5 Centimeters Per Second

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5 Centimeters Per Second
秒速5センチメートル
(Byōsoku Go Senchimētoru)
Genre Drama
Movie: 5 Centimeters Per Second
Directed by Makoto Shinkai
Studio CoMix Wave Inc.
Released March 3, 2007
Runtime ~1 hour

5 Centimeters Per Second (秒速5センチメートル Byōsoku Go Senchimētoru?), subtitled "a chain of short stories about their distance." is a 2007 animated feature film by Makoto Shinkai. The first part of the film was debuted on Yahoo! Japan as streaming video to Yahoo! Premium members from 16 February to 19 February, 2007. On March 3, 2007, the full length featured film had its theatrical premiere at Cinema Rise in Shibuya, Tokyo. The film consists of three segments: Ōkashō (桜花抄), Cosmonaut (コスモナウト), and Byōsoku 5 Senchimētoru (秒速5センチメートル), totaling about an hour of runtime. As in Shinkai's previous works, Tenmon composes for this film's soundtrack.

Makoto Shinkai had expressed that, unlike his past works, there would be no fantasy or science fiction elements in this film. Instead, the feature film would attempt to present the real world from a different perspective.[1]

Contents

[edit] Plot

The plot is set in Japan during the 1990s, with each segment centering on a boy named Takaki Tōno.

[edit] Episode 1: Ōkashō

Ōkashō (Cherry Blossom Extract): Upon graduating from elementary school, Takaki Tōno and his close friend Akari Shinohara drifted apart. Despite the special feelings that existed between them, the only thing that persisted was time. Then one day, in the middle of a snowstorm, Takaki finally went to meet Akari...

[edit] Episode 2: Cosmonaut

Kanae Sumita, a classmate of Takaki during his third year of high school, has special feelings for Takaki. He is kind to her, but she does not have the courage to express her love to him. Episode 2 is set at Tanegashima, where the space center of JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) is located.

[edit] Episode 3: Byōsoku 5 Centimeters

A few years have passed. One day, Takaki goes out and sees the face of a familiar-looking woman at a railroad-crossing. Puzzled by the encounter, he tries to look back, but a train comes and cuts off his view...

[edit] Characters

  • Takaki Tōno (遠野貴樹?) voiced by Kenji Mizuhashi
Takaki is the protagonist of the film. He and Akari are close friends, but begin to drift apart when Akari moves away and they end up attending different junior high schools. They continue to write to one another until Takaki discovers he must move to Tanegashima. The two decide to meet one snowy day, perhaps for the last time... In high school, he belonged to the kyudo club.
  • Akari Shinohara (篠原明里?) voiced by Yoshimi Kondō (part 1) and Ayaka Onoue (part 3)
Takaki's best friend in elementary school. She wanted to go to the same junior high school as Takaki, but because of her parents' jobs, she had to move to Tochigi after graduating from elementary school. She and Takaki keep in touch with letters.
A classmate of Takaki in high school. She has been in love with Takaki since he began attending her junior high school, but cannot express her feelings to him. Kanae loves to surf and rides a motocycle to school. Her older sister is a teacher at her high school.

[edit] Staff

  • Director: Makoto Shinkai
  • Character Design/Art Director: Takayo Nishimura
  • Background Art: Takumi Tanji, Ryoko Majima
  • Soundtrack: Tenmon

[edit] Production

The film was finished on January 22nd, 2007.

[edit] Reception

It has been reported that there was a huge line up in front of the theater 2 hours before the ticket selling starts[2]. The stage greeting which featured Makoto Shinkai was sold out[3].

[edit] Theme song

The song was also the theme song of the 1996 Japanese movie Moon and Cabbage. The reason Makoto Shinkai chose such a famous song was that he wants to evoke images of everyday happenings, and by choosing a song that "everyone knows about" would add realism to the movie.[4]

[edit] References

  1. ^ (Japanese) Director's notes (2006). Retrieved on July 16, 2006.
  2. ^ Long line up on premier date (2007-03-02). Retrieved on 2007-03-05.
  3. ^ Greeting from Mr Shinkai on the Eve (2007-03-02). Retrieved on 2007-03-05.
  4. ^ (Japanese) 山崎まさよし「One more time, One more chance」 (2006). Retrieved on November 21, 2006.

[edit] External links


The Works of Makoto Shinkai
Films
The Place Promised in Our Early Days | 5 Centimeters Per Second
OVAs
Other Worlds | She and Her Cat | Voices of a Distant Star
Music videos
Bittersweet Fools | Wind -a breath of heart- | Haru no Ashioto | Egao | ef - a fairy tale of the two.
In other languages