5 Centimetres Per Second

Do you know the speed at which the cherry blossoms fall?

Its 5 Centimetres Per Second.

That’s the title of the second anime we watched yesterday for Animation Nation.

It’s a very powerful romantic movie, composed of three short episodes of around 20 minutes each, that yet managed to span a lifetime of emotions.

Leon told us that some of his colleagues were moved to tears after watching it. I can understand why.

The movie is named 5 Centimetres Per Second for the speed at which cherry blossom 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 leads, Tono Takaki and Shinohara Akari were close friends but gradually grow farther and farther apart as time moves on. They become separated because of their families yet they have deep feelings for each other and maintain contact in the form of letters. Yet as time continues to trudge on, their contact with one another begins to cease. Years pass and the distance between them grows ever larger. However, Takaki remembers the times they have shared together.

If you have missed the screening, here’s the official website for the movie.

You can also view the trailer here from Youtube:

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Technorati Tags: 5 Centimetres Per Second, cherry blossom petals, Tono Takaki, Shinohara Akari, Hoshi no Koe, Voices of a Distant Star, Byosoku, Makoto Shinkai, Comix wave, kanojo no neko, she and her cat