5 centímetros por segundo

From the intimacy and closeness of all three chapters, I am still recovering. 5 Centimeters Per Second brings one hundred emotions per hour, and whether the main characters are cutely growing closer or devotedly stalking an unattainable idol, they perfectly capture the characteristic behavior of relationships in different periods. It is amusing and sad to observe the innocence of first encounters, the absolute infatuation of teenagers, and the familiar feeling of loneliness when things are not as we feel they should be in our twenties. If some moments were slightly shorter or less tearful, it would be almost flawless, but as it is, Shinkai's confession remains more personal. And personal romances are the strongest after all. (26.10.2012)

I am not a fan of sad endings and melancholic narratives. I see more than enough of that in real life. So even though this movie is really beautiful and moving, I cannot award it five stars. This is because, despite all the strong feelings I had about it, the ending pissed me off. (06.04.2015)

One of the most beautiful and touching declarations of love ever depicted in live-action and animated film, but also with a ton of purposeful pathos, which cannot be completely ignored given that it attacks the viewer from virtually every beautifully animated shot and musical motif. My hat is off to the director for the breathtaking visuals and I applaud the captivating poetic concept, but that doesn't change the fact that the sugar made my teeth hurt a lot this time. 85% (11.03.2013)

And I make it less than 1 cm closer to Shinkai every year, because I actually write reviews a few miles closer to Japan than most. Jokes aside, his fantasy-heavy screenwriting style has so far failed to light any kind of pleasant stirring within me, and yet the opening story got off to a good start. I like the motivational story of overcoming the boundaries of the unknown to achieve a desired goal, and the main couple do that with naive but dogged dedication. A person from the Western Hemisphere might be surprised by the ultimate indifference and modesty in expressing and showing feelings and emotions, but the endearing harmony in it warms the heart. Even though I understand the message of the other two stories, in the shadow of the previous work it’s hard to find the logic behind not only the behavior of the central couple, but the overall philosophical approach to the subject matter. Even though I believe the next 2/3 of the anime is about poetically mourning over humble fate and emotional perseverance, in my mind it inadvertently came off as a critique of impotence in the end. The script casually helps all this along by outright avoiding explanations of essential facts and never answering completely banal questions like: "Why didn’t they go by train again? Why didn't they call and just wrote?". While I don't think I'm jaded emotionally, I guess I'm too accustomed to and grounded by the endless batch of Japanese affected and elaborate untold love stories that more variations on this incomprehensible act of waiting for Godot won't pull me out of it. I did not get the feeling that this was the love of the century. I did not get the feeling that I was being given compelling reasons to feel sorry for the unfulfilled grandiosity or instead to nod appreciatively: "Yeah, that's just how life is!". The best element, as always is with Shinkai, are the beautiful images accompanied by either a tastefully chosen soundtrack or subtle Japanese pop. If there's one thing I appreciate about the tedious dragging, it's enjoying the audiovisuals, which are magnificent. But I'll never give 5 stars for that alone. (18.01.2022)