ANI-MOVIES, *5 Centimeters Per Second

Before Makoto Shinkai started breaking banks with his shared-universe films of Your Name and Weathering With You, one of his first full-length pictures came out in 2007 in this 3-part anthology titled 5 Centimeters Per Second. Unlike the majority of Shinkai's creations he did with Comix Wave, this one doesn't have any big sci-fi or fantasy elements, or at least at first. The entire production is somewhat short being only a little over an hour long, but it does work well for a romantic drama showing the love life of a youth and his experience growing up from 1991 to 2008 which means part of this takes place in the future making it slightly sci-fi.

The movie begins showing an elementary school boy in Tokyo named Takaki forming a friendship with classmate Akari since they both love spending time in the library due to their similar allergies. Three years later, they separate after Akari's family moves to another town, but that doesn't stop her from sending Takaki letters. Another year passes and Takaki learns his family is moving to the other side of the country, so he plans to meet up with Akari in her town so they can say finally reunite. Takaki runs into several weather delays which gives him and Akari only a few hours together to rekindle their friendship, even though they share their first kiss together just before Takaki returns home. Four years pass and Takaki is a senior in high school in the country and his female friend Kanae tries to work up the courage to confess her feelings for him. In this case, it's as if all the elements in the world tried to keep Takaki and Akari apart, life seems to be going out of its way that show that Kanae is the one Takaki should be interested in, even with the two of them witnessing a takeoff from the nearby space center would have been a big enough clue for the clueless dope still pining for his old wouldbe girlfriend. Kanae gets over Takaki and becomes more infatuated with surfing. The final segment takes place nine years later(a year after the actual movie came out)and Takaki works in Tokyo as a programmer. He still has feelings for Akari even though she has tried to call him several times despite the fact that she was getting married to someone else. In a finale which seems like a bad reflection of Your Name, Takaki and Akari apparently pass each other while passing a railroad crossing, but when Takaki goes to look back to see if its her, a train passes by blocking off his view to reveal that Akari is not there.

5 Centimeters Per Second has an interesting history as far as its American releases are concerned. It was first available on it own DVD dubbed by ADF Films, and then later on with a completely different dub along with two of Shinkai's short films on Blu Ray by GKids. This was one of the first times Shinkai shared production with a whole studio after doing The Place Promised in Our Early Days under Comix Wave three years prior. As one of the few anime anthology films of the 21st Century, this still holds up very well. The animation can go from ordinary to breathtaking in a heartbeat with sweeping landscapes and one of the most amazing rocket launches ever animated outside of Royal Space Force. If you're wondering where Shinkai's earlier brilliant influence for Suzume came from, then you need to check out this late-2000s anime treasure.