Three moments in Takaki's life: his relationship with Akari and their forced separation; his friendship with Kanae, who is secretly in love with him; the demands and disappointments of adulthood, an unhappy life in a cold city.
Cinematography
Every frame is a wallpaper. Shinkai's light physics are *chef's kiss*.
Score
Tenmon's piano will destroy you gently.
Direction
Shinkai made this ALONE on his Mac. The audacity.
Director
Makoto Shinkai
Kenji Mizuhashi
Takaki Tohno (voice)
Yoshimi Kondou
Young Akari Shinohara (voice)
Satomi Hanamura
Kanae Sumida (voice)
Risa Mizuno
Kanae's Sister (voice)
Ayaka Onoue
Akari Shinohara (voice)
Yuka Terasaki
(voice)
Yuko Nakamura
(voice)
Masami Iwasaki
(voice)
Ryou Naitou
(voice)
Hiroshi Shimozaki
(voice)
Takahiro Hirano
(voice)
Akira Nakagawa
(voice)
Yoshiko Iseki
(voice)
Suguru Inoue
(voice)
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Shinkai wrote, directed, storyboarded, and edited this entirely by himself while working his day job at a game company. The absolute madman.
The title references cherry blossoms falling at 5cm/s—a metaphor for how slowly we drift apart without noticing. The real kicker? Shinkai later admitted he miscalculated; actual cherry blossoms fall faster. The poetry was accidental.
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