(L) 5 Centimeters per Second

[orion]

The promo value of that AMV hits home.

Spoiler:

You don't know who's ring she was wearing unless you watch the full movie.

[Cal-Reflector]

Originally Posted by orion

The promo value of that AMV hits home.

Spoiler:

You don't know who's ring she was wearing unless you watch the full movie.

No, that was but one of many, many details, none of which were good

Spoiler:

1. Takaki (grown up) downing hard liquor at a bar.
2. The content of the cell phone text message she sends him says something to the extent: "I love you still even now, but even if we send each other 1000 mails/letters, it doesn't seem to bring our hearts closer by even 1 CM...."
3. He's walking through a city and seeing flashbacks of Akari and himself when they were children.
4. She's on a balcony and responds to someone's voice inside the house.
5. They are never shown together as adults.

Conclusion: She married someone else and he ends up alone.

I hate Shinkai, with as much vehemence as the level of adoration which I had for him before.

I think... I'm probably gonna have to give this the Kannaduki-treatment: One of the best shows that I wish I never saw, and try to forget it all together.

[Nightengale]

Originally Posted by Cal-Reflector

*snips*

Spoiler for Emotional Reaction:

GODDAMMIT SHINKAI! ALL I WANTED WAS SOME SEMBLANCE OF A HAPPY ENDING! IS THAT TOO MUCH TO ASK!!!??? IS, THAT, TOO, MUCH, TO, ASK!!!!?!?!?! NOO!! NOO!! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!! *Flips table over*

The last time I felt this shitty from anime was when Rika finally slept with Mayama in Honey and Clover.

I've got to say, you're being pretty obvious even without the spoiler tags.

Still....

Spoiler for emotional reaction:

[holding back from running amock like Cal]

I've got to say that this possible revelation has dampened my mood to watch the last 2 parts. I don't care if it has the most beautiful stills or best animation ever... what I love about Shinkai is how he delivers the mood of his setting. And because he's so damn good at it, it'll naturally make me feel like shit if it really ends that way. I wasn't extremely fond of Hoshi no Koe either, but at least the ending for HnK has an optimistic light that even if it took them years...even if he's 30 when he meets her as 16...they'll find each other in the sea of stars. Naturally I'll still watch it, but damn...

[/holding back from running amock like Cal]

...ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!

[Cal-Reflector]

Originally Posted by Nightengale

I've got to say, you're being pretty obvious even without the spoiler tags.

Still....

Spoiler for emotional reaction:

[holding back from running amock like Cal]

I've got to say that this possible revelation has dampened my mood to watch the last 2 parts. I don't care if it has the most beautiful stills or best animation ever... what I love about Shinkai is how he delivers the mood of his setting. And because he's so damn good at it, it'll naturally make me feel like shit if it really ends that way. I wasn't extremely fond of Hoshi no Koe either, but at least the ending for HnK has an optimistic light that even if it took them years...even if he's 30 when he meets her as 16...they'll find each other in the sea of stars. Naturally I'll still watch it, but damn...

[/holding back from running amock like Cal]

...ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!

Fixed, original post now gives away nothing.

Yeah, up until this point "Unobtainable true love" which some poster before me mentioned seems to have been Shinkai's reoccurring theme, even way back in the short about a cat.

*Shakes head* I'll hold off, read spoilers from others about what happened first, then decide if I'm going to keep watching.

[leongsh]

Originally Posted by Cal-Reflector

*Shakes head* I'll hold off, read spoilers from others about what happened first, then decide if I'm going to keep watching.

All the more reason that you should hold off from reading this thread, wait for the fansub of the whole movie to come out, watch the movie in its entirety, and THEN and only then come back here to post your thoughts.

[MrProphet]

I don't see any spoilers. Seems like people are speculating based on fairly vague imagery.

Just to underscore the issue for those who aren't following: the music video does not, I repeat, does not reveal the ending. If I were forced to guess, I'd say that the imagery hints heavily towards the happy ending, but I do not want to guess. I'd rather watch the film first.

Additionally, Shinkai is always rather ambiguous. Was the ending of Hoshi no Koe happy or sad? What about Kumou no Mukou? If you just watch Hoshi no Koe, you might get the idea that all is bad since Mikako and Noboru are separated. But when you read the the story coda in the DVD booklet, you learn that they actually reunite after years of growing apart.

The same goes for Beyond the clouds, which struck me at first as rather depressive, until I grasped the undertones and the ultimately uplifting message.

So, all I can say is that Shinkai is not the kind of director who gives you simple, straightforward resolutions. In my experience of watching his works, his endings are 70% symbolistic and 30% open, depending of the viewers' point of reference and ideas about how it should turn out.

[Cal-Reflector]

Originally Posted by MrProphet

I don't see any spoilers. Seems like people are speculating based on fairly vague imagery.

Just to underscore the issue for those who aren't following: the music video does not, I repeat, does not reveal the ending. If I were forced to guess, I'd say that the imagery hints heavily towards the happy ending, but I do not want to guess. I'd rather watch the film first.

Additionally, Shinkai is always rather ambiguous. Was the ending of Hoshi no Koe happy or sad? What about Kumou no Mukou? If you just watch Hoshi no Koe, you might get the idea that all is bad since Mikako and Noboru are separated. But when you read the the story coda in the DVD booklet, you learn that they actually reunite after years of growing apart.

The same goes for Beyond the clouds, which struck me at first as rather depressive, until I grasped the undertones and the ultimately uplifting message.

So, all I can say is that Shinkai is not the kind of director who gives you simple, straightforward resolutions. In my experience of watching his works, his endings are 70% symbolistic and 30% open, depending of the viewers' point of reference and ideas about how it should turn out.

Yes, yor are right... it is speculation, with my jumping to conclusions based on fear of the worse from the outset. All through my very first post sharing the music video, my hope was that in time my outburst and despairing prediction would be proven wrong; but I am betting against myself to deflect disappointment later on.

[JediNight]

Cal-Reflector: Shinkai doesn't do happy endings ;D He would rather rip your heart out with angst and hold it in front of you still beating before crushing it before your eyes ^_^;; The thing to remember though, is stuff like this happens ALL the time. It's such a fundamentally universal love issue that happens to many many people, and so it hitting so close to home I think makes it hurt that much more.

With the date for the movie part1: I was sorta close in my assessment, but I honestly thought it was even earlier than 1996. I was thinking more like 1993 or so myself. Reason for that is of course no cell phones and seemingly few pagers, and the telephone booth said "ISDN" on the front. ISDN was first introduced around my area in like 1994/95, so I assumed it would have had better penetration in Japan already by that time.

[Saffire]

Originally Posted by JediNight

Cal-Reflector: Shinkai doesn't do happy endings ;D He would rather rip your heart out with angst and hold it in front of you still beating before crushing it before your eyes ^_^;; The thing to remember though, is stuff like this happens ALL the time. It's such a fundamentally universal love issue that happens to many many people, and so it hitting so close to home I think makes it hurt that much more.

Oddly enough, Shinkai's endings haven't ever been 'depressing' or overly 'sad' in my opinion. Sure, they're not the Disney-brand of happy endings. If anything, perhaps bittersweet is how I'd label it, but I'm unsure. I'd say one of his themes would also be hope, almost, as his endings seem to be open to something happy. In Voices

Spoiler:

It never says whether or not the girl makes it back to earth, or what happens after the movie ends, and the characters are still fairly young. So it's quite possible that she does arrive home sooner or later, and the guy seemed pretty dang willing to wait his whole life for her, and she in return. I guess it's how you imagine it.

In Beyond the Clouds, I'd say it ended on a happy note, even if i wasn't quite sure about how much

Spoiler:

of Sayuri's memory went away. Only her time alone, or more? And again, the guy whose names escape seemed willing start all over again. And maybe they do end up with each other in the end.

. So I think it'll end like the past ones have. Loyalty's always been a theme of his as well, as both the male and female protagonists always seem to end up with each other in the end -- or at least, still care very much about each other some way even if they are separated. So.. I'm hoping for some kind of ending like that.

[aliensporebomb]

Some things I noticed:

Spoiler:

Takaki looks like he becomes a chain smoking alcoholic due to depression.

Lots of scenes where our fated couple pass nearby or not - she wears a ring -
WHOSE ring? She looks equally sad but perhaps not as distraught, at least,
on the surface.

Depressing but beautiful.

And I see he gets a cell phone eventually as well as a computer.

Wow. Now I need to see how this ends.

Wow.

[CarpeDiem]

Originally Posted by aliensporebomb

Some things I noticed:

Spoiler:

Takaki looks like he becomes a chain smoking alcoholic due to depression.

Lots of scenes where our fated couple pass nearby or not - she wears a ring -
WHOSE ring? She looks equally sad but perhaps not as distraught, at least,
on the surface.

Depressing but beautiful.

And I see he gets a cell phone eventually as well as a computer.

Wow. Now I need to see how this ends.

Spoiler:

Quite the pessimist. I think we might be getting a little bit ahead of ourselves here. We only see (grown-up) Takaki smoking in one scene, hardly a sign that he chain smokes. The same thing applies to his alcohol consumption. He's grown-up now. He can drink from time to time. It can help you relax when you need to think. He seems to have his life relatively in order from the AMV.

That was quite the video. As if I couldn't wait for the rest of it any longer, they just had to pull at my heart strings by releasing this.

My take on it:

Spoiler:

I see that Akari has a ring on her finger now. I think that she actually has married someone else since we don't see the two together in the video.

However! The ones who constructed this video may be messing with us fans by purposefully withholding any footage showing Akari and Takaki together when they're adults. For all we know, the scene with Akari on the train could've taken place at the end of the movie and Takaki and Akari do get together.

Though, what I'm thinking right now is that Akari marries somebody else around the beginning of the third film but being the hopeless romantic that I am, I'm going to think that Takaki and Akari do get together at the end. Then Takaki and Akari can go to Mt. Doom together and toss the ring down there. (Excuse the terrible joke.)

[Cal-Reflector]

Originally Posted by CarpeDiem

Spoiler:

...but being the hopeless romantic that I am, I'm going to think that Takaki and Akari do get together at the end. Then Takaki and Akari can go to Mt. Doom together and toss the ring down there. (Excuse the terrible joke.)

For that, I must give you as many cookies as AnimeSuki permits; its as beautiful a vision as what the Isralites must have seen when Moses talked of deliverance and the Promised Land.

[Haohmaru]

WOW http://ruliweb.empas.com/ruliboard/r...b_news&main=hb

[Guardian Enzo]

Wow!

You know, Makoto-dono's version looks much more realistic...

[Guardian Enzo]

Well, that video - as piss-poor as the Youtube quality was - is pretty powerful stuff. This is a case where the song fits the anime perfectly, I think. I'm trying very hard not to assume too much based on this snippets of video...

[aliensporebomb]

Okay, perhaps I'm pessimistic. But I've got a right - I've lived Takaki's kind of life
for many years and it took forever before anything seemed to turn out all right.

I hope Takaki (even if he's fictional) gets what he wants sooner than I did.

[aliensporebomb]

Originally Posted by Haohmaru

WOW http://ruliweb.empas.com/ruliboard/r...b_news&main=hb

Wow, wow, wow, wow, wow. Unbelievable. Words fail.

[Neohybrid_kai]

I have a question,
I watched bikasuishin version of this anime
can someone explain to me about the book that Takaki and Akari read?
the one about halucigenia or something?
is that a novel?

also, what's the meaning of "read 4 billion years' worth"?
I'm not a native english speaker, I have never heard that phrase before
thank you ^^ sorry for suddenly barging in and asking question.

[Lost]

Originally Posted by Haohmaru

WOW http://ruliweb.empas.com/ruliboard/r...b_news&main=hb

Seeing that makes me wonder how awesome it would feel if I personally lived or worked or stood in the locales chosen and then saw them being animated, brought to life anew, by Shinkai. I've seen the same (ie real world vs animated) for KyoAni's series like TMoHS and Kanon, but I've never thought like this up to now. Only Shinkai. Seriously, it would just feel awesome.

[Samatarou]

Originally Posted by Neohybrid_kai

I have a question,
I watched bikasuishin version of this anime
can someone explain to me about the book that Takaki and Akari read?
the one about halucigenia or something?
is that a novel?

also, what's the meaning of "read 4 billion years' worth"?
I'm not a native english speaker, I have never heard that phrase before
thank you ^^ sorry for suddenly barging in and asking question.

They're discussing the Cambrian Period, i.e. prehistoric times. I assume Akari has been reading a book about the earth's ancient history. "4 billion years" is probably a reference to the age of the Earth, my assumption was that she is saying she has read 4 billion years of history in one evening.

The Cambrian Period was actually 500 million years ago though. I’ve been told that Anomalcalis, Halucigenia and Opabinia are animals of that era, though I've not heard such names before, the only life form I know of from that era are the trilobites. Akari makes a model of the Halucigenia with her chips, I thought it looked like a scorpion. I wonder if the names are translated correctly bearing in mind that this is Japanese translated into English by a French guy.

edit: I just found this page about the Hallucigenia et al, with a picture of it which is indeed similar to Akari's potato construction. And the Opabinia does indeed have five eyes! Jeez, these kids are well educated! Or is it our English speaking schooling systems that have been hopelessly dumbed down that we don't know about these things?