5 Centimeters Per Second

"They say it's five centimeters per second."

"What do you mean?"

"The Speed at which the cherry blossoms fall... Five centimeters per second."

I must say that I do not watch the movies more than once unless I really like it.

This movie fits that case is one of my favorite movie of all time and I have seen this movie about 4 times.

5 Centimeters Per Second is about people facing against: love, time, and distance.

The director, Makoto Shinkai, usually made science fiction animated films in the past such as "Voices of a Distant Star" and "The Place Promised in Our Early Days," but this time he has made a movie that gives realistic setting in the film. 5 Centimeter Per Second is divided into 3 parts to represent their past and the present.

First Part, Cherry Blossom, is about the meeting of the two elementary schoolers, Takaki and Akari meeting together when Akari transferred to Takaki's elementary school. Because Takaki and Akari both have the same seasonal allergies, they both have to stay in the school during their recess time and this gives them the time to bond together as friends. Soon, they become a very close friends and they stay as close friends throughout the elementary school, however this close friendship ends after they graduate because Akari has to move faraway due to her father's job. When Takaki hears the sad news from Akari, he is saddened but that is also when he realizes feeling towards Akari. After Akari moves away, Takaki decides to write a letter about his love towards her and rides a train to go see her one day on a stormy winter night. Takaki meets up with Akari, however he had lost his letter due to the wind so he could not give her the letter. They spend the night in an abandoned shack talking to each other but when the morning came, Takaki had to leave. Takaki and Akari says their goodbyes, but Takaki would not say how he felt and Akari could not give the letter that she wrote for him either.

Part two, Cosmonaut, is about Takaki's story and his obsession over Akari, and Part three, 5 centimeters per second, is about the distance and the events leading up from the first part of the story.

I have only told the part of the story for the part one but the rest of the story is what makes the whole film beautiful.

The Title also has a deep meaning to the life and the people because in the beginning there is a scene where Takaki and Akari talk about the cherry blossom petals falling, and the director of this film says that the title 5 Centimeters Per Second comes from the speed at which cherry blossom 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 own separate ways.

Also the theme song, "One More Time, One More Chance" by Masayoshi Yamazaki is used for this film to evoke the realism because this song has been used before in a different movie and it is widely known to Japanese people so it would bring familiar feelings to the audience who have heard this song before.

"One More Time, One More Chance" by Masayoshi Yamazaki

I really enjoyed this film because I could relate to this movie in a way and this movie seemed different to the other movies that I have watched before. Plus the visuals in this movie are stunning and filled with vibrant colors. Also this movie really gave me the inspiration to never miss any chances that I have with my life.

This film is recommended to anyone who enjoys a good story.

Trailer for this film