| 5 Centimeters Per Second | |
Cover of the first North American release |
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| 秒速5センチメートル (Byōsoku Go Senchimētoru) |
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|---|---|
| Genre | Drama, Romance |
| Anime film | |
| Directed by | Makoto Shinkai |
| Produced by | Makoto Shinkai |
| Written by | Makoto Shinkai |
| Music by | Tenmon |
| Studio | CoMix Wave Inc. |
| Licensed by |
Bandai Entertainment |
| Released | March 3, 2007 |
| Runtime | 65 minutes |
| Novel | |
| Written by | Makoto Shinkai |
| Published by | Media Factory |
| Published | November 19, 2007 |
| Manga | |
| Written by | Makoto Shinkai |
| Illustrated by | Seike Yukiko |
| Published by | Kodansha |
| Demographic | Seinen |
| Magazine | Afternoon |
| Original run | July 2010 – June 2011 |
| Volumes | 2 |
5 Centimeters Per Second: a chain of short stories about their distance (秒速5センチメートル: アチェインオブショートストリーズアバウトゼアディスタンス Byōsoku Go Senchimētoru: a chein obu shōto sutorīzu abauto zea disutansu), is a 2007 Japanese animated feature film by Makoto Shinkai. The film was finished on 22 January 2007.[1] 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.[2] On 3 March 2007, the full length featured film had its theatrical premiere at Cinema Rise in Shibuya, Tokyo.[3] The film consists of three segments: Cherry Blossom (桜花抄 Ōkashō), Cosmonaut (コスモナウト Kosumonauto), and 5 Centimeters per Second (秒速5センチメートル Byōsoku 5 Senchimētoru), totaling about an hour of runtime. As in Shinkai's previous works, Tenmon composes for this film's soundtrack. The DVD was released on 19 July 2007. A novel of 5 Centimeters Per Second has also been released, expanding on the film.[4] On the July issue of Afternoon in 2010, a manga adaptation started serialization, illustrated by Seike Yukiko.[5]
Contents |
The Story is set in Japan beginning from the 1990s and ending in modern day, with each segment centered on a boy named Takaki Tōno. It is important to note that the first episode takes place during a time period when cell phones are uncommon and email has not yet reached the general populace.
Takaki Tōno quickly befriends Akari Shinohara when she transfers to his elementary school. They grow closer to each other due to similar interests and attitudes; for instance, they both prefer to stay inside during recess due to their seasonal allergies. As a result, they form a strong bond; they speak to each other using their given names without any form of honorifics, which is very unusual in Japan, even among people who are romantically involved. This fact is lost in the movie's translation to English and other languages, which reduces the implied closeness of their relationship.
Upon graduating from elementary school, Akari moves to Tochigi, due to her parents' jobs. The two keep in contact by writing letters, but eventually begin to drift apart. When Takaki learns that his family will be moving to Kagoshima, he decides to personally go see Akari, since they will be too far apart to visit each other at all after moving. He also prepares a letter for Akari, containing his feelings. However, during the journey he loses the letter and a severe snowstorm continuously delays Takaki's trip for several hours. As the two meet and share their first kiss, Takaki realizes they will never be together again. Stranded in a shed due to the snowstorm, they fall asleep after talking late into the night. Takaki departs the next morning, and they promise to continue writing to each other. As the train rolls away, Takaki regrets the loss of his letter, while Akari silently looks at her own letter addressed to Takaki.
Takaki is now in the third year of senior high in Tanegashima, where the Tanegashima Space Center is located. Kanae Sumida, a classmate of Takaki, had fallen in love with him ever since meeting him in middle school, but does not have the courage to confess her feelings. She tries to spend time with him, waiting long after school for the chance to travel home together. However, Takaki appears ignorant to Kanae's feelings and treats her as a good friend. Kanae observes that Takaki is always writing emails to someone, or staring off into the distance as if searching for something far, far away. It is later shown that Takaki's emails are not being sent to anyone, and he has had recurring dreams which feature Akari. Despite Kanae's feelings, she eventually realizes that Takaki is looking at something far beyond what she can offer and decides against telling him how she feels.
It is 2008, where Takaki is now a computer programmer in Tokyo, and Akari is preparing to get married to someone. Kanae is not strongly depicted in this segment. Takaki is still longing for Akari to the detriment of his lifestyle, which is acknowledged by an ex-girlfriend. This leads to Takaki on the verge of a breakdown and leaving his job. Akari goes through her old possessions and finds the letter addressed to Takaki. Takaki and Akari have a dual narration, both recalling a recent dream depicting the events of their last meeting in the snow, and hoping to watch the cherry blossoms together again.
One day while walking down a road, Takaki and Akari appear to pass and recognize each other at a train crossing. At opposite sides of the tracks, they both stop and begin to look back, but the passing trains cut off their view. Takaki waits for the trains to pass, but sees that Akari is gone. After a moment, he smiles to himself and continues walking.
Voiced by: Kenji Mizuhashi (Japanese), David Matranga (ADV), Johnny Yong Bosch (Bang Zoom!) (English)
Voiced by: Yoshimi Kondō (Part 1) and Ayaka Onouei (Part 3) (Japanese), Hilary Haag (ADV), Erika Weinstein (Part 1), Tara Platt (Part 3) (Bang Zoom!) (English)
Voiced by: Satomi Hanamura (Japanese), Serena Varghese (ADV), Kira Buckland (Bang Zoom!) (English)
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. Makoto's film gives a realistic view of the struggles many face against: time, space, people, and love. The title 5 Centimeters Per Second comes from the speed at which cherry blossoms 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 separate ways.[6] The movie marks the first time Shinkai has worked closely with a full staff of animators and artists.[7]
The DVD was released on the 19 July 2007 in Japan.[9] The title was licensed by ADV Films and scheduled for a December 2007 release,[10][11] but the release was delayed until March 2008.[12][13] The film's Region 2 DVD release date was pushed back from March 4, 2008 to April, 2008.[14][15] The official Russian release by Reanimedia was already in stock in January 2008.[16] The film is also licensed in Taiwan by Proware Multimedia International.[17] On July 11, 2008, ADV announced that it was discontinuing print of the DVD.[18][19] Bang Zoom! Entertainment has re-dubbed the entire film at the request of its original Japanese distributor, and the new dub was first streamed via Crunchyroll as part of their Day of Makoto Shinkai on 28 February 2009.[20] On August 13, 2010, Crunchyroll CEO Kun Gao announced plans to release titles on DVD, starting with 5 Centimeters per Second.[21] Bandai Entertainment will manufacture and distribute the DVDs and will include the Bang Zoom! dub. This version will be released 22 February 2011.[22]
On 29 March 2009 the distribution company Madman Entertainment announced plans to release 5 Centimetres Per Second in Australia.[23] The film's ending theme was "One More Time, One More Chance" by Masayoshi Yamazaki. The Blu-ray version of the film has been released on April 18, 2008 in Japan.[24] The HD version of the film has also been released on April 18, 2008, which is region-free by default.[24]
The novel version of 5 Centimeters Per Second, licensed by Media Factory, was released on November 16, 2007 in Japan. It was the first novel written by Makoto Shinkai. The photographs in the novel were also taken by Shinkai.[25]
The manga adaptation of the film, illustrated by manga artist Yukiko Seike, started serialization in Kodansha's seinen magazine Afternoon from July 2010.[26]
The popular Chinese animation program Xin Ling Zhi Chuang (Spirit's Window) is accused of copying several backgrounds from 5 Centimeters Per Second with minor modification. The program's introduction describes it as "a program produced for the youth of China, and animation to raise wholesome minds and teach a noble view of life."[27]
The film won the Lancia Platinum Grand Prize, the Future Film Festival for best movie in animation or special effects.[28] It won the Award for Best Animated Feature Film at the 2007 Asia Pacific Screen Awards.[29] The limited edition DVD of the film was ranked 3rd on the Tohan charts between July 18–24, 2007, while the regular edition of the film was ranked 7th.[30] The film was Japan's fourth most popular Blu-ray film in 2008.[31]
| “ | Shinkai has been hailed as the next Miyazaki, and his dreamy mindscapes often equal or surpass the anime maestro in breadth of detail and depth of emotion. Shinkai extends the innate possibilities of the anime dynamic, reapplying its principles of lush effects, inflated background detail and sometimes undernourished character animation to mirror the interiority of the characters in every nuance of their surroundings." - Ronnie Scheib from Variety[8] | ” |
Mania.com lists 5 Centimeters Per Second as the best non-Miyazaki anime.[32] The Japan Times's Mark Schilling commends Shinkai saying that he is better than Hayao Miyazaki "at piercing the veil of the everyday to reveal a poignant, evanescent beauty most of us notice only in rare moments."[33] Anime News Network's Bamboo Dong commends the anime for its "heartbreakingly gorgeous" piano score composed by Tenmon, which "contributes to the dreamlike quality that the film has". She also comments that film "never comes out and tells you what the characters are feeling. It never follows a strict storyline, but between the interactions on the screen and well-timed shots of lonely landscapes, everything is as clear as night and day".[34] Mania.com's Chris Beveridge criticises the anime for its aliasing as well as it "seems to get a fairly low bitrate during a lot of it which leads to some noisy and overly grainy feeling areas. The film has so many lush colors to it that a lot of them start to show too much noise at times which is almost as distracting as the aliasing."[35] Theron Martin reviewing for Anime News Network commends "The production [which] also excels in its use of sound effects, especially in the bow-shooting scenes in Part 2".[36]
| “ | Taken individually, the parts offer nice little vignettes, but taken as a whole they paint a broader picture about the progression of life and love. The ending, which is where this work differs most from Shinkai's previous efforts, will doubtless be controversial and may leave some fans unsatisfied, as it opens itself to multiple interpretations. Some may feel as if it just ends without resolving anything, but if one considers Takaki's few lines of narration in part two, how that part ends, and how everything fits together, it becomes clearer that actually resolving things was never the point. Whereas Voices was about trying to maintain a connection and Place Promised was about reestablishing one, Five Centimeters is ultimately about moving on from past connections instead of just living in the past, about finding a way to become happy in the present rather than just pining for what has been lost over time. In that sense Five Centimeters is Shinkai's most mature and complicated work yet." - Theron Martin, Anime News Network[36] | ” |
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