(L) 5 Centimeters per Second

[Proto]

There's a rather affordable DVD version if you are intersted.

[Valkyrur]

Originally Posted by Shiroth

I've waited a very long time, and finally the film is available to buy here in the UK. Picked up a copy this morning, and preparing myself for a rewatch tomorrow.

I know ... i heard from a friend it was out ...checked amazon Blu-ray still not released but dvd is ....

i want my blu ray

Why delay the inevitable ?

[Simon_Lord]

i also checked the Author's earlier work, also ordering them, they are easier to find. The environements are so real, it feels like i really was in Tokio's Bullet Train. <3

[~Yami~]

Spoiler for manga:

ah... finally the manga is finished....
they explain it better there (about Toono and Risa)
and as usual, the author leave a hangover in the end about Kanae
*sigh*

[hyperborealis]

Originally Posted by jtstellar

since this is a film that makes people come back to it again and again most likely for decades to come.. this is what i did just now

it just occurred to me that this film is more concerned with a person's own inner self as in the memories buried within, rather than talking about childhood deep relationships which is generic by comparison. this is evidenced by the protagonist not chasing after his suspected childhood friend in the end which was entirely possible on foot with a woman's ~20 second walking distance.

I think this is right. The kiss is the most important moment in Takaki's life, but not finally for Akari's sake, but for what it enables him to understand about the nature and the experience of human life.

The key moment is of course Takaki's reflection narrated in a voice-over as they kiss:

Spoiler:

"In that moment, / The dwelling place of eternity, hearts and souls.../ became clear to me./ It was as if I understood everything that had happened in my life these last thirteen years,/ And...the time which was to come./ I became unbearably...sad./ Akari's warmth, her spirit, / how should I treat them, where can I bring them?/ That was something I did not know./ That we could not be together forever after this/ was a fact I clearly grasped. / The vast lives we had ahead of us,/ The boundless amount of time which laid unavoidably stretched out in front of us./ But.../ The anxieties which I had caught sight of soon melted away. / And after that, only Akari's tender lips remained."

Shinkai seems to be saying that life and time are too vast to be contained by any one instant, no matter how important or moving, and therefore that even moments of transcendent love are inevitably transitory. This is a cause for unbearable sadness. But at the same time, the moments have an immediacy of passion and beauty that are valuable for their own sake. Takaki puts away his "anxieties" and surrenders to the pure experience of the Akari's kiss.

What is left afterwards, but a memory? one that is both beautiful and sad: beautiful, since it retains this moment of love, and sad, since the memory also records the moment's loss. The cherry blossoms and the snow become metaphors for our lives: we are always falling into death, and that is our experience of life--beauty and love, gained and lost, again and again.

Byōsoku Go Senchimētoru is an outstanding expression of the Japanese aesthetic concept of mono no aware.

[Archon_Wing]

After watching Place Promised I decided to watch this.

5 cm per second, or 18m per hour, seems to carry on many of the themes of its predecessor, namely distance, and moving on, basically waking up from these long streams of poignant memories.

This was a rather depressing movie; with all the troubles taking a toll. Takaki seemed to really suffer with no direction in his life, unable to see someone that loves him in front, and even ended up quitting his job. It was unfortunate that everyone involved suffered such tunnel vision, and it seems that had Akari or Takaki had acted more strongly, this wouldn't have happened.

But such is life and 20/20 hindsight. Despite having the same thoughts and feelings, they couldn't act on them, and so all our leads suffered. Sometimes it just passes by. But at least by the end, they could move on, and the future always has something to offer.

One thing that really separates 5cm from other romances is that there's no real obsession over the "destined" one. Anime seems to have an obsession with having one couple as the one true, and pure one.

In 5cm, the romantic feelings are very strong, but just because they weren't together or even if they end up with other people doesn't mean the feelings were not valid. And this made the characters' feelings very real.

The visuals even managed to outdo Place Promised, which was already very good looking. In fact; it's some of the best I've seen for anime movies. But holy fuck, here, you're just completely stuck looking at all the beautiful scenery.

It goes with the name very well too, 5cm per second is a very slow speed, and when time moves slowly, it causes a lot of frustration in our cast here. The rocket was also a really good allegory, as travel through the cold vacuum of space would also be painfully tedious.

I guess I wasn't a big fan of the ending. The actual conclusion, whether they find a way back or not isn't too big of a deal, but I was still going like "wtf, this just ended?" A bit anticlimatic to say the least.

But in any case, I'll rate this a 9/10, since it's rare that this medium portrays romance in such an honest and somewhat realistic manner. Easily top tier when it comes to anime romance.

[YuriEcchiGirl]

Such a beautiful & heartfelt story, I'm so glad I decided to buy this movie on DVD when I did

[Soconfused]

After putting this off for years (like all anime movies I sort of want to see but not really), I finally sat down and watched it.

I kind of have mixed feelings about them not ending up together in the end. It's nice that it strayed from the typical cliche ending, but they didn't have to rub it in my face by having the guy become a depressed run of the mill officer worker who apparently hates his life, while the girl is getting married to someone she clearly enjoys and is apparently very happy with her life. It left me feeling somber, which I wasn't expecting. It turned out to be pretty damn depressing

It hurts most because I'm sure a lot of people (including myself) can relate in some way. I feel I'm slowly ending up the man Takaki became, it's kind of terrifying really...

(not to say I'm depressed or anything, my life is okay for the moment. )

btw, the island they're on in the the second episode makes my heart hurt. I'd love to live somewhere like that when I'm older.

[Kyuu]

Originally Posted by Soconfused

After putting this off for years (like all anime movies I sort of want to see but not really), I finally sat down and watched it.

On Valentine's Day? Oh man...

[Sumeragi]

Originally Posted by Kyuu

On Valentine's Day? Oh man...

The location might be somewhere that is already the 15th.

[Soconfused]

Originally Posted by Kyuu

On Valentine's Day? Oh man...

Hah, technically, Valentines Day was pretty much over when I starting watching it (Not that I have a GF or anything at the moment...) and I wasn't expecting it to be depressing, no one warned me!

[Miraluka]

You never asked beforehand!

Yeah, the ending was kind of anticlimatics and it was a troll for romantic watchers, heck, it would have been NTR if the girl was keeping her relationship with the guy while enjoying her time with her new lover .

[DragoZERO]

This is definitely not a Valentine's Day movie. I'll have to suggest that my friend and his fiance watch it next Valentine's Day.

[Miraluka]

Originally Posted by DragoZERO

This is definitely not a Valentine's Day movie. I'll have to suggest that my friend and his fiance watch it next Valentine's Day.

Doesn't that implies some else is in love with his fiance but will be forever alone?

[bhl88]

Originally Posted by Valkyrur

I know ... i heard from a friend it was out ...checked amazon Blu-ray still not released but dvd is ....

i want my blu ray

Why delay the inevitable ?

That's because it's over here.

[DragoZERO]

Originally Posted by Wilfriback

Doesn't that impies some else is in love with his fiance but will lonely forever?

Huh? I thought it was a joke about having people watch something not heart warming romantic on Valentine's Day.

[Somnus]

I've been meaning to watch this forever, but always stalled because I knew what to expect in the end. It stung just as much as I expected it to, but even so, what a beautiful watch. One of the tags on AniDB is "High Degree of Perfection", and honestly, I couldn't agree more.

It was so artistic, and at the same time so very realistic. Until the music video part I was so immersed in its brilliance. Though it's not "the story of my life" per-se, the scenarios could be related to very easily. Also, the very way this movie approached the passage of time was flawless. Even though there were time skips, it felt as if you could have easily pictured the time that wasn't shown on screen all the same. Needless to say a flood of nostalgia and thoughts about my own past had immediately surfaced after the movie finished.

This is probably the most positive I'll ever feel about a "sad" movie. Usually an ending I don't take a liking to (sad in some way, too many things left unresolved, etc.), or doesn't fit with the rest of the series will ruin the entire run for me. This however, is the exception.

Though honestly, I probably couldn't watch it again. The feelings behind this unrequited love is really hard for this heart to handle. It tugs too damn hard.

[RRW]

did the novel have anything to add?

anyway wondering if any of you heard this theory

Spoiler for Theory:

Akari's parents turned Takaki in to the police.
For staying out all night with their daughter without permission. He is therefore banned from contacting her ever again. This is why he never writes, calls her or visits her ever again despite her apparently still living in the same place with the same number and address as before. He'd rather get depressed and quit his job and mope than see her because the law won't allow him to.

[Terrestrial Dream]

This anime... every time I hear "One more time, One more chance" I get this sinking feeling in my chest. No other anime makes me feel like this, I feel so sad every time.