Now truly a name among the legends, Makoto Shinkai has established himself as one of the premier anime filmmakers of all time. His three most recent films — Your Name, Weathering With You, Suzume — are among the top-grossing Japanese films of all time, both domestically and internationally. From being an earnest fan of Studio Ghibli, to directing a movie that surpassed even Spirited Away in box office returns, Shinkai’s filmography is full of emotionally charged and deeply intimate stories that immerse audiences in waves of hope, heartbreak, and human connection. But before his trio of blockbuster successes, Shinkai directed a film that is arguably the most relatable of them all.

Released in 2007, 5 Centimeters per Second is a bittersweet coming-of-age romantic drama that follows the life of a young boy as he experiences a blossoming young love, his gut-wrenching first heartbreak, and the somber melancholy of searching for real connection. Though 5 Centimeters per Second lacks the fantastical elements that define some of his later works, the film is nonetheless a strong contender for Shinkai’s best project to date. It’s a beautiful illustration of what it means to grow up, grow close, and grow apart — inevitable human experiences that not only define Shinkai’s work, but reflect the very core of what it means to grow up.

‘5 Centimeters per Second’ Is a Bittersweet Coming-of-Age Romance
Image via CoMix Wave Inc.

5 Centimeters per Second follows the life of a young boy named Takaki Tōno, through three different vignettes about his life, spanning the early 1990s up through 2008. In the first section, titled “Cherry Blossom,” Takaki befriends a new transfer student at his school named Akari. The two become fast friends thanks to their interest in books, quickly developing a close protective bond. However, the two are pulled apart when Akari’s family moves to another prefecture. Despite their attempts to keep in touch, the two slowly begin to drift apart — until Takaki learns that his family will be moving to the other side of the country. The two friends promise to meet each other one last time, but are nearly stopped by a blustering snowstorm. Ultimately, Takaki is able to reach Akari and the two share a kiss, spending one last night in each other’s company before they are forced to say farewell.

The second vignette, “Cosmonaut,” takes place a few years later and sees an older Takaki nearing the end of his high school career. Despite promising to keep in touch, he and Akari eventually stopped speaking, though Takaki continuously writes emails to his old friend — e-mails that he never sends. One of his friends, Kanae, has harbored an unrequited crush on him for years, but Takaki remained emotionally distant due to his lingering listlessness over the past. Kanae ultimately realizes that Takaki is in search of something beyond her, in the distance, perhaps forever out of reach.

Moving forward to 2008, the final section, “5 Centimeters per Second,” with Takaki now working in Tokyo, but thoroughly unfulfilled with his life. In an aching slump of depression, Takaki quits his job and breaks up with his girlfriend, reminiscing about his and Akari’s age-old hope of watching cherry blossoms together once more. Though this section is far more somber and melancholic than the previous ones, it does incite the most important character development in the entire film, as Takaki struggles to accept the connections he lost over the years, learning how to live in the present rather than the past.

Makoto Shinkai Explores Young Love and Distant Connections

Though Shinkai’s most famous works contain fantastical elements and allegories about natural disasters, 5 Centimeters per Second is a far more realistic and small-scale story. By grounding the story in the real world, Shinkai explores ideas about human connection through the most relatable lens. It’s not a supernatural force that drives Takaki and Akari apart, simply time and distance. Every viewer has moved from their home, or has known someone that moved from their home, which makes Takaki’s desperate desire to remain connected feel all the more poignant. 5 Centimeters per Second also works as a strikingly accurate time capsule of young love in the ’90s and early aughts. In the time frame just before digital communication became as ubiquitous as breathing, there is a glimmer of hope that Takaki and Akari are able to keep in touch through e-mail, but it’s not quite the guarantee that it has become.

While the film doesn’t have any major allegorical references, it’s title and overarching visual cues represent the overarching theme of the story with beautiful symbolism. The phrase “5 centimeters per second” is the speed of a falling cherry blossom petal, a recurring motif throughout Takaki’s story first planted when Akari tells him that fact as they walk underneath the beautiful pink trees. However, though cherry blossoms represent love with their vibrant pink hues, they also serve as a metaphor for the fleetingness of human connection. Cherry blossom petals grow close to one another on the branches of the tree, until they fall, further and further from each other. Shinkai’s film explores how humans, like cherry blossoms, form connections that are doomed to become distant as life pushes forward. It’s a theme that comes up often in the romance genre, even appearing in Celine Song’sPast Lives, as a bittersweet reminder that it’s often the “what if’s” in love that haunt people the most.

‘5 Centimeters per Second’ Conveys Deep Emotion Through Stunning Visuals and a Beautiful Soundtrack
Image via CoMix Wave Inc.

Even though it was released in 2007, 5 Centimeters per Second is still a stunning piece of art in every aspect of production and a premier example of the beautiful artistry that is achievable through animation. The linework is crisply defined yet carries a softness around it, while the colors are likewise vibrant but not abrasive. From the countryside to the bustling city, the settings in the film all cary an atmosphere of familiarity and comfort, despite most viewers never even stepping foot in the country.

In addition to the gorgeous visuals, the music in 5 Centimeters per Second is a haunting combination of hopeful and melancholic, with even the simplest notes on the piano enhancing the deep emotions experienced by the characters. Even among the best movie soundtracks, the music in 5 Centimeters per Second masterfully moves the viewer through a wide range of emotions, pulling them up with hopefulness as easily as it weighs them down in solemnity. The film’s ending theme, “One More Time, One More Chance” by Masayoshi Yamazaki, is the single most memorable piece in the entire film, capturing the ideas of hope and heartbreak with its beautiful melody.

Makoto Shinkai’s Later Works were Influenced by ‘5 Centimeters per Second’
Image via CoMix Wave Inc.

Despite not being his most famous work, it’s evident that 5 Centimeters per Second deeply impacted Shinkai’s later projects, seen through recurring themes and visual cues. Most of his films explore similar ideas of human connection over impossible distances, a concept he first explored in Voices of a Distant Star, a short film released a few years before 5 Centimeters per Second. But it’s in this film that Shinkai first gets greater freedom to explore this idea, adding depth and nuance to the overarching story. 5 Centimeters per Second also features the distinct creative vision that would define Shinkai’s later work. The detailed images of Japan feel like a labor of love, highlighting the beauty in the little details of the setting, in order to make the story feel more lived in, to make the characters feel more alive.

With no exaggeration, 5 Centimeters per Second is arguably Shinkai’s greatest film. It’s exploration of human connection is told through such a realistic and personal lens that any viewer is sure to find an emotional tether to one of the characters because everyone has loved, lost, and lamented; everyone knows it’s hard to move on, but it’s a gift to know that those connections remain important, even if the petals have fallen distant from one another.

5 Centimeters per Second is currently streaming on Netflix in the U.S.

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