(Today’s NaPoWriMo prompt was for a poem written in the form of a review. Perfect for a poet/movie reviewer, right? In this case, I combined my usual poem and review into the single rant below.)

For those who might think I like all animation,

I’ll simply refer to this dreadful creation.

I’ve mentioned before that I cherish the art

And story of Ghibli’s Whisper of the Heart,

And after I saw it, I searched on my own

For anime like it that might be well-known

For a similar quiet and intimate tone.

 

I read some good things about this little flick

From Makoto Shinkai and hoped it would click.

I watched it, this 5 Centimeters Per Second,

And found it was not at all what I had reckoned.

This Japanese drama with praise was anointed.

Did no critic see how delayed and disjointed

This tearjerker is? Was just I disappointed?

 

The film’s broken up into three distinct parts,

With each saying more of the breaking of hearts.

It starts off with promise; two thirteen-year-olds

Are both separated as each life unfolds.

By train, the boy Tono then travels through white,

Through blizzard and blockages to reunite

With distant Akari who waits through the night.

 

This first part alone could have stayed on its own

And is rather sweet, though it’s tedium-prone,

But Parts 2 and 3 are unduly depressing,

With one girl downcast by love she’s not professing,

And then we see Tono grown up, while Akari

Has moved on without him, with both feeling sorry

And gazing at petals and skies dark and starry.

 

The film lasts an hour, with a pace so not vital

It seems twice as long, with less speed than the title,

Which fondly refers to the unhurried crawl

At which cherry blossoms supposedly fall.

When all’s said and done, out of nowhere appears

A strange music video meant to draw tears

To recap this great waste of time for the ears.

 

The film’s greatest strength is the beautiful art,

A treat for the eyes if not quite for the heart.

The landscapes are lovely, replete with details,

But that’s not enough, for the story still fails.

There’s much symbolism with petals and birds,

With launches of space probes and unspoken words,

And some of it’s poignant, though broken in thirds.

 

The imagery may be the film’s biggest draw,

But how it’s employed is a signature flaw.

Most anime’s mingled with peaceful transitions,

A still or an object, like small intermissions,

But actions in this film are drawn out and laced

With tons of these images, ploddingly paced,

Which may bear some beauty but aren’t to my taste.

 

Yet what do I draw from these touching vignettes,

That love sure can stink when it’s full of regrets?

A drama needs more than some symbols about

The fact that some romances just don’t work out.

There aren’t even reasons implied to explain

Why two former lovebirds broke up in such pain.

I grieved by the end, for my hour spent in vain.

 

 

Rank: Bottom-Dweller

 

© 2015 S. G. Liput

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