"I'm always searching for you, always searching for your figure..."

I'm always searching for you, always searching for your figure

At the intersection, in my dreams.

Even though I know you can't be there...

I just finished watching 5 Centimeters per Second, a one hour anime movie (or a 3-part anime short). I've heard about it multiple times, but I haven't decided to grab it and watch it until now. Needless to say, it's a brilliant movie. The animation, story, and sound (among other things) are all top notch.

Now if you're on the fence about watching this and want to prevent from reading spoilers, stop reading now. Incoming thoughts.

I want to talk about the story. The reason I find it so brilliant is because what goes on in 5 Centimeters per Second actually happens in real life. It does NOT end in some sort of "oh-happily-ever-after" fashion. If you are the type to get super depressed from watching movies and do not want to feel that way, then I suggest you do not watch this. Then again, I think I am that type of person, but did not feel overly depressed at the end of the film. I'll get onto why I believe that is in a bit, though.

I'm not going to go and summarize what happens in the course of the movie. If you want to know what happens, read the Wikipedia page or, even better, WATCH THE MOVIE. It's worth that one hour of your life. :)

Now with that said, the stories of Takaki Tohno and Akari Shinohara are indeed sad. To be separated from your best friend-to-eventual-lover at that age, I would imagine, would be hard for anybody. However, each person's approach to taking in that separation is where I have an issue, specifically with Takaki's. I'll start with Akari's approach.

At the end of the movie, we see what she did throughout the course of her life until present day. From what I gathered, she was able to lead a normal life. She went through school, dated, graduated, and eventually got engaged. She was, for all intents and purposes of the word, happy. Akari did not stand still at being separated from Takaki. Sure, it was hard for her at first, but she realized something. That something was that she and Takaki could never successfully be together. Despite her efforts of keeping in touch with him, the distance made it hard for them to stay together. Long-distance relationships, despite what modern-day often dramas try to depict, do NOT work.

What do I think of Akari's approach? I think it's exactly what she should have done. Again, despite what happens in modern-day dramas, young love isn't meant to last, especially not at long distance. They were 13 years old at that point. Heck, my first love and I dated for over a year and then fell apart. We were 14-15. What we thought we had wasn't really there. What could Akari and Takaki possibly have had going for them? Akari, in my humble opinion, did the right thing and moved on with her life.

Takaki, on the other hand, is an entirely different story. He let his longing for his childhood love get the best of him in every aspect of his life. This is certainly apparent in episode two, where we are introduced to Kanae Sumida. (She's my favorite character in the movie, if only because I feel for her and because I want to punch Takaki). Her feelings for Takaki are very apparent, but he never takes notice of this. Why? Because he's too busy typing up text messages (to nobody) and staring off in the distance. He's too busy dreaming of being on a different planet with a girl whose face he can't place a name to. (Obviously we, as the audience, can tell it's Akari.) Kanae, taking the role of the girl on the outside looking in, notices this and decides not to tell Takaki her feelings even though she knew she was running out of time.

What's that say about him? His memories of Akari are fading, but he's still so attached to that childhood love. It gets him to the point where he begins to live as an emotional drone. That is to say, he doesn't feel anything at all. Even as an adult, he found a "girlfriend" and has been with her for three years. However, she knew that no matter how long they were together, their hearts would never move one centimeter closer. He eventually even quits his job because he was about to have a mental breakdown over Akari.

Now one might call this "sweet" or "devoted" on Takaki's part. I call it retarded. He let his whole life get destroyed because he could not move on. Maybe it's just because of the way I think, though. I've been taught to always pick myself up and move on, no matter what happens. (See post from long ago... lol) Things don't always end up as we would like, but we can't let ourselves be destroyed by it. There is a reason that people say that one should be prepared for heartbreak in their first relationship or love. It's because, most of the time, it doesn't work out. Heartbreak is hard to move on from, but you've gotta do it somehow. Akari did it, so why couldn't you, Takaki?

I just have issues with people letting their lives be destroyed because they couldn't move on from some "traumatic" event in their life. The types of people that curse the world because they couldn't have their way. It's silly.

I think everything I expressed above is exactly why I find 5 Centimeters per Second so brilliant. It shows that not everything ends up happily for everyone. There's always that possibility of having to go on alone...