Despite it being years since the two had any significant contact, Takaki is unable to let go of his youthful feelings. In the third and eponymous segment, Takaki is now living back in Tokyo and he has recently learned that Akari is engaged. However, Akari continues to haunt him, something that Kanae - who has a huge crush on Takaki - begins to suspect when it becomes apparent that he doesn’t share her romantic feelings. We learn that Takaki has moved since the first story’s events, and is now even further away from Akari. The second segment, “Cosmonaut”, is told from the perspective of Kanae, one of Takaki’s high school classmates. However, the winter weather turns nasty and delays the train, and as he broods on their past, he finds himself fearing that they might never be truly together. In a desperate attempt to finally express his feelings to Akari, Takaki sets out on a late night trainride to her new hometown. The two write, but they slowly drift apart. However, before their relationship can truly become something more than youthful longing, Akari moves far away from Tokyo. In the first segment, “Cherry Blossom Extract”, Takaki is absolutely smitten with his young classmate Akari. Though barely an hour in length, 5 Centimeters Per Second is such a perfect encapsulation of the themes that Shinkai has been exploring in his work to date that one can’t help but wonder what’s left there for him to explore, and wonder where he’ll go from here.ĥ Centimeters Per Second consists of three interconnected segments, all focusing on the relationships of a young man named Takaki. That being said, I get the sense after watching 5 Centimeters Per Second that Shinkai is at something of a crossroads. But when you consider Shinkai’s work, with its lush and evocative animation and artwork, and its equally emotional storylines, the only name that readily comes to mind is that of anime’s grand master. I’ll admit, I’ve done my fair share of stoking that particular fire, due my effusive praise for Voices From A Distant Star (2000) and The Place Promised in Our Early Days (2004). Makoto Shinkai only has three proper titles (or four, if you count 1999’s She And Her Cat) under his belt, and only one of those is a true full-length film, but he’s already been announced as the new Hayao Miyazaki.

5 ceniemters persecond