5 Centimeters Per Second (2007)

Told in three interconnected segments, we follow a young man named Takaki through his life as cruel winters, cold technology, and finally, adult obligations and responsibility converge to test the delicate petals of love.

Director:

Makoto Shinkai

Writers:

Makoto Shinkai (screenplay), Makoto Shinkai (original story)

Stars:

Kenji Mizuhashi, Yoshimi Kondou, Satomi Hanamura

1 win.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Kenji Mizuhashi	...	Takaki Tohno (voice)
Yoshimi Kondou	...	Akari Shinohara (segment "Oukashou") (voice)
Satomi Hanamura	...	Kanae Sumida (segment "Cosmonaut") (voice)
Ayaka Onoue	...	Akari Shinohara (segment "Byousoku 5 Centimeter") (voice)
Risa Mizuno	...	(voice)
Yuka Terazaki	...	(voice)
Yûko Nakamura	...	(voice)
Masami Iwasaki	...	(voice)
Rei Kondo	...	(voice)
Hiroshi Shimozaki	...	(voice)
Takahiro Hirano	...	(voice)
Akira Nakagawa	...	(voice)
Keiko Izeki	...	(voice)
Suguru Inoue	...	(voice)
Rion Kako	...	(voice)

Storyline

Takaki and Akari are two classmates in elementary school. During their time together they have become close friends. Their relationship is tested when Akari moves to another city because of her parents' jobs. Both of them struggle to keep their friendship alive, as time and distance slowly pulls them apart. When Takaki finds out that he is moving further away, he decides to visit Akari one last time.

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Plot Keywords:

nostalgia | friendship | cell phone | classroom | convenience store | 

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Taglines:

Did you know? The speed at which cherry blossom petals fall...

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Genres:

Animation | Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

TV-PG

Details

Official Sites:

Official Wikipedia Official Yahoo! [Japan]

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

3 March 2007 (Japan)

Also Known As:

5 Centimeters Per Second

Box Office

Budget:

$5,000,000 (estimated)

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$256,851

Company Credits

Production Co:

CoMix Wave

Technical Specs

Runtime:

63 min (original)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color (animation) Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In 2009 a Chinese animation company Liuzhou Lan Hai technologies Ltd. admitted to plagiarizing several backgrounds from the film to use in their own animation series.

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Goofs

When the train departs from Nogi, the sound comes from a train traveling much faster.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Akari Shinohara: Hey... They say it's five centimeters per second.
Takaki Toono: What do you mean?
Akari Shinohara: The speed at which the sakura blossom petals fall... Five centimeters per second.

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Connections

References She and Her Cat: Their Standing Points (2000)

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Soundtracks

Aogeba Toutoshi
Traditional Japanese graduation song

User Reviews

Great movie, greater emotions.

"The movie is named 5 Centimeters Per Second for 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 separate ways."

Beautiful. Absolutely an instant masterpiece by Makoto Shinkai. I enjoyed Voices of A Distant Star and The Place Promised in Our Early Days, But I never thought that he could pull off another great film.

Plot-wise, it has similarities with his previous works(Voices of A Distant Star), but it manages to create a different atmosphere here. Watching all 3 short stories consecutively, I'll have to say the final chapter was the best among 3. The pinnacle, however, is the first one. Second chapter is a little slow-paced, but it matches the movie theme nicely.

Can't have much complain towards the music. As usual, Tenmon proves he's got the talent with emotional piano pieces. The theme song is nice as well.

Animation & visual effects is stunning. Makoto Shinkai definitely gets a solid certificate to be one of the best visual directors out there at the moment.

Overall, a 9/10 for me. It's almost flawless, but nothing can be perfect, right? ;)