Cinco Centímetros por Segundo

Makoto Shinkai's sophomore effort is an intimately crafted, elegantly narrated & gorgeously animated tale of young love & yearning desires that's far more grounded than his debut feature and paints an exquisite portrait of real world struggles. A touching & nostalgic reminiscent of first love that's affectionate, heartwarming & emotionally stirring in just the right doses.

The plot itself is average and trivial. The story revolves around unfulfilled first love and a couple separated by time and distance. It seems to be a bit overdone in terms of its importance and the two main characters seem to make their life and relationship a lot more difficult than it really is. The whole story resembles those from the poems written in the age of Romanticism. However, it is not very appealing and genuine if we look at the mobile phones owned by the two main characters - they never use them properly to contact each other. Despite the plot which isn't any spectacular, the animation is very good. Maybe the characters are not anime masterpieces but the nature & surroundings are presented in a great detail and they have truly amazing colours - I haven't seen such a brilliant background in any anime I have ever seen.

I could copy almost my entire review of THE PLACE PROMISED IN OUR EARLY DAYS, Shinkai's previous film. More Takahata than Miyazaki... check. The same wistful, nostalgic tone is woven throughout these three episodes of youthful romantic pinings turned into bittersweet adult reminiscences. Breathtaking animation... check. The artistic style is uncommonly beautiful, with extraordinary attention to detail, gorgeous color and lighting, and images that deftly evoke a sense of melancholy. If all anime looked this astonishing, I'd watch more of it. Satisfying human elements but oversentimental... check. I could relate to the feelings expressed by Takaki, Kanae and Akari -- surely there is something nearly universal about those unrequited adolescent yearnings that can resurface years and years later -- but had to roll my eyes a bit at all the tinkly piano and whispered voice-over. Where this film surpasses its predecessor is in its lack of a goofy sci-fi subplot. There is a rocketship involved, but it's a background element purely for metaphorical purposes. Without that sort of distraction, I was more easily charmed by the gentle rhythms, pleasant characters, and lovely visuals.

This movie blew me away - it was amazing. I can't tell you anything more other than it revolves around love, life and time.

This film is stunning you simply must watch it! Don't be put off if you're not interested by the end of the first episode because by the end of the third episode everything comes together in one amazingly beautiful package.

If ever a film deserved 10/10 this was it. If you have ever felt love you will adore this movie because it captures that feeling flawlessly.

This is the type of movie that was made by dreamers, for dreamers. By romantics for romantics.

This movie is pure art. Miss it and you're denying yourself something special.

This movie is basically three separate chapters, each of them showing different degrees of separation between two people.

throughout the movie you'll see one of the best animation scenes in history. Its superb!!, images are incredibly neat and well done. In this department I would give the movie an 11 out of ten.

first chapter is absolutely flawless, its amazing, one of the best pieces of animation I've ever seen, maybe even the best. You are captivated by the characters amazingly fast, its fantastic. another 11 out of ten.

Second chapter is also very good but.. the first chapter is so perfect that you don't think much of the second one.

last chapter is good. actually it is PERFECT, it allows the movie to make its point. in other words, it ends the way it has to. I did not give this chapter a 10 ONLY because it made me really sad ( I don't think I'm spoiling anything by saying this). I thought it was going to end in a completely different way.

Anyway, I recommend this movie a lot, just the animation and the first chapter makes it worth it. If you like the ending you could probably rank it as a 9.5 or ten.