Anime Review – “5 Centimeters Per Second – Oukashou”

I’ve been anticipating this movie since the summer of last year, and it has lived up to and may have even surpassed my expectations. This movie is simply stunning.

From the masterful director Makoto Shinkai, who also brought you Voices of a Distant Star and The Place Promised in our Early Days has released his newest work, 5 Centimeters Per Second, very recently. Now, the full movie only shows in Japan, so I haven’t had the opportunity to see it yet (and probably won’t until the DVD comes out). However, the people behind the movie put a stream of the first part of the movie, Oukashou, on the Yahoo! Japan website. Someone captured the footage and released it on the web. It wasn’t soon until I downloaded it and watched it.

And when I finished it, I watched it again.

 

“Hey. It’s said that it’s five centimeters per second.”
“Hm? What is?”
“The speed at which cherry blossoms fall. Five centimeters per second.”

 

Fairly new to the directing scene, Makoto Shinkai has already blessed us with his magnificent directing skills. His first feature work, Voices of a Distant Star, was animated entirely by himself on his Mac. The movie itself had a simple story and was only thirty minutes. However, that’s where Shinkai truly excels. He has the ability to make simple stories into the most powerful and moving stories. With Oukashou, he does it again.

If you’re unfamiliar to the Shinkai name, you may be skeptical as to how a thirty-minute piece can be. As he has proven previously, Shinkai is able to create works of art that will move you deeply.

 

The screenshots honestly do not do the movie justice.

 

Oukashou is the first of three parts of the entire movie 5 Centimeters Per Second. This tells of the past of two childhood friends, Takaki Tohno and Akari Shinohara. They’ve always been together ever since they met in elementary school. They hoped to go to the same middle school together, but as fate would have it, Akari had to move away after they graduated from elementary school. Oukashou covers the events that occur a year after their parting. Takaki goes to see Akari.

Now, the story moves quite slowly. A good amount of the movie is spent with flashbacks that give background to the relationship of Takaki and Akari. These flashbacks in no way disrupted the pace of the movie. In fact, they executed their roles wonderfully. All of the emotional build-up you get through the flashbacks in the film prepare you for the climax.

Oukashou proves that Makoto Shinkai is a master of aesthetics. Every scene in the movie has amazingly detailed backgrounds and a first-rate use of lighting. Shinkai also truly takes advantage of the freedom that one gets in regards to camera angles. If you thought Kyoto Animation’s works were good, (and believe me, they are very, very good) then you will be blown away by Oukashou. Every single scene in the movie is its own work of art. Truly, the amount of detail in the backgrounds almost makes it look real. There is just so much beauty in the artwork and in the animation. Shinkai has definitely raised the bar for visual beauty in an anime.

 

“Back then, we were both short and sickly children, who would rather stay in the library than in the bright sunlight. So it’s probably quite natural that we got along so well. And because of that, the other students would tease us now and then. Yet, strange as it may be, when we were together, we were not afraid of any of those things.”

 

It isn’t just the art, though. The movie just wouldn’t be complete without the outstanding audio backing it up. The background music is often soft and minimalistic, but this kind of simple tune amplifies the beauty of the scenes greatly. Although I’m not the biggest fan of the ending song, “One More Time, One More Chance,” the song did suit the movie wonderfully.

The voice actors do an incredible job with their characters as well. While narrating, Takaki’s voice actor portrays Takaki’s sorrow and loneliness well. And on the foreground, you can just feel the emotion in Takaki’s words as he’s talking to Akari on the phone. At the same time, Akari (my favorite voice actor of the two) does her role beautifully. Akari’s voice is humble and melancholic yet also has a playful tone. You hear Akari reading her letters to Takaki at the beginning of the film, and the way she reads them makes it seem like she’s really there talking to him. Especially when she’s sad, you can hear her voice actor make the small cackle in her voice as if she’s really trying to hold back her tears. The movie with all of its visual beauty would not be half of what it is without the wonderful audio.

 

“I was keenly aware, suddenly, that we couldn’t remain together forever. The overwhelming power of our lives, the boundless vastness of time were stretching hopelessly before us. Yet, the disquiet that had seized me was soon melting away mildly. All that was left was Akari’s soft lips.”

 

Those of you who are familiar with Shinkai’s films will probably notice that this movie has no sci-fi elements in it. It’s just a simple, realistic story with relatable, realistic characters. I place emphasis on the word “realistic.” I believe Shinkai’s goal with this film is to place the audience in the characters’ shoes. He has the audience not just observe the story from afar but to be there. He lets you feel the kind of pain that Takaki and Akari feel. Another thing that I believe he was aiming for with this film is to have the audience have a greater appreciation for real life. Through the plethora of still, beautiful, and extremely detailed shots, Shinkai is conveying to the audience how beautiful the world really is; that same world that we take for granted.

To fully appreciate the film, watch it without subtitles. It allows you to absorb the visual and aural beauty of this artful film. If you’re like me and don’t speak Japanese fluently, watch it with subtitles once or twice so you know what’s going on in the scenes. Then switch off the subtitles and then just enjoy it. I’ve found that there is more emotional impact this way, especially with this kind of movie.

And this was only the first part of three. I can’t wait to see the other two parts of the movie. I’m definitely going to pick it up when it comes to the states.

Oukashou – 10/10