about how they managed to see they were both well in life even though they didn't stop to chat.

So the ending isn't really that bad although again, it would have been great if they got together.

Spoiler:

Agree with you on the time frame of Takaki started moving on and I can relate to your explanation too. That's a natural thing we do bumping into people you lost contact for long.

There is a few bits lead me into a "message" interpretation: 1. We are reminded both Akari and Takaki recently remembered their first love, 2. The last scene emphasized the reaction of realizing the presence of one another and we were shown Akari turned her head naturally on the opposite side. It is natural to stop and chat a bit for a casual old friend, let alone someone with such a deep feeling you reminded of lately while packing for wedding. I can only picture Akari was sending a "message" or just felt it was not appropriate moment to meet yet and ran off.

Originally Posted by Xcomp

Anyway, it's been announced on the last entry of the official blog that there will indeed be an official standalone version of the novel. It will probably be out once its serialisation in the Da Vinci magazine ends in September. They're currently publishing the third episode of the story in two halves, first half in the August issue and the second half in the September issue of the magazine.

What's interesting is that Shinkai seems to have added in more details to the third episode of the story. Apparently, the third episode had a lot of cuts to make it the 10 minute episode we watched. A lot more cuts than what was taken out in "Cosmonaut".

I will have to get my hands on this novel too once it's out

Source: http://blogs.yahoo.co.jp/staff_5cm/23352577.html

I'm looking forward for that too, I was a bit disappointed about the DVD not having a longer full version of third episode as extra, guess such complex emotions are better done with text media. Hopefully we can see Akari's viewpoint in the novel, that's an interesting perspective the movie haven't explored.

[tresor]

When I was working I had my tape up from Adult Swim Sunday Night (All Comedy and no Anime etc night), and I was shocked to see Adult Swim ran a bumper (Buffer separating shows from commercials). The bumper had a woman's lips with the last bars to the song one more time as heard at the end of the final rail road scene.
I was surprised to see it so soon (actually to ever see it at all) after the Japanese DVD release, and to run on the only night that they do not run at least 1 anime. For outside of the US, Adult Swim is a cable channel subsidiary of the ABC (American Broadcast Company).
It ran 12:29 Monday AM (the one past midnight Sunday) 07/30/2007.

[tresor]

"Of course, that would just be another way of staying distant from the people in his life now...." Kaoru Chujo
I think this is a valid point.

"Apparently, the third episode had a lot of cuts to make it the 10 minute episode we watched. A lot more" via xcomp
Wonderment at that one, the chicken and the egg, meaning I thought there was 1 person making all of the decisions. Ranks right up with the "self admission" that these were not based upon personal experiences of the 5cm creator.

[tresor]

What did the text say above smiley face on Mizuno Phone? Right before she left for meeting. Thank You, tresor.

[lobabel]

Originally Posted by tresor

What did the text say above smiley face on Mizuno Phone? Right before she left for meeting. Thank You, tresor.

Sending mail complete. (送信完了しました)

[tresor]

lobabel thank you, that is what I thought, but I'm weak on actual Japanese.

[aliensporebomb]

I've thought about it some more a day later, more proof it's an excellent
production.

Spoiler:

Takaki, at some point, didn't realize (or didn't want to realize) that Akari
had moved on.

I thought of a few things - he worked hard to get into specific schools
so they could be together - she wasn't able to do so. There were some
other things he didn't do that I was surprised at but he did do a lot.

Playing devil's advocate - maybe she realized it was for the best to
not try to get together due to increasing distance and diverging lives.

She had a letter she didn't give him.

Could have this been a "look, it's been cute, great fun as childhood friends
as boy/girlfriends but we should part now so we won't hurt more later"
type letter? I could see why she couldn't give it to him after their midnight
kiss at the tree. It would have been too cruel.

Instead, by not giving him pause Takaki goes on what I would deem a
herculean effort for a thirteen year old to keep the relationship going
despite increasingly longer distances and over unreasonable amounts of
time.

Eventually, this changes as we've seen but....she should have been
honest and said "look, it's been wonderful but this is the end." I can
see why she may have wanted to spare him pain but sometimes a
guy needs to get hit in the jugular to let it go. Of course, we wouldn't
have gotten this amazing story if it was resolved neatly.

He could have had a relationship with the girl in the Cosmonaut
episode, she was cute, athletic and had similar interests: instead
he kept holding on to old memories that were no longer valid and
in doing so raised the level of the one he couldn't have even
higher than it already was. It didn't reflect reality anymore.

It affected his relationship with Risa in the third part, his looking
back so idealized that relationship that it poisoned and contaminated
his current one. Not good, Takaki.

Spending time in the fields keying up text messages that never
got sent was a self defeating process. It wasn't going to bring
her back. In fact, we only saw fleeting glimpses of Akari's life
after their parting - enough to infer she's moved on, she's happy
and all is well. She looked back with fondness and maybe a bit
of regret but mostly she's put it behind her.

I thought at first perhaps she was to blame but Takaki only has
himself to blame by idealizing romantic love to a ridiculous level
from a childhood friend.

The book should clear up all of the guesswork but I'm pretty sure
this is what's happened.

I still think that Shinkai has created a masterwork of color and sound
and a bittersweet story that has the potential to just be bitter if you
don't look at it closely.

Maybe someday will have a follow-up in the future showing a happy
Takaki with grandkids on his knee telling them a story or something.

But in the meantime, I'm pretty satisfied with the conclusion.

[Moogster]

I get the feeling that before that railroad scene, they weren't thinking about each other at all. It was the last thing on their minds. ( I think )

[tresor]

My current feeling on it is silver writing on a platinum painting, a little harder to pick up the story writing? Or a mystery written in silver.

Originally Posted by aliensporebomb

I've thought about it some more a day later, more proof it's an excellent
production.

The book should clear up all of the guesswork but I'm pretty sure
this is what's happened.

I still think that Shinkai has created a masterwork of color and sound

I agree, but even more so, some parts are perfect. The story is simple yet complex.

Spoiler for Akari Shinohara:

I feel that Akari Shinohara is an interesting character, not a typical foil. The scene of Akari Shinohara with her parents at the railroad station, one can see why Tohno fell so hard for her, she seems like an angel. The scenes of Akari Shinohara sharing the same memories of togehter forever, while simultaneously staring off into space in a rather depressed manner as she remembers the promise that she is breaking. I just wish there was more Akari Shinohara, but that point I think is a unaminous consensus.

Spoiler for Conflict:

I feel the general conflict of the movie is stark, spiritual(Tohno) versus materialistic(Akari Shinohara) showing the faults of each perspective. Although, one feel's sad again to think that the joining of the two perfect opposites would make a perfect match. Meaning I think the movie is more match sentence.

Novel
I hope they cover the real Kanae ending, I think by unaminous consensus that is owed.

Spoiler for Kanae MIA in thid movie:

The part about Tohno that I did not like. I think that Tohno should have had at least one artifact of Kaneae in his apartment. I feel that Tohno owed Kaneae more respect, to think of her, rather than to think of what he lost out on when his only rememberance is in the magazine article at the train station, but that is probably more realistic.
Then again I think that was "corrected" by having the long middle movie basically devoted to Kanae.

I fear the novel may contain an alternate grrr postscript ending (think Voices of a Distant Star, Beyond/Promises wow, the name of that movie is Beyond Promises), I think "These are the words but not the truth, God Bless them all when they speak to you, but that's alright on an empty stage."

The ending movie is also made more interesting in the question of what is the real story of the ending movie? I have the feeling the ending movie was changed grrr generalized (Happens Every Day in Real Life) for marketing/selling grrr creative reasons, and the discontinuity in the ending movie may speak to a conflict between what Shinkai wanted and what the production company wanted. I have the feeling Shinkai is more perfectionist than loose (marketing).
I think one can find the real parts in the ending movie but with the cost of time/frustration.

[Kaoru Chujo]

Originally Posted by tresor

My current feeling on it is silver writing on a platinum painting....

Great metaphor. Glorious, but a bit obscure. Somehow the strange light and layered richness of the images still seems like reality -- a reality realer than the ordinary world.

Just reading about this show still makes my chest feel full of emotion.