5 Centimeters per Second (Hardcover) Collector’s Edition

5 Centimeters per Second (Hardcover) Collector’s Edition

Based on the award winning film by Makoto Shinkai, 5 Centimeters per Second is now compiled into a beautiful hardcover collector’s edition!

Love can move at the speed of terminal velocity, but as award-winning director Makoto Shinkai reveals in his latest comic, it can only be shared and embraced by those who refuse to see it stop.

Takaki Tohno quickly befriends Akari Shinohara when she transfers to his elementary school. They grow closer to each other due to similar interests and attitudes; for instance, they both prefer to stay inside during recess due to their constitutions. As a result, they form a strong bond.

Upon graduating from elementary school, Akari moves to Tochigi, due to her parents’ jobs. The two keep in contact by writing letters, but eventually begin to drift apart. When Takaki learns that his family will be moving to Kagoshima, he decides to personally go see Akari, since they will be too far apart to visit each other at all after moving. He also prepares a letter for Akari, containing his feelings. However, during the journey he loses the letter and a severe snowstorm continuously delays Takaki’s trip for several hours.

As the two meet and share their first kiss, Takaki realizes they will never be together again. Stranded in a shed due to the snowstorm, they fall asleep after talking late into the night. Takaki departs the next morning, and they promise to continue writing to each other. As the train rolls away, Takaki regrets the loss of his letter, while Akari silently looks at her own letter addressed to Takaki.

Takaki is now in the third year of senior high in Tanegashima, where the Tanegashima Space Center is located. Kanae Sumida, a classmate of Takaki, had fallen in love with him ever since meeting him in middle school, but does not have the courage to confess her feelings. She tries to spend time with him, waiting long after school for the chance to travel home together. However, Takaki appears ignorant to Kanae’s feelings and treats her as a good friend. Kanae observes that Takaki is always writing emails to someone, or staring off into the distance as if searching for something far, far away.

It is later shown that Takaki’s emails are not being sent to anyone, and he has had recurring dreams which feature Akari. Despite Kanae’s feelings, she eventually realizes that Takaki is looking at something far beyond what she can offer and decides against telling him how she feels.

It is 2008, where Takaki is now a computer programmer in Tokyo, and Akari is preparing to get married to someone. Takaki still longs for Akari to the detriment of his lifestyle, which is acknowledged by an ex-girlfriend. This leads to Takaki on the verge of a breakdown and leaving his job. Akari goes through her old possessions and finds the letter addressed to Takaki. Takaki and Akari have a dual narration, both recalling a recent dream depicting the events of their last meeting in the snow, and hoping to watch the cherry blossoms together again.

Biographical Note:

Makoto Niitsu, better known by the pen-name Makoto Shinkai, is a Japanese film director, animator, and voice actor. A native of the Nagano prefecture in Japan, he studied Japanese literature at Chuo University. He traces his passion for creation to the manga, anime, and novels he was exposed to while in middle school.

Considered one of the best animators in the world today, he is often called the “next-Miyazaki”. Shinkai developed his abilities as a video game designer for FalCom, where he worked on the cult-classic role-playing game Y”S. Shinkai is unique as an animator as he cut his teeth by producing almost all elements many of his works – from animation to music composition to voice acting.

He has won numerous awards: 12th DoGA CG Animation Award; 1st New Tokyo International Animation Festival Grand Prize; 7th Kobe Animation Prize; 6th Japanese Media Art; Award for Digital Media; 34th Nebula Award (World Con); 59th Mainichi Films Animation Prize; 2007 Asia Pacific Film Award; and the Lancia Platinum Grand Prize (Italy).

His film credits include: Voices of a Distant Star, The Place Promised in Our Early Days, 5 Centimeters Per Second, and Children who Chase Lost Voices from Deep Below

More details on Makoto Shinkai:

Makoto Shinaki’s Twitter Page

Makoto Shinkai | Eiwa Manga Store

More details on Yukiko Seike:

Yukiko Seike’s Official Page

Yukiko Seike’s Twitter Page