Hi all! I am sorry that I have not updated my blog regularly, I have just been very busy lately.
So recently, while taking a break from my studies, I decided to watch '5 centimeter/s'. It's an anime movie that had been out for quite some time and it has rave reviews from movie critics and viewers.
Before watching the movie, I had no idea what to expect as I have not seen any of the summaries of the movies online. Ok, careful for spoilers from here on out! Here we go:
Chapter 1: Cherry Blossom
The story starts with the protagonist (Takaki Tōno), befriending a girl named Akari Shinohara. They are very much alike, both are newly transferred to the school and they have very similar personalities. They hang out together, reading books in the library. My heart just melts when they clicked together so well and I felt so envious of their synergy. There was a pivotal scene they shared where Akari tells Takaki that cherry blossoms fall at a rate of 5cm/s, they make a promise to watch cherry blossom fall together next spring. But alas, after elementary school they were seperated when Akari's parents moved to a new prefecture. The scene where Akari Shinohara breaks the news to Takaki really wrenched my heart. At that moment, it was like their grief flowed out of my computer screen and diffused into the pores of my skin. The possibility of not being able to see your best friend again, that grief, is something which really hurts, like a knife stabbed deep in the chest and yet all we can do is to wave goodbye and embrace those beautiful memories as close to our heart as possible and hope that, even these will not fade away. The movie then phases into the next few scenes where Takaki takes a train ride to see Akari. The train ride encounters multiple hitches, with each delay, the possibility of seeing Akari slowly fades away. To make matters worse, he lost the letter he wanted to give to Akari. I really felt for Akari in that he spent so much effort just to see Akari one more time and yet it was like the heavens acted against him and all the odds stacked against him. The feeling of loneliness that he felt at that moment is unimaginable to me. However, before dawn, the sky is always the darkest. He finally gets to meet Akari at the designated station. They share a kiss under the blossom tree under pelting snowflakes and hold each other in warm embrace. It was admittedly, 1 of the most romantic things I have ever seen in 21 years of my life. The next day, Takaki leaves for home but just as he boards the train, the scene transits to Akari holding a letter that was written to Takaki. In it were the words that Akari said to Takaki
'You will be fine from now on.'
Akari likely wanted Takaki to move on because I guess, she had known then that their relationship was not destined to bear fruit. Sadly, Takaki held on to his emotions....
Chapter 2: Cosmonaut
Takaki is now in a high school in Tanegashima. Kanae Sumida, a classmate of Takaki's, has a crush on him but Takaki still thinks of Akari most of the time. He types messages on his cellphone and is constantly distracted, seemingly living in his own bubble of sorts. Although Takaki is nice to Sumida, it is apparent that Takaki will never develop feelings for Sumida because of his longing for Akari. It is sad given that Takaki and Akari could have been together as they were so close to each other. They had a real chance but yet Takaki's inability to move on prevented that. Maybe in another parallel universe in the anime....or just maybe happy endings are not meant to be?? Whatever it is, I feel sorry for Sumida, given all her emotional investment in Takaki just having zero results. It is fortunate though that Sumida had the wisdom of not pursuing Takaki given all of his emotional burdens. This chapter truly metaphorized Takaki, him being a cosmonaut, on a journey in the middle of a large empty vacuum towards an unreachable destination.
Chapter 3: 5 centimeters/second
Takaki finds work in Tokyo as a computer programmer and works tirelessly day and night. His longing for Akari takes a toll on him as he finds himself slipping into depression to the point where he indulges in alcohol and cigarettes. His life takes a turn for the worse and he finally decides to quit his job. Akari, on the other hand, is about to get married and finds a letter addressed to Takaki from a long time ago. The movie finally transits into a dual dream by Akari and Takaki back to the past where they shared their first kiss under the blossom tree. It must have been such a bittersweet moment for Takaki and I just can't imagine waking up from such a dream to find myself back in reality again. It must really feel surreal and to have experienced such an intimate bond with another person, it is truly an extremely unique and rare experience. The movie finally ends near opposite ends of a train track where Takaki sees Akari for a brief moment. A train passes through and cherry blossoms start to fall. When the train left, Akari was gone. It symbolises that Akari has moved on from their childhood and Takaki smiles and walks away. This scene was a masterstroke in my opinion. It provided resolution to Takaki having experienced sharing the view of cherry blossoms falling with Akari, thus fulfilling their promise and also helped to show Takaki's transition towards letting go as we see Takaki walk away with a satisfied smile.
The theme of this movie, I feel, is about regrets. Never live your life in regrets and do what you want to do. If you like a person, tell him/her before it's too late and try to work something out. True love is rare and exquisite, you may never acquire such strong feelings for an individual ever again. Besides regrets, it reminds us that sometimes we have to let go. Circumstances are not always within our control. If Takaki had moved on, he could have accepted Sumida and they could have been happy together. It is nice to hold on to wonderful memories but we should move forwards and look to building new relationships if previous relationships don't work out. Overall, the movie's deep meanings and its ability to tug at your heartstrings makes it 1 of the best anime movies I have ever watched and the 1 hour I invested was one of the most well-spent in my entire life. If you are looking for a movie with feels and valuable life lessons, I will definitely recommend this one.
My rating: 10/10.
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