5cm - Byousoku 5 Centimeter
Makoto Shinkai

http://img80.imageshack.us/img80/803/5min2010fn2vd3.jpg

Two word. Absolute beauty. Makoto Shinkai (maker of Hoshi no Koe | Voice of a Distant Star; and Kumo no Mukou, Yakusoku no Basho | The Place Promised In Our Early Days) has struck again with the animated short "5cm". It is currently in the works under his own company (basically a one man gig). I just checked out the preview, and I can honestly say that I was astonished at how it looked. See for yourselves, and look forward to it in 2007!

Links:
Main Site (http://5cm.yahoo.co.jp/)
AniDB (http://anidb.info/a4568)
ANN (http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=6696)
AnimeNFO (http://www.animenfo.com/animetitle,3821,fkfpzq,byousoku_5_cent.html)


Screenshots:
http://img80.imageshack.us/img80/951/5min2002rp3.jpg
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http://img80.imageshack.us/img80/6002/5min2005er5.jpg
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http://img80.imageshack.us/img80/2624/5min2006mr3.jpg
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http://img80.imageshack.us/img80/5023/5min2010fn2.jpg

Sub Groups:

Bikasuishin (http://www.bikasuishin.org/)

Preview:

Stage6 preview (http://stage6.divx.com/members/62725/videos/1490)
LD (http://meta.yahoo-streaming.jp/webevents/yahoo/event/5cm/preview_100k.asx), MD (http://meta.yahoo-streaming.jp/webevents/yahoo/event/5cm/preview_500k.asx), HD (http://meta.yahoo-streaming.jp/webevents/yahoo/event/5cm/preview_1500k.asx) |:| Second Trailer (untranslated, from main site)

Downloads:
[Triad] High Def Preview (http://a.scarywater.net/triad/%5BTriad%5D_5cm_teaser.mp4.torrent)

Synapse:

Tono Takaki had to part from Shinohara Akari after the gradation from the elementary school. Despite their secret thoughts, only time has passed. One day, Takasi is going to see Akari in the heavy snow.

This movie is a collection of three stories; the first episode, “Okasho,” shows the day of their reunion. In the next episode, “Cosmonaut,” the story about Takaki after the reunion takes place from the viewpoint of another person. The last episode, “Byosoku 5 centimeter,” clips out the movements of their thoughts.
(From ANN)

Needless to say, this looks utterly fantastic.

I'm really looking forward to this. :mellow:

I downloaded the hi-def and i was like wow. If it is a one man gig that man is amazing.Cant wait till the release.

Very. Shiny. *_*

I downloaded the high res and my computer couldnt handle it but i was able to see it. all i can say is wow

Very. Shiny. *_*

yeah. that looks amazing. it really opens your eyes after watching NGE :heh:

Wow. I still havent found The Place Promised in our Early Days but I love Voices, first anime Ive ever bought.

*doesnt his company have people working for him now? I read somthing about that in Newtype*

He is a master at anime. The next Miyazaki.

*bumps the thread* There's now a second trailer available at their home site.

LD (http://meta.yahoo-streaming.jp/webevents/yahoo/event/5cm/preview_100k.asx), MD (http://meta.yahoo-streaming.jp/webevents/yahoo/event/5cm/preview_500k.asx), HD (http://meta.yahoo-streaming.jp/webevents/yahoo/event/5cm/preview_1500k.asx)

It's untranslated, so have fun scratching your heads on what they are talking about.

My god, I haven't gotten this excited since Air TV...

I want to see this so bad!! man, my computer couldnt handle the HD trailer last time, so I had to see it on youtube, The music was great though. Just wish I could see it in high resoultion

@ M: didn't you get this excited for "KANON 2006!!!!!" ? XD

omg this is amazing i can't wait for it to come out =]

This really pleases me. Pleases me a lot. Why? Because a few years ago I picked up his Voices of a Distant Star, bought it, loved it. He was virtually unknown to me until then, and still to anyone that I haven't spoke of it to. Now his fan base has grown from a few hundred to a few thousand, and probably more. Soon he will be world famous in mainstream anime. It just makes me happy that he is getting the recognition he has always deserved.

:w00t: I said it once and i will say it again, I cant wait for this to come out. I was half-assingly(lol i love making up words) looking over the new trailer until the part they run down the hill and i was blown away by the art and by the sound.

The first episode was released on the 23rd, with it's second revision the 28th by a new subbing group called Bikasuishin. As of right now, they seem to be the only fansub that's going to work on this anime. Also, there's no word on the High Quality release even from the raws (as most HQ vids are released 1 week after its original airing). While the quality of the video is watchable, there's some annoyances in the video raw that simply sucks. Some of the translation notes are kinda abnormal (in square brackets after or about the phrase), and some words remain untranslated, which is somewhat of an annoyance. Also, most background chatter isn't translated.

But enough about the subber quality. Onward with the episode review.



There's several effects given in this first episode. Shades of blue and pink, letters, flashbacks, Whipper Wills (or is it a dove?), central focus on gentle piano music similar to Planetarian's Gentle Jena, maintaining the same theme in variations. It all plays very well with the melancholy that Makoto is trying to set up. The clash of blue and pink, letters, piano, undernote separation, while the flashbacks give you the information to keep your thoughts inline to what the writer wants. The Beautiful and sometime utterly amazing animation used can make your jaw drop, even make you drool (as I did). Attention to detail is very much present.

This first arc is about a boy and a girl that are very alike, and highly respect one another. Suddenly one transfers out. Several years pass and the one that remained behind also transfers, but not to the same school. In his passing, he intends to meet his old friend.

This story is not for those looking for something interesting, it is not for someone looking for action scenes, but it was written for those whom like love stories. It's really quite touching, and very romantic; yet I could clearly see what was going to happen. It was predictable, but it still made a lasting impression on me. It wasn't exactly what I was expecting. The story wasn't groundbreaking, the music didn't swell to the point of tears from it's herald; but it still moved me.

Makoto Shinkai is still Makoto Shinkai.

Again, he didn't fail to reveal that part of us that's suppressed, hidden away, and just dying to be opened up.
His recurrent themes are visible again, along with the presentation and direction of his past films.

Tenmon's music was fine even though personally I prefer if it was a tad heavier, it probably couldn't have accompanied the atmosphere any more perfectly. This is Shinkai's work we're talking about after all.

Can't wait for the next release.

I thought this was a very good film (at least a good 1/3rd of a film), it had a compelling story but also very nice visuals. There are so many well made moments, such as the long wait in the train under the snowfall, or the envelope blowing away into the wind. I just wish the music had made a bigger impact on the film.

I just saw the first part! To my surprise, I was quite impressed. My sister was bugging me about it, and I was pretty much expecting another cheesy love story. ='D

The first thing that caught my attention was the level of artistry behind the show. Everything from the gorgeous backgrounds to the simple observations of the characters were obviously very carefully crafted. Such attention to detail really makes the show seem like a a close look into but a moment in the lives of ordinary people--sort of a "let's slow down and just observe and absorb" type thing, you know? I just found that pretty awesome, considering the reference to the speed of a falling petal. OKI'LLSHUTUP. ='D

But if I were to make a statement about this show in two words, I'd have to quite Madmazda86. Or I could just say, "Uberly fantastic."

Also, I totally cried when the two finally met!

Also ALSO, I'm a huge Honey and Clover fan, if that's relevant~ ;) I guess it's safe to recommend this series to H&C fans, even though 5cm takes on a more serious tone.

ANYWAYS, I'm eagerly awaiting the upcoming installments. :)

I watched the first "episode" of it. I thought it was very good. I almost cried at the end of it. XD
I can't find the last two episodes subbed though...
Of course, that's probably because the second two parts haven't been released yet, right? I'm too lazy to check. X3

awwww Shinkai Makoto I soooo love his works. Hoshi no Koe and She and Her Cat etc etc! The artwork is utterly amazing. So are the stories :D and the muuusic <3

I'm officially in love with this anime!! XD
I really want to find the music (not theme song, but soundtrack by Tenmon)

So even though ADV had dropped selling this title, Bang Zoom! has picked it up and did their own dub. I just watched it on cruchyroll today since it was Shinkai Day and everyone could watch all his films for free today.

The dub was awesome and the same went for the story! The ending was set up in such a way that made you think it was going to be cliche, but it ended up not being... which made it awesome! Check it out and the other two films today while you still can for free!

Hmm, this will draw a lot of flames, but I was actually underwhelmed by this movie... Sure it had a lot of interesting themes, especially the distance theme, and the ending was bittersweet, but it wasn't to the epic level I expected it to be after reading so many rave reviews. Maybe I just had too much expectations going in? Still, the backgrounds were the best I've ever seen in anime =)

Hmm, this will draw a lot of flames, but I was actually underwhelmed by this movie... Sure it had a lot of interesting themes, especially the distance theme, and the ending was bittersweet, but it wasn't to the epic level I expected it to be after reading so many rave reviews. Maybe I just had too much expectations going in? Still, the backgrounds were the best I've ever seen in anime =)

We watch too much of Key's works. Other stuff just don't seem to have much emotion anymore. ;)

Not really, I feel the same about the films Shinkai and Miyazaki do. They tend to be simple in theme, almost to the point of boring. It's a different style, which is why I can appreciate it, but at the same time, I can't say that I love the works the two actually make.

The anime was so incredible. I can't choose between whether I like Voices, A Place Promised in Early Days, or 5cm better... They all are amazing. Tenmon's music is straight from the heart and is absolutely amazing. I can't wait to see what comes out next! Apparently he came back from London this year to start work on another project.

EDIT:

Sorry to advertise, but I just finished my rewrite of the entire soundtrack to Voices of a Distant Star! I'm very happy that it's complete, so thought Shinkai fans might want to look at what I did ^^

Hope you like it!!

Part 1 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HpMDHsH69xs&feature=channel_page)

Part 2 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BY0SenWLhi4&feature=channel)

Part 3 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pI9mpWQFIcU&feature=channel)