somewhat sille, that's me!

5 Centimeters Per Second ( 秒速5センチメートル Byōsoku Go Senchimētoru) has got to be the most gorgeous anime I've ever seen. I love, love, LOVE it. The cinematography, art direction, digital animation, colours and lighting were all superb. The story line however is not uncommon, of young love and loss and yearnings, but it was very well portrayed. It was a slow movie, like really slowww.. which should have been a setback for me, plus it's romance drama, my least favorite sub-genre of my least favorite genre, but I was so enthralled that I didn't notice it until I read some reviews. The short running time (63 minutes) helped, and I could relate what was going on-screen and was just drinking in the beautiful scenery, shot after shot. Ahh, such bliss..

The show is divided into three so-called chapters. I don't want to go into details so you can read them here. I want to point out though that many reviews didn't think too much of the second chapter, but it was the very one that touched me the most because I saw myself as the girl who has a crush on our male protagonist but not being able to express it, knowing well that his mind is occupied with another, but at the same time she keeps trying to create opportunities to be close to the person.. it was almost like a chapter out of my youth. Given that almost the entire film happened during the early 1990's when there weren't Facebook or mobile phones or instant messaging, it could very well have been my story hehe. I was surprised how most reviews I've read dismissed this chapter, some didn't even mention her and there was one who felt her presence was extraneous.. I actually felt that this lovelorn girl was just as central to the show if not more as the other two, but I guess every reviewer sees differently. (Edit: After reading more reviews, I take back what I said about Ch 2 being overlooked :)

Anyway, I'm listening to the OST now, totally enrapt. Just gonna leave some screenshots here..

Watch it here.