Makoto Shinkai's Byousoku 5 Centimeter gets a Website and Trailer.

[Karl Olson]

Byousoku 5 Centimeter (aka A Chain Of Short Stories About Their Distance) finally got a website and trailer up (http://5cm.yahoo.co.jp/) this week, and it looks fantastic. I mean, to be fair, it's has Shinkai's visual cues and general style all over it, but it looks so beautiful and seems so touching that it doesn't matter. It's not out until Spring of 2007 but this is certainly one of the titles I look forward to most in that year.

[GWOtaku]

This will be smashing because of Shinkai's style, not in spite of it. What little he's touched is gold. I expect and hope this will take a rightful place alongside Voices of a Distant Star and The Place Promised in our Early Days.

[Karl Olson]

I'm just worried that at some point his visual cues might become a crutch. I mean, one can have a highly-distinctive style but still display a varied palette (Texhnolyze and Haibane Renmei may have the same design, but the palettes are incongruent, and the usage of music is very different too.) Meanwhile Shinkai uses a similar palette, similar design and the same musicians threw out his projects. The question will be whether he makes this an asset like directors like Miyazaki or Kawamori, or whether it at some point gets in the way of what he wants to communicate.

I think this set of 3 short films will be entertaining either way because Shinkai has proven to be spot on so far, but it should be interesting to see the distinctions between three projects as well. A directorial style is fine, but having range is critical too.

[True Noir]

This is a nice surprise. The trailer seems very touching. Shinkai looks like he's done another spectacular job with the animation and the music is seems to be fitting. Watching the trailer made me teary-eyed. I can't imagine how watching the piece will make me feel. Still, good to know that Shinkai had been keeping himself busy after A Place Promised in our Early Days.