I don’t know about anyone else, but throughout my life as an anime fan, my enthusiasm for it has occasionally waned. The first time it happened was when I tried to watch Macross Plus directly after finishing Neon Genesis Evangelion. It just didn’t compare. Eva had spoiled me completely and nothing I found afterwards could grab my attention in the same way. Thankfully, whenever I end up in these sorry states of ‘everything sucks’, it doesn’t take too long for me to stumble upon something that pulls me right back out.
One of those things was Makoto Shinkai’s masterpiece, 5 Centimeters Per Second. A beautiful, painfully realistic exploration of two people whose love is tested beyond its limit. This isn’t your average love story and Shinkai does not shy away from the harsh truths of the situation. Instead of the usual sentimental fluff, 5 Centimeters Per Second presents nothing but real, every day life and the pure, raw emotions that come with and as a result of it. Shinkai’s right hand man Tenmon was on music duties and as anyone familiar with his work can attest, raw emotion is very much a part of his musical vocabulary.
Cherry Blossom Extract
Unfortunately for me, there really isn’t an awful lot to say about Tenmon’s score. It’s just worth noting for how beautifully it reflects the images it’s paired with. It’s also worth listening to on its own. Cherry Blossom Extract is a loose, sparse piano solo piece that feels almost through-composed; in that it never really gives you an indication of where it’s going next. It feels as if it’s being made up on the spot, just going wherever the composer takes it.
Distant Everyday Memories
Every soundtrack has one track that just melts you every time you hear it. Without context, Distant Everyday Memories is a lovely piano number with a delicate, repeated motif and a key change about a minute in. With context, it becomes the most heart-wrenching lament for life plans lost in the haze of living.
Poem of Sky and Sea
While piano is undoubtedly the star of Tenmon’s score, it’s by no means the only weapon in his arsenal. Poem of Sky and Sea brings in some light percussion and orchestral strings to fill out its texture, while the piano and violins argue over who should take the melody. The whole thing feels like a breath of fresh optimistic air amidst a fog of relentless, tortuous feels.
One More Time, One More Chance
I’ve managed to go this far without dishing out any spoilers and I am tremendously proud of myself for that. In that spirit, I won’t talk about where this track appears in the film. I won’t talk about the importance of it’s seemingly innocuous title. I won’t even talk about how bittersweet that title is in hindsight. I’ll say nothing except that as usual, Tenmon’s piano composition is stellar; his melodies winding their way in and out of modulations, teasing us with jazzy chords and trickling melodies that repeat, but never in the way we expect them to.
***
Makoto Shinkai is a big name in anime and for good reason. All of his works, even the much maligned Journey to Agartha are special in their own way and deserving of attention and praise. For me, 5 Centimeters Per Second is and probably always will be his magnum opus. Never before have I seen a story like this play out exactly how it would in real life, warts and all. 5 Centimeters Per Second pulls no punches and the score, although delicate at a glance, packs a serious wallop too.
