5 Centimeters was already pretty famous in Tumblr due to the beautiful scenery and the tear-jerking motif of the film. Mostly all the GIFs I see on Tumblr are scenery porn, so I did not know what the protagonist looks like. I didn't even know how the story will go, except for the fact that they got train-blocked (lol). The movie has three episodes, each episode describes the 'distance' between the central protagonist of the episode.
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The first episode opens with a breathtaking scene of cherry blossoms in Tokyo. Our protagonist is strolling with his close friend. She wished to watch the cherry blossoms every year with him (IT'S SWEET AF). Unfortunately she has to move after graduating from grade school, so the wish is impossible to fulfill. She writes letters to him after the move, and he replies her letters with strong feelings. Again, Fate is not in their favor. He is to move in two weeks, and that is when he decides to visit her. They will meet in the train station at 7; that was the plan anyway. It was winter and a snowstorm delayed his train by at least four hours.
Things get even depressing when he loses the letter he intended to give her. He hopes that she had gone back home, the night being too late and all, but no. She was there in the waiting room when he arrived. They shared a meal and left the station. They talked and silence ensues. It was so romantic I tell ya. They spent the night in a abandoned shed and he left by the morning train. After the train departs, she looks at her letter, addressed to him.
The second episode features a beautiful countryside. He is in his last year in high school. By the way he's in the archery club, so that makes him 10x hotter. She has liked him ever since he transferred there, and she's been trying to spend more time with him. She thinks he's different from the other guys. Whenever she sees him, he was always looking at his phone, sending a message to someone. She feels he's constantly looking beyond the horizon, searching for something. That day, she decides to confess, but is unsuccessful (rocket-blocked lol). She realizes he was always looking at someone else through her, and she may never be able to give him what he desires (cheesy, but whateves). She gives up trying to make her feelings known, but admits that she'll never be able to stop loving him.
SourceIn the third episode, he's back in Tokyo as a programmer. He leaves his office to take a stroll and... FLASHBACKS! She was an engaged woman. He had a lover. He couldn't forget her, and his ex-lover broke up with him because of that. He left his job because of depression. She had a dream. A dream when they were still kids, under the tree, during a late winter night. Maybe it was because she went through her old stuff the day before and found... that letter addressed to him. He had a dream. A dream when they were 13, under a tree, during a cold winter night. So he couldn't move on after all. They pass each other by a train crossing and appear to recognize each other. They turn around only to be train-blocked! He waits for the trains to pass and sees that she is gone. He smiles to himself, and continues his stroll.
My thoughts: Af this movie. This heartbreak is REAL. Realer than the one for Death Parade, but comes neck-to-neck with The Garden of Words. I started to have the runny nose when I feared they wouldn't meet at all. Tears came running when they realized their feelings for the first time, because I know their relationship will never ever ever advance after that and they'll never ever ever meet again. I did not expect the second episode to be all about the protag, but when the space-y scenery flashes I recognize it as the cover picture for my scholarship FB group lol. Though I didn't continuously cry like in GoW, but nevertheless, it's still sad af because in the end they DID NOT meet. It was just a brush of the shoulder, and they got train-blocked wtf?! However thanks to that it becomes sadder and gives the movie more purpose and feels. Well done Shinkai Makoto, well done! So I'm off to watch The Place Promised in Our Early Days, wish me good luck with that too...
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