5 Centimeters Per Second

5 Centimeters Per Second, by multi-award winning director and creator Makoto Shinkai, and artist Yukiko Seike!

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 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 ending their school year, Akari moves to Tochigi, due to her parents’ jobs. The two keep in contact by writing letters, but eventually begin to drift apart.

Biographical Notes:

Makoto Shinkai is a Japanese film director, animator, and writer. 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.

Makoto Shinkai is the rising star of the animation world, having won numerous awards across the globe for his stunning CG films. 5 Centimeters per Second faithfully adapts his most beloved film, of the same name, into a powerful timeless manga romance.

He has a strong and established fan-base globally, and this is one of his most recognized works.

Title Notes:

Vertical is packaging this originally two volume series in a single 560-page omnibus, to better replicate the feel and pacing of Shinkai’s film.

Quotes / Reviews:

Praise for the animated film by Makoto Shinkai:

“In 5 Centimeters [Shinkai’s] imagination may not leap to Hayao Miyazaki’s strange and wonderful heights, but he is better (blasphemy!) at piercing the veil of the everyday to reveal a poignant, evanescent beauty most of us notice only in rare moments…Is he really the “new Miyazaki?” He won’t become one by imitating the master, but at 34 he is the anime world’s bright new hope. That and a brilliant minor gem like “5 Centimeters per Second” are enough, for now.” – Japan Times

[Makoto] Shinkai has been hailed as the next Hayao Miyazaki, and his dreamy mindscapes often equal or surpass the anime maestro in breadth of detail and depth of emotion.” – Ronnie Scheib, Variety

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