The blog's under construction now. | I've actually watched this anime movie and series about a year ago and just recently, I heard of a special version of its ending song. "One More Time, One More Chance", it was entitled. And so I felt like writing about something from it, after living for some time with the message that it has carried. This blog post is not a review, but more of a reflection that I have obtained from the movie. Beyond this point of the post may contain some spoilers, so you might want to stop here and perhaps watch the anime movie or series first before you continue reading. The anime movie is only about 65 minutes, while the anime series has only 3 episodes. Watching either one will be sufficient. And yes, it is that short but the message that it contains is something that you might have known all along, but only that you've never noticed. It is something that may give you some awareness to what you're doing, particularly in your love life, as well as your other relationships, such as, perhaps, friendship. So do watch it first before continue reading if you don't like spoilers. And you'll probably need someone to explain what is actually happening in the story, cause many people have to watch it at least twice to really get an idea of the message, as it is very thin and you might not notice its existence at all. |
5 Centimetres per Second is about a simple love story about two children, who tried fighting the distance between them as they grow. However, this story does not have the happy ending that everybody expects and demands, where the two eventually win against all odds, get together, get married, and live happily ever after. The author and director of the story, Makoto Shinkai, have slightly enlarged what many of us have experienced: the pain of slowly being distanced away from the people what we once care about, without any reason.
The title itself actually explains the entire theme of the story, and even in the story itself, the heroine, Shinohara Akari (family name first), said that 5 centimetres per second is that speed at which cherry blossom petals fall. As you recall about the story, it is as if petals are the metaphorical representation of humans, reminiscing of the slowness of life and how people often start together but slowly drift into their separate ways.
The main point of the story is not to see if the hero of the story has any admirable qualities, or how charming and beautiful is the heroine, which I believe that both of them do not possess any of the traits when compared to the many Japanese anime that we know. It is to observe the relationship between the two, and how distance have set them apart, how they have struggled against the distance that has been created by their lives, but in the end, it is as if all those effort and the pain that they've went through are not answered. When you compare it with reality, is it not the same? Effort does not equal to results that we desire. But don't get me wrong. Effort disappoints no one, but dreams and hopes do.
But then again, don't abandon dreams and hopes, cause these are what's keeping people alive, and these are what's making this world an interesting place to live in. Without dreams and hopes, what is there to look forward to? We still have years and years of time ahead of us, for now long, we do not know. You may be at your 70's or 80's as you read this, you may be in your 10's or 20's as you read this. And I may be very young but it is dreams that has brought us to continue living. But even if you're without one, don't be afraid, you can either look for one, or wait for it. You can even be like me, living just to see what the world has to offer, living to see how this this world going to change, and living to see what sort of a difference are we able to do with our hands.
| Coming back on the story, some may say that the hero is just some depressed guy who slowly lost his girlfriend, and should have just thrown all that away and look at the many other fishes in the ocean. It's true that there are many other fishes in the ocean, and I do not deny that there are always better things out there than what you have now. But it is this particular fish that has fed you once, and it is this particular fish that has been with you at that stage of your life, loved you, smiled with you, and perhaps even endured pain with you. Even if you have another fish, it wouldn't have the same feel, you wouldn't be the same person as you were, and your preferences might have already been different. |  |
And the reason the previous fish leaves you doesn't necessarily mean that either of you have did something wrong in the relationship. Look at the two main characters of the story. Neither of them did anything wrong, neither did the people around them did anything wrong. It's just that the physical distance that has been created between them, slowly causes them to evolve to become very different people from when they once were when they were together. Neither of them were wrong, neither is it Akari's parents fault to have moved to such a faraway place that tore the two apart. Things just change, as do people. And that's the true meaning of 5 centimetres per second in the story.
Some may then say that we would forget about such things, breakups, departures and deaths, cause we already know that after some time, we're not going to even care about it. I don't deny that it's true, despite how cold it describes us humans to be, which I know that we humans are indeed ugly in many ways. But then again, I think that we have the rights to feel sad and painful when something important is lost. To quickly discard of all that feeling, and lie to yourself that, "Hey, c'mon! I'm not going to care about any of these some time later. There're still a lot of fishes out there," is just blatantly lying to no one but yourself, unless if you were really just not serious in that relationship, and that would just mean that you are in the wrong. Saying all that would mean that you're denying all your efforts and all the pain that you've went through, and at the same time, denying the other person's part in the relationship. Is that not just being silly and irresponsible to yourself?
| So to all who are reading this If you're in a relationship, then treasure your relationship if you're serious about it and let the other person know that you are. If you've just broke up, don't have to hold it in. Let your emotions take you on a journey of some reflection on the relationship. Learn to appreciate the lessons that you've learnt from the relationship. Are the efforts that you've put in correct? What have you learnt from the relationship despite being just in love? But don't wander too long in that world as life goes on. There are still many things to see in this world, many things to be awed at, many things to do, and many more people who may need you. |
If you've just got distant with a close friend, just keep yourself updated of what he or she is doing and their current statuses (not their Facebook status, mind you). Be happy for them, for they may have found what they truly want. Support them, even if they don't know.
If you're quarrelling with a friend, take some time to think of what made you friends. And is this petty quarrel more important than your relationship with your friend?
So here you go. Enjoy the song that I said at the very beginning of the post. I'm not going to take one that has scenes of the movie/series cause that'd just be cliché. This is more than enough to make one feel a lot. And I'll even throw in the lyrics too.
Click to toggle lyrics
Cheers!
Sidenote: I believe by now you should notice now stunning the artwork of the anime is so if you've not watched it despite reading what I'm writing and spoiled yourself, I highly recommend you to look it up and watch it.
No comments :
Post a Comment