Makoto Shinkai

Crunchyroll is showing 3 Makoto Shinkai movies for "Global Shinkai Day." See http://cherryblossomsfalling.myfastforum.org/.

"Voices of a Distant Star," "The Place Promised in Our Early Days," and "5 Centimeters Per Second" are beautifully drawn, melancholic romances, each set in a plausbile near-future or technologically advanced now. All share the themes of unrequited or unfulfilled love due to the distance of time or physical space. Each frame is incredibly detailed. When the fluorescent lights turn on in an empty classroom, the detail of the reflection of the light on the desktops is incredibly realistic. Time, like a train, is always either pushing people together or pulling them apart. It's a bummer if you think about it too long! Sad romances are the most idealized ones! You have been warned!