(L) 5 Centimeters per Second

[orion]

I don't think that he wants to make a "happy ending" story.

Spoiler:

We basically now have 3 movies in which the couples are torn apart. He's almost becomiing a "one trick pony" in this regards imo. If an audience has to sit thru 90 minutes of angst for no conclusion, then he's prob best not to try for an Oscar nod. The movie would prob be eaten alive imo.

[aliensporebomb]

It is true that it is more common for couples to split or not stay together
but maybe that is Shinkai's art.

Or just likes to toy with us.

[Cal-Reflector]

Originally Posted by aliensporebomb

It is true that it is more common for couples to split or not stay together
but maybe that is Shinkai's art.

Or just likes to toy with us.

He just likes to toy with us.

Well, I didn't click on any of the spoilers, but I've seen what people have said, so I guess its safe for me to bring out my planned response to the ending of Byousoku 5CM.

Warning, the following image may be disturbing.

Spoiler for Denial, etc, etc.:

But meh, like many have mentioned, Shinkai's history is one of not giving happy endings, so if I am to be in denial (such as forgetting all about parts 2 and 3 and hanging just on part 1), I might as well do it with a unperturbed mind.

Spoiler for Warning for possibly even more disturbing.:

I'll go sit and face the corner now and create my own fantasy endings for B5.

[arias]

Originally Posted by orion

I don't think that he wants to make a "happy ending" story.

Spoiler:

We basically now have 3 movies in which the couples are torn apart. He's almost becomiing a "one trick pony" in this regards imo. If an audience has to sit thru 90 minutes of angst for no conclusion, then he's prob best not to try for an Oscar nod. The movie would prob be eaten alive imo.

Hm. I guess I almost have to answer in spoiler quotes.

Spoiler:

It's not Shinkai's being a one trick pony - that's too crude a term to box him in. It's probably his fondness for melodrama and tragedy - at least of some sort. With an incredibly strong streak of sentimentality. He's also not going for an Oscar, for sure.

I have similar sentiments to you and many posters here in terms of him actually carving out a story that ISN'T so melodramatic and deliberately sad. We'll have to watch his progress. Doesn't matter if his backgrounds become ever more beautiful, the content is starting to show a predictable pattern to some extent.

[rg4619]

He's almost becomiing a "one trick pony" in this regards imo.

Perhaps he's trying to recycle the same thing until he comes up with a genuine winner. On the whole, Makoto Shinkai has received much praise for his animation talents and for his ambition as a total creator who monopolizes his projects from beginning to end. However, opinions on Shinkai's storytelling have been mixed at best.

Personally, I'm still of the opinion that Shinkai should concentrate on the animation/storyboarding end, while leaving someone else in charge of the writing. As it is, his films look incredible, but story execution always falls short.

[ricerocket]

just finished watching this in theatre.... gotta say, only shinkai makoto can make something that makes you totally fall in love with his work while watching it and at the same time feel like complete crap

btw, i really hope this thing gets released in theatres when it arrives in the states... i watched the avi raw of part 1 before getting on my business trip to tokyo, and watched the whole thing in theatre here... it's completely different experiences

[Cal-Reflector]

Originally Posted by ricerocket

gotta say, only shinkai makoto can make something that makes you totally fall in love with his work while watching it and at the same time feel like complete crap

What a perfect way of putting it; perhaps it would be considerate for the American distributors of this film to have a warning label on the ads: "People with a history of or are experiencing clinical depression should not view Byosoku 5 CM; ask Animesuki if Byosoku 5 CM is right for you."

[Samatarou]

Originally Posted by Cal-Reflector

perhaps it would be considerate for the American distributors of this film to have a warning label on the ads: "People with a history of or are experiencing clinical depression should not view Byosoku 5 CM; ask Animesuki if Byosoku 5 CM is right for you."

Wasn’t that the caution that came with Grave of the Fireflies? I hope 5cm/sec isn’t in the same suicide watch category!

[xcxcxcc]

i was about to read the summary for the last two episodes but after reading the posts above me i decided not to and to forget all about 5 cm/s and watch it when i turn 20...or when the subs come out.... cause i know that if i watch or read summaries or blogs now i'll be dissapointed and besides i already know what happens in the last scene and i wasnt pleased with it...so yeahh

damn i was really looking for a happy ending and not some weird symbolic leave it to the viewer imagination ending i really wanted to see little takaki jr wit his little sister running around that tree but i guess i can't have it all*sigh*

so if u re really hoping for a "happy ending" dont watch of the last two episodes

[raziel666]

Just read here that WOWOW will be showing the whole movie sometime in March. I hope this is true. Can anyone confirm it from WOWOWs site?

[mt-i]

Originally Posted by raziel666

Just read here that WOWOW will be showing the whole movie sometime in March. I hope this is true. Can anyone confirm it from WOWOWs site?

As indicated in the production blog, the movie was advertised in the March 14th installment of "Tokyo Cinema Style", a cinema program on WOWOW, and ranked first in their weekly "Tokyo mini theater rankings". But they didn't show the movie itself, of course, and I didn't find anything on the WOWOW website about Byousoku 5 Centimer being scheduled for broadcast yet (which would be really surprising at this point).

[eyoy]

bittersweet endings..yes, seems like its a theme in each of his works..
maybe he experienced one in his past and now tries to screw with us!ahh revenge i dare say..
at least "Beyond the Clouds" wasn't that sad..

[ricerocket]

bleh, 5cm's ending really isn't "bittersweet," it's just bitter >.>

and as for beyond the clouds, the "true end" in the novel version is sad as hell too... sigh

[DragoonKain3]

and as for beyond the clouds, the "true end" in the novel version is sad as hell too... sigh

Learning from episode 1 of this movie, I'm not even going to ask, lol. There are certainly some things better off not knowing. XD

[Neohybrid_kai]

Originally Posted by ricerocket

and as for beyond the clouds, the "true end" in the novel version is sad as hell too... sigh

anyone can tell me what happen in the novel version?
now I'm curious as hell to find out
please put it in a spoiler tag

by the way, I made a sub for the pv in youtube
no karaoke effect tough, but it still helps you to sing along
if you interest you can download it here
for the .ass version
or here for the .srt version
the full lyric in kanji and romaji is here

[plenair]

i finally had a chance to watch this and it's pretty nice. obviously a very talented digital painter, I was hoping with a studio behind him the character animation of his films would be a bit better. It is in some parts, but other parts dredge up memories of Hoshi no Koe's several shots in which the poor drawing of the characters made them fairly 'deformed'. Fortunately though there is barely any character animation in this short, mostly still shots and background/moving background shots.

Don't get me wrong, I love his work, and hoshi no koe is beautiful and a fairly nice story. His camera work is fairly good, his sense of cinematic style and sense of live action cinematography is nice with his use of dof and camera angles. I think his weakest points would be keeping the consistency of his characters across shots (sometimes they shrink, other times they grow, and sometimes their facial feature placement is different from shot to shot), and story telling with the camera rather than voice-over narration. His stories, which completely appeal to me as I love melancholy and wistful sadness in tales (i can not stand films always having pat happy endings), could use some tightening up sometimes.

There were quite a few things I found very nicely done in 5cm though. The limited and subtle use of 3d definitely added to the film. The ones that stood out to me the most: the vibration of the floor where two train cars join, the low camera shot from outside the train as it curved to screen right (the shallow dof really sold and hid this effect well!), when the 2 characters are walking away from camera in the snow there is the very slow panning of the camera to the left in which the perspective of the telephone poles shift in 3d, and then there was the recession of the background thru the windos when he first hops on the train - although it could have been a clever use of 2d multiplaning, i'd have to go back and check.

His saturation of shadows and blown out highlights contribute to his signature look, imitating the latitude and look of traditional live action film stock. I love how he punches up the saturation of the colors, especially the sky, and tends to halo all his shadows with another color. Although sometimes the camera related lighting effects (camera flares galore) seem overdone, at least they are all different, unique and appear to have received a lot of individual love.

But his style and stories continue to appeal to me because he loves what I love - clouds, flying, inclement weather, trains, planes, and technology.

I can't wait to see what he has in store next and if he can improve on his skills in character design, animation and storytelling - please "show me", don't "tell me"! - he could deliver both the visual and emotional punch of the next great anime director.

[Jazzrat]

Finally summon up the courage to watch this after leaving it on my desktop for a week. While i havent watch any of his work, so i can't really compare this to his previous work.

This isn't really anime, more like a flowing piece of art woven around a simple story without the typical anime gimmicks such as mecha, mahou shoujo or space demons. There's no outrageous plots to push you along but beautiful art and directing that takes you through a bittersweet slice of life story accompanied by gentle pieces of music and your emotions.

The only thing i found slightly out of place is the facial animation. They seem so simple in contrast with the highly detailed background.

[mysole123]

I uploaded a higher quality version of the latest popular Byousoku 5cm video that is being shown on youtube(this took me forever to find on the net and is so much better than that youtube video). It runs 5:22min and has the complete song "One more chance, One more time" playing during the video.

This is NOT one of the teaser trailers that are on the yahoo site.
http://rapidshare.com/files/22181226..._more_time.avi
Enjoy all.

[Neohybrid_kai]

thanks ^_^

btw, something I've done in my free time
http://youtube.com/watch?v=1QXDe6_XJJ0
somehow, the song fits in nicely, in my opinion

[Samatarou]

Originally Posted by mysole123

I uploaded a higher quality version of the latest popular Byousoku 5cm video that is being shown on youtube

Thanks! I really loathe youtube quality and was determined not to watch the amv that way.
Anyhow, now that I’ve seen it, it’s not nearly as depressing as was being made out, I don’t think it leaves us with any particular conclusions, I liked it.