WATCH PARTY: Akira (1988) PART 2 + Five Centimeters Per Second (2007)

We'll be in the Conference Room on the 2nd Floor of Pretlow Library for the second half of AKIRA (after our first event got cut short by a water main break at Richard Tucker!)

BONUS: A short, romantic triptych by one of the new masters of the Japanese anime movie, Makoto Shinkai -- it's Five Centimeters Per Second (2007)!

RUNTIME: 63 minutes

SYNOPSIS: Told in three parts, the relationship of close friends Tono Takaki and Shinohara Akari is tested when Akari moves to another city. They stay in contact, but struggle to describe their true feelings for one another.

BLURBS:
"As poet of heartbreak, Shinkai could be accused of treacly mush (the voice-overs are a bit florid, and the saccharine piano score doesn't help), but he's got a delicate touch with sentiment that will have receptive viewers reaching for a Kleenex." - Jeff Shannon, Seattle Times

"This is a tearjerker coming-of-age anime about unrequited love and missed connections. 5 Centimeters Per Second is filled with beautiful images and insightful observations about how people who are once very close can slowly drift apart." - Brian Costello, Commonsense Media

"[An] exquisite, light-drenched tone poem ... Shinkai has been hailed as the next Miyazaki, and his dreamy mindscapes often equal or surpass the anime maestro in breadth of detail and depth of emotion." - Ronnie Scheib, Variety