Even though the first chapter of Makoto Shinkai’s 5 Centimeters Per Second was released online a week or so ago, I only watched it for the first time last night. I was worried the online release would be of poor video quality, and since incredible visuals are what Makoto Shinkai does best, I was reluctant to watch it, knowing a higher quality DVD release would be coming sooner rather than later. But, given how much I’ve been anticipating the film’s release, I should’ve realized that resistance was futile.
And I’m glad I went ahead and watched it, because the online release looks spectacular for what it is. But, that’s not really all that important. What of the episode itself?
Amazing. Truly amazing.
As much adoration as I have for Makoto Shinkai as a Director, I’ve always found his previous works lacking in one way or another. There are things he obviously does extremely well, but at the same time, you could always tell he was still “learning”, so to speak. And, while watching his growth and evolution as a Director has been a fascinating and eye-opening experience in its own right, I’ve always looked forward to that inevitable day when Shinkai would finally get everything “right” and leave me absolutely speechless.
Admittedly, I think he did it by appealing to my inner train otaku. I don’t recall ever riding the Tohoku Line very far, but it doesn’t really matter. All JR East lines look the same. The signs look the same. The platforms look the same. The trains have the same atmosphere, regardless of model. And, just as Takaki stood near the door for nearly his entire trip, refusing to sit despite the empty car, I saw myself doing the same. I never liked to sit, either. And, sometimes, if I had the time, I’d travel a long distance on a local train, even if it meant arriving at my destination an hour later. For some reason, all of the little stops made me feel like I was going somewhere new and unknown - even if it was somewhere I’d been many times before.
Damn nostalgia.
There’s more to come, too. Of all the locations for the second chapter to take place, why did it have to be Kagoshima? It’s as if Shinkai’s trying to get me to drop everything, buy a plane ticket, and go visit some old friends…
I am so in love with this chapter, I can’t even imagine what’s coming. Watching this was an incredibly emotional experience for me, and reminded me why I love anime so much.
Trains?! Is that all you can think about?! All the beautiful falling things are where my nostalgia value lies. Snow, cherry blossoms… more snow and cherry blossoms. It was beautiful.
Funny you mention the snow, as it was coming down pretty good here today. There’s a full moon tonight, too, so when I look out the window right now, the world has that same bluish hue as in the climatic scene of this chapter.
I just noticed it was to get online, so I did and I hope it is done when i return from school.
I also found two other works of shinkai, ” Voices of a Distant Star ” and ” The Place Promised in Our Early Days ” which I really liked aswell, but it is as you say, something unnoticed by myself has been wrong, or lacking as you say it, I can’t agree with it for I have yet to see it though.
I have to keep it short for it’s almost 8am and I’m going to get late for class.
I half-watched this, from across the desk, as I was revising some JP vocab.
I didn’t want to concentrate *too* hard because I wanted to watch it all together, but I couldn’t resist hitting Play all the same :)
I loved what I saw. I think the lack of a sci-fi element this time is going to help, in that there will be nothing to distract from the core of the work.
It did seem to go back *awfully* fast though. Perhaps it was the way in which I watched it.
Many scenes which I thought could have lingered on longer to let them soak in, were quickly cut away.
Well, I’ll reserve judgement until the DVD^H^H^HBluRay comes out :)
Good grief.. I just watched it, I know I can’t get my mind on it from now on, I will be watcjing this again.. again.. and again, and even more.
It did not make me cry, but it was very touching, did had to hold em in, and kick my sister screwing up the moment (she barged into my room). But no doubt it still looks like Makoto’s work, which is a positive thing to say, his works that I have seen all have a similair feeling.
I did want to watch them all in good quality, but I couldn’t deny myself (like many others). There is nothing better than watching anime like this on a quiet nice night as it is now, all the time I have been longing to go home and watch it. but the mood wasn’t good at day, as I like to watch the special things at night. And I think I am not alone on that.
Overall there is nothing I could say to hurt it, all we can is wait for the rest. Hope I don’t get tóó exited, for than the others will be even better than they already are! And Mr. Lawson and the people that come here *smiles*
By the way, the song that is played at the end, it is also very nice, going to search for it aswell, that kind of music makes my heart stop and tears flow and feel incredibly good.
I do have tons of other things to say but I can’t express them well enough in words to keep up with you so I will leave it as it is now.
Thanks all!
I live in the tropics, so I’ve never had the experience of watching snow fall. The outdoor scenes in this film have such a quiet, contemplative quality to them that I almost feel as if I should hop on the next available flight to any place where snow is currently falling and take a good, long walk in the countryside. I’d be doing my overworked mind a great service if I did.
I was wondering when you’d get to this… :)
For me, I watched the raw only a couple days after it was leaked. Twice. With no translation help. And I was completely mesmerized. Heck, I’m quite surprised at the amount of dialog I picked up despite not ever studying Japanese (though most of it was inference through context).
The third time, I had stumbled on the bikasuishin site with the initial translation, and had a printed copy while watching the Raw.
After that I picked up bikasuishin’s subtitled MKV version (and I helped him a bit with some grammar issues, though I find editing the script difficult since I’m getting too damn distracted by the anime itself…), and it was golden.
What’s most amazing about Shinkai is, despite that I’ve never been on a passenger train, rarely seen snow, and never seen falling cherry blossoms in real life, he manages trigger memories of nostalgia out of me nonetheless. His work is so touching (especially with TENMON’s music behind it).
I’ve been meaning to write a complete analysis of Shinkai’s style one day. There’s many motifs and imagery that Shinkai reuses pretty often since he released Other Worlds in 1997 that have always been in the back of my mind while watching his work.
It is definitely fascinating to watch his storytelling abilities grow through-out the years.
the trains and stations are incredibly similar to England’s, even that impersonal feel. However, there are differences (doors etc.) but the trains are the same… even to that voice that announces… it sounds the same, except for language. man… I want to go back to England!
(I am mostly English/Scotch in ancestry)
Anyway… I found it sad… but in a different way than from what Kanon was… sort of defeated sadness…
By the way… you can do the exact same sort of thing in England too…
I can’t wait for the next one!
I commute by train, and it snows where I live, but 5cm doesn’t do the train otaku in me anything at all. Still, I liked what I saw and it is by far his best work thus.
It is an amazingly cool anime. As Xewleer, i cant wait for the next one!!! ^_^
Have you watched the rest of this yet? Curious what you thought about it ^^
Actually, I’m waiting for the R1 DVD release. It’s taking awhile, though.