[algo448]

5 centimeters per second: I'm starting to become a Makoto Shinkai fanboy.

Ever wondered how slowly petals fall? They move at 5 centimeters per second apparently, but their romantic sight does not reflect reality, for life can be a train with unbearable pauses or unforgiving quickness.

During their childhood Takaki and Akari were born to families that constantly moved away, on one of those cities their paths crossed, the kids became best friends quickly, and their eventual separation might have branded their life more than they expected.

The movie is split into three segments, Cherry Blossoms, Cosmonaut, and 5 Centimeters Per Second, each one telling it's own story yet building to the same purpose.

Cherry Blossoms is... well... to put it bluntly... boring, it is intentionally the least interesting part, for it mostly works as set up, it's not bad by any stretch of the imagination, it's just that the struggle feels a little hard to get into, and light compared to the rest of the movie, nonetheless it does pay off on it's own and when joined by the other parts.

Cosmonaut is probably the best stand alone tale, it's great in it's own and downright amazing as part of the package, for it is where everything turns around, and inf act the reaction is amplified if you weren't apying enough attention in the past one and slowly start to see how it all ties together, it tells the story of Sumida , a girl who strggles to confess her love in a tale defiend by the sea and it's bigger counterpart, the sea of our skies.

5 Centimeters Per Second is harder to describe, it's the payoff to the whole movie, so describing it is a spoiler in itself, compared to the other parts is very unconventional, but it ties up everything beautifully, and uses music for an amazing effect.

The animation is beautiful, though I do find that some of the character's expressions felt odd at times, music is great and the production values are all around solid.

This isn't a traditional love sotry, nor is it a tragedy per se, it's realism, it's a reflection of the world we live in and the stories it can tell, and in that sense it's great.