Anime Library

Wallpaper Description:

Characters from Left to Right:
Takaki Tōno (遠野 貴樹)
Akari Shinohara (篠原 明里)

Anime: 5 Centimeters Per Second
5 Centimeters Per Second (秒速5センチメートル Byōsoku Go Senchimētoru) is a 2007 Japanese animated feature film by Makoto Shinkai.

Makoto Shinkai had expressed that, unlike his past works, there would be no fantasy or science fiction elements in this film. Instead, the feature film would attempt to present the real world from a different perspective. Makoto's film gives a realistic view of the struggles many face against: time, space, people, and love. The title 5 Centimeters Per Second comes from the speed at which cherry blossoms petals fall, petals being a metaphorical representation of humans, reminiscent of the slowness of life and how people often start together but slowly drift into their separate ways. The movie marks the first time Shinkai has worked closely with a full staff of animators and artists.

The story is set in Japan beginning from the 1990s and ending in modern day, with each act centered on a boy named Takaki Tōno. The first act takes place during a time when cell phones are uncommon and email has not yet reached the general population.

Anime News Network's Bamboo Dong commends the anime for its "heartbreakingly gorgeous" piano score composed by Tenmon, which "contributes to the dreamlike quality that the film has". She also comments that film "never comes out and tells you what the characters are feeling. It never follows a strict storyline, but between the interactions on the screen and well-timed shots of lonely landscapes, everything is as clear as night and day".

This is an anime film I would recommend everyone to see.